Reef fish photos...

A few photos below of some of the reef fish caught on the last charter.


Trevally


Spangled Emperor


Nice Coral Trout


Coral Trout


Cod


This one was never getting away!!


Maori Wrasse


Maori Wrasse


Even Daniel got in on the action


Daniel picked up this bat fish behind the reef on 6kg mono - good effort!

Winding down..

As we speak The Phantom is heading in from Escape Reef in perfect weather after a successful first charter. At least a fish a day was seen with most of the action happening Saturday afternoon. After fighting and releasing a 200kg Bronze Whaler, The Phantom hooked and tagged a healthy 450lb Black Marlin.

Rene tells me the charterers have had a ball, with giant Coral Trout being caught behind the reefs at night and lots of action on the fishing deck. No photos yet but I will get them up as soon as they come through.

Thanks to Johnno and the boys for joining us again on the reef - we are sure you'll tell everyone about the great times you have had. There is still time for you to book your fishing trip of a lifetime. Call Ian on 0418 190 639 or the Boat on 0408 153 765 so we can start planning your fishing adventure.

Charter 1, Day 1..

The Phantom departed Cairns in pouring rain at 6.30am yesterday morning on route for Linden Banks.

After some very ordinary bait fishing - 1 rainbow runner - baits were in the water at 11am. Around half an hour later a 200lb Black came up on the short swimmer, only to hook up on the skipping bait. After setting the hooks and fighting for 5 minutes the fish won this battle. News of the quick hook up travelled and The Phantom was soon joined by Dreamin On and a couple of other boats.

Later in the day they raised another big girl. This one close to 700lbs, and by all reports could have been bigger. This girl came up on a queenie that was swimming beautifully thanks to Daniel's handiwork on the deck. After hanging around and sniffing out both baits this girl wandered off - here's hoping she'll be back later in the week!

The Phantom pulled the pin at sunset and headed into Opal Reef for the night. After a steak dinner with a prawn entree and ice cream desert the boys were kept busy into the night catching long nosed emperor, standard emperor and mother in law fish.

After a long day with ordinary weather in the morning that settled down in the afternoon, an early night was had by all and they are back out there hunting the big girls as we speak!! Good luck guys.

Heading out..

Packed and ready for the first official charter of the season. The Phantom will head out to the reef this morning for a 5 day charter. We are hoping to see the same action we saw on the way into Cairns - with a 300lb Black within the first 2 hours of fishing.

Bait tanks are full, Daniel the deckie is on board and Rene has the galley sorted - now it's time for Ian to show his stuff as skipper and bring in the big girls. Have fun guys - wish we could all be there and we look forward to the daily skeds!!

Playing ferry...

While relaxing in Marlin Marina on Wednesday night Rene and Ian were approached by a family asking if they could charter the boat for a transfer to Fitzroy Island the next day. It appears that flight times and ferry times didn't match up and there was a large group who would otherwise have to wait till the next day to get to the island. The Phantom agreed to make the transfer for them and Ian and Rene got a look at Fitzroy Island for the first time - by all accounts it is a magical place.

The Phantom skipper and his first mate are off to visit family tonight for a viewing of the Collingwood-Geelong game - all I can say is go Cats!!

The Phantom is headed back out tomorrow to bring the Fitroy Islanders back to Cairns and will spend the next few days preparing for the first charter of the season on Thursday.

Tied up in Cairns and a look back at the past week...

Sorry for the lack of updates, the communication problems have been fixed and The Phantom has a new number - 0408 153 765. This means more regular updates - and just as well because Ian reckons they are in for a bumper season up North. He has reported bait in record proportions and The Phantom even managed to score themselves an angry 300 lb Black Marlin at Jenny Louise after a very busy couple of days bait fishing on the trip from Townsville to Cairns. Rene caught herself a juvenile shark which sat like this on the transom for a while - until a gentle prod sent it back swimming! No pics of the marlin unfortunately - it was a bit hectic with only Rene and Daniel on the deck!!


It does seem like you can never shake off the Redcliffe crowd - The Phantom is tied up next to Happy Hour in Cairns - although a slightly different version to Col and Barb's from down here!!


Now for the long promised Townsville update! After a debrief from the ladies I think I have pieced together what happened up there - The Townsville Report - in their words and mine!!

Rene, Barb, Maddie and Adele formed the 2010 team for the Townsville tournament. By now we know that the fish are certainly scarce up there and congratulations to Sea Baby IV and the boys for finding 3 sails and 1 black to take out the tournament - well done. The good news was the weather was a lot kinder and there were no casualties aboard Phantom - well none that weren't self inflicted! As usual big evenings met big days and good times - but it was refreshing to see some of the team enjoying water during the days - well done Adele!


No luck with the billies for the Reelaxed Phantom Ladies however Adele managed to catch the winning other species fish - a 13.5kg Spanish Mackeral - so at least someone got up on the stage - congrats to Adele..



All in all the ladies had a great time - I even think Daniel and Ian managed to enjoy themselves - a couple of BIG nights and a couple of quiet ones made the perfect balance for a great time in Townsville - Daniel even smiled as he made known his feelings on decking for a bunch of ladies.. (if you look closely you can see that Daniel has written on the back of his shirt "I love my ladies team")


The girls (and guys) would like to thank TGFC for there hospitality and congratulate them on a well run tournament.

As I mentioned earlier - The Phantom is now in Cairns and ready to get you sorted for your dream fishing trip - with fish there in numbers this is the season to land the fish of a lifetime. Contact 07 3283 4888, 0418 190 639 (Ian) or 0408 153 765 (Boat) to book your trip.

A few Townsville "Happy snaps"


Adele playing on the deck!


The ladies and Stav


I think they were trying to sabotage Sea Baby IV by corrupting their crew!!


The Reelaxed Phantom Ladies!!


Ian's Father's Day surprise!

Townsville Comp...

At the end of Day 3 Sea Baby IV is leading the comp with 2 sails and 1 black marlin. The Phantom ladies are leaving their run till late with today being the last day of fishing!

Adele snared herself a 14kg Spaniard yesterday which will go in the running for heaviest other species fish of the tournament and Rene spent 28 minutes hooked up at the end of the day only to have another toothy critter chew through the leader - that's why they call it fishing!!

I have asked the girls for a full report on the week when they get back to Townsville - and I can guarantee it will be a colourful one!

Fingers crossed for a triple hookup today - Good Luck ladies!!!

A quick update..

Phones are not working as they should so I have had very limited contact with the team - technology!!! From what I can gather - after 2 days fishing no fish had been recorded for Phantom. The lead boat is on 2 sailfish and the fish are few and far between. I am hoping they have a big couple of days and come through like champions!!
The Phantom is due back in Townsville tomorrow night - so a much more comprehensive tournament report will follow.

Townsville... ready, set, go!!

The crew are arriving for the Townsville comp. Known in the fishing circle as the kick off for the heavy tackle season, most of the boats in the fleet stop in to fish this comp on their way North. The Phantom has a ladies team on board this year, Rene will be fishing, with Barb, Adele and Maddie. Daniel has landed in Townsville today and will be the deckie with Ian steering the ship. I'm not sure who I feel most sorry for - Ian, Daniel, Maddie (who is having her first trip with the ladies) or the boat berthed next door!!
As I am left at HQ I will be keeping you up to date with how they are going. Good luck to the girls!!!