QLD 16-19 May 2013. Magic at Double Island Point.
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Well things started lining up for me about two weeks ago when I knew my current project at work was going to finish up on time freeing me up for some fun.
After a little bit of correspondence with kayakone, I learnt that he had some serious car issues which were going to rule him out of this years trip. I immediately advised him that there was room for him in my car and he said he was going to think about it (like he had a choice....).
Plans were firmed up and I picked up Trev on Wednesday night aft work and loaded his gear into my car and threw his kayak on the roof. He got to experience the madness of the BIGKEV house and a family meal and and stayed the night ready for a 4am departure in the morning.
I'd made plans to hook up with Salticrack & sprocket to fish they're secret spot along Teewah beach on our way up. The trip up was uneventful and we hit the ferry about 5.40am, just a little later than originally planned. Salti & sprocket were along the beach waiting as planned and after greetings we hit the water through what seemed to be a fairly benign surf but Salti was reminded in no uncertain terms to always respect the break and take charge and never hesitate. We'd all got stuck into Trev with a bit of friendly banter and restricted him to only two fishing rods, he begrudgingly agreed as he had to stow them in my hatch for the launch.
The mornings fishing for me was a bit hit and miss, I had a number of good solid hook ups during the morning but managed to either pull the hooks, have leaders shredded and pull knots. Eventually I managed put it altogether and stay connected to a fish long enough to sink a gaff into my first Longy. He was an average size specimen around 1 metre and approx 10ish kgs. I managed to land this fish in about 15-20mins and was wondering what all the hoo-ha was about, sure it pulled hard but I sort of expected more.
Salti, K1 and I all hung about freezing on the beach for while chatting with other campers who generously offered to make us a cuppa while we waited for Sprocket. We'd all managed to pull a long tail this morning which was quite a feat as it's not really that often that every body scores a fish, so it was pretty much the perfect start to the weekend.
After this exciting little introduction to north shore / double island fishing we made our way up to the camp area and easily found Indie and his family and Paul whose forum name is that which we do not speak. It was now raining and cold and showed no signs of letting up. I was travelling fairly light on with my camping stuff and as we unpacked I started to realise what I had left behind on this trip (it just wouldn't be camping without forgetting stuff) not to worry though, it was anything that we couldn't get around.
Hot food was no.1 priority and we were soon fed and started the rehydration process huddled under indies awning on his camper desperately trying to warm up around the fire. A few. Beers and a few ports and more than a few tall stories later saw us all hit the sack ready for an assault on the headland in the morning.
Overnight the rain cleared but left behind a fairly stiff breeze from the west. We took our time with brekky and travel up unsure what effect the winds would have on the planned fishing area. We didn't arrive at the point till after 9am and Paul and Trev were uncertain about heading out with such a stiff breeze pushing across the bay and ultimately driving us further offshore if caught unaware.
I was however pretty confident that if you could get around in front of the headland then it would provide some shelter form the wind. So I set out alone carrying my radio to keep in contact with the rest of the crew. The trip out was quick and without drama, the breeze was chopping the surface but wasn't too bad. And as I suspected once around the headland the water was flat & calm with only the bounce back waves from the cliffs causing some minor swell on the water.
My target out here was snapper on a mark generously shared with me by a Noosa Yakker. On arrival a pro line fishing boat was fishing the spot and soon after he started trolling the area. Believe it or not seeing a pro boat working the area is a good sign as it is obviously a productive spot. The snapper were definitely there, but many were small and I didn't have a ruler to check them with so they were all going back. I was having a great time catching a fish a cast at times and had the whole place to my self.
Then I finally had a good hit and a strong run with big head shakes from what was obviously a better snapper. A few minutes later a very healthy snap in the low 70's was in the boat. Then it was back to the little ones as Indie and the others finally started making their way out after waiting for the winds to drop. Finally the others started arriving, first indie, then K1 & Paul and soon after Safa and his bro Gary. Indie managed to get another couple of snaps off the mark later that day but I couldn't get anything else of size. I didn't keep a count but estimate I caught in excess of 20 fish in the session, so was pretty happy with result despite only keeping the one fish.
More beers and port around the fire helped the sleep and Sprocket and family arrived in the dark to join the crew and we had an early start hitting the headland at dawn the following day. Snapper were once again the target and the reefs in front of the headland bombarded with yaks and plastics. Safa and I arrived at roughly the same time and we both fired out a cast and being only 20m apart were having a chat when both of us hooked up simultaneously. My fish swung my yak 180 degrees on dragged me 70m on the first run before dropping the hooks and when I made it back I found Safa had landed a 60ish snapper. What a great way to start the day! I couldn't get any further hits from the area after that but did find Safa fighting a snag for all he was worth. He swore black and blue that it was a fish but it certainly looked like a snag to me. I played along and hung around offering support and even tried to tow him away t get a better angle to fight his snag but he busted off.
So as the morning sesh rolled up about 11am, Trev & I had to pack up and leave but I was determined to get a final crack at these long tails down the beach while the swell was still low. W packed camp, said our goodbyes and headed down the beach checking Salti's spot along the way but for some reason the break looked a bit treacherous so we moved further down the beach until we found schools of fish working outside the break. A quick launch without issues and I was within feeding fish in minutes. Once again I had Trevs rods in my hatch and waited until after exchanging these before hooking up.
After exchanging rods, we found some birds and fish working about 200m away and headed straight for them, once in range I fired a cast right into the frenzy and seconds later was connected to a fish I thought may have been a mac tuna for a few seconds and then it went berserk. This fish just went on a rampage wherever it wanted and I little to no say about it even though it was caught on similar gear to the first one on Thursday. An intense 45min followed before I finally subdued this fish, it was such a different fight to the first one.
Shortly after Trev hooked up also but I was just about to tell him it's time to go home as I needed to get home in time for a family dinner, so now I had to tell him to hurry up instead. This he did, with a heavy drag setting and he had the fish at the boat in 5min and boated within 9min. Bloody legendary!
Well I made it home just in time for tea and had kids footy on this morning meaning I didn't get a chance to clean up till later this afternoon. I write this now on the wife's iPad whilst 60minutes is on and will be hitting the sack shortly. Over the next couple of days as I get time I'll throw up some photos and a vid or two, but for now this waffle will have to do.
Cheers all.
Kev
After a little bit of correspondence with kayakone, I learnt that he had some serious car issues which were going to rule him out of this years trip. I immediately advised him that there was room for him in my car and he said he was going to think about it (like he had a choice....).
Plans were firmed up and I picked up Trev on Wednesday night aft work and loaded his gear into my car and threw his kayak on the roof. He got to experience the madness of the BIGKEV house and a family meal and and stayed the night ready for a 4am departure in the morning.
I'd made plans to hook up with Salticrack & sprocket to fish they're secret spot along Teewah beach on our way up. The trip up was uneventful and we hit the ferry about 5.40am, just a little later than originally planned. Salti & sprocket were along the beach waiting as planned and after greetings we hit the water through what seemed to be a fairly benign surf but Salti was reminded in no uncertain terms to always respect the break and take charge and never hesitate. We'd all got stuck into Trev with a bit of friendly banter and restricted him to only two fishing rods, he begrudgingly agreed as he had to stow them in my hatch for the launch.
The mornings fishing for me was a bit hit and miss, I had a number of good solid hook ups during the morning but managed to either pull the hooks, have leaders shredded and pull knots. Eventually I managed put it altogether and stay connected to a fish long enough to sink a gaff into my first Longy. He was an average size specimen around 1 metre and approx 10ish kgs. I managed to land this fish in about 15-20mins and was wondering what all the hoo-ha was about, sure it pulled hard but I sort of expected more.
Salti, K1 and I all hung about freezing on the beach for while chatting with other campers who generously offered to make us a cuppa while we waited for Sprocket. We'd all managed to pull a long tail this morning which was quite a feat as it's not really that often that every body scores a fish, so it was pretty much the perfect start to the weekend.
After this exciting little introduction to north shore / double island fishing we made our way up to the camp area and easily found Indie and his family and Paul whose forum name is that which we do not speak. It was now raining and cold and showed no signs of letting up. I was travelling fairly light on with my camping stuff and as we unpacked I started to realise what I had left behind on this trip (it just wouldn't be camping without forgetting stuff) not to worry though, it was anything that we couldn't get around.
Hot food was no.1 priority and we were soon fed and started the rehydration process huddled under indies awning on his camper desperately trying to warm up around the fire. A few. Beers and a few ports and more than a few tall stories later saw us all hit the sack ready for an assault on the headland in the morning.
Overnight the rain cleared but left behind a fairly stiff breeze from the west. We took our time with brekky and travel up unsure what effect the winds would have on the planned fishing area. We didn't arrive at the point till after 9am and Paul and Trev were uncertain about heading out with such a stiff breeze pushing across the bay and ultimately driving us further offshore if caught unaware.
I was however pretty confident that if you could get around in front of the headland then it would provide some shelter form the wind. So I set out alone carrying my radio to keep in contact with the rest of the crew. The trip out was quick and without drama, the breeze was chopping the surface but wasn't too bad. And as I suspected once around the headland the water was flat & calm with only the bounce back waves from the cliffs causing some minor swell on the water.
My target out here was snapper on a mark generously shared with me by a Noosa Yakker. On arrival a pro line fishing boat was fishing the spot and soon after he started trolling the area. Believe it or not seeing a pro boat working the area is a good sign as it is obviously a productive spot. The snapper were definitely there, but many were small and I didn't have a ruler to check them with so they were all going back. I was having a great time catching a fish a cast at times and had the whole place to my self.
Then I finally had a good hit and a strong run with big head shakes from what was obviously a better snapper. A few minutes later a very healthy snap in the low 70's was in the boat. Then it was back to the little ones as Indie and the others finally started making their way out after waiting for the winds to drop. Finally the others started arriving, first indie, then K1 & Paul and soon after Safa and his bro Gary. Indie managed to get another couple of snaps off the mark later that day but I couldn't get anything else of size. I didn't keep a count but estimate I caught in excess of 20 fish in the session, so was pretty happy with result despite only keeping the one fish.
More beers and port around the fire helped the sleep and Sprocket and family arrived in the dark to join the crew and we had an early start hitting the headland at dawn the following day. Snapper were once again the target and the reefs in front of the headland bombarded with yaks and plastics. Safa and I arrived at roughly the same time and we both fired out a cast and being only 20m apart were having a chat when both of us hooked up simultaneously. My fish swung my yak 180 degrees on dragged me 70m on the first run before dropping the hooks and when I made it back I found Safa had landed a 60ish snapper. What a great way to start the day! I couldn't get any further hits from the area after that but did find Safa fighting a snag for all he was worth. He swore black and blue that it was a fish but it certainly looked like a snag to me. I played along and hung around offering support and even tried to tow him away t get a better angle to fight his snag but he busted off.
So as the morning sesh rolled up about 11am, Trev & I had to pack up and leave but I was determined to get a final crack at these long tails down the beach while the swell was still low. W packed camp, said our goodbyes and headed down the beach checking Salti's spot along the way but for some reason the break looked a bit treacherous so we moved further down the beach until we found schools of fish working outside the break. A quick launch without issues and I was within feeding fish in minutes. Once again I had Trevs rods in my hatch and waited until after exchanging these before hooking up.
After exchanging rods, we found some birds and fish working about 200m away and headed straight for them, once in range I fired a cast right into the frenzy and seconds later was connected to a fish I thought may have been a mac tuna for a few seconds and then it went berserk. This fish just went on a rampage wherever it wanted and I little to no say about it even though it was caught on similar gear to the first one on Thursday. An intense 45min followed before I finally subdued this fish, it was such a different fight to the first one.
Shortly after Trev hooked up also but I was just about to tell him it's time to go home as I needed to get home in time for a family dinner, so now I had to tell him to hurry up instead. This he did, with a heavy drag setting and he had the fish at the boat in 5min and boated within 9min. Bloody legendary!
Well I made it home just in time for tea and had kids footy on this morning meaning I didn't get a chance to clean up till later this afternoon. I write this now on the wife's iPad whilst 60minutes is on and will be hitting the sack shortly. Over the next couple of days as I get time I'll throw up some photos and a vid or two, but for now this waffle will have to do.
Cheers all.
Kev
Thursday with BIGKEV, Sprocket and Salticrack:
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The fishing was great Matt, and the camping superb (special thanks to Indiedog for organising the whole trip, and to BIGKEV for making it possible for me to go [no car ATM]).Bertros said:
Some scenery to whet your appetite for next year. We charge only a small fee for Mexicans to join us. :lol:
Massive seas and winds for much of the early part of the year left eroded beaches and coffee rock exposed. Here is part of the debritus...
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Good waffle, Kev... but are you sure your watch didn't hiccup? 9 minutes for a longy? Trev's not usually that quick landing fish... matter of fact, can't actually remember him landing fish... plenty of sad stories of huge snapper etc busting him off. :twisted: :lol:
Looks like a great time had by all... way to go!
Jimbo
Looks like a great time had by all... way to go!
Jimbo
Closer to 8 minutes you old fart...Kev was just rounding it off.Beekeeper said:
I hook up as he's paddling towards me, not 30 metres away, to tell me we have to go (or his wife is going to kill him).
"I'm on!" I yell, so he doesn't get tangled in the action. I already had a lot of strike drag loaded (courtesy of Sprocket on Thursday).
"Hurry up!" he replies. The cheek of the young buck, or is it the fear of SWAMBO, he having just spent 45 minutes landing a slightly bigger one (on bream gear). :lol:
So I cranks up the Penn Spinnfisher 850 to mega drag, and pulls my geriatric arms outa the sockets, and 5 mins later I have a 10 kg longtail yakside. Bugger the gaff, and tailgrab it a coupla minutes later. I mean a mate's in big trouble with the missus, so what's a man to do?
My gear was the Penn with 40 lb mono, 45 lb flourocarbon, and via Paulo's recommendation, a 7' rod for control around the yak. I chose an 8 - 15 kg Gold Bluewater Ugly stick over graphite. As Paul said, that 7 footer gave much more control than a 6' X 6 - 10 kg rod. Thanks Paulo (and Sprocket) for the great advice.
Caveat: The heavier gear and 'expert' techniques shorten the fight, BUT, the initial strike destabilises the yak somewhat. The Adventure hull, which is very stable, rocked markedly on the strike and the second change of direction, so a balance between a successful hook strike, combined with a short fight, and the stability and a longer fight is rather tenuous.
Next longtail please.........
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Snaps were taken from a small section of reef around the front of the point under the lighthouse, it was an awesome backdrop to fish under.
The long tails came from further down the open beach towards Teewah. We didn't fish the area we spent our time last year, mostly because of the wind direction leaving it open and unprotected.
There were two AI's up on Saturday morning - Sprocket & Redgreg - they both did a lot of pedalling for the first couple of hours but I think the breeze came on a bit later.
Kev
The long tails came from further down the open beach towards Teewah. We didn't fish the area we spent our time last year, mostly because of the wind direction leaving it open and unprotected.
There were two AI's up on Saturday morning - Sprocket & Redgreg - they both did a lot of pedalling for the first couple of hours but I think the breeze came on a bit later.
Kev
what can you say.
awesome report and big congrats.
well deserved for the hours you put in to trev
i was watching reds video in the" best outfit for under $200 thread "and saw him land a mighty golden trevally .
made me think i should maybe upgrade some of the whiting gear and buy some better quality stuff.
trev, can you just run thru your 40 lb, 45 lb reel rod and maybe post a pic of the whole outfit.
along with costs and what length of line you spooled etc.
i was thinking about this and a fish like those or reds trev are probably more exciting than the $200 i spent on a bungee jump, so i might get something heavy .
and as per usual, anything brad is involved in runs with architect like precision.
you know the backpackers at rainbow would pay you a fortune to take them out on an experience like that .
camp on the beach all year round, surrounded by scandinavian chicks , charge em for your services, cook em up a few tuna steaks. sounds like a good retirement plan
awesome report and big congrats.
well deserved for the hours you put in to trev
i was watching reds video in the" best outfit for under $200 thread "and saw him land a mighty golden trevally .
made me think i should maybe upgrade some of the whiting gear and buy some better quality stuff.
trev, can you just run thru your 40 lb, 45 lb reel rod and maybe post a pic of the whole outfit.
along with costs and what length of line you spooled etc.
i was thinking about this and a fish like those or reds trev are probably more exciting than the $200 i spent on a bungee jump, so i might get something heavy .
and as per usual, anything brad is involved in runs with architect like precision.
you know the backpackers at rainbow would pay you a fortune to take them out on an experience like that .
camp on the beach all year round, surrounded by scandinavian chicks , charge em for your services, cook em up a few tuna steaks. sounds like a good retirement plan
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Some more photos
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![Kev Longy.JPG]()
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Joined
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2,743 Posts
A few more photos
![image.jpg]()
![image.jpg]()
![image.jpg]()
![image.jpg]()
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Thanks to all the guys for a great weekend, I had the kids at school so Salti and I slipped up Thursday for a morning session with Kev n Trev. We put them on to a longie each and while bagging our own as well there wasn't any bustups of note, the fish were staying down but at least they were there and still biting.
Friday afternoon from 3-6 was spent unloading tools and packing camping gear and as we drove through Eumundi my fear of forgetting something was confirmed as we realized that we didn't pack the tent!! And as I found out later I left my boardies and wetsuit shorts as well. I pair of cotton cargo shorts for the whole weekend. Days were great nights were cold.
The point didn't produce for me and Emily, we sailed the AI for a small snapper each. Em christened her new pink baitcaster, a gift from Salti ( his booby prize from adder rocks)
and I was bricked by something heavy!! after 5 mins of doggedly trying to slow it's path straight down My braid was shredded.
![IMG_0923.JPG]()
James and Phil paddled right out south of wolf rock for nothing only to come back close to the headland and come across a school of tailor James had a blast and caught 14 with a slug.
![IMG_0977.JPG]()
That left Sunday and our plan was back down the beach for Tuna. James and I headed South for a launch just after 6am. When we got there birds and tuna were everywhere, busting up right against the surf directly out from our launch site. We were 20 minutes to late, by the time we had lines out they had disappeared. Clive and Gary joined us with Clive picking up a longy, the only action for the morning. James and I loaded our yaks up ready to head back and break camp at 9.30. About 4 kms up the beach we came across tuna and birds hacking into some big bait balls in the shallows, We looked at each other, smiled and within 10 minutes were both out there again armed with 1 rod, James' with a small slug and me with my small white squidgy. James hooked up pretty quick and went for a ride while I was bitten off 3 times, I got 1 to the yak before my leader let go again! I swapped to a silver slug, by this time I had about 200mm of 30lb fluro leader left, James had landed one and lost a few and I was thinking Of donuts and my arms were aching from chasing and casting constantly at the tuna popping up here there and everywhere when zzzz I was hooked up again. Determined to bag this one and with the short leader I prayed and played this guy to the yak and with a quick tail grab finally got the job done. Paddled quickly back and surfed my second wave for the morning nicely back to the beach.
What a fantastic finish to the weekend. looking forward to doing it again as soon as I can.
Cheers,
Dave.
Friday afternoon from 3-6 was spent unloading tools and packing camping gear and as we drove through Eumundi my fear of forgetting something was confirmed as we realized that we didn't pack the tent!! And as I found out later I left my boardies and wetsuit shorts as well. I pair of cotton cargo shorts for the whole weekend. Days were great nights were cold.
The point didn't produce for me and Emily, we sailed the AI for a small snapper each. Em christened her new pink baitcaster, a gift from Salti ( his booby prize from adder rocks)
and I was bricked by something heavy!! after 5 mins of doggedly trying to slow it's path straight down My braid was shredded.
James and Phil paddled right out south of wolf rock for nothing only to come back close to the headland and come across a school of tailor James had a blast and caught 14 with a slug.
That left Sunday and our plan was back down the beach for Tuna. James and I headed South for a launch just after 6am. When we got there birds and tuna were everywhere, busting up right against the surf directly out from our launch site. We were 20 minutes to late, by the time we had lines out they had disappeared. Clive and Gary joined us with Clive picking up a longy, the only action for the morning. James and I loaded our yaks up ready to head back and break camp at 9.30. About 4 kms up the beach we came across tuna and birds hacking into some big bait balls in the shallows, We looked at each other, smiled and within 10 minutes were both out there again armed with 1 rod, James' with a small slug and me with my small white squidgy. James hooked up pretty quick and went for a ride while I was bitten off 3 times, I got 1 to the yak before my leader let go again! I swapped to a silver slug, by this time I had about 200mm of 30lb fluro leader left, James had landed one and lost a few and I was thinking Of donuts and my arms were aching from chasing and casting constantly at the tuna popping up here there and everywhere when zzzz I was hooked up again. Determined to bag this one and with the short leader I prayed and played this guy to the yak and with a quick tail grab finally got the job done. Paddled quickly back and surfed my second wave for the morning nicely back to the beach.
What a fantastic finish to the weekend. looking forward to doing it again as soon as I can.
Cheers,
Dave.
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I agree Paully. Complete fabrication after Thursday's arse over breakfast landing. :lol: Wonder if he lost another hat?salticrak said:
BIGKEV said:
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