# Whitsundays 27 May - 5 June 2008



## Ado

My wife and I spent our 1st anniversary at Peppers on long Island last November. Unfortunately it was a week where reef fishing was banned, but (for a change) this did nothing to lesson the experience. One of many highlights was drifting around the edge of the reef dropoff to be surprised by a GT as it cruised in from the murky depths. It seemed almost as big as me, and I have to say it was difficult not to panic as it came past for another look. It's an amazing place; wildlife central. I look forward to the pics Kraley, and a perhaps a few more of your empassioned words.


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## fishydude

Anchored off the Whitsundays when I was on Darwin on the way back from the gulf. Wanted the ship to look nice for the cameras in Sydney so we painted the side that would face the wharf...lol. Of course the waterline had to be painted too, so bobbing up and down in a life jacket with a paint brush in hand is how it was accomplished. I somehow think your trip might have been nicer...lol. Can't wait to read about it.
Cheers 
Mike


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## wopfish

You've got me all in suspenders !!!!


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## Cuda

How's the itch going Woppie? Getting worse by the minute if you are taking on "Occy like" fetishes such as cross dressing now :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## wopfish

Maate - its getting pretty bad !!!! Its a disease the manifests itself in many ways ..... i crave for turquoise water and reef..... the cross dressing is just something ive always done :lol: :lol:


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## Barnsie

Thanks for the vids and posts guys. I was just re-assuring my self how much i DID NOT want to be stuck in sydney for 2 weeks of solid rain! Hope you boys had a good time, i look forward to hearing some of the stories over a couple of beers sometime soon.

Barnsie


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## Dave73

C'mon Team Whitsundays! Have you all taken a vow of silence or something?? ;-)

We want words and photo's....and plenty of 'em....


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## L3GACY

redphoenix said:


> And a bit of a sense of what the fishing was like for reef species


Cheeky bastard. Well done lads, something that I'm sure you'll all remember for a very long time. After doing a charter up there I can only imagine the sort of time you guys would have had with your own boat and kayaks to boot.

But....

We gonna see some pelagics or what?


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## bazzoo

Sounds like a fantastic trip , well done guys , would love to see more photos, and some more detail, although i really dont want to know about the rusty trumpet :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## bazzoo

Leigh , great report , i have been looking forward to this one, and am looking forward to hearing more , now i actually think i should hear about the rusty trumpet, it seems to me it may have something to do with the wascally wabbit Paulie ;-) , God love im , ohh boy this was really an adventure


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## mantabay

*Fantastic to see some Yakkers out in the Whits,* I've been off line and on a Marine engineering Course in Townsville and so didn't know anybody was heading out to the Islands, , , Kick myself now cos I know the area well and may have tagged along or at least met up with you guys out on the water. Looking pretty windy from your photos but I hope the last couple of days wasn't to bad when it eased up. 
It 's a lot of fun in Stonehaven casting plastics and hard bodies over the reefs, can also be a good spot for decent Cobia, so I guess you must have got amongst a few fish in that area. 
I caught up with Astro at Shute harbour, it's great to put a face to the name ! 
I'm happy to offer local knowledge to anybody heading up this way, just sorry to have missed you guys this time around, perhaps next time . . . . . . .

Cheers,

Tony.


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## Davey G

Heres My report - its in several parts









*Day 1. Tuesday. *
Arrived in Whitsundays and met up with Pauly and the yak mobile at the Whitsundays Sailing Club for lunch and the first of 1000 beers for the week. We then walked around to Abel point Marina where our floating palace, the 40 foot long catamaran 'Discovery' was moored.

We proceeded to unload all the gear and yaks out of Paulys car and slowly load up the boat.







First thought&#8230;.would we REALLY need all this gear? We had the first half of our safety briefing that afternoon and headed into town to stock up on beers, supplies etc and grab some dinner. A vocal game of poker rounded off the night and we all drifted off to our cabins. 'Cosy' would best describe the sleeping quarters onboard and even though I got lucky and drew an aft double cabin, there was barely enough room for me, one bag and a my box of fishing gear. Still, sleep came easily in anticipation of the week ahead.

*Day 2. Wednesday. *
Our safety briefing was scheduled for 9am so I stayed onboard while the other guys went to the tackle store for some last minute supplies and to get the good oil on where the big ones were biting. The news wasn't great - forecast 20-25 knot winds had been scheduled for the rest of the week and may 'possibly' be easing by Sunday.

Our briefing involved showing us how the boat operated (sails go up, sails go down) and the all important instructions on how to work the marine toilet. With 6 fully grown and hungry men onboard, this piece of knowledge was to prove vital. After the briefing, we sailed out of the marina, hoisted the big flappy white things and started our adventure.







Just out of Airlie Beach, we rounded the first headland to be hit with a South westerly breeze of around 15-20 knots. The sails filled, the boat picked up speed and we were away! Captain Pauly was at the helm and we were all safe in the knowledge that if anything did go wrong, it was his name on the insurance forms and we could blame his crap seamanship. Thankfully, he didn't run us aground and we weren't forced to mutiny&#8230;

Cid Harbour was to be our mooring the first night - it was one of the few anchorages that offered protection from the prevailing winds and as such there were a few other yachts already there.







Captain Pauly tried to drop anchor too close to one rich old fart and got abused but we soon anchored up, had the yaks in the water and had scattered around in search of the bigguns.









The water was murky due to the wind, and the breeze was still up so we stayed within the relative calmness of the harbour. My 2nd cast of the trip produced a short screaming run on my light gear - the first of plenty of 'stripeys' for the trip.







What the fish here may lack in size, they certainly made up for in colour and fighting ability - they were beautiful, but tough and nasty fighters and would drag you into the coral if you gave them too much string.









That night we fished off the back of the boat and Ken, Rawprawn and myself caught small sharks and the others caught various other species of reef fish.




























Red's 'flipperfish' was a highlight, but it was a bit chewy...


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## Davey G

*Day 3. Thursday. *
I woke up around 1am and noticed that one of the Outbacks had come loose from its mooring line and had disappeared in the wind - as it was pitch black my only hope was that it had blown ashore somewhere and we could find it in the morning. At around 6.15 the sounds of Ken Kraley shuffling around on deck muttering swear words to himself confirmed that it was his boat that was no longer present and accounted for. I jumped in the tender with him and we took off in search of the lonely Hobie which we spotted bobbing around on the rocks only a few hundred metres downwind, battered but with all pieces still intact.

That morning we all fished the area. I came across a school of baitfish getting mauled by some big pelagics, and my first cast was monstered before the line was snipped after a short screaming run. Reaching for my heavier popper rod, I fired a cast only to see 4 or 5 big Queenfish like shapes climbing all over the lure. Despite casting at these brutes several times I couldn't get a solid hookup, and then when a 2 metre shark moved in the bigger fish disappeared as fast as they'd arrived.

Around midday we decided to up anchor and do some trolling from the big boat and head around to Tongue Bay for the night.







On the troll, JT hooked up to a small cobia which was mistaken for a lump of weed until he got it to the boat.














He was a little small so was released. We stopped in at Hook Island for some ice and bread, and while I was ashore grabbing the supplies, the other guys too delight in hand feeding giant batfish off the back of the boat.

We motored down to Tongue Bay into the teeth of the raging Sou-wester and 2 metre swell. Large waves were constantly crashing over the decks and it was lucky that the yaks were lashed on tightly. After a couple of hours of this we got to the anchorage only to discover that Ken/Rawprawns cabin hatch was not securely shut and that about 200 litres of seawater was now on Kens bed and sloshing around in his cabin. D'oh&#8230;..

We anchored up and, while Ken set to work wringing out his soggy pillow, blankets and clothing, the rest of us went ashore and took a hike up to the lookout over Hill inlet. The walk up to the summit involved Red taking a few detours to give us a taste of green ants and to lift a dozing carpet python off the track (just as a pommy tour guide came along yelling at him to 'stop poking that snake with a stick')&#8230;






























The view from the lookout was great, but unfortunately for us the area was fairly unfishable if the current wind conditions continued. More fishing off the back of the boat tonight, with Red providing the live bait (via his throw net), and a few more species being added to the collection (Pauly with a Red Emporer and me with a Diamond Trevally). No sharks tonight.









*Day 4. Friday.*
This Bloody wind!!! The wind was still howling so we realised that today was going to be our enforced layover day ashore - Hamilton Island was our destination and as it was Paulys birthday, we didn't need any other reasons to stop and celebrate!. On the way we trolled (without result) and stopped of in Gulnare Inlet for an afternoon fish amongst the mangroves. Shallow muddy water, with mangrove lined creeks reminded us of 'croc country' - but luckily no slide marks were to be seen. A few small fish were caught and I foul - hooked a small turtle. The paddle back up the inlet into the wind wasn't fun, then we pulled the yaks back up onto the catamaran and motored into Hamilton for the night. A few beers, a feed, footy on TV and a couple of games of pool rounded off the night well. Happy birthday Pauly..

*Day 5 Saturday.*
We left Hamilton harbour headed for Stonehaven Anchorage on the North West side of Hook Island. The wind had dropped off to around 8-10 knots so we popped up the sails and made our way slowly north. On the way, we saw a pod of dolphins and, just as we were gybing off North Molle Island, Ken hooked up on his trolling rod. A small shark was the culprit - and he was released.

On reaching Stonehaven, we had the place to ourselves. High surrounding cliffs, beautiful coral reef and blue water suddenly told us we were in the Whitsundays. Within minutes of anchoring up, the boys had their lines in the water and Red had his snorkelling gear on and speargun in hand. The yaks were deployed, lunch was consumed and we all got down to some fishing.

As Red said earlier, when fishing we all spread out so that rarely we saw each other on the water. Our UHF radios were used only sparingly, and most of our fishing was quite a solitary experience. I spotted a school of something busting up baitfish and moved in for a look but couldn't tempt a bite, however I did catch a couple of good sized Grassy Sweetlip on the fringing reef which provided something to throw on the barby.























We were all anticipating some great fishing off the back of the boat that night, but surprisingly it was very quiet.


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## Davey G

*Day 6. Sunday*

Proving that paddle craft are just as capable as pedal yaks, my Prowler decided that it, too could escape the shackles of the mothership overnight&#8230;. However with a strong current running out past Hayman Island into the Pacific Ocean I'd hoped that my yak would be safe and sound. After a few anxious moments, I finally spotted it banging against the rocks about a kilometre away&#8230;phew&#8230;.

Today we were staying put at Stonehaven as the fishing was great. The wind had backed right off, but it was now raining cats and dogs. However this was the tropics afterall, so it wasn't exactly cold&#8230;, and I figured the fish don't care whether its raining!









I think we all caught dozens of fish and plenty of new species today. Lots of sweetlip, stripeys, wrasses, spotted mackerel and various cods were caught. I even caught a coral trout - only just legal at a snip under 40cm, but amazing how hard the little bugger pulled for his size (and how about those colours!). Later that afternoon I caught a nice Turrum (trevally) which went 50cms and was put in the well to become sashimi.








































































*Day 7. Monday*
After a quick morning fish we headed across to re-stock at Hayman Island. Hayman is a private resort and our landing party of JT and Red was inspected and told to turn around before they'd even set foot on land. Obviously the resort security have high standards&#8230;

We motored around to the Eastern side of Hook Island, dragging trolled lures as we went, and then stopped at a spot to jig for GT's (one of the tackle shop guys hot spots). Nuthin.

We then proceeded further south to Saba Bay - another beautiful anchorage which looked 'fishy'. Yaks off the boat (we were getting GOOD at this by now!) and fishing rods deployed, we all set off to various sides of the bay to explore.







Reports that night from team AKFF were of huge mackeral, massive sharks, GT's within arms reach, mega turtles and coral that was all colours of the rainbow. Adding to the appeal was that the wind had dropped, the sun had come out and the conditions were perfect.























Night fishing saw a couple of us busted off on good runs, and plenty of live baits getting eaten by unseen creatures of the deep. We were all keen to get amongst it again in the morning, so early to bed.

*Day 8. Tuesday *
Up and attem. The 'hot spot' reported fom the previous afternoon had been the lagoon at the northern end of the bay. Totally dry at low tide, it was a hive of activity when the water covered it at high water, which just happened to be at 10am. 6 yaks slowly worked around the calmness of the lagoon with the occasional 'yahoo' and 'yeeharr' resonating from various quarters. The lagoon had everything - mangroves at one end, shallow rocky edges, extensive sandflats, coral bommies and deeper holes.























I personally saw several GT's cruising, along with dozens of sharks, big manta rays, and other unidentified pelagics. I could happily fishthis 200 metre wide x 500 metre long piece of water my entire life and be satisfied - it was simply awesome.

As with anything, all good things must come to an end and we needed to get back to a closer anchorage for the night to make our scheduled drop off the next morning, so we pulled stumps mid afternoon and headed across to South Molle Island which was our last anchorage. A trip into the resort for a few more icy beverages and then we went back to the boat for our big fish fry.

*Day 9. Wednesday*
We motored back into Airlie Beach, unpacked the yacht and cleaned up.

Today was a day tinged with great memories, sadness at realisation that the trip was done and also happiness in knowing that we'd soon be back with our families (who we'd all missed).

We were all happy in knowing that we'd made a plan, pulled it together and done it to the best of our abilities. We'd started out as 6 individuals who really had only met each other briefly via the forum and a few gatherings, and we'd finished up as good mates who all got on really well in each others company. The social side of the trip was every bit as good as the fishing, and the light hearted and easy going attitude that each of us brought to the trip really made the week special. I'd like to thank each of the guys for their friendship, and the easy going manner in which we got along will be a memory that will stay with me forever.

Cheers.


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## paffoh

Thanks for sharing guys,

Something special, probably never to be repeated...

Was a great read / pictorial , awesome work ( Except for the yaks on rocks bit ).


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## Peril

Well done guys. I'm green


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## bazzoo

Davey , thank you , fantastic report and what a great time , a once in a lifetime event you will re-live forever, its great to do something like you guys have with such a great group of new mates and get on so well , your all champions , i am really enjoying reading all this and love the photos , i guess Paulie will be back now and at work tomorrow daydreaming all day , good onya guys


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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## Physhopath

Well done fellas, keep it coming !!


----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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----------



## onemorecast

Wow, looks and sounds like a great adventure. I'll join the ranks of those who are green. ;-)


----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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


----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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


----------



## yakfly

top report and pics guys
you sure know how to make this old Mackay boy homesick


----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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## craig450

Wow, what a great read!! fantastic report, photos and results guys, well done to you all.

It sounds like a awesome experience, that is one place i would love to visit oneday 8)


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## rawprawn

I can't add anymore to what has already been said. Other than the lack of any personal hygiene it was a memorable time with great mates that I won't forget. My liver is still the size of a small child as a result of the beer consumption and my waist has expanded from JTs awesome cooking.

The biggest fish I saw on the trip was the Brown Eyed Rusty Trumpeter. A horrible woolly looking fish with a very ordinary taste. I personally hope I never see its like again.


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## rawprawn

Other than JTs great cooking there was an awesome soup that we all worked on together. I wish I had taken a photo of it because it was memorable and a lot of effort had gone into making it.


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## keza

i could go with the: great report, amazing pics, wish i was there type approach, BUT i feel it is all summed up better with one word.

*BASTARDS*


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## wopfish

Well done fellas - some great shots there too. That was quite a trek with those yaks up to Qld but you guys showed us the way. Plenty of fish there too !

Were you hoping to catch a few more larger fish.... and if so any thoughts on how you might approach it again...... with regards tactics , gear and timings.

Regards

Woppie


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## beefs

awesome trip fellas - shame some bigguns didnt come out to play on those poppers of yours.

Any chance of getting a ball park figure of costs per person for this trip?


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## rawprawn

wopfish said:


> Well done fellas - some great shots there too. That was quite a trek with those yaks up to Qld but you guys showed us the way. Plenty of fish there too !
> 
> Were you hoping to catch a few more larger fish.... and if so any thoughts on how you might approach it again...... with regards tactics , gear and timings.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Woppie


It's easy to see all the pictures in the magazines and think I'm just guna get up there and get myself one or two of those GTs. The difference is those blokes know where they are and have boats to chase them. I think we did all we could do with the knowledge and equipment we had. If we had more time we would have no doubt started to get more and bigger fish. As the trip progressed our catch rate increased.

We were basically trying somewhere new each day. We were on holidays and wanted to have a look around as well as get onto some fish. If your only in a place for a day then you don't have a great deal of time to find the best spots etc especially when you are only using paddle power to get around. You can waste a lot of time on a yak just trying to find somewhere you THINK is fishy. If we where fishing from a stink boat it could have been much different (eg this reefs not working lets try another).

Ideally when if you don't know an area well it would have been ideal to have a local guide to advise the best spots and gear to use. This would have enabled us to maximise our fishing opportunity and minimise our paddle strokes. I think we did really well considering it was yak fishing and not stink boat fishing and non of us had ever yak fished the area before.


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## rawprawn

beefs said:


> awesome trip fellas - shame some bigguns didnt come out to play on those poppers of yours.
> 
> Any chance of getting a ball park figure of costs per person for this trip?


I havent gone though the bank statements yet, I think it cost me roughly about $1500 all up beefs


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## Davey G

rawprawn said:


> It's easy to see all the pictures in the magazines and think I'm just guna get up there and get myself one or two of those GTs. The difference is those blokes know where they are and have boats to chase them. I think we did all we could do with the knowledge and equipment we had. If we had more time we would have no doubt started to get more and bigger fish. As the trip progressed our catch rate increased.
> 
> We were basically trying somewhere new each day. We were on holidays and wanted to have a look around as well as get onto some fish. If your only in a place for a day then you don't have a great deal of time to find the best spots etc especially when you are only using paddle power to get around. You can waste a lot of time on a yak just trying to find somewhere you THINK is fishy. If we where fishing from a stink boat it could have been much different (eg this reefs not working lets try another).
> 
> Ideally when if you don't know an area well it would have been ideal to have a local guide to advise the best spots and gear to use. This would have enabled us to maximise our fishing opportunity and minimise our paddle strokes. I think we did really well considering it was yak fishing and not stink boat fishing and non of us had ever yak fished the area before.


Perfectly summed up by the prawnman..

I guess pre-trip we'd all done some research on what species to expect, where they'd most likely be holed up, and techniques to catch them. In my mind pre-trip I was expecting to see LOTS of surface action, bird activity, nervous bait being chased by predators etc etc. In fact we did not see any of this, apart from one or two solitary splashes here and there.

Our first 4 days were hampered by strong (20-25 knot) winds which meant that our fishing was severely restricted in terms of where we could and couldn't go. No complaints, as we still got in a few paddles, but we weren't exactly covering the water that we'd hoped to be fishing. Whereas I thought I'd be spending most of my time on the outside exposed edges of reefs dropping off into deep water chucking big poppers for pelagics, the reality in those first few days was that I was restricted to protected areas with predominantly shallow water - not exactly the areas that big spanish macks/GT's and Queenies would be likely to hang out. Although I did get good at catching reef species (and re-tying leaders after snagging the reef) :twisted:

As Prawn said above, our techniques evolved over the course of the week, and although we did have a few tussles with 'unstoppables' I guess that was more by good luck than by local knowledge. Each of the anchorages was totally different and a guide would have been great. All we had was a few scribbled notes on a map provided by the local tackleshop, and the combined resources of 6 beer infused brains.

Personally I took 5 rods/4 reels to hopefully cover all situations (with an emphasis on medium-heavy gear). Most others took similar stuff. In reality, the outfits that I caught ALL my fish on were my light gear (2-4kg dropshot with 2500 Stradic and 6lb fireline and Pflueger Trion 3-5kg with Pflueger Medallist Reel and 10lb braid). The heavy gear only came out at night off the back of the mothership when targeting sharks etc.

As far as hardware goes, I bought up big on oversized trolling lures, big poppers and trolling skirts pre-trip. In reality I trolled a big lure the first day and threw poppers less than 50 times. I caught all my fish on small (3-4") soft plastics with jigheads 1/4ounce and lighter. The only popper that worked for me was in amongst the mangroves where I picked up a Fingermark and a Grunter on a bream popper. Finesse fishing was definitely the way to go - and dragging a fiesty trevally, coral trout or red emporer away from razor sharp coral on 6lb braid is probably just as much fun as skull dragging a Queenfish on a 15kg rod and 50lb braid. It was for me anyway..

As far as lessons learnt - the main thing I learnt was that the Whitsundays are bloody good fun - no matter what the conditions. Sure, a big GT or Mackeral would have been great, but at the end of all our days there were still plenty of smiles and happy lads onboard the Discovery.

And as our trip plan was 'to have fun' then i guess we can consider our adventure a successful one... 8)


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## bazzoo

Now for the big question , what have you guys done with the redoubtable PAULIE :? :? , he hasnt shown up for work yet , and its wednesday , he was supposed to be back yesterday :? :? , they have not heard a word and are starting to worry   , c'mon Kraley , fess up , you ate him didnt you :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: , you guys were that sick of fish you needed meat so Capn . Paulie was it . I think really the truth of the matter is that Paulies machine having made it up the coast was in a state of shock and due to its nervous disposition , has refused to carry him any further . :lol: :lol:

Apart from the levity of the situation would any of you guys with Paulies mobile no , contact him and ask him to let Allie know hes OK


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## johnny

What a life!Well done-what a way to spend winter!
johnny


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## Davey G

some more piccies






























































































and heres 5 blokes that made the trip one to remember..thanks guys.








__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## wopfish

Thanks Davey and Rawprawn for the heads up in answer to my question.................. your experience was a little similar to my own in the Maldives. Plenty of fish caught... but in the 1-2.5 kg range... and all the heavy gear didnt really see a bend. I did get a few big heart stopping moments... but they were far and few between therefore I think my mind wasnt really pyshced or prepped for when a decent fish did take a liking to my lure. My trip was not a 'fishing' trip as such - so no guide and very little local knowledge. I can see the weather as well played a part for both of us . Anyhow its all a learning curve - well done - great trip and report.


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## DGax65

Awesome reports and pictures guys. Sounds like it was a great time for all.


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWTmNog0AAAxfgAAQQIHEMAoIVko3f74wIABIim1GnqNGmgDRo9RtQBqI0eoaAAyADZS+kQzoMY6pLs8gdXgwXqO6w5kPdbg7TFRw48AiYiBGCSmPoNX0asyQNKQ1isgwEGVKT1PxdyRThQkDmNog0A==


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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QlpoOTFBWSZTWSn1fbgAABVfgAAQQIUgAAAgSAA/f9+gIACEInoU00Mps0RPTUxCJk2oJiGQANFGMvhg8TEh7e8IK9Eye1y6g8uG/JKtGJgYLlqfV5OZzW1+EduRrbFtXSqe/kkjEeh3nTL3ZCfAUMqaVeod6KX2q1xsD0jYTSjXmKK4lkZVMdyiUksaQmoOGE0eIJc1KrPxdyRThQkCn1fbgA==


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWXzC330AAAdTgAAQQIFIAD/n3iAgAEEU8iZqP1Ro9R6TyhQADQMmRQwCGXObpqtFTeqcI7xDM+YBMtJMqsv1tgt8QcDFiRjlD/F3JFOFCQfMLffQ


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## Ado

Well there goes the June photo comp. All those not named Pauly need not apply. Some FANTASTIC pixels there Pauly 8) 8)


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## Pauly

Thanks for posting up some of my pics Red...
I'll expand on the trip report some time tomorrow as i'm just finishing unpacking gear and getting back into work mode  
As everyone has said this was a great trip and we can stake our claim as having been the first group of yak fishoes to fish the secluded bays we did!
(I don't think anyone else has put together a dedicated yak fishing mother ship charter in the Whitsundays either)
The trip was highlighted by Great Food (thankyou Mr Bugel), the mottley Crew of A.D... (and a little booze) and some disturbing Family Guy... 
Definately would do the trip again with any of the crew from the good ship Disco...


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## keza

what were you eating :shock:


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## rawprawn

keza said:


> what were you eating :shock:


No&#8230;.. But it does resemble what regularly greeted me in the out house. The only difference being that the log pictured is in it's solid state. At times the pluming didn't quite keep up with the volume :shock:


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## keza

rawprawn said:


> keza said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> what were you eating :shock:
> 
> 
> 
> No&#8230;.. But it does resemble what regularly greeted me in the out house. The only difference being that the log pictured is in it's solid state. At times the pluming didn't quite keep up with the volume :shock:
Click to expand...

too much protein, should have taken more cereal :lol:


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## Seasquirt

Thanks guys for all your reports.... wow what a trip.I have only just caught up with all your exploits since I have been hibernating in the cold and frost outside Stanthorpe. No power - no connection :shock: and I haven't even had the time to test Storm King Dam  . I can at least experience fishing vicariously through your reports when I hit Bris on the odd occasion. Very well done indeed.
Cheers all
Pam


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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QlpoOTFBWSZTWQPXdAMAABbfgAAQQAHxYiyQWAovZ96AIAByGkg08pppoDIAGgNqRQ9QxD1HqYnkmRmokMPxV2rtKLR2UYxmSIkkw26Qy2O1DwTHkz9hhMoOOZbTq9GPcoZVzRcuC+LWrQzQ6qhatkNDexYQErBgJAi/ZJfs3RM4gnAjCUAqlD8XckU4UJAD13QD


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## keza

nice shots Red


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## Kevin

Red,

They are good shoots those last three.


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWVYsLdgAAA7fgAAQUKOAEiAgEAo+f/6wIABURT1MmhtRkeoGQaDag1TJoyBo9QaD1PU0aD6FhoiZwB+6Fli6pW0MLHrUpj2F9KcpORgRGjpBEKM26vhJXPT0XJAO0t/J411BMBFAEkd+LuSKcKEgrFhbsA==


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## Zed

Oooooooooo, oooooooooooooooooh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, wooooooooooooooooooooow!

Better than a fireworks show! It just kept getting better. So sorry I missed this one.

You've really done it now. That's one of my world wide dream yakfishing destinations (Coral Sea). Thanks for all the amazing pix! Is this an open, publicly available charter, or a mate with a boat? Sorry if I missed that ?.


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## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWT/It2wAAD5fgAAQcOeAAoggHDo////wMAEq1TDTU0TahT9AU8oDxTRp6m1PTKBqp+qfp6UaNNQ0DQ0A0YjRg1PRTGqBmp6g2pkAAAJ8HB8njHtr77Z09SjVQG3z0cJ6eaISDgWm+t4q8M5qoLUGeK3NeQqPXiIIWnoiJUUii//0LbYxpXVBi4SOy5X0Otng2hGRQZu0XIRVQjsfyvnzvGzMCNGIU8ITfbBDwLtVzK6MfSiCPFRkUIV4EsUKVtUcqWu7zEzI07jaijWzrVITaTRjZcHeKcKjAun3pDnFKzgJWq2ISrT+Vl63tQNnUYa5JMixLMES8JGCqS6iZkY3Iog9RBXh7ARemAMQUrS7vZ7SF3Atuvhb2ludeIBMAS+/FQ/MuUSlhl07vjS7KLG0URMAZyIIUpEQs6CYE5qUxGzEGad8gQCZaxDeZchdyRThQkD/It2w


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