THE LURE OF FISHING
Now…what does that mean to you? Obviously, it means vastly different things to different people.
For some it might be the solitude of tossing a lightly baited rod off a jetty or pier. Or a heavy handline dropped down onto the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
Or the subtleties of fly fishing for trout in a meandering stream.
And here in the tropics of Northern Australia, we have many options and sub variations on a theme.
River, estuary, reef…light tackle, sport fishing and big game fishing for 1,000lb black marlin, what floats your boat?
Ever since I was a little boy in the sleepy little South Aussie town of Ardrossan, waking up by the sound of the squeaky front gate at 2.00am – it meant that Dad had come home from a late night fishing session out on the BHP jetty chasing monster snapper and butterfish (Jew fish)…the sight of him, he was only a “short arse” of approx. 5ft 4in, dragging a monster up the driveway, the head at his shoulder height and the tail dragging along the ground. I WAS HOOKED!
But Dad made a big mistake!
A mistake often made by an unsuspecting parent when their pesky child seeks to enter the realm of fishing. Any fishing line will do right? Wrong. If there is any first up fishing advice I can give, it is always buy or use the best gear possible and one that is fit for the task.
You see, Dad could see that I was as keen as to join him on that jetty. And after many hours of pleading he finally relented and decided to take me out onto his fishing platform. To do that he had to provide me with some “tackle”. It consisted of a hand cut ply wood line holder, some old line that he had laying around, a two hook rig and a bottom sinker. Simple right? What could go wrong?
He could indulge himself with his fancy rod and reel, target the monsters, while I could amuse myself with an attempt at a piscatorial adventure. But he didn’t know the unwritten number one Law Of Fishing…that women and kids nearly always catch the biggest and most fish. This is something that I have learned during my 20+ years of guiding in FNQ.
There I was, happily dangling my two hook rig half way down in the water column, not really expecting to catch anything of note, when these two monster yellowtail kingfish came cruising along and happily scoffed up my two bait offerings.
“DAD, HELP ME, I yelled…I CAN’T HOLD ON…WHAT DO I DO?”
What you got there son? Holly cxxxx, what the xxxxx, that’s not supposed to happen. Needless to say the kingies just cruised around the jetty pylons, busted my flimsy line like cotton and cutting my little hands in the process. These would have been the biggest fish of my life. Well, they were the very first fish I had ever hooked. What an opportunity lost, what a dream almost coming true.
And I have seen this scenario evolve many times, of kids, and mothers and sometimes dad’s trying to start their kids journey into the lifelong adventure of fishing by choosing “cheap and inappropriate tackle and rig set up”. I know fishing gear can be expensive and I’m certainly not trying to tell you to go out and buy the most expensive tackle…just the best that you can afford!!
Now I have digressed from my original train of thought for writing this little piece, but I just wanted to give a little insight into where I started on my almost 70-year journey into fishing. Many of you will know that I have lived in Darwin for several years back in the late 70’s early 80’s and it was here that I became absolutely hooked on barra fishing.
I used to read all about these magnificent fish in all the magazines published at the time and being a bank johnny, I used to work in the ANZ Bank in those days, I always put in my request for a transfer to the Top End during each annual review of my banking career. I was absolutely stoked when it happened. Moving right along, and after stints back in Adelaide and Jindabyne, I found myself in the beautiful city of Cairns.
Time flies when you’re having fun as they say and I now live over the “dutch” in New Zealand. I came over here almost 10 years ago because my partner, Debbie, who is a real Kiwi, wanted to go home to look after her mother and family farm. Now that’s OK, as long as I can watch the AFL on the telly and go back to Cairns three OR four OR five time as year to see my beautiful daughters (er and to go fishing…shhhhhh!) I was in. And that’s exactly how it has panned out.
That lure of fishing has surely bitten me pretty hard.
And its not just fishing…it’s LURE FISHING!
I love it with a passion. If lucky you will see me over in FNQ way up some tropical river tossing lures with a dear mate. Often Terry Holman, a well known local identity and superb fisherman. Terry grew up in Cairns and knows the waterways, their moods, the tides and moon phases intimately. And together we are very lucky that we produce the goods most of the time.
We generally have two major fishing styles although they are pretty similar. Having said that we usually take four rods each and about 500 lures! Hell, we need big 6” lures like gold bombers, Leads Hi Jackers etc., and deep divers for barra – shad type lures – as well as poppers for trevally and queenfish. Then up in the fresh, chasing sooties, jacks and JP’s etc. we need smaller minnows, deep divers and poppers. And of course you need about 12 different colours and shapes and sizes, just in case. Its no wonder we need a five tray tackle box, each.
If you follow my posts on my FB page you will get the idea of what we target and at what time of year and at what tide. Summer is most productive for barra but it is also the wet season and if the rivers are flooding and flowing like red tomato soup, forget it. Winter is prime time for flathead, yes they are plentiful in our tropical rivers, as well as various trevally species and queenies. These are all great lure fishing targets. And if the river levels are high enough the upstream reaches are prime for the aforementioned fresh water species.
And NO! I’m not going to tell you where to go and when, you will have to put in some effort yourself to work it out. Hell, Terry and I have over a hundred years combined experience and we are still learning every trip.
But lure fishing can be so rewarding.
Its active, you are hunting, you are planning and thinking all the time. Drifting along on some of the most beautiful waterways in northern Australia has its own rewards, man I love it. But be warned, there are dangers lurking there and tragedy strikes now and again making us all very sad. Don’t do silly things, never swim or stand in knee deep water while retrieving your boat, or desperately trying to rescue that $20 piece of plastic – its just not worth it.
And if all else fails and you really want to learn tropical lure fishing, hire a guide and go out on a charter. The money is well spent I can assure you.
Great Fishing & regards, Les
