After a couple of days in Sydney, we flew to Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It's in the northeast corner of Australia and has some breathtaking coastline. From Cairns, we rented a car and drove one and a half hours south to Mission Beach to a resort I found online. This area, as well as most of Queensland, was hit by a major cyclone, Yazi, in February 2011. All around the Mission Beach you could still see signs of the devastating storm damage. We were told that Mission Beach was in the eye of the storm and there were at least two resorts that were so damaged that they would never reopen. All along the beach near our resort, you could see the erosion of the beach and palm trees and other foliage that suffered from the high winds and surf. Much of Queensland suffered major flooding and was still in the process of recovering and regaining tourism.
We spent a quiet couple of days at Mission Beach. The highlight was going deep sea fishing along the Great Barrier Reef. As was the case in our fishing trip in New Zealand, I went along to document the big catch and Joe enjoyed a beautiful day of fishing.
We went out a small boat. Dennis, the captain, was from South Africa. We were joined by a family from Victoria, Australia - Craig and his two sons, Sam and Curtis. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear day and the ride out to the reef was so peaceful. The water is so blue and clear and in many areas you can see the reef in all its amazing glory.
The day was spent catching fish here and there - Red Coral Trout, Red Throated Emperor and various other species of reef fish. Dennis also cast a line off the back of the boat that was watched throughout the day. The first tug of that line, Sam took control of the line and fought for 30 minutes before pulling in a 50 pound Spanish Mackerel.
Sam and his 50 lb. Spanish Mackrel.Curtis, Sam and Craig
Joe showing off one of his fish.Our Captain Dennis with a red throated emperor
We spent the day going to different spots along the reef. Joe finally got a chance at the line off the back of the boat. Everyone was fishing off the sides of the boat when all of the sudden we heard this whirring noise from the back line. Remember how the fishing line sounded in Jaws when the shark took the bait? That's what it sounded like. Joe got on the line and thus began his struggle with the "Big One". He fought that line for almost an hour. Our captain said we traveled around a half nautical mile and went from around 50 feet to over 100 feet of water. We never saw that big guy. After about 45 minutes the captain tightened up on the line and shortly afterward it snapped. Joe was never ever able to get the fish to the surface. It took the line and dove deep. Our captain thinks it may have been around a 6-foot shark or possibly a black marlin. We'll never know. It will forever be the one that got away! Here's a short video of Joe's fight.
What a wonderful day! When we got back to resort with our fish, the restaurant chef cooked up a coral trout and the red throated emperor for our dinner. He did a fantastic job! The emperor was coated in sesame seeds, baked and served with vegetables and a soy/ginger sauce. The trout was simply baked whole with citrus influence and served with vegetables. Joe even gave the chef another trout to keep and cook as he desired. Sunshine, The Great Barrier Reef, reef fishing and amazing meal = ONE FANTASTIC DAY!
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