Clint: It was a quick start to the morning as we first hit up the GTs after a blue hole session I took the boys to the key hole. This spot just looks fishy and after a couple of casts Nathan was into a cracker. As I was manouvering the boat to get the fish away from the bommies Paynie hooked up onto a GT also it was chaos, with bombies everywhere one fish snapped us of and we pulled the hook on the other. After that we went for a troll and found a sick ledge loaded with Spanish for multiple hookups and thrown in a heap off Shark Mackerel. The next stop was a session for GTs and Paynie got a nice fish second cast. After we landed that fish a a big black frame was chasing down one of our stick baits. At first by its movement I thought it was a maori wrasse but as it got closer this thing lit up it was a sailfish. The boys were pumped this thing was hungry and grabbed the lure but after a couple of head shakes it was gone. Soon after that we had two sailfish at the back of the boat swiping lures but could not get a hookup! Bummer. The afternoon session we trolled, getting some gold spot and a nice GT. A fun day with the boys. I am on a quest to get a sailfish in this area. Will keep you posted!
Damon:- We headed straight for some blue holes first up to do some reef walking and see if some GTs were home. We fished 4 blue holes walking the reef and hooked GTs in 3 of the holes. This resulted in 2 pulled hooks and a monumental bustoff in the reef from a monster GT. We also landed a couple of very nice spangled emperor from the holes. A spectacular way to start the day, and appreciated by everyone. Casting into a landlocked coral hole in the reef is something pretty special, and something you really can't do anywhere else, and having 25-50kg GTs monster your lure whilst standing on the coral is a real highlight of any trip.
We followed this up with a light tackle session ion the shallows, and when we were leaving the shallow edge of the reef and going back into the main channel, we met Pete in Blue dory just near the edge, and as we came near the deep edge we could see a pack of about 20 GTs ranging from 30-50kg just sitting on the edge of the reef waiting to get into a blue hole. I started screaming to my guys and also to Pete's boat to cast quickly at the edge, and there were 4 poppers raining down on the spot, which resulted in 4 hookups, between 2 different boats, on massive fish. We landed 1 of the fish at around 32kgs, and had 2 missed hookups and 1 massive bustoff. Seeing this was one of the highlights of the year so far. A pack of big hungry fish just waiting to get into a blue hole, and being near another boat to share the experience with all the anglers on both boats hooking fish was something very special. After fishing out here for a long time we learn something new every day and it is a great thing to experience. Can't wait for tomorrow, not much wind and going to some isolated reefs we have not fished for a long time.... the fish beware!!
Peter: This morning started with walking into some blue holes trying to track down a GT. We managed to get into 2 holes and had a couple of hits in the first hole we walked into. As the mothership was moving to an anchorage further south we managed to bunny hop reef systems on the way down picking and choosing the best spots for fishing. The boys were pumped to catch a GT of good size today and they certainly had their fair share of opportunities before lunch. But unfortunately they couldn't stay connected.
As the tide was beginning to change we went for a troll and caught heaps of fish and also lost a heap aswell. One of the better captures on the troll was a 7kg red bass. As the day was drawing to an end we gave the GTs 1 last chance and as the boys were keen to see a big one I put them into some awesome looking blue holes and we managed to catch one that weighed in at 35kg. The fight was intense with a lot of boat manouvering through and around bommies and good work by the angler Bushy. Great day can't wait for tomorrow!!!