# Long Reef 20/10



## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Got a voice mail from JT at 6am telling me how cold and windy it was at Long Reef. He he. Glad I went for the late start.

Get to the ramp around 7:30 having dropped off #1 daughter and Davebeat is already ready to go. Tells me that Rogue and JT are already out there. I set up quickly and we head off together. I raise JT on the UHF but can't figure out where he is - I guess near the wall. Dave and I head for the Narrabeen Wreck - 4 km in a straight line but I guided us on the serpent's path. The sea was very sloppy after the earlier wind and we were paddling across the swell. We get to the mark - no sign of a wreck on the sounder but the swell and chop made it very hard to pick any features on the bottom.

Dave drifts with an sp while I jig with a pink knife jig. Eventually I feel a hit and a fish is on, but way too small for the tackle. Bring up a small flattie that was jagged under the lower lip - released. After a few drifts Dave heads off to the wall to see if he can have better luck. Conditions were improving so I decided to try a few more drifts. As soon as Dave is out of hailing distance, the jig stops dead near the surface. I play in the relatively dead weight of calamari jagged through the wing! About 30cm mantle so into the bag. Changed jigs and also drifted a gulp jerkshad, but had trouble getting it down on a 1/2oz head in 41-43m.

Gave up after a while and headed to the wall. Stopped to call JT who reported some success - congrats.

At the wall I went for my usual drift casting 4' pumpkinseed power minnows on 1/8oz TT 3/0 heavy wire jig. The drift is in the area of a couple of marks I have and the fish holding area in the range of 17-20m. Second drift I'm on with a nice trev - bigger than the 40cm models I boated two weeks ago. A couple of metres from the yak and it spits the hook. On again next cast and I get a smaller trev towards the net only to have it throw the hook. Checks hook - burred $%^&*.

Later in the drift and a school of kings starts feeding on the surface. Not prepared for them so try a few casts with the power minnow but they're not interested. Paddle back for another drift and one cast gets taken further from the yak than usual for a trev. Hmm, not another stinky pike - sick of them already. Hang on - its gone down and is taking line. Lots of line. Is this the legal king I've been after. Too strong for the trevs I've been catching. But what about those two biggies I dropped a fortnight ago and initially called for 60cm but then reduced it to 50+ because I thought 60 was too big? No this was fighting better than them - must be a king. Then in the clear water I see a flash of silver, but it seemed long. Too silver for a king and no yellow. Get it in closer and it is a trev, I mean a TREV. Nervously ready the net. Then the heartstopping moments as I struggle to get it into the net. Almost too big for it. Eventually its on board. This fish is too good to mess around with so I clear the deck and dispatch it in the net, snapping the neck to get it done quickly. Put half of it in a cloth bag to keep the sun off it - didn't want to put it inside the warm yak and it wouldn't have fitted my cooler bag, if I had it. Paddled straight back to the ramp with it between my legs.

Got trumped at the beach though. A boat pulls up next to me and asks how I went. I hold up the trev. He responds with a 77cm snapper.

Trev went 65cm on the lie detector and will feed a host tonight, with calamari for entree


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Whooooaaaa what a nice trev , you certainly have that species wired , well done mate , glad to see you got a biggun , it must be very rewarding to know that you can go to a spot and get a good feed of the fish you are targeting , good stuff .


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## fisherdan (Apr 17, 2007)

Sensational stuff Dave! Bet you were glad you had the net for that one!

Enjoy the feast!


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

Plenty of action and a good fish, bet he pulled hard.


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## Wattie (Apr 30, 2007)

What a great fish.....well done,

Thinks.............I have to get out there tomorrow.


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## .329 (Apr 17, 2006)

That is one huge blurter Dave!


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Well done Dave, I've spent the day at work (grumble...). That's a ripper trevally!

C'mon JT/Rogue - spill.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

A quality trev Dave


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Hit the beach at 6:00. The alarm went of at about 4:20. "That's funny" I thougth as I woke up..."I don't recognise that alarm sound". Turned out that it was my neighbours wind chime hauling-ass. "Hhmmm...that doesn't bode well" I thought. Looked out the window and the wind was doin it's thing. Oh well...I was already awake despite the hangover I was sporting due to the hospitality of my neighbour" Go back to bed or go to fish....

Hit the beach at Narrabeen and it was a stinker of a morning. The flags on the golf cource club house were going for it and I was cold......very cold.

Rogue turned up with his very, very impressive SA Ski. This was my first encounter with one of these South African beasties. Very impressive to say the least! Beautiful boat and very very well thought out and constructed. This was Rogues first ever AKFF fishing trip and he had rsponded to Peril's post on the forum inviting all and sundry to come along. It was a pleasure to accompany him and I hope he makes many more as he seemed like a VERY worthwhile chap.

THe conditions were essentially very rough....Rogue and I made our way about 2 and a half kilometers out. Spoke to Peril who was out to the sunken ships, Never made it out there as the birds were workimg the water and it seems the trevs were on........

And then the sea started to boil. Rogue said to me so casually "look over there....they're feeding on the surface", I was off in an instant. The fish would stay up only 20 seconds and then appear only 30 meters away. Up they went....down they went...up and down with the birds and me darting everywhere.....I tossed 3 inch minnows in Pumkin seed, a big eye Gorrilla slug, a 15 gram Helco Twisty straight into the boiling feeding school and not a damn thing. I have never cast into a school for zip with the Twisty. Again and again. Seconds later my brand spanking new Daiwa TD Sol went balastic...the Salt and Pepper Mojo soft plastic went off hanging only 3 meters below the surface. I sat there amazed at the way the reel spun and the way the line ran out. It was like hooking a runaway freight train. The Sol was brilliant and what a fitting start to it's life to secure a kingy!

Kingy landed....63 centimeters and a great fight with the schools daring me to come back. Measured 3 times and I was genuinely disappointed to realise it was just short of legal. Slipped back into the drink somewhat reluctantly but thems the rules I guess. A few other fish landed that were more a pain in the rear end than anything else. Snook and the like. Rogue was terrorising the wrasse population....or was the wrasse population terrorising him?.....The one he ate a couple of weeks ago was so aweful he says that the wrasse he was catching couldn't go back fast enough.

The weather and swell were starting to take a toll on Rogue's tummy. I suspect a chunder took place which I spotted the tale end of.....reached for the camera but stopped. Didn't seem right to snap a man responding to seasickness on his first AKFF trip out ....the second trip will be a different story of course... 8) 8)  

Peril.....well done on the Killer Trev...you are the man!

JT


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## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

Great stuff Guys looks like you had fun despite the weather.

Cheers Dave


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Guys

well done on all fronts - weather / distance - and bloody good fish. Peril that blurter is the biggest one Ive seen of its kind in these waters mate - would have put up a great fight and the blurting would have broken your heart I can imagine!!!
JT how sweet was the cry of the SOLS drag - wicked.

Well done

Fingers crossed we'll be doing the same tomorrow morning - keep an eye out for sundays report.

Woppie


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## fisherdan (Apr 17, 2007)

Glad you got into some JT, those boils can be frustrating when nothing works!

Nice lil fish!


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## Southerly (Apr 20, 2007)

I thought of you guys this morning as I launched at roseville to get out of the wind. I did not think you would get out, seems I was wrong but it can't have been pleasant.

Thats a huge blurter Peril, well done. I was watching a small school around 50cm at Manly Warfe this afternoon. Anyone know what happened to the quarantine bouy it is missing?

David


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Peril said:


> Nervously ready the net. Then the heartstopping moments as I struggle to get it into the net....


Actually this is nicely put Dave. When I read this I knew precisely what you meant. The adrenalin rush as you try and net a great thrashing fish that you want more than anything in the world at that point in time to boat. You are just so close and yet the threat of that hook being spat or something else is still very real......

I actually rolled out my measure mat to get an idea of the size of your Trev. It looks just like a little model but is one hell of a fish!!! You must be delighted! Well done. Be sure to post and tell us how a trev that size was like to eat 

JT


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

JT said:


> Be sure to post and tell us how a trev that size was like to eat


Some of the flesh was swiss-cheesed. Don't if this was the result of a parasite but cut that flesh out. Tempura'd it along with the calamari and heaps of veggies and fed seven with leftovers. Actually come up very well as tempura. If anything the taste was milder than other trevs I've had and the thick fillets retained plenty of moisture.

Get out there and get them. There is nothing missing from my description!


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## Rogue (Jul 31, 2007)

Had a great paddle despite feeling green at times  ,good company.
Half a dozen striped wrasse type fish while bottom bouncing and a Snook on a Silver Berkley Frenzy.

Will try soft plastics next time,never had much luck with them before. :?


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## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Thats gonna take a long time to beat Dave...

If anyone can top that it seems you can man, would not be suprised if 70cm + is the new Peril norm given your current sucess rate. They pull hard 30cm+ so could imagine how one double the size peform on the end of a line... Booyakasha!

Great report salty dogzzz.


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## tugboat (Nov 15, 2006)

Well done guys!

Was thinking about Longreef when I woke up this morning. Had too much housework to do so no fishing for me this weekend... but just wait till tomorrow morning at Clovelly


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

dave, keep that up and you're gonna need a bigger mat soon.. 

JT - nice work on the kingie too.


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## Sanman (Jan 1, 2007)

Well done guys, nice fish and nice reports. Not sure if I'm ready for the deep sea stuff - too much wind and waves and chop - I'll stick to the estuaries, although the fish are smaller.
Sanman


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Great fish blokes!

Those trevs pull hard and are great fun on light gear, dont know about kingies but one day I'll catch one.

Hey Peril whats a "heavy wire jig" ?


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## MangoX (Feb 18, 2006)

Well done guys

I also thought 60 was a bit big when you called it last time :?

how big do these things get ?
if it pulled like a kingie, must have been a great fight


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

ar-we-ther-yet said:


> Great fish blokes!
> 
> Those trevs pull hard and are great fun on light gear, dont know about kingies but one day I'll catch one.
> 
> Hey Peril whats a "heavy wire jig" ?


Just has a heavier gauge hook

http://www.motackle.com.au/index.cfm?pr ... uct_id=576


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Sanman said:


> Well done guys, nice fish and nice reports. Not sure if I'm ready for the deep sea stuff - too much wind and waves and chop - I'll stick to the estuaries, although the fish are smaller.
> Sanman


Sanman...the open ocean isn't anywhere near as daunting in reality as the vast majority of people think it is. It is pretty much just a matter of getting your confidence up. Keep an eye on the fishing trips section and think about coming out on a mellow trip to start with. There are plenty of people to go out with who will be just as concerned about your well being as you are. We pretty much all stick together and look out for each other (unless the schools are feeding on the surface or something...then it's every man for himself :lol: ).

Balmoral would be a great start as it is such an easy launch. Only if you feel comfortable of course.

JT


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

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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## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Well done JT and Peril. Good to see the north side getting some action. 
Saw Simond11 today and he is miffed he is missing out on the action on his doorstep at Clovelly - and hes off for another week tomorrow!!!


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

caught2 said:


> Thanks for the great report and WOW....what a whopper of a trevally - still haven't got me one of those....a little one would do to start!
> 
> Any tips maestro??
> 
> kim


Kim,

Have put all the details in the reports and the wiki. I find them in the same location everytime since they came on - in water 17-20m off the edge of the reef. Suspect the depth is not as significant as being off the deep side of the reef. Apart from that the jig and plastic have worked all the time. Tried changing colour of plastic as an experiment and it didn't work. Will try other experiments after I secure dinner next time. Honestly have not been able to land one under 40cm since I hit on this method, and until a few months ago I was a blurter virgin! Don't know how long it will last, but I still have to push Derek out of the HoF :twisted:


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## Jeffo (Sep 10, 2006)

great fish Dave, well done

Cheers

jeffo


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Wow :shock: That is an awesome trev!! well done. 8) 
That would have to be the biggest trev ive seen so far.


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

Well done guys. Great reports.


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