Bligh Reef Lagoon Explorer 11 Oct 2011:
Peter: The weather was yet again glamorous out there today. The mothership moved today about 20 mile south so we had a lot of fishing to do on the way down. First thing this morning we got the heavy gear out for some popping action where we have been seeing GTs and doggies. We had a good solid hour of action missing 3 doggies and managing to nearly boat 1 but it got sharked. Judging by the size of the head it would of gone somewhere in between 40-50kg. We also managed to boat a nice size GT and a Spanish. Once the tide turned it was time for us to fish the flats it was safe to say that there were fish everywhere all over our lures from big trout to Maori Wrasse and all the other species in between. It was an action packed 2 hours. After that excitement we tried to se if the GTs had switched on with the change in tide. We only managed to see around 8 fish I'm not sure why it was because we were fishing the best looking edges with bait packed in everywhere. I guess that's why they call it fishing not catching!!! Can't wait to see what tomorrow has install for us.
Clint: Fly fishing was on the cards today for my boys and I am always keen to get amongst it. First up we cruised the edges with me teasing up reef fish with a hookless stick shad 155. It was not before too long a big trout came after the lure and switched to Neil's fly and absolutely smoked him into the coral. It was good to watch though. Along the way we picked up some smaller trout and bludger trevally which are always fun in shallow crystal clear water. It was then time to mess with the big boys and we went in search of GTs.There were plenty of hungry fish trying to eat my hookless icecream but to switch a GT like this and hook a fish everything must be on your side the gods must be looking down on you. We had about 12 fish that we had a shot at and 3 fish where it was a whisker away from them taking the fly. Soooo close but it did not happen today. As the tide reached the bottom we walked the flats. The boys were so stoked to be on land in the Coral Sea. Chris sight cast and hooked a big gold spot which was awesome and said it was the highlight of his trip and Neil hooked and lost another big trout that was just milling around in very skinny water. It was a blast to be out there today.
Nick: Waking up to glass out again today makes me feel so spoilt, fusies bubbling on the surface a cast away from the mothership. As we headed out we found the GTs to be a little hard to raise so we opted for some light tackle fishing which proved to be very productive. We were having a pack attack of red bass and decent 4 kilo trout chase the poppers back to the boat, mowing down poppers and stickbaits. We also managed to hook four maori wrass one of which was around the 30 kilo mark and only managed to boat one which tipped the scales at 20 kilos what an awesome fish! Two 4 kilo coronation trout on one lure just paints a picture of how insane the flats fishing was this morning. We didn't bother picking up a heavy rod for most of the day and managed to get tested on the light gear and have another cracker day.
John Dory:- Well today was one of my most exciting days on the water, with excellent weather the decision was made to do an exploratory trip to some isolated reefs located slightly west of current position, anticipation was high as I pulled the throttle back nearing our first destination and the fusiliers started spooking, first cast and schools of GT chased them all the way back to the boat, our first drift raised fish nearly every second cast with a few nice fish coming aboard along with trout and mackerel, every reef we stopped at today had a school of angry GT willing to play the game with some nice fish to 30kg coming aboard and 2 fish that would have given the 40kg mark a nudge finding their freedom, everyone on board today was very pleased to be part of something special fishing an untouched area and every ledge gave the impression that this was the first time these fish had seen a popper this is something that we fishermen live for a very special day and one I won't forget in a hurry.
