• NGT Dec 08.indd - Nimbin Good Times

Making the hard yards at seaKnockout pairStory and photos by Pixie,Fishing reporterIn between all the bad weather,with strong winds and big seas,the Nimbin Heads Fishing Teammanaged one trip to sea this month,with Pix, Cal, Zac, Ryan, Arrow, Chris,Huen and first-timer Pommy Chrisgetting a lucky break in the weather.Fishing out of Wooli, we first cameacross a school of kingfish about 20kilometres out. We were using liveslimy mackerel for bait, and seeingthe kingies on the sounder, we wereconfident of some good hook-ups. Butthe fish were not on the bite and itwas a long start to the morning, withhardly any current and the barometerdropping.An hour later Huen landed ourfirst small kingie, and Arrow aneven smaller one, which went back.The livies were active but it wasn’thappening. After two hours we still hadonly one fish.With hardly any current, we decidedto go wide and chase samson fish.An hour later we stopped on a reefHook-ups (clockwise from left): Chris witha 7kg samson fish, Zac with a large snapper,Huen with a 5kg jewfish, and Pommy Chris,happy just to land a fish.and could see a shitload of fish on thesounder. This looked good. We wereso wide we could not see land, and wewere fishing deep. We put the pickdown, dropped down our lines witha one-pound sinker and found thecurrent was gushing and we couldn’thold bottom.The only thing to do was pull upanchor and try to drift with twopoundsinkers. With the wind blowingthe same way as the current, if youdidn’t get a hook-up as soon as you hitbottom, it was too late. After each driftwe would land one or two fish and findwe would be about 5K off the reef.So for 4 hours we kept doing the samefast drift, and the fish were now comingin, with your humble fishing reporterand Chris both landing 7kg samsonfish and Arrow and Huen landing anice silver 5kg jewfish each, and Ryanand Cal landing a 4kg samson fish each.Then after six hours of fishing,Pommy Chris finally landed a samsonfish which topped off his day at sea.Nothing was easy catching fish thatday, but that’s fishing. It was greatto be at sea again, and it makes youappreciate days when the Fish Gods aresmiling upon you. So all in all we stilllanded about 60kg of fish and all atefish for a few days.Last month on a trip that I wasn’t on(now that doesn’t happen very often)the boys tell me Zac landed a hugesnapper and manhandled it like it was alittle pinky. Nice one, Zac.Tight lines, guys.Nimbin Bowling Club hasan engraving job to do.Over the past fourweeks, 16 bowlers havecompeted in the 3-ballmixed-pairs knockout, andby the end of November. thewinners were decided whenRay Nugent and DarrenMarchant defeated DamianCleary and Che Potter.The Curtis and MannShield competition is onlyin its second year. Theshield was donated by a ‘pairof poms’ who visited theClub with the touring UKNomads bowls team in 2006.The Shield final providedan engrossing contest as thechallengers whittled downRay and Darren’s early lead,and included one end whenthe calipers came out toDarren and Raymeasure the closest to thejack (pictured).Ray commented, “Therewas only a fairy’s fartbetween them.”Ray won the inauguralShield knockout last year,with partner Dave Childs, sohis name will appear twice onthe Shield, which hasn’t yetbeen engraved.“It’ll happen,” he said.GOLDEN OLDIE $330,000 FAMILY HAVEN $350,000Alovelytree-lineddrivewayleads up tothisfamilyhome. Thisfantastichomehasmore thanenoughroomforthe wholefamily with aSituated on just over 1/2 an acre of elevated north facing land is this lovelylarge, clean3 bedroom turn of the century Queenslander. The home is framed by tall kitchen, 4 bedrooms, a huge light and airy living room and a studiograceful trees and there are glimpses of distant mountain ranges from the attached to the garage. Set on a sealed road only minutes to town withlarge decks that surround the home on three sides. The home has many a rural outlook this property ensures peace and tranquility with all offeatures that you would expect from a home of this era; high ceilings, the conveniences of village living. The land is rich and level with amazingfan lights above the doors, VJ walling, French doors and loads of under views of the ranges, ensuring many happy hours of gardening and morehouse storage. The home also has an excellent 2 bay colourbond shed. than enough room for the kids. This is great buying on today’s market!HAPPY HILLS $875,000The ultimate family sanctuary! Within this property there is a 4 bedroomhouse, a 3 bedroom house and a 2 bedroom studio plus extra buildingentitlements AND 3 sheds all with power. There is an abundance of waterfrom the creek and 2 dams. All of the homes have beautiful landscapingand views of the valley. The main house has a pool, spa, sauna, carport,2 bay shed and a 200m airstrip.TWEED VALLEY TREE CHANGE $650,000Situated on the Tweed caldera is this amazing property. Thereare 130 acres of rolling land with tall forests, open plateaus andinspiring mountainous views. The majestic Tweed River starts ina rainforest clad valley on this property ensuring an abundanceof water. There is plenty of room for the whole family with threedwellings on this property, all with Northern views of Mount Warning.MAGIC HAPPENS $129,500Occasionally anopportunity to bepart of somethingspecial comes up. Thissecluded two acreshare set on Nimbin’s5-starcommunityawaits...Tuckedawayoff the main accessroad, this block hasa sunny northerlyaspect providingampleopportunityfor solar power (withexcellent extra rebatesinvestigated & available). Surrounded by old growth trees and withstunning expansive views of the pinnacle and the caldera this is truly aspecial place. The owners have commenced work and there is a drivewaydown to a laser leveled building site, plus clear clean spring water piped tothree locations on site. Community fees have been paid in full until Feb 09.HOME SWEET HOME $495,000Situated on aquaint countryroad is this 2storey timberhome. This isa great familyhome with 3goodsizedbedrooms, 2bathrooms, anda kitchen that isan entertainer’sdream, includinga new big stainless stove and granite bench tops. There are also twoseparate living rooms, with one opening onto the resort style groundssurrounding the gorgeous in-ground saltwater pool. The home is nestledin beautiful tropical gardens with fruit orchards and a great little veggiegarden. With 5 acres of good soil, an abundance of water from a mountainspring fed creek and a huge workshop you could grow just about anything!Page 24 The Nimbin GoodTimesDecember 2008www.nimbingoodtimes.com