Diving Shag Rock, North Stradbroke Island – A Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upRwXZCN5eM Diving Shag Rock off Stradebroke Island. A really good macro dive.
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…
Diving the Manta Bommie, North Stradbroke Island
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAuMuwnaNEY Some of the local dive sites on offer around North Stradbroke Island. Only a short boat ride from the launch site to this magnificent dive site. Run by Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre North Straddie.
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.
Tailor on Fly in Middle Harbour (and a Few Squid)
Sunrise at the Tunks Park boat ramp 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But whilst all this was true, there were fish to be caught, so I loaded up my kayak, and headed to the port... I launched from my usual, Tunks Park boat ramp, to a glowing orange sky and started paddling towards towards Clontarf. To kick things off I stopped off at my squidding spot, where I quickly landed a few southern calamari for dinner. The nice thing about the squid is that they're either there or they're not...and today they were there. With dinner sorted, I packed away the squid rod and got down to some fly fishing. I fished around the Clontarf area,…
Getting My Open Water Diver Certification
My life has always include the ocean. Growing up, our family holidays were spent surfing, snorkelling, and fishing at Cape St. Francis (South Africa). And when we weren't holidaying there, we were often rock fishing in the Transkei. I have many a fond memory of free-diving for abalone with my father in the cool Atlantic waters of Cape Town, before we moved to Durban. I then got into fly fishing, and spent many a year targeting trevally (and multiple other game species) in the salty water of Cape Vidal. And then, after arriving in Australia, one of my first purchases was a Hobie kayak to get me out onto Sydney Harbour. I just can't seem to escape it. So when an excuse (finally) landed on my doorstep (in the form…
Marlin Mayhem!
Sunrise off the coast of Brisbane With my freezer running low on fish, I decided to head out off Brisbane in search of some Spanish Mackerel, that were being caught in good numbers. I loaded the boat the night before, fueled the tank, re-tied all my leaders, made the wire traces, and with all the admin done, I called it a night, ready for the 3:30am start. The alarm sounded, I snuck out of bed not to wake the wife, made a quick cup of coffee and was out the door heading to the boat ramp in no time. The plan for the day was to head to South Passage Bar and cross it on first light, and then pull high speed lures around the local reefs. It was a…
Aussie Bass on Poppers
Adulting seems to have taken ahold of my weekends, with the majority of my time being spent either house hunting or attending kid’s sporting events. And while these are both massively exciting activities, I’m always itching to climb onto my kayak to catch a few fish on fly. On Sunday, eager to try something new, I headed for Lane Cove River to target Australian bass. Although I've caught many an Aussie bass before, they’ve all been impoundment fish, and the prospect of targeting wild fish amongst the snags excited me. I arrived at the park just after the gates opened at 9am, and headed straight for the kayak launch site. After putting the yak in the water, I headed downstream, focusing on the structure up against the bank, likely to…