Bagged out by seven. 17Nov12

TR by sunshiner

Wind: Calm at first, picking up to northerly, 5-10 knots for an hour or so from 5:00am then back to 5 knot northerly
Swell: 1.5 metre northerly
Current: at Doggie Beach reef, none detected
Launch point: Doggie Beach
Participants: gemini, sunshiner

The wind dropped off to almost nothing at midnight, just as I'd hoped. I found this out at 3:30am this morning when my heavy and dopey sleep was interrupted by my wakeup alarm. I wouldn't say I sprang out of bed but within a few minutes I was up and about, noting that there was a heavy overcast on this near-moonless night.

Our plan was a Doggie Beach launch and for Gemini this was to be a first. The small surf cascading onto the beach was audible but subdued from the carpark and visible because it was white once I'd strolled down to the water's edge. I judged the launch doable but probably, in light of subsequent events, should have gone for the northern corner, 200m or so further north, where the headland provides protection from any northerly swell. Gemini met me on the path as I walked back up in the darkness and he accepted my assurance that it was OK.

By the time we'd got back to the beach, ready to launch, there was sufficient light to show that the small waves were dropping onto the edge of the sandbank on which we stood. The Doggie Beach sandmonster was hanging around.

I'll let gemini tell you about his experience if he wants to but I got through pretty easily, while he didn't, and this led to today's trip being a solo effort. I did speak by radio to gemini after I'd launched and confirmed he was OK. Sorry you couldn't make it mate.

Launch time.

Feeling a bit downcast that gemini wasn't with me, I nevertheless pressed on in windless conditions, out to Doggie Beach reef, which was a mere 1500m further out.

Having seen the anchovy shoals off Doggie Beach yesterday, I was not surprised to see that a few terns were already prospecting the area. Being hopeful that there may be some predatory pelagics around I trolled my trusty HLP, which hadn't had a decent strike since I pulled it out of the packet a couple of months ago. It still hasn't.

But on the way out the fishfinder was showing me that there was more bait hanging around near the bottom than the last time I came here a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I was in with a chance.

By the time I was ready to start my drift the breeze was just starting to puff from the north, and the light levels were increasing rapidly, even though the rising sun was masked by heavy cloud. Doggie Beach reef was reached without any action and after retrieving the HLP I immediately deployed the Bunnings shopping bag and sent my trailing rig (half ounce jig, with 5inch white snapback) on its journey to mid water.

My first cast with the casting outfit (quarter ounce jig with a 4 inch SP, rigged on a wire trace) must have been just after 5:00am, as shown by the following pic, because the first cast was nailed when it got near the bottom, 27m vertically below.

Snapper #1. Only about 40cm, but nice eating and a keeper for me.

When you're on a good thing, stick to it, the old saying goes. So I paddled back up my drift track, with the wind increasing steadily, and white caps starting to appear. Today I pretty much used one of my marks near our Doggie Beach reef mark as a focal point, trying to get my drifts to swing through the mark, and not go very far south as the wind was showing a tendency to make upwind travel more and more unpleasant. One of the reasons I hung around this mark was that there were plenty of signs of fishy activity below, as shown by the fishfinder.

One of several similar favourable indications on my drift line.

I'd spent 30 minutes or so manoeuvering into a better upwind position, trolling as I travelled, before I was happy to restart a drift. Almost immediately the cast outfit went off again. Another snapper, this time a bigger one.

Snapper #2. Same bait.

With the wind picking up in strength and my drift speed increasing accordingly, my trailing outfit was not deep enough, I thought, so I whipped off the half ounce and substituted a heavy, maybe two ounce, octopus thingy from R2S, also rigged on wire in case of mac attack. That seemed to do the trick, as the line angle was much more vertical than before. But still it hadn't attracted attention. As if to emphasise its superior fish catching qualities, a short while later off went the cast SP again.

Snapper #3. Same bait.

With mixed feelings, I was now facing the prospect of bagging out. On the one hand it's great to catch snapper, but on the other hand another fish would put an end to the trip, as catching another species today seemed unlikely. Then again, four snapper is enough, surely.

A few minutes after these thoughts went through my mind, the yak leaned unexpectedly to starboard and the drag clicker on the trailing outfit sounded the alarm. The octopus thingy had gone off. This had happened immediately after a small school of bonito or similar made a flurry on the surface nearby so at first I thought maybe a different species was involved. But no, it was my bag-out snapper.

Bag-out snapper (#4). Taken on heavy octopus jig thingy.

Hey, it wasn't even seven o'clock. Immediately deciding to end the trip, I rationalised that I'd surely earn some much needed brownie points by getting home so early. Turning the bow toward the beach, a mere two clicks away, I deployed the trolled HLP, just in case, and paddled back in. On the way in I passed several indicators that the anchovy shoals were still being hammered by small predators, but no large predators seemed to be present.

Noosa Yakker turtleboy was on the beach exercising his dogs when I beached. So were many of the village's dog lovers and, as usual, a barrage of questions was directed at me. No sweat; I love telling others of the joys, satisfaction and challenges of kayak fishing, especially from an ocean beach. And I never exaggerate.

A few beach pics

Local beach lady, and fishing fan.

Turtleboy's dogs show an interest in kayak and fish. Pic by turtleboy, my camera.

Snapper and Stealth. Pic by turtleboy, my camera.

So, the fish are there, Noosa Yakkers. What are you waiting for?

Kev



Supplementary Report by Gemini





A brief summary of my report in a nutshell: I stuffed up.

After leading a pampered life of smooth launches from MG, in my infinite wisdom I thought I could apply my luck successfully to Doggie Beach. Big mistake. Doggie Beach is deceptively different to MG. The short break builds up and comes at you fast, and the little breakers still have significant power behind them.

Following Kev's lead, I waited for what looked to be an opportunity to launch into the wash and head out. The results didn't exactly end well. See for yourself...



For those of you who run with rods up on launch (like me), Doggie Beach is NOT the place to do so. It's far too unpredictable, and I certainly won't be making the same mistake twice. An extra 30 minutes rigging up on the water is preferable to the damage I sustained today.

Another point I will make is to be prepared for when you roll. In the video above you will see I was under water for around 8 seconds. What you can't see is that I was under the yak the entire time. I had to force the yak up and off me using my legs and back, and the suction was incredible in the shallow water. I had nobody on shore to assist, and it could have gone badly very quickly. In the famous words of Douglas Adams: DON'T PANIC! 8 seconds under a yak in the surf seems like an eternity, and your brain does funny things in that time when you don't have access to the open air. Take your time, assess the situation, and keep calm. There would be nothing worse than flailing around getting tangled in ropes, or paddle leashes (ahem...as Dave mentioned the other day), and taking a big breath of seawater in a panic.

The good news is repairs have been done, the yak is ready to go again, and the reels will be stripped over the course of the week. An expensive learning experience for sure, but a needed one I think. No cutting corners for the sake of more fishing time from now on!

Cheers!

Gemini