Double Island Point Fishing & Camping Adventure
When it comes to pulling together a trip, somehow reaching a destination, catching fish & actually getting the job done, the boys are surprisingly good at, & this occasion was no different. It all started when Benny did his usual mid week weather check, & to his surprise it wasn’t looking to bad. He quickly gave Deano a call, & within 12 hours of that phone call, the boys had grabbed Benny’s old 4.2m tinny, organised Kieran the photographer, convinced Heathy’s parents to let him take a few more days off school, & were making their way up the beach!
The trip up the beach was a mission in itself, with a beach full of campers & a large tide sneaking its way towards the dunes, keeping enough momentum to not get bogged was very difficult, but after two long hours, one broken boat roller, a bent number plate, & half a carto of beers down, the boys had made it to the Rainbow Beach side & were ready to go!
The plan was simple, launch the boat & head out Thursday afternoon in search for any bait, ground or even fish to make the super early start Friday as easy as possible. However, due to the amount of wind still on Thursday arvo, the re-com mission didn’t go to plan, so instead the boys took the opportunity of being in a magical destination with a gun photographer, to get some more professional images of each other.
By this time the boys were wrecked & ready for a good night sleep, before a huge day on Friday! After rolling out the swags, lighting a sneaking little camp fire, polishing off a few more beers & smashing some delicious steak burgers, Benny & Kieran were passed out by 8!! For Heathy & Deano it was a different story, the excitement of fishing a destination they have wanted to for so long took over & a few quite beers quickly turned into a long night of stories & other antics! Poor Kieran was dragged out of bed at some ridiculous hour to capture the mid night festival vibes seen in the image below!!
Sunrise came Friday morning, the boys were raring & on the water ready to go. This was the first time any of the boys had properly fished Double Island & due to Thursday’s failed re-com mission, the boys were going rogue!
The morning was very quickly slipping away & the boys were yet to land a decent fish. The pressure was on & the boys were feeling it, but we all know the SCF Team works best under pressure! The boys had given up on fishing the deep water & decided to resort to trying to catch something patrolling the headland. On the way to the headland Benny spots what he thinks are tuna smacking bait & stops, it was actually a dolphin however, turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise as when the boys randomly stopped the sounder lit up. There was fish schooled from the bottom right to 10m from the top. The boys couldn’t believe their luck & all rushed to have a cast!! Deano had his line in the water before Benny could even reposition the boat & a fish has eaten his lure before it even got to the bottom! For the next half an hour it was ON!!
Every drop the boys were hooking up, & before they could think there was two BIG Snapper & solid Aj onboard, for the boys first of many triple hookups!
The fishing didn’t seem to be slowing down either, with Heathy & Deano landing another two solid Aj’s as well as Heathy getting his PB Snapper. Many more unstoppable fish were hooked, before the boys eventually had to leave them chewing, so they didn’t run out of time to film & beat the tide home!
It was time for a cook up! Out of the number of fish caught the boys only decided to keep two Snapper, one for the Catch + Cook & one to feed the families. Fresh Snapper Ceviche with Crispy Corn Chips was on the menu for lunch & the boys were frothing!! All recipes & methods are found below!
Snapper Ceviche with Crispy Corn Chips
Crispy Corn Chips
Ingredients:
12x Corn Tortillas
500ml Vegetable Oil
Snapper Ceviche
Ingredients:
750G Snapper
1x Lemon
2x Limes
2x Blood Orange
2x Avocados
1x Yellow Capsicum
1/2 Bunch of shallots
1/2 Bunch of Mint
1/2 Bunch of Coriander
Salt n Pepper
Olive Oil
Crispy Corn Chips
Method:
Remove whole corn tortillas from the packet.
Preheat oven to 150.
Place corn tortillas on a baking tray & bake for 5 minutes.
This will ensure when you fry your corn chips, they will remain crispy.
Once out of the oven, preheat vegetable oil to 180.
Cut corn tortillas into triangles & fry until golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel & season with salt.
Snapper Ceviche
Method:
Dice snapper fillets into 1cm cubes & set them aside.
Juice & zest all citrus.
Add citrus & zest to diced snapper fillets & refrigerate for a minimum of 10mins & a maximum of 30mins.
Depending on how cooked you like your fish will determine how many minutes you let the citrus denaturate the protein in the fish.
Dice all other ingredients into 1/2cm to 1cm cubes & set aside.
Once your fish is cooked to your liking, add all other ingredients including salt n pepper to taste & a good lug of olive oil.
Serve with crispy corn chips!!
The boys amazing lunch was topped off with a quick ocean swim before packing down the boat & car for another sketchy beach trip home!
If you want to see exactly what went down on this incredible little strike mission?
WATCH THIS!!!
