Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 Hey all... Just back from a great 8 days or so about 100km north of home in the world heritage listed Hinchinbrook Channel... This area contains one of the largest intact mangrove forests in Australia, and possibly even the world (well maybe, I'm not great with this, but it's a huge area).... Even though we were on our honeymoon we still managed to fish a couple of days... the first day being one of the best for me, as I caught all my fish on fly .... After our obligatory tiff at the start of the morning I soon hooked up to a couple of small Mangrove Jacks and a sexy little Barramundi.... The fly of choice was lightly weighted white clouser that I tied on a 2/0 or 4/0 SL12S We moved downstream from there and got absolutely monstered by something we (Lu and I) both picked for a big Mangrove Jack... The rest of the week was slow for the fly, and the remainder of my fish were caught using soft plastics (Sorry guys, I'm no purist )... And Lu doesn't fish with fly at all (she tried, but it's just not her thing... Anyway... my fishing highlights for trip were to come on Thursday when Lu caught her first ever legal fish (, a pikey bream, on a 3in atomic prong soft plastic), and a 45cm blue salmon (not a true salmon, infact not even related to the salmon you guys probably know) she sight cast to on Saturday with a gold "Reidy's" Little Lucifer (her first time out with a hard bodied lure)... Sorry 'bout the non-fly related bit, but I'm very proud of her, and think she did an awesome job.... pikey bream blue salmon Edit.... We also found a couple of spots in the freshwater that I'll head back to with some woolly buggers in the not too distant future... Jungle Perch will be on the menue for those trips... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ikerajala 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 I like the looks of that stream.It looks like it could be "bathtub warm"! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 I like the looks of that stream.It looks like it could be "bathtub warm"! Looks can be deceiving mate... water temp in those couple of streams while not cold, certainly weren't warm... probably about 12 to 15 degrees or so (which is FREEZING for this part of the world! )... But plenty warm enough to spot the jungle perch cruising round.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 great photos Dave love the baramundi and way to go Lu that's a beauty of a blue salmon kind of looks like a shark with scales Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 great photos Dave love the baramundi and way to go Lu that's a beauty of a blue salmon kind of looks like a shark with scales And sandpaper instead of teeth! I finally created the monster I've been looking for ... She didn't want to leave the water after hooking into that blue Saturday! (It's just a shame she doesn't like to fly fish... now that would create some arguments, at home and on the water !) We hooked into a couple of larger barras while we were there, but we just couldn't stay connected Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluegill576 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 Nice fishes! Is that a tennis racket grip on your fly rod? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2011 Nice fishes! Thanks mate.... You should've seen the ones that got away Is that a tennis racket grip on your fly rod? Yeah mate, one of the wind-on grips you can get. I think I have a spare somewhere... that particular rod is like a broom handle so anything to make it easier to cast / hang on too is very welcome... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyFishin'Jam 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2011 Nice Report Li'lDave, great mixed bag you got there - those salmon in the XL threadfin variety are crazy fun. Looking forward to seeing some cute little jungle perch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2011 Nice Report Li'lDave, great mixed bag you got there - those salmon in the XL threadfin variety are crazy fun. Looking forward to seeing some cute little jungle perch. Cheers mate... will be trying for the JPs this weekend and next... So fingers crossed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tailn'Jax 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 Those first three fish look just like our mangrove snappers here. Amazing to see such similar fish halfway around the world. Nice catching. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 Those first three fish look just like our mangrove snappers here. Amazing to see such similar fish halfway around the world. Nice catching. Cheers mate... How big do your Mangrove snappers get? I dropped a 50cm plus model at the boat last week... and also managed this baby in comparison (40cm).... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 Those first three fish look just like our mangrove snappers here. Amazing to see such similar fish halfway around the world. Nice catching. Cheers mate... How big do your Mangrove snappers get? I dropped a 50cm plus model at the boat last week... and also managed this baby in comparison (40cm).... Our mangos can get up to 10 lbs or so but those are usually caught out deep. Inshore they are usually less than 16 inches. I don't think they get too much beyond 20 inches or so, so your 50 cm (about 20 inches) would be a really nice mango. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 Those first three fish look just like our mangrove snappers here. Amazing to see such similar fish halfway around the world. Nice catching. Cheers mate... How big do your Mangrove snappers get? I dropped a 50cm plus model at the boat last week... and also managed this baby in comparison (40cm).... Our mangos can get up to 10 lbs or so but those are usually caught out deep. Inshore they are usually less than 16 inches. I don't think they get too much beyond 20 inches or so, so your 50 cm (about 20 inches) would be a really nice mango. Similarly, our "jacks" tend to head out to the reefs when they reach "maturity" A 50cm / 20in creek jack is a great catch, though have heard of them up to 30in ... Once out at the reef they continue to grow, but become increasing hard to catch.. They're the breeders anyway, so better off leaving them alone I reckon ... Our Fingermark (Golden Snapper), is another Lutjanid that can get up to 40in plus at times, but for some reason is much more accessible to fishers than the big jacks . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 Those first three fish look just like our mangrove snappers here. Amazing to see such similar fish halfway around the world. Nice catching. Cheers mate... How big do your Mangrove snappers get? I dropped a 50cm plus model at the boat last week... and also managed this baby in comparison (40cm).... Our mangos can get up to 10 lbs or so but those are usually caught out deep. Inshore they are usually less than 16 inches. I don't think they get too much beyond 20 inches or so, so your 50 cm (about 20 inches) would be a really nice mango. Similarly, our "jacks" tend to head out to the reefs when they reach "maturity" A 50cm / 20in creek jack is a great catch, though have heard of them up to 30in ... Once out at the reef they continue to grow, but become increasing hard to catch.. They're the breeders anyway, so better off leaving them alone I reckon ... Our Fingermark (Golden Snapper), is another Lutjanid that can get up to 40in plus at times, but for some reason is much more accessible to fishers than the big jacks . That sounds like our Cubera snapper, also a lutjanid that can reach over 100 lbs but usually are around 50 lbs or 20kg. They basically look like overgrown mangrove snappers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li'lDave 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2011 a small one (fingermark) caught on bait by my nephew... very nice eating at that size Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
