SEP 15 - Fishing Port Douglas
Transcription
SEP 15 - Fishing Port Douglas
VOLUME 177 PRICELESS SEP 15 2 FRONT COVER: Close up of a Saratoga taken by Shane Down up on Cape York This magazine is published by The Line Burner business of Port Douglas & welcomes any Far Nth Qld contributions including editorials & photographs. PO Box 108, Port Douglas 4877 Queensland, Australia Email:[email protected] Website: www.fishingportdouglas.com.au Phone: 0409 610 869 The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine, the editors, or the authors themselves. The magazine does not guarantee accuracy, validity, honesty or politeness of content, and we shall not be held responsible for the content of mentioned websites. The content (photos, art, articles etc...) found within are the property of the submitter and not our magazine. VALUED CONTRIBUTORS Michael Hart Keith Graham Jamie Beitzel Damian Collete Nautical Marine team Jason Teelow Steve Adamson Bruce Belcher Jake Wyatt ‘Sharky’ Shane Down Lynton Heffer (Editor) Features Friends Return to Daintree Moreton Telegraph Station Dragon Lady Diary Mossman High School Comp Micks Cooking Rigging Mackerel Wogheads Nautical Marine Product Review Javelin Boats - Locally Made Absolute Quality Craftmanship Shed 11A, Johnston St, Stratford, Cairns 4870 Ph: 0417 766 094 javelinboats.com.au 3 Winter Barra with Les the Kiwi By Keith Graham It was 7 months ago that Les Marsh packed up his tinnie and headed over the ditch to the North island of NZ. I have missed my fishing mate of more than 20 years but he often sends me pics of snappers and kahwai and even a few kingies so I'm kept in the loop re his recent fishing adventures over there. I can read between the lines though and knowing the lad quite well I had an inkling he was really missing his barra fishing…. especially from our favourite river…. the mighty Daintree. Les visited early August to attend his daughters wedding at Mission Beach and no sooner had the wedding cake been cut he made a dash for Cairns so we could have our day lure casting, and what a day we had! The weather was the very best that winter offers here in the tropics as we took in the sunrise driving along the coast road towards Port. It was flat calm and out to sea there was an eerie mist clinging to the water as the sun began to beat down and warm things up after some chilly nights the week before. An upward change in temperature often brings on the barra. The scene was set! Hard to believe on such a day there were only a couple of trailers at the ramp. In addition to the favourable weather change the tides were tops…. a steady run in with a 1.2 metre change. We launched and almost raced to attach our lures. We were trying out some new colours in the Flatjack and Super Shad series which vary in depth from 1-3.5m. Opting for the shallower versions we began our upstream drift aided by a newly fitted Minn Kota Riptide electric outboard with a remote control….. what a great toy this turned out to be! The timber was stacked near the bank on the low tide with just a trickle of inwards run. Les was finding his casting length again as lures were dropped within a few millimetres of the target. Twitch… Twitch… Pause…. Twitch, how tempting they looked as every nook and cranny of the snags were explored……….. surely it had to happen soon. Les saw a 'flash' as a barra showed interest…… he cast back to the same area with no follow up . The next cast was to a log jamb and on the first 'pause' his lure was engulfed by quite a good sized barra that put up a good show. Les was to say the least 'ecstatic' as he fought his first barra in ages and gave a 'Yahoo' as it slid in the net. Well over 60 cms for his first fish of the day…. not bad for a Kiwi!!! As we drifted in with the tide Les hooked into another 2 barra, it seemed that I couldn't win a trick. After raising my first fish, that took the lure as it hit the water, I went to put pressure on by lifting my rod tip…. nothing? I began to wind…. still nothing??? I'd knocked the drag tension knob and there wasn't hardly any drag. My first barra lost to a silly mistake. Les had a good laugh as I told him that I may have had a slow start but sometimes was a strong finisher. From the salt to the brackish up into the fresh we raised and caught a few more in the River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au MARINE ELECTRONICS ABN 34 342 029 951 Open 6 days a week 4 Kiwi Les cont ... 55 to 60cm size range, then we found one of those golden snags sitting in less than 2 metres of water. My first cast along the length was met with a big swirl and solid hit from a bigger fish! He was up and out of the water jumping and carrying on. It was every www.fishingportdouglas.com.au bit of four kilos maybe more and just as he came alongside took one last jump….. and the hooks pulled! Would you believe I made another cast into the same spot and hooked a feisty 62cm fish straight after! Then a 55cm fish, then Les had his turn at a similar fish…… it was on!!! For almost an hour we target fished that one snag and if we didn't raise a fish we seemed to hook one. The tally stood at 11 as the run and bite ended. I reckon we raised another 10 and I know we hooked and lost about 5 more. What a day on the mighty Daintree and more importantly a really good welcome back for my old mate Les. He was over the moon and as we had a beer that evening said he was definitely planning another trip in the not too distant future….. it is true, you can take the man out of the Far North….. But you cant take the Far North out of the man! Download your Line Burner now online River Reef Game Fish with the Best in the Business Ph: 0409 610 869 Wild Daintree Fishing Charters By Jason ‘Saucey’ Worcester GROUP CHARTERING Fuel - Oil - Bait Ice - Tackle - ATM Boating Accessories Fast Food & Groceries Ph: 4098 0409 6107616 869 Well this last month made us feel truly alive with plenty of early morning trips leaving the Daintree Village jetty at 8am before the fog lifted. It just makes fishing on the river more enjoyable and the sites on the river where the fog lifts shows just how beautiful the area really is. Birds in flight, crocodiles sun baking and fish jumping around make for the perfect setting. Barramundi are still here and there amongst the cooler atmosphere with the odd one or two per trip. There’s been some really nice mangrove jacks amongst the snags and there’s quite a few good fighting tarpon on the deeper bends tailing on the surface. As always your not fishing if you don't lose to a couple of good runs by bigger fish as well. The facial expressions when I say, ‘now if you cast over there in that snag hang on’.... you can almost hear them ticking over yeah’ Above Grade yeah'. Next thing you know ‘Whack’, their reaction is too slow and the fish is lost. Me, I have a wry chuckle and say told you to be ready. It's this sort of excitement love sharing with others. I’ve been mainly catering for tourists camping at the Daintree Village River View Caravan Park with the local jetty below which is great for enjoying watching the spectacular sunsets. The smell of the camp fire and magnificent vista makes for a great relaxing stay in the Daintree Village. I recently received a call by Keith Graham at Bransfords and he’s a great advocate for fishing on the Daintree. Looks like we’ll catch up at some point and have a fish together which I’m really looking forward to. Tight lines and look forward to sharing more stories about fishing upper Daintree. 5 Dragon Lady Diary trip. A couple of Port Douglas boats faired much better with Amokura and Saltaire taking out 1st & 2nd place respectively with 8 & 7 billfish By Steve Adamson apiece. Well done boys against 49 other competitors ! Except for the very start of August the weather was good As the month came to a close the weather was to just manageable for the entire month and tourist absolutely spectacular and the fishing was numbers remained relatively steady. relatively easy leading into the full moon period. The fishing overall was quite encouraging with solid Numbers of fish were on the upside and it was numbers of fish returning to the docks barring the odd day when the weather was a bit challenging. The coral & bar Happy Days. Looking ahead school holidays are soon to be upon cheek trout species were definitely up and about for most of the us. I can’t stress more than enough to book ahead if you want month and their average size was impressive. The large mouth join us. We are already heavily booked with limited spots left. nannygai were sourced of all sizes from big to just legal with no particular size dominating any day’s catch. They were a mixed bag of fish which were caught consistently throughout the month particularly during the calmer spells when we could fish deep. On a couple days the small mouth nannygai burst onto the scene like we haven’t seen before for a couple of years. At around 3-5kg they were of good calibre and a very welcomed return. We caught copious numbers of spanish mackerel on the float during the month with an average of 3-4 quality fish amongst the catch each day. They were solid fish too, thick in stature with plenty of fillet and on average were around the 1012kg mark. This ensured that everybody went home a with a decent feed of fish even if they didn’t catch much individually. We saw a variety of other species show up at various times including a few reef mangrove jack, gold spot trevally, cobia, spangled emperor, sweetlip, stripies and the odd really nice red emperor. Looking back through the log book I’d say on average about 25-30 fish was the par mark for the month. Around mid month we had to do a Nomad Fishing transfer from St. Crispin’s Reef but only had to bring clients back from their mothership. So on the way out Lui, Heff and myself thought we’d have a quick fish on some ground which I hadn’t fished in years, mainly because it too far to travel on a single day trip. We dropped the pick in 44m of water and I was really hoping for a batch of nannygai to jump onboard. However it was not to be but the fishing was pretty good for the short half hour we spent there. 8 coral trout to 4kg, a super sized long nose emperor and a 7kg spanish mackerel off the bottom is what we could muster. I got busted off 3 times by a couple of stonker fish and Lui encountered a similar fate a couple of times as well. At one point he fought what we believed to be a monster cod for 15 minutes before the line succumbed to the pressure. It was a short but sweet fish by ourselves which we rarely get the chance to do. Keeping in the theme of things Lui & myself then fished the Cairns Bluewater Billfish Tournament ran out of Fitzroy Island over 3 days aboard the new luxury Zulu vessel which is a 54ft Assegai vessel. To stay on such a comfortable and luxurious boat was a fresh of breath air. With all the modern comforts available it certainly was a welcomed break from the rigours of standard reef fishing trips. Despite having the latest technology behind us, unfortunately it didn’t help us in the fishing stakes and we only caught one small black marlin for the tournament. It didn’t matter to me as it was more like a holiday rather than a fishing Cleaning Services 6 Zammataro Plumbing *Plumbing *Drainage *Roofing *Gas fitting *Marine *Bobcat *4 in 1 Bucket *Excavator *Tip Truck Ph: 4098 2774 sandwich and salad bar real food, real fresh! OPEN FROM 8AM SUPPLEMENT JUICES & SMOOTHIES wraps - sandwiches -salads juice bar - curries - coffee gluten free products low fat dishes - platters catering available quick, healthy, tasty and great value available eat in or takeaway 22 Macrossan Street Port Douglas Seafood Restaurant Trip to ‘Toga’ Country By ‘Sharky’ Shane Down There was no second thought given when a good friend and work colleague, Rick and Alex his missus asked me if I was interested in visiting the Moreton Telegraph Station up on Cape York. The thought that the property waterways held the famous Saratoga fish had me salivating at the mouth. With a week and half off at my disposal I stocked up with as many types of lures which might entice a ‘Toga’ including small Halco lures and imitation soft plastic frogs with weedless hooks. I was informed there were plenty of barra on the station but my heart was dead set bent on catching the elusive Saratoga. On the day of departure we were on the road at 5.30am itching to get going with a plan to reach the station the following day. Once passing the township of Laura the roads turned to gravel with plenty of corrugations and bull dust pot holes to contend with but overall it was a relatively smooth trip. At 12.30pm we arrived at the Archer River and decided to spend the night here at Foxes Water Hole. With camp set up it was time to find some camp firewood and with my trusty chainsaw this was accomplished in short time. Our attention turned to a spot of fishing and with rods rigged up we set about flicking some lures around. As it eventuated we caught and released 4 sooty grunter in about an hour so it was time to change plans. We prepared dinner on the camp fire and whilst that was doing its magic we set out some red claw pots at about 5pm. We checked the pots a couple of times just after dark and secured a dozen medium sized cherabin which complimented our foil cooked sausages, pumpkin and potato. It was time to hit the fart sack. I was up at 6am and first job is always to boil the billy for a fresh coffee. I then retrieved the pots from the night before and claimed another 10 cherabin and a few smaller ones which would be great live bait for later on. With a hearty brekky in our bellies we hit the dirt at around 10am. We arrived at Moreton Station just after midday and was greeted by Rick’s daughter, Bec who is managing the station. I picked a nice cosy spot on the property to set up my camper trailer whilst Rick and Alex settled into a bungalow. Moreton Telegraph Station is located on the Wenlock River in the centre of Cape York Peninsula just 293 kilometres from Cape York ('The Tip'), the Australian mainland's most northerly point. The Wenlock River flows all year, although the levels can vary dramatically between the 'wet' season and the 'dry' season. Mid afternoon Rick and I walked to a spot called the ‘Barra Hole’ which was 750m walk from the camp. We tossed a variety of lures for a while without luck so I reverted to using those small cherabin as bait suspending them underneath a float. Offering the freshest of seafood from local fishermen Non-seafood menu items also available Dine in and take away Fully Licensed Cnr Macrossan & Owen St (diagonally opposite Post Office) Open 7 days Lunch & Dinner Phone 4099 5433 [email protected] www.finzportdouglas.com SALTAIRE Charters Phone 0459 323 888 6AM - 8PM 7 DAYS Fishing Gear Bait and Ice Auto Care Hot Food Sandwiches Cold Drinks 129 Alchera Drive Mossman QLD 4873 Ph: 07 4098 1656 ABN: 34 069 005 438 003 7 This resulted in a tiny 35cm barra but I did score my biggest sooty grunter to date stretching 44cm in length. In finishing at the hole I set a couple of red claw pots to leave overnight in suspicion that some big crustaceans would inhabit this stretch of water. This first day at the property was more about getting our bearings and getting familiar with the new surrounds. We’d get more serious about our fishing tomorrow. At first light I trundled down to the ‘barra hole’ and firstly checked the pots. Disappointingly there were only two which I immediately converted to live bait. Using the float method I drifted the line around for about 20 minutes without luck. I trudged about a further 100m upstream and tried again. This time I was able to land my float in a likeable strike zone. Sure enough the float bobbed under the water and resulted in a rat sized barra which was released. With my last cherabin I tossed it back to the same location. Within 10 minutes the float took a quick dive and upon striking this fish seemed to have a bit more weight. Careful persuasion was required amongst the snaggy country and soon enough I landed a 55cm barra. A better result but not good enough. With no more bait I headed back to camp for some brekky and the idea to hatch a plan for the day. At 10.30am Rick, Alex and I jumped in the Cruiser and headed to another section of the beautiful Wentlock about half an hour away to a place called the ‘Sandpan’. Upon arrival I set up a pot with some sausage to try and catch some live bait. In the meantime we tossed lures around for about an hour without a hint of a strike. I then checked the pot and found 6 small banded grunter had made their way in so I put them straight into the live bait bucket. We all reverted back to the float and I soon registered 2 small barra and Alex a good sized sooty grunter. Still persisting with the live bait my luck was about to change. My next strike saw the float disappear in the blink of an eye. Once I engaged the fish it was quickly realised it was a decent fish. It made tough pulling and at one point I got a look at a Saratoga. This got the heart racing and I was determined to land this fish. With some astute angling I was able to eventually beach this fish up onto the sandy bank and I was completely stoked. This amazing fish went 60cm on the tape and after a few pics I was glad to release such a beautiful creature back into its natural habitat. This is what I had come here for !! Following this brilliant moment nothing much else happened so we headed back to camp for lunch, me with a big smile on my dial. River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au Pool and spa service Repairs and sales of all equipment Chemical sales and delivery 8 Star Energy Saving Pumps 1 Free service/ water test for new customers Daryl Taylor 0404 286 187 Ph/Fax 4098 5780 [email protected] Skincare Products Candles 8 PORT DOUGLAS •PRAWNS•OYSTERS •MUD CRABS•BUGS •CALAMARI •SMOKED & MARINATED PRODUCE •CONDIMENTS •FRESH SALAD•PLATTERS •LUNCH PACKS •PRAWNS COOKED DAILY OPEN 10am - 5.30pm TUESDAY – SUNDAY (Closed Mondays) 11 Grant Street, Port Douglas Phone: 4099 4960 River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au Bistro TAB - Pokies Drive Thru Bottleshop Sky Channel Pool Table Full AirCon The remainder of the day was left to chill out, read a book and take in the stunning surrounds. Later in the day we set up several pots at various locations which would keep the live bait supply stocked up and we had a fish back at the barra hole. I registered 3 more barra using live bait, the biggest at 50cm. Our pots on dark registered 12 more perfect sized live bait cherabin which went into the keeper overnight. The following morning at ‘sparrows’ I checked the overnight pots to collect a further 6 small cherabin - our live bait supply was now looking quite healthy. I then headed back to camp and got Rick into motion. At 6.30am we were back at the ‘barra hole’. Using sausage in the pot I sourced some more live banded grunter for bait. Settling in we didn’t see any noise until 7.30am and then it happened one after the other. Using a combination of livies between us, Rick caught 4 small barra, the biggest being 45cm and got busted off twice by bigger fish. In the same token I caught 3 small barra and got busted off by a barra which looked in excess of 60cm. Then Alex visited the hole and said the Cuscus had been spotted back at camp. This is a not so common marsupial that is found on The Cape and an extended member of the possum family. We quickly made it back to where it was sighted but it had made itself scarce. Trying to locate it for an hour we eventually gave up - bugger ! With time still left hopefully I would get the chance to see one in the wild before I left. At 11am we ventured to another run off creek called Jacob’s Hole but it was lacking in water. We doubled back and found ourselves heading down an old beaten track which had received little traffic for sometime. Along the way I spotted a Frill Necked Dragon sunning itself on a small tree. I couldn’t not help myself but stop and take some pictures. We eventually hit some water with a hole that looked deep enough to fish. I set myself up on a log and flicked my live cherabin out to a sunken tree. The first fish was a small catfish but my second attempt was much more productive. This time without the float I let the bait sink to the base of the tree. After a couple of minutes my line started to slowly move and once it gathered momentum I struck the hook. Bingo ! Soon enough I released I had hooked into another Saratoga and your senses suddenly change to high alert. Being wary of their small stocky teeth which could wear through the line I carefully played this fish to the bank. I was able to take some close up photos in the shallows before releasing this beauty. This was all that was caught in this small pool but it was more than enough in my books. Mid afternoon we did the same program back at the resident ‘barra hole’ using live baits we sourced from the traps. I managed a further 4 barra, the biggest at 45cm and Rick only caught a small one. At one point we had a visitor drive by and he asked Rick if he could cast a lure or two so he could just say he wet a line in the Wentlock River. Bugger me dead he nailed a 35cm barra on his second cast then jumped back in the car and took off as proud as punch. As the day unfolded to a close the ‘Toga’ catch etched in my brain as I retired early for the night. The following morning I had a bit of a scout around to see if I could spot the Cuscus. I spent about an hour carefully scouring the trees but to no avail. Reef St Four Mile Port Douglas Ph: 4099 3655 TRINITY SPORTFISHING Port Douglas to book call 0411 774 804 www.trinitysportfishing.com.au [email protected] Catch the excitement of calmwater fishing Blue Ribbon Event Heavy Tackle Tournament Nov 4th - 8th 2015 FormulaOneFishing Details: portdouglasmarlinchallenge.com 9 At 10am we drove to another section of the Wentlock . Once again the pots were laid to gather some baits whilst we tossed lures for a bit. For me the lure fishing wasn’t going to plan so I reverted back to live bait under the float. Soon I saw a flash of silver underneath the float but it failed to connect. Rick still had a soft plastic on so I suggested he cast it near my bait. Sure enough a feisty little 40cm barra made connection and that made a nice accomplishment. I went on to catch 3 medium sized catfish whilst Rick meandered up the river casting his lure. At some point I heard an almighty yell as Rick screamed out ‘Saratoga’. I quickly dropped my rod, grabbed the camera and bolted to his vicinity. By the time I arrived 100m upstream Rick already had the ‘Toga’ in the shallows. At around 50cm it was a great fish to be caught on a soft plastic. That was about the extent of the excitement for this morning session. At 3.30pm I packed up the kit and wandered down to the ‘barra hole’. Within 10 minutes of setting the pots with sausage I had plenty of little grunter for bait. Within half an hour we had tallied 7 barra between us ranging from 45-53cm in length. I had to top up the bait supply and once in action the fish kept coming. By the time we called it quits Rick had caught 4 barra, myself 8 barra plus there was a big catfish and a 35cm sooty grunter. It was another great day enjoyed on The Cape. The following morning I had a quick look for that elusive Cuscus before we jumped in the cruiser and headed for an isolated billabong on the property. Upon arrival it was a cracking stretch of water about 100m x 300m in size and was draped in water lilies - looked like ‘Toga’ country to me. This was the perfect time to try those plastic frog lures. It took a few attempts to get the right action but it finally worked as a kookaburra swooped in trying to claim it as food but veered away at the last second. Casting away the frog received a lot of hits without a hook up. It’s exciting watching your frog jump from lily pad to lily pad with a little swim in between platforms. When the frog is idle on the lily pad you don’t expect anything to happen but out of nowhere a Saratoga would appear and take a shot at the frog on top of the pad with an almighty boof in the process. Bloody exciting stuff !! During this session we would have experienced 50 strikes between us with most of them very visual with the ‘Toga’ actually leaving the water to attack the plastic frog. As it eventuated Rick landed 2 nice fish between 45-50cm and dropped a horse as well. I managed 4 Saratoga with the best going 60cm in length. This was definitely the highlight of the trip thus far. In the afternoon it was back at the ‘barra hole’ to nail a heap of small barra but as the day closed in I was still buzzing from the morning session at the billabong. Without a second thought the following morning it was straight back to the billabong for hopefully a repeat hot performance. As it turned out it was a lukewarm session with about 20 strikes and I only landed 1 Saratoga. It at least was a good fish measuring 60cm. By late morning we headed back to camp for a coffee. Local Retailers of these fishing and camping products: Reels Rods Lures Line Lures Outdoor Gear Coolers & Eskies Receive 30% Off RRP by mentioning this ad! Captain Cook Hwy Craiglie River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au ACRYLIC LETTERS ENGRAVED SAFETY SIGNS VINYL LICENCE DECALS 25 WARNER ST 0419 757 864 The Place to Relax on the Port Douglas Marina 10 Around midday whilst the sun was high I was keen to have a snorkel at the ‘barra hole’ to have a closer look at the snags and potential fish life. Whilst swimming around I spotted 6 barra, quite a few sooty grunter, 8 salmon tailed catfish and surprisingly dozens of eel tailed catfish which we hadn’t caught on the line. I also found quite a few soft plastic lures hooked up in amongst the snags which I salvaged in the process and passed onto a bike rider back packer making his way north. But the highlight of the snorkel had to be spotting a 1.4m file snake up against a rock. I spent a good 10 minutes with this beautiful creature and got some nice close up photos. I’d only ever come across a couple of file snakes before so this to me was a special moment. The last afternoon at the station was spent just relaxing and soaking in the grand atmosphere of the Australian bush. In the morning we packed up camp, said our grateful goodbyes to the station crew and travelled back to Foxes Hole on the Archer River a couple of hours away to spend the night. We set the pots and rallied up about a dozen cherabin during our stay. But what got me really excited was spotting a small Maclay’s Water Snake hunting in the shallows of the river. At a another part of the hole I made acquaintance with a big Rocket Frog. I managed to acquire some great pics of both creatures and was a fitting end to a wonderful trip. We made pretty good time the last day getting back to Port Douglas in just over 8hrs. There were lots of great moments but none better than those tangles with the great ’Toga’. What a truly hypnotic and magnificent fish. I can’t wait for my next camping adventure. The Port Douglas Florist Fresh & Friendly Floral Design Delivering to Port Douglas Mossman & Cairns Ph: 07 4099 5503 James Beitzel’s RIVER, COAST and REEF Call 4090 7638 Cooktown Port Douglas Phone: (07) 4098 5761 Cnr Captain Cook Highway & Port Douglas Rd, Pt Douglas QLD 4877 Email: [email protected] OPENING HOURS: DAILY MON–SUN: 7AM - 8PM FULL RANGE OF GROCERIES • LOCAL BREAD • DELICATESSEN • FRESH FRUIT & VEGIES • FREEZER • DAIRY • FRESH MEAT • BAIT & ICE Phone: (07) 4069 5633 29 Helen St, Cooktown, QLD 4895 Email: [email protected] OPENING HOURS: MON–FRI: 8AM - 7PM SAT: 8AM - 6PM SUN: 8AM - 5PM 11 Reel Cooking with Mojo’s Mick Hart Mud Crab Spaghett - Aglio e Olio Ingredients 1 Mud Crab 200g Spaghetti 4 cloves of garlic crushed 1 long red chilli de-seeded and sliced Olive oil 1 anchovies Sea salt 1 handful of picked flat leaf parsley Method Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a handful of salt and cook the crab for 10min. Chill in ice water and refrigerate for at least an hour. Clean crab and pick the meat and reserve with any liquid. Boil more water with a tbsp of salt to cook spaghetti. Meanwhile gently heat 5tbsp of oil in a large pan, add garlic, chilli, anchovies and soften without colour. Add cooked pasta, crab meat, parsley and toss to combine, season with sea salt. Serve with lemon wedges. 0419 015 262 12 MSHS Wear a Hat Comp A wholly owned and operated local company, distributing wholesale dry, chilled and frozen grocery items direct to the kitchens of leading restaurants, cafes, hotels and sports & entertainment venues. The Mossman State High School has been continuing its next instalment of the ’Wear a Hat whilst Fishing Competition’. They have expanded the competition to include not only the students but also the many enthusiastic parent and teacher anglers. According to Wendy the School Nurse the comp has been an absolute hit and pictured below are just a small sample of entries they received. Proudly Servicing Port Douglas, Mossman, Cairns and District Phone 4035 3911 River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au Mens Style Cuts from $20 Keith Lawrence FUEL • OIL • SEAFOOD • BAIT • ICE Dickson Inlet, Port St, Port Douglas Phone 4099 6792 Fishing MV Norseman By Charlotte Turvey Authentic Aussie Cuisine Best Live Gigs in Town Karaoke Nights Big Screen Sports Pool Tables Cane Toad Racing 5 Macrossan St Ph: 4099 4776 River - Reef - Game Ph: 0409 610 869 www.fishingportdouglas.com.au When the seas are 5 knots, a sheet of glass, who wouldn't want to be out enjoying it? Then a sudden change to 25, the wind howling, you think a little different? These changes are all part of the Far North Queensland winter. Luckily it doesn't stop the punters from coming out on the Norseman and catching great fish. August has brought us awesome fishing all month, however two days days in particular stood out from the rest. On these days we got the usual catch of trout, striped perch and spangled but most outstanding being nannygai. These stunning yet delicious red fish were getting hooked and pulled in one after another. Averaging around 50-70cm - these smaller nannygai were still putting up a fight, challenging our anglers, making the catch result in success. Our fishermen/ladies couldn't believe their eyes, it seemed wherever you looked there were fish coming over the side, it was mayhem. Days like these are a blessing to any fishing boat, and we were especially stoked with all the fish. Norseman has also had a handful of private charters this month, including family tours, bucks says and beginner groups. In amongst these days there sure have been a couple of ripper stories made that will get you laughing. Many snagged lines, dropped fish and passenger burley. Some charters with winds blowing 25-30knots, a little harder to hold anchor making the day somewhat difficult. Apart from that, the fish on these charter have been unreal, ranging with our usual reef fish with the addition of mackerel and even landing an 8 kilo cobia. Yet again it's been another top month for all our punters on Norseman. Let's hope we keep getting great passengers, nice weather and the fish keep biting. Big cheers to August, and thanks from our crew. PORT DOUGLAS TIDE TABLE SEPTEMBER 2015 13 Tide times provided by courtesy of Maritime Safety Queensland. For more information, see the Official Tide Tables and Boating Safety Guide published by Maritime Queensland and the World Wide Web at http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/qldtides. The tidal predictions for Port Douglas are supplied by the National Tidal Centre, Bureau of Meteorology, copyright reserved. 14 TUESDAYS $20 ‘All You Can Eat’ Buffet WEDNESDAYS $300 Pool Comp THURSDAYS Tradies Afternoon FRIDAYS Live Music EXCHANGE HOTEL - MOSSMAN Enjoy Our Restaurant, Beer Garden & Swimming Pool Exciting New Products Due to Hit the Shelves By Lachie O’Hanlon August was another extremely busy month for the team at Nautical Marine Sales. In late July I attended the annual Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) fishing tackle show which is held at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. It was a very full on 3 days with lots of new and exciting fishing tackle on display. A good deal of the gear being released in Australia was in fact so new that it had only just landed fresh from the massive American Trade Show iCast which is held earlier in July. It was great meeting some of the manufacturers and learning exactly what goes into making a certain product. We have also teamed up with several new suppliers at this year's AFTA Show with more big name brands going to be available at Nautical Marine Sales soon! Over the next couple of months I will be reviewing some of the new tackle as it comes into the country and our shop. Just about everything imaginable to do with fishing is on display at AFTA including sunglasses, rods, reels, line, apparel and a huge range of both soft and hard body lures, it is a fisherman's paradise! There are some awesome new soft plastics on the way from the likes of Samaki, Zman, Fish Candy, Shimano and Zerek to name a few and some great new hard body lures also. Plenty of high quality rods and reels were on show also which set the bar at another level again. There is simply too much to write about in this edition!! Amongst the new things in store at Nautical Marine is the addition of a brand spanking new Line Winding Machine. This now enables us to fill almost any spin, baitcast and overhead reels quickly and with the precise amount of line tension and capacity every time. Not only does it fill the reels in record time but it also has the ability to un-spool them. Now there is no excuse for not having a full reel of freshly spooled braid or mono. We are now stocking and spooling quality bulk braid and mono in all the popular sizes and from reputable brands. So don't be shy, bring your reels in and we will happily spool them up ready for your next fishing expedition! We just recently filled a few reels for local game boat Amokura who on the following weekend took out the Fitzroy Island Light Tackle Marlin Challenge, it just goes to show that preparation and looking after your gear can make all the difference some days! Speaking of Marlin, it's now the time to start collecting baits and getting geared up for the 2015 Heavy Tackle season which will kick off any day now. We have a full range of rigging equipment, leader, hooks, lures, tools and just about everything else needed to catch a Grander size Black Marlin. There will be plenty of new and innovative products hitting the shelves very shortly with some stock already arriving by the truck load. Make sure you drop in soon for a look and don't forget to pick up a bargain for Dad this Fathers Day!! Chandlery & Electronics - Fishing Tackle & Rod Hire - Charts & Books - Tour Bookings - Marine Insurance - Yacht Brokering Mono Cast Nets from $44.95 River2Sea Wideglide 200 Stickbaits 5 for $50 NAUTICAL MARINE SALES Ecooda Synch Spin Reel $89.95 Save $50 ABN: 19 741 153 755 P O RT D O U G L A S N E Zman Soft Plastics 3 for $25 (zip locks) Monthly Specials W S Nilsmaster Timber Lures All Models $13.95 Andrew & Jane McNeil - Shop 2, 30 Wharf Street - PO Box 727, Port Douglas Ph: (07) 4099 6508 Mob: 0400 721 110 E: [email protected] Monthly Specials 15 Life Line for Coastal Communities In the last 2 issues I've deviated from my revision of mangroves and associated subjects due to the surprising events relating to a friendly fugitive named Lee Lafferty. However, things have settled down and I can continue with my story. The 2 settlements of Cairns and Port Douglas were established smack bang in the middle of crocodile habitats in an estuarine environment. That is, at the entrance of tidal rivers and creeks that are not necessarily fed by fresh water from the mountains, as is the case with the Barron and Daintree rivers. Smith's Creek, upon which Cairns sits is actually a conduit for the incoming tides which fills the many little estuaries branching out from it. The tidal area is then inundated with salt water, providing the necessary characteristics of a mangrove forest. As the tide recedes, the surrounding land is exposed. The same applies to Dickson's Inlet at Port Douglas. I once read a book about mangroves in which the author likened the tidal areas of river mouths to the movement of air, in and out of the lungs of animals. We know that by breathing, air is taken into the lungs and oxygen is taken away by blood passing by to feed body tissue, along with other nutrients. So it is with tidal movements whereby the incoming sea water brings with it detritus and other ingredients to provide food for the many living organisms, animals and vegetation. A typical example of this is to observe the variety of little crabs that feed on the exposed ground, eating the detritus. Prawns in the water are doing the same thing. As the tide covers the ground, then fish can feed on these crustaceans and so the cycle goes on. We know that mangroves are vital fish breeding habitats and we respect that the forests are protected primarily for that reason. However, in the past and in poorer countries, firewood was scarce and mangroves were important as fuel timber. Regrettably, the result has affected fish life. It occurred in Australia, more obviously around southern coastal Queensland. Canal estates were developed at the expense of mangroves purely out of greed and the huge demand by vanity seekers to have a paleaceous homes with personal jetties for the luxury boat. I wonder if the boats, when going out fishing, actually caught anything. I doubt it! I don't want to sound too cynical but that's the way it was done then. See you next month. Cairns Inlet Dickson Inlet Gold Coast Canals Ph: 0412 329 568 rs Cove Line Burner PORTCUSTOMMARINECOVERS Private & Commercial Vessels KATEENASKOUMBOURDIS Marine Trimmer Mobile: 0410 533 141 Workshop Nth West Cnr of Reef Marina Carpark Complex www.imagebankaustralia.com.au Any Type of printing – Little to HUMONGOU S Lotsa can display some of your fabulous fishing photos as a collage and create a full colour gloss vinyl banner (600 x 840mm) with aluminium snap-in hangers to make a unique Wall Hanging. Priced from $60, it is perfect as a gift or a special memento of your fishing trip. Local Bragging Board Turvey r Steve hing e p ip k S good fis t seman MV Nor ample of the Augus with a s xperienced in they e Sailaway Crew Member Alec joined the MV Norseman for a days fishing & caught this 8kg Cobia ck Marlin small Bla rnament. a h it w rs h Tou harte Saltaire C g the Cairns Billfis earn them urin caught d ged marlin would ll 7 tag overa 2nd Place Amokura Charte rs won the Cairns Billfish To urnam with 8 tagged mar ent lin Dragon L ad with a siz y Skipper Steve A eable Lo ng Nosed damson Emperor Good sized Sm all Mouth Nanny gai made a welcomed re turn in August ab oard Dragon Lady C harters
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NOV 15 - Fishing Port Douglas
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