more pics of the loot.
Dave.
After 18 months of waiting since planning for my first Swains charter here is the wash up.
10 people went out on MV Norval which included my dad(Frank) 2 of my brothers and members of Ausfish Jim (bigjimg) and Matt (biosbro). My father has been on the Norval several times before so why change a good thing.
I could not believe just how flat it was going out, which is just what i was hoping for as i can be prone to getting a bit . That was not the case this time which was a bonus for me that was left up to Matt for the first day until he got his sea legs.
There was a lot of first time captures for me as i've done bugger all offshore trips. My first fish was a Coral Trout not a monster but i was pretty stoked about it anyway. Joe scored a nice Jobfish and a good Cod which went back after a quick pic.
The weather was overcast and patches of rain and a breeze about 20knots which didn't bother me in the slightest. It has to change soon i thought after 3 days of it and change it did the fan was turned up to 30+knots . We had to put up with it until we got to a big patch of reef where we sheltered and broke the dories out for the first time .
Not everyone went in the dories as they didn't have the right gear for it.
Now i haven't used a handline since i first started fishing when i was a wee tacker and was going to give it a crack because this was the advice of fellow members i got before i left. First fish was a Chinaman of about 3kgs had line leaving my fingers for a couple of seconds but was able to get control of him and bring him boatside and release no pic of him forgot to take camera out with me.
Caught Trout and Redthroat a great way to kick off with the dories. (Fingerstalls what a great tip thanks fellas).
My brother Jim and Greame did a bit of trolling in one of the dories for a couple of Sharky mackeral but not to many was to be had after that apart from a nice Spanish that was taken on the troll from the mothership whilst pulling in behind the reef.
At night we fished the shallows on the advise of the deckie (Marty) use a small sinker on a 9/0 hook flesh bait and a pillie to make a bit of interest for the Spangles to come out to play. Nailed about a dozen of them and Matt nearly scored a keeper Government bream missed out by 2cms what a bummer hey (not).
Over the last couple of days the sun was out in all it's full glory and what a difference it makes to the look of the reef, absolutely stunning.
Only one keeper Red for the trip on the last day due to weather spoiling the party but all in all what a top trip i had totally loved it.
A big thanks to owner operator Scott and his deckie Marty who together worked tirelessly and bent over backwards for us. One thing for sure you will not starve on the Norval what a feast breakfast lunch and dinner.
If you got a group of ten people consider a trip on the Norval www.norvalcharters.com.au
Will get biosbro to add a few pics soon.
Dave.
Nice Dave,
Plenty of happy faces there and good sized fish Swains is an awsome place I reckon you'll be back next year
Hey Dave some nice fish there mate, looks liike you got onto them despite the weather. 5 sleeps to go for me mate yee ha can't wait.
hey dogsbody
some twenty years ago I was a contract fisherman working out of Mackay , we use to run our dory's off our mothership or boat for that matter (40 footer) we would leave Mackay when there was enough water in the river to get out and steam for the Islands and pick down for the night and have few ales , up the pick at about 2 or 3am in the morning and start steaming for the reefs , by about 9.00am or so we would be passing the inner reefs of about 70nautical miles out and keep going till we were on the outer line , known as the HARD LINE around 3.00pm or so which was about 120 miles out and anchor the mothership inside the reef we were planning to fish first and by that time of day we had enough light left to go out and set up our dory's and sus out if the reef was going to fire in the morning or not and of course it was fresh reef fish for dinner that night.
Over the next 2-3 weeks we would wander far and wide in search of coral trout and red throat and so forth and the places we would go to was MIND BLOWING to say the least as those areas don't get fished much any more sadly due the vast distance to get there.
We would come across charter boats now and then but not very often because we stayed away from those areas in close.The Swains is a great place to fish IF the weather is good but you had to be ready to run when it turned crap from the southeast and the swells started to build and made it a nasty place to be caught in.
Just to the norht of there the next stage of the reef system is known as THE T LINE and on the charts would show why , a large group of reefs that form a large T and it's red hot fishing , north of there is the HARD LINE and that place is AMAZING with all the reefs and gutters running between them , some of which run like mad as in one gutter has been clocked running at 14knots on a 6mtr tide and is no place to get caught in, there is 3 gutters that feed into 1 and it gets pretty hairy on a big tide , motherships actually go backwards trying to steam up them as they don't go faster than the tide is running. On the southern gutter that feeds the system is the giant whirlpool that can suck a 4mtr dory down no problem at all and its AWSOME , about 400mtrs across this thing and it's scary but worth the risk of going in to have a look as you just keep going around the same direction it's going and do the same to get out again and pray your motor don't crap itself or your in the shat , no two ways about it.
Most people don't get to fish that sort of country and if you ever get the chance to jump on it , cause it's a trip of a lifetime, I did this for 4yrs and would kill to do it again , no two sunsets are the same and sunrises are the same. I worked over a stretch of about 400 miles of it in the time I was there and saw a lot of things you only see in books and some you DON'T.
good to read that some one else has wandered out past the horizon.
cheers pickers
looks like you got most of the same pics as me anyway Dave, I've got a few more but much of the same - smiling faces with nice size fish. what a blast, fishing a reef system that far offshore - fishing the bay will never be the same again. the Norval is a top charter run by a top bloke in Scott & a fantastic deckie Marty 'maaaaaaate'. reckon I gained a couple of kilos with the grub, bloody hell you'll never starve on the Norval mate. if the weather was a little kinder to us we would have caught a lot more too but still had the time of my life and got plenty of fillets.
pickers - I brought up the question to skipper Scott & asked him about extended charters (10 days plus) & this was when he mentioned the T-Line. showed us on the chart & your right, there's no mistaking why it's called such, he would take you there on a longer charter & it even looks red hot on the chart, plenty of structure out there holding some nice fish apparently.
till next year.
Matt
c'mon, take the bait....
Black rat if i can afford it i'll go again no worries.
Pickers the skipper Scott used to be a live trout fisherman up north some years ago, tough job but what a beautiful office.
A couple more pics one of my very first Nannygai, the deckie, and the route we took the big left was when the wind got up so a change of course otherwise we would have went up a bit further.
The Norval is a Millcraft built right here in Bulimba Brisbane in 1973 and still looks a treat.
Dave.
Biosbro and Dogsbody
From the T LINE north is where the fun really starts as the Swains is an area of smaller reefs with little protection from bad weather. As you steam north from there the reefs are bigger , much bigger and some are 18 or 19 miles long and that means lots of places to fish amd anchor the mothership in safe waters.
The Hard Line as I mentioned in my last post has to be seen to be believed, if the chance comes up to do an extended trip GO for it as you will have spent your hard earned bucks well and not regret it , reefs that actually curl back under as they drop into the depths , water you can see the bottom in 150 feet , but you can catch just as many trout and red throat in 20 feet of water.
Looking at your pics brings back a heep of memories as a young bloke with no ties to land and only too eager to go back out again for another 3 week stint wandering the reefs in search of fish and new places.
If you get the chance to see the charts from the T LINE north you will see the outerline known as the HARD LINE and what it has to offer and you won't be dissapointed.
GO FOR IT.
pickers
ps...here's a tip for you pair too...go to the local bike shop and buy a THORNPROOF tube instead of using normal tube over your fingers to stop line burn as the thornproof tube is a bit thicker.
no 2...don't be scared to use a 70lb hand line , just watch the line around your feet.
no 3..use your thumb to feel the bites as you can't grab and feel with the old pointer at the same time without getting cut to the bone.
no 4...HANG ON.
NO 5 ...ALWAYS FISH THE RUN ON SIDE OF THE REEF.(FISH WITH THE TIDE RUNNING ONTO THE REEF AND NOT RUNNING OFF. you loose less gear and it's easier to pull fish away from the reef face than pulling them up it.
PICKERS
here's a Barramundi Cod that Jim pulled onboard.
Joes nice Spangled Emperor.
my trevor.
Franks Spangle from the dory, note the conditions.
my almost keeper Red, fell short by 2cm.
Matt
Last edited by Mattg68; 04-07-2007 at 11:46 AM. Reason: add more pics
c'mon, take the bait....
yep those reefs don't like westerly's and all but shut down , but as soon as a change is on the way it fires up like mad.
pickers
BlackRat, looks like you covered some ground there. The weather restricted us from getting into deeper water (60+m) until the last half day (as it was it was 3m+ swell) where the bigger reds are. Sam caught that 70cm red on the very last drop, 4 of the guys pulled their lines up in a birds nest & as Dave was untangling the mess Sams line got smashed & had to wait a further few minutes to pull him up & there was a mighty cheer from everyone onboard when he surfaced. It seems to be the trophy fish up there. Frustrating is the word with the 'just too small' ones but we were anchored up for the night on a good patch of Spangled Emperor mixing with them so it alleviated some of the angst.
Pickers - you're not wrong when you say you don't want to get caught out there when she turns nasty, it's quite exposed. Mother nature was gracious with us, she was running out of puff as the week went on.
Matt
c'mon, take the bait....
Jimbo99
the swains is a great nest of reefs allright, I have fished, mostly charter skipper, and earlier deckie, from the swains through to Hicks reef north east of Lizard island. my favourite place is the ribbon reefs No.1 to No.10 good anchorages on all of them except for No.5. on which the reef barrier is not so high and covers with a goodly depth of water at high tide and with a 25 knot s/easterly becomes uncomfortable from half tide up to half tide down, but the rest are o.k. to good for night anchorages. younge reef just north of no 10. ribbon is a magnificent anchorage and several permanent moring chains are there and can be used unless it is the marlin season from august to december when mother ships are moored there. but if you approach a mothership and ask they will usually let you tie off their stern or out riggers. they also have a bit of fuel to sell (diesel ) there are some marvellous gutters between each reef and bommies scattered in the gutters too. I skippered a marlin boat "The Wirraway " for three seasons from 1980 to 1983. off Lizard Is.When I got my first big marlin hooked up I stood on the fly bridge with my mouth around my knees. It flashed irridessant blue as it struck and we estimated it was 1400pounds. it came out of the top of a big wave and stood up all 20+ feet of it, then feft the water to turn in the air and crash back into the water leaving a hole in the water that would have been big enough to fit a motor car in and still have room left. it then came out of the next wave and stood on it's tail and walked away in that position for about a hundred and fifty yards. by the time we got the angler hooked up in the chair and set the hook properly it was 300 meters awayand really angry and flashing neon blue stripes like a zebra. I swallowed my heart and set about working this sea monster. We worked her (big Marlin are all Female it is believed they start off as males and at about 600 pounds change to female ???) for an hour and had her back to about 150 meters from the boat when she left the water again and tail walked towards us till she was only about thirty meters away then she went back into the water and pop !! the piano wire snapped, on inspection the wire proved to have an air bubble in it and that is where it snapped. when she was gone, we just all sat down silent for a few seconds then all started laughing.somebody said "Did you see that b%^$&dy thing, far out how do you stop something like that" I did stop a few big fish around 1,000 pounds but they aren't thick on the ground and there is a lot of trolling involved believe me.
Jimbo99
hy dave I AM THE NEW OWNER of the norval and are happy to read your thread the norval is still going well and we would as new oweners you being a past patron can offer you good return trip at a reduced price
thanks ron