P12 - FISH & BOAT, February 2019 Fishing Westerly Reds By Dan Kaggelis TThee pprospeecctt off biig rreddss oouutt ooff It was your typical Far Northshallow water is always one that Queensland summer doldrumbrings with it plenty of belief and forecast. Searing heat, heavy hu- determination which are two quali- midity, and a four-day window ofties you need when the fishing gets variable wind. It looked and sound- tough under the searing FNQ sun. ed perfect with one exception, the With a plan in place, we hit the wa- The author with the prized nanny for the trip. dreaded north westerly wind influ- ter where we were greeted by a solid ence. westerly influence which had me The old saying of ‘wind from the pointing the TABS out the mouth of north see few reef fishermen setthe Daintree River to some inshore forth, whilst wind from the south rubble and wonky holes along the will see hooks a plenty in the reef mid grounds. fishes mouth’ is taken very seriously The glassed-out conditions made by seasoned FNQ reef fishermen as for a quick trip out but a quick many have experienced those tough sound on the first wonky showed lit- north-west wind days when the reef tle promise with no signs of bait just refuses to give up any bounty. or fish and very little evidence With the north westers weighingthat it was even flowing. I’m heavily on my mind, I was as hesi- a firm believer that the lack tant to make the call, but the lure of of real rainfall for calm seas and the chance to bend a prolonged rod proved too hard to deny. pe- A plan was put in place in the best way possible- standing around the boat, talking crap whilst drink- ing a few bourbons. Discussions ri- mostly revolved around two things ods of we couldn’t figure out- the first was time can how Sean Marsh made it back in s ee many of the Aussie Cricket Team, and the the un- derwater second was how we were going to aqui- fers which outsmart the dreaded north west- fuel these wonky holes erly. We knew one thing – getting begin to dry up. out there on the first day of the good It’s the flow of water and weather was a must as the bite gen- nutrients coming out of these holes erally gets tougher the longer the which brings in the bait and then We continued to the next threeour inshore plan, but we decided toonly barren sand showing on the period of calm weather. The second the predatory fish, so no flow can spots for the same outcome, and a stick to our guns for a little longer sounder. A few deep breaths and a plan of action was to try something mean the wonky lies dormant orquick look at the deckies showed theand move a little further out to somefew cursed words calmed the nerves different and to hit up a few inshore even worse can close up entirely. westerly was well and truly winning deeper ground. Pulling up on the and I punched in the next mark. marks on the way out as they had A quick drop on the spot con-the battle. With an armada of boatsnext spot had me shaking my headI was just about to send the 115 proven in the past to be on fire dur- firmed the sounders reports with no hammering past us on the way toeven further with the wonky hole ing similar conditions. action at all. the reef we began to begin doubting completely gone altogether with Continued next page ZMan’s selection of big barra baits cover it all, from frogging There’s a TT Lures jighead that’s ideal for every barra bite the weed beds to prospecting the depths of big rivers and duty, chemically sharpened Mustad and Gamakatsu hooks. with a life-like natural buoyancy, yet incredibly strong. 3” MINNOWZ WARHEADS SWIMLOCKZ 4” DIEZEL MINNOWZ 5” GRASS KICKERZ SNAKELOCKZ CHINLOCKZ 4” & 6” SWIMMERZ 8” MAG SWIMZ 4” & 5” POP SHADZ REVLOCKZ HEADLOCKZ HD BUZZLOCKZ 4” HARD LEG FROGZ FIND TACKLE TACTICS ON