I’D just like to share with you a story of the highs and lows of a recent trip to Lucinda (FNQ).
Now I’m not a great fisherman but I certainly like having crack. I don’t get out on the water as much as I’d like but I do like to spend a week or so at Lucinda with the family during the September school holidays.
Every year at this time they host a fantastic family based fishing competition and we always like to watch the fish being weighed (and occasionally weigh in some of our own).
Last year my oldest son Sam and I were the only ones from the family to give it a go. Luckily the weather was good and we could get out to the local islands (Palm Island group) and try to chase some Spanish mackerel around (and try we did). After trolling around all day without a bite I suggested we have a go at jigging as I could see fish right down at the bottom.
Now I had never tried jigging before and Sam had no idea what I was talking about so I proceeded to show him what I had only read about myself. I lobbed in a big knife jig, let it sink to the bottom then started working it up and down while describing what I was doing to Sam.
Well blow me down, but I got a big hit there and then on the first drop! I made sure he was hooked well and started to fight him up when Sam asked if he could bring it in. Of course neither of us had caught a fish all day but I do have a rule on my boat that the youngest on board gets to pull in the first fish (gotta keep them interested). So I handed my rod over to Sam and after a short struggle he managed to pull up a huge Spaniard so he was pumped.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard we tried jigging for the rest of the afternoon we couldn’t jag another one so went back to the ramp with only one fish on board.
Well the mack ended up being Sam’s PB (and would have been for me too) and as it was the largest Spaniard weighed in by a Junior, Sam won a great little rod and reel so we were all over the moon.
It wasn’t until they announced the largest Spanish mackerel for the Seniors that we realised Sam’s fish would have won the Seniors category as well and if I’d have kept winding it in I would have won a $200 fishing outfit, but instead it went to a much smaller fish.
But hey, them’s the breaks, it was all worth it to see Sam as proud as punch standing on stage with his winning fish and receiving his prize.
Keen young fisho Sam with his Spaniard that took out the Juniors category at a recent fishing comp in Far North QLD.
