BOAT DRAMAS

For our first trip in the salt following Cyclone Debbie, we had a flexible plan. We'd like to chase Tuna, but we weren't sure where the bait would be and if the water would be clear enough for them. All that didn't seem to matter when the motor started to cough as we were leaving the Marina. A quick U turn and a temporary spot moored amongst the fleet of yachts and big boats followed while Dad worked on the issue. It's never a good sign seeing tools and boat panels on the floor of the boat, especially when today was the only window for flat water fishing we've had for the past fortnight. It seemed like a fuel delivery issue but with ~220L of fuel on board, it wasn't due to empty tanks. After working on it for a while, we fired up the big Merc and listened, hoping to hear it purr. After letting it idle with a few initial coughs, we headed out of the Marina for a test run and it was smiles all round as the motor was running perfectly. Enough of the drama, it was time to go fishing.

We headed up the island and found relatively clear water but a lack of birds. There seemed to be small amounts of bait spread throughout the bay, meaning the Tuna were also spread out. The schools we found were those of smaller Mac Tuna which we great fun on the road we use to catch bait, but not worthy of a photo. We managed a few small Mackerel also but overall it was a quite day but ended much better than it started. We expect the system will settle back into a more predictable pattern over the coming weeks.