Page 15 - Tropic Magazine Issue 35
P. 15
TROPIC • UP FRONT
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Tropic delves into the daily routines and habits of a local identity.
4:45am 12:00pm
Rise and shine and grab myself some We move around to different spots
breakfast before I head down to the during the day and the skipper puts
Mitch Fitzgerald Cairns Marina. lunch out. My favourite is a BBQ of
fresh reef fish tacos – yum! My job is
Cairns Reef Fishing 5.15am pretty nonstop so it’s great to take
Marlin Marina Cairns Arrive early to give myself some time a short break as we move between
to wake up as I listen to music and fishing spots.
down a Red Bull or two.
23-year-old Mitch was 2:00pm
travelling around the country 6:00am Time to wind up and head home.
with some mates when he Setting up the boat for the day before The guests have often made friends
landed his dream job as the guests arrive! Preparation and with others on the boat and enjoy
deckhand with Cairns Reef organization on a small boat is critical a chat and a beer while I start the
and when the fish are biting it really
big clean-up.
Fishing. More than a year on, pays to be well prepared.
he’s quite comfortable staying 3:30pm
put. His favourite reef species 6:30am Back in the marina and time to
to both catch and eat is the Guests start arriving to be checked in say goodbye. Some of our guests will
blackspot tuskfish. Mitch is and settled onboard. We run through take their catch to one of the local
also a keen spear fisher. a safety briefing and give an outline of restaurants to have the fish prepared
the day and what to expect. for dinner. It’s a great experience and
we get fantastic feedback.
7:00am
The run out to the reef is where I finish 4:30pm
my prep, rods are rigged, bait is cut and Phew! That’s about it, boat scrubbed,
the deck is cleared. Often, I have time all the gear cleaned and put away and
to chat to the customers and find out ready for the next day. Time for a well-
a little about them. Everyone has an earned beer with the skipper.
interesting story to tell.
5:00pm
8:30am Off to gym for a workout if I’m not
We arrive at the first of the fishing feeling too tired, before heading home
grounds and I give a briefing on the for dinner and an early night.
type of fishing and species we will
be chasing. Many of our guests are
from interstate and have never seen
some of our reef species. A lot of
clients are also unprepared for the
size of our fish and I often have to help
reel them in. We encourage people
to take only what they need and
always tell guests how well managed
the Great Barrier Reef is as a MORE: cairnsreeffishing.com.au
sustainable fishing resource.
15 • tropicnow.com.au
