EASTER

No time for easter eggs, it was another early wake up to beat the crowds to the boat ramp. First stop was not far from the ramp in search of Queenfish that we hoped would be stalking baitfish on low tide around shallow reefs. No luck there, no bait equalled no Queenies. So we gunned the weapon up to Fraser Island before the wind picked up. We were surprised to see a school of tuna close to shore on our way to Wathumba. Within a couple of casts, I was hooked up to a Mac Tuna. As usual, it was a tough fight prior to boating and releasing the fish. Next cast I was on again, this fish put up a stronger fight, ripping line and straining my wrist. It was a big relief to me and my wrist to get that fish in the net. Ouchie wawa. Unfortunately, the sight of a bent rod attracts other boats, otherwise known 'blowflies'. Yet again, the blowflies moved in and spooked the tuna school. We waited for the school to resurface while the blowflies moved on, but the fish were gone.

From here, our plan was to stay 5-10km off Fraser in search of Tuna schools but the increasingly strong SE wind throughout the morning was making it a bit difficult. The fish seemed well spread out so we headed in closer to the island in hope of finding some schools in more sheltered waters. It was slim pickings in close so we had lunch and started to head back down the island in hope of finding signs of Tuna. Almost immediately, we spotted birds working small schools of Tuna but these fish we very flighty and not interested in the variety of lures we put in front of them. This pattern was similar for the few fish we in this area. Unfortunately, the run home failed to produce any schools close to the island so it was back to the ramp by mid afternoon. Luckily, we retrieved just before rush hour as the ramp turned into a traffic jam.