Wind: SE 20-30 knots
Swell: Not big
Current: N/A
Launch point: Adder Rock Beach, North Stradbroke Island
Participants: kahuna, lazybugger, lapse, indiedog, couta01, isobar, jaro, pedro, eyetag, sunshiner (sorry if I've missed any other NYs present) and lots of other fishers from as far south as Melbourne. Total about 40.
This was the first annual Queensland offshore kayak fishing comp, organized and staged by Australian Kayak Specialists, the Australia and Pacific Island distributors of Stealth kayaks.
Noosa Yakkers did not win, but nevertheless, one of our star performers caused a bit of jaw dropping by bagging two spectacular fish in the last session. These fish were not included in the eligible species list but were recognized in the prize list. Remember, this comp was the first, and as such was a test bed for how the comp will be conducted in future. I think we can be pretty sure that the fish in question will be in the list next time.
The other thing to understand is that team membership was based on where participants live. This meant that only fishers who live north of the Mooloolah River were designated as members of the Noosa team. We picked up two or three guys (salticrak, sprocket and redgreg) who live in our area but are not yet Noosa Yakkers, but may well join us soon.
Waiting to get on the ferry. Jaro and I travelled together as did pedro and eyetag who finished up travelling on the same ferry.
On the ferry. We're on the port side, pedro and eyetag on the starboard.
It's an easy 20km on bitumen from the ferry terminal to Adder Rock Camping Ground. Our first glimpse of the launch beach through the trees as we drove in was very uplifting: crystal clear water and a gentle shore break. Before long we'd chosen ideal camping spots and were setting up, just as the rain started.
All set. Excellent camping facilities.
First item on the agenda was the obligatory beach recce from the low rocky headland on the eastern end. The wind at this time was much lighter than later and everything looked hunky dorey with a sandbar about 150m out causing the small swell to break then roll through a wide gutter to the shore break. Getting out looked easy and generally was. Getting back through proved the undoing of many, however. Second item was the also obligatory briefing, conducted inside one of the two camp kitchen areas adjacent to our site. Then it was a BBQ and a few drinks with the opportunity to meet lots of fishers for the first time and renew acquaintances with others met in the past. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the 05:00 start of the comp.
Despite the obviously stiff "breeze" in our sheltered camping spot all the Sunshine Coast Noosa Yakkers opted to go. Kahuna, eyetag and pedro headed for the beach a bit earlier than I but when I got down there eyetag and pedro were hanging about deliberating on the best launch path to take. Kahuna had already launched and I could see him, safely out the back. I also noticed a mysterious black object floating in the gutter heading west with the current. To our surprise, Kahuna started to come back in. Why would he do this? He skilfully crossed the outer break zone then headed for the mystery object, picking it up and donning it as soon as he got there, before once more heading our through the outer break. Strange behaviour!
Launch time for eyetag, pedro and me; jaro was still not on the beach. Spread over a front of about 200 metres, the three of us, plus Redphoenix (AKFF) in his AI, launched. Getting out was a matter of jumping on quickly, like a Doggie Beach launch and paddling out to the middle of the gutter and then waiting for a lull and going hard when it appeared. All four of us got out OK but once out the back the full force of the wind could be felt. The water was pretty shallow and the waves steep as a result so I kept paddling until about 600m out before I felt I could safely open my hatch to access my fishing gear and electronics. I could see that pedro did the same but even so, during the time we were accessing our gear we were being blown and driven westward.
Shag Rock, I knew, because I'd checked on Google Earth a few days earlier, was 1500m from the launch area. It offered some protection from the wind so I headed straight for it, battling the wind and chop all the way, making about 2-3kph.
Once here, I found I was once more in close company with my launch companions who obviously had the same idea as I had.
Me at Shag Rock. Pic by Redphoenix, posted on AKFF.
Using the lee of Shag Rock as a somewhat smelly (as you'd expect with that name) shelter, I consolidated my position. During the 45 min paddle since I'd left the beach I'd not seen any surface action amid lots of white caps, and had trolled my Qantas HLP the whole way without a touch. Pedro however had picked up an undersized snapper so there was some hope of success. Drift fishing however was out of the question as far as I was concerned because the speed of drift due to the wind would have made things difficult to say the least.
There was some radio traffic but mostly about the crap weather, and no mention of fishing success. As pedro and eyetag were heading together out toward the north I tagged along for a while, into the totally exposed waters but still felt uncomfortable even though the boat was handling the conditions well. I therefore headed back around Shag Rock, still trolling and about then decided that the conditions were unsuitable for me and made the decision to head back to the beach, a straight down wind run. I stopped paddling and just steered with the rudder, finding I was travelling down wind at about 3-4kph, ideal for the HLP.
Kahuna, I could see, was inshore from me and obviously headed for the beach also. With my gear safely stowed, I easily crossed the outer bank, which was the worst part of the long break zone, and picked up a little wave at the end which took me right to the beach. Kahuna, well, you'd better ask him.
Other than a little later successfully taking up a challenge to take a Profisha 575 out and back without falling off (very pointy, very fast), that was the extent of my on-water activities for the comp. Jaro, having heard the radio conversations and also having spoken to returnees on the beach, wisely opted to not launch at all.
Pedro and eyetag checked back in before 11:00am, fishless. But a few fish, mainly small yellowfin tuna and reasonable snapper were brought back and there was a report that a marlin had been hooked but dropped. Indiedog scored a snapper around 45cm on a heavy octopus jig.
A couple of pics from Saturday morning, on the beach
AKFF legend Grinner shows how to have fun getting an AI going through a shore break. He eventually got out OK.
Hoit (AKFF), from Melbourne, took the opportunity to successfully tackle the break in Nadia’s pink Evo 465.
Right next to the campground is a great burger shop. That was my next destination and then it was off to the cot for a quick nap, in readiness for the arvo session which went from 3:00pm(?) to 5:00pm. The weather at 3:00pm was not significantly better but pedro and eyetag were off again, leaving us old farts to while away the afternoon, which I did, hanging out on the beach, having a swim and chatting.
In came the afternoon guys, and one smallish Spaniard had been taken, on a whole bonito. Eyetag and pedro still hadn't scored, but sprocket did present a keeper spangled emperor, so at least the Noosa team had a fish, even though it couldn't score points, being off the species list. This was the only occasion I'd witnessed eyetag take a bath, when he lost it in the maelstrom which occupied the gutter. Things weren't looking good.
Saturday evening saw another group BBQ, with yellowfin tuna and Spanish mack on the menu. Our foursome ate well and Jaro and I finished off with a nice bottle of red. By 8:00pm I was in bed, snoring, ready for a 4:00am getup.
Slept like a log! Rain had been tumbling down for much of the night and the tent walls had been responding to the wind which was stirring the trees overhead. The voices of pedro and eyetag woke me around four thirty. Pedro had already been down to the beach and pronounced it doable, even though the moon had set around 10:00pm and sunrise was 05:30. Accordingly, our two indefatigable chums were feverishly prepping for the last session (5:00am to 9:00am). Turning on my iPad, I checked the live weather at Cape Moreton, about 40km north. Wind ESE, 49kph! Having relayed this info I went back to bed. They scurried off down to the beach, dragging their yaks behind them, having made a plan about where they'd fish. Oh wouldn't it be nice to be young again (to Jaro and me, 52 is still young and 45 is barely out of nappies)!
Unbelievably, after a very early brekky, I lay down to read a book and fell asleep again, putting in another hour of shuteye before heading down to the beach to witness the return of our heroes. This time, the break on the outer bank must have been trickier because lots of yakkers could be seen chasing after inverted yaks as they were unseated on their way in to the beach. I spotted eyetag out there (that big straw hat is very visible) and nearby, pedro, who was wearing a new pale coloured hat presumably specially bought for the occasion. As I expected, they both negotiated the break carefully and cleverly, arriving at the beach the right way up, eyetag first.
Eyetag had a twinkle in his eye as I strode up to him. "It was shitty but worth it," he said. Popping off the lid of his rear hatch, he reached in and started dragging out the first fish. Onlookers, a dozen metres or so away, noticed this movement and uttered a loud collective "Phwoar!" when he removed the sodden towel cover from the first, huge but smaller, spangled emperor. This was the biggest spangly I'd seen in many years; and then he pulled the bigger one out. His old Swing, which had delivered uncountable fish to beaches around Noosa, became the centre of attention. Eyetag, of course, lapped it up, and deservedly.
The larger of these two fish was, in my opinion, the trophy fish of the whole comp, being a fish of species, size and desirability rarely if ever taken from a kayak in Australian inshore waters. Only an understandable technicality kept it from acquiring the trophy tag it deserved; after all, who would have predicted that such a magnificent and sought after species would have been present in these waters?
Pedro had lucked out, even though he was fishing the same location with similar lures and had pedalled/paddled the exact same route.
Pedro in foreground, eyetag in background, leaving the beach.
Shortly after this, sprocket (Dave), another member of the Noosa team who had caught a spangly on Saturday arvo, came in on his AI. Amazingly, he had two spangled emperor also, although one had been severely shortened by a shark. The intact fish looked to be about 68-70cm. Clearly the boys had found the spangly hot spot (and we know where it is).
Prizes and trophies were handed out at 11:00am, with the "Mexican" team being declared the winners of the comp. The prizes were generous without being over the top, and the top prize, a brand new Evo 465, for the first angler to catch and release a billfish, remained unclaimed. Next time, eh?
With the weather showing no signs of improvement, many, including the Noosa Yakkers from Noosa, decided to break camp and take a chance on catching the car ferry home, given that we were booked for the ferries on the following day, Monday. This we did successfully, with Jaro and I being last home, around 6:00pm, after a wait of a couple of hours in the Standby line. We all agreed that we'd return to Adder Rock just as soon as we could and that this is a viable location for a Noosa Yakkers assembly in future.
AKS did a remarkable job of organizing this comp and their team members deserve our thanks for staging it. They have now built up their expertise and experience to potentially make it even better next time. Even with crap weather, some great experiences were had. I personally spoke to many fishers who assured me they had gained valuable experience and confidence in fishing and navigating new waters and in defeating conditions rarely encountered. Well done Tom, Dennis and Nadia. Thanks.
Adder Rock beach. Yakkers paradise!
AKFF Report
Kev
Awesome trip boys, wish I could have participated.
ReplyDeleteGreat fishes Ian, you da man!!!