A Taste Of Spanish Mackerel Mayhem!

The Spanish are here! Spanish mackerel that is; those long, mean toothy critters that can run off 300m of line, smoke drag washers and burn thumbs. They are a blast to catch and they taste great.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF6-HLQ-KsQ

This month being March 2011, in the gaps between wind and rain, almost every fishing charter has seen some red hot Spanish action. Mako’s skipper Brad revealed that floating baits were taking the majority of fish.

“Fresh baits are best, like gar, fusiliers and small pike,” he reported, “but we’ve caught plenty on fresh pilchards rigged on a set of ganged hooks. There are a few secrets. For instance, make sure your gangs are top quality, sharp and are rigged straight; also make sure you are using big, fresh, undamaged pilchards that have plenty of flash and shine (that’s what attracts the macks); and if the water is really clear, use 200lb non-abrasive mono (crimped) instead of wire.

Yes, you will still get chewed off by the odd fish, but sometimes wire trace will make them refrain from biting,” he said. Brad also pointed out that in most cases a float in the form of a balloon (that will bust when there’s a strike) is the best way to suspend your bait in the water column.

On the bottom things have been far from quiet too. Crews have been getting some nice coral trout and red throat emperor near the reefs. Brad did mention that he’s keen to get back to targeting the deeper water, but the recent big tides have made fishing there near impossible.

“The nannygai should be on the chew, but it’s just a matter of being able to get baits down to them as you rocket through a drift,” he lamented. “The tides are improving though, so my hopes are high for April,” he added.

Another species that has been showing up of late is the elusive and much sought after fingermark. Reefari regular and editor of NQ Fish and Boat magazine, Lee Brake got into a couple of snodgers on a rubble patch near Bailey Island. Lee was using big jerkshad style soft plastics bounced across the bottom to land huge fingermark of between 70 and 85cm.

There have also been reports of these gorgeous golden fish up to 8kg by Nick Munro who has been fishing with live bait off Sarina. Nick revealed that live bait is the only way to go with these prized fish, and in particular live squid are almost a sure thing!

Further inshore, Isaac Toivanen reported some good estuary size fingermark schooling in the St Helens Bay area.

Isaac, like Lee, was using soft plastic lures jigged over rubble in deep holes.

Furthermore on the estuary front, barra have been chewing and are in peak condition thanks to an influx of bait and nutrients from all the runoff. With the big tides, fishing for these sportfish has been fairly restricted, but by trolling or live baiting the holes at the very bottom of the tide just as the water starts to run in, you can be in with a fair chance.

Likewise at the top of the tide, plenty of bait is washed out of the creeks and will be set upon by cruising predators that patrol the shallow coastal flats. Long casting with shallow minnows like B52s and the trusty Gold Bomber is a top tactic!

In the impoundments things have been hot and cold with Kinchant and Peter Faust producing the majority of the noteworthy fish. At Kinchant, fish over the 110cm size have been taken casting around the weedy points on dusk with soft plastics and surface lures.

Trolling is still an option also, with yours truly getting a nice 84cm fish up there the other night. This fish fell to a Manns Stretch 30 8’ diver – an absolute behemoth of a lure.

The boys were pretty quick to give me heaps when I put it on, claiming that “the barra will probably mate with it, not eat it,” and “your best bet will be jagging one – they won’t be able to get out of the road!”

However, I had the last laugh when the solid little (by Kinchant standards) barra decided that the Manns was dinner!

That’s it from me. Here’s hoping for a dry and calm April,

Greg Reynolds

www.reefari.com

Sharks, Wind, Rain, What A Battle

Well, it hasn’t exactly been the best month for charter fishing.

Between strong winds, massive tides, sharks and continuous wet season rains, the crew have been working hard to get fish. The skipper of our charter boat Mako, Brad Everett revealed that fishing has been difficult offshore. He reported that the rapid tidal movement associated with the 6m plus tides has made fishing in the deeper water difficult.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_QY0g7dpiA

“We’d be drifting fast and then when we did go over the GPS marks, the fish were there,” he said. “Unfortunately though, the sharks were also around and weren’t about to lets us get away with our captures. The punters were hooking really good fish and it was just breaking my heart to see the sharks move in time and time again,” he added.

Further out and near the reef, Brad has been finding a few pockets of coral trout, but there have been very few larger specimens, however this could be due to the fact that the winds and currents have kept the boats from effectively fishing the deeper reef.

On a brighter note, the cobia are still about; with several nice fish taken this month. Cobia will sit off the bottom and are exciting to target on jigs. We’ve had a lot of success with soft plastics and slower-actioned ‘octo’ jigs.

The trick is to use a heavy leader – 100lb-plus – and a fast actioned rod in order to effectively work the jig and cushion the strike as the cobia hits. These are a hard fighter and will run long and hard before being subdued, so buckle up for a battle if you get a big one!

They are also excellent eating and should be cooked up fresh – on the BBQ is especially good.

Inshore, the rivers and estuaries are very, very dirty and fishing has been difficult to say the least. Pushing up the river and inland creeks like Cattle and Teemburra is probably your best bet and those that have been doing the miles are landing plenty of small barra, sooty grunter and the odd mangrove jack. Keep your gear light for added excitement and employ small minnows, spinnerbaits and soft plastics.

If you’re after a feed of seafood then a cast net and a crab pot will be your weapons of choice this month. Crabs have been on the march and big bucks are coming from the mouths of many local estuaries; however, due to the big tides, it has been imperative to find somewhere safe and out of the main current for pots.

Also, it pays to use fresh baits and check your pots regularly, as debris washed downstream will often clog openings and impede the effectiveness of your trap.

Prawns are also worth targeting and are of good size in many creeks around Sarina and Seaforth. Target your gulleys around the fronts of the smaller creeks at low tide and watch out for crocodiles as they have been especially active lately. If you don’t want to travel, local creeks like MCcReady’s and Barns have been holding prawns if you’re willing to work for them.

Lastly, on the impoundment front, Teemburra is still fishing hard and anglers are really having to spend a lot of hours on the water to find fish. Kinchant and Proserpine however, are producing some really good catches of metre-plus barra on trolled lures and slowly retrieved soft plastics.

Well, that’s about it for this month, and it’s time to start looking ahead. Book early, as we’ve got some very exciting mothershipping operations and liveaboard trips onboard Mako, going ahead towards the second half of this year. With the inshore waters fishing as they are, they will be a great opportunity to get back into some serious fish!

For more information, or to check out some of the action from previous long-range trips, check out our website charter rates.

A Red Hot First Time….

Fishing has varied from slow to red hot this month, with crews at times having to work hard to find fish and at others, getting amongst the ‘red’ hot action from the first drop.

On a recent trip, regular Reefari guest Lee Brake, editor of well known publication NQ Fish and Boat Monthly, was aboard for a three day trip to the reef and surrounding deep water patches.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxDMaIT0Y58

Now, Lee has been aboard many times in the past and foolishly let slip on one occasion that he has never caught a legal red emperor, thus earning himself the nickname ‘red virgin’.

Well, we have never let him live it down and this trip was no different.  Unfortunately for us, after two hours of travel where we ribbed him with every jibe we could come up with, the arsey bugger hooked up and landed a ten kilo red on the very first drop of the trip!

The look on his face when he saw what was arising from the depths was priceless and to say he was stoked would be like saying Queensland’s had a ‘bit of rain’.  You can check the moment out for yourself if you have  access to our Youtube channel at  http://www.youtube.com/Reefari

After that, the trip went from strength to strength, with more reds (including another to Lee), some solid nannygai, a few whoop-worthy monster coral trout, some cobia and some hard fighting trevally.

The crew also experimented with some on the new Berkley Elevator Jigheads (a moving jig with split ring between the head and hook) these worked too well and each time one was dropped it never returned thanks to three solid fish (probably horse cobia) lost after extensive battles.

Another highlight was a seriously arm-straining session on big yellow lipper, or spangled emperor.  These fish were upwards of 70cm and had the back deck of Raptor II breaking out in moans and grunts.  While opinion is divided about just how high the eating quality of these fish rates, I believe they are up there with most reef fish and consider them a welcome addition to any haul.

More recently, we’ve noticed what is probably a transition period due to the heat and the fishing has been tough in the deep, but very productive around the reef.  Mako returned from a charter just the day before I write this and found some good trout and redthroat on the edges of Steven’s Reef.  There were also some very tasty and sought after parrot fish/ tusk fish landed.

As mentioned, the cobia are about and can be taken on jigs, lightly weighted baits and trolled lures.  Graham Brake recently took a 50lb fish jigging around Keswick Island that put up a serious fight and was landed and photographed with mentionable skill, especially seeing as he was fishing solo.

We have also taken several great eating specimens on trolled skirted lures.  Also known as pushers, these lures throw up a bubble-trail as they are dragged at speed through the water.  Lately on charters they have accounted for quite a few feisty tuna, the odd mackerel, and cobia, as mentioned.

Inshore, the fishing has been hit and miss with most of the larger river systems still needing some time to flush out after the recent big rains.

On the plus side though, the prawns have been numerous and of good size with very impressive catches in both the Sarina and Seaforth areas.  Crabs too have been on the march at the fronts of the creeks.

Fishing wise, the grunter are pushing in with the tides and are in good numbers, with the odd mangrove jack and fingermark amongst them.

Ok, that’s about it from me for this month.  February is so far looking good and if we can get some fine weather I think we will start to see the trout well and truly come on the bite!  Here’s hoping,

Greg Reynolds
www.reefari.com

A Rundown Of Our Reefari Mothershipping Charter

With months of planning and organising, “D Day” had finally arrived, with 14 keen anglers from across the eastern seaboard positively foaming with excitement.  Gear was checked, double checked and checked again.  Beers were nervously cradled and everyone spoke in hushed voices as they barely concealed their nervous trepidation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQETJ7fuigo

A few of the crew were veterans of past trips, but most of the crew were mothershipping virgins and their excitement was palpable.

And who could blame them, as our five day/night Reefari piscatorial adventure of a lifetime had just begun as we steamed from Mackay Marina aboard the mothership Centurion.   This was to be our base for the next five days, a big comfy air-conditioned 80 foot mothership, with all the comforts of home.  To top things off we were also spoilt with the benefits of Raptor II, a 33ft Cougar Cat as a  tender.

Then, not forgetting of course our three dories to get amongst and explore the reef proper.  All in all we had the boats, the gear and the enthusiasm to take the outer reef by storm!

The first night was spent travelling to remote Trogibee Reef approximately 180 kilometres offshore for our first anchorage.  This is a known serious fishing nirvana and anticipation was off the scale, with the boys settling in for the first night and then awaking on the reef, ready to get into some serious action.

And the reef fishing didn’t disappoint, with the dories catching the usual quality red throat emperor and coral trout, and thanks to having the Cougar Cat in tow, we were off into the deep water aboard Raptor II chasing the big red emperor this area is renowned for.

With our quality Furuno FCV 585 sounder and 1kw transducer we were in the ultimate playground, and it was the icing on the cake to have full fuel tanks to play with.

Being towed out opens up all this area with plenty of fuel to race around and sample what each part of this piscatorial wonderland has to offer.  Usually if you can get out this far, you just don’t have the fuel to explore; you’re normally too worried about whether you’re going to make it home!

Did I mention the mothership?

Now this is the way to go fishing!  We used the range it granted us combined with our experience in fishing these deep marks and enjoyed some of the best red fishing ever.

With red emperor fishing becoming harder as the years progress, and distances needing to be traveled becoming greater, this was truly some of the best fishing I’ve seen.   We caught an absolute plethora or ‘average’ size red fish in the 6 to 8 kilo bracket and several monsters pushing well over 10 kilograms.

Hello red heaven!

Clayton from Emerald landed a monster on the first day and it was later deemed to be the best red of the trip, however some other giant reds gave Clayton’s benchmark a shake on more than one occasion.  It was actually Clayton’s first trip to the reef and thankfully it was proving to be a real cracker.  The bloke was on fire (red fire), and he also managed another horse the next day – this red fishing is too easy!

Everyone was having the time of their lives and no one could complain about the masses of trophy fish that just kept coming! We were even catching the reds on the reef edges and legal fish off the mothership in the shallows at night.

We managed one exciting night time Cougar Cat excursion before the weather turned for the worse, with of course more red emperor.  Norm and Greg did battle with some large spangled emperor and local Mackay angler, Conrad lost a monster red just as he was nearing the boat.  We could see a great blur of big beautiful red and it was sooooo close, but hey, that’s fishing.

In the end it was starting to get late and the sharks moved in.  These weren’t your little island bities either and I swear I heard the theme song from Jaws on more than one occasion.  Funnily enough it quickly became time to pull up stumps and call it quits, but sharks aside, it’d been a great start to the first day.

As the trip progressed so too did the highlights.

Chad and Co from Newcastle did battle with a gargantuan giant barracuda of 25 kg, which was bravely brought aboard the dories with only a lip gripper and released after the compulsory photo’s.   This truly was a monster with the teeth to match.  It was an awesome fish and just one of several of these crocodile-denture-packing missiles that were landed over the five days.

The trolling was never dull, with plenty of Spanish and shark mackerel around the reef points and edges, which kept everybody busy and the reels screaming.

Greg, also from Newcastle, kept the fishing gods happy and sacrificed plenty of lures and tackle, much to his annoyance and everybody’s  entertainment.    Buster quickly became his nickname, with Two Heads, a much more ego-enhancing name, given to Linc.

For this skilled (or arsey) angler almost every catch was a double header of quality fish, including two 60cm-plus red emperor in one haul.  Now that’s how you do it kids!  Captain Cod (Dave) was, funnily enough, great at catching cod, with an 8kg version and an even bigger 18kg model falling to the captain over the extent of our adventure.

As a note, the largest cod was towed (to flush oxygen through its gills) and released to fight another day.

Lures were lost and heroes created, with the Rapala Magnum X-Rap 30s giving another standout performance that keeps the brand’s reputation strong in my books.  We even managed the odd coral trout on these lures when they got down close to the reef.  Other consistent performers were the Halco Laser Pros 190’s, and the Big Downsider 200 by River2Sea.

This big lure with an even bigger bib seemed to be diving the deepest amongst the lures.  It valiantly managed to land some nice fish only to – I must solemnly report – be lost in battle towards the end of the trip.

Some of the spots we fished had probably never ever been fished before, with five and six way hook-ups common.  There were more than a few “unstoppables” which usually resulted in only a few making it to the boat at the end of each round of chaos.

To elaborate, when fish can’t be stopped on 50lb-plus line and 24kg heavy tackle, they quickly fall into the category of “unstoppable” and once hooked all an angler can really do its smell his or her thumbs burning against the spool and desperately try to hold onto the rod as it is plunged seaward under a mountain of pressure.  This usually doesn’t end favourably and there were more than a few rod-but bruises and sore muscles amongst the crew from repeat failed hookups.

On one serous drift we ended up with a ratio of two large nannygai to one red emperor, but mostly it was just red, red, red and well, more red!  Things had been seriously reversed with reds usually about one for every six nannygai in our usual stomping grounds.  Here it was one nannygai for every six reds, but who’s complaining?   We were actually joking about trying to get the hooks past the reds.

To put things into perspective I remember one big six-way hookup only resulting in three fish making it to the boat; a mixed bag with a nice cod, spangled emperor and of course another red!  These were all trophy fish, so you can only imagine the bust-offs.  If you ever fish out this way, it’s recommended to use heavier tackle, at least 50lb braid and 100lb leader, and check your knots, with these quality fish finding any weak links.  Unfortunately, even with this calibre of gear, tackle losses were high, so bring what you think you’ll need, then extra, and then double it!

Reds aside, there were other fish of note, including a 60cm grassy sweetlip by Greg which pushed close to the boat’s record and some other large spangled emperors and nannygai.

Did I mention fishing nirvana?

One morning was spent trolling south of Denton Reef, with plenty of birds working in some challenging conditions.  It was pretty atrocious really, but the yellowfin tuna didn’t seem to mind and readily attacked our lures, putting a bit of variety into the esky.  With one per person on the scoreboard, we decided to move on.   Tough to leave them biting, but there was just too many options.

Lynn from Centurion served up some fresh Yellowfin Sashima that afternoon, and I’m still raving about how good it was. The tip is to chill the flesh, then fillet into very fine slices.  Then serve with Soy Sauce and Wasabi.  It’s just so tender!  It’s well worth giving it a go, and I’ll be on the lookout for more yellowfin tuna, solely with this recipe in mind.

Night time fishing was good with some great red throat emperor sessions. Freeding frenzies involving these tasty reef-dwellers can break out at anytime so it pays to persevere.  Sharks were numerous as usual (this is barely-fished water after all), but once they cleared out, some quality fish came aboard the boat, with once again the odd red emperor amongst them.

This is a great time to get out the plastics, the Berkley 7” Gulp Shads being a personal favourite, and the octo-style jigs.  One memorable catch was a nice, legal, night-time red emperor on a Shimano Lucanus Jig to Ian Meads.  Some big spangled emperor also like to get involved in this nocturnal pandemonium and Norm and Greg’s double header were prime examples of these quality fish.

Unfortunately with great fishing, time seems to go even faster, with the trip finishing up at beautiful Penrith Island for the last run home.  Around the island a few more coral trout and redthroat were added for the table and all up it was a great way to finish the trip.   Look out for our videos on our Reefari Youtube Channel, 4 part series coming soon.

Fact Box -  Five Day Highlights

Day 1: Night time red mayhem in the deep, GTs on poppers and 25kg-plus barracuda.

Day 2: Travelling to Eaton Reef with reds well over 10kg and trout and emperor from the shallows.

Day 3: Pelagic pandemonium as yellowfin tuna schools moved in and smashed lures along with Spanish mackerel.  Fishing into the night at far-flung Denton Reef sees frenzied red throat emperor and spangled emperor sessions.

Day 4: Deep water bombies found and double headers were commonplace.  Reds, giant cod and trout!  Exhausted, the crew turned to trolling only to usher in a Spanish mackerel blitz that provided little reprieve.

Day 5: Island hopping at Penrith for trout and redthroat, then home.

Mack Attack Madness!

October already!  Where has this year gone?

It seems like only yesterday that we were catching snapper, and now the water is warming and were are gearing up for the tropical species to start chewing their heads off.

It’s been a mad month of mackerel mayhem offshore with some calamitous catches being recorded, there’s been some top bottom bashing action with big reds biting strongly, and anglers have been getting their arms stretched to the limit by some barnstorming Queenfish and Trevally.

All in all folks, the fishing has been full on!

Probably the best catches have included red hot mack attacks.  Reefari has been trolling up a storm with one charter finding themselves in the thick of it to the point where they literally had to stop and find something else to target.

Spanish and shark mackerel have been the most common with strong catches on every charter, unfortunately that means my lures replacement orders have been through the roof, but, that just means you’re in the thick of it, right?

One lure that has been good to us is the River2Sea deep-diving Downsider – a newer lure out that is getting down to where the mack schools are holding.

On that same note, jigging is working well with knife jigs finding the macks once they dive deep and a fast retrieve is producing some smashing hits and gut-punishing strikes.  Now that’s good fun!  As yet most of the mackerel we are getting have been offshore; probably due to the bait schools remaining out wide.  Given some more northerly winds and a bit of luck though, and we should see them come into the range of the smaller boats.

While we are mentioning pelagics, there have been some herculean battles taking place.  Glen Montgomery got a 9 kilo queenfish trolling the St Bees/Keswick Channel and after a taxing battle, he released it to fight another day.

Likewise, Graham Brake found a patch of bait in deep water and after jigging up several small 3kg-plus giant trevally, he put a Halco Crazy Deep lure out and trolled over the school.

Graham reports that as he ran over the school, which was 60 feet down, a 25kg-plus GT rose from the depths and gave him an almighty battle before being landed, photographed and released.  These fish are awesome fun to catch, but do the right thing and release them, as the bigger they get, the poorer they are to eat.

In the deep water scene, our gun Reefari skipper Sally has reported a slowing of action around the reefs, but an influx of big reds.  She reports that the guys willing to drop big baits are being rewarded and who isn’t happy with a trophy red emperor?

Other notable catches include some solid nannygai, with a seven kilo model falling to Han Ditzel aboard our special Dowden’s Pumping charter.

While other species, like the coral trout, have been quiet, it is only a matter of time before they come back on the chew.  Usually we do find that the change of seasons slows down the fishing for a week or so until the temperature stabilizes and then it’s on for young and old alike!  Bring on the big coral trout!

In other news, as I write, we are gearing up for our annual mother-shipping adventure to the outer reef.

As you read this, the Reefari crew, myself and a group of keen fishos will be either aboard the 80 foot mothership relaxing, or more likely, battling titanic GTs, dropping for monster reefies, or just exploring the untouched blue ocean that is the outer reef.

It’s a top week away and with the Raptor II trimmed out and hitting 34knots thanks to its new 300hp Suzuki’s, we won’t be going softly.  No readers, this will be serious adventure fishing and is definitely not for the faint hearted.  Keep your eyes peeled, because hopefully next month we’ll be bringing you a full wrap up!

More Fishing News…

The Spanish Are Invading!

No, the running of the bulls hasn’t gone international; we have just had a thumper of a month on the Spanish mackerel.

Trip after trip Reefari has been able to put clients onto double, triple and even quadruple hookups of these exciting sportsfish.

There has also been some tremendous catches of coral trout and a smattering of big reds to keep the smiles wide and the eskies brimming.

Folks, it has been a cracker of a month!

We were able to push out wide early in the month with a keen crew that included NQ Fish & Boat editor Lee Brake, his father Graham and the Godfrey clan.

The Brake boys brought along a few trays of jigs and not only got their backs and arms stretched, they also landed some top fish.

At first, we trolled a good show of fish on the sounder with some proto-type Reidy’s lures which saw young Mitch and Harrison Godfrey hooked up and fighting several charging Spanish macks.

Graham also got in on the act and the day was off to an exciting start. Unfortunately the boat traffic seemed to push these fish down deep and out of the range of our trolled lures, so out came the jigs!

Using metal knife jigs Graham and Lee sent their lures shuttling down into about 50m of water and ripped them back towards the surface with strong, fast rips of their rod tips.

We didn’t have to wait long.

Within minutes both anglers were being smashed up by unstoppables that left them standing around slack jawed and looking like stunned mullets.

They went to heavier gear and sure enough some big trevally, including a double on goldens, and at least a dozen Spanish were fooled by the jigs. I’ll admit it; I could get into this jigging thing!

Once we moved on, the same trip saw us in coral trout heaven.

At first the fishing was a little slow, but then Janelle, Harrison and Graham all found themselves hooked up to solid, hard pulling coral trout. The interesting thing was; they were using lunch as bait.

Yeah, freshly cooked banana prawns where going down and coming back up as 60cm-plus trout over and over again!

Graham revealed that he has been using this trick for years, but usually makes do with the cheaper cooked imported offerings. He reckons it is the bright red of the cooked prawns that attracts the trout, and after seeing Harrison pull up two thumper trout and a nannygai one after another on the prawns, I’m convinced!

In other news, our Steber gameboat, Mako has been putting in some awesome trips, with new skipper Sally Vennick reporting some interesting catches.

“Last trip to the reef saw us getting some lighting fast yellow-fin tuna,” she said. “It is a little early in the season for them, but the pelagics seem to be in good numbers.

We got into plenty of good mackerel on the troll, with the Classic F18 Bluewater lures proving lethal in the gold and mackerel green colours!”

“We even saw a sailfish that was all lit up and hunting!”

Bottom fish wise, Sally revealed that they have been also been landing loads of coral trout with over thirty fish taken in the last reef trip – many of a very high quality.

Well, there is much, much more that I could report, but we are out of time for this month, so I all I can suggest is that you to stop reading and start fishing!

Check out the great action on our Youtube Channel at www.youtube.com/reefari and really am looking forward to our Reefari Hardline Mothershipping trip next month, can’t wait!!

Please Rate This Post – Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

More Fishing Reports

It Really Does Not Get Any Better Than This…

What a month July 2010 has been!

It has been a little hectic I must admit, but the fishing has been unreal!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKwJ64Vnwc

Between the Spanish Mackerel Shootout, the very pleasing run of big Spanish, the visiting TV crews, our new skipper, more reds than a Queensland football side and a motor upgrade, I don’t know where to start!

Well, let me begin with saying that the Spanish Mackerel Shootout was a great success despite less than friendly weather conditions (thanks a lot Mother Nature)! All up, 58 entrants accounted for a total of nine Spanish Mackerel and 15 reef fin fish at the weigh in.

Mick Rethus and Craig Breadsell both fought it out for the grand prize, with Craig taking home the spoils thanks to a 30.50kg Spanish.

Well done Craig. A mention must also go to our own Reefari crew who braved the shipping channel and 20-plus knot winds to secure the biggest nannygai and coral trout.

Now, on the subject of big Spanish, the Reefari crew aboard the 41’ Steber, Mako were lucky enough to play up for the cameras when Jason Kennedy from the Southern Cross TV show “Fishin Trip” came for a Reefari three day Charter. Using Berkley Frenzy and Halco Laser Pro lures, the anglers trolled up a school of high jumping, long running Spanish that not only saw us fighting numerous three-way hook-ups, but also engaging in a running battle with the ‘men in grey suits’.

By the end of a crazy 45 minute session, we’d landed eight (and a half) solid macks up to 12kg.

The same trip was topped off with an almost unheard of run of jaw-dropping red emperor, with over a dozen being landed, including a few models that gave the ten kilo mark a serious nudge!

Without an exception, every angler onboard walked away with stretched arms, sore shoulders and big, black, angry bruises on their abdomen – yes readers, big reds pull like angry bulls!

Now folks, it may hurt, but that kind of fishing makes you grin until your cheeks ache!

Some truly awesome Reef fishing Action.

More recently, our new skipper Sally Vennick has been showing off her fish-finding skills on a recent four-day voyage by putting the punters onto some impressive patches of thumper red throat.

“They are schooling up to spawn,” she revealed. “We had an awesome trip out to the reef with the Spanish, red throat and trout all on the chew. The whales are in too and they seem to be getting more curious every year!”

Sally is a local mariner with buckets of experience on the blue and we at Reefari count ourselves very lucky to have such a seasoned professional at the helm of Mako. With time spent on the most of the well known local charter boats, Sally is sure to have some insight for us in the months ahead. Welcome aboard Sal’.

Before I go, I should probably update you on our 32’ Cougar Cat, Raptor II. I mentioned last month that she was out of the water for an upgrade. Well, now she’s back and she goes like a scalded cat (excuse the pun) thanks to a pair of sexy 300hp outboards that’ll have you too the fishing grounds, and fishing, just that bit quicker.

Well, honestly, I’ve got no complaints. Let’s just hope next month brings more of the same!

Please Rate This Post – Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

More Fishing Reports

Monster Fish, Monster Month!!

June has been somewhat of an interesting month for offshore and inshore anglers respectively, with a cold snap ushering in a host of new piscatorial opportunities.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6uXPR3CXM8

On a social run with members of the Mackay Game fishing Club the Reefari crew were able to locate some truly awesome fishing despite a buffeting from 15-20 knot winds.  The plan was to use Refuge Bay at Scawfell Island as a base to venture out to the surrounding rubble patches and rocky reefs.

Despite our initial efforts yielding fairly humble results, things began to pick up immensely.   While a few of the crew were looking a little like Kermit the Frog in the complexion department, the fishing soon proved to be well worth it.  5- 6kg nannygai started coming over the side regularly, with an 8kg model falling to yours truly and a trophy 60cm grassy lipper being landed by Jason Horton.

Other highlights for the day included several solid coral trout and a chaotic five-way hookup that saw the boys ducking, diving and weaving across the deck, with some quality fish landed.

In other news there have been impressive, if isolated, catches of big knobby-headed snapper coming from the inshore patches.  A few of the boys bagged out on these seasonal fish mid-month and added a few decent cobia to the haul.  Fresh squid was the bait of choice, but all accounts point to a good season for those willing to persist with soft plastics.

Another cool water species, the blisteringly fast spanish mackerel, has started to appear in numbers as well, with Tony Kennedy reporting a few coming over the Mako’s gunnels.  On that subject, make sure you sign up for The Mackay Game Fishing Club’s next big event, the Spanish Shootout to be held over the Weekend of the 9^th and 10^th of July.

There will be heaps of great prizes on offer, and not just for spanish mackerel, with Reef fin fish species also now eligible.   Make sure you get involved with everybody welcome.  Bring the kids and have a great fishing weekend.  Reefari is proud to be sponsoring this event with some great mystery weight prizes up for grabs.

Also worth mentioning is an amazing capture by keen young angler, George Fitter who in a herculean effort, landed a 10kg red emperor while on one of our charters.  His catch made an impressive addition to a day’s haul that also included a 10kg nannygai.

Inshore, there have been some standout catches of bream, flathead and whiting.  According to the Zac Lucas-Hunt from Complete Angler, a few of the younger anglers have been really getting into using ultra-light gear and slightly unorthodox techniques like poppering and twitching small blades to attract these inshore species for exciting results.

On top of the bread and butter species, there have been some thrilling sessions on queenfish and trevally around the Pioneer River Mouth and under the bridges to be had.  Anglers are finding that the first of the run-in tide is bringing schools of bait in and the predators are following.  Try working small poppers, metal slugs and if that still doesn’t work, try feather headed jigs.

Well, that just about sums up the month.  Next month will see some big changes in the Reefari fleet with the Raptor II out of the water to have 600hp placed on its rear and there will also be some new faces amongst the crew – more on this next month.

Till then though, fingers crossed for calm seas and big reds.

Please Rate This Post – Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

More Fishing Reports

Signs are all Good for a Bumper Winter on the Water

Hello again.  Well May has been and gone and while there were a few drops in the weather, all in all the wind and rain haven’t showed any signs of disappearing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjscwN2UFUM

A cold snap is here though and that will bring big winter whiting, bream and flathead as well as more offshore species like mackerel, tuna and even those nobly-headed thumpers of the deep – snapper in the next few weeks.

Tony Kennedy, skipper of the Reefari Game boat Mako, revealed that the cold snap has brought larger numbers of the already prevalent reds and nannygai.

“We found that the nannygai have been of a better class since the cold snap and the trout have picked up too,” he reported.  “The trout have been coming over the side quite regularly and range from three to four kilograms.”

As for the more winter orientated species, Tony revealed that the Spanish mackerel haven’t quite come through yet.  The odd report of the odd fish coming in down south off Hay point, so they shouldn’t be far away.

“We think that the water clarity is getting better, which would explain the trout being on the chew, but it needs to clean up a little more yet for the mackerel,” Tony revealed.

Tony has had a few small snapper (squire) starting to show up around the inshore shoals, which bodes well for the coming cold season and shows the first signs of what has the potential to be a cracker snapper year.

In other news, the recent 2010 World Sooty Championships at Eungella Dam was a great success with record numbers of fish being caught.  Daniel Grech won the competition for a record second time, but was faced with stiff competition from David Creffield who caught an equal 2519mm of Sooty, but came second in a count back decider.

“We used the Rapala Clackin’Rap in shallower water where their slower sinking rate allowed us to use a more constant retrieve and then switched to heavier vibes for the deeper water where we pulled our bigger fish, including a 46cm fish that pulled like a bulldog!”

The other major local competition which is rapidly approaching in time for mackerel season is the Mackay Game Fishing Club’s inaugural Spanish Mackerel Shoot-out on the 10^th and 11^th of July.

This is an extremely popular event that continues to grow every year.  In 2010, for the first time there will be prize categories for reef fin fish species which should prove interesting and over $7000 in prizes.

Reefari is proud to sponsor this event and it would be great to see as many of you there as possible as it is set to be a top couple of day’s fishing.  Tickets will available from June 1 from your local tackle stores, so get in early to ensure your place.

Well that wraps things up, so here’s hoping for a bumper winter on the fishing front and some calm, clear days.

Kind Regards,
Greg

Please Rate This Post – Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

More Fishing Reports

Hello May, goodbye April.

It has been a hard time of the year for anglers and boaties with the wind and rain being less than kind.  Offshore, the windows of opportunity have been few and far between, but the fishing has been red hot.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpDYaH6rxco

Inshore, the rivers are still running with a degree of fresh water and in the impoundments, the barra are becoming a little more difficult to chase, but at least the sooty grunter are firing.

On that positive note, Reefari Charters is proud to announce that at the annual Mackay Tourism Awards, held on the 25^th of March at the MECC, the team was awarded the winner of the Transport, Tours and Cruises section.

It’s always great to get positive feedback and this is an excellent award that recognises the hard work which has gone into the last few years, establishing Reefari in a competitive industry, not to mention some truly awesome fishing and trophy quality fish.

Back on the fishing, getting the bigger boats out has been difficult at best, due to the rough conditions, but we did have one cracker weekend that saw the Reefari Cat, Raptor II blast out for some blistering piscatorial action.

The Raptor’s charter boat skipper, Glen Montgomery was all smiles when he returned from several trips and reported that the coral trout and sweetlip are back on the chew around the islands.

“We got a real mixed bag fishing the inshore spots,” he revealed.  “On the first bait, of the first drift one of the clients hooked and landed a 120cm estuary cod and things just got better from there.”

“Further offshore, we hit schools of nannygai and some quality lipper.

The weather was phenomenal, but there was a slight westerly component to the wind and any old angler will tell you that that slows the bites down for some reason.  Otherwise, I think we’d have done even better.”

Mark Kelly and a very young crew were aboard for one trip and were absolutely stoked with the weather and an esky full of fish, with Mark declaring the fishing amongst the best he’s seen.

The boys were all keen anglers and really got stuck into the red fish!

On that topic, the red emperor have been biting, but our skippers aren’t seeing the giants that characterised last year’s trips, nevertheless with legal reds being regularly landed, no one is complaining.

The best inland option at the moment might be to make the pilgrimage up to Eungella Dam for the up and coming sooty grunter championship held there on the May Day long weekend.

For those who haven’t chased these dark coloured pocket rockets before, try a mix of spinner baits, small poppers and bib-less vibes.

Just don’t underestimate the sooty, whatever you do, or it’ll have you bricked in the nearest snag before you can blink!

Next month is looking promising and the weather is even showing signs of dropping out.

With some luck, the rivers will continue to clean up through May and the whiting, bream and flathead should start coming through as the water starts to cool.

Fingers crossed.

Greg and the Reefari Crew.