Subject: fishing today -- 01Dec08
Date: Monday, 1 December 2008 4:14 PM
Hi yakkers and others
A day of brilliant weather but few fish, but each of us caught something and Jaro did it again -- another big sweetlip.
I awoke at 0345 to the sound of kookaburras and a pale light in the eastern sky. Without getting out of bed I could see that there was no breeze and found I was unable to lie in until the alarm went off at 0420. So I was up and about at 0400 and down at the launch point car park at 0430. A quick stroll over to the beach revealed a flat sea and a couple of old guys with metal detectors going over the beach, one on each side of the groyne. I guess this searching must be worthwhile as they probably wouldn't bother otherwise.
I took this pic at 0442, just as I was about to launch. My fishing companions, Jaro and Harry, had yet to show but I knew they wouldn't be far behind.
Tiny waves, with Teewah high dunes in the left background, about 17km distant.
As you can no doubt judge, launch was a snap and I had the ocean to myself except for a dolphin which meandered over to check me out while I was setting up 'out the back'. Before I departed for the reef I noticed that Jaro had arrived at the beach and shortly after him, Harry.
And so I set off, at the forefront of the charge for a change. The beauty of the environment got to me immediately I set off, as the sun peeped over a low point in the skyline of the Noosa National Park, immediately to the east, well worth a photo:
A flat sea. Rising sun peeping over National Park skyline 0455 today, 26° 23 minutes south of the equator.
Paddling out to the shoal took less than 40 minutes as I benefited from a very slight SW breeze once further out and apparently a northerly current, as I had no trouble maintaining 7kph, as measured by GPS, and there was no opposing, nor assisting, wave activity. My trolled lure received no attention from predators on the way out, and at 0530 my first cast went out at a point west of the centre of the reef as I judged I'd be carried east on the breeze and the current. The drift direction was soon confirmed by the GPS and was mainly current activated, I think.
First Jaro, and then Harry (call sign Dirty Harry) checked in on the radio on arrival at the reef, Harry using his new ICOM M33 radio for the first time today. By 0555 I'd experienced no action at all and was beginning to wonder if this was another dead day fish-wise when I felt a slight tap on the line as the jig descended slowly into the 18m depth. I let the jig continue to sink in the hope that the fish would follow and attack; which action was soon rewarded with another tap followed by a smooth take up of the slack then unmistakeable signs that my jig had been engulfed. A brief, one-sided tussle was resolved in my favour and shortly a small but keeper snapper lay vanquished in the footwell. This was my first snapper in several trips so I was pleased to be back in the hunt.
A tasty snapper in the bag by 6am. Taken on soft plastic with 1/8oz jig head.
Time moves on to 8am. None of us had boated any more fish, the current continued to sweep us to the east and gave us a very pleasant drift and we'd all tried various techniques and parts of the reef. At 0811 I took this pic of Jaro as I went past him to start yet another drift. As I took the pic he mentioned that he'd hooked a good fish which had reefed him, as they occasionally do, shredding the last few metres of his line. Ah well, that's just one of the many trials we fishos have to put up with.
Jaro in Laguna Bay at 8.11am, ready for action. And the action came his way less than 30 minutes later.
I started my chosen drift on a slightly different track from Jaro's but was about 100m away from him and looking directly toward him when I heard him yell and reach over to his trailing rod, the one in the rod holder in the above pic. I noted the time -- 0835. The rod was bent over as Jaro grabbed it and immediately took the fight to the fish which was stripping line off against the drag. The fish was clearly a hard fighter for Jaro was engaged with it for several minutes before holding the fish up and letting Harry and me know by radio that it was a very good sweetlip, around 54cm he guessed, an estimate that proved pretty close later on when we measured it on the beach.
Aside from this burst of activity we were having a very quiet time of it out there so I was relieved to hear Harry report by radio that, at last, he was "on the board" with a small but keeper sweetlip. From time to time there were isolated bursts of splashing as pelagic predators carved into small pods of baitfish. On one occasion I spotted a plump tuna (possibly a bluefin) around 5-8kg launch itself clear out of the water within 20m or so of Harry, but behind him so he didn't see it. But by 10am we were still not getting regular action so we agreed that we'd leave for home at 1030. And by this time, there being no improvement in the situation we each started heading the 3.5km or so for the beach from slightly different parts of the reef. On the way back I came across Ian Tagg, keen and competent local kayak fisho, who was on his way out toward the shoal, trolling as he went. He and I exchanged greetings and he informed me that he'd just lost a Spanish Mackerel which he'd hooked just after leaving the beach at Middle Groyne. He'd clearly seen the fish, which had escaped by breaking off one of the hooks on a lure which he held up to show me. I have no reason to disbelieve Ian so it's highly likely that these very desirable and fierce mackerel are presently hunting in the bay.
We hit the beach in single file a minute or so apart, weaving our way among the chest-deep holidaymakers who were enjoying the perfect water conditions, then all three of us went for a brief dip also to cool down. The fish measuring and photographing then began accompanied by the usual questions from holidaymakers. So here are the pics -- the camera doesn't lie.
Jaro's beautiful 52cm sweetlip, taken on soft plastic mounted on 3/4oz jighead.
My snapper, top, and Harry's sweetlip, taken on his last piece of bait, the head of a pilchard.
Ever-smiling Jaro with his sweetlip backgrounded by a few ladies held by the chick-magnetism which pervaded the space around the beached yaks today, as usual.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Thanks for coming Jaro and Harry. Those pesky mackerel can't be far away! Let's go again soon.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09 or 22 (if alone), Call Sign: sunshiner
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