Last weekend, being the Mayday long weekend was poised to be sensational out on the water but come Sunday morning the wind had risen from the 6-8knots the afternoon before to 21 knots out at Heron and 15-20 in at Rundle Island spoiling what was supposed to be a sensational day out on the water.

Along with that the whole region offshore seemed to shut down with the south to southwest wind.

Many, along with Grant Cooper ventured out only to turn back to more sheltered waterways such as Seal Rocks, or in behind Cape Capricorn maybe out of the wind but unfortunately there weren’t many fish caught.

For many it was a bit hit and miss but the old saying that a day out on the water certainly beats a day at work rang out loud!

Meanwhile inshore the waterways were pumping and alive with Barra, Salmon, Jack, tarpon, and Flathead.

We ventured up the Boyne on Sunday afternoon to flick some lures around the rocky walls and snags right on sunset and also the time the tide was turning to come back in.

Having hooked up a couple of Jack and Tarpon the skeeters became too much and we called it a day.

Other reports were coming in that the likes of Middle Creek, Colosseum, and the Lillies Beach were lousy with Flathead, whiting, and Mackeral around the mouths.

On Saturday we took Grant Cooper’s Mustang out for a little shake down run and I was impressed with his new Simrad sounder/GPS Plotter combination. This piece of electronic equipment was awesome as we cruised along at 30 knots while this read every bump and fish on the bottom of the harbour!

I don’t know about you but my old Navman even reading at 200mhz won’t read the bottom above 17 knots, mind you that is through the hull too.

This also had fuel flow measuring incorporated along with a feature where if you spotted a nice bump on the bottom which was loaded with fish you could actually scroll back on the touch screen and mark it. The GPS will take you back to that precise point if you ask it too. Awesome!

Now onto the nitty gritty, whilst cruising along 300m off and out front of the grain terminal and Auckland Point Wharf the bottom was riddled with little bumps and structures which were absolutely loaded with fish.

It makes you wonder that if you drifted along with the current bouncing a soft plastic up and down off the bottom just what would you catch?
Keep an eye out though for incoming ships and big vessels and stay out of their way!

Entries for the 2012 Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp are coming in and this event is set to be a beauty!

With over $280,000 including the prize boat being a Quintrex 610 Spirit with a 150 hp Yamaha 4 stroke and on a dual axle trailer valued at $70,000, along with a land and sea package for those who love to disappear into the wild and explore the remote camping and fishing spots.

The event is in aid of the Volunteer Bush Fire brigades who do an amazing job when it comes to keeping control over some of the infernos we’ve seen around the region these past couple of years.

Those areas in the western suburbs of Gladstone and around our region can certainly vouch for the commitment of the brigades and their volunteers.

If you want to enter this family fishing event you can do so by simply going on line at www.boynetannumhookup.com.au and downloading an entry form and entering on line or visit Pat’s tackle World in Lord St Gladstone or C&J Video at Tannum Sands.

There is only another 15 days left to enter so do not dilly dally plus numbers are restricted to 3,000 senior entrants with unlimited juniors.

This weekend is shaping upo to be another cracker weekend and the last quarter of the moon phase will see the tides dropping off allowing you to smash those red fish in the deep without having to put a kilo of lead on the bottom of your line to reach the bottom.

Saturday and Sunday are looking promising at the moment.

Hooroo Dags