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View Full Version : North West 2006 in full living colour !!!!



craigie
17-08-2006, 08:09 PM
Well finally got a couple of hours spare to put the full version together.


As I may have mentioned in the preview, this is an annual trip that has existed for the previous 25 years.
It's based around a core group of guys from Tewantin that make the 2 week pilgrimage to North West Island. For those of you not sure where this place is, it's located approx 70 k's North East of Gladstone and 30k's North of Heron Island on the great Barrier Reef.

The trip would not exist if not for the efforts of our dedicated leader, Jeffie (Rumbo). For the full 12 months prior to the trip, this guy just lives and prepares for the upcoming trip.
Through this planning the camp on the Island is set up like a home away home !!

Apart from the Tewantin connection, we have a slightly different crew of people each year, with a mix of new and old faces turning up for a fix of reef fishing. Some years the "Reserve List" can fill a full page in Jeffies big red book.
For the 2006 trip we had a interesting cross section of proffessions. Several Firemen, Chippies, plumbers, Dedicated Public Servants ::), a few retirees, a chef, butcher, pro fisher, mechanic .....the list goes on. We may be employed in a wide variety of areas, but the hunger to catch quality reef fish remains the same !!!

With 6 boats and 21 people in the party, the majority of the crew made there way in convoy from the gathering area in Tewantin to Gladstone. It has been traditional to spend the first and last evenings of the trip in the small highway town of Bororen, 50k's to the south of Gladstone. Helps to break up the travelling fatigue and also gives the boys a chance to refresh etc ;)

We all survive the night in Bororen and make it to the barge compound well before departure time. The 3 larger boats are driven to the island, while most of the gear and party are loaded onto the barge. We have always used the "Robert Poulsen" as our barge of choice, although another option is the "Curtis Endevour" which is a larger (more expensive) option.

Everything safely arrives at the island and after the frenzy of manually unloading all our gear from the barge, we spend the next day or so setting up the camp.
Just to give you an idea of what we take, following is a list of major items that are carried or rolled from the barge -
1800 litres of fuel
1200 litres of water
180 cartons of beer
20 cartons of soft drinks
50 x 15 kg bags of ice
4 large gas freezers
3 large gas fridge freezers
1 large gas stove
1 large b-b-q
1 deep frier
4.3m runabout on trailer
2 x 3.7m tinnies with outboards
add to this all the gas cyclinders, tents, food, fishing gear, clothing and you have plenty of gear to move when the barge hits the beach.


o.k enough intro, time to talk about the fishing !!
Fishing times on the island are dictated by the tides and weather. Boats can only get in and out of the safety of the Lagoon an hour and a half to 2 hours either side of high tide.
For the first few days our guys just fished this window as the alternative is to stay out for the full 12 hours until the next high tide arrives.
From the first lines in the water the usual species were hitting the fish boxes. Parrot, Cod, lippers, hussar.
These reults came from the usual haunts around the island and from the "Horseshoe" reef a couple of k's back to the South West.
Mixed in with the first catches were a couple of nice Coral Trout, allways a pleasant sight !!

The following day saw more of the same but for a change of pace an afternnon session of trolling was planned and what a great decision that turned out to be :D. The plan was to again fish the Horseshoe with the Bottom gear with a troll first up. Well, what followed has left me and fellow crew members babbling like fools. We had crossed paths with a massive show of Spanish Mackerel !! With each of 4 boats trolling 2 laser pro or similar bibbed minows, strikes, hook-ups, bust-off's and gaffed fish kept us flat out as the place went balistic !!!!
Double hook-up's were the norm, although rarely did you land both fish. Geez I pulled the hooks on a couple of ball tearers !! At times you would get your hooked fish to the side of the boat to see 6 of his mates free swimming beside him. The Macks averaged between 8 - 10 kg's, the largest one going about 12 kg. With 17 macks between us with one being a shark Mackerel, esky space was gone and the tide had now dropped to low to return to the lagoon. A radio call was made back to base to bring ice to the reef edge so we could at least ice this catch down until the next days cleaning session.

With plenty of time on our hands until the tide rose again, the lines went back to bottom fishing on the fringes of Horseshoe reef. Apart from the usual bottom dwellers, a couple of keeper size Red Emperor were also pulled up, much to the amazement of us all !! Not something that is usually caught from this area, BONUS !!!

With the weather looking good for the next few days, the larger boats went off exploring a few areas several more k's away from the Island. With a couple of GPS marks as starting points, this new area looked excellent. 45m on top, dropping down a steep ledge into 65m and more. I was not onboard for the first mission to this new area, so when the lads returned to base with a few more of the "Red Ones", I was excited !!
Each mission back to this ledge produced Reds, Trout, Big Spangled Emp,s Cod, plagues of Hussar, parrot, Red throat Lippers. Some boats faired better than others, the bottom of the ledge didn't fish as well as the top, anchoring had to be precise !!
While the weather was good this area got plenty of attention and the Red Emperor kept coming in !! Not huge numbers and not the oversize fish we see from Double Island, but beautiful fish all the same.
Average size for the Reds was around 4 or 5 kg's, but a few around 6 & 7 k'gs and the largest by Banksy going about 8kg's.

The weather had been kind to us for the first 9 days, with all boats getting out to fish for the duration. The reef edge that encloses the Ilsand fished very poorly. Not sure if it was because of the time of day we fished it (still waiting for the daybreak high tides to come around) or weather the fishing preassure is starting to catch up ?? Possibly we were being spoilt by the macks and Reds ?

With the weather closing in and high winds forecast for the last 5 days, a couple of crews went out at 2.00am for a 12 hour stint on the ledge to get maybe one last crack before the 25 to 30 knotters arrived.
It proved to be a master stroke, as we were greeted with a glassout for this session.
The fishing was slow to start with but as soon as a the orange glow started to tickle the horizon, it was quality fish only hitting the esky. First up it was a few Freight Train Spangles Emp's, then a quick succession of quality red Emp's. Now that the sun had fully risen, the Coral Trout were awake, so chrisso wacks a few healthy specimens into the slurry. Our 120 litre ice box is chockers !! What a memorable session 8-) 8-) Ended up with 6 legal Reds, the best catch by any boat for the trip.

What is written above is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the 2006 North West Adventure goes. We had some moments of disaster where boats and cars lost wheels while travelling the highway.
Johnny's boat sunk in the lagoon one evening when the weather turned nasty. Motor and Electronics appear to be shot, fishing gear etc floated away !!
We all hope John gets a favourable outcome with the insurance company.

Overall it was a fantastic trip (how could it not be with all that intoxicating liquid), outstanding fishing, great humour and comradery.
I hear positions for next years trip will be hotly contested ;)


Plenty of pics to enjoy

Regards

Craigie

p.s. a special thanks to Jeffie (Rumbo) for your efforts to pull this trip together. dead set logistical nightmare !!!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:11 PM
Spanish ready to go to the fillet table

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:12 PM
Sharks like Red Emperor as well !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:13 PM
Banksy with an avg red

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:15 PM
Mess tent with all the fridges and freezers etc.

The guys that carried them there were shouted beers for the rest of the trip :D

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:19 PM
With Morrie as our chef, we ate like kings.
Ate fish every second meal, does not get any fresher than that !!

Also did a few prawn dishes. Honey and Green Currey on this particular evening........magnificent !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:21 PM
time for a few more reds.

Gordo and Bazza with hands full of 3 - 5 kg models

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:23 PM
a couple more around 6 kg's

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:26 PM
a wide variety of species were caught over the 2 weeks

a couple of Tomato Cod

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:27 PM
This ones for Smithy and the Wello Point plastic boys, a few Frying pan Snapper.
We caught quite a few of these around the ledge area

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:29 PM
For all the lovers of MILF'S, I didn't forget you !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:30 PM
At times the Hussar drove you mad, this is part of one days catch !!

wayne_cook
17-08-2006, 08:33 PM
thanks for sharing!!!!!
sounds like a trip of a lifetime fun plus.
great fish and report

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:36 PM
Apart from the fishing on the reef, the lagoon holds a few surprises on high tide.

We caught Dart and Whiting on small pippi.

Some of the Whiting were 3 tinnies long !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:39 PM
Coral Trout were a daily catch.

Here are a few around the 4kg size held aloft by morrie.

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:40 PM
A few more ready to go under the knife

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:42 PM
North West Island is a magic place.

Peacefull and Idilic when you get those "Glass-out" conditions

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:43 PM
Our big boats anchored up in the lagoon .

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:45 PM
view from the radio base on the edge of the beer garden.
In fact I could go one right now !!!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:46 PM
ok more red fish !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:48 PM
Chrisso with the biggest fish for the trip.

15 kg gold spot

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:49 PM
The next 3 reds were caught withing 20 min of each other on the "Ledge' !!

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:50 PM
Butternuts with a 7.5kg example

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:53 PM
Johnny with an evening red

craigie
17-08-2006, 08:57 PM
120 litres of top shelf red and orange fish :o :o

Pual
17-08-2006, 09:01 PM
Thanks very much for that !!!!!
A fantastic report.
You guys must put in a hell of an effort to get there. It looks like paradise.
May you repeat the effort many times over.
Cheers

craigie
17-08-2006, 09:01 PM
The exceptional markings of the Coral Cod

craigie
17-08-2006, 09:06 PM
End of the road.

We have spent close to $20 000 at this point

Most of our gear has arrived safetly back in Tewantin.

DALEPRICE
17-08-2006, 09:39 PM
awesome read you have put together craigie,
sounds like a great trip !!!
cheers dale

Cheech
17-08-2006, 09:47 PM
What a great trip Craig. I can understand why the reserve list is huge. Would love to do a trip like that one day.

lippa
17-08-2006, 10:45 PM
i've been to north west, and didn't pull the quality you did mate, well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers

lippa

griz066
18-08-2006, 06:35 AM
That is an awemome trip mate gotta luuurrvvve those reds 8-)

Mick_Godfrey
18-08-2006, 07:54 AM
Great story Craigie.........can't wait to get there!!!!! :o

kitty_cat
18-08-2006, 08:27 AM
top report
alot of effort goes into these trips and always worth it only thing is you need a holiday to get over your holiday

fish2eat
18-08-2006, 09:33 AM
What a well written report about a trip well planned and executed. Thanks for sharing, I hung on every word and pic and almost felt like I was there, now for some daydreaming......... ;)

Smailesy
18-08-2006, 09:39 AM
what a trip that is great stuff

Chrisco_stew
18-08-2006, 09:43 AM
If you think it looks fun in the photos, double it.

Great blokes, great fish, a drink or two, great food and scenery that rivals the best islands in queensland............yeah its not bad!!

Hey craigie, I will have more to add when gordo gives back my card out of my camera.

Well told story by the way.

I hope the cable is cut to Tassie. If Brett sees this we could have a breakdown.

Hi Brett!!!1 ;D

Is it wrong that I am at work at 9-45 and keen for a beer!!!!!!

Chriso

finding_time
18-08-2006, 10:04 AM
;)Chriso

Spoke to Brett yesterday and i agree WHEN he sees this he wont be happy ;) ;) ;) ;)

Buggy's working just a little bit too hard atm i think :)

Ian

Ps. nice fish mate!!! :D

bugman
18-08-2006, 11:15 AM
It's not even funny any more - really it's not.

I'm actually crying at the moment - really truly.

That's what life is all about.

I'm in for next year - I'm taking a full month off and doing it properly.

I can't bring myself to talk to Chris :-[ it's not worth my while I think.

Wait - I've got to and do another 100 jobs out the front.

I'll talk to you in another lifetime.

Brett

Deiter
18-08-2006, 12:21 PM
great report guy's,...the stuff dreams are made of :)

Argle
18-08-2006, 12:37 PM
What a trip!!! absolutely awesome, would make a good DVD I reckon. I still cant get past the 180 cartons of beer!! :o :o Although in perspective with 21 guys over two weeks..you might have been a bit light on :-/ :-/ ;D
A bloody great read and i can only hope to get to places like that one day.
Thanks for sharing the adventure.

Cheers and 180 cartons of beers ;D ;D ;D
Scott

Chrisco_stew
18-08-2006, 12:57 PM
I have been back since Saturday and still no call from Bugman!!

Kleenex are doing well at the mo.

Argle:We had to go easy the last five days. Heavy beer stocks low!!

Bloody gold drinkers........ ;D ;)

All this talk of beer.........................mmmmmmmmm beer!!!

Sandman
18-08-2006, 01:38 PM
Chris, you havent heard from him because he is drowning his sorrows with that great tassie liquid i believe he has his own stock of this, i think he was refering to the 100 cartons he has to move .
Hey Bret the neighbour hood is quiet without you.
Mick

Sandman
18-08-2006, 01:39 PM
Chris, you havent heard from him because he is drowning his sorrows with that great tassie liquid i believe he has his own stock of this, i think he was refering to the 100 cartons he has to move .
Hey Bret the neighbour hood is quiet without you.
Mick

craigie
18-08-2006, 01:58 PM
Apart from the beer, I believe we had about 50 bottles of Bundy (private supplies) tucked away as well, but we don't have a drinking problem ::)

Anyhow, we were there for the fishing so here are a few more pics for your viewing -

Pile of Spanish being filleted !!

Big_Ren
18-08-2006, 01:58 PM
Arguably one of the best trip reports I have read in ages. Congratulations Craigie and to all of the crew in making such an "event" work so well.

Cheers
Paul ;)

craigie
18-08-2006, 02:05 PM
This should bring back a few demons for Buggy and Ray ;D, Props and coral don't mix !!
Our neighbours for the trip wacked the bottom when they left the run too late when getting back into the lagoon.

OUCH !!

craigie
18-08-2006, 02:08 PM
Table full of lippers, trout and reds awaiting the knife.

craigie
18-08-2006, 02:13 PM
Barry Hall (not the Swanney) with a beautifully marked 60cm Reddie.

craigie
18-08-2006, 02:41 PM
Banksy and myself with 2 of the best for the trip.

7.5 and 8 kg's .

Banksy won the best fish for the trip with this "Red"!!

bugman
18-08-2006, 02:58 PM
I'm not calling you >:(

Chrisco_stew
18-08-2006, 05:20 PM
I will debate that one!! ;D ;D

My cod was twice the weight! ;D

I suppose the quality isn't the same but hey. JB won it with a cod!!

I truly don't care. It was great just to be there catching beautiful Red fish
...........................................and drinking!
Not that we have a problem.!

Brett: Do I need to call you ?

I know your there!!!

Leanne will talk to me.

Love Chris :'( :'( :'(

craigie
18-08-2006, 06:57 PM
That's funny Chris, Brooksy won't talk to me either ;D

Chrisso, at least you clearly got biggest fish !!

I'm really missing dunking my toast into a cold beer each morning for breakfast :P
This week it's been weat bix and milk :(

gropeher
18-08-2006, 08:19 PM
Legends,
sounds like an awesome trip,
that works out to 5400 beers betwwen 21 blokes = 257 beers each, which makes 18.5 beers per day per person, no wonder you lads are having with drawal symptons, and that does not even count the spirits which no doubt were taken too.

Awesome guys, just fantastic..

chicken
18-08-2006, 09:07 PM
Unreal! great report.

BennyJ
19-08-2006, 12:32 AM
mate lost for words , apart from the fact i've been to the pub all night , how good is that nothing better then when a plan comes together top mates top location the you get top fish to to it off how good

Chrisco_stew
19-08-2006, 10:02 AM
I keep finishing breakfast and waiting ten minutes before thinking is it beer time yet?

Chriso

DALEPRICE
19-08-2006, 10:57 AM
did you bring many fillets home craigie ???
im guessing that feeding 20 blokes half full of pizz
is a mission with in itself ;D

some fine reds you got in that last pic. :D

cheers dale

Brooksy
19-08-2006, 07:18 PM
No I'm not talking to any of you bastards! :-[ :-[ :-[
Steve

StevenM
19-08-2006, 07:37 PM
Fantastic report and fish guys.

You all deserve it

Cheers

Steven

craigie
21-08-2006, 02:37 PM
Thanks guys, It was a very memorable trip to say the least :D

Yes Dale, with Morrie a full time chef on-board is a huge bonus. Cooked up a storm and we ate like kings.
As mentioned we ate a lot of fish while on the Island.

We did bring fish home. One whole fish (either a Reddie or a Trout) and 5 or 6 packets of fillets each. This can vary from year to year.
This was all caught in the first week of the trip. Anything caught over the last 5 or 6 days (not much due to the weather) we ate over there.

S_Bend
23-08-2006, 10:18 PM
Fantastic report. I used to go there back before gas freezers, etc were required. Magical place back then and it is great to see it has not lost its charm - or its fish. Your writings sure brought back a lot of memories - one day, I hope to take my sons up there as my Dad took my brother and myself years back.

Cheers.

revs57
24-08-2006, 01:50 PM
Congratulations Craigie...both on a fantastic trip and an awesome report...great pics mate and some ripper fish.

the sheer planning and catering for the logistics would almost be a full time job, any wonder the bloke planning it takes a full year to pull it together for everyone. But at under a grand each for two weeks of paradise it really makes for a viable holiday.

You've got me thinking...

Cheers

Rhys

Anne-T-Dote
26-08-2006, 09:03 AM
G'day Craigie and gang,

Sorry it's taken me ages to respond but even though it has been a while I still feel this report deserves more credit than I can dish up, so I will give it what I can.

Absolutely sensational. What a magnificent trip and what a HUGE amount of effort that has gone into planning it. The camp set-up is phenomenal. Craigie, I organised a NW trip a few years ago and honestly it took that much effort that I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it again (just ask Ed), AND our camp wasn’t a patch on yours so I can only try to imagine how much planning your trip took. Congrats to everyone involved – ESPECIALLY Jeffie.

You guys may have inspired me to give it another shot :o :o – but that could also be to do with the fact that the quality of fish you guys have pulled is FAR superior to what we got – we didn’t get any legal reds and the trout we boated we could’ve counted on one hand. Most of our catch was red throat and tuskies, with the odd spanish mac and shark mac and one decent sized spanglie. So my hat comes off to you coz getting there in that capacity and with all the right gear is hard enough, but then being able to pull quality fish like those takes skill of a whole other level. Well done indeed.

Bad news RE the boat that didn’t float during the storm. Keep us posted on how it all goes insurance-wise.

Once again, BLOODY AWESOME MATE!!!

Macca

johnmclaughlin
26-08-2006, 09:16 PM
Hi Craigie,

I'm heading up there myself on 24/9 with my 13 yr old son + mates and their sons. None of us have been there before and don't know quite what to expect. We're all rather novices. I'm trying to get my head around the logistics + what to take etc.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

johnmac

Reefmaster
27-08-2006, 01:05 PM
Fantastic mate. :D
Looks like everyone had a ball with some great fish to make it all that much better.

Gotta love the reds mate. They start to become a brute fish when you get them around that 8kg mark.

What depth you mainly get the reds in?

Cheers Greg

Slider
27-08-2006, 04:15 PM
You'd probably need 180 cartons of beer with Barry Stjnquist in the crew.

Good to see a good trip had by all.

Lindsay

Chrisco_stew
28-08-2006, 10:08 AM
Greg: I think it was about 50 ish meters. Depending on where you swung around to on anchor. They were mainly on top of a big trench that runs through the area. 45 m down to 58 - 60 m. Looked pretty tidy on the sounder.

Chriso

Jim_Byrne
28-08-2006, 10:28 PM
Ripper report, and no doubt heaps of fun and awesome memories!

Look forward to hearing next years report!

Cheers

Jim