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| Morning harbor |
Last week’s blog seemed to be a big hit, so today, more fish tales…. We took a charter out into Moreton Bay and had an amazing day of inshore fishing. The bay is an enormous biosphere reserve, 60 miles or so long, that’s protected from the open ocean by offshore islands. They keep things generally calm and easy for boating and sailing…There aren’t open ocean pelagic fish, but instead a diverse variety of mangrove and reef species that come and go seasonally….The weather, tides and fish all cooperated to make for a great day.
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| Anticipation….
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| Out to sea…. |
All fishing is local, so it was great to have Sean to show us lots of local secrets and techniques to catch some fish. The tide was just changing from high to running out as the sun came up. I caught a nice snapper on the very first cast. Now that’s insider knowledge at work!
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| Snapper!! |
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| Another keeper |
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| Aidan hooks up |
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| A “chopper” Tailor. A winter schooling fish. Called a “snapper” Bluefish in the states |
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| A nice pan-sized snapper |
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| Mark and Sam with a weird Shovel-nosed Skate. Not a shark… |
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| Aidan, Sam and Luke…Fishin’ Buds….oh, I mean “mates…” |
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| Local bait |
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| Sean passing on the knowledge |
It’s early winter here in Queensland, so the schools of snapper are just coming into the bay. Although they can get quite a bit larger, these 40 cm pan snapper, 1-2 lbs, are perfect eating sized, and put up a surprisingly tough fight on light tackle. The boys, and I, were in heaven out there…
The tide turned and started running hard, and the fishing dropped off suddenly…Sean then took us down into the mangrove channels; casting rubber baits along the deeper cutoffs. Luke hit paydirt with a nice 63 cm flathead, or “lizard” as they’re known locally. A bit ugly, but considered a delicacy at table..
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| Catch of the day, a nice Lizard… |
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| A great fish Luke…! |
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| A wonderful day afield with my sons |
I also managed to land a small sole that struck the large soft bait three different times before I got him.
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| Bait prawn |
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| Just looking for a handout… |
We also saw lots or birdlife, including curious and hungry pelicans, and though hard to photograph, sea turtles surfacing regularly. In the end, they day came to a mellow close. A perfect day spent immersed in nature, on the water with friends and family. Learning lots of local lore and techniques. A big thanks to Sean at Moreton Bay Charters for being a great guide, mentor and host. We highly recommend looking him up and setting up a charter…
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| The shirt says it all |
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| Heading home |
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| Sean, the skipper |
After getting home, still lots of work to do cleaning the catch; but a wonderful grilled snapper dinner awaits. The icing on the cake of a perfect day.
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| Lifelong memories of fishing with mates…
So, thanks for following along on yet another Aussie adventure. I am now working parttime at the Princess Alexandra Tertiary Level 1 Trauma Center in Brisbane. Next up will be some fascinating EM shots and tales from that otherworldly environment. A real window into another aspect of our life in Australia. Stay tuned..Judicious editing guaranteed…..ddu |
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| PS: More mud crabs, caught on the scraps of snapper |
PJK says:
Winter, in Tee Shirts? Awesome huh? Great pics OG, how will you ever be able to leave? 🙂