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Thread: 1770 Trip Report

  1. #1

    1770 Trip Report

    Just back from five days up and 1770 and we had a ball. Managed to fish Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in brilliant conditions with warm sunny weather and flat seas. As it was our first time up there we were booked in with Fishing Offshore 1770 for a full day charter Monday and the other two days saw us doing our own bit of exploring around the inner reefs - thanks Phil for the info.

    Sunday

    After travelling up on Saturday we got the boat fuelled and gear ready and were at the ramp at 4 am on Sunday morning. Very busy place with everyone making the most of the great conditions - cars were parked over a kilometre from the ramp it was that busy.
    It was a dead low tide when we went out and going over the last sand bar before the entrance saw us in under half a metre of water but we made it across and headed out find some bait. We picked up a few yakkas but pretty slow so we headed out to one of the local wrecks for a look around to find huge schools of Tealeaf Trevally which were some fun but not what we were after. I did, however, get some good fights on a micro jig on light gear which was great.
    We kept pushing out and exploring and picked up some Hussar, a nice Cod and some Parrot Fish between the never ending supply of Iodine Bream and Rainbow Runners that seem to be in massive numbers everywhere. Whilst exploring we had a floater out which screamed off and a short fight saw a nice fat Spotted Mackeral on board just under the meter mark. Great fish for the fight and the guys I was with were happy with that.
    We got out to the Inner Wides which is North East of 1770 in the early afternoon and picked up a few nice fish including a couple of Coral trout in the 40s and 50s, a couple of Red Throat and a few more decent Parrot fish. Great first day and we headed home getting back to the ramp around 4.

    Monday

    Early morning again at the ramp at 5 for our charter. We were greeted by James from Fishing Offshore 1770, a great guy - nothing too much trouble, funny buggar and just loves putting people on fish. First stop was to get some bait and we soon filled up on Yakkas and headed out to the reefs around Lady Musgrave and Fitzroy.
    This guy knows how to find the fish and we loaded up with a variety of species from the first drop. We caught Hussar, Cod, Trout in rapid succession as well as a couple of Red Emporer that were just below legal size (53 and 54 cms). I was fishing my own gear and a little worried that I would get smoked as I was fishing relatively light (30lb braid) but was really happy how it performed - Pflueger makes a great set of rods that fight above their weight.
    The highlight of the day for me was a stonking Coral Trout that went just short of around 8kgs and gave me a great scrap to keep him off the bottom. This was rapidly followed by another trout just slightly smaller and I was soon at my limit for the day so it was time for a beer. We finished up around 2 pm with a full esky of premium reef fish and with some good tips from James that would set us up for the next day.
    One great thing we found up there was a guy called Rex. He is an ex-commercial fisherman who is now retired but will prepare all your fish for you for $25 per hour. Filleted, bagged, named - everything. Well worth the money after a long days fishing and he will pick them up from the ramp for you.

    Tuesday

    Have to admit age must be catching up with me as I was pretty knackered by Tuesday but with awesome weather and a good fishing forecast we headed out early again from a much quieter boat ramp. This time we were heading to the outer wides chasing reef fish and there had been some good Spanish Mackeral catches up there and I was pretty keen to see if they were still around.
    On the way up we looked for some livies but only got a couple but we had a ton of bait (Mullet Fillets work the best) so all good. The first drop saw a nice Red Throat onboard followed by some decent size Hussar and a couple of Parrot Fish. We continued to work the shows we were seeing and I got in a massive brawl with a stonker Sweetlip that saw it pulling drag off a locked up big reel with 50lb braid. It was a great fish and I finally got it on the boat with sore arms but a big grin.
    We had a Garfish on a gang floating out the back and this was taken with a huge hit and run on the bait runner that I then locked into drag and the fight was one. I was guessing a good size Mackeral after the first run, it then headed towards the boat and had a massive second run taking around 100 metres of line before again coming at the boat and coming up to the surface. I could see silver at this stage and was getting pretty excited. We got it closer to the boat and saw it was a big Spanish - a great gaff shot by my mate saw us hauling it on board - it went over 120cms and well over 15kgs - I was stoked! New PB for me and a great fish.
    It was fairly consistent for the rest of the day with a few more reefies coming up and we headed back in about 2 happy with our haul. A great run back on smooth seas and plenty of Whales and Dolphins around. All in all a fantastic trip and cannot wait to get back up there.

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  2. #2

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Fantastic read Blair. I like the idea of Rex!!
    Tony

  3. #3

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by Back In Black View Post
    Fantastic read Blair. I like the idea of Rex!!
    Tony
    I don't think Rex does Hussar

  4. #4

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Good report well done.

  5. #5
    Ausfish Platinum Member Funchy's Avatar
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    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    good stuff. We were out on the Sunday and had a great day with some nice trout boated. Plenty of whales about too

  6. #6

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Great report.
    Good effort for your first trip up there.
    Can you give us any tips on catching trout?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Ausfish Platinum Member Funchy's Avatar
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    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by Crunchy View Post
    I don't think Rex does Hussar
    LOL!!!! Boom thats gold!

  8. #8

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by Funchy View Post
    LOL!!!! Boom thats gold!
    And that's why I didn't bother to respond.......................

    Damn funny though Crunchy

  9. #9
    Ausfish Platinum Member Funchy's Avatar
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    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by Back In Black View Post
    And that's why I didn't bother to respond.......................

    Damn funny though Crunchy
    That's ok Tony, he probably doesn't do Flathead either

  10. #10

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by FINICKY View Post
    Great report.
    Good effort for your first trip up there.
    Can you give us any tips on catching trout?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Hey Finicky

    First of all, keep your drag tight and I would not fish under a 10kg rod or 30lbs of mono or braid - they pull really hard and are usually just near the coral so will brick you if they get a chance.

    We found the best right was what they used on the charters - a snell setup with two 6/0 or 7/0 strong hooks, 8 or 10 ball sinker onto the hooks and then a short leader to a swivel. This seemed to minimise snag and provided the best pulling power. Droppers also worked but not as well I reckon.

    For baits, we either used whole Yakkas (alive or dead) or a good size strip of mullet. Pillies and squid were demolished really quickly and unless taken straight away did not prove very strong. Fresh Rainbow Runner, Iodine Bream or Hussar fillets also works well.

    Trout have a weird bite, they do not take straight away but tend to nip at the bait so it feels like a little fish. When you feel this lift the bait slowly and this can make them have more of a reaction bite like the bait is getting away. Best to keep your rod tip angled down so you have the most pulling power. Lots were lost because people kept their rod tips pointing too high and lost leverage.

    They tend to hang on the side of Bommies and drop offs where it goes from sand to coral and there is usually a bit of rubble around the bottom. Look for drop offs and it is better is you have the HD charts so you can identify these easier. Trout are pretty solid and will turn up as dark red blotches on your sounder (at least they do on mine).

    If you manage to pull a big fish in or lose it for that matter move on - they tend to shut down after this happens. Luckily there are lots of spots to cover and lost of other species as well.

    Hope that helps

  11. #11

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Well done Blair.
    I haven't fished 1770 since January.
    Thought I'd give it a rest for you guys

  12. #12

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Hey Tony,
    I think Dignity found one of your long lost Hussar in his car the other day.
    Apparently sitting there a few days.
    The smell was a dead give away

    Quote Originally Posted by Crunchy View Post
    I don't think Rex does Hussar

  13. #13

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by Moejoes View Post
    Hey Tony,
    I think Dignity found one of your long lost Hussar in his car the other day.
    Apparently sitting there a few days.
    The smell was a dead give away
    Sam has no class.........

  14. #14

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Quote Originally Posted by blairv70 View Post
    Hey Finicky

    First of all, keep your drag tight and I would not fish under a 10kg rod or 30lbs of mono or braid - they pull really hard and are usually just near the coral so will brick you if they get a chance.

    We found the best right was what they used on the charters - a snell setup with two 6/0 or 7/0 strong hooks, 8 or 10 ball sinker onto the hooks and then a short leader to a swivel. This seemed to minimise snag and provided the best pulling power. Droppers also worked but not as well I reckon.

    For baits, we either used whole Yakkas (alive or dead) or a good size strip of mullet. Pillies and squid were demolished really quickly and unless taken straight away did not prove very strong. Fresh Rainbow Runner, Iodine Bream or Hussar fillets also works well.

    Trout have a weird bite, they do not take straight away but tend to nip at the bait so it feels like a little fish. When you feel this lift the bait slowly and this can make them have more of a reaction bite like the bait is getting away. Best to keep your rod tip angled down so you have the most pulling power. Lots were lost because people kept their rod tips pointing too high and lost leverage.

    They tend to hang on the side of Bommies and drop offs where it goes from sand to coral and there is usually a bit of rubble around the bottom. Look for drop offs and it is better is you have the HD charts so you can identify these easier. Trout are pretty solid and will turn up as dark red blotches on your sounder (at least they do on mine).

    If you manage to pull a big fish in or lose it for that matter move on - they tend to shut down after this happens. Luckily there are lots of spots to cover and lost of other species as well.

    Hope that helps
    Thanks for the advice. I've done a trip to Fitzroy once a year for the last 3 years and we mostly fish the deeper water, 40 to 100m. I'd be keen to try the shallows for Trout next year. We get some bigger trout in the deeper water but not a lot of numbers.
    Interesting about your Spaniard. I got one at 120cm last year and it was just under 8.5kg.
    Keep up the good work. 1770 makes fishing off Brisbane and Gold Coast seem like a waste of time some days.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. #15

    Re: 1770 Trip Report

    Thanks for the advice. I've done a trip to Fitzroy once a year for the last 3 years and we mostly fish the deeper water, 40 to 100m. I'd be keen to try the shallows for Trout next year. We get some bigger trout in the deeper water but not a lot of numbers.
    Interesting about your Spaniard. I got one at 120cm last year and it was just under 8.5kg.
    Keep up the good work. 1770 makes fishing off Brisbane and Gold Coast seem like a waste of time some days.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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