EP.1 - Northern Bluewater Pt. 1

When we heard that hardcore Tackle Tactics Pro anglers Robbie and Sue Wells from Sun2Sea UV Protection and Jeff Wilton were going to be in the same location for a fish, we thought what a perfect time to kick off filming for the Tackle Tactics TV Series. This series will revolve around our Tackle Tactics Pro Team, their fishing adventures and what works for them in their region.

A quick flight and we were catching up with the guys, rigging rods and planning the following morning's adventures. We would have two mornings on the bluewater, before heading south to chase a barra and JP with Tackle Tactics Pro Angler Vinnie Versfeld.

An early start and a few surprised looks from other anglers as Robbie drove the 7.7m Sealegs out from the cabins and down the boat ramp to kick start our adventure. This boat is a true adventure machine that quickly transfers from land to watercraft and we were comfortable with five of us fishing and moving around the vessel.

Robbie kicked off proceedings with a cracker PB nannygai on a ZMan 7" Scented Jerk ShadZ in Pearl, rigged on a TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jighead, and this fish was destined for the BBQ later that night. A few smaller fish followed but the magic hour of the morning was being swallowed by a rising sun and it was time to move wider in search of trevally, cobia, mackerel and whatever else we could find.

The day before our arrival the guys had a whale shark loaded with cobia cruise under their boat, resulting in multiple hook ups, including a triple that created mayhem. 'You should have been here yesterday' sprung to mind but we were confident of finding a few fish. Andrew the cameraman would have loved the opportunity to capture the whale shark on film... but I'm sure this amazing country will offer up some more spectacular filming opportunities.

The move wide and a quick search on the Simrad produced almost instant hook-ups, however the guys were met with a procession of unstoppables and sharkings. After losing a few to the structure and a few more to that dreaded dead stop and then powerful run of a shark, it was time to sneak back in closer, before packing up for the morning.

A closer mark produced a variety of smaller species, with Jeff rounding out the session with a bludger trevally, followed by a beautifully marked gold spot trevally, fishing a ZMan 5" Scented Jerk ShadZ in Electric Chicken colour in thirty metres of water, rigged on a 1oz 5/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jighead.

It had been a great morning on the water and despite losing the bulk of the good fish to structure and sharks, we had bent some rods, landed a few and had a big red fish in the fish bag that would feed all of us on the BBQ tonight. Stunning surroundings, great people, plenty of laughs and some screaming drags... just a few of the things that fishing is about.

Cheers,
Justin Willmer

Rods & Reels:

Okuma Azores Blue 5500 and 6500 Spinning Reels spooled with 30/40/50lb braided line.

Okuma Metaloid MTL-S-531L 5'3" PE 1.5-4.0 Spin / Jig Rod.

Okuma Azores Z-S-602M 6' PE 3.0-4.0 Spin / Jig Rod.

Okuma Pressure Point PP-S-701M 7' PE 2.0-4.0 Heavy Plastics Rod.

Lures:

ZMan 5" Scented Jerk ShadZ and 1oz 5/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads.

ZMan 7" Scented Jerk ShadZ and 1oz / 1.5oz 7/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads.