Ram Road Trip Part 11

With USA pickup knowhow my RAM Laramie 1500 is a vehicle I really enjoy driving.

The vehicle comes with a trailer brake controller for electric trailer brake systems and has the ability to store up to 4 different trailer configurations. This is a handy feature if you are towing different boats from time to time.

The Mooloolah River has one of the safest bar crossings on Australia’s eastern surf coast, so the Yellowfin easily cruises out. It’s a flat day and we’re flat out chasing Longtail and Mack Tuna. I’m hunting them with local guru Scotty.

The plan is to follow the diving birds and there are plenty about this morning. They can be seen for miles and we rig up on the move.

We’ll cast chromies when we stop and they come within range. The best idea is to move ahead of the feeding Tuna schools and then switch off the Evinrude and electronics as we wait for the fish to come to us.

As soon as they are in casting range we cast out our chrome lures and once they hit the water we wind them through the pack. The size of the chrome lures needs to closely match the baitfish the Tuna are feeding on. We usually start with 40 gram slices then move up in size or down depending on what we see in the water.

Scotty hooks up first and it’s a powerful Mac Tuna fight. Mac Tuna tear line off your Shimano reels as the drag sings along tiring the Tuna as it repeatedly powers away. Scotty’s lands his Mac as I hook up.

My Tuna is a long way out and I slowly gain line. You have to be cautious as you do not want to pull the hooks putting too much pressure on the fish. There’s little you can do to stop a soft mouthed rampaging tuna on light 10 pound tackle but the smooth drag system on my 3000 Sustain reel slowly takes charge.

All of a sudden after close to 10 minutes locked in battle the Tuna shakes free. All you can do is get the boat in position and try again.

My ultra-responsive boat with it’s fuel thrifty motor make for the perfect sea stallion as we bolt across the light chop to catch up to another feeding Tuna school.

The plan is to follow the diving birds and there are plenty about this morning. They can be seen for miles and we rig up on the move.

We’ll cast chromies when we stop and they come within range. The best idea is to move ahead of the feeding Tuna schools and then switch off the Evinrude and electronics as we wait for the fish to come to us.

As soon as they are in casting range we cast out our chrome lures and once they hit the water we wind them through the pack. The size of the chrome lures needs to closely match the baitfish the Tuna are feeding on. We usually start with 40 gram slices then move up in size or down depending on what we see in the water.

Scotty hooks up first and it’s a powerful Mac Tuna fight. Mac Tuna tear line off your Shimano reels as the drag sings along tiring the Tuna as it repeatedly powers away. Scotty’s lands his Mac as I hook up.

My Tuna is a long way out and I slowly gain line. You have to be cautious as you do not want to pull the hooks putting too much pressure on the fish. There’s little you can do to stop a soft mouthed rampaging tuna on light 10 pound tackle but the smooth drag system on my 3000 Sustain reel slowly takes charge.

All of a sudden after close to 10 minutes locked in battle the Tuna shakes free. All you can do is get the boat in position and try again.

My ultra-responsive 7000 Yellowfin Plate boat with it’s fuel thrifty Evinrude 200 G2 make for the perfect sea stallion as we bolt across the light chop to catch up to another feeding Tuna school.

This time my hook up is solid and a strong fighting Mac Tuna gets lifted over the side. We catch a few more before calling it a day.

The following day we leave the boat behind as the Ram takes us up the Noosa River Hobie Fishing.

On the East Coast I’m in the heart of tourist country at Noosa in Queensland’s South East.

Not far from the trendy tourism Hastings Street hotspot the Noosa River flows through a series of lakes surrounded by mangrove lined wetlands. This is the perfect place to throw a cast net and my stable Hobie Compass Duo is the perfect net pitching platform.

I’m sharing my Hobie Compass with the Hook and the Cook chef and real good mate Paul Breheny.

Our target species with the live baits are Dusky Flathead. Dusky Flathead grow big with fish over the metre mark the Holy Grail. A real prize fish would be a fish in the 70cm range.

Bigger is always better when it comes to throwing live baits about and I’m confident that a hungry Flathead wont take long to find the bait.

We start well with a nice Dusky in the net. It’s a nice size but we are looking for a trophy fish with half a dozen live baits still swimming in our tank.

All of a sudden my live Mullet gets nervous then a powerful run gets me excited as I hook up. There is a ton of weight and it feels like a monster fish.

We’re working in tandem as I concentrate on fighting what I hope is a mega lizard.

After 5 minutes I’m no closer than seeing the fish so I decide to work the Hobie up into the shallows. This way I can see what is towing me all over the place.

The plan works but the huge Flathead turns out to be a large Shovel Nose Shark.

Now we have the dilemma of fitting a 2-meter shovel-nose ray into our 4-meter Hobie Compass occupied by two large, perplexed anglers.

Maybe the net option is the best option, then again probably not this Shovel nose is simply way to big to bring on board. We decide to play it safe and bring the Shovel-nose close to the Hobie, retrieve the hook then release it in the water.

Safety first is always best and after a long drawn out fight it was great to see the big Shovel Nose power away into the deep.

If you want some fun filled times in these pleasant surrounds hop out in a Hobie.

Back in the Ram we decide its time to stay one more day in this beautiful part of Queensland then head a little south as the Prawns are on the move for some more fishing action.