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Fredericks Reef 2001

I promised a number of you details of my trip[s] so here it is.

TRIP 1

We left for Saumarez at 1800 hours and arrived to brilliantly clear skies and the Leonid Meteor Shower at 0230 hours. There was more than a slight sense of magic watching such a sky show while standing on the top deck of Kanimbla and being hundreds of kilometres from the lights of the mainland. That day a number of dogtooth tuna were caught with the largest being one, by John of 35 kg. The remainder of the doggies were in the 5 kg to 20 kg class. A strengthening northerly wind blew up and only 3 dories were used. Most of the fish were japanese sea bream, coronation trout and green jobfish.

The Tuesday was the day of Gordon’s Halco Laser Pro [cherry and silver colouring]. It seemed to catch nearly all the fish on the troll including dogtooth, jobbies and yellowfin [to14 kg]. Bill got a wahoo and I lost one [yet again] however a reasonable doggie helped make amends. We had heavy rain in the morning and all fished from Kanimbla, as it would have been too uncomfortable in the dories. During the afternoon we headed to the north end of Saumarez. Wednesday was a perfect day with no clouds and a 5 to 10 knot breeze. We had 3 dory sessions and caught jobbies and JSB in the ‘washing machine’ between the north- east cay and the next reef. Steve got a large red bass after a tussle, wahoo were lost but none were landed. We caught some larger jobbies north of the light, especially in deeper water. Paul got a 28 kg giant trevally and John got a very nice coral trout.

Thursday saw more dory sessions with trolling usually proving a waste of time. Richard caught a 24 kg yellowfin and, sharks were an ever present menace as they found our fish a lot easier to swallow than those not on a hook and line. We left for Swains on a very low swell – peaceful sleep was had.

One evening we had squab [smallish pigeon, provided by Richard] as an entrée, this was supplemented by red wine and that other JSB [Bach] – much to the deckies musical regret and cultural cringing. We also ground real coffee and brewed it each morning – tastes a lot better than those 43 beans!!!!!

Friday saw two wahoo trolled up at 0530 hours; 3 mack tuna followed these then hours of uneventful trolling all the way to North Reef. North Reef is the quintessential small coral island with a red roofed, white lighthouse. It is only a few hundred metres in diameter and is thickly covered by trees. We spent a few hours on the island then packed up our gear for a return home.

We had failed to get to Frederick Reef, much to everyone’s disappointment, because of the weather. The trip had been very enjoyable but did not produce the huge number of wahoo that we caught on the April trip. It is clearly the variation and uncertainty of fishing that adds to the lure of such charters.

IN BETWEEN TRIPS

The week in Gladstone was spent with my son. We failed in our attempts to catch a barramundi – nor did we see any caught in the river or at Awonga Dam, despite good predictions and a lot of effort by the locals.

TRIP 2

Departure was at 1700 hours into choppy seas from the north- easterly sea breeze. By 1900 hours the seas smoothed out and we did not realise that the seas were to stay this smooth for almost all of the rest of the trip!

The divers gear seemed to be more extensive than that of the fishermen. However that may have been that there were twelve divers and only five fishermen. The divers had their trip more organised than the fishermen as it had a number of divers from overseas – USA [3], South Africa [1], NZ [1]. Additionally they had some past Australian Champions and “above water” as well as “below water” movie photographers. They had a digital movie computer and suite to edit and manufacture a movie of the trip – no; they don’t do things by half. Other divers had their own ‘still’ underwater digital cameras and computers to store their shots on. One of them ‘burnt’ a CD of his 150 shots and presented everyone with a copy of it at the end of the trip – such is modern technology. I would attach some of these photos however my email provider/contract only allows a limited number of bytes! I will see if I can send some of these shots to you later from Cathy’s computer.

Swains was the first destination with 3 dory sessions. We caught coral trout and red lippers, just off the reef. The second session was in a lagoon and we ended up with trout and spangled emperor. The fights were fast and furious in the shallows with a number of wipe-outs. Sharks eventually put paid to the fun. We left for Saumarez at 1800 hours.

Arriving at 0200 hours we slept until morning then moved close to a favourite bommie. I immediately jigged up a nice jobbie and doggie on a white jig. Peter dropped down his chromed jig and had it monstered against an overtight drag by an unseen assailant. Yes, a good supply of jigs is most important out there. We really got into a large family of good-sized trout near a secret spot [the position will be sold to the highest bidder on my next trip!!]. We got a large number of trout and so did the sharks. Craig was by far the most successful in this spot. He used an 80 lb handline and gloves. This allowed him to haul the trout in quickly and he usually beat the sharks with this technique. I haven’t fought such powerful trout as the ones at that spot. The divers got a number of beautiful crayfish as well as a number of medium sized finfish. That evening we had exquisitely prepared [by Steve the Chef] lobster thermidor for our entree and coral trout for the main meal. This was topped off by some pleasant white wine – life isn’t always cruel on the ocean waves!

We caught a wahoo and lost one shortly before arriving at Frederick at 0600 hours on Tuesday. We trolled for a few hours east of the lighthouse caught a few yellowfin, with only a few wahoo being lost – none were landed. Their distinctive tooth pattern on the lures is a giveaway. We caught a lot of good jobbies around the middle of the day as well as a number of coronation trout and JSB on the bottom.

The seas had been smooth and now were even flatter as the strongest winds were around 5 knots – on the windy days! Heat and humidity were moderate but not overwhelming. As usual, it is important to dress to the conditions and wear a hat, sunglasses and sun block. On Wednesday morning, James a spearfisherman shot and retrieved a 43 kg sailfish - he was ecstatic. Trolling produced a few nice jobbies and another escaped wahoo. At the southern reef we really started to get into the jobbies and JSB. The spearos got a few medium sized doggies. There was almost no current at Fredericks. We drifted out to the 200 feet to 400 feet depth without any takers on the bottom.

Thursday produced a virtual glass out and the usual run of fish. The divers saw some large doggies and in the light of poor reports from a recent trip to Wreck Reef it was decided to stay at Frederick.

Friday saw a 6 kg jobbie and a 12.5 kg trout caught on the troll. The trout was released after the lure was retrieved but unfortunately bled badly and floated to the surface. We eventually retrieved it for photos, another vain attempt to revive it after piercing its swim bladder and sadly consigned it to be bait. I trolled up [and landed] 3 wahoo [10 kg to 15 kg] and a yellowfin. Craig, Peter and Reg really got into the JSB. George, an American dentist who developed a cold and ceased diving, landed a swag of jobfish and other species on his rod. Dave, a Kiwi and a diver, trolled up a nice mahi mahi on his gear. The spearos got a large trout, rainbow runner and assorted reef fish.

A 15 to 20 knot northwester greeted us on Saturday as the only indication of the wild weather that had been experienced up and down the East Australian Coast that week. The fishermen stayed on Kanimbla in the morning and caught even more jobbies and JSB. Joe, an American paramedic speared a sizeable 42 kg GT in the morning before eclipsing all others with a 55 kg doggie in the afternoon. Dory fishing with the usual results was the afternoon session. The freezer on Kanimbla was beginning to bulge – mainly from the fishermen as, the spearos were more interested in trophy fish and many had to travel overseas and couldn’t take any fish back home.

Sunday saw winds around 5 knots and a clear sky as we caught our full of jobbies back at Saumarez. Craig, peter and Reg did particularly well and the five of us caught over 100 packs of jobbies alone that day, then there were the other species.

Reg [there were two Regs] caught a nice mahi mahi on the troll – after we slowed down to allow it to catch the skirted lure. I lost a similar fish then had to rescue my very successful bibless yo-zuri from the jaws of a shark!! The divers had a poorer day. The underwater photographing team came and shot us catching fish and watching what occurred. This included sharks taking fish off our lines. We left for the local reefs about 1800 hours on a smooth sea.

A final session at the local reefs produced a variety of common fish. By this stage I was beginning to feel all ‘fished out’. It was time to pack up and return home.

It was Steve’s, the chef, last night at sea as he is to open a restaurant in Gladstone.

In summary the ten-day trip was great. The divers caught all the largest fish [contrary to the 1997 trip]. Wahoo were relatively smaller and scarcer than on the April trip. Jobfish were more common than April. We caught many more fish than usual. The weather was wonderful with only six hours of rain during the two trips and, the seas were invariably smooth. The heat and humidity were greater than April however, the temperatures are tempered by the ocean. It was very interesting and educational to speak to the divers and watch their videos – which showed action that we were not aware of. The divers were a very pleasant group of people and we all got on exceptionally well. As usual, Kanimbla, Bruce and the crew came up with the trumps – no wonder their popularity is as high as it is.