Have you got the fever? Fishing Fever

A big Coral Trout, acutally it was too big! These have excellent eating qualities but become poisonous when too large.

My passion for many years has been fishing. Starting from an early age I always wanted to go out and catch fish. Initially fishing in my home state of Western Australia I moved over to Sydney a few years ago to take a job. Part of the attraction of this side of the country was the fishing to be had in Queensland. Its a lot closer to the Great Barrier Reef from here that the other side of the country.

To me the barrier reef seemed to offer so many oppurtunities with easy access. In Western Austarlia all my favourite spots required 10+ hour drives and no access via commerial airlines. That is probably why, too this day, the best fishing is to be had on the West Coast.

Fishing can be like drugs. In my younger days I was happy just to go out and catch anything. But starting with small fish (like soft drugs!) I then wanted a bigger and bigger thrill from the sport. So I started wanting to catch large and larger fish (getting into the hard drugs now!).

So I have started travelling further and furhter to more out of the way places. All in the hope of getting the big one. But during my experiences it started to occur to me that these were great places just to be! Imagine being over 100 miles out to sea, on a boat with a few good friends, sipping a beer on the back deck under an array of stars that you cannot see anywhere else. Just discussing the days fishing or whatever. Its is fo far removed from the pressure environment of work and the day to day grind that is so easily slipped into.

Did I ever get the big one? I did get some that were pretty big, but there are always bigger fish out there! Here is a beakdown of the fishing trips.

State	Location	Fish Species
New South Wales	Sydney Area	Yellowtail Kingfish, Bonito, Snapper, Tuna, Marlin, Dolphin Fish
New South Wales	Port Stephens	Yellowtail Kingfish, Marlin, Dolphin Fish
Northern Territory	Cape Don	Barramundi, Mangrove Jack, Fingermark Bream, Spanish Mackerel, Trevally
Northern Territory	Crocker Island	Barramundi, Mangrove Jack, Fingermark Bream, Spanish Mackerel, Trevally, Queenfish
Western Australia	Steep Point	Spanish Mackerel, Snapper, Marlin, Sailfish
Queensland	Townesville	Spanish Mackerel, Marlin, Coral Trout, Cobia, Tuna
Queensland	Cairns	Giant Black Marlin
Queensland	Coral Sea Reefs	Marlin, Dogtooth Tuna, Wahoo, Spanish Mackerel, Tuna, Coral Trout, various other reef species

Jason Harris - jgharris.com.