stories

A good days fishing

an experience of food

Aussies love a good days fishing and a great fishing story. So here's one of mine of a fishing charter my friends and I recently took off the coast of Exmouth! It was great, 5 customers in total and 2 crew on a 26ft boat. I was the only female, in a debatable 'man's world'. We trawled out with each having the chance to land a light game fish. D* landed a lovely Spanish mackerel! As did another guy on the trip but his was a whopping 1.5 meters long weighing in just over 20 kg! Once about 20 miles out we bottomed fished with hand lines. For ages it seemed like I wasn't going to catch a fish, with D* and the others landing sweet lip snapper, large Rankin cods, etc. just after 11 we (set off on the trip about 7) I landed a beautiful coral trout!! About 75cm what a fight it was!
 
The crew said the flesh would cost $50 to $60 a kg in the shops! After a few more sweet lip snapper and spangled emperor were landed we headed back in with T* and I left to catch a light game fish from trawling.
 
All of a sudden I was on! The rod was screaming, the boat was in frenzy and I somehow managed to get the rod in the belt and began to wrestle with this monster on the end of my rod which was now bent right over with weight and force!
 
After what seemed ages and a burning sensation running through my arms, I had landed a great big yellow fin tuna! I was beaming ear to ear! Shortly after getting the lures out and increasing speed we were back on! T* was up there reeling in another monster... D* managed to get the awesome fight on video with T* landing a Spanish mackerel around a meter long!
 
Once back on shore and dividing the days catch we headed back to camp, exhausted and dying for a beer. That night we cooked up the coral trout in the camp kitchen amongst a group of backpackers eating 2 minute noodles and hovering around the hot plate... we stuffed ourselves... the whole coral trout...YUMMO! We were living like kings and what a day!
 

 
Thanks to
Ruth Annesley
from Where ever the road takes me..
on 12/06/2006

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