Fishing Pages

BIG YEAR WITH SPECIAL OFFERS, MAJOR PRIZES AND MORE CAMARADERIE
It’s going to be a fantastic year for Team CruiseCraft … we want you to be part of it.So whether you’re catching a wahoo like Richard Love (right), playing on the beach like Graham and Olivia Wells (far right) or kicking back, working out the settings on your new camera like Bill Corten did to take this great photo at Lake Monduran, we guarantee that you’ll get more out of your boating by participating in Team CruiseCraft activities.We’ve got some great new corporate partners providing first class information and prizes; and we’ve got some great events that will enable you to hook up with others in TCC – it’s going to be our best year yet. Be part of it by joining in. Don’t be shy.
YOU’VE GOT TO HAND IT THEM – TCC BOAT OWNERS ARE THE REAL DEAL
Who would have thought that four kings would pop up as a hand in the recent Team CruiseCraft Poker Run? We put a total of five decks of cards in five different locations and CruiseCraft owners had to complete a tour of all five destinations collecting a card at each stop (lunch was hosted at the last one).Paul and Anna-Maree Whalley from Victoria Point on Brisbane’s southern bayside – that’s them centre-left in the photograph above holding $500 Club Marine insurance prize voucher – completed the trek and collected a winning hand.Officials initialled the back of every card handed out to ensure that no ‘creative’ dealings crept into the competition and that made the four-of-a-kind even more confounding.The Team CruiseCraft Poker Run visited various locations in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay including Raby Bay Beach; the Raby Bay Boat Harbour where a flotilla of CruiseCrafts idling into and out of the harbour for a couple of hours made a spectacular sight; the southern side of Coochie Mudlo Island; Blakesley’s Anchorage on the western side of North Stradbroke Island and Horseshoe Bay, Peel Island.Once again, a wonderful assortment of CruiseCrafts made the trek – here are a few shots from the event below.
WIN BIG IN ‘PHOTOS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE’ Team CruiseCraft has teamed up with Mayfair Dental at Manly West (Brisbane) to give you the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes and it doesn’t matter where in Australia you live … you’re still in the running to win.Firstly, we’re looking for photos that make you smile. It might be a shot of a person, a place, an event or a circumstance, a fish, a family on-water shot – just so long as it reflects the CruiseCraft lifestyle in some context. It does not have to necessarily include a shot of a CruiseCraft boat, but it can. Just a photograph that puts a smile on your face when you see it. The Mayfair Dental team, and that includes the delightful Cara Schultz pictured at right with her smiling friend, will be presenting a quarterly prize comprising a free dental examination; a teeth de-scale and clean, free x-rays, a fluoride treatment and a gift promotional pack comprising various products to keep your teeth looking their very best. At the end of the photo competition,  Mayfair Dental will give the winner a Zoom Whitening treatment. Mayfair Dental is located at the Woolworths shopping complex on the corner of Manly and Hargreaves roads at Manly West on Brisbane’s bayside – you can check them out online at www.mayfairdental.com.au. For quarterly winners located outside of Greater Brisbane, Mayfair Dental will be sending you a CruiseCraft gift pack in a special, zip bag comprising 3M  cleaning products
including marine cleaner and wax, marine vinyl cleaner and restorer, clean and shine wax, liquid wax and a cleaning pad and cloth. The gift pack has a recommended retail price of around $150.To be in the running, all you have to do is email your photo to info@teamcruisecraft.com.au with the words Mayfair Dental Photo Comp in the subject line. Attach one or two low or medium resolution photos and include a note about who is in the photo, where it is shot and any other relevant information.In taking part in this competition, you also are confirming that the photo is your own work, that you have the permission of any people clearly depicted in it to enter the photo and further, that Team CruiseCraft and Mayfair Dental have the right to publish the photo in newsletters, on their web sites and in similar applications. You also acknowledge that if you are a winner, it is your responsibility to organise your own transport to Mayfair Dental.  We will publish the best photos submitted each quarter, so start snapping away now.
… if you’re in Team CruiseCraft, you’re already a winner thanks to Mayfair Dental
Okay, so despite the fact that economically priced cameras can today make even the most novice photographers seem pretty good, shooting pix is just not your thing? Well, you can still be a winner with Mayfair Dental. How good is that?As part of its support for Team CruiseCraft, Mayfair Dental is making a special offer to every TCC participant as well as members of their immediate families. Here’s the deal: If you have an eligible private health card, Mayfair Dental will provide you with a free dental examination; a teeth de-scale and clean, free x-rays, a fluoride treatment and a gift promotional pack.So what’s the difference between this offer and the photo prize mentioned in the article above? Well, the key words are ‘private health card’. Win the photo prize and you don’t even need to have the card. Want to take advantage of the full free check-up as outlined here?  Well, then you will need a private health card.You can check your eligibility, have any queries answered and book your appointment (as well as one for your partner, children etc) by telephoning Mayfair Dental on (07) 3890 5155. Tell them Team CruiseCraft sent you in order to get the offer.
WILSON TACKLES THE BIG ISSUES: ENDING ‘OVERBOARD’ PLIERS, FINDING PRE-RIGGED LEADERS AND WEIGHING IN THE BIG ONES
Those doyens of fishing tackle based at Tingalpa, Brisbane, L. Wilson & Co Pty Ltd  are continuing to expand the range of products they manufacture and distribute through prominent retailers around Australia. The latest offerings, pictured above, now include (from left), a series of Grip Master pliers. Easily identified by the blue and grey soft, sculpted hand grips, the range includes a set of 6” split ring pliers, 8” straight nose pliers and 10” multi-purpose pliers with a hook eye opener and closer, large and small crimping positions, and side cutters. You know the type. They’re the ones your mates always drop overboard. But Wilson has even got that matter fixed with the Grip Master series. There are holes in the curved, palm-hugging  handles which allow a retaining cord to be threaded through and secured to your boat board. Excellent.And while many find cathartic enjoyment in tying hooks to leaders on a rainy Sunday, others clearly don’t. Wilsons have come up with a solution for that as well with a range of pre-tied rigs.  The heavy duty snapper rig features an interesting presentation of two 7/0 hooks (which look exactly like Big Guns) separated by 12cm of 50 pound mono with a hard clear plastic bead, a soft lumo oval bead riding to a short lumo sleeve that covers a snooded style knot (they call it a snook), before terminating at the second hook. At the top of an 80cm leader is a black crane swivel. There’s also a live bait wire rig with the sweetest haywire twists you’ll ever see retaining a 6/0 Hoodlum and a treble stinger hook spaced around 13cm apart. There’s a range of other rigs including 6/0 Big Red triple hook rigs, whiting rigs and others.And if all the pre-rigged gear gets to strike up a relationship with a piscatorial predator from the deep, Wilsons also are distributing 50lb Sure Catch spring hook scales. The great feature of this weighing scale is the encased handle which allows the fish to be held up easily to determine the weight. Look for these Wilson and Sure Catch branded products in your favourite tackle store.
QUEENSLAND’S BEST IS HERE MAY 3, 4 & 5 – THE BOYNE-TANNUM HOOK-UP
Every year we say it and every year they prove us right again – the Boyne-Tannum Hook-Up is one of Queensland’s best events. Not just ‘fishing’ events, but events, period. Here, the twin cities of Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, stage a social tournament  that has won major tourism awards and just continues to grow. And again we say, if you’ve never been away on a Team CruiseCraft trip, this is the one to cut your teeth on. The Boyne-Tannum Hook-Up offers every type of fishing you can imagine from estuary and lake fishing to nearby reefs, shoals and of course, far offshore fishing.This is a pro-boating and recreational fishing destination where the police often will stop traffic to wave you and your boat into the launching area; where the locals leave their fold-up chairs and rugs in a park for days and no-one interferes with them; where up to 8,000 people attend the final night’s celebrations – we can’t speak highly enough of it.Okay – what to do now? Send us en email expressing your interest in being involved and we will send you the information bulletins we produce each year. That way you can tag along if you are a ‘first-timer’ and have a helping hand and excellent advice right at your shoulder.
Here’s what that fantastic team of tournament organisers – the folks who wear those bright pink shirts – have organised for this year. Firstly, as many would be aware, the previous Queensland State Government changed the Queen’s Birthday weekend to October which would have made the Hook-Up a non-event because there is a reef closure during that time.So the organisers moved the event to the May Day weekend which they believed would suit all competitors better with the likelihood of better weather and better fishing. Then the new government moved the goal post again. The Queen’s Birthday was returned to June and the Labor Day weekend in May was moved to October 2013.Ultimately, the 2013 Boyne Tannum Hook-Up now has been set for May 3, 4 and 5. This is not a designated holiday, so you will need to plan a holiday around leaving on the Thursday (May 2) for the event and returning home on the Monday (May 5).Your attendance also will be a good opportunity to provide some moral support and inject some tourism dollars into the area. It was hit badly by floods and the pontoon next to the boat ramp was wrecked. But none of that will interfere with having a great time. The prize pool stands at an incredible $270,000 including a magnificent CruiseCraft Explorer 575 fitted with a 150hp Yamaha four stroke, as the major prize. This boat is being custom built for the 2013 Hookup and will be fitted with  the best equipment available. Value, around  $75,000.Other prizes including tinnies and an off-road camper trailer. Winning prizes in based on a lucky draw so you have just as much chance of winning as the seasoned Boyne-Tannum Top Guns.
GOING POTTY OVER WHERE TO GO WHEN NATURE CALLS AT SEA
From time to time people who purchased both new and pre-loved CruiseCraft 625’s drop us a note asking which toilet system we recommend for their boats. Well, the answer is a Sani Pottie brand model number SP962 as distributed by BLA along with a holding kit (part number 45041R-saw). These components should be available through authorised CruiseCraft dealer as well as other outlets.
EXPLORER WINDOW 570 RUBBERS – GOOD NEWS Interesting question about window rubber seals raised by John Hayes from Leopold on Victoria’s near-western coastline. In undertaking a refurbishment that included adding an electric anchor winch, Lenco trim tabs and a hardtop, John thought the window rubbers needed attention. Well, the good news is that the trim rubber is still available from the factory in black at $4.15 a metre, plus postage.
JOINT VENTURE CONTINUES TO YIELD DIVIDENDS FOR DAVE AND ALLAN
Remember our article in last edition about Allan Cois (below right)  and Dave Bartlett who went halves in the purchase of a new Outsider 595? They were the guys who racked up 250 hours of engine time in just 10 months. Well, the guys decided to do another run from Fraser Island out to the edge of the shelf and drop some lines down into 167 metres of water.Undertaking beach launches in the Waddy Point gutter, the guys travelled 150 nautical miles in three days. (This time they didn’t use electric reels like they did last time when fishing with battery-powered lights on the rigs, 2.5kg sinkers, 100lb braid and 300lb leader down into 450 metres).Allan noted: “One of my most favourite features about the Outsider 595 is the weight distribution in the design, in particular the forward position of the fuel tank. This helps when cutting into the sea and pulling a 100kg water skier up. I am also very fond of the trim tabs we recently had Nathan and the boys fit.” That’s Dave and Allan below with the spoils and a nice shot of their vessel crossing Eli Creek where it percolates over the sand into the ocean.
DON’T BE FUELLED BY TANK SIZES – WE’LL HELP YOU REACH THE ANSWER The multi-award winning 625 hull featured on the Explorer and Outsider ranges has been one of the most popular ever produced by CruiseCraft. It was the outstanding seaworthiness of the hull that saw Outsiders and Explorers being taken incredible distances offshore. That in turn created the demand for a tank larger than the already impressive 195 litres fitted to the Outsider 625 (240 on the Explorer).The solution was to make the 240 litre tank an option on the Outsider. Quite a few people looking at pre-loved Outsider 625’s have asked how they can confirm the tank size easily. Well, all you have to do stretch out on the floor with your head towards the engine well, reach your hand into the bilge area and slightly back towards the bow. If you can feel the tank, it’s the 240 litre model. The 195 litre tank is shorter, so unless you are one of those svelte things in a skimpy costume assisting a magician on weekends, odds are that you will not be a good enough contortionist to reach the smaller tank via the bilge. By the way, current production Outsider 625’s now have the 240 litre tank as standard. .
RELEASE WEIGHT SAVES FISH FROM BLOATING It would seem that Western Australia is leading the country when it comes to undoing harm done to fish by barotrauma – that condition where fish’s eyes bulge and they expel their swim bladder and other organs as a result of having been brought to the surface too quickly for their physiology. (It is caused by the expansion of gases in those organs).While many advocate the use of a hollow needle to puncture the fish’s swim bladder, it’s something many folk are unsure about (let alone where to source the needle from and where exactly to place it in the fish). But Recwestfish, in conjunction with an inventor, a Murdoch University research and monitoring team and co-operative manufacturers like Emilio Orifici’s WA Sinkers, have come up with a brilliant solution. It’s the Release Weight, pictured at right.
In simple terms, a weight of  20 ounces, 40 ounces or even 80 ounces is bonded to a U-shaped barbless hook that is pushed down through the top lip of an affected fish. In the middle of the U-shaped wire is a loop enabling a line to be tied to it.The fish is sent back down to depth with the weight forcing a controlled descent. As it descends, the pressure of water forces the gases to recompress back into the fish. Once back at the depth it was caught, a quick, sharp tug on the line tied to the weight, draws the barbless hook straight up and out of the fish’s top lip. Tagging and recapture studies undertaken by the university confirm the higher survival rates of fish which have been released using the weight.The Release Weight can be stored on a simple handline reel as we have set up here. Obviously the size of the Release Weight depends on the size and type of fish, but in general terms,  the 20 ounce will manage fish of around one to two kilograms; the 40 ouncer will cover most other needs. However Emilio also manufactures 80 and 120 ounce models for fish upwards of 50kg.The Release Weight is very well made and is reasonably priced $8 for the 20 ounce, $10 for the 40 ounce. We’re going to give it a try in the Boyne-Tannum Hook-Up so if you are participating in the event, make sure you track down John Daffy to have a closer look.Emilio also is producing a range of iron sinkers, rather than lead on the understanding that they are less harmful for the marine environment. The sinkers come in the conventional snapper dropper, spoon and other shapes. Further information, give Emilio a call on (08) 9330 6314.
TCC PARTICIPANTS IN THE NEWS Brisbane FM radio Station Triple M was doing a “Marry The Love Of Your Life” competition.Mrs Amanda Wells, (now well known for wearing Team CruiseCraft tattoos in order to attract her husband’s attention from time to time), entered Graham in the competition. Did she nominate herself as “the love of Graham’s life?” No. Children? No. Did she nominate any family member at all?  Of course she did … Graham’s beloved Outsider 685. He’s now in the running to win some serious prizes (and some serious ribbing). Resident CruiseCraft media Tart ‘Brendona’ Tait (Outsider 685) has done it again. Not content with his three appearances in the one edition of the Gladstone Observer last year, he’s followed it up with two appearances in the one edition of Bush ’n Beach magazine. That’s thanks to two overnighters in rugged conditions out on the reefs east of the Town of 1770 where he once again demonstrated his finely-honed fishing skills. Also figuring in the article by Mick Clutterbuck were Graham and Kathleen Taylor (Explorer 685) thanks to landing, among other species,  a 6.4kg rosy jobfish and an 8.2kg red emperor. Kathleen recently won the Power Boat Anglers club’s Bush N Beach award with Graham coming in second. The couple always go hard at the Boyne-Tannum Hook-Up forming a formidable husband-wife team in the fishing, as well as in any card game. Darelle Deighton (Outsider 685) was sitting in the doctor’s surgery and found the April-May edition of a boating magazine published in 1992. Flicking through 21 years of history, Darelle came across an article where former CruiseCraft Director, Kevin Nichols was announcing a three years hull warranty. The article noted: “We’ve decided to extend the warranty on all CruiseCraft hulls to cover a full three year period instead of the 12 months it has been in the past. The warranty applies to all pleasure boating situations including water-skiing and offshore fishing.” That’s 21 years ago and scores of other manufacturers today have not yet caught up and also show no likelihood of ever doing so. Meanwhile, CruiseCraft still continues to lead the industry … the current warranty period is seven years thanks to the brand’s superior design integrity and strength, Advanced hull construction techniques include a sub-floor girder system, moulded cockpit liner and foam-filled sub-floor. Of course CruiseCrafts also meet the stringent European CE level of manufacturing certification which is approved by the International Marine Certification Institute together with the relevant requirements of the International Standards Organisation and the Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/CE. The question still to be answered is why a magazine 21 years old, is still sitting in a doctor’s surgery? We can only surmise that it’s the quality of the publication’s content.
EXPLORER 595 HOSTS LAUNCH OF YAMAHA’S IMPRESSIVE NEW F200F
Those who attended the Team CruiseCraft Poker Run were treated to a sneak preview of Yamaha’s awesome new four cylinder 200hp outboard.Tipping the scales at a kilogram lighter than Yamaha’s 150A (and some 50kg lighter than the C series 200hp V6), the new outboard is based on a 2.8 litre powerplant with double overhead camshafts and variable valve timing on the induction side.That means the weight advantage over the 150hp comes despite having a larger displacement and also having a beefier alternator (50 amp output versus the old 37 amp.)Like the 4.2 litre V6 models, the F200F features Yamaha’s Shift Dampener System – the slickest thing around in terms of smooth, ultra-quiet gear selection.A splined rubber hub takes the load when slipping it into gear and that removes the audible, mechanical ‘clunk’.While the new outboard is scheduled to hit Australian shores en masse in March, early testing has been carried out using a CruiseCraft Explorer 595 as a test bed. Initial performance figures reveal a scorching top speed of more than 83km/h. The fuel economy is outstanding at 2.19 kilometres a litre running at 3,000rpm; and 1.99 kilometres per litre when running at 3,500rpm or 34.15 km/h. That would give it a feasible range in good conditions approaching 400km.And around mid-year, there will be a further update with the G series of the F200 – that launch will add in Yamaha’s digital electronic controls where sensors, instead of mechanical pieces, relay throttle inputs at the helm. That model also will have the capacity to connect to Yamaha’s high definition colour display that already features on the big model Yamaha motors. It’s a sleek panel pad that we first spotted a couple of years ago on a 300hp mated to a special build, Explorer 685.
BOAT SHOWS ARE A GREAT CHANCE TO CATCH UP
The directors and representatives from the CruiseCraft factory welcome the opportunity to meet with the end-users of their products. One of the best places to catch is is on the boat show circuit. Discussions at those meetings translate into first-hand feedback about the boats and their features which then are considered in the development of future models. With that in mind, here are the forthcoming boat shows:
TACKLE & TINNIE SHOW, Queensland March 15 to 17, 2013 RNA Showgrounds Gregory Terrace Fortitude Valley Brisbane, QLDSANCTUARY COVE, Gold Coast May 23 to 26, 2013 Sanctuary Cove Resort Coomera, Qld	MELBOURNE, Victoria Melbourne International Boat Show June 14 to 17) 2013 Melbourne Exhibition Centre 2 Clarendon Street Southbank Melbourne VICADELAIDE, South Australia Adelaide Boat Show June 20 to 23, 2013 Wayville Showgrounds, Adelaide SA	SYDNEY, New South Wales Sydney International Boat Show August 1 to 5, 2013 Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre and Cockle Bay Marina, Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSWBRISBANE, Queensland Brisbane International Boat Show September 5 to 8, 2013 RNA Showgrounds, Bowen Hills
RIG UP WITH TEAM CRUISECRAFT DECALS FOR YOUR BOAT
If you have registered with Team CruiseCraft and are committed to safe and courteous boating practices as well as sustainable fishing, then you are entitled to display the Team CruiseCraft logo on your vessel. The decals are not sent out automatically when you register – you need to request them in writing by email and confirm your preferred postal address for delivery. The decals will then be dispatched to you free of charge along with installation instructions and your vessel may wear them unless requested otherwise by the CruiseCraft factory.
	Don’t forget to regularly check in at the www.teamcruisecraft.com.au web site. New information and pictures are posted there regularly.If you have news that could be of interest in the Team CruiseCraft newsletter or on the web site, drop us the details and a few photos

What a great weekend we’ve just had weather wise and these next few days are going to be just as good if not better.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Wednesday, are going to be excellent for fishing out wide as well, but unfortunately as the weekend approaches, come Friday the wind is about to pick up to around 20-25 knots and the sea up to 3 metres.

In the lead up to this past HookUp I happen to run in to Peter Vouvoulis, and his good friend Nick Pikis who’d been out taking advantage of the excellent weather to visit and fish the 12 mile and surrounding region.

Now the guns in this region like Johnny Mitchell, Joe McGuire, Thomas Hayes and co, Brad Busteed and Wayne Daly, just love fishing this region.

Peter and Nick had hunted around for some nice ground which is around the size of a small office, rising off the bottom around a metre, sometime less.

You need to anchor in the right spot though taking into consideration the tidal current and wind direction otherwise if you are off the mark by a few metres you won’t catch anything apart from Grinners and trigger fish.

At slack water on low and full tide though the weed will stand straight up and you will see it on your sounder. This is where the large Reds, Trout and sweeties thrive.

This also brings in the food chain predators like Mackeral, Tuna, Sailfish and the odd Marlin.

You might have to hunt around a bit for good ground but it is worth it.

These spots are all over the place between the coast and the main reef region like Eugene’s Pots, which is a patch of ground not far past 12 mile where there are four or five clumps of rocks on the bottom forming a small cluster of reef. This is another awesome spot but can get fished out if too many hit it.

I think we all have secret spots on our GPS system which we really don’t like to share and also we don’t hit them too much in fear of ruining a great location.

This years winner of the senior Snapper category was the same as last year John Browne, and he told me that the spots (fairly close too) he has consistently cough up good snapper and the odd Pearl Perch at which might ears pricked up!

Catching Pearl Perch in this region has usually been reserved for the deep waters of the shelf outside Sykes, and Fitzroy Reefs but to hear that some are catching them in close is very encouraging.

At this time of the year the Jewies and Grunter are the go as well with good Jew fish being caught in the harbour and around structure like the channel markers or the tripod down off Colosseum Inlet.

The large grunter hang around a gravelly bottom like the gravel pits up the Boyne River, some of the sections in the middle of the harbour but many of the real big ones are caught at the sunken barge off Cape Capricorn and that is marked on all of the charts.

With the wind strengthen this weekend there are plenty of places to hide like up Grahams Creek and if you do slip up there make sure you take your pots along with some good fish frames for bait.

The South Eastern side of the Creek appears to be the best as we have had great success at this time of the year.

On a different note I stopped by the new ramp at the far end of the Marina last week and I know that we have bagged it because of the location but the facility is awesome with room for 5 or 6 launchings at once plus that large pontoon jetty where you can park your boat when you launch or prior to retrieving and up the top a boat and trailer wash down area has been installed so that you can wash all the salt water off while the trailer is still wet.

Most of the damage which is caused by the salt water is when we launch our boats or carting them home as the trailer dries before we get to wash it all down at home. A great facility!

Finally I have done up a little video and uploaded it to you tube from all the snippets Johnny Mitchell and myself took over the weekend of the HookUp. While it doesn’t have everything on it it does show the conditions and the great time people were having. Have a look at it on the HookUp website or lookup dags2112 on you tube. See if you can see yourself in there. http://youtu.be/Owtp8gY4HIo

Dags

Well the HookUp is over for another year and what an eventful one we had this year.

The week leading up to this awesome event was picture perfect from a weather point of view with sunny days, light winds and warm temps in the mid 20’s, to the lunar phase and water temps being in harmony producing some of the best fishing conditions we have seen in the region for a long while.

Thursday night the temps started to plummet and come Friday morning the outlook was bleak but the show had to go on and an inshore comp was expected.

Many diehards were already out at the reef when the change really started to come in so they headed for home and around 4 pm Friday it dropped right out for a few hours allowing many to come home from Masthead at 28 knots.

I was starting to get crook, very crook, and that evening I actually didn’t know how I would be of any help to the HookUp team the next day.

Come Saturday morning I told myself “common Dags harden up!”. The weighin on Saturday morning saw many big fish come in which were caught the day before out on the reef and to be honest they didn’t need any ice on them because at 11 am it was still only 9 degs!!! Brrr.

The decision to can the evenings proceedings was sort of made around 2ish as we had it in our mid that we couldn’t risk injuries, nor risk causing any damage to the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of electronic equipment around the park.

Sunday was a new day and I rolled of my death bed from a severe dose of man flu (life threatening too) and bathed in the warm sun.

It was a glorious day for our event and soon Phippsie and Hodgy were doing their thing filleting and doing some cooking demos.

There was that old buzz around the park too as we waited in anticipation for the biggest fish to arrive. Many of the older teams like the “Havta Fish” team like to make this grand entrance in their sponsored shirts, sponsored hats and sponsored coffin sized esky.

These guys have been in this event since it started and have a banner which denotes the years they have won awards. The last entry was in 2007 I think, so it’s been a drought but they still enjoy each others company for the weekend every year.

This year though they actually did have some decent fish one of which was a 24.53 kg Spanish Mackerel caught by John Flesser. This fish ended up being the biggest of the event!! Well done Johnno!

Now this is what this event is all about camaraderie, fishing, and playing in the Gladstone region.

These guys demonstrate that in bucket loads as do many others.

Our team headed up by Jeff Amos as president, Ned Beaumont as Vice and I/T, Andrea Phillips as secretary, Blair Mellor as Treasurer, Steve Barnes as program developer and IT expert, Russ Tomlinson as Park Coordinator, Pat Laws and yours truly sharing the promotion and media duties are incredibly proud and thankful for the way this event has run and been supported not only by the incredible sponsors we have but also you folk who enter it every year and enjoy the entertainment we put on.

I know we go on all the time about how the show doesn’t happen without sponsorship, well it’s so true as without not only the monetary support but the in kind support like rubbish removal, light tower hire, or generator hire, and liquid waste removal just to name a few as there are heaps and I don’t have enough room to express our true gratitude.

On behalf of our committee I personally would like to thank our wives, husbands, partners and our families for putting up with the upheaval this event creates in each of our homes for 9 months of the year, every year. You all deserve a medal.

Enough about the HookUp but do keep an eye on the website for photos, and young Danny B is putting together a film clip that he and Local film maker Johnny Mitchell filmed over the weekend.

Fishing around the traps this week looks awesome with the bad weather gone for a few days and leading up to full moon on Thursday.

The afternoons look as the wind could drop right out today, Wednesday and Thursday until it strengthens again over the weekend to a steady 10-15 from the south..bbrrrr.

On a final note I’d like to thank in particular Carl, Meredith and their fabulous team at the Gladstone Observer. They continue to excel each year and this was n o different with that awesome special HookUp edition on Sunday. All I can say is wow!

Well it’s almost HookUp time given that it’s only 10 days away, plus it’s my Jen’s 50^th birthday today. Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Due to the online entry side of things not kicking off until a fortnight ago we have decided to keep the website entry aspect open until this Friday June 3^rd.

We are also aware of accommodation issues which are holding people back from attending so if you are a motel owner or manager and you have vacancies over the Queen’s Birthday weekend please let us know and we’ll see if we can’t fill them for you.

In saying all that Queensland has taken a major hit this year with all the natural disasters and many of our usual entrants have been majorly affected. Let’s hope that this awesome event gives people a break so that they can enjoy a weekend with families, friends, and fishing!

If you are going to be around for the weekend and would like a chance to win one of our many prizes including one of our 8 boats or 3 camping packages or 3 mountain bike and kayak packages all you need to do is enter and be at Bray Park Boyne Island to claim your prize within 2 minutes when your name is called out!

We have displays like the Yamaha Supertank where you can learn how fish behave with hard-bodied and soft plastic lures. This show is spectacular and well worth sitting in on at various times of the day when the boys show off their skills to the well trained Barra in the tank.

Phippsy from Zinc Radio will also be there over the weekend showing off his culinary skills by doing a cookup on Saturday and Sunday around lunchtime.

Phippsy is also a very accomplished fisherman and currently runs his own charter business from the Sunny Coast and I have no doubt he’ll be sharing some of his knowledge while helping me on stage over the weekend.

Dave “the barefoot fisherman” Hodge will also be showing off his casting skills. Dave or Hodgie as he is affectionately known is an awesome fisherman who has fished all over the globe and knows this region like the back of his hand. He is very good to listen to as he will also be sharing the knowledge.

Local Guru, and film maker, Johnny Mitchell is also helping us out with some of his knowledge on the region. Most of Gladstone region know Johnny not only from him being a guide in the region but also because of his 3 or 4 videos he has put out on Lake Awoonga and Mondurran, and also chasing Spanish Mackeral, and how to know and catch Mudcrabs.

This guy is a champion and will be with us the whole weekend filming and chatting with people at the park.

The moon phase for the HookUp weekend are pretty blimin good for those wishing to chase those big red fish in the deep as it’s the first quarter of the full moon phase, where tidal runs are at a minimum, and all we need is the weather to be bang on! I might have another chat with the big fella and see what we can do.

This past week as far as weather and fishing is concerned has been a little hit and miss with the ones venturing off shore on Friday and Saturday having to contend with sloppy conditions, and storms out wide.

In close to shore where it was a little more sheltered from the chilly South Westerly winds those chasing Mackeral like Warren Bambrick who nailed this 12 kg specimen off North Entrance over the weekend.

There are loads of these fellas about at the moment and can be caught on just about anything from Raider lures, through to live and dead baits.

Even casting a Pilly out around the channel markers on a set of 3 or 4 gang hooks and slowly retrieving it brings good results.

The more berley you have in the water the more fish will hang around so make sure you don’t trow away all those whiting frames, and fish guts from previous trips. Might even be a thought to take a spare block of Pillies with you to be used as berley!

In close the rivers, and estuaries are alive with fish with good numbers of flathead around the entrances being caught and at this time of the year the Calliope comes into it’s own with Salmon, Jack, Grunter, and big Barra around the hot-water outlet.

The middle of the harbour is also rich with very good Grunter along with the barge wreck at Cape Capricorn.

Look there are a few places to consider over the weekend of our huge fish event commencing Friday week.

Remember this that if you’re not in it you can’t win it! Get on line and enter this week. Deadline Friday!!!

I can hear your name being called out now

Dags

Crikey two long weekends in a row both with reasonable weather but there is two major differences.

Easter weekend was that period between the full moon and the last quarter and I don’t know about you but there weren’t many fish being caught across the whole weekend, a few crabs but not huge amounts of fish, but this past weekend was a totally different story with those three or four magic days over the new moon and the big fella was smiling with calm seas and light winds. I ventured out yesterday but more about that later.

In fact if you didn’t have to earn a dollar you’d still be out there today as tonight is the official new moon.

Listening to the radio on Sunday afternoon conditions were improving by the hour with dozens of boats out for the night and me joining them Monday morning.Good catches of Trout, Sweetlip, and Red Emperor from Sykes, through to Broomfield, Douglas and beyond.

Those who ventured out from Town of 1770 seemed to do very well at the inner and outer wides along with Fitzroy and outside Boult Reefs.

In close, the whiting have started biting again as well, with good catches in Turkey Beach – Rodds Bay, colosseum, Lillies Beach and also around Quoin, and South End.

The Yellow fin whiting have thinned out a fair bit, due to the cooler water, which is a shame but you just have to catch twice as many “Winteries” or diver whiting.

The Barra appear to be back on the chew as well which is good to see. Most of the ones I’ve heard about be caught have been in South Trees and Toolooa. There’s a fair few lingering around the Old Meat Works Jetty and also up the Calliope River.

Bernadette Cross and her family, along with Brad and Denise Busteed and their family, have been over at Facing Island for the weekend gloating on Face Book about the size of the flathead, bream and whiting they have caught along with a supposed 6kg Long Tom! There is also a post on there saying Denise caught a Marlin. I will investigate that claim further but the wine might be talking me thinks.

The Andersons and Coopers ventured down to Wild Cattle Island as well and Les is holding up a couple of excellent Salmon which Rod Anderson caught but didn’t want to be in the photo.
Those looking to gather bait in readiness for this year’s Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp in 5 weeks time should consider using bait jigs around the channel markers as they appear to be loaded with bait fish at the moment.

Mark Green who we featured last week in Blokes and their Boats in the Advocate loves to chase the big Spanish and he reckons they love nothing better than a nice schoolie Mackeral as a bait. His theory is the bigger the bait the bigger the fish.

I’ve been chatting with a few others over the week too, who have had great success using a nice live Baldy Bream as a bait for the big Trout.

Well I’d have to agree with them because there is nothing better as a bait than the real thing and live is best. Here we try and mimic a bait and most of the time we do a good job but a fish with a hook in its back will send out some pretty loud signals to the fish around it.

I don’t know whether you have ever felt the line with a livie on the end, just before a strike? The bait goes nuts! From then on it’s hold on!

Last week we drew out the four winner of the early bird prizes kindly donated by Harvey Norman her in Gladstone.

The Kruger’s have been extremely generous over the years, both to the community, as well as the HookUp, and this year they really extended themselves by donating 2 x 32” LGD LG TV’s, for a male and female senior entrant, and also 2 x 8GB IPOD Touches for the junior boy and girl.

The winners of the LG 32” LCD TVs are Carolyn Barnham and Brett Carr, while the winners of the 8GB IPOD touches were Alexandra Daboul and Jarrod Perrett.

Congratulations to all those winners and many thanks to Harvey Norman in Gladstone for being so involved with this awesome event. We think you guys are awesome too!

By the end of this week we should have our entry online facility up and running so if you are local and haven’t entered yet I’d get cracking and get your entry in because once the on line entries start those living outside this region will start flooding in.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Dags

Last Saturday saw the launch of the 2011 Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp, with over 600 entries being accepted up until midday, when we packed up.

It was great to catch up with many people, who have been in this awesome event since it started way back in 1995.

For those who entered at Bray Park Boyne Island on the day they will go in the draw for two 32” TV’s for the male and female senior entrants and the kids are up for an 8 gb Ipod touch all which have been kindly donated by Harvey Norman right here in Gladstone.

You can now also enter at Pat’s Tackle World in Lord St, or else at C & J Video in Tannum Sands.

Our Online entry facility has struck a major hitch, and it’ll be a little while before we are able to use it unfortunately, but for those who normally use this they can down load a PDF file of the entry form from the website ( www.boynetannumhookup.com.au ), fill it out, and send it off to us as quickly as possible.

Remember it’s first in best dressed with the numbers of seniors restricted to 3,000! The juniors will close off on the 27th May 2011.

Okay, looking at some controversy around the neighbourhood. The netting at the Boyne River mouth is quite legal, but emotions are running high with seeing the commercial boys going about their work.

With most of the east coast hearing about the way the Boyne River is fishing at the moment the discussion boards on websites are chokkas with talk about the netting. There’s a lot of focus on this issue and here’s hoping that there is a compromise to throw cold water on the fire.

With the weather being sensational last week many managed to get out and wet a line.

Paul Jacklin took his dad out on the Boyne to try and land a Barra but came up with this beaut Golden Trevally which I can personally say was very good dipped in beer batter.

Llew Jensen jumped on his mate Shane’s, boat and last Thursday they ended up at Haberfield for the night. As you can see it ended up being a very good trip although he tells me the sharks took a lot of their really big  reds..good story Llew!

Mark Patton also took one of his commercial clients out, Robert Simmons, as he requested a corporate day on the water. Mark reckons his arm was twisted behind his back, but knowing how much this lad enjoys the water, I really doubt that happened at all, but never the less they nailed some pretty big Nannygai, with this one nudging 7 kg!

The long range forecast I saw last week did not paint a very good picture for this weekend but I’m pleased that things do change the prospect of many getting out late Thursday arv is very much on the cards.

At present we could see the weather dropping right out Thursday afternoon, through til Friday night and over the weekend mostly around the 10 knot mark maybe up to 15 at times. Keep an eye on it but get your ship ready for a departure on Thursday afternoon!

I see on 60 minutes last Sunday there’s a lot of blood being boiled down around the Tweed as more and more talk surrounding massive national parks right around Australia gather momentum.

These are massive no take zones, and will have a dramatic effect on the commercial fishing industry.

On the flip side what we have with our green zones around our region does help replenish surrounding fishing grounds, and with the size limits being increased a few years ago now allows for another 2 or maybe 3 breeding  cycles of that species prior to it possibly being caught and ending up on our dinner table.

The fish you get to keep, for example a Red Emperor at a legal size of 55 cm, is a very good fish, and how many of those 53cm or smaller fish do we catch, curse and throw back? Hundreds of them and these is a really good indication that our ecosystem and the science that goes in behind it is working!

Having possibly a massive slice of the water outside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, taken away might not affect you, or me but those from the Sunny Coast south, and from The Whitsundays north will be affected heaps.

Will it be the demise of, not only the commercial fishing industry in those areas, but also the tourist who pays mega dollars to have the privilege of catching a huge Marlin or sailfish?

It’s not only the income which is going to be affected but also there is millions and millions of dollars invested in game boats, fish processing plants, marinas with workshops and slipways.

I know it sounds dramatic but this could end up be very real. Have a think about it.

Daz

It’s HookUp time!!!

The 2011 Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp is about to be launched at Bray Park Boyne Island on April the 16th which is only 10 days away!

As you can image the work the committee is doing behind the scenes is very frantic so that all the ducks are in a row come launch day!

This years event is set to be a cracker with the major prize being a Cruise Craft Explorer 530 with a 115 HP Yamaha 4 stroke out board on a trailer ready to go.

We are also fitting this out with electronics so that there’s nothing left to do and the complete package is worth around $70,000!

There are a multitude of other boats, camper trailers, Kayaks, bikes, eskies, fishing gear and much more to be won or given away.

A total prize pool of nearly $270,000 will be vyed for.

The launch day on Saturday the 16th of April will commence at 7am and conclude at midday.

Entry for Adults is $85, and juniors is $40. The Senior entries will be capped at a maximum of 3,000 but unlimited for juniors.

There is a major change with the entry process this year in that you cannot use a nick name on your entry card. You must provide us with your first, or Christian name, which would appear on a form of ID like a licence, or the like, and your surname, or last name.

For example if I were to enter, which I have never done, I could not use Dags but would have to use Darryl.

If you miss the Saturday launch day please don’t fret because on the Monday following which is the 18th April Ned and Steve will be turning on the Online entry facility and along with that you will be able to enter at Pats Tackle World on Lord St in Gladstone or C & J Video at Tannum Sands.

Once the 3,000 senior entries have been received we will be stopping those but still accepting junior entries right up until the close of date being 27th May 2011.

As you can see by the photos the HookUp committee is made up of a core group of people but many of our friends and family become involved to ensure that the event runs smoothly.

We all get a major kick out of seeing everyone enjoy themselves and want to come back again next year.

The tides this year are not too bad with a high tide in the afternoon each day.

Start planning folks for this years event but first plan to be at Bray Park Boyne Island on Saturday the 16th April between 7am and noon where you could win an early bird prize!
See you there!

Dags

The last Quarter of the lunar phase has always been pretty good for fishing out front and coupled with last weeks weather many did very well but alas it has all come to an end with strong winds, high seas, and a bit of rain.

It’s enough to dampen all our spirits but if you have a tinny, or access to one all is not lost as our creeks, rivers and sheltered harbour has been on fire!!!

The Boyne River is littered with tinnies, many coming from the Northern NSW and SE Queensland because they have heard of the Barra-athon in the Boyne.

But it’s not only the Boyne River which has a huge population of Barra. I drove past Armstrong’s, beside the NRG Powerhouse on Saturday and the car parks was chokkas with trailers and cars.

The likes of the Calliope, Targinnie, and up the Narrows in Grahams Creek are all yielding quality catches of Barra, Mangrove Jack, and the odd Fingermark.

Along with that those who have been setting the odd pot while they are having a fish have been very successful with 2 or 3 bucks in many pots.

The Prawns are also running and if you have your casting or throwing arm fit enough there are plenty about at the entrances to most of the little creeks up Grahams, also in Wild Cattle, and Colosseum Inlet.

South Trees is one area which we tend to drive past and for those who know it have done very well.

Many of those Barra which have come out of Awoonga 6-8 weeks ago are now spreading their winds so to speak and have taken up residence in this system.

Look for a bit of structure on the bottom with your sounder and it only needs to be a slight blemish on the bottom like a rock which sits up 2-300mm. This causes a little disturbance in the current allowing a lazy barra to sit in behind it, not working very hard at all, but waiting for some lunch to swim past.

I was having a drink with Chris Trevor (CT) on Friday and after returning to a semi normal life from politics he jumped aboard his good friend Kevin Beauchamp’s professional fishing boat steaming up to Port Clinton for a few weeks of crabbing, and Barra fishing.

Now Beachy told me that CT only last a couple or 3 days before he run out of puff but CT tells me a different story about working from sun up to sun down and he made comment to how physical the commercial fishing game is.

It’s a hard game making a living on the water with so much at stake and away from your family for extended periods. Hopefully over the coming weeks I’ll get to catch up with Beachy so that we can get an insight into this hard lifestyle.

By the way CT is now back in his office, but is keen to go again once he gets his breath back!

On the first of April Snapper are back on the menu after a fairly lengthy break for their breeding season.

In a couple of weeks we will be launching the 2011 Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp on the 16th at Bray Park Boyne Island.

If you have been visiting the website it might’ve been down for a day or so while we change how it looks etc. The new version is absolutely wicked and easy to find your way around.

The online entry system won’t be available to after the launch date but pencil in the 18th April for a quick look to see if it is up and running.

The Bray park launch will be huge with lots of rewards for those who enter on that day at the venue.

As you can see by the 2010 team photo yours truly isn’t their but I am right amongst it this year after a nice rest.

We had a meeting with the harbour master last week with their report on the Boyne River mouth channel access. They will be making a notice to mariners this week and in next weeks fishing page I’ll hopefully have a full page on it’s condition and the changes which will be made. Watch this space!

Looking at the weather for the rest of the week, it doesn’t look all that flash with 15- 20 knots winds predicted and 2 m seas.

Keep an eye on it though as the new moon lunar phase is my favourite time for a big fish. See what happens aye!

This past week with the “super doper Moon” phase has brought many rewards with hundreds of Barra being caught in the Boyne River.

I caught up with big Scotty Hillier last week prior to shooting a segment for Creek to Coast on catching Barra in this River.

World famous local guide Johnny Mitchell was with him as they endeavoured to nail a couple of beauties for the show.

Now anyone who knows Johnny Mitchell knows that if anyone is going to put you on a spot or in the zone it’ll be him and in no time at all they had four on board!!

Last Monday night Jacko and I took some time out for a bash as well and yours truly hooked up a +1m beauty just below the bridge as we drifted down on the outgoing tide jiggling soft plastics up and down off the bottom.

To my surprise it didn’t fight all that hard until it saw the boat then like a freight train it took off at the speed of a thousand Gazelles, heading straight for the mooring lines of the vessels in the river.

You know you get this feeling that all is not good when you feel the line rubbing up against another item line a mooring line and in a nano second before we could wrangle him or her out of there it was gone!! Blast!!!! Well I did say worse.

The following night Jacko landed two very nice fish between the rocks and canoe point on a +5m Tilsin wooden lure, and as you can tell by the grin he is one happy chappy! Well done Paul.

On Sunday I ventured down the river mouth to meet up with birthday boy Chris Brooker and his wife Leanne who were down there trying their luck off the bank with their two kids.

So many others were taking full advantage of the glorious morning and the big tides as the river was littered with small craft.

Others ventured out wide over the weekend like HookUp president Jeff Amos and his mates who went to Sykes for the Day on Saturday coming back with a swag of trout, some reaching 5.3kg, Sweetlip and other mixed reef fish which made their esky very full.

As you can see Ben Bultraeys was pretty chuffed with the day out. I can only imagine the size of the cookup which followed the filleting session.

This next week should be a ripper with light breezes, slight seas, and small tides as we enter the last quarter moon phase.

Those wanting to wet a line out front will do very well especially around the deeper spots like north of Fitzroy or out beyond Sykes chasing the big reds.

There are a lot of mackerel around at the moment so those spots like Sable Chief, Seal Rocks, Jenny Lynd Bank and all the way down to Round Hill.

The inner and outer Wides have also been on fire with excellent reports of big reds and trout.

In close the yellow fin whiting or Summeries as some call them, have been chewing well too. The favourite bait is a live yabbie pumped from the various banks around the region. Some are trying the small poppers and having some luck but I reckon I’d go hungry.

The wind will come up as Saturday approaches but a 10 -15 knot breeze doesn’t tend to put those who are keen off.

Mark on your Calendar April 16 as that is the day we launch the 2011 Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp at Bray Park, Boyne Island.

The online entry facility will not be in action until the 18th April. Many draws and prizes will be on offer for those who enter on the 16th.

Havagoodweek. Dags

A Barra Bonanza in the Boyne time!

I ventured down to the Bray Park boat ramp and jetty on Saturday afternoon to see what was happening and I was greeted with dozens of small craft fishing around the rocks in the middle of the river and heaps of kids fishing off the pontoon.

All were chasing the illusive Barra as they really come on the bite with the first quarter of the lunar phase.

As you can see by the picture of the kids fishing on the pontoon, there are ones throwing in cast nets for the got sized prawns and mullet, which were schooling up around the structure, others chasing the big black bream sitting in behind the piles, and the rest doing what kids should be doing having fun.

It was also nice to see them remove their gear whenever a boat came in to the ramp and lets hope this continues as we have seen and heard of many confrontations with kids, and adults alike, not budging when a vessel comes in to tie up.

Those who were on the river, like guide Paul Dolan, had a very successful charter landing 12 in the session I was talking to him with the biggest 119cms.

He told me that plenty of boats were all over the length of the river, but he found a nice rocky outcrop, which no-one was sitting on and pulled a heap off it.

Others like local guide Jason Wilhelm, positioned his boat so that he was casting back onto the bridge structure between Boyne and Tannum on the incoming tide.

Local resident Brad Anderson had the box seat from his house, down stream from the bridge, on Boyne Island, watching three or four fish being fought and caught to be released again.

Many folk are doing just that, catching and releasing these fish and maybe taking one home for dinner.

All this activity stems from when thousands of fish exited the Awoonga Dam at the start of the year.

Hundreds either died or were killed from smashing into the concrete at the bottom of the spillway but at the end of the day it was a small percentage which perished.

Last week friends of John Ohl ventured down to the Boyne, with three in the boat, landing 32 for the day, all on lures, returning 29 to the water with the biggest being 127 cm!

Having this sort of action not only in this river but also Wild Cattle, South Trees, Auckland Creek, and the Calliope River has created a big influx of people to the region trying their luck and testing their skills.

The amount of NSW number plates in the Bray Park car and trailer park was fantastic, as many will be using the accommodations facilities, supermarkets, pubs and restaurants, service stations, and tackle shops we have in the region.

A mate of mine Mick Megaw who worked out at Caltex Boyne River for years is now behind the counter at Boyne Bait and Tackle shop. I have no doubt he is relishing being in an industry which is his hobby.

All of those who are in this type of business are there because the want to be there, they love it and are willing to share their knowledge. All you need to do is to ask them what they know.

A couple of weeks ago local TV aerial installer Jim Connolly took the day off to nip out to the Bindaree, a wreck approx 4 or 5 miles north east of North Entrance.

Now Jimmy was out by himself, I think, and decided to put two lines out, one for bottom fishing, and one in case a mackerel came along.

After a while the bottom bait took off, and then snagged. Just as that happened the mackerel line took off so he let a heap out on the bottom line, and fought the mackerel, only to hear a big rattle, and watch his Ugly Stik with a Calcutta 400 disappear over the side.

Obviously a few choice words were used once things settled down, and he landed the mackerel.

So folks, somewhere around the Bindaree, there is a fish, maybe a rather big fish, with a very flash rod and reel still attached to it. See if you can catch it!

The weather for the rest of the week looks ordinary until the weekend when it looks as though it might come right on Saturday and Sunday.

Hooroo Dags