There's something special about fishing and succeeding on your own in a place usually reserved for massive boats, huge swells, huge game reels, expensive charters & loads of experience, especially when you are as inexperienced in game fishing as we are.
When I mentioned to the blokes at work that we were thinking about heading down to Portland I was laughed at, "hey alby, this ringpoker reckons he's gonna fish Portland in a 5.2 hahahaha". There are so many misconceptions about Portland & what is laughable is some of the dollars spent on boats and gear all to catch the same tuna we were catching. It was a sight to see when we had a triple hook up on our gummy outfits in 3-4 metre seas 500m from Lawrence rock, while 2 x 7m+ Haines hunters with outrigers trolled 4 rods @ 24kg gear around for an hour and watched us land 3 12kg tuna and go from 1 fish to bagging out in one hookup. Not only do they have the $150,000 Haines hunter which costs $500 to fill up but it's the $150,000 F-250 used to pull it. So it can be very nerve racking backing your little girl in with the glaring eyes from all the big players.
I couldn't believe how nervous I was as stinga backed her down the ramp & I drove her off. I felt like a virgin again nervously about to have sex for the first time.. Which was around last week some time. It was 3.00pm on our first day & all the big boys were back looking like they'd just come of the deadliest catch with smears of tuna blood under there eyes in full wet weather gear and boy did we feel intimidated. The Adrenalin was pumping due to the current forecast of 3-4 metre swells & 1-2 metre seas. It was pretty rough straight out of the harbour and the mood was very somber as the seawater sprayed our faces like the ending Debbie does Dallas. Not a word was spoken as I think we were both thinking, "were not gonna get out here". As we rounded Lawrence rock and at a 6 knot trolling speed it wasn't too bad. Sure stinga battled to set the spread but we were soaking lures and it was waiting time.. 10 mins in "SNAP Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" the elastic band snapped and off went both ratchets... Much the same as my first sexual encounter I got way too excited and finished too quick, i panicked and pulled back on the throttle instantly which inturn lost pressure on the line and didn't complete the hook up..
Stinga wasn't happy, the tension was high, the sought of tension that could only be released over a few fine reds by the open fire back at camp..... I mean by seeing a blue fin hit the deck.
Day one was done & dusted & we were thankful pulling up at the ramp that no one was there to see our scorecard.. Confident in tomorow as the weather was better and we had learnt from my mistake.
1.00pm
6 hits/0 fish. 6.5 hrs on the water. Doubt had set in. We were now not only doubting our ability as fisherman, but stinga was starting to question his sexuality. Further more by the reports coming in on the VHF that everyone had already bagged out.. Finally just as the topic of discussion had moved from fishing to would you eat a nugget from your dog weekly for an extra centimeter where it counts?... On divulging the hard issues of today's society "SNAP zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" off went the Penn international and I dove on it.. The big 24kg had no trouble bringing it and 5 mins later our first ever southern blue fin tuna had hit the deck of our little boat. Adjulation, high 5's were being thrown a missed in the rolling swell. What a stunning fish and what a huge amount of blood all over us and the boat. The monkey was off the back and we then spotted a school just off Lawrence rock & ive never seem so much action. There must have been 1000 birds 100 dolphins and seals, and it was then when we triple hooked up with only two of us in the boat as the big boys watched on...We have never had so much fun, we reeled them in as they unsuccessfully tried to get away from the seals.
Day 3 & my old boy joined us today. We were plotting every hook up on the hds and after a while a pattern starts to emerge and we found that they were all in 50-80m of water 5km east of the lighthouse. Thats the benefit you get when you set aside a few days to a trip. What a sight it was to see my old man land his first tuna, smile from ear to ear and he was stoked. Today was unlike the first two days and after our first fish we had dropped down to our gummy gear & were having a ball.. 7/7 today and we were on our way back in by 10.30. The drop down in gear was a great decision and what you can really notice is the way each fish fights. Our biggest at 13kg came straight in as a 10kg one took stinga 20 mins to get in.. We ditched the spread and just ran two rods.
Alot of people have asked what lures are working but it can be different on any day.. The 2nd day was purple, the next yellow and blue and they didn't touch the purple but to be honest when they're that thick I really think they would take a carrot with a hook in it..
We didn't jump into Portland blind.. An absolute non negotiable is safety gear. We spent over $1000 on making sure our boat was up to standard because if it goes pearshaped out there, your in trouble.. I wasted around a week checking the weather every hour to make sure it was alright and I still thought it was sus heading out. Our boat is a 520c Haines signature with a 115 yamaha 2 stroke. 3-4m swell with 1-2 metre seas is fishable in our vessel but that would be the limit.. The Haines sig has really high sides for a small boat which was a godsend when trolling across the swell.. We barely ran our bildge so if your sides are smaller I wouldn't risk it in those conditions.
On fuel our yam drinks more than a thirsty Russian but our 100 ltr tank lasted till 3.30pm from 6.30am then we put a 20 ltr Jerry in. Be extra careful putting jerrys in, because in rough conditions the seawater can so easily contaminate the fuel...
Don't be scared to fish lighter, if u get busted of by a big one then so be it, It will be back. Mitch chapman & Adam Ring from Tackleworld were nailing them on 6kg gear aboard Bigtime this week so 24 is such an overkill.
But most of all we asked question after question. We berated facebook for answers on how to do things, as well as the not so intimidating charter operators who are all fantastic blokes. We had a guy from sharkmen fishing charters fillet half our fish for us because he couldn't stand us hacking them up any more. And most people are more than happy to help. As amateur fisherman like ourselves we need To understand that charter operators, tackle shops and fishing professionals exist because of us, So ask the questions, and they are more than glad to help out on any queries.. We hope to repay Shaun Furtire for his words of wisdom with a big whiting charter shortly..
So when u hear that the tuna are in close, don't let people put u off and get down there. Be safe, ask questions and go collect your bounty because at the end of the day they tast AMAZING.
Tdogg and stinga
Our Portland album is on our facebook page
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