FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
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Fishing Port Douglas
Dawn is breaking, time to go fishing.
Port Douglas is situated on the northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The reef goes for over 2000 miles along the coast and extends out to the area of 30 – 40 miles off. It is actually a series of reefs dotted all along the coast. From small to big, many are named. We fished Chinaman, Three Sisters, and many more that were unnamed.
I had made arrangements with Dragon Lady Charters before I went. I did the usual research and the reviews on Trip Advisor were great, basically the best reviewed thing to do in Port Douglas. I booked through Fishing Port Douglas and Lynton coordinated everything. It was very reasonably priced and the booking was handled professionally, so my thanks to Lynton.
http://www.fishingportdouglas.com.au/
The Dragon Lady is a 34ft offshore fishing boat based in Port Douglas. I booked 2 days and left a couple open depending on how it went. My main goal was just to spend some time trolling the reef and just experience being there. This is light tackle season, basically the marlin and tuna are not there at this time. For the big marlin it is fall: October, November, and December. This is called the heavy tackle season when the big fish are there. So I had no expectation of catching marlin, but did want to catch some of what they call Spanish Mackerel, which I have seen on tv. Looking a lot like our kingfish, they get big but unlike our kingfish are good to eat. Of course I was cool with whatever happened to jump on the line. I just really like offshore trolling.
Can you say anticipation?
I met Capt. Steve the owner and Capt. Louie who would be the deck hand for the day. We headed out and started trolling after about an hour trip. Our spread was 2 big shallow running minnow baits on the center lines and one skirted bait and one regular trolling bait on the outriggers. Our first bite was on a skirt/ballyhoo, which they call a garfish. Unfortunately must have been a small nick in the line as it parted way above the swivel. So we kept at it and finally had a bite on a crank bait.
Capt Louie and me. We are having fun now!
If there was one thing that I thought I would not catch on this trip was a marlin. A juvenile blue marlin whacked a minnow bait then jumped and went absolutely nuts all the way to the boat. We boated him for a quick picture and back in he went. It was the first marlin boated there this year that they knew about. In fact we had a few other bumps on the minnow bait over the next couple of days, the boys said that marlin often hit it with their bill first and that is what those bites probably were. Little did we know that it would happen again a couple of days later.
A couple of Spanish Mackerel. A great fight and a cool fish!
‘We continued trolling and finally got a couple of Spanish mackerel in the boat. After the first bite everything that bit the rest of the day came on the big minnow baits. If memory serves me well we trolled in the 5 – 6 mph range. It was a great day on the water and topping it off with a marlin was just plain crazy. He may have been small, but guess what? I caught a marlin on the Great Barrier Reef. Steve and Louie were great, the eats were good, and they are good guys to spend the day with. I was really looking forward to the next day.
Day 2
The next morning we got started at 8:00. One thing I wanted to try today was popper fishing for a Giant Trevally. Louie was captain today and the first mate was Cam. Louie has been fishing with Capt. Steve for 3 years. Getting a guide license is not as easy as it is in the US. But at 23 Louie got his license last year and in his first year of heavy tackle they wired a grander over a 1000. For his first season it was unusual, and I predict if he keeps after it he will be one of the hot young captains on the reef.
We started on a reef that usually holds GTs, but did not raise a fish. It was dead calm and hot and humid as heck today. Bait was everywhere, with the occasional bust, but try as we might we could not raise a fish. Interesting how it is done. You make a cast from the corner then move to the other corner and the next guy casts, and keep alternating. The popper itself is the size of a small car, and ripping and popping is nothing short of work. With that not working, and being 90 degrees and humid as heck, we headed off to do some bottom fishing.
Using cut bait we did the drop straight down thing, and you never knew what you would catch next. Our main quarry was a big nannygal, but unfortunately did not put one in the boat. I had a great trout on, and on the way in felt a bump, then it went slack, then bump, and as I reeled in what was a good keeper, a fairly big shark was swimming along reducing him to nothing but a head.
We kept moving and dropping, catching fish wherever we fished, but nothing much in the size department. A little later in the day I had a really big fish on when bump, bump, and then gone. The leader was chaffed way up the line, another shark feeding on my nice fish. Finally we set up for a troll back in. We put a scaly mackerel in the boat and had a few other misses, but for the day it was slow. Just like fresh water, no good tide, dead slick and mile high sky is just not the best fishing conditions no matter where you are.
Day 3
All that day’s fishing did for me was make me want more. I really enjoyed those couple of days and wanting more booked another day. The plan today was just trolling. I did the bottom fishing just to do it, but I love the throb of the big diesels, watching the baits as they make a smoke trail, and seeing the occasional blow up.
Today it was almost noon before we got our first bite. This time it was on the trolling lure. We had a knock down on the outrigger but no taker. Cam grabbed the rod and jerked the bait back and forth and felt one tap it. The fight was on and after a good fight in the boat came my second marlin of the trip. He only jumped a few times by the boat and Cam did a great job of billing it. A quick pic and in he went, maybe to end up a grander one day.
This was so unusual that people in town were actually talking about the boat catching 2 marlin in 3 days. That moment made my trip, again. When you talk about expectations vs. reality, this was clearly the case. In my wildest dreams I did not think we would catch a marlin, much less 2. Now I can say I caught 2 marlin on the Great Barrier Reef.
My second blue marlin. You always see my ugly mug so here is Capt. Louie and Cam, they were just as excited as I was.
We caught 6 or 7 fish today, and 3 of them were small bonita, which we caught a few of both days of trolling. 2 were small, perfect skip baits for heavy tackle season so in the freezer nice and straight they went. Who knows, maybe some one will catch a grander on one this fall.
My last fish, a scaly mackerel. And a bonita headed for heavy tackle season.
The fishing was not fast by any means, but it was as good as I could have hoped for. It has given me a bad case of wanting to go back for heavy tackle season. Being on the reef is a real experience, and the thought of hours of trolling a skip bait waiting on the bite of a lifetime is driving me nuts right now.
The happy crew and customer.
I give props to the crew, they were competent and just plain fun to be around. They have added a second boat to the fleet and are looking to replace the main boat in the future. Capt. Louie is a good fisherman and the sky is the limit for him. Putting granders on the end of the line is what it is all about and he is just the guy for the job. I don’t know if I will ever get back there, so many places to fish on this earth, but if I do it will be with these guys.
Day 4 The Daintree
Headed in with Capt. Jamie.
Back to the reality vs. expectations. We booked one day with Jamie Beitzel on the Daintree River. The hope was to catch a barramundi, a bucket list fish for me, and see some saltwater crocs while we were at it. Unfortunately neither of those things happened. The lesson learned from that is I should have checked the tide tables before booking.
The river mouth and the ferry, the only way to cross the river and get into the tropical Daintree rain forest.
When we started in the morning the tide was just up and the water was barely moving, and it would not move the rest of the day. So with the water way up in the creeks and mangroves we started with live bait on deep brush piles. We caught a variety of fish, snappers, trevally, and small what looked to me like groupers but were juvenile cod. We kept moving when my lovely wife had the bite of the trip. (Of course not counting the marlin!)
One crazy fish and a hell of a tussle!
After a big tussle Jamie boated her shovelnose shark. We caught a similar fish on PINS shark fishing, which was a guitar fish. With so many different names for fish it was hard to tell if it was exactly the same fish, but it sure looked like it. Nancy handled it like a pro and it goes down as one of the cool catches on my trips.
Next we went up an arm of the Daintree to the edge of an area that is no fishing. They have several large areas on the river that are protected and it ensures the area will be great fishing for decades to come. We anchored up in about 30 foot of water and he gave me a light spoon/jig which he said to cast out, let sink, then jerk back to the boat. On my second cast one tapped it and the fight was on. This thing went absolutely nuts, jumping like crazy, I thought it was a tarpon.
Tarpon have nothing on a Queenfish. What a jumper!
It turned out to be a queenfish, which looked like a member of the jack family, but is not. It was every bit as exciting to catch as a tarpon and was a great jumper. His jumps were epic and once he got sideways was a load. Then to really put a stamp on reality vs. expectation the next fish I hooked on the spoon was a tarpon. Just like catching the marlin, a tarpon was clearly the last thing I thought I would catch. Theirs do not get real big, and this one was maybe 6 – 8 pounds and flopped off at boat side. We tried it in one other place without success, but there were quite a few small tarpon rolling in that arm of the river. They catch them on a fly rod, and as an interesting side note to you long rod guys, not only can you boat a marlin on a trip, there are permit here. Would make for a great multi species trip.
This, that, and the other. They all liked live bait.
To finish off the afternoon he kept the boat off the bank and I threw the Controlled Descent plastics trying to boat a barra. The tide was not moving, and other than one rolling on it, I never had a bite from a barra. On the other hand I caught small jacks and a couple of small snappers on it. Then I caught a couple of the most interesting fish I have ever caught, the Archer Fish. I have seen them on TV, they are the ones that spot bugs and small stuff on limbs close to the water and spit them off. It has a groove in the top of his mouth to make the kill shot by spitting. A cool fish, who would have thought it would hit plastics.
You just never know what you will catch. One of a couple of archer fish on the Controlled Descent Lures. I am sure I am the only guy I know who has caught one of these crazy fish.
It was a really nice day, it rained on and off all day and really cooled off from what it was the first few days in Port Douglas. Jamie was an interesting fellow. His parents drove to the end of the road long before this area was known and spent their lives commercial fishing. He was able to buy a place in what is now the Daintree park, and has a place that is off the grid, and he said, “I haven’t been anywhere”. He is the quintessential Australian, hardy and self sufficient. His history of the area was great and he was a very accommodating guide. So no barra or big croc, but a big shovelnose shark, an acrobatic queenfish, and even a tarpon made it a special day. Traveling to new places it really helps to temper your expectations, you just never know.
The mangroves. Looking off to the Daintree forest.
So that is how the fishing went. At no time was it fast by any means, but on the other hand there is just something magical about marlin. Big or small, they are a beautiful fish and seeing them coming to the boat all lit up is one of the great sights in fishing. This was really a great example of expectations vs. reality. The Great Barrier Reef is all that and more, and the Daintree was the coolest river I have ever fished. I hope I live long enough to make it back to Port Douglas. It is a fisherman’s dream and I barely scratched the surface of the fishing, much less getting to snorkel and explore everything else there is to do there. And you know what? I am still that young kid with dreams of big black marlin, and this trip did nothing to dispel that dream. Heavy tackle season has moved to the top of my bucket list. And take my word for it, you can get a bigger boat or spend more money, but you will not have a better day on the Great Barrier Reef with anyone as good as the crew of Dragon Lady.
Only memories left.
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What’s for supper? Chinese again?
I am not sure when gold was discovered in this area, but it was the 1800’s sometime. Along with Australian miners 10,000 Chinese landed and started mining gold. According to a couple of stories we heard the aboriginal tribes in the area practiced cannibalism and before it was over there were only 1,000 of the original Chinese miners left. Australia has a great and wild history, and on our next leg of the trip we learned much about the beginnings of the state. Convicts and cannibals, no wonder they are such a hardy and interesting people.
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I want to take a minute to add a few general observations on Australia.
- The Roads. They are great and it is clear they spend money on keeping up the infrastructure.
- Bathrooms. They are everywhere and clean. Whether on the road, or wandering around any town, there are clean public restrooms everywhere.
- Safety. I have never been in a large city, much less the smaller towns and felt so safe.
- Guns. After a big mass shooting the government banned most guns. There are no pistols, semi autos of any caliber, much less ARs. About the only people that have them are landowners of a certain size, gun club members after extensive checks, and the cops. I am a 2cnd Amendment guy so do not get your panties in a wad. But it was interesting that there were no shootings, zero, while we were in country. And not one 7-11 got held up by your friendly gang banger.
- Tax. It is included in most prices, and is paid directly from the seller to the government. Not saying it was less but it sure made buying stuff easier.
- Running a tab. In the pubs, I confess I lurked in a few, they have an interesting and efficient way to keep track. You give them your credit card and they put it in a book and give you one back with your number on it. As you buy another beer or supper they just pick it up and swipe it. Whether time to settle up, or just getting another drink, it is an easy and efficient way to keep track without having to grab your card or your name every time.
- Driving. Don’t get me wrong, the other side of the road is freakin’ different, but the drivers in Australia are so polite. No real horn honking or aggressive driving, the traffic laws are very strict. DWI is 0.05, a little over half of what they are here, and is considered a major crime. In fact, some taxis offer a ride home for you and they bring your car. What a great idea.
- The People. Traveling to some countries you realize that things get done when they get done. Australia is similar. “No worries Mate.” is a manta you hear quite often. In this case it is more of a mind set that seems to be prevalent throughout the country. Americans can learn a lot from that one, take a breath and relax, it will all work out.
- The Food. Lots of seafood obviously, and they are big shrimp eaters, which are generically called prawns. They have cool pies, which are a form of the pot pie, but are available in convenience stores and in small cafes. They come in all types and are really good and reasonably priced. I ate kangaroo loin among other things, and most of the food we ate was good. It can be expensive, especially in the big city, but if traveling on a budget good cheap food is available everywhere.
- Cost. Australia is not a cheap trip, but with the exchange rate we got $1 aud for every 0.78 US. So while it seemed expensive you could take the 24% off the price for the exchange rate, and then the 25% that was government tax and basically the cost was the same as in the US. Stay or eat at a fancy place and it was expensive, but there were plenty of low cost food and accommodations available.
- Guide licensing. Unlike the US to get a captains license requires hundreds of document hours with a real captain, then an 8 weeks school. They are proficient at navigation, maintenance, and first aid. They are inspected by up to 3 agencies and have extensive documentation requirements. Here you are guaranteed you get a real captain, not some weekend warrior.
- Tipping. It is generally not done. Part of that is the minimum wage is over $17.00 and the help in food service are paid a living wage. Every where we went the service was great and they really did appreciate our business.
- Gambling. They love their betting on sports and horses. In fact the daily papers all include the racing form. They have small casinos here and there with machines, called pokies. We actually went to a big one in Sydney, and my home girl won enough to pay for the whole evening.
- One huge country. Australia is massive and there is no way you can see it all, even if you live there. We met one lady who traveled and camped in country for 2 years and did not see it all. The Boss spent 6 months of research to decide what we wanted to see and do. We wanted country side, big city, and the reef. If you ever go spend the time to do your research, there is never enough time.
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It really was the fishing trip of a lifetime, and only left me wanting more. I hope you get how much this trip impressed me, this is one fine country. And the Port Douglas area should be a destination on any trip to Australia. There is so much to do there, and we did not even scratch the surface of what the Great Barrier Reef has to offer, I could have stayed a month, or a lifetime. I have one other post to do on our trip and that is on our last destination, Sydney. One of the great cities in the world it was all it was cracked up to be. It is off to the lake in the morning, back to real life. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
