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Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) => Reports & Expeditions => Topic started by: Brandon Khoo on February 25, 2009, 10:34:14 PM
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Chris Harrison has just returned from Shoalwater and was kind enough to send me the following photographs and agree for me to post them up on the forum
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P21800031.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P21900171.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P21900091.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P22000341.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P2200037.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P21900191.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/berniek/P22000321.jpg)
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Thats some big G's!! ;D
Thanks for sharing.
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Some beautiful shots, both of the fish and the scenery
I hope they got onto plenty of nice ones...do you know how they went Brandon, or can we expect a report from one of the guys who went?
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Looks like at least one or two days of decent weather at least. Any other nice fish or was it a bit slow again? The 4th and 7th shots are the same fish.
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Looks like some nice weather & great fishing. That white UHL looks the part!!!!!!!
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Good stuff,
Chris is a big man too - so those GT's would be decent fish, looks like he is enjoying it as much as ever.....
respect
I love that place - cant wait to get back their - soon.......
8)
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Crazy, When are you off again.
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Fantastic photos,
I recognise the background again, but won't give away, a fair way north of shoalwater. In fact looks EXACTLY where I anchor when up that way, right down to the little bommie to the side of Nomad.
I want to go fishing again!!!!
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No, I doubt there will be a trip report. From what I can gather, Chris was the only GT fisherman in the group. There seems to have been a bit of a mix-up with some of the guests, especially a group from Indonesia who turned up wanting to fish for marlin! I don't know how that can happen as they were provided with all the Shoalwater material so they either ignored it completely or I don't know! Anyway, they aren't too upset as they are returning for Jewell Reef.
From what I understand, Chris got about a dozen GTs for the week. He is an excellent GT fisherman so it appears to me the fishing was ok without being really hot but I haven't discussed it with him in any detail.
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Fantastic photos,
I recognise the background again, but won't give away, a fair way north of shoalwater. In fact looks EXACTLY where I anchor when up that way, right down to the little bommie to the side of Nomad.
I want to go fishing again!!!!
Hmm, I didn't recogise these locations this time around - I had an inkling though, is there a treehouse on shore?
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some nice pics there and some nice fish too !
i am pretty sure i met chris briefly as he arrived and i was about fly out, there were some big
lads arrive that day
kinda looked like a good set of front row forwards getting off the plane :D :D
they are big fish when you consider how big chris is so well done sounds like the fishing may have
fired up a little more for the second week
look forward to reading a report soon
cheers john
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John - Chris should be big - he is an ex-Olympian
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When Chris enters a 3' x 7' door , there aren't much space left between the frame of the door n his limbs . ;)
That GT is 139 cm long , depending on the thickness / girth measurement of , the GT will weight a minimum of 50 kg .
Jon .
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Travis,
I think I even gave the spot away accidentally to the guy trying to fish from Cape Palmerston.
I went thru there about a year ago and it had GT written all over it. Not so much a tree house as an A frame.
I'm thinking of going for a run up to Island Head Creek on Sunday, the reports are all very strange at present. Plenty of Queenies, few GT's, my nannygai have disappeared, grunter in weird places, about time I had a fish.
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brandon- would nt be surprised if he represented for weight lifting or rowing
a lot of hours spent training to be that standard of athlete
has obviuosly seen the light he is now an athlete of the sea :D
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Yep that fish is a big mutha. Nice one.
cheers,
steve
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I haven't posted before so i may need to apologise in advance.
As previously posted by Brandon we were due to go on the first week fishing at Shoalwater and even with the best efforts of Nomad trying to organise a boat pick up from Hamilton island and a localised tour around the Whitsundays the weather gods prevailed with 85knot gusts and eventuated in the first cancellation of a trip.
i was fortunate to pick up a spot on the third week
With the weather reports looking good i was comforted with the sight of calm conditions as we flew in to the Percy group.
As Brandon has mentioned there were 6 guys from Jakarta, three from Brisbane,one Finnish native and a New Yorker (Long island)who i had the pleasure of meeting up with.
The Thai guys were in fact there to catch Marlin and had very little experience in both casting and jigging.They have as brandon mentioned already re-booked for the
Day One
The Nomad crew did their best for the Indo boys in organising a long distance run for trolling which resulted in a couple of decent Spanish mackerel,
For our boat Glanville was the guide it was me, Lenny (from Long island) and Folke who if you forgot his name (unlikely) kindly wore his name tag for two days.
If you ever thought this sport was fair forget it! Glanville was giving a casting lesson to Folke short of our intended spot, he fluffed the cast which went some 15 feet away from "Tight Stick" and a Gt which had no right to be there swallowed his cubera,to be lost after a explosive run.
We ended up this day having a triple hook up with the two new Gt boys each landing a 33-35 Kilo model.I dropped mine on the first run, but ended up with a couple of smaller models for the day
Day 2
Brett as Guide
When things run well you can do no wrong- everything stuck i ended with 5 for the day three 30-33 kilo fish and a couple of smaller ones
I managed to catch one on a prototype 100gm stick-bait, kindly sent over by Jon keep an eye for this in the marketplace its a sinker with plenty of movement and casts a dream and the finish i think is more elaborate.Hopefully the photo comes out OK bit mangled though courtesy of the GT.I know Malcolm will be testing its big brother (125 gm) in Bugatti
Day 3
Tim as Guide
Next day the mothership moved some 40 miles we all fished ahead of it again a good day with me holding on to three with the bigger one being the standout it was as Jon has mentioned 139cm from snout to fork it took some 10 minutes to cajole it to the boat with the new custom build carpenter SP78UHL SHP being put through its paces. I think there are 3 of these in Australia i know Brock has one and Malcolm the other (Thanks Jon for delivering and Brock for driving the demand) In between the tides in the last two days there were enough long tail tuna to keep us happy..
Day 4
Glanville as Guide
R.I.P Lures
Had a host of follows on the boat "Tight Stick" and we explored a previously unfished island Glanville had identified from the charts which with the tides looked promising, if the run ins were producing the strikes the run outs seemed to create a lethargy.
The island produced,I lost a lure to a rampaging GT had another run and spit, Folke produced (who i might add is 61) but a alpha male had hunted most living things around the world and eaten them! was introduced to a testosterone charged GT Aussie style which dragged him nearly through the bowspit of "Tight Stick" (We worked out Folke must have meant figurehead as he spent all the time at the
front of the boat!)back to the run... by 50metres he had dropped to one knee with the ripple fisher bent at a crazy angle across the top of the rail with line screaming out under it, how the rod didn't break i don't know but mercifully the line parted as the GT reached cover. That evening (Saturday)saw the mothership surrounded by day old turtles fresh from hatching,wasn't sure that was why the Gt's went off the bite!!
Day 5
Tim as Guide
The change arrived with a confused sea and rain there were two options stay on the mothership while we moved or fish over, Lenny and i chose the fish option, the contenders deep v hull was fantastic and whilst we didn't boat any big Gt's we had runs, a couple of smaller ones to the boat on light tackle, a Spanish mackerel.The Indo boys left about 4 pm as they had organised the plane which left the six of us on 4 boats
Days 6 and 7
The water conditions had deteriorated with a green sea and debris from the floods
Lenny caught a 25 Kilo fish in an amazing drain that was flowing at 8 knots (or that's what the boat was doing to hold position)Some queenfish strikes but not much else to report.
I ended up with 12 Gt's (4 decent) for the time ,Lenny would have caught 2 good ones and two to three smaller ones and overall the rest of the group would have netted another 6-8.
Thanks Guys....
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Glad to hear the change in location was able to bring about a few more fish, sounds like a great trip Chris
by the way I am sickly jealous of you guys who talk about going fishing for GT like I talk about going fishing for flathead "Oh I will just duck out this weekend for a few GT and queenies" :o :o
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nice report there chris sounds like you had a good time and got some big fish too
hey scott i am sure you can downsize the gear and throw some poppers at flathead if
you wanted too :D :D dont worry not long to nc now
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The GT's are stil haunting my dreams ::) cheers for your report it makes me feel like im still there! ;D
Great bunch of guys and i can't wait to get there... good to hear the contender was back is buisness
Off to the Abrolis island in a months time but sadly i dont think ill get any GT action :( Just bulk Snapper, Dhuies, Baldies and Trout... maybe a few bruiser Sambo's if im lucky
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Great Report Chris,
Congratulations on the good sized GT's as well.
Very bad news about the earlier cancellations for Shoalwater, good to see you could get out there in style though.
Does anyone recall the low pressure system that battered SE QLD end of December 2007?
We had a Nomad trip booked for Fraser Is. and the Break Sea Spit GT's, 10 foot plus swells saw a cancel on that!!
So maybe Shoalwater this year is second ;)
I must add that Nomad were were very helpfull and understanding and gave us a full and prompt refund.
Looking forward to my first trip with them in early May.
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Chris,
Thanks for the mention, glad to help, & like you said "Thanks Jon"
Andy, bummer about Fraser, maybe next time mate.
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Hey John we get flathead, whiting etc on poppers down here a fair bit mate...but yeah the gear used is slightly different, and it is not quite the same strike action ::)
New Cal is coming....please fishing gods send me some good weather and hungry fish!
Hey Neale I am pretty jealous mate the Abrolos are supposed to be awesome for shallow water reef fishing...you gonna hit the plastics hard or what?
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Thats the plan, id say ill be the only one tho but that wont phase me.
got plenty of time to stock up anyways! go the gulp just need some big ass jig heads :)
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Great in depth report and some cracking photos.
What more could one ask - TFS!
Matt
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Welcome Chris to this forum
glad to see you back into the action .
nice report and Congratulations on your big fish .
i like the new stick-bait colour
i just notice that you got a nice custom SP78UHL rod there .
but the colour is not my type ;D ::)
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Mick - I'd have thought you'd be grateful just to get one!
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Anyone should be happy just to get a custom Carpenter, looks like your not destined to get a Carpenter Mick
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yeah i sould be happy to get a custom rod but it got to be blue not red
but it still look very nice . i knew there was a one from jon as i was told i guess that chris has brought it .
i believe it,s my lucky colour ;D ;D ::)
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Mick,
One thing that you must understand is that there was alot that went ito the planning of the Custom rods, it wasn't just a matter of talking to Jon & all of a sudden he has a Custom rod there waiting for someone to ask for it, & Chris was the lucky one to grab it, there was alot of patience from a few people to get these rods.
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Chris,
Somehow I missed this whole post!
Congrats on so top fish mate. Its also lovely to see a big popper rod with a working curve in it!
Not quite the curve you had out at Wreck Reef though......I'll never forget your 'game face' on that tough fish!!!!
Cheers
Aaron.
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hi chris
may i ask you what brand is the blue line you got on your stella .
and also what lb is that .
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Hey Aaron, Mick
Good memories of wreck reef where we all met up for the first time, with Malcolm, Mark Shannon and the 'Guru" of relaxed fishing Eddie!
Mick the lines Frog Braid details and tech specs http://www.river2sea.com.au/categories.asp?cID=27 (http://www.river2sea.com.au/categories.asp?cID=27) blue is 120lbs and .56mm diameter so thicker and isn't as supple as varivas and wouldn't cast quite as far but i have had it on the reel for a good 2 1/2 years reversed it once, it has lasted really well and good abrasion resistance (for braid)
cheers
Chris
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Chris,
Im not sure whether to take UHL to Bugatti, what do you think?
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Hi Brock ,
You bought it so use it ! Try the " no line out " technique . ;)
Jon . ;D
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Hey Brock
There were some big fish (especially hanging around the Live Trout fisherman's mothership) I know i caught a good fish casting to the Odyssey at the end of a days fishing.
I would take the Uhl and probably something like the Coral Viper and a Blue lagoon
The spread of fish caught last year on the dories i was fishing on was pretty even between stickbait and popper, having said that my CV79/40RF SHP probably got the most use.
regards
Chris
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Jon,
Explain please?
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Jon,
Explain please?
Hi Brock ,
When I met Malcolm n Chris for the first time back then in Bali prior to their trip to Sumba n Komodo , they asked me the drag setting to use for tackling GT in Komodo , I told them that in places such as Komodo where tidal current is extremely strong , if one allows maximum 10m of line out of the reel when the GT run for cover then the game is over and looking at Chris being so big in physique , I suggested what we term " no line out " which means setting the drag pretty high , anything around 15 kg upward .
Jon .
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I need to dig up some footage, though I am sure I remeber Malcolm muttering this phrase while trying to stop a 30+ G out at Wreck Reef on a GT86....remeber that fish Malcolm :)
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Aaron,
If I remember correctly it had me on my knees! I was probably muttering a lot more besides "no line out". The GT86 actually punched above its weight on that trip, but I must admit that it has been retired now.
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Thanks for sharing brandon,pics are great with nice big GTs,what rod is that white fella with the red bindings??
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Nathan,
The rod is a Custom Carpenter SP78UHL
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Malcolm,
You had a shocker of a trip with bent & smashed guides, placing the GT86 (also missing a guide!) as your primary rod.
It did a heck of a job and yes, I do believe there were some other sage words let out between pumping & winding.....made it all the sweeter to get that fish out on your back-up stick ;D
May we be fortunate enough to see such shennanigans again!
Aaron.
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Aaron,
out of all the trips I've done that one to Wreck with you as the cameraman done up in full face white zinc and Eddie back on the mothership doing a very passable imitation of the Dali lama remains at the very top of my memorable list. I seem to recall that the biggest GT of the trip was caught and landed by Eddie who was letting his popper gently troll behind the dory whilst he was lighting up yet another ciggie getting ready for the fight, probably bitching about there being no deck chairs in the dories, and leaving the mothership late in the morning after a personal omelet. I think I learnt a lot from that man!
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Malcolm,
It was a terrific trip indeed!
Great friendships forged and as you said, the Eddie Lama taught us to have calmness, good rest and to resist the temptation to cast your guts out when not needed........perhaps we need him on a Shoalwater trip to help with the lure mortality rate too.
There's an idea....the Eddie Lama again Down Under. ;D
The troll/popping technique worked for the ole sea dog that trip. I'd like to film him getting spanked by a 50+ er while doing this in Island Head Creek. That creek shows NO mercy!
Aaron.
PS...I'll even wear the white zinc for ole times sake...or is that sake'??
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Speaking of Shoalwater Bay,
One of our boats was involved in identyfying a wreck in the heart of Shoalwater which is 60m long, rises from 18m to 8m in parts and has a 10m long bowsprit still intact rising to within 5 metres of the surface, heaps of bait, heaps of current, 3 miles from any other reef. Divers report "feeling" big fish in the wreck (2m max vis)....no line or sinkers visible, no anchors, no trawl nets.
Not yet dropped a line on it....Whaddya reckon the chances of a big GT?
I don't think its ever been fished for GT's.(or maybe anything else)
I'll try and visit within the month, as soon as this gale warning goes away.
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Graham,
If the water is Pea Soup from the tides, just put on a big blooper & raise them up..........they will be there.
Finding them....good.
Hooking them....good.
Landing with that mutch structure around......B A D!!!!
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Aaron,
Might need to find some cheap poppers. Got some heru 130's are they big enough? Normally use r2s dumbell 200, although I see some 300gm 300mm dumbells at tackle world!!!The boat is still at Stanage, the boys are planning to go for a surf to Mackay tomorrow (only 25 to 33) then I might get to bring it back from Mackay to Yeppoon next break in the weather and hopefully fish my way back. Mind you it could be a while before we get a break.
cheers,
graham
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Graham,
The 130 Cubera's will wake em up no worries.
Even in dirty water, GT's are acutely aware of anything near them.
Bloop loudly and hang on tight :)
Aaron.
PS....you can always ask a mate to 'tease them up' with the 300mm R2S Dumbell!