Seventeen Seventy BNB Trophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mick Clutterbuck

ABOVE: Brendon Tait was stoked with this gorgeous coronation trout.

A HANDFUL of Power Boat Anglers vessels headed north for the traditional PBA Saturday road trip, with Karma Cat among the mix, surprising a few.

The surprise was not that Terry attended, but that he was there at 7am, because everyone knows Terry likes and needs as much beauty sleep as he can get.

Hitting the road north, the crews were looking at a gloomy weather outlook for the week, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary because the previous four years had basically been a carbon copy.

On the upside, a few windows to be taken advantage of occasionally pop up, so it’s generally a ‘suck it and see’ type of arrangement to start with.

Regardless of the outlook, spirits were high because hey, they were on a fishing holiday with good company and at least a little socialising was to be had among the PBA crowd.

Brendon snavelled a solid spangled emperor during trophy week.

The trip north was going smoothly until Blackers lucked out and spat a brake calliper before the lights in the middle of Childers.

This managed to then chew through the rim in super quick time, resulting in a deflated tyre and the lunched rim.

The crew performed a quick roadside repair and wheel swap and were back on the road in good time, arriving in Agnes Water at about 2pm.

By this time, Brett and Stuart were already fishing, having decided to make the most of the good weekend weather, so headed up early, foregoing the first weigh-in.

Blackers was to fly solo for the first few days as his deckhand Lakis had commitments that locked him up until the Tuesday, but Dale jumped on White Pointer for the first trip, to help him out.

Dale McClurg and his monster red emperor.

On the Sunday, all the PBA ‘Sunday fishing boats’ had crossed the flat but shallow bar by 5.30am.

Though the conditions were surprisingly good, there was enough residual swell from the previous week’s bad weather to keep speeds down.

Destinations varied between Fitzroy Reef, the Wides and out past Boult Reef where Karma Cat, White Pointer and Will Power decided to target first.

The fishing was fairly hard going, though Karma Cat, White Pointer and Will Power managed to box five good red emperor between them.

It was obvious there was going to be a stoush over who would take the hotly contested win for heaviest red.

Terry took the lead early but was trumped by Dale in about 30 minutes, who managed to hold him off for the rest of the day.

Brendon showed off a pair of nice red emperor taken off Seventeen Seventy.

Monday through to Thursday were 20-25 knot lay days, with time spent in a mix of social chats, Bundaberg trips for wheels and medicinal supplies from the distillery, surfing, golf, dinners and even a mini committee meeting, where next year’s dates were discussed.

A favourite afternoon activity was enjoying some fresh yellowfin tuna sashimi washed down with a few icy cold beverages.

In the end, the four bad weather days passed quickly and, with a fantastic forecast for Friday and Saturday, everyone was champing at the bit to get out and knock Dale and Johnny off their perches in the battle for the red emperor and coral trout pots.

Depending on the home departure date, some boats opted for day trips while others chose overnighters.

The four that decided on an overnighter in Fitzroy initially rafted up with Karma Cat for drinks and dinner but, when the wind picked up to 15 knots, decided to part company for safety’s sake because it probably wasn’t the best idea to all hang off one anchor for the night.

Dale took a bludger trevally over the weekend.

Morning conditions outside were good, with a small swell that only improved during the day – we almost had a few near glass outs.

The fish never really got on the chew, but catches improved through the day for most crews, resulting in Eskies steadily filling until the self-imposed ‘lines up’.

There were a few trophy coronation and coral trout and red emperor caught but no really big fish.

Helaine was fuming after having her brandnew Nomad lure bitten off on the first cast, saying it was guaranteed to have been the fish of the competition.

I did remark that at least she had a picture of it – and maybe a small wire trace next time.

The fast trip home was a pleasant end to the fishing, despite the fourday weather lay days, which have been the norm for all four trips over the past two years.

Overall, it was another great and sociable PBA Seventeen Seventy BNB Trophy week and a big thanks has to go to the organisers, supporters and to all who attended.

PBA meetings occur on the first Wednesday of every month at ‘The Club Manly’ (bowls club), 26 Faine St Manly from 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start.

We’re currently on our annual break, so the first meeting for 2023 will be on Wednesday February 1.

Until next month, safe boating.