To Vernon Islands for Nothing and back to Lee Point for lots

So, it was going to be five boats heading to Vernon Islands but late withdrawals meant only two boats for the high tide launch at 5am

The ride to the Vernons was slow given you couldn't see the swell in the dark and it could get quite bumpy
The moon had been lighting up the boat ramp but as it set - the pitch darkness shut down all vision

We arrive prior to the dawn but with enough light to see no indications of scales about at all

To cover more area to find the fish.....
Jon and Jack went to the first beacon on the western side
Peter and I went to Oliver reef - this shallow reef sits in over 35metres of water around it
It screams fishiness but nothing

Travelling around the western side of islands we get hit by a heavy rain squall
and put up the Bimini to sit it out

Here is Jon and Jack White waiting for rain to stop

The most awesome rainbow appeared towards the end of the squall

We fished the northern tip and its sandbar - a few skittering baitfish but again nothing despite the conditions and locations that usually always add up to good fishing

As the tide drops we fish the edge of the reef as it steps down into the water. Herons sitting on edges indicate the lower spots through which the last baitfish would travel through and hopefully the piscatorial predators would be laying next to for the same reasons as the Herons

The channel into the blue hole is fascinating in its structure. shallow flat reef several hundred metres wide, then only 10-15 feet out it is 6-9 feet deep and then that distance again it is 50 feet deep
Predators should have been working this edge, large ones but not this day
We did however see a few large sharks, and lots of seaweed and mangrove leaf debris in water

Once in the blue hole again we found nothing - I got one trevally, we saw bait in the shallows acting nervous but nothing comes to hand

We venture to the beacon on south side of eastern island, but nothing here as well. I like this beacon on the top of the tide more than when we got there but you can't have it working for you everyday

We then pop over the the landside blue hole but all quite here too
So given a change in the wind about to occur and no significant fish for the day we head back to Darwin

As soon as we arrive we spot fish frothing the surface - right at my usual Lee Point - spot X
We get a few queenies

Then Peter gets one cast in and lets the fly sink a touch more than normal and hooks up to a strong fish

It's surging runs has Peter working overtime to control it
We cover a large area of the reef as the unseen fish takes long powerful runs and we tag along

We call it for a few species first for the long runs a tuna, then for the periodic head shakes a trevally, then as it hasn't jumped it can't be a queenie unless it is tail wrapped or foul hooked

We also talked about sharks given length of the fight that was occurring
But then we see it and Peter is ecstatic - he has been after a large trev for a while now
while not a metre to the fork like those on the front of fishing mag covers - it is certainly giving Peter a hard time

His new fly rod that he won at a recent fly tournament is working well - a TFO Mangrove 8w

The fight is quite extended but we eventually get it to hand - a 76cm Brassie Trevally

I checked Peter's leader and hardly a scuff mark from such a long fight with a powerful fish

Coming back to the same area we hooked the trevally, we see the tell tail signs of large queenfish swirling at the edge of the reef we have seen them so many times.

Peter puts in the right cast into the right place with the same fly he had caught the trevally on and hooks up straight away.

Once we would be so careful with large queenfish but now after catching so many recently we know just the right amount of pressure to put on them.

So the fight,despite many jumps, was over fast

After a long dark trip to Vernons after no significant fish at such a great location , and then back to Lee Point - it was weird to be into good fish at the usual location so close to the city

Peter was using one of the flies he won at the last club meeting raffle
a rodgie dodgy fly - a 'no see um' type sparse fly

Three casts two big fish on the same fly
It was good fly fishing

Jon and Jack White got a few fish too at Lee Point but then called it time and headed back to ramp
Peter and I stayed for some more casting practice and hopefully a few fish

We then see Jon and Jack stop and fish busting up all around them - TUNA???? or macks?

We scoot over to join in and get many follows on the flies
only 20 foot of water this time almost to top of tide
last time it was same area but a little wider and 35 feet of water at the bottom of the tide

But if the baitfish are there you would expect the predators to be there
And so they were
There were smudges of bait seen at first, up close you could see the tight balls of them and then the water would erupt with slashing porpoising longtail tuna

We tried several types of approaches to the schools and it was awesome to see two or three fish on top and then as we approach see 20-40 of them go under the boat

I think we would still be there, if I didn't have to get home for the wife's night out with friends

Would have definitely been better to hook up but even seeing the torpedoes react and chase your fly was out of this world exciting - even though they would turn away at the last moment!

Peter thought his day was going to be the best ever when he hooked up amongst feeding tuna - only to have a 55cm grey mack come to hand. Sadly, we knew it as soon as it started to fight it wasn't a tuna.

So great day for Peter, all on the one fly! - time for me to tie a few of them for the next trip
I got a feed of fresh fish (small trevs and queenfish that I caught) for my girls who demand fresh fish for dinner after I get on the water for a fly fishing trip.

Here is a short video of bits and pieces from the trip