I'm happy to be able to finally contribute a reasonable trip report after a 2 day trip to the Whitsundays last week! Fishing with the guys from Seafever Sportfishing on their 32' Pirate express style gameboat. Leaving from Shute Harbour at 6am on Friday, it was clear pretty early, that we were in safe hands. Ashley Mathews not only owns the boat, but mans the oars (so to speak) as well. The 2.5hr run north gave us all a chance to get our gear ready and further interrogate both Ash and his hard working deckie, Ben, on what to expect. The 15-20kt SE was going to keep things cool and create some challenges for spotting and casting to fish.
On arrival at the reef, Ken and I journeyed to the bow to work on our balancing skills. I had a swipe from a GT early in the session, but if failed to find the points. After a further hour or so, for no results, we decided to have a bottom bash and a cup of tea.
A few reefies came on board as did a decent Spaniard on a floater. I started chuckin a little 80g Owner jig around and got nailed on the first cast. A 4kg Shark Mackeral was soon followed by another before his buddies worked out how to snip the mono leader . I ventured to the front again with a popper and Ken pulled out his AH Custom stickbait and battled with how to make it perform. Even though it had the action of a coke bottle, the GTs were checking it out almost immediately. The would only flash it though and it was frustrating (particularly for Ken) they wouldn't nail it. I grabbed a 125g Nomad Dogtooth and flung it out towards the bommie on our starboard bow. I think it was the 5th cast that a grey shadow started working itself into a stickbait destroying frenzy. After half a retreive of swipes and flashes and nudges, Mr GT got serious and nailed it- fish on! He really had the opportunity to bury me in the bommie, but instead, this guy was a slugger, making me work for every inch of line. When Ben lifted him in on the back deck, it was time for a few quick photos and back in the drink. A nice 30 plus kg fish. My best on a stickbait and the first GT on my Coral Viper. They really are the perfect stickbait rod. Beautiful to use.
An afternoon poppering session resulted in another couple of 20kg models for Ken and I. Nice! The skipper then guided us to a Red Emporer hole that produced bothe Emporer and Nanniguy, but it was the hot session on Spangled Emporer at the anchorage that had us smiling. 1/4 jig head and 20lb trace was the only way to fool them. Some of the fish we got would have pushed 3 or 4kg. Great fun on light braid in shallow water. A hot shower and a delicious fish and salad dinner had the bunks screaming out for some quality bonding time. Zzzzzzz
Saturday morning saw us up early feeding the HUGE Grouper that had holed up under the boat. Bacon and Eggs found a welcome home in our tummies and we hit the GT road again. The big difference this morning was bait. We all know bait = GTs. The first school of Fusies produced a double bending and both fish (18 odd kg) were successfully released. Schweet! I was particularly happy as I was fishing PE 4 over my Temple Reef Stealth STK76. The Ebipop 180 was working nicely even in the blowy conditions. The next school produced another baby (approx 12kg) GT for Jason, again on ligh gear over a Temple Reef. Ben got invited into the frey and his second cast with the 80g 7 seas popper got nailed by a decent Spaniard. Jason then got taught a lesson in tackle selection when a good G smashed his popper and made it back to the reef despite his best efforts on 50lb Tuff Line We pulled another couple of fish before the bait just disapeared... And so did the GTs
we didn't have a lot of fish to take home so far, so went back to a bit more reef fishing. A good mixed bag including 4 nice Trout ( I got 2 on Bozo soft plastics ). Kens popper got nailed by a high flying Spaniard, but didn't connect. Bad luck Ken! We spent most of the afternoon working the poppers over some awesome looking country (very much like Bugatti I reckon) but only produced a couple of 20kg fish for Ken on his 125 Cubera. By 330pm it was time to head for the barn. The trip home was a little choppy but once we got into the protection of the islands it was delightful and we spent the time sharing a laugh and planning the next mission!
Ashley and his delightful partner Kathryn run a fantastic operation. Dealing with them prior to the trip was a real pleasure. Both Kathryn and Ash were happy to answer any queries we had and offer advice on things like tackle and gear etc. They run shared day trips and overnight ( up to 3 nights ) trips for groups of 4. We found the Pirate ideal for both popping and reef fishing. Ash is an excellent skipper/guide. Food was great. There was always something to nibble on and meals were hearty and tasty. Ok, so its not fine dining, but we were more than happy. They supply gear on board, but its basic ( Saragosas and Live Fibres) so I would think most members would take their own outfits. I must say, Ben is an absolute genius with the PR knot, so leave the reriging to him I say
This was an awesome trip. Ok, the Gts didn't eat us out of house and home, but we got a few and a good feed or 2 to take home. Combined with plenty of laughs and the luxury of being looked after by a top crew, makes this a trip to remember.
I'm a muppet when it comes to posting photos, so I will leave it to Peter to post some photos that I have sent him.
