four_button_arnie
19-03-2011, 02:44 PM
“Bimini Twist” maiden voyage Gladstone Offshore
Hey guys, I've had the Yalta Craft 555HC (BIMINI TWIST);D beside my house for a week so ive been jumpin at the bit to bring her out. Giving the great weather we had last night Friday 19th, 5kn wind, nil swell, I thought I'd better bring her for a run. My plan was to do a run to Lamont then stay at Fitzroy and find some trout and such but I had to start work the next day so that was out of the question, so we headed out but not as far. So my self, Damo (barrybeast) and his young fella Hayden come along for a burn.
I finished work at 7pm so we where in the water by 8pm, and started the run through the Gladstone Harbour nav bouys nice and easy nearing a full tide. We headed out to a few marks offshore to see what was around. The night started well with at least 12 Red Throat Emperor coming to the boat, only 4 where over the 38cm mark (legal). The RTE where caught drifting squid and pillie combo on a paternoster rig (what we used all night anyway) with a 4 to 8 once snapper lead.
After the RTE we thought we would go for a run to a another mark I've hit before with good results. We drifted over some amazing bottom with great fish shows (some nasty big arches), and pulled up a couple of Hussar. We tried using the sea anchor but, there was no wind so it was the current pushing us along…..my bad::). We found the mark again and motored up current and dropped the pick, landing us right on top of some great bottom with a lot of activity going on down below.
Dropping our squid we began to catch hussar after hussar, it was crazy. Drop your squid, wait 2-3 secs pull up hussar, brain spike, bleed, rebait, drop line again, wait 2 secs, pull up! This went on for at least 2 hours, we let a lot of hussar go as they are not the greatest fair and we didn’t feel right taking too may fish, we probably bought up 30 – 40 of the buggars, all legal (be it a tiny size 25cm, most around 30-35cm).
I started to get a bit peeved with the little fish and sent down a decent mullet slab, within 2 minutes of it hitting the bottom, my Saragosa 18000 and Jig 200 where bent over and screaming for mercy, a bloody unstoppable. I had my hand round the spool of the big 18000 and the fish was pulling line like a freight train. Finally got his head up, he gave one last run and dropped him. …Gutted:'( . Oh well re rig and start again.
About 20 mins later, and a couple of RTE later, I thought id better send down a BIG sea mullet. Again it didn’t take long until the 24kg jig stick was pointing to the water and the reel was screaming. By this stage (1am) I was totally wrecked and the power of this fish was killing me, POWERFUL tail beats and big runs to the bottom is what ensued, aching arms, wondering if he would find bottom or snap the 80lb braid. Then finally 5-6mins later a corker of a Goldspotted Rockcod came to the surface:o . We where stunned, (it’s the first time I've actually managed to get one of these babies to the boat without been destroyed first). He went 85cm and weighed about 40lb or there abouts.
Now I have a soft spot for cod, and believe they are a wonderful mystical creature of the reef, but this was the first stonker ive landed, so he made his way to the ice box. I probably wont keep one again for a long time, so it was justified (mind you well within the legal slot size). We continued the hussar onslaught, and landed plenty more, and a nice addition 3 good sized grassy sweetlip.
We headed home at 3am to glassy conditions, the Yalta was so bloody amazing I cant get over it, ive been a few big boats but this thing really tickles my fancy. The ride is so SMOOTH, the 23 degree deadrise guarantees that I guess. Fuel economy with the 150 Yammie 4 stroke is great as well. We where sitting on 50km/h with 3 on board, 100kg in the esky (fish/ice/drinks), doing 4100rpm and using 24.7L per hour, which I was very impressed. Super smooth, great at rest, after hearing some people say that there are unstable, negative, super stable, (ill admit that there was no swell or wind….). It could do with trim tabs, as when we started out there was some wind heading out past Facing Island and the Yalta was leaning a bit. The Bait mate bait board needs to get made ASAP would have made the trip far easier. I chucked out the standard esky things that come with the boat and put my 110L mackerel esky in instead, which gave heaps more fishing room.
So all up we caught 30-40 hussar, 15 RTE (6 legal), 3 Grassies, and the Stonker Goldspotter Rockcod.
All in all a bloody lovely trip out got home at 7am not too bad, I cant wait to hit the reef proper for a overnighter but there is some more god weather coming up, so we will see what happens. Thanks for checking out my long report, I tend to dribble on a tad,
Take it easy and tight lines! ;D
Josh
PIC TO COME SHORTLY!!!!!!! THIS ARVO
Hey guys, I've had the Yalta Craft 555HC (BIMINI TWIST);D beside my house for a week so ive been jumpin at the bit to bring her out. Giving the great weather we had last night Friday 19th, 5kn wind, nil swell, I thought I'd better bring her for a run. My plan was to do a run to Lamont then stay at Fitzroy and find some trout and such but I had to start work the next day so that was out of the question, so we headed out but not as far. So my self, Damo (barrybeast) and his young fella Hayden come along for a burn.
I finished work at 7pm so we where in the water by 8pm, and started the run through the Gladstone Harbour nav bouys nice and easy nearing a full tide. We headed out to a few marks offshore to see what was around. The night started well with at least 12 Red Throat Emperor coming to the boat, only 4 where over the 38cm mark (legal). The RTE where caught drifting squid and pillie combo on a paternoster rig (what we used all night anyway) with a 4 to 8 once snapper lead.
After the RTE we thought we would go for a run to a another mark I've hit before with good results. We drifted over some amazing bottom with great fish shows (some nasty big arches), and pulled up a couple of Hussar. We tried using the sea anchor but, there was no wind so it was the current pushing us along…..my bad::). We found the mark again and motored up current and dropped the pick, landing us right on top of some great bottom with a lot of activity going on down below.
Dropping our squid we began to catch hussar after hussar, it was crazy. Drop your squid, wait 2-3 secs pull up hussar, brain spike, bleed, rebait, drop line again, wait 2 secs, pull up! This went on for at least 2 hours, we let a lot of hussar go as they are not the greatest fair and we didn’t feel right taking too may fish, we probably bought up 30 – 40 of the buggars, all legal (be it a tiny size 25cm, most around 30-35cm).
I started to get a bit peeved with the little fish and sent down a decent mullet slab, within 2 minutes of it hitting the bottom, my Saragosa 18000 and Jig 200 where bent over and screaming for mercy, a bloody unstoppable. I had my hand round the spool of the big 18000 and the fish was pulling line like a freight train. Finally got his head up, he gave one last run and dropped him. …Gutted:'( . Oh well re rig and start again.
About 20 mins later, and a couple of RTE later, I thought id better send down a BIG sea mullet. Again it didn’t take long until the 24kg jig stick was pointing to the water and the reel was screaming. By this stage (1am) I was totally wrecked and the power of this fish was killing me, POWERFUL tail beats and big runs to the bottom is what ensued, aching arms, wondering if he would find bottom or snap the 80lb braid. Then finally 5-6mins later a corker of a Goldspotted Rockcod came to the surface:o . We where stunned, (it’s the first time I've actually managed to get one of these babies to the boat without been destroyed first). He went 85cm and weighed about 40lb or there abouts.
Now I have a soft spot for cod, and believe they are a wonderful mystical creature of the reef, but this was the first stonker ive landed, so he made his way to the ice box. I probably wont keep one again for a long time, so it was justified (mind you well within the legal slot size). We continued the hussar onslaught, and landed plenty more, and a nice addition 3 good sized grassy sweetlip.
We headed home at 3am to glassy conditions, the Yalta was so bloody amazing I cant get over it, ive been a few big boats but this thing really tickles my fancy. The ride is so SMOOTH, the 23 degree deadrise guarantees that I guess. Fuel economy with the 150 Yammie 4 stroke is great as well. We where sitting on 50km/h with 3 on board, 100kg in the esky (fish/ice/drinks), doing 4100rpm and using 24.7L per hour, which I was very impressed. Super smooth, great at rest, after hearing some people say that there are unstable, negative, super stable, (ill admit that there was no swell or wind….). It could do with trim tabs, as when we started out there was some wind heading out past Facing Island and the Yalta was leaning a bit. The Bait mate bait board needs to get made ASAP would have made the trip far easier. I chucked out the standard esky things that come with the boat and put my 110L mackerel esky in instead, which gave heaps more fishing room.
So all up we caught 30-40 hussar, 15 RTE (6 legal), 3 Grassies, and the Stonker Goldspotter Rockcod.
All in all a bloody lovely trip out got home at 7am not too bad, I cant wait to hit the reef proper for a overnighter but there is some more god weather coming up, so we will see what happens. Thanks for checking out my long report, I tend to dribble on a tad,
Take it easy and tight lines! ;D
Josh
PIC TO COME SHORTLY!!!!!!! THIS ARVO