# QLD: Peel '14



## scoman (Oct 4, 2010)

Well done Alex. Conditions were perfect all weekend for you. I feel so guilty not coming but just have too many trips and holidays happening to risk another leave pass.

Did you mean Australia Day for next year?


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## robsea (Apr 7, 2010)

Sounds like a great way to spend the ANZAC weekend, guys. Enjoyed the report.

Cheers

Rob


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## canaryfisher (Dec 30, 2012)

I got to masons beach around 5:30am cause I went to mcdonalds for some breakie before the trip.

As for going over it was so glassy and the water was allot clearer and cleaner then last year, I caught 1 pike going over the reef at south west rocks.

Goto the camp site and setup then had a nap for I forget how long.. 
Went out fishing thursday arvo but nothing to report.

Friday morning
We all went to goat however I stayed back and did some trolling with my gold halco got some hits but nothing big, caught 2 undersize squire then met up with alex at goat island. 
He was just leaving by the time I got to goat and I decided to rough it out alone and head to dunich to get some ice and chocolates..lol
So alex left and I struggled to dunich due to the big rips from the tide and channel. Got my ice and chocs and headed back.. This time I was going agaist the tide and the wind and to top it off
the swell picked up in short sets and to make things even worse was the ferries and big boats going past me.. So I was having a scary ride back when my kayak hits the swell and takes a dive under the water.
Yes under meaning the bow of my hobie revo was going under water all the way upto the hobie mirage drive well. But I managed and ended up doing a stupid thing by catching a 5 star eating fish and not reading my 
fish size cards correctly and throwing it back.. It was a tusk fish 34cm and I thought it was meant to be 35 so I chucked it away  But I managed to catch a 33cm sand falthead which I kept then as I got closer to horseshoe bay maybe
100m away I caught another sand flathead 36cm.










Got back to camp to brag a lil that i managed to get keepers but then tell them about the tusk fish I......"lost"

Had a break and a lil lunch then went out friday night maybe a 30min paddle out to a green beacon that dropped to 8.9m and used some my z-man pink glow paddle tail 5", caught 1x 33cm squire, 1x 30cm squire.
Got back to camp around 6:30 and had dinner then bed.

Saturday I went fishing around the wreck and caught a weird reef fish that looked like a grinner but it was a coral red color with a shimmer stripe of colors down the middle of it.. not sure what it was but it was 36cm. I didn't keep it cause 
no clue what it was.

Caught more undersize squire and a 32cm sand flathead which i kept for bait, then met up with my dad who came on his boat to take pics of a new invention/ladder for boats he made on peel island and also do whiting fishing at rous channel.
Had lunch then started back to camp.

I cut up the flathead then again went out that night from 4pm to 9pm at the same beacon.. I forgot my headlight so was annoying.. I did have a 360 degree light on my bow that me and my dad installed before the trip which gave some light but not much
due to it being too far away. I managed to catch a small shark, 2x 30cm squire and 1x 32cm sweetlip, 1x 36cm sweetlip which I kept and fillited on Sunday morning before we left.

On the way back to camp I was semi getting scared cause it was pitch black apart from my light but I couldn't make out where our camp was.. So I was trolling the coast line for a bit trying to find it, I then tried my vhf which was close to dead and got lapse.
Asked to shine a light so I could see where it was. They thought I was a speedboat lol

On the way home on Sunday morning I saw huge bait balls with big fish cashing them on my sounder but didn't have a trolling lure on  I then saw maybe 10m behind me tuna jumping but which the amount of gear and time I didn't want to rig up and backtrack just to maybe catch a tuna.

So left it annoyed.. Got to land, packed up and left to woolies to get bandaids and antiseptic cause I forgot I stabbed myself in the hand with a knife on friday and it was hurt a lil..
I gave the fillits of sweetlip to my aunties on the way home..

I prob did around 50km or so through out the weekend and my legs are bruised and sore.. But it was a great trip and nice to meet nick and see alex again.

Next time I'll have a sail and outriggers


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## gibsoni (Jun 22, 2009)

Hi Guys,

Fantastic trip by the sounds of in and a well written and illustrated report, thanks so much for sharing.

Its always a bit more exciting to read a report about an adventure in your own local area.

How did you guys pick the low point in the currents? Just at the top or bottom of the tides relative to Cleveland Point?

How long did the paddle across take?

Again, thanks for taking the time to share of a great trip.

Iain.


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## paulsod (Dec 28, 2008)

Great story Guys, beautiful conditions and bugger all stinkers, what more could you want?


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## bruus (Aug 27, 2010)

Nice trip, it definitely looks pretty special. Congrats on arranging another annual trip Alex.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Very nice. Great weather.

I like Peel (except for the lousy fishing) should get there again sometime.


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## canaryfisher (Dec 30, 2012)

"How long did the paddle across take?"

Going there it took me and alex maybe 2 hrs maybe a lil less, on the way back it took about the same. Wasn't going too fast.
I fished along the way so was fast pace then slow/stopped while fishing.

A good trip I think when your not alone.


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

Great sounding trip alex.
Congrats on organising it again.
Sorry I missed it.
Love peel island.
Goat can be very good especially off the southern tip near the leaning yellow channel marker.
Nice flatties too canary , 
Well done.


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## nickdec (Aug 13, 2010)

Sorry, dragging my feet a little on the report.

This was my first Yak camping trip, so after researching the Forum and the web for the solutions for hours - there are many - I came up with a plan and some dry bags. I did a trial loaded paddle on Wednesday arvo and found that although my arms had stretched quite a bit dragging the Yak to the beach, the gunnels were not under water and it paddled pretty well ... a bit of a surprise!

Set off on Friday morning from Raby Bay beach at 5.00 to the tune of the Australian Anthem at the beginning of the Dawn service; paddling in perfect conditions, passed around Cleveland point at 5:50 and reached the camp in Horseshoe bay at 7:30. As I rounded SW rocks, the tailor were busting up a school of bait up against the Mangroves and there were bait schools all the way around Horseshoe until I reached the camp - I thought _Hey, this is really looking good_! 

Sunrise over Peel
I was worried they would be out fishing and I would never find the beach camp, but that wasn't a problem - Lapse and Canary fisher were sitting back having brecker. 
I was met warmly by Lapse and Canary Fisher and unloaded the Yak.

Keen to make the most of it, Lapse and I headed to Goat island, Canary Fisher for Dunwich. I jigged a Hardihead (only one) ready for bait - it was swallowed by the coral monsters in an instant, I persisted with soft plastics and the odd hard-body - small bites, but nothing serious. I did see the opportunity for salvage rights on an abandoned Stealth nearby, but didn't take it - at the time I wondered how would I get it back to Cleveland (Lapse has a bit of a habit of ducking off for a snorkel over nice ground)?

So, returned from Goat grabbed some food and and after taking a lesson in Soldier crab capture from Lapse went off the beach camp to the drop off and tried to catch some fish - again no luck.

My partner had suggested that if I took a steak for dinner on the first night, I would most certainly catch fish ... advice I ignored; foolishly in retrospect . Anyway, I wasn't that hungry anyway, the core was suffering from the exertions of the day. Canary fisher even politely offered to share some of her flatty. Evening around the colander, watching a lightning show to the south over the bay, a couple of sherbets with great company - this was living! Sitting on a tree branch, it soon became clear the need for a decent seat after paddling all day!

A short shower of rain over night proved my tent was waterproof - a win!

Saturday. Up and about and chasing the SW Rocks tailor I saw on Friday. Many schools of bait, but the Tailor were absent ...I anchored up near the mangroves from yesterday, first cast got a mangrove ... no, not a jack . First soft plastic gone for the day! Persisted here for a while, then headed out to drift in over the point with the SSW wind. Got some good bites but no keepers. The SP crabs were promisingly being modified but they seemed to have the ability to miss the hook (Before and after shot included).


I returned for food and catch up - it was becoming obvious that this Yak camping thing was not roughing it - I forgot my hammock - Lapse hadn't forgotten his! Canary Fisher had headed to the Eastern rocks around Platypus bay

After a debrief of my morning outing, I headed out to Goat island again near the bottom of the tide.

There was a crew of snorkelers spear fishing the shallows of the spectacular coral reef. I caught 5 Tusk fish (all undersize, released) before I finally caught a suitable live bait - it went out under a balloon. I entertained myself catching a couple more bait fish until the incoming tidal run. The _nervous_ balloon and splash as the bait was taken got the adrenalin going, but it wasn't to be.
 
How can that hook be missed?

The tidal run kept strengthening, so I headed back as the anchor came up there was a big boil of bait less than 3 metres away. Threw a couple of hard-bodies, no luck.

An evening entertained by Lapse catching bream and the consumption of a back country beef curry - apparently you can survive on that! Canary Fisher headed out of sight in the dark chasing the big one.

Canary Fisher brought a couple more fish (Grassy emperors) home. An uneventful night's sleep, an early(?) start for the paddle back, pack and load (quite a bit lighter now!) - greeted by excellent conditions again. Lots of bait in Horseshoe bay again.

It was a fantastic 3 days, many thanks to Lapse for his open invitation and warm welcome, Canary Fisher for the conversation and of course the offer of the flathead for dinner. I clocked up 43 kms, but it didn't feel anything like that; my fishing was poor, but I still can't wait for next trip!

My learnings:
Bring a seat
Bring less water
A small table would be useful
Take better photos!
Catch bait to catch bigger fish (A new idea!?)
Do it more often


Lapse incognito


Canary Fisher (nearly incognito)


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## benjamin78au (Feb 9, 2013)

any pics of the camp set up , hammok wise, thinking about getting one to do kayak and motorbike nights away


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Looks like it was a good trip boys, good on ya Alex for organising it.



nickdec said:


> The SP crabs were promisingly being modified but they seemed to have the ability to miss the hook (Before and after shot included).


Those are toadfish bites unfortunately. Always a good indicator it's time to move to a new spot.


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## nickdec (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks Scater,
They must have good digestive systems - keep coming back for more!
Nick


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## nickdec (Aug 13, 2010)

Alex,
I sent you a PM


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## nickdec (Aug 13, 2010)

Alex,
I sent you a PM


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