# QLD: It's big, but still fits in the Stealth fishbox...



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Some pics 800 pixels wide

Four of us Noosa Yakkers (and our wives) are staying a few days in Dougout's territory -- Bargara Beach near Bundaberg.

We're staying in cabins directly across from the beach. To launch, all we have to do is trundle the yaks down to the water's edge and off we go.

This morning was day two for Mark and me and day one for Jim and Jaro. Jaro was keen to fish Two Mile reef so off he went first at around 6am. I'd fished there yesterday and caught zip there so today decided I'd follow the rocky but shallow coastal waters to the north. There'd been some baitfish in that area yesterday morning and some signs of small pelagics so I thought an early morning troll over the shallows with my trusty Halco Laser Pro might be worthwhile.

I launched around 0630, by which time Jaro had already paddled the 2.5km to the Two Mile. By 0640 I was paddling gently along, about 100m out from the shoreline, which here is dominated by black boulders. The Halco, the only lure I was trolling, was throbbing nicely and, as a shallow runner, was ideal for the situation as the depth in the area I was trolling varied from 3m to 5m. Plenty of baitfish on the sounder, probably pike, gave me cause for optimism.

Just as the reel screamed I noted that the sounder read 4.5m depth, with lots of pinnacles -- "Hope I can get this beastie out of the area and into open water", I remember thinking.

I didn't have to worry about that -- it headed straight out to sea, breaking the surface two or three times in its panic-stricken screaming run. I was expecting a school mackerel of maybe a few kg at first but very soon changed my opinion. This was big, and it was in charge for the moment. The Stealth followed the fish nicely and we'd gone a good couple of hundred metres out to sea and were about ten minutes into the battle before I settled down enough to get the camera out.









_This was taken at 0657am -- already nearly 15 minutes into the fight_

The power of the run and the obvious endurance of the fish caused me to hope for a longtail tuna but another 7 minutes went by before I could confirm that this indeed was the case.










I could see it deep down as it started its circling pattern near the bottom, which was now at about 10m, and much further out from the strike location.

I eventually got the gaff into its head about 35 minutes after hookup, with the fish spending the last 10 minutes circling in full tanatalising view below the yak. It was difficult to get a pic as I'd slid it up onto my lap after I'd got the lip grippers and tail rope on and the lure removed. This was the best I could do, holding the camera up above my head and pointing down at the fish, resting on my lap.










Then Jimbo turned up, rafted up alongside and took a proper photo










After stowing the longtail in the Stealth's cavernous fish box I paddled in to the beach, caught a tiny wave in -- love the way this boat surfs -- and dragged the Stealth up the beach. A couple more pics:



















The longtail was 1.14m long, and weighed 15kg on the local butcher's scales. My best longtail yet.

Thanks for reading AKFFers. Tight lines


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## Shufoy (May 28, 2008)

Wow.... Awesome catch there Sunshiner!! What outfit are you using for trolling the big Halco's around?

Great effort mate, superb fish, well done!!


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## DougOut (Dec 31, 2006)

ho-hum ...... so where are the Bargara Beach fish-holding Babes, you chick magnet you. :lol:


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## Murdoch (Aug 25, 2010)

Absolute ripper sunshiner 

New to kayak fishing, and bundaberg, and you have caught the species I am busting to get into
:lol:

Got exams next week, then we should get a chance to hit up the shorline.

Congrats again,

Murdoch


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## bushwoodboy (Oct 5, 2006)

Go Kev, I am very jealous.
Another outstanding catch& great trip report.
Cheers Mal.


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## youngfisho (Feb 13, 2008)

im speechless, why paddle 2 mile when I can just paddle the shoreline, good work sunshiner, that would definitley make your day.

andrew


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

Well done mate!

Looks like a whole lot of fun!

Cheers Andybear


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## Dak (Jul 16, 2010)

Great effort


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## scoobydoo (May 29, 2009)

Well done


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Kev congrats on the new PB. Fishing new ground in a new yak and nailing a beauty. Doesn't get any better than that!


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## ringo (Oct 3, 2008)

Awesome looking kayak Kev and an awesome fish. Well done. I hooked up onto my 1st Longtail about 2 weeks ago but was blown away after about 20 minutes.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

Oooo, that IS big! Would LOVE to catch something like that one day, very jealous!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Good onya Kev , what a great fish , see nice things happen to Stealth People , and i'm very pleased you had a surf as well , do they eat well ?. Gee you guys North have some great fish up there


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## Windshear (Aug 22, 2009)

Well done Kev, great report as always. Would love a pup from that hat too  
Andy


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Nice one Kev as usual. 
Where you was Doug? 
Thats your back yard those boys are stealin fish from. :twisted: 
I knew there were more fish up there than your trip reports ever let on. Your secret is safe with me. ;-) :lol:


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## yakman1995 (Apr 9, 2010)

Great pictures and pictures mate!!! Hats off to you and your catch


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Kev only proves mojo is attached to the angler and not the yak, well done mate.


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Shufoy said:


> Wow.... Awesome catch there Sunshiner!! What outfit are you using for trolling the big Halco's around? Great effort mate, superb fish, well done!!


G'day Brett

Thanks. Actually, I use only the small 120mm Laser Pro, the shallow runner. The rod is a cheap JW boat rod but the reel is a Penn 320Gti overhead spooled with 11kg mono. My home made 30cm mono wire trace wired directly to the lure gives insurance. Works for me...

I'd like to tackle some of your snapper, which keep me awake at night.



bazzoo said:



> ... do they eat well ?. Gee you guys North have some great fish up there


Hi Bazz

I took this fish to the local butcher who kindly chilled it and then cut it into body-thickness steaks, some of which were the size of a dinner plate. These steaks were gifted to the people of the Caravan Park we are staying at. They resemble beef steaks and were all taken within a couple of hours of their being made available in the fridge at the camp kitchen. Recipients judged their eating quality as excellent.


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## HBK (Jun 3, 2007)

just off bargara beach hey..top stuff, i woul dlove to get onto a tuna one day!


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## ginomaxo (Nov 18, 2008)

kev
keep up the great work and the awesome trip reports!
its more than enough to keep a noosa-ite stuck in singapore enthralled and (quite) envious...
cheers
gino


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Just like that, eh?
Another fantastic report. Our "tuna" season is late this year and overall fleeting, with yft and bft as close as ~30miles currently. 300m from shore and 4.5 deep, my aunt Fanny and uncle Richard!

Z


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

indiedog said:


> ... I think she's well and truly christened now. I can't remember but please tell me you touched my yak imparting some of your mojo when you were here??


Hi Brad, Yep she's blooded alright. As for the mojo, I thought that all came with the new boat ;-) . Just in case, I did fondle your new beauty which may have passed on a fingerprint or two. See you in Noosa sometime mate.

Kev


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

AJD said:


> Kev congrats on the new PB. Fishing new ground in a new yak and nailing a beauty. Doesn't get any better than that!


Well AJ, you did say last week that you were hoping to see some tuna pics with the new boat. 

Kev


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