Two Days Fishing Moreton Bay
My family and I amazingly managed to escape the latest Sydney lockdown by flying into Brisbane, two weeks prior to a planned Keppel Island vacation. That said, it wasn't all plain sailing, and we were forced into 14 days of lockdown by the Queensland premier. Thankfully we were still allowed out to exercise, which happened to include fishing, and so this is exactly what we did. Over the course of our 14 day lockdown Nick and I took the boat our twice, both times in Moreton Bay, focusing in on the Peel Island area. We drifted bait over structure, picking up a handful of species including snapper, sweet lips, cod, tuskfish, and so many more. We also took the opportunity to tag some fish, giving back to the fishing community.…
Diving the HMAS Adelaide – Finishing my Advanced Open Water
Just over a month after starting my Advanced Open Water course I climbed into my car to head to Terrigal to finally complete it. Previously, poor weather had resulted in the second day of the course being cancelled, and I was itching to get back into the water to complete the training. I'd collected my gear from Frog Dive on Saturday, which included testing and marking my nitrox tanks, for my Enriched Air Diver training. If I haven't said it before, I'd highly recommend Frog Dive in Willoughby! The staff are incredible, and there's a real sense of community in everything they do. The early morning drive to Terrigal was amazingly beautiful, and I was left wondering why I hadn't visited the area before. Sunrise over the bay was stunning,…
Bonito on Fly in Middle Harbour
December Brisbane trip...cancelled due to Covid...April Brisbane trip...cancelled due to Covid... And so, on a beautiful April morning, I launched my kayak from the Tunks Park boat ramp, fly rod in hand. The plan for the day was to go after some pelagic species on fly, specifically the Sydney harbour kingfish. I wasn't sure what to expect, as Sydney had experienced mass flooding the prior week. And as a result, the water was murky brown, with a lot of suspended debris, as I paddled out towards the rising sun. Sunrise in Middle Harbour I opted to head towards the harbour mouth, hoping the water would be cleaner closer to the ocean. As it turned out, this proved to be a good strategy. The water colour quickly changed from muddy brown…
Half of my Advanced Open Water
Despite being new to diving, I was itching to get back into the water to do my Advanced Open Water certification. Why? Well, predominantly to open up a wide variety of exciting new dive sites, especially for our Great Keppel Island holiday in July (fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled due to Covid). I spent the week preceding the course reading over the course material, and taking the required exam. This escalated the day before the course, when I made a last minute decision to tack on a nitrox certification, which required some additional reading and another exam. I was surprised by just how little additional information there was in the Advanced Open Water training. The course consisted of 2 required modules, Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation, as well as…
Diving Fairlight
After missing out on the dives in Port Stephens, Sharon was itching to get back under the water. So when we got back to Sydney, we jumped straight onto the Frog Dive website and signed up for one of their free shore dives. They were fully booked for all of January (thanks mainly to the reduced numbers due to Covid), and so we put our names down for the first free dive, which was at Fairlight in February. Fairlight is located in the Northern Harbour, and is a good site for beginners, with a maximum depth of around 8 meters. In 1949, the Dutch submarine K XII beached here, where it remained until January, 1951, when it was finally refloated and towed up the Parramatta River. On Friday evening we…
Aussie Salmon on the New Rod
For Christmas I was gifted an Okuma Azores jigging spin rod (Z-S-602M) and a Daiwa Saltist 4500 spinning reel, and was itching to put it to the test. This despite the fact that it was intended for a deep sea fishing trip (that was cancelled due to Covid) and was definitely overkill for my fishing in the Sydney Harbour. None the less, I loaded up my kayak and headed out with the new rig, hoping to get into a decent kingfish, that would really put it to the test. I launched my kayak at Tunks Park boat ramp, and started trolling my way towards Clontarf. Normally I would focus on fly fishing the likely holds, and troll a single rod as I moved between spots. However, since I was out…
A Wet Port Stephens – Fishing and Diving – The Video
https://youtu.be/AQHHMvaz22k It may have rained for most of the week, but we didn’t let this slow us down. We did some deep sea fishing, dived with ragged-tooth sharks (grey nurse sharks), raced toboggans, and so much more!
Diving with Sharks at Broughton Island
What’s the best things to do after getting PADI Open Water Diver certified? Jumping into the ocean with a bunch of sharks of course! Having had our Christmas trip to Brisbane foiled by Covid enforced border closures, we managed to find a single campsite in Port Stephens and quickly made a booking. Our mates then surprised us by making the long drive down from Brisbane, showing the ultimate level of dedication to spend New Years together. Amidst the rest of the fun, Nick and I decided to do a shark dive with Let's Go Adventures. We'd both grown up looking at ragged-tooth sharks at the aquariums in South Africa, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever be swimming with them...voluntarily. None the less, before I knew…
Diving Broughton Island – Ragged Tooth Sharks and a Starfish – The Video
https://youtu.be/O1c4U2Drt_4 Never a dull moment when you jump off a boat into shark infested waters! Diving North Rock Gutters, at Broughton Island, with grey nurse sharks was definitely an experience I won’t quickly forget, and highly recommend.