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Free Stuff!!
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| Matthew Graham with his first black marlin. Caught from the downrigger using a pin rigged
mullet on 8 kilo line |
Yorkeys Knob Sport Fishing Club Inaugural "Light Tackle Slam"
The inaugural Light Tackle Slam organised by the Yorkeys Knob Sport Fishing Club attracted 68 boats, with a total
of 220 anglers. This is a record for any tournament in Cairns with the best previous light tackle comp involving
only 25 boats.
Held over the weekend of August 26th - 27th the weather turned on 5 to 10 knot winds with blue skies, which some
would claim to be a miracle in view of the shocking blustery winds experienced for some weeks before.
The sailpast was a sight to behold with every shape and size of vessel speeding out from the Yorkeys marina, all
of which was videod by Channel Seven from Brazakka’s chopper. A DVD copy of the entire tournament is being collated
by Craig Smith and should be finished as this article goes to press.
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| Keith plays a feisty 25 kilo black marlin, which was later tagged and released |
Three line classes were allowed - 6, 8 & 10 kilo with prizes in both under and over 7.5 metres and the heaviest other
gamefish. The value of the combined prizes, door prizes and other goodies totalled over $25,000, so as you can imagine
the competition was fierce.
Early captures by Vic Garrett on White Pointer and Keith Graham on Heartbeat set the pace as small Black Marlin started
to chew pin rigged mullet and skipping gar. It should be mentioned that the fish were finicky and many a hard luck
story was told at the clubhouse later that evening. The Club Manager Stewart Vella had organised for the 'Cougar Girls'
to be serving their brew at the BBQ so it was no surprise that many anglers had stiff necks and a slight hangover on
day two.
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| Matthew waits with the tag pole as Keiths fish does a tail-dance |
The final day saw a number of boats come into contention as single blacks were tagged at quite regular intervals and
the ones chasing other gamefish snared some decent Yellowfin and Spaniards. It went right down to the line for the
individual champions in each category with the final results being decided on a 'count back' scoring system.
The highlight for me was to see my son Matthew tag his first black marlin, as a number of other anglers broke their
'billfish duck' in this tournament.
Following what must be described as a first class 3 course dinner the presentation of prizes commenced with the under
7.5 metre champion angler and champion boat being Vic Garrett on 'White Pointer'. The champion angler in the over
7.5 metre category went to Glen Simpson fishing from Allure, skippered by Darren (Biggles) Hayden.
Many anglers made the comment that this was "the best tournament" they had participated in, both for the organisation
and the venue. The major sponsor 'Norship Marine' has already confirmed their participation next year and we would like
to thank them, plus all the other sponsors for their generosity and commitment to our new fishing club, which
incidentally has over 180 members in less than four months of operation!
The next competition will be the 'Makaira Bullfight' on the 7th and 8th of October. A stand-up blue water comp
targeting black marlin which has over $10,000 in cash and prizes, the major sponsor being 'The Boss Charters'.
To make your booking call Stewart Vella on 4055 7711. Don’t miss out on this one!
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| A small section of the 68 boats leaving Yorkeys Knob Marina for the sail past on day one |
Return To The Land Of The Giants
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| A rare capture these days, but arguably the best eating fish on the reef...the purple cod
(or Maori cod) |
Fishing ‘out wide’ on the reef can be a fickle affair! We have some brilliant marks off Euston and Flynn Reefs
that can produce well, but only at certain months of the year. Most of this country is 60 metres plus and to
anchor up in more than 15 knot winds is difficult and uncomfortable, so we prefer to ‘drift’ fish using a drone
to slow down the drift.
One day, a Thursday, in early September gave us an opportunity to explore some of our outside marks. A balmy 5 to
8 knot sou easter with blue skies and deep blue water. We made good time cruising at 30 knots to a spot over 40
nautical miles out and were greeted by a north – south current ripping into the top end of the reef. Baitfish
was everywhere, not spooked but acres of them just waiting for us to troll a couple of Wog Head garfish rigs
around them. This technique rarely fails and speedsters such as Spaniards, Dolphin fish and Wahoo are the main
target species.
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| Red Bass pull like steam trains! This brute went 5.5 kilos |
After 90 minutes of trolling in what looked like ‘fish heaven’ my son Matthew casually said, "It’s been an hour
and a half old man and only a long tom to show for it, what about doing some drifting for emperor"? I didn’t need
any more convincing so we headed for an old spot we called ‘Land of the Giants’...for obvious reasons.
This dolly hole is a 65 metre spot of about five acres surrounded by 40 metre country, a dead set signpost so
far out for reds and other big bruisers. The current was running the opposite way to the wind which was again a
perfect scenario but I had been wrong once already this day.
Using my Furuno Navnet VX2 GPS I marked the spot where we started the drift. Using the ‘tracking’ line this tells
me the direction of the drift so we can come back on the same line or decide to try a different angle - often covering
the area in a ‘fan’ will produce the goods sooner or later.
Opting to use our heavier 60lbs braid outfits we used paternoster rigs with 80lbs Hi-Tensile mono leader and
the preferred flouro 8 oz. snapper leads, which often attract fish to the bait. Heavy duty Mustad 542 10/0 hooks
complete the rig, however it is important to sharpen them first. We use a single dropper, it gets too hard to pull
up big fish from 60 plus metres. Bait selection was pillies and squid cut up into small squares so we can put five
or six pieces on the hook.
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| Chinaman fish are one of the toughest fighters on the reef. We caught 11 of them in one day
and have the scars to prove it. Matthew caught this one on a jig using his new Spinfisher 850 |
Within minutes of starting the drift Matthew was onto something huge. It gave him heaps as he grunted to bring it
to the boat - a big red Galloper (Chinaman). It must have gone 7 kilos and can these buggers pull!
I followed him with one of the same, then he hooked another! Chinaman city - we’d found it alright as five more came
on board without a sign of any other species.
I motored back to the top of this hole only this time to a point some 80 metres further inshore. We started
the drift again, (and it was a perfect drift as our lines angled away to the back of the baot), and this time
hooked something big, and the right kind. I grunted to pull in a 7 kilo plus red emperor, then the lad did the same.
A much better drift and quality emperor, it doesn’t get too much better than this!
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| Keith with his best Red Emperor of the day - 7.5 kilos |
Motoring back on the same line for the next few hours we had a field day with jobfish, more emperor, a couple more
gallopers and three big, hard fighting Purple Cod (Maori Cod), one of the finest table fish on the reef.
Matthew decided to put on a 200gm Japanese Jig and started pumping it up from the depths with great takes from
- you guessed it - a Chinaman, then a 5 kilo G.T and several Greasy Cod. His prize was definitely a five kilo green
jobfish that inflicted a few bruised muscles on the boy. This is another species that can pull like all hell and never
give up until they are in the boat.
Surprisingly our floaters, with a Slimey Mackerel on one and a wolf herring on the other, didn’t go off all day.
We were a couple of days off a full moon and typically most pelagics seem to go further offshore at this time.
The quarters and new moon seem to be the best times to chase these species.
Another great day on the GBR, a few more lessons learned and another yearning to get out there again as soon
as possible this time of year, if the weather lets us!
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Fishing News
