North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Fifty (50) boats fished the Dundee/Fog Bay region out of Dundee on Saturday. The weather was fine, the tides a bit neapish but on the building side and the moon is starting to wax nicely.

What went wrong?

Is the fishing pressure just getting to be too much?

Are the skippers of the 50 boats not finding productive grounds? I doubt that.

The picture attached is the results of the days catch at the ramp. In good times at this time of year I have seen this trailer half full, not so the case anymore. There were two small mackeral filleted that were big enough for the cat. A heap of my friends fished yesterday as well for bugger all.

The tractor guys are laughing (50 times $25) and the Lodge wants you to wash your boat down in the bays and enjoy a nice cold refreshment afterwards.

Not sure DH

I was there last Wednesday Thursday and probably had the best trip I have had there. I can only speak for me but standing there filleting fish after a long day fishing isn't high on my priorities.

Ghound

It's getting flogged mate absolutely, I've had a good season but it's a lot harder to find quality fish (I don't keep trickies), I'm normally mentally exhausted focusing on the sounder by the end of the day.

Between the road now being sealed all the way & the barra boys having a bad year(more boats on the Bluewater, but they've got to catch something) it sure is getting hammered. Speaking to Steve compain the other day, they've spent most of their dry season around fog bay/Perons too.

Everywhere will get more flogged as time goes on and fishermen move further and further abroad. Another thing, I never clean my catch there but not sure how many other people also do that

I've never cleaned my fish there. Don't fancy the idea of hanging around smelly maggoty fish frames and getting smash by midgies or using salt bore water to clean the boat

we were one of the boats out there Saturday,picked up about 8 good sized mackies,2 red emperor,1 trouty and trickies.Noticeably no goldies though.Usually to p...ed to clean fish when we get back.

Was there on friday and got 2 big jewies and stopped bottom bashing, caught a bunch of school mackerel and stripies on plastics to keep for bait after that.

About a billion blue salmon around roche too if that interests you, we had the salmon move through, then caught the jewies using salmon as bait.

Dundee Hombre wrote:Fifty (50) boats fished the Dundee/Fog Bay region out of Dundee on Saturday. The weather was fine, the tides a bit neapish but on the building side and the moon is starting to wax nicely.

What went wrong?

Is the fishing pressure just getting to be too much?

Are the skippers of the 50 boats not finding productive grounds? I doubt that.

The picture attached is the results of the days catch at the ramp. In good times at this time of year I have seen this trailer half full, not so the case anymore. There were two small mackeral filleted that were big enough for the cat. A heap of my friends fished yesterday as well for bugger all.

The tractor guys are laughing (50 times $25) and the Lodge wants you to wash your boat down in the bays and enjoy a nice cold refreshment afterwards.

Yes its gettng pressure. Is the ham fisted
rubbish in the trailer an idication of
this . In my opinon no, I have never filleted a fish there (but dont catch many), or washed my boat there, have had beer or two
though.If the tractors are such a gold mine start one up, free country, and wouldnt like to be trying to eat out of it as an income stream.

At first I thought $25 was a bit steep, but when you really look at it, If I were doing it I would be charging a lot more.

Not often would he get 50 boats.

But 50 boats @ $25 = $1250

But 2 blokes working 11 hrs (plus I think there is a 3rd in the tent too for some of the day)
Say 25 hrs at $40 = $1000

Then fuel for tractors Aprox. $60
Up keep of 2 tractors $50 (2.5k each tractor a year on 2 days a week)


Seems pretty fair to me.

Paying $25 for the tractor is cheap IMO.......and as a bonus you get to see Jethros lovely smiling happy face greet you after a big day on the water and if theres some swell at the ramp theres nothing better than his kind words of encouragement to help get you back onto your trailer.

I never fillet at the ramp or use their hose as washdown.......I liked it there 20 years ago but the atmosphere there now has changed and it's not a place I like to stay long at.

Certainly have to be less fish there now than years ago but in no way is it fished out IMO.

mickkk wrote:At first I thought $25 was a bit steep, but when you really look at it, If I were doing it I would be charging a lot more.

Not often would he get 50 boats.

But 50 boats @ $25 = $1250

But 2 blokes working 11 hrs (plus I think there is a 3rd in the tent too for some of the day)
Say 25 hrs at $40 = $1000

Then fuel for tractors Aprox. $60
Up keep of 2 tractors $50 (2.5k each tractor a year on 2 days a week)


Seems pretty fair to me.

You forgot to mention stubbies drank each day too...$50 per day.

On a more serious note they are not very busy during the wet season either, very quiet when the westerlies kick in.

Basstad wrote:Paying $25 for the tractor is cheap IMO.......and as a bonus you get to see Jethros lovely smiling happy face greet you after a big day on the water and if theres some swell at the ramp theres nothing better than his kind words of encouragement to help get you back onto your trailer.

I am not complaining about the tractor charge, $25 is cheap I agree and the overheads are large. I am talking about the fishing pressure that Dundee is under. Easter is the busiest time with over 100 boats per day on the Friday and Saturday. 50 boats on any given Saturday seems to be the norm nowdays. I have seen less boats fish and more fish waste in the trailer. My point is there is a lack of fish coming in to be filleted, the quality of fish is poor too given I have seen much larger frames in the trailer in past times.

People don't use the fish cleaning facilities like that used to simple as that there's still good fish to be caught bigger boats and better more reliable 4 strokes open up more country to people to go further out and spread the load out I think !