HERE’S the latest instalment of Fisho Writer’s Top 5 photos, this time featuring images from northern NSW based angler and respected writer, Dave Rae.
Dave’s captions explain the story behind his five selected photos.
Into the wild
This shot takes you into an area of angling that is really special to me; namely chasing bass and cod on remote water with a tent and a bit of food … and of course, good mate Mick! We’ve spent lots of nights camped beside the water, we’ve been visited by brumbies and snakes and enjoyed many a fire cooked steak. We often say we’ll cook a bass or a cod (Murray that is), but we haven’t managed to keep a fish yet. Maybe one day, or maybe not! You have to admit that if you are a fish-eater, the idea of peeling back the foil on a piece of cod does sound appealing.
Dad’s fishing buddy
At 17, daughter Maddison still remains “Dad’s Fishing Buddy” … this pic was taken in 2007 up on the Whitsundays. This particular day was a cracker with my wife cleaning up on coral trout in the shallows on SP’s and my little mate having a go after Dad did the casting. This was her last decent Spaniard. It took a dead bonito and went like the clappers; and the smile you might ask … well she’s pleased with her fish, but the smile is a regular event with this Princess!
Great memories
My love affair with the Great Barrier Reef is an ongoing one and this was my first ever underwater pic. It’s a red throated emperor that took a liking to a soft plastic. Chasing fish over the coral is SO much fun. Whether it’s a visual hit or not, once hooked most species bolt for the reef and extracting them successfully can become quite a tussle at times. I never win them all and have had some monumental bust-offs, particularly when a sizeable coral trout does the tasting. Snapped lines, failed knots, bent hooks and cut-offs are common place. On our last trip the teenagers started giving me a hard time every time I used “that was a trout!” after a bust-off.
Island holidays
Is there anything better than camping on an island and enjoying sunsets like this? I think not! Although from memory, we were enjoying a cold one on the sand knowing that coral trout was going to be the main course. This was taken during one of our many family camping holidays, and as the teenagers disperse into their 20s, these holidays hold a special place in their memories. It seems that we will continue with the island camping and that they will become even more special because it will be a time when we can all get together for a fortnight or more.
That’s not a GT
A fairly recent pic that was taken during a mothership charter to remote atolls with Sports Fishing PNG. Whilst I loved catching GTs, to the horror of the GT specialists, I had as much enjoyment connecting to reef fish like this red bass. There was an endless supply of massive trout, red bass and job fish to kept me entertained between GTs.
