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Fly Fishing

Chasing Golden Trevalley on the Magnetic Island flats.

Relaxing!

Enjoying one of the many beautiful beaches of Magnetic Island.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Merry Christmas from FishingTownsville.net

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Wednesday 23 December 2009

Motor Trouble

I had my share of motor trouble today. Left thr ramp at 4am with my sister and fiance from VIC to take them for a run to the shoals. We only got a few hundred meters from the harbor mouth and I started loosing power. The boat slowed and fell off the plane despite pushing the throttle forward. I limped the boat back to the ramp and drove home and back to bed. After a bit of a sleep in I gave Graham at Rising Sun Marine a call and said to bring it straight in and they would look at it. Unfortunately my wife had taken off with the car, so I was unable to get it in until later in the afternoon. Graham was off on lunch, but Brett and guys looked at it immediately. When Brett took the cover off it was pretty obvious what the problem was! A couple of leads had come of the spark plugs. He put them back on and gave the motor a tank test, all was good. I should have poped the cover off myself and taken a look, but not knowing anything about what is under there I didn't bother. So a BIG thankyou to the guys in at RSM, not everyone would take a look at a motor on the spot for you. At least I know one thing to look for now.

On a more positive note, Dad and I hit the creeks yesterday morning hoping to get some crabs to go with my Nannygai for Christmas lunch. We planned to spend the whole day in there if need be. But we were able to head home early with 10 crabs caught by 11am. We also managed a few more Bream and Jack, best fish being a 35cm Bream. Who ever said Bream are a winter species?


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Sunday 20 December 2009

Good fishing on the Maggie Shoals

Just finished cleaning up from a trip out to the shoals today. Dad and I went off in search of Christmas dinner, and got more than we expected. We left the ramp about 4am, at which we were quite surprised to see it getting busy already, and headed off down the channel. It was a little lumpy and uncomfortable, but with the forecast for things to improve as the day went on, we continued steadily out. However, we did decided to take a look at some closer shoals and slowly make our way further out as conditions improved.

I am going to keep things short as I fish for dinner to prepare. But we ended up bagging 7 doggie mackerel to 2kg, 2 nice Nannygai including one thumper 7kg specimen and 3 Cobia. We also landed several Trevalley and lose a few good fish too. But that big Nannygai is designated Christmas lunch.

Mackerel were taken on a variety of baits and metal slices. But most of the other fish we taken on whole pillies. The Cobia were very cool, coming right up under the boat in small school or 3 or 4.

Just 2 pics today as we were so busy all morning.

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Wednesday 16 December 2009

Herbert River provides another feast

After the run with Richard on Saturday I decided to take Liam to another spot on the Herbert River on Tuesday afternoon. After our usual run of about 2 hrs we arrived at our designated spot. We fished different snags trying to avoid getting in to deep, yeah right! The photo opposite suggests good water but were Liam is standing was the deepest part. It was a little interesting as we both were thinking about crocs as the evening progressed. Liam landed a nice sooty straight up, and then we both followed with a final tally of 7 sooties and 2 tarpon. Not too bad for about one and a half hours fishing. It is becoming increasing difficult to fish this system now, as the water levels have dropped, and the need for a nice pool of deeper water with water running in is becoming harder to find. Bring on the wet!



Cardwell Boat Ramp - Port Hinchinbrook

The main Cardwell boat ramp is located in the marina at Port Hinchinbrook. Its pretty easy to find, just follow the signs to Port Hinchinbrook (turn right on the way into Cardwell), and then follow the signs to the boat ramp.

The ramp is an excellent quality 3 lance concrete ramp with floating pontoon. 2 lanes are on one side of the pontoon and 1 is on the other. The floating pontoon is invaluable. I could easily launch and retrieve my 575 CC on my own. Something I would never even attempt in Townsville. There is not a massive amount of parking, but I never came close to encountering a problem while I was there. There are no toilet or other facilities. There is, however, a very handy tackle store located right beside the ramp!



This ramp gives good access to the Northern end of Hinchinbrook channel as well as Gould Island and the Great Barrier Reef. Gould island is approximately 8.5nm and the closest reef about 30nm.

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Bream Bonanza!

Dad and I took the tinnie into the creeks today for the big high tide. Thought we might lure up some Mangrove Jack as the flood tide started to run out from the mangroves. We put the crab pots in about 7.30am and started luring the last of the run in. But it was dead quiet. So we anchored up and threw out a couple of trusty pillies. But even the pillies were very quite. The only thing we could manage was a small GT hunting the edge of the channel.

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Once the tide turned we resumed out lure casting. But after an hour of casting and not a single hookup we decided to go back to bait for a while. The tide was still quite high, and water was pretty quick. But the bites started almost immediately after anchoring. The first fish landed was a thumper 36cm Bream by Dad. Over the next couple of hours we landed a total of 13 Bream, the biggest 37cm quite a few not that far short. It was one of the best Bream session I think I have ever had. I even managed a double hookup of 30cm bream on both my rods at the same time. I had one rod in each hand with fish attached. Funniest thing ever, one bricked me so I put the rod between my legs while I landed the other fish. By the time I got back to the first rod the fish had swum free, so I landed him too....lol.

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As the tide dropped even the crabs came in for a look. We managed to boat about 5 good keeper bucks on rod and reel. And when we emptied the pots we had another 4. A great session and a good feed for the next couple of days. I hope we can manage another good session like this in the lead up to Christmas Day!

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Sunday 6 December 2009

Nq Flyfishers Learn to Flyfish day

Over the last few years the NQ Flyfishers have put on a learn to fly fish day at the Barra Farm in Townsville. After collecting the nominations from people at the Cluden Fishing Expo we made a final call round and met for the day. This was also the concluding activity for the club so we had a good roll up of approximately 20 fly fishers. The day starts with a general introduction to fly fishing, followed by instruction in fly casting, fly tying and and putting the rig together. The new fly fishers then put all the knowledge together including using there own fly and try and catch a barra. The final activity is a 30 minute fishing competition to see who can land the most fish. The day was enjoyed by all. Through the year the club has fished in blue water estuary and flats fishing. The club has competited in a number of events and we ran our inaugural top 10 competition. We also were involved in the Ginn Clear Film Festival, so quite a busy year. I would like to thank all the club members for a great day and a great fishing year.




Wednesday 2 December 2009

Baptist Church fishing club website



The Baptist Church fishing club has launched its own website! They are yet to purchase a specific domain name, but the site is running under the blogger address http://www.bcfctownsville.blogspot.com/

Trisha has done a great job on the design and getting things up and running. So head on over and check it out. You'll find info about the club as well as details for up and coming events.


Tuesday 1 December 2009

Northern Beaches Festival 2010 - Fishing Competitions

I have been asked by Olaf Schubert, president of the Northern Beaches Festival Assoc, to publicise some up and coming fishing competitions associated with the Northern Beaches Festival 2010. There are 3 competitions that are being run.

* May 1st to May 28th - Club Competition. Member for Hinchinbrook Challenge for all clubs in the Cardwell to Townsville area.

* May 21st 4pm to May 23rd 3pm - Tackle World Open Competition.
* May 23rd - Pro Tackle Junior Beach Fishing Competition at Balgal Beach.

Brochures and registration forms are available for download below.

Junior Beach Fishing Flyer (PDF)
Junior Beach Fishing Registration (PDF)
Member for Hinchinbrook Flyer (PDF)
Member for Hinchinbrook Registration (PDF)
Member for Hinchinbrook Rules (PDF)
Open Fishing Flyer (PDF)
Open Fishing Registration (PDF)


Saturday 28 November 2009

Its nice to be back on the Blue on Fly

The North Queensland Flyfishers had our last trip for the year on the wide blue sea. We had planned a trip to the rivers but the weather came good and all four fishers Richard, Jeff, David and myself thought we might try for some tuna. We headed out to the west point area and found some small baitfish, this looked promising but there appeared to be no predators. So off we went out towards Rattlesnake Island. On the way we found some small schools of mac tuna working the bait. After 4 hrs of working and four tuna landed we were happy but a little frustrated with the schools. In many ways this is what tuna can be like! Richard finished the day with 2 tuna and Jeff and myself one each, David did not go home empty handed he landed a nice queenfish as we drifted Cockle Bay to finish. A good day and finished with a nice coffee at our regular meeting place!


Tuesday 24 November 2009

Barnacle St Boat Ramp

For the past 18 months, political interference and bureaucratic processes have prevented council from expanding parking facilities at Barnicle Street.

We have been forced to go to the highest level of approval known as a material change of use (MCU). We need you support in the form of a submission to support this MCU.

Please fill in the adjacent letter with your name and address and either send it to TCC or leave it with the staff for collection.

Thanks you for your support,
Vern Veitch
Councillor
Townsville City Council


Saturday 21 November 2009

Fun in the Creek

With a late change in Saturdays weather we made a last minute decision not to put the big boat in the water and head out wide. Instead we took the tinnie back into the creeks. But today we decided to give the lure casting a break and give live bait a go. We left home a bit before 5am and arrived by 5.30. But the tide was still very low and putting the boat in proved difficult to say the least. But a little man handling across the mud and we were off. Although we were minus the transducer thanks to the rather dodgy launch.

We deployed the crab pots and went in search of some live bait. But despite the low tide the mullet proved difficult to find. After half an hour or so we had half a dozen and decided to anchor up and give them a go. They were a lovely size, and didn't last long in the water. Unfortunately each one failed to hook up and we were soon baitless once more. Off we went to check the pots and try get some more live bait.

We still had little luck finding the mullet, and this time the ones we did get were quite large. Oh well, back on anchor and the big baits were set out. Dads went off quite quickly. He thinks he basically fed it down the fishes throat. It was a solid fight and had us guessing as to what it was. But soon a nice Salmon was in the net. A first for the old man.

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Over the next couple of hours we had a ball catching Bream, Mangrove Jack, Cod and Catfish on the dead baits. But the live baits remained pretty quiet. We pulled out around 11am with half a dozen quality crabs, 5 Bream (2 monsters at 32cm) and the Salmon. A nice feed for tomorrows lunch as we continue to build the kids cubby!

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Baptist Church Fishing Club - Comp Results November 2009

Despite very ordinary weather conditions the final comp of the year was again well contested with 15 anglers weighing a total of 20 fish. An additional 22 fish were released and 4 nice mud crabs also made it to the weigh master’s scales. A great effort by all who took part in the final comp for 2009 and love that smile Lachlan!

Individual results are summarized below:

Senior Male
Jordan Quayle 102.4 pnts
Gavin Jacobs 98.3 pnts
Rod Gear 75.0 pnts
Malcom Brown 56.8 pnts
Tim Jones 51.8 pnts
Dion Forman 48.0 pnts
Ian Ferguson 15.4pnts
Steve Holloway 2.0 pnts

Senior Female
Sylvia Gear 76.25 pnts

Sub-Junior
Lachlan Brown 25.6 pnts

Mud Crab
Mal Brown 16.7 pnts
Brent Quayle 13.1 pnts
Jordan Quayle 9.6 pnts

Catch & Release
Jordan Quayle 40.89 pnts
Sheldon Dreyer 20.8 pnts

Hard Yakka
Jayden Jacobs 35 pnts
Tim Jones 30 pnts
Steve Holloway 15 pnts
Peter Clegg 15 pnts
Matt Grills 5 pnts



Thursday 19 November 2009

Mid-week Fingermark Session

PhotobucketLast night Dad and I shot out to West Point after work for a mid-week fingermark session. I wouldn't normally head out with work the next day. But with 2 months of not being able to get out because of the wind I was keen to take advantage of our current good weather. We left the ramp at about 4pm and immediately headed to West Point. We spent over an hour trying to collect live bait from various marks, but only managed 8 or so yakka. Most of which were quite large. We would have had one more, but Dad accidentally unhooked it and threw it back! I'm not sure what he was thinking!!

We then anchored up on a mark, set out the live baits and waited for the sun to set. Dad managed a few runs on the live bait, but I'm not convinced they were Fingermark. But my live bait swum around for ages. I think he eventually wore the hole in his back bigger and won his freedom!

As dark arrived we deployed the squid light and got ready. I have never really give this whole squid thing a good go, so I was keen to see how it went. Once it was fully dark we had a few hanging around the light. I netted them and quickly sent them back. But they just got picked to pieces by small fish. The sounder was alive with squid attracted by the light, but they did hand a little deep. Every now and then a big school would come close enough to scoop up. I was getting up to 10 in a single scoop! But the average size with about 2in long. So a little on the small side. The result being most getting picked to pieces by small fish.

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We managed 3 BIG runs, each of which turned out to be big rays. But finally I pulled one lone Fingermark to the boat. With work for me today we had to pull up anchor and head in about 10.30. In bed by midnight I'm still very tired today :(

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