One ups – Great Barrier Reef

A week with my new mate Stevo from Southhampton, 74 yr old , great attitude and a positive fella striving for new adventures and a want to catch some big fish!

Some epic conditions first up made for some great days on the water , eyeing off fish from the reef. Fishing on the outer barrier reef is wild; reef barely a metre under water, to a drop off hundreds of metres below.

Lost count of the mackerel catch, as swarms were filtering to the inside of the reef, fishing mainly along the edges we picked off numerous trout species , some vermin species in shark mackerel and the odd long Tom in a mix of blue trevally with its spectacular lightning blue always pleasing to the eye

Over 25 species caught in the first Coupla days had Steve very intrigued as to what fish we may land next. Trout? Trevally? Cod? 

Slow trolling with stick baits and poppers is a technique to give the angler a break from casting non stop. It is deadly.

When I first trialled, I was to believe the fish would be scared of a boat going over, but if you let the lures out far enough, it doesn’t seem to matter, with solid GTs, coral trout and emporers all coming to eat the lure. It’s a good way to get the fish off the reef too, accelerating when you get the hit , dragging them out from its hangs, increasing your chance of landing the fish. Even big Spanish mackerel patrolling the flats struck the lure a few times in surprise.

With glassy conditions, brings about another challenge. It’s quite the sight when you can see the fish drifting around the reef, but with this, the fish can see you!

Wondering if 150lb leader may to be to big, along with a larger 180 stick bait…. A change down to 100lb and a 120-160 sticky proved to be killer on a slower bite window.

Always exciting on the outer reef with such a diverse range of species. Literally, an all access pass to fish the worlds greatest aquarium