Australia East Coast Trippin

Trying to get people to come diving with you can be hard enough,  but trying to get them come back for a second time can be even harder.   When you add angry Kangaroos, Great White Sharks, boats that don’t float and cars that should be sunk it can be next to impossible.  So went my buddy Brad Thornbrough and I’s trip to the East Coast of Australia this year and despite these minor annoyances we managed to have the time of our lives and spear some great fish along the way.

After celebrating my birthday for a few days longer than we should have, we headed North from Sydney in my newly purchased  1984 Toyota Corona Station wagon  wondering if the bargain price of $1100 AUD was a hint that the reliability of our chariot could be in question.   Only a week earlier I had been invited down to dive a reef a few hours south of Sydney that rose from a few hundred feet to within 80 and held hoards of baitfish, Yellowtail Kingfish (California Yellowtail) and what I was really after, Black Marlin.  As we drove I told Brad of my trepidation at getting into the 60 degree water and then  within seconds watching as my dive partner dives down and shoots a 20 lb. Kingie.  As he’s stringing the fish I’m looking down into the dark green water and see a gigantic shape materialize from directly below and feel my heart sink at the realization that this is it, I’ve been in this cold ass water 5 minutes and here comes what we fear the most,  a Great White Shark, what was I thinking!     Just as I am preparing to scream like a little girl the entire form comes into view and the Largest Sea Lion ever zooms in and latches its jaws onto the fish.  Without a second thought the Aussie dives down and pokes the beast in the neck only to have the 1000 lb. animal turn, bare its 3 inch teeth and scream at him underwater. OK it’s yours.

A few hours later everyone except me had seen Marlin and been unable to get shots off and now they all wanted to leave to go hunt Yellowtail.  I urged them to make one more drift and within minutes of returning to the water a 400+ lb. marlin comes in to look at the Flasher and I dive to intercept him.  As I come to within 10 feet I pull the trigger and watch as the shaft penetrates through his broad shoulders and the fish shudders before taking off with me in tow.  15 minutes and a half a mile later another marlin is swimming  back and forth behind the wounded one and cuts the 400 lb. mono before turning and charging straight at my chest, stopping and turning so close I can almost reach out and touch him before disappearing into the depths with his comrade.  Not my day.

Back in the boat I beg to make another drift but now no one wants to get back in the water because they tell me as I was fighting the marlin the 2.5 ft dorsal fin of a Great White was accompanying me in my quest to land the marlin.  Thanks for looking out for me guys.

So with that story in mind Brad and I arrive at my friends place in a small town a few hours up the coast and hitch his dilapidated old Land Cruiser to an equally gorgeous14 ft tinnie.  As we’re bouncing along the road enroute to the beach my Aussie friend is telling us that this boat tends to sink so just pull it up on the rocks if she starts to go.  Great.  After beach launching the boat we dodge surfers and punch out through the head high waves and head to a rocky headland a few miles distant.  This being Brads first time wearing a wetsuit and having just heard my story on the drive up, it takes a few minutes in the water before he is comfortable amongst the kelp and dirty water.  One of the most prized fish in Australia is a Mulloway or Jewfish which are very similar to our White Sea bass on the West Coast of the US but with slightly different habits. These fish generally are found alone or in schools around structure in all depths of water but have a strange affinity for fissures and holes in the rocks(much like Ulua holes) except right in the  breaking seas against the rocks.  Because few spearo’s desire to get smashed on the rocks, the fish in these “Jewie holes” are usually pretty safe.  We searched a few empty holes and then I swam to the farthest point  of the headland and made a dive following the rocks to their termination in the sand.  As I cruised the edge at 40 feet I made out a dark shape far out in the sand and swam over to find an enormous stingray with no less than 20 cobia swimming around him. As the fish swirled above the ray I picked out the largest at the back of the school and released the shaft hitting him mid-body. As I reached the surface I yelled for help as the float line I had intended to use for 25 feet of water amongst the rocks came tight in my hands and I held on to the beer can size float as it took me in tow.  With a  second shot to the brain we took the 65lb fish to the boat and headed off  to catch our limit of lobsters before calling it a day.

After hearing stories of large Yellowtail and marlin in an area to the north we headed north to meet another of our friends Doug and Dan Hanning  who had trailered his boat from Brisbane.  Now with a more reliable boat we were able to venture further and our first stop was a FAD buoy to see if we could land a few Dolphin(Mahi-Mahi) or hopefully a Marlin.  With nothing happening there we came inshore to a deep reef loaded with bait to find nothing but lots of very interested bullsharks in the 10 ft range.  (We were told that evening by the boat fishing beside us that they ended up catching 5 marlin during the course of the day so we should have stayed.) We braved them for and hour before giving up and exploring the many rocky headlands and small islands in search of Jewies and Kingfish.  Reaching a small headland with some current we drift 20 feet from the rocks in 40-60 feet of water and Brad and I both see a school of fish we have never seen.  “Jewies!!!  Shoot them!” I yell and dive to the massive school shooting the closest one I see. Stoned!  Reaching the surface I yell that I have stoned one and begin hauling him in.  Within a few seconds though the line goes limp and up through the foam comes an empty shaft.  Arghhh.  I reload quickly and dive again laying in wait in a fissure as the spooked school rushes past me and fire as another 45lb one comes through.  This time the shaft has penetrated fully and I realize the power of these gorgeous fish.  In the boat we figure my first shot hit the fish in the spine paralyzing him and with the current and foamy water he either came back to life or drifted away before we could find him. On our next drift we found a good area and while chumming and using the flasher, began to bring some fish in.  Watching from the surface, I see Brad dive down and intercept a pair of large yellowtail shooting the closest one and landing him after a vigorous fight.  A few minutes later and a trio of cobia arrive and he again dives to 50 ft and repeats the scenario landing another 1^st species for the second time in less than an hour.   Over the next few hours we see dozens more cobia and some Yellowtail kingfish and end the incredible day with a pair of Cobia and yellowtail as well as my first Australian Jewfish.

The next few days the weather turned bad and after camping for 3 days with Red Backed spiders who were also sick of being in the rain we decided we had to get in the water no matter what.  Now boatless, we were still determined to dive the area we had found a few days prior and set out to make it happen.  The spot has  good diving, but it is in the middle of a national park, so we had to hike in. From the carpark on the hill we could see the beach far below and were relieved that only the first 20 minutes of the 2 mile hike was uphill. The downward slope ended at a  100 ft cliff and after carefully making our way down we were at the waters edge.  All this with mask, fins, wetsuit, weightbelt,, and speargun. The .25 mile swim in a 6-8 foot swell was refreshing after the long walk and the fish were there.  Brad found the school and we dove simultaneously both shooting and landing 40 lb. fish. Most Australians have never even seen or had the chance to shoot a Jewfish so we were both pretty stoked. What we did not consider, however, is that we now had to climb back out of the water, up the cliff, and up through 2 miles of national forest to get to our car, all while carrying our dive gear and each with a 40 pound sea bass. Of course this all coincides with the first clearing of the clouds in a week and the heat damn near killed us both. Probably the most exhausting thing I have done in several years. Over all, the entire mission took 5 hours and Brad almost had to leave me for dead on the climb back.  We both swore never to do it again but they were by far the most well earned fish of both of our lives.

Having secured our first Jewies with the utmost of difficulty, they now seemed to be everywhere we looked.  Some days we would see a few dozen and our Australian friends started coming to visit us to put them on fish.  One of the most memorable days in the water found Brad and I diving with Brett Craik and Dan Hanning some friends of ours who are top spearfisherman and land some of the best fish in the Brisbane area every year.  Having never shot jew fish, they were excited to come down and dive with us after hearing our tall tales. From years of diving for lobsters and fish that hole up in Florida and the Bahamas, Brad and I had quickly figured out that the best Jewies were right up in the holes and crevices in the rocks and you had to really commit to getting in there to shoot one.    This day Brad used only a Hawaiian sling and the boys watched as he out shot them 3 to 1.  At one point a good sized jewfish was making a run for it out in the sand and Brad dove and shot him at a distance of 15 feet while the boys looked on in disbelief.  I doubt that there are many people in the world who can claim shooting a White sea bass with a  Hawaiian sling, much less 3 in one day.  Incredible.

What was not so incredible however was our luck with vehicles.  One reason we got to know the areas we were so well is because we were stuck there.  Driving on one of the backroads from an evening surf session a giant kangaroo committed suicide and demolished the front of our beloved Corona.  From there it was down hill, or uphill I should say since the car died every time we tried to go up one.  Don’t speed in Australia, you will get a ticket.  We were stopped and the Officer laughed at us after looking at our car.  With 2 weeks of offroading the muffler was broken, front left side demolished, dirt everywhere, taillights out, damn Kanga!  Not to mention I was 30 over the speed limit.  20 miles further down the road the car died for good and we were forced to upgrade to a 1972 Toyota LiteAce which we burned the motor up on in less than 30 minutes and were stuck once again.

One of the wonderful things about diving in Australia is the accessibility of many of the good areas.  Up until this point every fish we had shot had been within a quarter mile of land and most within 50 feet of the rocks. Because of this is, its easy for local and visiting spearfisherman to get plenty of good diving in without having to use a boat.   A number of boats up and down the coast run reasonably priced charters however and it is worth it to get offshore and shoot some of the less frequented reefs and rocks.

My favorite area on the whole coast is just off of Brisbane in Queensland where the range of fish species from the North and South meet.  This area has coral reefs but at the same time holds normally cold water fish such as Yellowtail Kingfish and Blue Groper.  So it was with much enthusiasm that Brad and I ventured out to North Stradbroke Island for three days to dive and video as much as possible in the 100+ ft visibility.  After partying well into the night in downtown Brisbane we woke up early to take the Ferry across to Straddie and shortly thereafter met Steve Mckinnon just as he was launching his 25 ft RIB boat into the clear calm surf.  Our first stop was a reef 25 miles North off of Moreton Island that holds good bottom fish as well as Marlin, Wahoo and other Pelagics.  Upon entering the water on our first drift we found 5 kts of current but lots of fish and we got into a good rhythm of chumming and drifting and then doing it all over again.  On each successive drift we tried to cover a new area and each time were rewarded with Rainbow Runners, Cod, trout, Surgeonfish, Emperors and one of my favorites, jobfish (uku).  Shooting one jobfish at 80 ft, I looked over to see a 100 lb. cod rise off the bottom to investigate.  He was too deep however and Brad bottomed out his float line trying to reach him against the strong current.   We ended the day seeing a single Yellowfin tuna that never offered a shot in only 60 ft of water and headed in with a fishbox full of reef species.  That night the Aussie hospitality continued and we spent the night with our Captain as if we had been friends for years. Over a big dinner of fresh Jobfish, sautéed calamari and Victoria Bitter Beer we planned our bluewater attack for the next morning on a FAD buoy 6miles offshore.

The morning found us confronting 6 ft seas but with such a  short run out we made it there with little effort. Brad and I made the first drift on the buoy and were immediately surrounded by a school of 50 Mahi mahi.  We let them swim through once trying to find the largest ones and on their return I watch as Brad shoots a 10lb one with his Killer B Pole spear before I take a shot on one of my own.   Over the next hour we videoed and drifted with Brad taking a fish down with his Pole spear every time.  With a dozen fish in the box to 20 lbs. we head in to the protection of the inner reefs just a few hundred yards offshore that consistently hold a group of Manta Rays and Leopard Sharks.  Within seconds of entering the water we find the first Ray with a 10 ft wingspan floating in the current and he is shortly joined by 2,3, and then 4 others.  As incredible as it is to see these animals in the water we were more interested in the cobia that frequently accompany them.  After a half hour of searching for cobia we give up and lay our slings and guns on the bottom and take to hanging with the locals.  I dive to 40 feet and lay on the bottom next to an 8 ft Leopard Shark petting him on the head for a full minute before instinctively looking up as the sky grows dark and a Manta all but lays down on top of me. With Brad videoing  from above I turn and run my hands along the underside of the giant as he pushes me to the bottom.  Incredible.  We switch off with the camera for awhile alternately riding the Mantas and Sharks before we see what are undoubtedly World Record Spangled Emperors(much like a Mutton Snapper on the East Coast of the US) attracted to our commotion in the sand.   Hastily I grab my Rabitech from the boat and swim against the current to reach them again. Enroute I pass the Manta Rays and am surprised to see a trio of Cobia with them.  I dive and shoot the largest one who takes off straight down in front of the 1000 lb. Ray who in turn powers off as I hold on to the gun quickly breaking the 400lb shooting line.  I follow the 30lb cobia and with a Pole spear now in hand make the dive to 45ft and  shoot him down through the top of the head.  I think Brad almost drown laughing at me on my way to the surface as the fish beat me senseless before I was able to get a breath and dispatch him with my knife.  We finished the day diving an awash reef that was full of Painted Crayfish and Lobsters with Brad leading the charge into to white wash to retrieve the majority of our limit despite  the unfriendly conditions with 5 ft breaking waves.

There are so many things that I love about Australia making it such a great destination for Spearfisherman that I can’t list them all here.  Being able to hunt 5lb coral Trout and then look over to see a 400 lb Marlin or a 200lb Cod swim by just makes me shiver with anticipation each time I get in the water.  You never know what you are going to see.  The people up and down the coast love the ocean and as long as you are respectful will be more than happy to help you out in any way they can.  If you offer to return the hospitality, mean it.  Australians give very whole heartedly and don’t mince words, after you’ve visited with them and part ways telling them to come visit you can be sure they will.  Unlike us they travel a lot and you can expect to see them again.  Saying that, I need to buy a huge house as I owe a few dozen people for the incredible diving,  borrowed equipment, cars, comfortable beds,  nights on the town and most of all the memories.  Of course, after receiving an email from Brett this week of his 300lb Black Marlin, who would ever want to leave Australia in the first place?