So the fight was only 12 or so minutes but it felt much longer
(edited the slower boring bits out so not to put you to sleep)
But I got such a buzz out of it
Watched the whole thing myself so many times - reliving the scenario enjoying every moment again
Worse still I want it again! can't wait till next time I can get out there and chase them
Will probably end in tears for me as this was an exceptional one off day of absolute SWOFFING with the fishing gods smiling on me and and that is a very rare thing for me
Day started off that usually way of no fish god smiles with no fish showing except for flighty inconsistent and sporadic longtail tuna always teasing my from afar - with four hours of chasing then casting and chasing then casting and chasing then casting (you get the idea!) for only one half take
But then the stars aligned perfectly and the tuna ate my flies with abandon for a bit over two hours
So I have had a few trips recently - was going to write something - but other things kept getting in the way
On these thrips got a few big queenies, a lot of nothing most times, a very short trip with wife and daughters too
Did see a lot of tuna that was chased and missed - a couple of tiny fish most trips to feed the cats
The girls had a great time on their outing when a large manta ray was doing somersaults in the water right at the side of the boat
Was that all I would have for fishing ?? = Then I realised that was almost it for my four weeks of school holidays
Most of the time I was doing this
Great for the casting arm but it ain't no tight line zinging through the rod guides is it??
Been working around the tradies at my new house for most of the four weeks of the school hols
So with students back at school next week - this weekend was the only one where i would get one more opportunity to get a fish in
So the wind forecast was gentle as - so the plan was to get on the water Saturday morning
Boat all hooked up and loaded the night before but on way to ramp stop to get a bit of fuel and ice for the ice box (always a potential threat to catching fish)
I launched easy as and was heading past Stokes Wharf at 6:43am - just as a big cruise ship was tying up to the wharf (wife wants to go on one of these one day! - me ?????)
I was going to call a couple of guys to be the deckie of this adventure
But I am a bit anxious about the boat - motor sounds crap even after a few grand fixing it
The crack in the hull is back - (never be able to sell the rig and upgrade if I keep writing about this!)
(when I get to rural block I will strip everything off the hull and really get it fixed - by then I might be able to get a new donk for it too????)
(leaked about 15 litres for the 10 hours on the water today - so not that scary but worrying at least!)
IN the positive tho and through a good mate with some bartered few flies and a wooden fly box to carry them in, for a second hand deep cell battery for the new electric - Thanks big time!
Anyway back to the SWOFFING
I avoided Weed Reef this time even tho tide was not too bad for the gravel bar at Weed Reef - instead I headed straight for Lee Point
The idea was to fish the drop - maybe raise some big queenies hiding against the reef edges to the big articulated poppers I had tied recently for such a scenario. Was also hoping for a heap of bait passing through with the tide and being funnelled through the gaps in the reef at the bottom of the tide.
Awesome sunrise too!
I am out at Lee Point by 7:40
The wind is about 8-10 knots - far more than forecast (that was a given!)
I motor around searching, go halfway to Buff creek and turn back to my usual haunt as nothing seen
Here I snag a couple of baby fish - two garfish and a wrasse with awesomely blue canine teeth
I almost go to sleep with the slow action.
I play on my phone - boring!
I check all my knots - boring (on all five rods i had in the boat)
I check my fly 15 boxes (you can never have too many flies given so many scenarios in a day!)
I cast a few times - rest get bored and cast a few more times
Anything to pass the time till some thing happens
I almost head back to ramp but the tide while a neap that might let me get boat out - the day was just too awesome - so why not wait a bit longer to see what happens
The solar luna charts said 11:20 was the time this might start happening
And for the first time in awhile right on queue to the prediction - the fish start showing
Now I HATE with a passion frantically chasing tuna about
Especially when that which is hitting the water surface in one or two tuna and infrequent and inconsistent
But I am so bored even I start to give chase
I zip here and zip there - get close but no cigar (or tuna as is the case)
Much rather be bored!
But the tuna even tho sporadic seemed to be working a couple of "wind lanes" of foam and mangrove leaf
Maybe also because the baitfish where hiding in the flotsam
The slowing tide and medium strength wind were working perfectly for me to position the boat
and drift along the wind lane
I firstly chose the outer wind lane and spent a hour or so frustrating my self
Once I got close enough to get a cast in and got that soft tightening of the line as a tuna mouthed the fly but I just wasn't good enough for whatever excuse to stay tight
But like every young man getting this first bit of you know what - no matter how bad it is - I just had to get more - bugger the boredom and frustration - I wanted that first caress of the fly transferring up the fly line to my tense fingers like you couldn't believe!
After another hour of 'almosts' - I see that there is a fair bit of surface action between the inside wind lane of flotsam and Peter and my favourite reef
There is a few milkfish in the same area distracting me from my prime target - and I have no scum flies in my many boxes so. They are huge! They are not just sipping or scooping food off the surface - they are actually chasing something, with slashing and quick changes of direction regularly - scum eaters only my arse! I have one sip my silicone surf candy meant for a tuna nearby - and I feel the hook point take the meerest piece of lip and tear as the milkie feels it too and screams off for the horizon - Man! They can motor with afterburners! Especially when over a meter in length
I position the boat on edge of reef a few hundred meters east of our favourite bit of reef
I don't chase, I just drift along the wind lane hoping the marauding tuna come within casting distance. The casting arm is warmed up now and I am getting some good distance - even if the flyline is a little waving and wobbly as it cuts through the air). Some drifts not a cast is made - others I get quite a few cast in - but not always effective
And then it is like I am in the fly fishing gods favour as there are tuna all around me
No need for long casts just dangle the fly out of the tip of the rod (not really but you know what I mean).
I have never seen so many tuna in such shallow water.
I watch the tuna zipping about in the almost clear water and pick my fish to lead and tempt with the fly
I get 7 in total in about two hours (am i stoked or what!!!!!) - all mirror images of each other between 80-82cm long and very strong - each one taking me well into my backing
The first one was such a buzz after chasing them for hours
I giggled like a school girl (well sort of) and after I knew the hookup was firm
It takes so much backing I almost see the last of backing streaming off the reel
I get a little worried in won't stop
So I start the motor and give chase - steering and changing speed as the fight ebbs and flows
Absolutely enjoyable to say the very least
Will put together a video of the first fight and put it up soon - these fat torpedos are the best fun out there !!!!!!
I dropped one or two tuna within moments of hook up - why ???? oh well, let's hope that next group comes close - yes! I am on again!
in the next couple of hours Only once in a couple of drifts of 400-500 metres did I not get the chance to cast to feeding fish
Once I was totally exhausted from the struggle with tuna and they are teasing me by actually bumping into the boat and me with having just caught one and the line fully in the reel couldn't even cast to one of the 15 or so cavorting around the boat - when I final get my act together they are gone - me laughing the whole time! - what a clutz I can be when the adrenalin is rushing though me (at many other times too!)- leader wrapped around tip, fly line hooked on something so small you wonder how it could. even sitting down for a drink and they breach the surface near by but are gone by the time I grab rod and am ready to cast (stupid old man!)
Lucky lots of tuna about - as even I can catch a few today!
But the day didn't end there - - yes there's more
The tuna turned off and disappeared like knock off time for teachers at the end of term
One moment everywhere - then a desert again
The tide had turned, the wind died off and was changing direction and about to increase
So I head back into the harbour
I check the usually spots but nada on way to ramp
I haven't used East arm Ramp in a while and thus haven't checked out Shellie Island for a long time
I thought I might pick up a few little queenies for cat food - may a biggish one for my dinner
I catch a few queenies and a trevally all small but just what I was after
Then I spy some swirls with large sickle like dorsal and caudal fins slicing the surface
I just couldn't resist targeting them in the calm water on the lee side of the small rock outcrop
In a desperate move - I take a small polarfibre clouser and cut off the beadchain eyes but it is sinking too fast
The hook is a heavy hook - so I tear a bit of foam of a chewed up gurlger fly retired to the matting on the boat deck and feed it onto hook point up to hook bend to slow down the sink rate
It worked a treat! size 1 7766, olive green and a touch of burnt orange polarfibre/craftfur
I cast to one monster milkie and my bad casting land the fly on its head and that was the last time I saw that one
I scare a few more, lead a few by too much
But eventually I get the cast just right, using a figure 8 strip (takes me back to my trout nymphing days) - the fish hardly had to move - but did verge towards the fly and sipped it down - much to my joy and excitement
I have not seen line disappear that fast in such a short time - in a very long time - even the tuna I caught earlier in the day were made to look slow in comparison
Got it back to the boat eventually but three runs it took and eventually it wore through the 20lb leader (or took advantage of the wear and tear of the earlier tuna and I didn't bother to change the leader more likely!)- I almost had it in the net three times before the leader broke - bugger! bugger! bugger!
must target these speedsters more often!
I modified another fly, then hooked up very next cast but it managed to throw the hook (??) near the end of the first run
and that was it! they all left the area
but........
I was living the SWOFFING dream!
Who would not want to live in Darwin with all the SWOFFING ops it has!
Not the first few hours of boredom of course - but definitely everything after!! you bet ya!
Will edit that video tomorrow evening i have of that first tuna - hopefully post it in next blog.
Until then - are not longtails a gorgeous fish! (see below - so fat too!)
