Jul 2014 - Fishing Port Douglas

VOLUME 163 PRICELESS
JUL 14
Louie Smith - Winner of the Monthly Perrin Clarke Wall Mount Photo
2
Front Cover: There’s nothing better to see a
young angler enjoying their fishing passion which
then turns into a full time job. This is Louie Smith
aboard Dragon Lady Charters as deckhand in his
first week sharing the joys of a not so common
Diamond Trevally. What a magnificent fish - he’s
loving the position !!
It certainly pays to send through a photo as he’ll
receive a fantastic wall mounted acrylic image of
this cover shot to be always treasured & gladly
sponsored by Perrin Clarke - Image Australia.
The month of June again got off to a shaky start as persistent rain and fresh
winds continued well into the month. Many of us have never seen
conditions extend on from the wet season like this and the landscape
remained lush and moist. Then finally the precipitation eased and the days
slowly transformed into a more typical dry season pattern that we are used
to experiencing. This was the calling card for many to make the most of the
conditions inshore and offshore and many discovered the fishing to be
extremely productive. From all reports there seems to be plenty of mackerel
species around and we might be up for a top notch season in the coming
months.
Tourist numbers are growing in size and the region has a buzz about it as
trading will be a bumper for quite a few months to come. It’s been an
indifferent start to 2014 for quite a few reasons but hopefully we can settle
into some more normality from this point on - Heff
Features







Cape York Adventure
Mitchell River Escape
Dragon Lady Diary
Coastal Reports
Crossing the Timor Sea
Mick’s Cooking
Nautical Marine Product Review
This magazine is published by
The Line Burner business of Port Douglas
& welcomes any Far Nth Qld contributions
including editorials & photographs.
PO Box 108, Port Douglas 4877
Queensland, Australia
Email:[email protected]
Website: www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Phone: 0409 610 869
The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily
reflect the views of the magazine, the editors, or the
authors themselves. The magazine does not guarantee
accuracy, validity, honesty or politeness of content, and we
shall not be held responsible for the content of mentioned
websites. The content (photos, art, articles etc...) found
within are the property of the submitter and not our
magazine.
VALUED
CONTRIBUTORS
Michael Hart
Keith Graham
Jamie Beitzel
Damian Colette
Ian Creevey
Daniel McCarthy
Les Marsh
Steve Adamson
Bruce Belcher
Jake Wyatt
‘Sharky’ Shane Down
Lynton Heffer (Editor)
The Reef Marina Port Douglas
Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef
Port Douglas Marina now
under NEW management!
 Closest mainland access to the barrier reef.
 Secure gated berthing facilities and fuel facilities
 Air conditioned shops, bars and restaurants complete with
Alfresco dinning
Reef Marina Wharf St, Port Douglas QLD 4877
P 07 4099 5775
E [email protected]
W www.thereefmarina.com.au
3
Cape York Adventure
By Les Marsh
"Hi Les.... its Kim here mate. Just wondering
whether you are available to guide on my very
first charter with my new game boat starting on
30th of this month." "Err let me think, when?"
"I will fly you up to Weipa on Friday, collect you
from the airport and then board the Duyfken...
the clients will be arriving later that evening and
we will set off, head up the coast and fish the
usual places - Wenlock, Ducie, Jackson etc....
are you in?"
"Hold on, I'll have to think about it...... Lock me
in!" Well that took me all of about 10 seconds
and I was committed!
The flight to Weipa was uneventful, Kim met me
as promised and we were soon at the wharf and
climbing over trawlers to get to the Duyfken.
She is a beautiful 52ft game boat (I think this is
right) and this was to be her maiden charter
under Capt. Kim Andersen's watch. The plan
was for a complete wash down in readiness to
greet our clients; anybody who has been to
Weipa and Cape York will know that bloody red
dust gets into everything. Thank goodness the
Duyfken is equipped with high pressure gurneys
fore and aft, its was a breeze! (Note... that red
dust is what the wealth of Cape York is created
from, bauxite, and it is mined by huge open cut
scrapers and shipped to China & Gladstone for
processing into Aluminium).
So after packing away our fishing gear, filling up
with fresh water, a brief intro and the lines were
thrown... just like in the movies. It was exciting
stuff as we steamed out of Weipa harbour at
first light next morning. It would be a fairly
uneventful cruise out the leads, past Duyfken
Point, and up the Gulf to our mooring location
that evening. The outriggers were lowered, the
TLD25's rigged with pushers and a flat line out
the back with a deep diving raider. We had a
couple of half-hearted hits, landed a couple of
school mackerel but did not sight a sailfish.
Next morning we dropped off the dories near
the beach and cruised out to a few marks that
Kim had collected over the years.... reef and
structure in deeper gulf waters. They just had to
hold fish!
I think it was about 25 seconds before the first
bite.... and Phil was on. Now in these remote
reefs it could be anything from a red, nannygai
(small & large mouth), stripey, fingermark, cod,
trevally (about a dozen different varieties) cobia,
tuna, sharks, reef jacks and more..... and we
caught them all. Bent rods, screaming reels,
aching backs and arms was the order of the day.
Even our cook, Mark, got into the action with
soft plastics.... gulps and squid things gigged off
the bottom got slammed. And soon it was time
to head back to the beach, pick up the dories
from their safe anchorage and steam north to
our next night's stop over. Man I wish we hadn't
caught so many quality fish, even with strict
catch and release guidelines, we needed to
stock up on a few fillets for our needs, the task
fell to me to do the filleting. While Capt. Kim
was up in the driving position, Mark the cook
was preparing the evening meal and the guests
(Steve, Kev & Phil) were just lazing around
having a few quiet beers. It doesn't get much
better than that!
Its amazing how eager and enthusiastic
everyone is bright and early in the mornings!
At 6:00 am it was a buzz.... Half naked bodies
rushing to the back deck (err...loo) a quick
coffee from the shiny new coffee making
machine (bloody good stuff too), breaky, sun
block and we were off.
Days seemed to blend into days....did we hit the
marauding schools of longtail tuna, or
The big Quicksilver boat
taking refuge up the local
Dickson Inlet
River - Reef - Game
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
MARINE ELECTRONICS
ABN 34 342 029 951
Open 6 days a week
4
Download your
Line Burner
now online
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Pret ty Fl
F LY F I SH I NG SC H O O L
PORT DOUGLAS
ONE ON ONE:
(2hrs)
$100
Introduction To Fly Fishing
GROUP LESSONS :
$75pp
2hr Introduction Class
2-4 Persons
0 4 9 9 G O F LY 2
(0499 46 359 2)
GROUP
CHARTERING
Cape York Adventures cont....
..... the barras in the creek that day. Who
cares, it was all on for the young and the not so
young! We caught tuna and macks, barracuda
& trevally, jacks and cods...... and heaps of
barra too!
One day we found a willing school of barra
sitting amongst the timber, right on the change
of the tide, and we landed 25 barra in
succession. We cast deep divers to undercut
banks and shallow runners to mangrove
edges. We even had a go at those new rubbery
things generically called "Transam's"... Capt.
Kim swears by them. I just swore AT them Ha
Ha. I did manage to hook up to some monster
fish in deep water using them but
unfortunately, the hooks pulled after spirited
deep water runs. On one occasion I pumped a
sizable fish to a few metres below the boat - I
saw its huge bronze flash and almost caught
one of the biggest fingermark that I have even
seen. A quick turn of its head and it was free....
Darn.
At this stage we were in the Mapoon vicinity
and within mobile phone range. It was
amazing to see grown men scramble for their
"mobile" device, anxious to check email but
more importantly, post their latest photo to
their Facebook page. Oh how times have
changed... social media... its here to stay!
The river fishing was proving to be a bit
challenging. There were fish about but they
were not active in the cool conditions. Strong
and persistent SE winds to 25 knots, drizzling
rain and water temps a lot lower than
anticipated was the culprit we deduced. But by
working the tides, either the flats on the high
tides or the gutters on the low, we found
quality barra.
I suspect we still averaged 40+ barra a day. Kev
still managed his personal best at just over a
metre, Steve broke his barra virginity (know
how he feels) and Phil had a ball on the reefies.
Fuel - Oil - Bait
Ice - Tackle - ATM
Boating Accessories
Fast Food & Groceries
Ph:
4098
0409
6107616
869
Ph: 0413 054 031
Marlin Fishing
Light Tackle Fishing
Reef Fishing
Remote Expeditions
Private Scuba & Snorkelling
Luxury Cruising
Above Grade
We even has a session in a creek where
hundreds of queenies were smashing bait all
around the dories.
We had lures smashed by monster fish, at
one stage while sight casting to dozens of
hungry barra smashing jelly prawns at a creek
mouth, my 30lb braid was cut by fish - at least
3 barra crossed my line simultaneously and
twang, it was broken without a hit to the lure
itself. We actually stayed there fishing for
over two hours while dozens of barra boofed
along the facing mud bank / along the river
front and into the channel itself. This was an
amazing session and although we only
landed about 20 fish, to see such a bio mas of
predator and prey in the raw was spectacular.
It was here too that I lost a monster barra and
my treasured Qantas coloured flat jack lure
(they were working a treat up there!)
Other favourites included the deep diving
shads, shallow running shads, gold bombers
and those darn "transams".... come on boys,
what do we call these bloody things?
The food was superb - thanks Mark! The
highlight for me was the mud crab and
seafood chowder; all ingredients was as fresh
as, right down to the crabs (caught that day)
and the cobia the previous one.
The mother ship offers quality
accommodation. She sleeps 10 people, is
comfortable, has two bathrooms and heads,
plenty of fresh water, air-conditioning, a
huge double lounge / dining area and was
home away from home.
Capt. Kim knows his stuff.... he has been
operating in these waters for many years and
many of you may know him from the
Mantaray days. He is also one of the best
game boat skippers operating out of Cairns
during the peak heavy tackle black marlin
season.... the Duyfken will be returning to
the east coast in September to pursue these
monster blacks. Kim is also keen on exploring
the near shore blue water options in the
Gulf.... hence those outriggers and pushers.
There are black marlin, sailfish and other light
tackle sportfish species available and Capt.
Kim has pioneered this fishery.
So if you are looking for that very special trip
to remote Cape York / Gulf waters... check
out Kim Andersen's Duyfken Sportfishing
Charters.... Light tackle, reef, river lure & fly,
awesome! Fact - we landed over 40 different
varieties on this trip.
5
Dragon Lady Diary
By Steve Adamson
The month of June got off to an indifferent start as the
weather continued to dish up Jekyll and Hyde conditions.
The fishing proved to be productive with reasonable
numbers of coral trout and large mouth nannygai on the
go when the weather allowed us to travel. There were
some spanish mackerel about and we seem to secure a few of
these each trip on the floating rig when at anchor. We’d get a
few charters completed and then we’d be brought to a grinding
halt as the weather turned nasty.
That long weekend period was a bloody shocker which was
really unfortunate as the town was full of eager punters and we
could not leave the harbour. The days were very dull and
miserable with plenty of wind and rain about and the day time
temperatures were freezing for the tropics. I heard somewhere
that they were the lowest recorded temperatures since the
1960’s and very, very unusual for the Far North.
With a forecast of an apparent break in the weather after a 5 day
lay off, we ventured back out in pretty ordinary conditions. It was
nothing short of being lumpy and bumpy and the rain squalls
continued. We braved the elements under duress and managed
to scratch up quite a few fish but there was a lot of small stuff
amongst them this day. Out of the 50 or so fish caught for the
day I believe we only came back with 9 keeper coral trout.
The net couple of days were very similar in regards to weather
conditions and fish catches and it was a mixed bag of fish we
brought back compiling of coral trout, reef jack, sweetlip, long
nose emperor, stripeys, slatey bream and a few trevally.
Then we had a short break in the weather and we had a
scheduled light tackle charter on the go - you beauty! We made
the most of this day and turned reels on the spanish mackerel
with regularity. They weren’t big mackerel, mainly around the 57kg range but there were plenty of them around. The clients
then had a snorkel at lunch time and then we easily managed to
secure a few nice reef fish for dinner that night. We also at his
point caught one of those beautiful diamond trevally which we
then released. They are a stunning fish to look at and we only
come across this particular species a few times a year. Good
weather, good fishing and good company was the order of the
day and you’d wish for more trips like this.
But as things go this was short lived and the weather came in
hard once again. I cannot remember in all my time where we’d
get this sort of wet and windy weather right into the month of
June. It was just simply depressing.
Anyway this delay in charter work got me going on the next
project which was bringing a new boat over from Darwin. By the
start of July we’ll have a second vessel which will be bigger in size
and offer more room and comfort. We’ll also have the ability to
take on more numbers on private charters if the clients choose.
I’ve arranged a crew to drive the boat around from the top end
whilst I’ll continue to run charters back home.
Finally we got a decent run in the weather during the back end of
June and we rallied off consecutive days of
charter in a row. We caught good numbers and
varieties of fish most days but there was one
particular day that proved to be really different.
On this day we struggled to catch anything of
significance from off the bottom but on our
surface floating rig we scored 12 spanish
mackerel for the day, which was a really good
result but a bizarre one at that. From this
experience and our previous light tackle day, I
think we might be in for a top notch mackerel season over these
next few cooler months which in my opinion has been a bit lack
lustre in the last couple of years.
Our bookings are extremely busy from this point on, so if you are
thinking of joining us book well in advance.
Cleaning Services
6
Darwin to Bali by Boat
Zammataro Plumbing
*Plumbing *Drainage
*Roofing *Gas fitting
*Marine *Bobcat
*4 in 1 Bucket *Excavator
*Tip Truck
Ph: 4098 2774
sandwich and salad bar
real food, real fresh!
OPEN FROM 8AM
SUPPLEMENT JUICES & SMOOTHIES
wraps - sandwiches -salads
juice bar - curries - coffee
gluten free products
low fat dishes - platters
catering available
quick, healthy, tasty
and great value
available eat in or takeaway
22 Macrossan Street
Port Douglas
By Damian Collete @ Saltaire Charters
For those who have been reading this
publication the last few months would know
that I was due to take the ex-Port Douglas
boat Joe Joe from Darwin over to Bali. I’m
glad to say I have completed the trip recently
and it was a brilliant experience.
Intially I spent a solid week in Darwin getting
the boat ready for the massive trip across the
Timor Sea. The owner Richard Jenkins flew in
from Bali with a few mates and then we
finally departed the Tipperary Marina in
Darwin for the first stretch of the leg which
saw us travel non-stop to Kupang in the West
Timor where we re-fulled via a barge. This
section took us 2 1/2 solid days of crossing
the Timor Sea without seeing any land and
was the hard yards of the trip.
Once re-fuelled we traveled non-stop
overnight to Komodo where we anchored in
a bay the next day so we could swim and go
ashore to see the Komodo Dragons which
were absolutely amazing. To see them wild in
real life roaming around was definitely one of
the main highlights.
We left Komodo the next day to travel to
Labuan Badjo on the island of Flores where
we re-fuelled and got some perishable stores
and bintang beer – the boys had a thirsty
appetite. It was just a quick stop before we
departed for Lombok and the Gili Islands and
in getting there we travelled by the northern
side of Bima and Sumbawa right in between
the volcano that erupted and closed down
airports in Indo and Australia only a couple of
weeks later. The actual volcano is on the
island of Pulau Sangeang and to think it
could have easily erupted whilst we were
there is a scary thought.
We went around the top of Lombok and the
Gillies stopping for a couple of hours for a
swim then it was onto Benoa Harbour in Bali
to clear customs and immigrations. This was
a painful task to say the least and took a
couple hours with a lots of paperwork to get
through.
Following this we then moved the boat to its
new home at Serangan which is an island a
couple of miles north of Benoa in between
Nusa Dua and Sunur. We had a traditional
Hindu blessing of the boat to welcome it to
the village. This was indeed a very unique
experience.
I stayed on for an extra 3 weeks tidying the
boat and taking Richard and his friends on
day trips to surrounding islands around Bali
like Nusa Lembongan. Seriously I could have
stayed on for a lot longer as it was all so much
fun but charter work back in Port Douglas
saw me eventually returning home.
Along the way we didn’t do much fishing as
the back deck had fuel pods, spare props,
game chair, stairs etc.. all over it but we did
catch some yellow fin and bluefin tuna on
lures as we were traveling. We never saw the
winds get above 10 knots so it was pretty
smooth sailing the entire time. The whole trip
was a real adventure from the very beginning
and a wonderful experience.
Seafood Restaurant
Offering the freshest of
seafood from local fishermen
Non-seafood menu items
also available
Dine in and take away
Fully Licensed
Cnr Macrossan & Owen St
(diagonally opposite Post Office)
Open 7 days
Lunch & Dinner
Phone 4099 5433
[email protected]
www.finzportdouglas.com
SALTAIRE Charters
Phone
0459 323 888
6AM - 8PM
7 DAYS
Fishing Gear
Bait and Ice
Auto Care
Hot Food
Sandwiches
Cold Drinks
129 Alchera Drive Mossman QLD 4873 Ph: 07 4098 1656
ABN: 34 069 005 438 003
7
On the Daintree
By Jamie Beitzel
It was a relief to finally see the rain subside
towards the end of the month and see the
Daintree region dry out to a certain degree. We
are now seeing a bit more salt water push up
beyond the ferry although the water is still
pretty fresh beyond there.
The first part of the month was a challenging
time in adverse conditions with the SE winds
blowing and the temperature was quite cool.
During this period I reverted to pumping
yabbies and using fresh prawns for bait and
concentrated mainly across the flats for
activity. The fishing was reasonable and we
sourced plenty of grunter, sickle fish, feather
bream, whiting and mid sized permit. There
was also your contingency of stingrays to
contend with when you attempt this style of
fishing. Also when the weather was poor I did
venture upstream on a couple of occasions and
using dead baits caught some nice mangrove
jack and really big bream amongst the snags.
When the weather started to improve we
started to catch a few more solid fingermark
up to 4.5kg down in the saltier sections of the
river and there were quite a few mid sized
giant trevally around up to 2kg in size which
are both decent sized river fish.
On the really calm days I took every
opportunity to fish out the front of the river
and on one of those days I had a blinding
session using poppers on those big 1m
queenfish. I found them schooling up on a
pressure point and caught a dozen of these
fish for my client. This is exciting sportfishing at
its best as these fish really put on an impressive
aerial display.
On other days I fished the inshore patches and
enjoyed great success on the large mouth
nannygai and in conjunction caught quite a
few different trevally species as well. There
were brassy trevally which go really hard
when hooked up, there were a few golden
trevally which are a prized catch and the tealeaf trevally were thick at times and were of a
decent size around the 70cm range. These
days, when the trevally are around in
numbers, are just terrific for the clients as
they bite aggressively for extended periods
and they pull like freight trains. It makes for
an action packed fishing session and a whole
lot of back breaking, arm extending fun.
At different times I did a bit of trolling in the
same areas and picked up quite a few grey
mackerel and the occasional spanish
mackerel. The secret lure was the old
fashioned bumper bar lure but in gold. I
found it at the bottom of the tackle box and
actually forgot I still had it. With a new set of
hooks attached it worked an absolute treat
and it will remind me to purchase some more
on my next visit to the tackle store.
There was one other day when there was a
bit of traffic on the inshore patches, so I shot
out to Pratt Rock to do some popper fishing.
This worked out brilliantly and we enjoyed a
great little session hooking up to formidable
giant trevally and spanish mackerel smashing
the lures on the surface. It was excellent !
Let’s hope the better weather is more
consistent moving forward because if it does
the overall fishing around the Daintree River
can be very productive and quite diverse.
I’ll see you on the Daintree or somewhere
nearby soon ...
Big Draw Winner - Brendan Smith
River - Reef - Game
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Pool and spa service
Repairs and sales of
all equipment
 Chemical sales and
delivery
 8 Star Energy Saving
Pumps
 1 Free service/ water
test for new customers


Daryl Taylor
0404 286 187
Ph/Fax 4098 5780
[email protected]
James Beitzel’s
RIVER, COAST
and REEF
Call 4090 7638
Head down to Malone’s Seafood with your catch by 5:00pm and by 8:00am
the next morning they will have your catch
• Filleted in slabs or portion • Vacuum packed
• Labeled in a foam box ready to go
ALL FOR ONLY $7.00 PER KILO
FOR MORE INFO PHONE 07 - 4099 4001
or head down to
Shop 24, 11-17 Macrossan St, Port Village, Port Douglas
8
Local Focus with Keith Graham
By Heff
PORT DOUGLAS
FRESH
Local Seafood
•PRAWNS•OYSTERS
•MUD CRABS•BUGS
•CALAMARI
•SMOKED & MARINATED
PRODUCE
•CONDIMENTS
•FRESH SALAD•PLATTERS
•LUNCH PACKS
•PRAWNS COOKED DAILY
OPEN 10am - 5.30pm
TUESDAY – SUNDAY (Closed Mondays)
11 Grant Street, Port Douglas
Phone: 4099 4960
River - Reef - Game
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Bistro
TAB - Pokies
Drive Thru
Bottleshop
Sky Channel
Pool Table
Full AirCon
Reef St
Four Mile
Port Douglas
Ph: 4099 3655
Without question Keith Graham is one of the
Far North’s leading fishing ambassadors.
Keith originated from Yorkshire in northern
England whereby he found his passion for
fishing catching small perch from a local sand
quarry at the age of 7yrs old.
At this stage of his life his father was a miner
and his mother a cleaner and claims to be of a
total working class mould. As a youngster
Keith would compete in endless amounts of
fishing competitions and was fortunate to
receive a scholarship at the elite Queen
Elizabeth’s Grammar School from which he
graduated as a teenager.
Following school Keith found himself
working in quite a few different areas in both
England and Australia including being a clerk
at a timber yard, manager of Dolcis a British
shoemaker before securing a job downunder
at Wollongong with the Mars confectionery
group. He eventually became a national sales
manager for the group and got to see and fish
many places around the country.
It was a holiday in 1997 to Cairns that really
caught his attention and he made the bold
choice to relocate his then young family to the
region. Keith tried a few different vocations
including running a service station, owning
an art gallery, managing Erskine’s Tackle Shop
and being a freelance travel and fishing
journalist. The fishing aspect always seemed
to turn up at the forefront of his thoughts and
thus the decision to establish his own tackle
store.
Photo: courtesy Marc McCormack / Cairns Post
TRINITY
SPORTFISHING
Port Douglas
to book call
0411 774 804
www.trinitysportfishing.com.au
[email protected]
Catch the
excitement
of calmwater
fishing
Nowadays Keith is the proud owner of
Bransfords Tackle store in the northern
beaches of Cairns and has now been
operating for over 21 years. He named the
business after a legend of the marlin industry
George Bransford who found his way into the
world record books in 1966 having caught
the first ever recorded black marlin to weigh
in excess of 1000lb’s (453kg) and put the
township of Cairns on the world map. Since
this day the region is regarded as the marlin
capital of the world where the highest rate of
1000lb plus caught marlin anywhere around
the globe come from our local waters.
In between working at the store Keith is
always the avid adventurer enjoying
s w i m m i n g , c y c l i n g , p h o t o g r a p h y,
caravanning and travelling locally and abroad.
His travels have seen him fish in over 40
different countries around the world and his
explorations in far northern Australia are very
well known and documented.
Despite having seen so much of the world,
Keith still claims that our local Great Barrier
Reef and north Australian river systems are
still his favourite places to wet a line. His most
treasured moment occurred last year when he
tangled with an estimated 950lb black marlin
for several hours using 24kg stand up gear
whilst fishing with good mate Bill Spooner.
They eventually caught the fish and cut the
line and the thrill of seeing such a majestic
creature swim off free was a thrill he’ll never
forget.
Apart from his fishing exploits Keith is a
wonderful supporter to the local community
running the annual Kids Fishing Day at Palm
Cove and is a champagne supporter of the
local Port Douglas Marlin Challenge. Keith’s
store is conveniently located on the main
highway at Clifton Beach and is an iconic
tackle store in many respects and is referred to
as one of the very best in Australia. Be sure to
drop in and say g’day, Keith is always up for a
yarn and you’ll soon realise that his passion
for the sport is unsurmountable.
Ph: 0417 876 975
Extended
Reef Fishing
Trips
9
Gone are the Great Coastal Roads
By Heff
Recently I completed a road trip from Sydney
to Port Douglas, over 3000km in distance
and from memory I saw the ocean from the
road at a fleeting glance only 3 times before
reaching Cairns. It was not what you would
call a coastal drive in any certain terms.
I remember my parents a few years ago
having travelled from Victoria to the
Whitsunday’s comment that they were
extremely disappointed in what was
supposed to be one of those coastal road trips
to remember. Having just followed in similar
footsteps I could totally understand where
they were coming from. Now with the
construction of major highways the only
coastal town you actually drive through is
Coffs Harbour in NSW. Every other town or
destination of note is by-passed and you have
to divert off the highway and travel quite
some distance in some cases to visit these
places. Then to keep heading north you have
to make your way back to the highway to
keep proceeding which puts some
considerable time and kilometres on your trip.
I was on a time frame to get back home and
had to stick to the main highway but it would
have been nice to at least have laid eyes on
some of our more iconic landmarks and
townships along the way. For example, in
NSW if you were wanting to view places like
Newcastle, Port Macquarie, West Rocks,
Evans Head, Byron Bay and the multitude of
coastal National Parks you have to divert
some distance to get to them. Then in QLD
the same applied for the entire Gold Coast,
the whole length of the Sunshine Coast,
Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Yepoon, Airlie Beach
and Mission Beach just for example. If you
were to make the effort to visit these places
and spend some valuable time at each one
you’d need weeks to do so.
Now in saying all this the main highway did
provide some nice views along the way and
the landscape through the Hawkesbury River
region was very impressive and appealed as a
destination to re-visit and spend some time
at. The stunning mountains, luscious bush
land and expansive river system was simply
beautiful.
Being an avid fisherman, any river or water
system that I travelled by I took special note of
and the massive Clarence River catchment
system north of Grafton in NSW was
incredible. You could tell that this maze of
water was the life line to those that lived in
the region and for miles you travelled along
the picturesque river banks. There were also
plenty of other nice big rivers systems that you
travelled over at various stages and there
seemed to be plenty of calm water fishing
experiences on offer right along the entire
east coast. How well they fished is anyone’s
guess but they did look inviting.
Other than this it was bitumen all the way and
there were only a few small townships that
you actually passed through to break up the
monotony.
As the country continues to populate in size &
further develop great coastal roads such as
the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and even
our beautiful stretch between Cairns and Port
Douglas seem to be a thing of the past. It’s a
pity because there’s something nostalgic
about cruising along watching beautiful
sandy beaches & seeing the ocean blue water
lap onto the foreshore as you drive along.
Local Retailers
of these fishing and
camping products:
Reels
Rods
Lures
Line
Lures
Outdoor Gear
Coolers & Eskies
Receive
30% Off RRP by
mentioning this ad!
Captain Cook Hwy
Craiglie
River - Reef - Game
Great Ocean Rd Victoria
Cairns - Pt. Douglas
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
10
PD Sportfishing
By Jake Wyatt
The Port Douglas Florist
Fresh & Friendly
Floral Design
Delivering to
Port Douglas
Mossman
& Cairns
Ph: 07 4099 5503
River
Reef
Game
Fish with the Best
in the Business
Ph: 0409 610 869
We saw a reasonably busy month go by,
especially towards the back end when the
weather finally took a turn for the better and
the school holiday period began to grow with
momentum.
Our best fishing exploits without question
came when we had the opportunity to hit the
coastal scene. The reefs south of Port
Douglas saw the action thick and fast and we
always caught large numbers of just legal
large mouth nannygai when we travelled
there and on quite a few occasions the large
mouth were on the bigger side around
several kilograms in size. A lot of the time
these fish are mostly juveniles along the coast
so it was pleasing to see there were plenty of
legal fish about.
On these travels south we also came across a
multitude of school mackerel and they
seemed to be everywhere on a couple of
these days. We’d spend countless hours
casting metal slices and soft plastics into
these schools with great effect, catching and
releasing as many fish as we wanted. On the
light spinning gear these fish certainly
possess plenty of power and provide the
client with the thrill of a fish tearing up the
ocean surface with their blistering runs.
Our runs further up north of Port Douglas
also provided plenty of action around the
wrecks and coastal wonky holes and the fish
were more in your heavy weight division.
Thumping large mouth nannygai were up
and about and there were big schools of
bludger trevally to contend with as well as
the odd big eye and golden trevally. Even
though the bludger variety aren’t of eating
quality they certainly make up for this on
the rod and reel. Other than the giant
trevally they come in a close second pound
for pound for brute strength for this
particular family species. When they are
collectively on the bite these punishing fish
certainly give the angler one hell of a fishing
session that leaves them battered and sore.
It’s all good fun !
To add to these days up north we also came
across quite a few grey mackerel whilst
trolling in between locations and it was
good to see that we still have a population
of them in the area. These fish are also very
tasty and just about on par with the old
spanish mackerel.
We also spent a bit of time further offshore
around the edges of Batt Reef and found
ourselves rallying up a few spanish mackerel
trailing around a spread of hard body lures
as well catching as a host of mixed reef
species off the bottom. We also snaffled a
couple of decent giant trevally casting
poppers along the pressure edges of the
reef and there was a good variety of fishing
to be experienced on these particular trips.
I’m hoping that we may see a better run of
weather coming up after an ordinary start
to the year because I’m relishing the
thought of fishing more and more along the
coast. With more cooler currents coming up
from down south the fishing will only get
better.
FULL RANGE OF GROCERIES
• LOCAL BREAD • DELICATESSEN
• FRESH FRUIT & VEGIES • FREEZER
• DAIRY • FRESH MEAT • BAIT & ICE
Phone: (07) 4069 5633 | Fax: (07) 4069 5569
29 Helen St, Cooktown, QLD 4895
PO BOX 351 Cooktown, QLD 4895
Email: [email protected]
OPENING HOURS:
MON–FRI: 8AM - 7PM | SAT: 8AM - 6PM | SUN: 8AM - 5PM
11
Reel Cooking
with Mojo’s
Mick Hart
Saffron Butter Sauce
Ingredients
1 pinch saffron threads
1/2 Spanish onion diced
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 orange juiced
1 bay leaf
½ cup white wine
Splash of cream
200g unsalted butter
(Butter should be cold and cut
into pieces)
Method
In a small saucepan, combine the saffron,
onion, lemon and wine.
Simmer the mixture until it is reduced to about a 2tbsp.
Add the cream and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of
pieces at a time. Warm sauce gently from time to time to
help melt butter but don't let it get hot.
Strain and keep warm.
Serve with any grilled or pan fried fish. Also try tossing sauce
with warm pasta and crab meat.
0419 015 262
LINE BURNER DVD
Available online
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Mossman Butchering Company
FREE Delivery to
surrounding areas
DAILY
No Order too
Big or Small
Specialise in
Camping & Boating
Vacuumed Packages
Multiple
Award Winners
GOLD
Gourmet
Sausages
All Beef & Pork
is locally
sourced from the
rich volcanic soils
of the Tablelands
Now Mossman’s
Only Specialiased
Butchery
PROUD
SUPPORTERS
of the
Junior & Senior
AFL CROCS
3 Junction Rd Mossman • Ph/Fax 4098 2244
12
Camping on the Mitchell River
By ‘Sharky’ Shane Down
A wholly owned and operated local
company, distributing wholesale dry,
chilled and frozen grocery items direct
to the kitchens of leading restaurants,
cafes, hotels and sports &
entertainment venues.
Proudly Servicing
Port Douglas,
Mossman, Cairns
and District
Phone 4035 3911
River - Reef - Game
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
Mens Style Cuts
from $20
With the weather still playing havoc in late
May I still had a bit of annual leave to go and
decided to head west to the Mitchell River to
avoid the wind and rain that was driving me
mad back on the coast. With my camper
trailer and brand new 12V 85l Eva Kool
fridge/ freezer all ready to go it was time to
hit the road.
I had already booked a section of river at the
Hurricane Station and arrived there after a
couple of hours drive at midday. I had to sign
the paperwork and pay the $20 per night
rate which is such great value. It was a short
drive from the homestead to my campsite
which was a beautiful stretch of river lined
with mellelueca gum trees on one side and
had nice sandy banks on the other. It took
me only 15 minutes to set up the entire
camp and it was time to crack a coldie and
relax.
Next job was to go and put out the yabby
pots and check out potential places to have a
fish. Having placed the pots in various places
it was time to collect plenty of fire wood and
set up the campfire which is always the
centre piece of any campsite. I’d actually
forgotten to bring along some paper but
there was plenty of paper bark around to
help get the fire going.
Now that camp was in order I grabbed my
4kg spinning outfit and some lures and went
for a wander. I flicked lures for about an hour
without any success and checked the yabby
pots just on dark to be rewarded with one
solitary red claw. This didn’t worry me too
much because I knew the red claw and
Keith Lawrence
PORT DOUGLAS FUELS
Bait & Ice
Dickson Inlet, Port St,
Phone:
Port Douglas, Qld 4873
or:
P.O. Box 47, Mossman 4873 Qld
or:
Fax: (07) 4099 6884
A/Hrs:
07
07
07
07
4099
4099
4099
4098
6792
6793
6794
8222
cherabin were most active under the cover
of darkness.
It was time to cook dinner, some sweet
potato and spuds wrapped in alfoil and
thrown on the hot coals along with some
steak cooked on the hot plate. There’s
something so tasteful about simple campfire
cooking.
It was time to check the pots one last time
which saw a further 2 red claw and also I
managed to pick up another 3 just using the
torch light and grabbing them by hand in the
shallows. It was time to hit the fart sack and
get ready an early morning rise.
Right on day break I was out cranking up the
fire and then checking the pots as priority. It
was a little disappointing to only find 2 red
claw and one nice cherabin in the pots. Back
to camp I put my meagre haul in the live bait
bucket and there was already collectively
enough there for a feed.
After a stiff coffee I unloaded the dingy and
dragged it down to the water and loaded it
with fishing gear. With the pup all aboard
we headed upstream cruising through this
magical piece of paradise. In between
dodging all the shallow rocky sections I did
spot half a dozen little freshwater crocs up to
1.5m in length. After travelling about 1km in
distance I cut the motor and it was time to
drift back downstream casting lures. At first I
had plenty of hits and caught some small
sooty grunters before I hooked up to a
beauty. This fish had power to burn peeling
line off the spool and eventually busted me
up amongst the snags.
Authentic Aussie Cuisine
Best Live Gigs in Town
Karaoke Nights
Big Screen Sports
Pool Tables
Cane Toad Racing
5 Macrossan St
Ph: 4099 4776
River - Reef - Game
Ph: 0409 610 869
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
I put on another little shallow diving lure and
continued my quest. A few hundred metres further
downstream I hooked up to another solid fish which
really pushed my 4kg outfit to the limit. I had a bit
more luck on my side and landed this horse of a sooty
grunter which was destined for lunch as a fish cake
burger. I soon after arrived back at camp and cooked
the sooty burger on the hot plate. The fish was a bit
tough at first so I cooked it for longer and this helped
it to become more tender and it actually turned out
be quite a nice feed.
All content it was time to chill out and read a book for
awhile. There is something to be said about being in
such a tranquil and beautiful area only having the
sounds of the river trickling by with the birds singing
away.
By late afternoon it was time again to re-bait and reset the pots for the evening and I dropped them in
different places to the night before in hope of
securing a few more tasty crustaceans.
Talking of tasty crustaceans, just on dark I decided to
cook up what I had already caught, which wasn’t
much, and put the red claw and cherabin meat into
an omelette mix which cooked up bloody
sensationally on the hot plate. The accompanying
stunning sunset made it all that more delightful.
After dinner it was time for a quick check of pots
which only produced one decent red claw - bugger.
Hopefully by morning there would be a better result
and it was time to crash.
Up at sparrows I was wrapped to discover 5 plump
cherabin had found their way into my pots. These
nice big elbow slappers were put in the Eva Kool and
would be enjoyed for dinner back home. It was time
for a quick coffee before packing up and driving back
over the range to the coast.
It’s always a treat to head to the Mitchell River for a
quick break because it’s not that far away and the
landscape is so picturesque. It’s definitely one of my
favourite places in the Far North.
Team Reel Impression
PORT DOUGLAS TIDE TABLE JULY 2014
13
Tide times provided by courtesy of Maritime
Safety Queensland. For more information,
see the Official Tide Tables and Boating
Safety Guide published by Maritime
Queensland and the World Wide Web at
http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/qldtides. The
tidal predictions for Port Douglas are
supplied by the National Tidal Centre,
Bureau of Meteorology, copyright reserved.
14
You name the Fish .... I’ll Handcraft the Rod
Custom Handcrafted Rods
By Laurie Casey
Mob: 0408 184 830
Ph/Fax: 07 4045 0700
E: [email protected]
Diesel Bug Killer is now here! The ‘GP Fuel Minder’ will Kill Diesel Bug
Reduce water content – Cut exhaust emissions
Improve performance – All this & no Snake Oil
Easy to fit & expert help available - Call Ian Creevey 0413 735 227
www.pfmblue.com
Latest - Product Preview
By Lachie at Nautical Marine
“Always remember: Elephants will eat Peanuts just like a Big Barra
will eat micro baitfish!!” I can still remember the day I was given this
piece of advice many years ago by my Dad. It has helped me land
many big fish over the years with small baits or lure presentations
when nothing else was working. Probably the best example of this I
have had was one arvo flicking for Barra at a local well known
causeway. This particular session I had thrown nearly every Barra lure
I owned for hours without even a touch. I could hear the fish boofing
and it was starting to get late. As a last ditch effort I tied on a small
soft plastic and gave it a flick. It only took one cast and a 98cm Barra
took a liking to it and inhaled the little grub! After a long fight I
landed the fish and noticed it had coughed up some extremely small
baitfish which just goes to show that you have to “match the hatch”
no matter what the species!!
Far too often we see anglers in FNQ using nothing but the usual 1215cm hard body lures like Gold Bombers with the mentality that
bigger bait = bigger fish. While these larger lures certainly have a
time and a place it can pay to downsize to smaller lures especially in
the winter months. There have been some massive schools of small
Sardines and Hardy Heads showing up in Dickson Inlet recently,
literally by the thousand. Most days along the foreshore these
schools can be found getting savaged by marauding mobs of
predators such as Trevally, Queenfish, Mangrove Jacks and a host of
other species. Finding the right lure presentation to match these
micro baitfish has always proven difficult over the years, until now!
Introducing the new Zerek Live Flash Minnows!! The perfect “small
schooling baitfish” imitation!!
Straight away I had a feeling that the smaller 70mm models would
certainly come in handy
when the fish were entirely
focused with feeding on
small fry. These little gems
are made of a TPE plastic material which basically means they have a
high tear resistance and will stretch to over twice their length. This
makes them ideal for our tough and toothy fish of the Far North.
They can be rigged weedless for fishing right up in the snags or
matched to a normal strong jighead like a TT Headlock. They come in
an amazing range of colours with each one having a flashy foil strip
inside the body to catch the fish's attention. I know of a few people
who have been using them with good success at night under the
bright lights of the Marina, they really seem to light up and are perfect
for vertical jigging. Give the Zerek Live Flash Minnows a crack; they
certainly tick all the right boxes.
Staff Member Jacob has been giving the Zerek Live Flash Minnows a
good test lately with some great results so far landing everything from
Jungle Perch to Barra on them. This 65cm Barra is 1 of 4 that he picked
up in a session walking the bank. This Barra was fooled by the small
70mm model rigged on a 1/0 Jighead!! Picture on Back page ...
Another new micro lure hitting our shelves this month is the Halco
Roosta 45. This is the smallest of the popular
and successful Roosta Popper range and has
been a big hit amongst the local juniors who
seemed to have all cottoned on to the small
lure craze! For such a compact lure these sure
do make a big splash and commotion!!
Many of the Jungle Perch fisho's have been having good success picking
up some cracking JP's locally. Another bonus is that they come rigged
standard with Mustad hooks which is great should that big fish decide
to eat it!!
And last but not least we have sourced a range of high quality fillet
knives without the big price tag!! The Sharp brands of knives are made
using the highest quality German Steel, the exact same steel used in
most of the big name brands of knives!! These great blades are matched
up with a super comfy non-slip handle
and are every bit as good as a knife of
3 times the price. I used one last
weekend for the first time and it may
sound silly but it was almost too sharp
for my liking straight out of the box!!!
They are amazing value at just
$19.95!!
Chandlery & Electronics - Fishing Tackle & Rod Hire - Charts & Books - Tour Bookings - Marine Insurance - Yacht Brokering
Swivel’s tape measure
Essential item at $11
NAUTICAL
MARINE SALES
Laser Pro 190 Lures
Crazy 2 for $25
ABN: 19 741 153 755
All TT Jig Heads
2 for $15 or
3 for $20
Monthly Specials
Rule 800gph
Bilge Pump
Won’t Buy Any
Cheaper $39.95
P O RT D O U G L A S
N
E
W
S
Andrew & Jane McNeil - Shop 2, 30 Wharf Street - PO Box 727, Port Douglas
Ph: (07) 4099 6508 Mob: 0400 721 110 E: [email protected]
Heavy Duty
4 Entry
Crab Pots
5 for $70
White LED
Nav Lights
$29.95
Monthly Specials
15
Rainforest Mosquitoes
The magical Daintree rainforest is the oldest in the World. Other forests have been altered or affected by
natural events that changed their progress whereas the Daintree maintained its way. There are many things
happening in forests that keep them healthy, like rainfall, climate and general bio-diversity. It all sounds so
good really, however, there are some nasty little things that are involved there that the forests depend on.
Enter the mosquitoes!
As our guests wander through our property and down the path to the boat landing they sometimes come
across a few mossies. As most of our guests don't come across them so often they are easy targets, especially
those wearing dark clothing. I'm told that mossies see dark clothing as a large animal and then they detect
carbon dioxide given off from the body. This is obviously a magnet. Animal blood is sought by the female
mossie to fatten her up to nourish her eggs, but it is not necessarily a source of food. The eggs are laid
in water and before long the larvae develop (known and seen as wrigglers). This wriggler then pupates to become the
adult mossie.
I once heard a tour guide telling his guests that mossies are vital to rainforests. Not only do they fit into the food chain whereby
they are eaten by bats, birds and others but bio-logically they spread beneficiary decomposers throughout rotting vegetation.
The main food source for mossies is taken through the probiscus which penetrates microscopic veins and channels in
decomposing vegetation. Not only are they nourished but decomposers are transferred from one plant to another thereby
maintaining a healthy gene pool. Effective decomposition is then carried down into the soil which provides food for the
forest trees.
You've probably seen large mossies. They are males and they won't bother you because they don't consume animal blood. Their
wing beats are quiet whereas the smaller ones (females) make a buzzing sound because they flap faster.
I'm told there about 300 species of mossies and most are harmless but some can spread diseases to humans. Some diseases
include Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses, Malaria, Dengue and others. So, when out and about, be sensible and apply good
repellents, especially one that contains DEET! See you next month.
CHILLY DOG
Air Conditioning & Refrigeration
Specialising in:
Commercial refrigeration & air conditioning
- LAND & MARINE
Sales of commercial fridges, freezers, beer glycol systems,
air conditioners, ice machines AND installation of all if required.
Full maintenance & break down service available.
Locally owned & operated: Contact Sean Roberts
Ph: 0488 080 240
[email protected]
Ph: 0412 329 568
rs
Cove
Line Burner
www.imagebankaustralia.com.au
Any Type of printing –
Little to
HUMONGOU
S
Lotsa can display some of your fabulous fishing photos as a
collage and create a full colour gloss vinyl banner (600 x 840mm)
with aluminium snap-in hangers to make a unique Wall Hanging.
Priced from $60, it is perfect as a gift or a special memento of your fishing trip.
Port Douglas 4099 3366 Cairns 4041 0230 Atherton 4091 7733 Townsville 4775 1981
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Local Bragging Board
Port Douglas Sportfishing reported
good signs that there are a
m
few
Grey Mackerel in the region
c
3
7
his
aught t tree River
c
m
a
h
ra
ain
Keith G ead on the D oft plastic
h
s
t
la
in
F
b
a
3.25kg Zerek Cher
a
g
usin
Visiting angler to
Port Douglas
Jack sent in this
phot
Large Mouth Nann o of a
acob of
J
a
ygai he
r
rr
e
a
b
b
r
m
e
inte
caught aboard
Staff M
ght this w stic
u
a
c
s
le
a
Dragon Lady Char
Marine S Flash Minnow pla
ters
Nautical
k
re
e
Z
a
g
usin
Christian
Bar Chee Webb caught this
k
c
fishing a Trout using an O racking
n isolate
ctopus J
d inshore
ig
reef patc
h
Jamie Beitzel’s
On The Daintre
has been catc
e
hing those clas
sic
big 1m Queen
fish