Mac attack of Cairns

[nickstock]

G'day all,

After reading the friday fishing report in the Cairns Post by Scotty Hillier, I was pumped for this weeked on the water.

With forecasts of 10-15 knot S.S.E in the morning I had arranged to meet Daz (Wahoo), Shaneo (Dogfight) and Jim (not a member;D ) for a trip out on the mighty 6.7 meter Bluewater, Wahoo which is owned by Daz.

We left the marina at 5am , right on dead low tide. We punched out to a mark where the boys have cleaned up on large mouth Nanni's before. We had a range of baits from cuttle, squid, pillies, herring to hairtail. With good shows on daz's sounder we had a few drifts over the mark. The current was absolutely roaring through which made getting to the bottom with out huge lead an issue. We caught a few small and large mouth Nanni's. Nothing huge came over the side but we still managed a feed.

The boys decided to head to new ground that they had not fished before. Whole pillies went over to the to the bottom to be smashed by something from the razor gang. Daz put out his Saltiga overhead with a whole ganged pille and barely had it in the rod holder before it screamed off. With a good gaff shot from Jim Daz landed his first Spaniard for the morning probably around 6 kgs.

Daz then continued to land another 2 Spanish before we decided to put our own floaters out. Dogfight got another nice Spanish before I got smashed by another Mac on a patonoster rig on the bottom.

The Spainards were out and about and we were hooking them on the bottom in 35 meters of water , on floaters and Jim also nailed a nice fish on his Saltiga Dogfight using a large 80 gram raider slug.

We all landed some nice fish including a thumper Trevally by Jim on a large flesh bait fished on the bottom.

With 8 nice Spainards in the esky we decided to call it a day.


By this stage the wind was howling and we assumed it was the best part of the 20 knot end of the scale.

The Bluewater ate up the shithouse conditions and gave us a steady ride on the way home. Once back at Daz's house the forecast turned out to be 20-25 with gusts to 30knots. Hence the reason why my bloody knees are sore from balancing around out there.

With a nice esky and a top rig to fish from, a good trip was had by all.

Excuse the crap photo as I left my camera at home and only had a video camera.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/viridis1/Spanishmacs.jpg

Cheers,

Nick

[skipalong]

great report mate top quality blues

cheers justin

[Benno1]

great stuff!!!...ok wheres the 8th macky???...did you lot eat one before you took the piccie or what :P...some big boys in that mob...nice...very nice :D
cheers for the piccie and report...top shelf :D

Mrs Benno1
Sunny

[Nanny King NQ]

Looks like Wahoo is in the fish again.

Good work guys.

Cheers....8-)

[disorderly]

great stuff!!!...ok wheres the 8th macky???...did you lot eat one before you took the piccie or what :P

Mrs Benno1
Sunny

yeah Nick where the hell is the 8th spanish....;D;D;D...

LOL...nice work...you guys sure were keen ..it was blowing a steady 20 knots down here by lunch time....least you got a nice feed and a good trip out in a beaut boat...

great to see some spanish about..they have been a bit scarce down here lately..

scott

[Benno1]

theres the outline on the right hand side of the piccie...but alas...no macky...come on...fess up ;D

Mrs Benno1
Sunny

[jtpython]

Good Stuff fella's move em down this way this please
JT

[Wahoo]

great report Nick,glad you had a good day, a hell of alot better report than i can put up , Thanks, was a pleasure to have you on board, i will call you next time we head out again, but in bit better conditions if your keen, guys i think i have taken a pic WITH the 8 spaniard when i load the camera up

Daz

[FNQCairns]

Top report and some nice fish, yum!.

Actually there two missing, one each side, bugger those shark macks, not worth even a photo!

Are the spanish back in numbers early this year??

cheers fnq

[disorderly]

Daz, why do you gut them...?

Do you steak them rather than fillet??

[Wahoo]

Daz, why do you gut them...?

Do you steak them rather than fillet??


Scott, most of the time i would rather fillet them, stakes every now and then, just something i have always done is to gut them, do you think there is no need for it? would be better if i did not have to do it


Daz

[jake0]

thanks for a good report N/S, Wahoo ,Daza and the crew are a machine when on the water, great blokes Shane and Jimbo, cant believe how good Wahoo is when time get rough, great boat, where did you guys fish? i have fished with Daza on his 2hr spot, you said new grounds!!

[disorderly]

Scott, most of the time i would rather fillet them, stakes every now and then, just something i have always done is to gut them, do you think there is no need for it? would be better if i did not have to do it


Daz

Daz ...I dont know if its best to gut them or not...

However I just cut the throat and bleed them and then fillet them at home...

Scott

[chop duster]

Good to hear a local report, haven't seen one on here in a while.
To gut, or not to gut? I haven't gutted a fish in years (apart from the odd nanni for a whole bake job).
Funny feeling getting a mackie on a botom rig, once you hook up, they ussually head for the surface and leave the angler thinging WTF is this thing.

[Greg P]

Daz ...I dont know if its best to gut them or not...

However I just cut the throat and bleed them and then fillet them at home...

Scott

Daz - check out how the Pros do the hoos - macs no different


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INVMSLFMthQ

[larfin]

Some great steaks there mate.Good work
cheers
geg

[Spaniard_King]

geeezasss , and I thought my knives were sharp

[rogerb]

Thanks for the video clip Greg, thats a really neat bit of team work, nice to see how the pros do it.
I use a similar method but leave the head on to give me something to hold on to.

Rog

[disorderly]

Daz - check out how the Pros do the hoos - macs no different




I take it you dont catch many Spanish then Greg???

Might be all right on barely legal fish...but if you try that on even smallish 6-12 kg models you will lose an awful lot of flesh...

Only 2 ways I can do it is ....

To fillet to the backbone...cut along the top of the fillet into the backbone then cut the sinews along and over the backbone ..then peel the flesh in long strokes from the bone leaving the rib cage on the carcass...no need to remove the head..but dont fold the flesh over too far or it can break apart....then do the other side ....or

Cut the skin and just into the flesh all the way round the fish on one whole side then turn him over and do the same
.....then do either the top or bottom side right to the backbone ...just leave him the same way up but turn him back to front and cut in till the backbone..

I've filleted heaps of Spanish and its no use trying to look cool while you do it...just take your time ...cut close to the bone and the more you catch the better you will get...the backbone on even a 8-12 kg model can be a couple of cm thick so if you try to do it in one slab you will be losing and inch of flesh at the widest part...

I will admit my knives are not nearly as sharp as those ones in the video..but I guess you cant expect that with $12 filleting knives..:-/...


Anyone else got a different method??...How do you do it Daz??

Scott

[Wahoo]

Scott, my deckie Jimbo is a chef, after he cleans the boat he then does my fish ;D

but yes he cuts down the back bone, lifts the flesh and keeps cutting, i then cut down the center....1/4 slabs, i then with a very flexable sharp knife i cut the fillets into dinner size, much easier to skin the fish this way, hope this makes sense

Daz

[disorderly]

Scott, my deckie Jimbo is a chef, after he cleans the boat he then does my fish ;D

but yes he cuts down the back bone, lifts the flesh and keeps cutting, i then cut down the center....1/4 slabs, i then with a very flexable sharp knife i cut the fillets into dinner size, much easier to skin the fish this way, hope this makes sense

Daz

Gee Daz...Does jimbo cook them for you too...??? He sounds like a top deckie..:)

yeah mate I do pretty much the same here..cut down the middle of each fillet and remove the layer of bones..then depending on the size of the fillet (if they are small to medium) I will skin each quarter whole ,then remove the bloodline and cut into portions..does your hound like the bloodline...one of ours loves them...:)

Scott

[Wahoo]

Gee Daz...Does jimbo cook them for you too...??? He sounds like a top deckie..:)

yeah mate I do pretty much the same here..cut down the middle of each fillet and remove the layer of bones..then depending on the size of the fillet (if they are small to medium) I will skin each quarter whole ,then remove the bloodline and cut into portions..does your hound like the bloodline...one of ours loves them...:)

Scott

yeh Scott, you meet both my good mates Shane, and Jimbo, they know the drill, even on the boat i dont have to say one word to them, they do what they have to do, i could'nt ask for any better from these two, Nick for the first time on my boat did very well also, love it when one has a crew like that

yes the dog loves the blood line and the skin for some sick reason

Daz

[disorderly]

yeh Scott, you meet both my good mates Shane, and Jimbo, they know the drill, even on the boat i dont have to say one word to them, they do what they have to do, i could'nt ask for any better from these two, Nick for the first time on my boat did very well also, love it when one has a crew like that

yes the dog loves the blood line and the skin for some sick reason

Daz

Daz you are lucky to have that pair of deckies...damn hard to find such good blokes...

My dogs wont eat the macky skin unless I fire up the barby and crisp it for a couple of minutes then they love it...

Are you coming for a fish down this way over easter??

Scott

[Greg P]

I take it you dont catch many Spanish then Greg???

Might be all right on barely legal fish...but if you try that on even smallish 6-12 kg models you will lose an awful lot of flesh...

Only 2 ways I can do it is ....

To fillet to the backbone...cut along the top of the fillet into the backbone then cut the sinews along and over the backbone ..then peel the flesh in long strokes from the bone leaving the rib cage on the carcass...no need to remove the head..but dont fold the flesh over too far or it can break apart....then do the other side ....or

Cut the skin and just into the flesh all the way round the fish on one whole side then turn him over and do the same
.....then do either the top or bottom side right to the backbone ...just leave him the same way up but turn him back to front and cut in till the backbone..

I've filleted heaps of Spanish and its no use trying to look cool while you do it...just take your time ...cut close to the bone and the more you catch the better you will get...the backbone on even a 8-12 kg model can be a couple of cm thick so if you try to do it in one slab you will be losing and inch of flesh at the widest part...

I will admit my knives are not nearly as sharp as those ones in the video..but I guess you cant expect that with $12 filleting knives..:-/...


Anyone else got a different method??...How do you do it Daz??

Scott

Scott - I have caught plenty over the years but I dont chase spannos when there are billfish to be had down here. Anytime I get on the water I pretty much dedicate to billfishing these days. I personally dont rate them highly on the plate and release them if I get some as by-catch and can get my lure back with out loosing a finger ;)

I dont do mine that way in the video just thought it was interesting to see how they process them. Wish I had knives like that.

[Wahoo]

I personally dont rate them highly on the plate and release them if I get some as by-catch

Greg, how could you let them go, i will swap you any Spanish fillets, for coral trout fillets, just freeze them up and i can have them down to you in the same day, what do ya say

Daz

[Greg P]

Daz - deal mate

[nickstock]

Greg, how could you let them go, i will swap you any Spanish fillets, for coral trout fillets, just freeze them up and i can have them down to you in the same day, what do ya say

Daz

Easy Daz! Mate I will swap you Macs for Trout anyday!;D

On another note, when we got back to the ramp, Fishery patrol checked us and they commented that they had just seen the biggest Mac that they have seen. They said it would of went between 50-60 KGS!

Disorderly - Two of my dogs will eat any raw fish (bait pillies included) whilst my female arab will only eat it once it is cooked.

Nick

[maimai]

very very keen boys, 20-25knts, well done on the macs, must be happy with that

[FNQCairns]

Easy Daz! Mate I will swap you Macs for Trout anyday!;D

On another note, when we got back to the ramp, Fishery patrol checked us and they commented that they had just seen the biggest Mac that they have seen. They said it would of went between 50-60 KGS!

Disorderly - Two of my dogs will eat any raw fish (bait pillies included) whilst my female arab will only eat it once it is cooked.

Nick

That's simply massive!, cannot comprehend it, would look like some prehistoric water beast! Too big to keep hope it is not going to end up in 50 peoples fish n chips.

cheers fnq

[JayT]

Pro mate of mine just slips the knife up inside the gill plate an just knicks the bloodline on the backbone an straight into a slurry, apparently lets in less bacteria from the salt whilst in the slurry than actually do when cutting thier throats an maybe gut an gill concept on capture and does it on all species, ends up a slightly bloody slurry but when ya packin a tonne of esky space that means jack an being hopefully for the aust market thats a good thing i reckon, less bloodline more edible flesh!
Anyways something to maybe think about when ya nail that next big pelagic or reafy....try it anyways an see what happens, I do it an the quality is definately better I think, besides a very precise quick knick an back into it....absolute fishing where old mate is an not telling but hard yakka an pretty much no time for pics of lifetime trophy fish...a 15kg plus Red Emp is $ not something to hold up but I always sneak a peak, he will get over it haha
Cheers Thorpy

[JayT]

Sharked, no neeed to knick the line on this one.....17kg as is an I find that to be a pretty serious fish in the mack dept. Bro in the pick, 3seconds later one at alot bigger came aboard, bro was pissed! said he still had a good fight even with the half he got haha the thing wouldnt give up, but take into fact they are cranked in on 14inch deck winches at 6kts unless theres a double hook up, should see the trout, some smash the dead baits an just pop up an skip along the surface...sometimes 8kg awesome to see thats for sure!!
If I didnt have such a cruisy govt rail job I would be living a little farther north an cleaning up on quality pics....haha
Cheers

[JayT]

Teasing now....sorry but not telling,
I not bragging in any post an hope you guys respect that as I only like to share, add as well an learn, an thats life, with a tad of evolution thrown in.....ha
Cheers