Greetings all,
Well it’s almost Xmas and some would say thank god.
It’s a good time of year to replenish old fishing gear and to take time out to wet a line.
Don’t forget to update your fishing licenses and if you get a chance put out those witches hats for a feed of fresh blue swimmer crabs.
Make sure you eat Australian prawns and not the imported ones from Thailand.
Fish on the BBQ is the way to go – forget the ham and baked dinners.
Anyway, thanks again for all the well wishes I’ve received thus far and have a safe Xmas and a prosperous new year.
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs
Greetings!
Well it’s taken me a while and I’ve always promised myself that I’d do it.
I’ve finally put my order in for the “North Australia Fish Finder 7″.
This is the supposed Fishing Bible up north and well worth the $26.95 investment if you can get your hands on one.
You can order it online at http://www.fishfinderbooks.com/store/index.php/cPath/21
The latest edition has an expanded Northern Territory section in addition to northern NSW rivers including the Macleay, Richmond and Clarence Rivers.
I will leave my comments about the Weipa section for when my copy arrives.
I ordered it on Tuesday and have not yet received it – but it is Xmas and I’m not sure how long it will take to arrive.
The book is some 350 pages long with everything from satellite imagery to GPS coordinates – now that’s something that will come in handy I’m sure!
My wife was away this weekend and one of our crew Wazza, came over for a few drinks and a bit of a punt. I was quite keen to show him this website and blog but will save it for a surprise for all the boys in the new year.
My son Grant (nickname Tuss) called me in to watch a TV show this morning on the Discovery Channel called “Tuna Wranglers”.
It’s a show about some South Australian Tuna farmers and the only downside is that it has American voice-overs.
Apparently, the tuna are placed in a large entrapment that may also snare sharks and (you can imagine!) the American voice-over man has a field day describing how the Aussie divers go into the waters to man-handle and physically wrestle with the sharks to move them out of the cage.
Another interesting side to the show was that they also had footage of the old days where men would catch the tuna on poles and throw them in the boat. They even made mechanical fishing poles that once felt the bite of the tuna would automatically throw the fish over the side and then reset itself!
Anyone who has berleyed up or cubed for tuna will attest that these fish will school in numbers and once you have them near your boat it is very much like shooting fish in a barrel.
Oh well, it did make for some interesting TV. It mentioned that Port Lincoln in South Australia had a high proportion of the town rich off the back of the tuna industry.
Anyway that’s it for now.
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs
Posted by Meggs | Fishing Holiday Stories | Posted on December 8th, 2007
Ok, what I forgot to mention in last week’s post was that the DVD I watched was one that was stuck to the front page of the December 2007 Fishing World Magazine.
It wasn’t such a bad DVD either with sections on catching Wahoo and Barra, how to read a beach and fishing Cape York.
Mark Berg was the star of the DVD and did a great job of presenting the show.
But the best part of it for my money was the section featuring how to fish Cape York for $100 a day with Cape York Ice and Tackle (see http://www.capeyorkiceandtackle.com.au/index.php).
Apparently you will need to hook up on Regional Pacific Airlines flight (see http://www.regionalaviation.com/) to get there. You can have a chat with them to discuss pricing on1300 797 667 - I haven’t as yet chased this up.
I’ve managed to tidy up my web site a little bit and added some commentary about the Skipper Meggs approach to pulling together a fishing package that combines some other fun adventures along the way.
I’ve included a poll on whether or not my book will ever be published and it will be interesting to see what the najority vote will be.
I’m off to a BBQ tomorrow with the FARTS crew and we’ve already booked the Mayweather Hatton fight. For what it’s worth the FARTS money is on Hatton.
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs
Well what can I say? I’ve been trying to master this website stuff to share some of the history of Skipper Meggs and the Fishing and Reef Tour Specialists (FARTS) team and the going has been a bit tough.
Still, all was not lost.
Well, Grant’s bet this weekend for the Punters Club came nowhere so it looks like our trip to fish in Madagascar is postponed yet again. No worries though Weipa is far better anyway!
I had the opportunity to sit down and watch a two hour fishing video that kept me entertained. Of note was a reference to Cape York and the fact that there is a place called “Cape York Ice and Tackle” that has put together a package including the use of a boat, fuel, live bait and accommodation for a group of 4 people at around $100 per day.
Now that’s true Skipper Meggs thinking and I must look into how to get there.
I know Regional Pacific Airlines flies to Bamaga which is at the tip of Cape York but I’m not sure what the cost is.
I also took some time out to work on the editing of my tell all memoirs of bareboat fishing the Whitsundays. Still needs some lipstick and rouge but it is getting there slowly but surely!
Anyway, see not all was lost this weekend!
Sea you later!
Skipper Meggs
Posted by Meggs | Fishing Holiday Stories | Posted on November 14th, 2007
Greetings Scurvy Cur!
This is Skipper Meggs and our mottley crew are heading off to Weipa in May 2008 in search of Black Jewfish, Cobia and Bonefish!
Stay tune for our amazing exploits.
Posted by Meggs | Fishing Holiday Stories | Posted on November 14th, 2007
Back in 1990 Skipper Meggs created the Fishing and Reef Tour Specialists (FARTS) when he put together a fishing holiday to the southern NSW coastal town of Tathra for three of his friends.
He organised that trip pretty well – seven days of fishing, fun and adventure.
There was some golf,some pool, some darts.
They drank a few beers.
The place they stayed at wasn’t bad either – it had a swimming pool, spa, turkish steam bath and a great BBQ area and accommodation was in a three bedroom townhouse style of apartment.
Not bad, because it came with an all inclusive package of seven days accommodation, four outside fishing trips and breakfast each morning.
A bargain!
From there a seed was planted.
Skipper Meggs and his crew would come together every couple of years and their exploits grew from wild and wacky to downright outrageous and bizarre.
It wasn’t just the fishing – although throw in a creative bait contest, shitfish bingo and a beer lure competition and things were pretty interesting on the high seas.
No, it was more than just a fishing holiday.
Firstly, it was cheap.
Skipper Meggs would go out of his way to package a holiday to suit everyone’s budget and to make sure the crew were sent home with some money in their pockets. After all, they were bringing up young families and every penny counted.
The real thing that set the Skipper Meggs adventures apart was what would happen on dry land.
Apart from the printed shirts with the famous FARTS logo, each day was planned and jammed pack with fun, frivolity and unexpected twists and turns.
There was always a Rastas - a person who would be responsible for cooking, cleaning and fetching beers whilst everyone else relaxed. To be fair, each person got to take a turn each day.
There were theme nights, drinking games and who would ever forget the infamous pentathlon?
This evolved over the years to become a sensational Decathlon which even included an ironman competition.
Each year a mystery event was thrown in as well – sand dune quad biking and surfboard lessons for example.
There was always a bit of pomp and ceremony too.
An opening address would announce some fun rules and scant details of what was to happen for the week.
At the end of the trip there was always an official award night with Certificates provided to all participants (for instance to “The Most Improved Drunk”) as well as a home made trophy made by Mr Mowie Morro for the best fish of the trip.
Skipper Meggs never lost sight of providing a value for money fishing holiday that promised more than just big fish but more importantly great memories.
This site is dedicated to the FARTS team past and present and to all the fun we’ve had along the way, and all that’s to come.
Sea you soon,
Skipper Meggs
