FISH AROUND LOW ROCK AND SOME SNAPPER

With a forecast of 10-15 knots today I was excited to get up early and head out to Long Island for a fish but when I woke up at 5 am it was windy as. I decided to go back to bed and see what it was like when I hoped up, I checked the weather report and it changed to 15-20 knots and it didn't look like it was going to calm down.

I ended waiting till 1 pm to head out and I decided to go out from Shute even tho it was blowing straight into the Harbour. I went straight to Low Rock and did a few drifts on the east side along with the wind in about 20-30 meters of water. The first pass I got baited and on the second pass I caught a small Sweetlip. I decided to anchor up in about 15 meters of water and floated a Pilchard out the back and dropped a piece of squid down the bottom. In 2 hours I ended up with one 55 cm Reef Flathead and a 50 cm Grassy Sweetlip among a fair few little sweetlip.

I kept the larger Grassy Sweetlip for dinner because something had a go at him on the way up and he had a large chunk missing out of his tail, He tasted really nice. I then had a Barracuda take of on my floating Pilchard he jumped a couple of times and spat the hooks near the boat, He was only small I would say about 40 cm or so. When I go fishing at night I tend to catch really large ones around Low Rock and also just out from the jetty. They are a lot of fun to catch on light tackle. There is a local guy that works at the bait and tackle shop that has a Australian record for a 3.6k Barracuda on a 1 kg line check out some records on http://www.qgfa.asn.au/record.php.

I moved to one of my favorite spots that I keep secret sorry, Here there are 1000s of Small Mouth Nannygai and every now and again you can hook up on a Large Mouth. Today I only ended up with a bunch of Small mouth around 40-50 cm that I let go but they are heaps of fun to catch. I have never seen anyone else fish this spot and I found it by accident its a permeant structure and there are always lots of fish around it. I have caught large Cat fish, Nannygai, Indo Snapper, Snapper, Mother In Law Fish and many others and this spot I don't think a lot of people would even think about fishing. Next time you go out from Shute and its windy just try some spots that don't seem like a spot you would normally try you never know your luck.

Today we caught 4  Snapper which I didn't know you could catch in the Whitsunday's and the sounder showed bigger ones below. There is a photo of my mate holding one 

Well that was my Sunday out, I am going to try to get out one night this week and maybe have some drifts around unsafe for some Reds and have a fish around the Moles to see if there are any Jews around. Let me know how you went this weekend and send any pics into fishingwhitsundays@hotmail.com

WHO'S LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO FISH WITH IN THE WHITSUNDAY'S

This is just a quick post to try to help out a few viewers that have sent me emails about not owning a boat and boat rentals being to expensive. A few people said all I talk about is fishing on the water and its not fair because they don't own a boat. If anybody that owns a boat that wants to go out and doesn't have anyone to go with or wants someone extra to help pay for fuel email me at fishingwhitsundays@hotmail.com and I will connect you with someone thats keen. Also anyone wanting to go out email me with your contact info as well. I want to see more people enjoying there time on the water and you never know you might make a new fishing buddy. I will do a post on fishing around the whitsunday's were you don't need a boat in the next week.

FISHING AROUND THE MOLES AND THE DAM

Today was a still a bit rough and I really wanted to get out and have a fish around the islands so I ventured over to North Mole. It was a rough trip over in a 4 Mt tinny but coming home was nice and smooth. I got a few good hours fishing in but the fish were not wanting to play. I got a few Stripes, 2 under size Trout and a few little Red Emperor but not much else.

 I was over there for about 4 hours and there weren't many boats fishing. I started of at Hanna's Point first and then worked my way all the way back to the end of South Mole. It was a bit disappointing not catching anything worth while to write about even tho no one really reads my posts any way.

 I tried lots of different baits today from Squid, Pillies, Fusiliers and some slugs. On the way back to Shute I had a drift between South Mole and White rock and had a few hits but never hooked up on anything.

 I was in 40 meters of water hoping to catch the fish that showed up on the sounder. I think that they were Nannygai and they seemed to be sitting on a rough patch in the middle of nowhere I kept the GPS mark to try next time I go out. I would of stayed longer today and kept trying but i had other commitments to attend.

 Now if I didn't have to work this week I would be out the next 3 days, Its forecasted to be 10-15 till thursday with just showers inland. I finish at 12 on wednesday so I might get out for a few hours in the afternoon.

 On Saturday I spent a couple hours out on Peter Faust Dam I stayed around the spill way and caught 3 Barra but they were all under 50 cm but they still put up a good fight. I was using a med bubble pop and it produced the fish. I trolled a shallow diving Barra lure but had no luck with it. There were a few people fishing around the spill way as its protected. I saw one guy hook a nice Barra but lost it as it jumped right near his boat.

I put down a few Red Claw pots along the bank to the right of the boat ramp, When I came back about 2 hours later I had 18 in the two pots. I used Potato as bait as someone told me it was the best and I had never tried it before, and it worked like a charm. I just chopped it into chunks and put it in the trap. I ended letting the red claw go I was just trying out the Potato to see if it worked.

Well that was my weekend out and about, I hope you guys had better luck then I did and I hope this coming weekend the weather gods send us some nice days.
Until next time happy fishing

THIS WEEKS FISHING AND WEATHER REPORTS

This weekend looks like we might get a bit of sunshine and maybe a few showers, winds should stay around 15-20 knots. The upcoming wet season is going to be a big one so I recommend taking any chance you can get to get out on the water before the rain sets in. It is also expected to start a lot earlier then normal and we might see another cyclone this year maybe even before Christmas.

Now this week there has been a lot of reports about the dam fishing very well with the bad weather, I took a drive out there this afternoon and there was 10 boats in the water at 5 pm. The Barra are taking surface lures, so a bubble pop or a skitter pop will produce fish. They have been caught around the rock wall at the dam late afternoon.

There are not many crabs around the river but the King Salmon have been on the bite, They should start to drop off with the smaller tides tho. There also been a few large Barra being caught up river and Grunter being caught around the Oyster banks.

The rock walls still have schools of Trevally around early mornings and late afternoon. There taking live bait as well as metal slugs. There have also been Salmon around the outer rock walls from Able Point. And also Wolf Herring being caught on metal slugs or small lures being trolled.

The island have been producing a few Coral Trout and Mackerel, but not many people have ventured out over the past week with the weather still not letting off. I never heard anyone going out to the reef, And if you did i bet it was a horrible day.
Im going to be hitting the dam this weekend see if i cant land my next monster Barra and i hope to see you out there. Till next week happy fishing

CORAL TROUT FISHING AROUND THE WHITSUNDAY'S

Coral Trout are one of the most targeted fish around the Whitsunday's. They have superb eating qualities and are fished for commercially and for recreation. They can live up to 16 years and can exceed 20 kg but smaller fish are better eating. With the larger fish there is a risk of Ciguatera poisoning.

There are a few species of Coral Trout which are:

• Common or Leopard Trout
• Blue-Spot Trout
• Passionfruit Trout
• Bar-Cheecked Trout
• Footballer Trout

They will take a wide range of baits and lures, From cut dead bait, Prawns, Squid, Pilchards, Lazer lures and metal slugs. They live in holes around Reefs, Inshore Reefs, Drop offs, Sunken boats and rocky holes. They are ambush predators and normally don't move far from there homes. When catching them it is best to get them away from there homes as fast as possible other wise you run the risk of having your line cut or broken off on the structure they came from.

I find one of there favorite food is Fusilier they just love them. Around the reef fish like Mackerel attack the schools of Fusilier and Trout eat the pieces that pass by. A way that commercial line fishing boats are fishing for them now, is by cutting a piece of rubber tube into strips and placing it on the hook. When they place it in to the water they jig it up and down. This type of lure can save them a lot of money. There are a few types you can buy as well as making your own.

Trout colours can range from dark brown to light pink with iridescencant blue markings, Footballers look like the one to the left and can be Bright yellow. Coral Trout can grow over 110 cm.

Coral Trout are also a coral reef fin fish and must have a pectoral fin removed if you are keeping them and must still be whole when you return to the boat ramp. The are best bleed, Gilled and placed in a ice slurry when caught. Remember to only keep what you need and preserve the fishing for everyone including the future angler's.
Happy Fishing

SUNDAY FISH OFF ABLE POINT

Went out for a fish today, Even with the wind and swell. There were some big Trevally out around the sunk boat from Able Point, I got 3 that were over 40 cm. They were just taking squid. Then i got this big puffer. Also had a 20 min fight with a cat fish. He was like a train just didn't stop running. When I finally got him to the boat he was just over a meter. I picked him up with the gaff to get a photo and crapped sprayed out of him all over the boat and all over me, It stunk too. I let him go and the Trevally, Not really the fish I like to keep. The best fun was still to come.

 My girlfriend came out with me and she will only fish with a hand line, Which I hate especially when you hook a large fish. She just put a piece of squid on and started to drop it to the bottom. About 10 sec's after it hit the bottom the reel was pulled straight out of her hands and into the water, where it just spun. When I finally got it back into the boat the fish was still pulling and I decided to take over from There. I kept fighting this fish for about 10 mins and it was big, I expected a large shark. I got it close to the the boat but still could not see any colour, and then it took another run and ripped the hand line straight out of my hands. This time the hand line was about 20 Meters away, so up with the anchor and motored over and retrieved it.

Every time he saw the boat all he did was run. After about 20 mins of getting him to the boat and him running again I got him up. It was the biggest Shovel Nose Ray I have ever seen. He was at least 2 meters long nearly half the size of the boat. I didn't want to bring him aboard and hurt him so I tried to take a photo of him beside the boat but as I was taking the photo he trashed around and broke the line (sorry it's not a good photo).
Now that was a fight and a half, But well worth it.

I flicked some lures around the rock wall and then went home. I was only out for a couple of hours and it was more fun then what I have had on some nice days out around the islands. Just shows that there can be some good fishing in close when the weather is bad. I hope we start to get some 5-10 knots weekends so I can get back out around the islands across the passage, I think I am starting to have withdrawals or maybe i just need a bigger boat.

I will start taking better photo's when I get a new camera, these photo's were taken with a iphone.
Happy fishing all

SHIMANO TLD REVIEW

My reel of choice when I am catching the larger fish would have to be a Shimano Tld 25. I use this reel for bottom bashing across paddocks, trolling or floating a live bait out the back for a mackerel. I have used my Tld every time i have been out over the past year and have pulled in a lot of nice fish without any problems. It has a gear ratio of 3:6:1 and holds 600 yards of 30lb line. I run 30 lb braid with a 80 lb mono leader on mine. Its a single speed with a lever drag.

The only problem with this reel is because it's large, it tends to roll on the rod which can make your arms sore after a while. The Tld 20 is the same reel just smaller and holds less line but feels a lot more comfortable when holding it all day. I have caught some large Gt's, some big Reds, and some large Nannygai's. When trolling of Hook i have also hooked onto a really large Cobia but i lost him beside the boat. I have also hooked onto a Marlin but i lost him when he jumped, and that was one of the best days of my life on the water. So I have put this reel through a real work out and I have never had a hint of a problem.

Next time you are looking for a reel that can hold up to almost anything thats in the water, don't go past the Shimano range of Tld's. Price wise they are a lot cheaper then what they used to be, You can pick up a 25 from a tackel shop for around $200 - $250, or a lot cheaper on Amazon or Ebay. You will get a lot of pleasure from this reel and land some massive fish. I put a link on the side bar for Tld's being sold on Amazon where i brought mine from. Be sure to keep your fishing photos coming in to share with the readers just email me the photo and some information on fishingwhitsundays@hotmail.com and I will add them to the catch of the week photo section.
Drop a line for me and catch a big one

MORE GREAT FISH FROM THE WHITSUNDAY'S

This photo was sent in from Mike Peppin he said "This GT took almost an hour and a half to get to the boat, caught it on my Calcutta 200b on 8kg line with no leader straight to a maniac 21g metal.. Spooled me 5 times but we just kept chasing it to tire it out.. Thought it was a Cobia or something, would of rather it was as i have always wanted to catch one from around here!"
Its a great fish i am sure there would be a lot of people around that would like to catch a Gt this size.

This photo was sent in by Cody West, A very nice Trout



There are always big fish lurking around, You just need to be in the right spot at the right time too catch that prized fish.

A GREAT BARRA FROM PETER FAUST DAM

Here's a photo sent in from Presley Abell caught at Peter Faust Dam at the Invitational comp last week 98cm what a great effort, Thanks for sharing your photo

THIS WEEKS FISHING AND WEATHER REPORTS

This weeks been wet and windy so not much fishing has been done. This weekend is not looking much better. Sunday might see some sunshine start to shine through the clouds. Saturday will be sw/se 20/25 knots easing to 15/20 at night with the rain clearing. And sunday will be 15/20 knots. I didn't get many reports over the passed week with not many people braving the conditions out on the water. Some reports of long fin tuna out around Low Rock and could be seen with a large amount of birds hanging around. There were a few reports of Barra being hooked at the dam, but it was very slow and the winds deterred a lot of people, also the cooler weather sent them back into hiding. There were a few reports of small Coral Trout being hooked around the island but not many people went out. I never got any reports of anyone venturing out to the Reef, There was a 4 meter swell in open water for most of the week. The rock walls have been producing small Trevally in the early mornings on live bait. I was also told that there were some Salmon be caught just outside of the Able Point Marina. Hopefully the weather will give us a break over the next few weeks so i can get a chance to get out and about, But with a La Nina dominating the weather it should stay very wet for the rest of spring and for most of summer with well above rainfalls to be recored. If you have any reports to share and photos of your catches please email them to fishingwhitsundays@hotmail.com and i will put them up so you can share, and brag your catches. I will also start a catch of the week photo section.
Happy fishing

PETER FAUST DAM: HOME OF THE MONSTER BARRA

When the Whitsunday's is advertised, all you hear is about is the 74 islands, white sandy beaches and the reef. Peter Faust Dam misses out on all the advertising, Yet it is one of the best freshwater fishing spots around Australia. Peter Faust Dam is located 26 km out of Proserpine and about 45 km from Airlie Beach. There is camping grounds at camp Kanga a few kilometers away, but no camping at the dam itself. Stocked fish include Barramundi, Sooty Grunter and Saratoga. There has only been 3 reported cases of Saratoga being caught tho. As well as great fishing there are also an abundance of Red Claw lurking in the weeds below. Now Barramundi are one of the best fighting fresh water fish, And a prized catch for many anglers. They are large in size and when they get hooked they leap in to the air. Barra from salt water tend to put up a better fight. Catching Barra is a adrenaline rush and a half. They take best to surface lures, and shallowing diving lures. My favorite lure to use is a bubble pop, and the best part about using surface lures is you get to see all the action as it unfolds, Its so exciting when you see this massive fish engulf your lure meters away from the boat. Barra grow over 130 cm and up to 40 kg. A lot of Barra caught in the dam are well over 100 cm and there ready and willing to jump on a line. The snags make a good hiding place, and fishing spot. But when you hook up they will run for cover and wrap themselves and the line around the submerged trees. Trolling or casting lures produce the fish. I do not think many people would use bait in the dam. I alway catch and release in the dam, not only to preserve the stock but i do not find freshwater Barra a very nice table fish. To fish in the dam you need a permit, and its very cheap about $35 for a year and you can fish any stock impoundment dams that runs under the scheme. You can also get a week permit if you are not staying long. There is a good boat ramp for launching and plenty of parking, there is a bbq area for cooking and toilets. So next time you are planing a fishing holiday don't forget the fantastic fishing that can be had at the Peter Faust Dam.

10 PLACES TO FISH AROUND THE WHITSUNDAY'S ISLANDS

1 PIONEER PIONT
Here you will catch all types of reef fish including Coral Trout, There is a very nice drop off and the bottom has a lot of coral and rock formations for the fish to hide. A few hundred meters away there is Pioneer Rocks, Here you can expect to catch all your reef fish and if you have a floating line out the back you can also hook up on a mackerel and other pelagic species.
2 THE BEAK
The beak is the last point on the left as you leave Shute Harbor, Here you will find different types of reef fish including Coral trout and also Large Sweet Lip. There is a coral bottom with lots of rocks and as you move further out it starts to turn into a weedy bottom
3 LONG ISLAND
Here you can find all types of fish, Shallow reefs produce many reef fish. You can also catch Barra, Trevally, Queenfish, Jacks and Fingermark. My favorite spot is on the jetty, This is were i have had the best luck for the larger reef fish
4 UNSAFE PASSAGE
Unsafe passage, is between North Mole and Middle Mole, There has been many times i have passed the Passage and the sounder showed a lot of fish sitting on the bottom, I expect that they would be Reds or Nannygai but with the way the water flows its very hard to set up a drift back over were i spotted them, as well as that there is also a lot of boats that pass through here. On the points you can catch Mackerel, Queenfish and Trevally. Also this is a good place at night to chase after some massive Jew Fish. And there is also a really good camping ground on North Mole Just inside the Passage.
5 HANNA'S POINT
This is one of my favorite fishing places, Its on the northern tip of North Mole. So many different species live here. I have caught large Trout, Mackerel, Tuna, small Red Emperor, Trevally, Fingermark, Jew fish and Sweet Lip. There has been many reports of Marlin and Sailfish being hooked 100 meters from the point.
6 CID ISLAND
Just out side of Cid Harbor on Whitsunday Island is a perfect place to Moor the boat for a overnight stay. Around Cid Island the are some good Coral Trout hiding in the coral bottoms, Here you can also catch Queenfish, Trevally and Mackerel. Cid Harbor is one of the best places to stay for the night as it is well protected.
7 NORTHERN POINT OF WHITSUNDAY ISLAND
Here you can expect to catch some large reef fish including Coral Trout, Red Throat Emperor, Also there are Mackerel of the point as well as large Trevaly.
8 HOOK ISLAND
There are so many species of fish living around Hook Island, It has a few inlets where mangroves grow and plenty of shallow reefs. You can catch Coral Trout, Sweet Lip, Red throat Emperor, Mackerel, Trevally, Mangrove Jacks and Queenfish.
9 HAYMAN ISLAND
Here the is some pretty exciting fishing to be done. Of the northern point you can catch game fish, around the island you can catch all species of reef fish from the shallow reefs. Of the north point in the current lines there are Marlin, Sailfish, Cobia, and large Gt's. There are many holes to explore and lots of reef to be fished.
10 THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Now if you have a boat large enough to make the 160 km round trip to the reef, this is the place to go. I do not think that any where in the world compares to the fishing that is to be had here. The fishing here is amazing there is around 2600 different reefs making up the Great Barrier Reef and its about 2000 km long. There are many places that have never been fished before. Here you can catch just about all the fish i have mentioned above and they are in large numbers. You can catch Red Emperor and Coral Trout some of the best eating fish, This is one place to go if you want a adrenaline rush. The Whitsunday's is one of the closest points on the Queensland coast to the reef. So next you are planing your fishing holiday make sure you remember that there  many exciting times to be had around the Whitsunday's.

Happy Fishing

BAD WEEKEND ON THE WATER

This weekend is a shocker 15-20 knots reaching 25 knots at times. At the moment it seems it will stay that way for most of the week. I ventured out of Able Point in Cannonvale today, but with the large swell and the wind i opted to stay close to shore. Just outside the rock wall i hooked up on a massive Shovel Nosed Ray which put up a extremely good fight, He would of been just over a meter and didnt opt to sit on the bottom as there known too do. 

Then after a few minutes i hooked a rather large puffer fish, But he bite me off at the side of the boat. We then moved out to the sunken boat which can be seen from the yellow safety boy. Here was were the fun really started. One after another there were Indo Snapper and small Trevally being hooked. Then i finally hooked up on a decent Gt. After a few minutes i had him aboard 15.3 kg he weighed . He was well worth braving the rough weather. After about a hour the sharks decided to join the party. I got a couple of Bronzies to the boat, Only small ones and then Decided to call it a day, And headed home. Today I only used Squid as bait, Still lots of fun. My flat mate and his mates when to Billy's creek, About 20 km north on the highway from Proserpine. They caught some rather large Bream and Grunter and a couple of Mud Crabs. I have yet to hear any reports on the dam this weekend, But i think the Barra would be of the bite with the weather. The coral reef fin fish closure ends today so i will start to report on the Islands and Reef in my next post. There has also been many reports of Long Finned Tuna about, when the winds drop down, thats what i will be chasing.

Until next time happy fishing.

WHERE THE FISH BITE

This my first post on a new blog and this one is going to be all about the best place on earth..... The Whitsunday's. Located in Queensland and on the Great Barrier Reef it is one of the most visited places in Australia  from over sea tourists to Australian residents. On the fishing side of things there a 74 Islands, rivers, sandy beaches and thousands of places to drop a line. One of my favorite places to fish is of the north tip of North Mole, a little place called Hanna's Point. The reason it is my favorite is because you can drop a line down to the bottom and catch reef fish, or float out live bait and pull in a mackerel. There have also be many reports of sail fish and marlin be caught from here as well.

 I only have a small tinnie 4 meters, so most of the time i am limited to the places that i can go with the weather. But on a good day i have been known to travel all the way to Edward Island, one of the last islands before the reef. Every thursday I will be updating my blog with the local fishing reports, And on mondays i will be reporting on my weekend fishing trips with photos and my personal detailed reports with gps marks. As well as that i will also be doing reviews on the tackle and gear i use. I will also add your experiences to share on my blog if you send your stories to my email (which i will post up soon). Also you could just leave a comment in the comment section below. I will also post weather reports for the upcoming weekend every thursday
Happy fishing all
Check back for reports