hoyopr Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 » Gavin “ Wind knots Rob….they will kill you every time” » » Rob “ Wind knots my arse…I don’t do wind knots. You must have done the » guiding 101 course.” Sounds like a good guide, hope yopu tipped him well. Great photos Rob and looks like a near perfect day on the water.
SmokinAl Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Looks to be a good way to spend a working Wednesday. Thanks for the great tale. Al.
Ken Gargett Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 and you bagged my shorts from cuba. the hypocrisy!! nice fish.
shrink Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Glad you got your Yellowtail, Rob. These are simply delicious!
Miami101 Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Don't know if I did not see it, but size Fly rod?
Colt45 Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Great pics - looks like a fantastic time! » » » the fish look almost as big as KG's NZ trout........
Leftridge Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 I'm so jealous.. Your fishing looks much warmer that mine!!!
CIGARHead Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 That looks like a great time Rob. Funny how such a little puny fly can entice a bite! Too bad the Yellowfin evaded you, but at least you were fishin' mate. The Mac Tuna is similar to what we call False Albacore. The False Albacore is not eaten here, but is some of the best cut bait you can use..strips, chunks etc. I assume you didnt eat them because if they taste anything like the False Alby you'd probably spit it out! Oh, and by the way, nice shorts Nancy;-)
greenpimp Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Well, at least you know why the cops pulled you over. Those shorts are a special kind of trouble. Always wanted to go tuna fishing. Will one day. Been making sushi outta the poor things for years.
El Presidente Posted March 27, 2008 Author Posted March 27, 2008 You are right Austin in that Mac Tuna make excellent bait and a woefull table fish. I look forward tothe phonecall when the Yelowtail show and I am back on the water :-) Graeme I rarely keep anything I catch not that I am opposed to doing so. The only thing I resent is people catching more than they can consume in the short term. As for my shorts For years they have been my lucky fishing shorts ;-)
El Presidente Posted November 15, 2008 Author Posted November 15, 2008 Greg and I had a Tuna Fly Fishing Charter booked for close to a year. The Tuna season off Mooloolaba (100 km north of Czar House) runs from mid March to end of May. This year we have had our first true wet season in about 7 years with the region taking over a 1000mm of rain since December. With such a flush of fresh water the Tuna season looks like being later than normal but the flip side is that yesterday was only one of five days that our guide Gavin Platz has been able to go out since December. Good living means that God has looked after me ;-) Given that we were starting at 6:30 am Greg and I drove the Jeep (enjoying some excellent Cohiba Robusto on the way) the one hour up to Mooloolaba on Tuesday night and booked in at a local motel. After a great dinner with mate Graeme Juniper we retired back to the motel for a quiet night. A couple of HDM Epi 2’s and a bottle of Santiago 11 year old rum later we headed to bed only to be awaken by the alarm 5:30 am. Nothing like serious preparation for Tuna fishing. Perfect morning. No quicker than we left the harbour the international police harassment of one “Robert Ayala” commenced. The good news is that I wasn’t strip searched :-D ] “Look for the Birds”….”Look for the Birds!” I have never purposely set out for Tuna before. I had caught one Mac Tuna off Currumbin 6 years ago on fly which I remember to this day albeit it was small. Being on the water in these pristine conditions and seeing birds and splashes had my juices flowing but being a novice I put my fate in the hands of Gavin Platz. “They aren’t really schooling but lolling” he said and he was right. A few repeated casts into the schools produced little interest and so he changed my fly. “Gavin…..you have to be kidding me?” Yep….this fly…barely larger than my thumbnail made all the difference. I immediately hooked onto something that hit like a train. I was using my 8 weight Loomis Cross Current and I can honestly say that nothing I have ever caught hat hit harder than this fish. The stripped loose line cleared in a second leaving only the scream of the reel…..and it “screamed”. “Let the drag do the work” said Gavin and so I complied. The fish ran and ran. It went deep then to the surface….then deep again. From a few hundred yards out it finally made a run for the boat and I reeled in as quickly as I physically could to maintain some tension. It won. Line went slack. I lost two in quick succession on snapped times above the hook…. and the comments started. Gavin “ Wind knots Rob….they will kill you every time” Rob “ Wind knots my arse…I don’t do wind knots. You must have done the guiding 101 course.” Gavin “ Your cast is excellent……in the main…..but there is more to fishing than casting” Rob “Try tying a proper knot this time you bastard” Greg (laughing) “ Rob is not competitive” Rob “I am sooooooo glad I invited you” This banter set the pattern for the day. Fish would rise and then they would disappear. Skittish as hell and one to two casts at any school is all you were ever going to get. Tuna 2 …Rob 0 and Rob wondering if a little Juan Lopez Seleccion No 1 would change his luck. Just when I contemplating lighting the cigar a school rose and I cast backhanded deep into it. STRIKE!!!! As soon as mine was on Greg Hutley casting to the same school also had a strike…..Double Hookup!!! The same screaming reel and a 15 minute struggle saw both fish in the boat. Nice Mac Tuna’s but not the Yellow Tail we had been hoping for. The occasional Yellowtail were in the main schools of Mac Tuna but not schooling themselves at this stage. The Macs being faster and more aggressive repeatedly would take the strike. Great fun on light gear! This set the pattern for the day. Hard work but great fun and I learn’t more about Tuna with a great guide like Gavin than I could have fishing five years for these temperamental fish by my own. We may have seen 4-5 Yellow Tail the entire day but it was not to be. No problem as I hope to be out with Gavin in a months time when they may be more receptive. All in all 4 fish landed, 10 hooked…. Great day
habanablue Posted November 15, 2008 Posted November 15, 2008 » » Nice shorts Rob!:-D Looks like a great day out!
winelover Posted November 15, 2008 Posted November 15, 2008 » » » » » » Nice shorts Rob!:-D » » Looks like a great day out! Hmmm sashimi!!! Do you guys ever eat anything you catch? Here in the UK you can't unless it is from the sea.
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