# SWR trip 2009



## Game fisher (Jul 5, 2006)

I will kick of the report with a few words, and let the other add their fishing stories&#8230;

I had a grate time and grate company.
Thanks to Grant, we ate like kings every night. Grant caught 3 cobia and a tuna on this trip, and he lost many others &#8230;..to be caught on a later date with fate. We ate pork chops (cobia) or tuna and salads (thanks to Lynette) every night, and this kept us going for the hole next day. Everyone brought other nibbles every night as well.

Grant did have a tussle with a BIG shark, and even a bigger one saw a free feed, so gave Mick a bump, but I will cut this story short, and let Grant and Mick (Mickomarlin) explain what happened.

I will kick of the storyboard with some photos of day one and our own shark king, Yankatthebay.
Sorry, my camera dates are wrong.

So day one (Monday) was all about testing your gear---no better than catching a couple of sharks. Myself, Patric, Grant and Mick caught all a stack of sharks&#8230;.And here is our own Shark King in action.





































He didn't even have a shark shield, only a weapon.


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## Game fisher (Jul 5, 2006)

Tuesday: I caught this 110cm Tuna on a slimy mackeral, with the assistance of Grants magic bait jig.










Here is the Shark King and Dark Vader in action, talking about all the fishing hot spots, and meeting again at the 55m reef , circling the 30m panicle&#8230;..where all the cobia hang out for afternoon tea.










Plenty of dolphins breaching and playing










I am tired, and going now to bed, and might add a few more memories tomorrow, but I am leave a lot of gaps so that the rest of the team at SWR can tell their own tales as they happened......


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Nice Tuna GF, and nice shark YATB! Can't wait to read more reports...


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

ah it hurts to hear it but give me more anyway.
Well done on the Tuna GF


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## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

Nice tuna there - that'd be a Long Tail isn't it?
Well done, 
Smeg


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## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

well i got there about 7.45pm sat night after dropping kids off at their dads, set up camp with Adrian and proceeded to have some social drinks with Danny (physhopath) and his lovely wife Jo....

we caught up with Roberta and Wendy, and Rob and Lorraine the next day which was great, hadn't seen them since the Forster trip last year, also we camped across from Doug, Wal and Chrissy, hadn't seen them for ages either.

next morning we went to a creek, dont know what it was called, water was still pretty dirty and i got a small flattie, thats it.. we were both stuffed, it was hot, 2 early mornings in a row, we contemplated staying another night at another caravan park but cbf'd and went back to nambucca. got a dvd (which i only saw half of) and crashed pretty early. probly go somewhere in nambucca today.

Safe to say i like to go for the social aspect... as there was no way in HELL i was going out in the ocean. I would have liked to catch a few of the little waves in the bay in the kingy but the water was pretty brown.


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## Physhopath (Jun 21, 2007)

Too Tired to do a literacy masterpiece, so 5 pics will have to do,
View attachment 4

View attachment 3

View attachment 2

View attachment 1


There you go 5,000 words ;-) 
More words & pics to come,

Good weather, Great Company, Excellent Food,( Laksa Cobia Mmmmmm ), ;-)

A few PB's for me including a 5 foot black tip reef shark and a 57 cm samson fish. :lol:


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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

Unfortunately some days the water was putrid with decomposing vegetable matter smelly at times...However, we fished on in flat morning seas. SWR failed to live up to it's reputation as a hotspot though some days there would have been 30 plus boats heading out (wide). The jail grounds were very popular with commercial bonito fishers who circled around for hours trolling lures so all in all it was challenging though I must say for guys who earn their living, they were quite considerate of our numbers.
Monday was a great day to get settled in with sharks from 15-40 kilo testing knots and techniques. I quite enjoyed the first 2-3 hours of regular hookups. It looked very ominous for anyone who hooked a real fish however, that didn't happen Monday
Tuesday I fished deeper in the belief that the top water lacked oxygen and was too full of debris. Paid off with a cobia of 8-9 kilo. Wednesday I had a long and serious tussle with a shark of 100-120 kilo which I eventually got alongside. Mick might have photos (camera battery issues) and it appears as if a much bigger mate came for a feed. Mick can tell this bit.Later I hung in for perhaps 8 hrs before finding a big ugly cobia of 28kilo. It provided a wonderful tussle with renewed vigor when a shark took a little off its fin and back. Thursday a twin of Louis's Longtail then on Friday, the Cobia in the picture earlier. Interestingly, there must have been a few "observers" with binoculars on land because it didn't take long for word to get around re captures and apparently there was some discussion on ABC radio as to my difficulties in containing a Cobia on my lap when landed. I am told that it was thought that I didn't cut it's throat because of sharks however the real issue was that my Mirage drive kacked its self (my fault) and I was struggling to free my paddle which had sharkshield, GPS and other crap attached all the time trying to stop the fish from slipping over in 15-20 k winds.

Disappointing for those who came away fishless however, the spirit shown by everyone was wonderful. People were eager to learn new techniques (especially the great bunch of snapper fishos from Emerald way) and in the end it was only the dirty water that kept the fish away because we were all using similar techniques. SWR being my "home territory" gave me an advantage.
Mealtimes were terrific with great cookups and lots of laughs. 
I'm lucky to have found the forum or rather, those who are such a great bunch of people..
Back next year for me.


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## kanganoe (Apr 30, 2008)

Sounds like a great trip.You live in a great part of the world.


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## chrissy (Jul 7, 2007)

Yeah it was a great trip, even though i didnt catch anything decent. Wal, Doug(woopi) my bro and i arrived on friday arvo,to be greeted with a flotilla of kayakers. 8) Saturday mornin, i launched around 6am and was out till 11:30, with no fish but i was happy just to get out there and inspect the place. Went out that arvo aswell, and paddled all the way down to little bay for zip. That night had a dinner with crazy and adrian and a good old yarn. Sorry if i seemed a bit quite guys, but i was a bit under the weather all weekend, as i had the dreaded flu.  Sunday mornin looked good with the water improving slightly from the poo water on saturday. Launched with Azzaroo and headed straight for the bait grounds. Grant and gamefisher were already out there and gettin a few slimeys. I eventually managed enough, to start fishin. I followed a dirty water line right out to sea, and only 30mins had past before my surface bait got slammed. Took a bit of line before thrashing about on the surface. It was a good cobe of around 12-15kg. After that it went deep for about 5mins before it wore through the 60lb leader  It was either that or a shark got hold of him. Trolled for a coupla more hours before heading in and packing up. It was great meeting a few more people and just having a good old time with mates. Will be back next year for sure, and might be in the next month or two. Anyone up for another trip? :twisted:


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

Anyone up that way should grab a copy of the local paper (the Argus I think), there will be a article about us fisherpeople with a photo of myself and Louis on the cover of it. The local guy that wrote the initial story about Paulo's marlin last year came by again to see what was happening. We didnt get any additional photos to him so it might be a short artical, but we should have our photos in it at least.


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## paulb (Nov 12, 2006)

Arrived early Weds arvo with the family to a hot steamy afternoon, with distant thunder growing closer by the minute - nothing like a pending storm to help you set up camp in record time. Later that night the storm hit, pulling out pegs poles and the tarp - so not much sleep the first night.
Thursday morning - out into the semi murky water to practice bait gathering and catch a nice size bonito for lunch. I was impressed how the local pro could hook fish after fish (bonito) in the same area that I struggled to catch a couple - seems it all came down to speed and the bonito really like a fast trolled lure. Later that afternoon Gamefisher gave me another 3 bonito for dinner.

Friday morning and the ocean was looking a lot cleaner - tried a slightly different bait gathering technique and scored a yakka, 3 bonito and a couple of slimey mackerel in a short amount of time. After this it was a case of slow trolling up and down outside the jail. After noticing a couple of shallow bite marks on the slimey, I set my drag to free spool (with ratchet on) added some more glow bait and eventually heard the slow take of line. Waited for about 10 seconds before striking and proceeded to fight what I thought was a small shark. I was getting a little concerned that it wasn't reacting to the shark shield in any noticeable manner - but did go a little nuts alongside the yak, hitting the back of it at one stage. So out came the scissors ready to cut the trace and was within an inch or two of cutting the line, when the fish rolled and I noticed its creamy belly and slightly more rounded mouth - maybe this wasn't a shark after all, but instead my first cobia. Now I got nervous about losing it or having it taken by something bigger. Eventually got the fish to a suitable position and for the first time, used a gaff - no problems, one smooth action and into the yak. Elated - my first cobia and biggest edible fish from the yak.

View attachment 2
View attachment 1


Saturday and yet another bait gathering technique - this time it was slimeys all the way, with a hook up every drop. The only problem being that the sabiki would get in such a tangle after each fish, it took 10 to 15mins to untangle. After putting four slimeys in the tube I headed offshore following a group of other yaks, towards a large group of mutton birds way off in the distance. Upon arrival there was a large pod of dolphins harassing the bait fish, but nothing of substance showing on the sounder, or taking any interest in my live bait. Although the water was like glass, it was also nearly black, with visibility of only a foot or so and I was feeling very uncomfortable sitting in 50 meters of water and not being able to see what was under me. I only spent 15 minutes or so out there, before heading back in towards the jail and then a slow troll back around the breakwater back in - no action on the slimey, so it and the remaining bait fish were released to swim away.



Later that afternoon we watched (with the local ambulance service and a few others) as Grant was fighting back into a strong head wind after being towed out by a large cobia. From a distance it looked like every now and again he was being stopped dead in his tracks by the wind, not sure if this was what was actually happening, but it looked like he was doing some bloody hard yards, all the more so after being on the water for over 10 hours !

Despite the murky water, it was still a great trip - the company and camaraderie was fantastic. Everyone was sharing techniques and helping each other - including the hard slog of pulling the yaks through the soft sand at the top of the beach (this was a killer). Look forward to the next one.


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

kraley said:


> excellent bronzie yankatthebay!


Black-tipped reef shark to be precise.


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## azzaroo (Aug 17, 2007)

wow, what a week!didn't catch a thing all week but had the best fun,sharpened up my live bait skills[that were non-existent], got busted and bitten off[more experiance],met a swag of memorable akff'ers,got filled with invaluable inspiration and knowledge from a living fishing legend, and had the best weeks holiday with the family and freinds that you could imagine :lol: 
i could write a book about the week but i'm pretty slow on this thing..heres a couple of pics...















what can i say getting tips from grant,gamefisher ,mickomarlin and others
getting inspired helping grant fillet numerous large fish
having cobia camp oven curry, tuna and cobia fillets slam fried on the bbq [thx grant]
having a ball paddling around with all the different kayaks towing a livey and just waiting for the ratchet to scream
man we paddled some kms that week
checking out the local spots,gap beach was awesome,4wd in and so empty, we were the only souls there twice, even caught a decent flattie for lunch off the beach
it was magic out wide for a couple of days,sheer glass and birds and bait everywhere[just no fish]
great weather [a tad blowey early in the week]
would have liked to get to know and chat a bit more with everyone but after fishing all morning i had to put in serious family time to catch up
all in all,it was awesome, if the water was a bit cleaner, i'm sure we would have seen some serious fish, i 'm with you chrissy we have to get back there within the next couple of months :twisted: :lol:


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

wow.

looks like you guys scored much better conditions than last year,,, some great fish there too.

Kudos for all that shared their knowledge so freely - its what makes this sport and this site such a great thing!


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## action1974 (Sep 3, 2008)

Game fisher said:


> Tuesday: I caught this 110cm Tuna on a slimy mackeral, with the assistance of Grants magic bait jig.


So what was the magic bait jig? I have heard the Wasabi are good

Count me in next one, boys from Emerald, Mackeral should be here soon....late march Early April lets go...


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## Pauly (Jun 28, 2006)

Nice Cobia Paul B~!


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Fishing was tough to say the least. I scored a seven day donut if you dont count slimies, yakkas, bonito and sharks. I managed a black tip the same size as YATB's one but released it after testing out my shark shield for a bit. No doubt in my mind they are effective on even the smaller sharks. When the shark hit the pulse it went straight back down at lightning speed. I turned the shield off anf it quite happily came to the boat.
I believe I ate cobia six nights in a row. Thanks to everyone that generously fed me all week.
Grant Ashwell showed what local knowledge, attention to detail and persistence can do to your catch rate. Truly the 'King of SWR'. Thanks for the fish Grant.








Good to see PaulB from Sydney land a beauty. Paul was one of the few that made the trip up from Sydney this year and was duly rewarded. Im thinking he'll be back next year  








Some say I must have used up all my luck last year landing the marlin there. Personally I dont hink I paid as much attention to detail as the previous year and paid the price. Fishing is a great leveller. 
Exhausted, fishless and back to work tomorrow I still had an awesome week, met some good people, learnt a few things, laughed a lot and enjoyed evey minute on the water. Ill be back there same time next year and maybe sooner than that if the water clears.
















What date is next years meet??


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Congrats to everyone - cobia, bonito, sharks, weather, company, booze & food. I'm envious.

Well done on the "shark" Paul - that practice at Longy with the heavy gear has paid off!


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## Physhopath (Jun 21, 2007)

After struggling all week ( Like everyone else, except Grant ), finally got this little beauty, 
View attachment 1

Some debate over it being an Amberjack or a Samson fish.Took a live small Yakka.

Hopefully someone can clear this up, went 57 cm on the mat ( tip of fork ),

Possibly HOF


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## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

meoldchina said:


> Saw some people in the distance but didn't catch up
> View attachment 2
> 
> 
> There's a good chance I'll return to SWR or something further North next year :lol:


so thats who our stalker was.... we thought it was some smart ass fisho's who were at the ramp when we launched!


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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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QlpoOTFBWSZTWRP2jwwAACXfgAAQQKcAEJCCXIA/7/+gMADVliJtTTTUmJ7Sho0D1NBoETTBCj1DIbUyZMnpD1BqYTRJ4KADCD1BoUGJ3mtD4UyRMVJJ1XfFCA7GVRCvZpGUWsBxMUfOZXqmhJO945QQPWllw4LEgWdowkcNH2bx7Ae0rVukTrkY7RHO9KpLO2qCjbSuSvKNCXCa5MKiwUamDLDPJEc4L3iEKFnz/NWZQSshImJ6tyYbIBBA4GDiYI9Vbiz4sFoqXYDEGQ+a50eZz3Nyl9Ki1fJkM9tOMggN72cxvBRd3LmshMVstMIZYXRaM5uAVg+9U6fxdyRThQkBP2jwwA==


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

hehe thats cool, we were wondering who it was and guessed it was another yakker


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

from what i have seen they are amberjack not samsons
great little fighters.
some good fish there guys, shame we always seem to be arriving there just after the big rains.


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## karnage (Jan 18, 2006)

very nice fish everyone. thinking about making the journey in 2010.


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## YAKADDICT (Mar 1, 2009)

G'day Gamefisher,

What an awesome report thats the stuff I luv to read & view really gets the blood pumping!!!

I've been trying to pump up my lads to go to SWS hoping to get up there in the next two-three weeks, especially with the water temps we have at the moment.

I just hope the weather holds it's time for someone to hook a BEAKIE gents!!

Luv your stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## MICKOMARLIN (Oct 8, 2008)

my week started off with mac tuna and shark after lost lure after shark(alot of sharks for everyone on the first day)

one of the stand out days would have to be where grant hooked up to a cobia after a very long tussle with a shark(s)
Grant hooked up near the point, he was towed to the jew grounds a few kms offshore where he had fist glimps of a shark
(unknown species-dirty water) after a long tug of war the shark was near the surface when a lager shark saw a feed in grants capture. i was bumped at the back of the yak by another shark and grants hookup soon became free. it was a cruisy paddle against a strong SE breeze back to the breakwall where i went in to rest my shoulder and get some land based game in and grant hooked up again! to another cobia.

persistance and determination certainly pays off!!!!

here are a few shots that worked and a few others i will have to crop and enlarge


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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.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWY0s+6AAAB7fgAAQUIP+EqgvkAq///+gIACEIqeIJoP1TTQeptTJ6TTxPVHon6poEVP1T9Sf6qPapp7Sg2RDQABoGRlKQuCc4/k4y93qPo1QwoXWzJbg+T24drY1NUiY10QciDyJ015EmOAeRVpQ+7rjeaWo5lJZmI68mfTSFeypEuY7ZKQ3pOp8gsro+VoTq6jPP7mflmgUkkYBDFhsqcRhtBWveTQgaY0KLKYtzD64kIMd9ksK4gFiP4u5IpwoSEaWfdAA


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## MICKOMARLIN (Oct 8, 2008)

yeah the original is quite large, and i dont know computers very well but i try and send one to you


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## Bart70 (Jan 28, 2007)

Goods pics & report Roberta,

Those shorts worn by Physhopath in that pic would make a good squid jig I reckon! :lol: :lol:

Hopefully will be able to spend more time at next years gathering.

Cheers,

Bart70


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