Wind: none, light northerly later on
Swell: one metre E
Water temp: 26°C
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Participants: tunny, stormin, aussie-stu, prowler1, whalebait, tarzan, geetrain, clappo, sunshiner,
Keen Angler Program: at least 1xSpaniard frame contributed by stormin
When I got down to the beach around 04:30, thinking I'd be the first as there was still some preparation activity in the carpark, I was surprised to see several others waiting there ready to launch, long-time-no-see Noosa Yakker whalebait among them (we missed you during the whale season, whalebait). Then someone told me that tarzan had already launched, about 15 minutes earlier.
The launch was ridiculously easy and before long the seven of us were heading out. Tunny, prowler1 and I headed for Little Halls Reef/Halls Reef while the others decided they'd try their luck at Jew Shoal. Stormin called up when we were abeam of Little Halls Reef and told us he was following us out to Halls Reef as he'd managed to get a substitute for the last two hours of his all night shift at work.
Superb conditions, but no sign of activity on our front, until we got closer to Halls Reef where tarzan could be seen with a severely bent rod (he had no radio today).
How much punishment can that slug chucker take?
Anyway, I hove to near him to offer my assistance and get some pics, especially as he said he had a longtail on. I couldn't help but notice, however, that there were some issues here. Tarzan filled me in on the details. He'd been paddling happily along trolling two outfits when a bustup of longtails happened right in front of him. His slug chucker was available so he chucked a slug, cranked fast, hooked up big time and the fish went where you hoped it wouldn't go: around the two trolling outfits. That explained the bird's nest I could see whenever he managed to retrieve enough line to (briefly) get the leader knot out of the water. Tarzan was valiantly trying to gain the upper hand with a helluva lot stacked against him. But at least it wasn't blowing 15 knots in a two metre swell.
Things were about to get worse. He was doing really well, I thought, just staying connected but then there was a loud bang as his slug chucker got much shorter instantly. Amazingly, the braid hadn't broken and he was still connected, but now the piece of rod in his hands had only one runner, which was not designed to take the sort of downward pressure being applied. Worse, the pieces (for there were two) of rod not in his hand were still on his line, sliding up and down.
Rod in three pieces, three lines involved and still connected.
At this stage tarzan decided to go for broke, heaving and cranking to try to get the leader up so he could grab it. The one remaining runner seemed to me to be distorting under the pressure. I noticed he was wearing gloves so at least he had that in his favour. Tarzan has nailed some big longtails in the past so he's no novice at this game. Next thing, he's got the leader in his hand, which has also got a HLP from one of the other outfits tangled in it. I winced at the possibilities but admired his efforts to stay in control of his rampaging opponent. He was making steady progress when the hook pulled or the leader broke. Nice try, tarzan.
While this was going on longtails were busting out not far away. Tunny was chasing them but the bustups were so brief and so widely separated that he couldn't get a decent slug chuck at them. After leaving tarzan to sort out his problems I joined in, trolling and occasionally getting almost close enough to the splashes and the leaping longtails, but never really getting the chance to have a whack at them. It was like one of those Whack-a-Mole games: no sooner was I ready to whack than the mole disappeared.
About now stormin came up on the radio nonchalantly announcing that he'd just hatched a Spaniard, taken on Lazybugger's pillie rig. Over at Jew Shoal as aussie-stu told us by radio, geetrain had also boated one.
Stormin and I met up a little later, close to the Halls Reef mark.
Stormin's second ever Spaniard, and the first to be accommodated in his recently acquired Stealth.
Oh and here's Jim (prowler1), who told me he'd just been busted by a hoodlum when trolling a white SP on his bream outfit. Sounds like a longtail attack to me and I think Jim was a little under-gunned.
By now the longtail surface action, such as it was, had fizzled out. We kept trying for a while, especially when Stormin caught another Spaniard, 2cm undersize, released in good condition. Just before 08:00 I decided to head for the beach and enjoyed the paddle in perfect conditions with a tiny following northerly.
On the beach was clappo, and I could see from out the back that he had a decent fish because beach strollers were deviating to his yak and staring and pointing at something arrayed on his stern. Some tiny waves made for a perfect opportunity to get an easy ride in and I took it.
Clappo with our first longtail taken in the 2013/14 season. Caught on a trolled jumbo pillie, while on the way back to Middle Groyne from Little Halls Reef. Length: just under a metre.
I hung around for a little while and took to the water for a dip, with the camera, when stormin and tunny returned to the beach.
Stormin's starting to get the hang of his Supalite. Picking up a small shorey and hammering in to the beach.
Tunny, as usual with a big smile on his face whenever he's on his yak.
One more pic of stormin's Spaniard.
Before I left for home whalebait came in fishless, having lost his one hookup to a badly driven stinky, which were apparently in plague proportions at Jew Shoal.
We would all like to see pics of and hear about the other fish caught today so please add your contributions, geetrain (now added). Whalebait thought that another yakker at Jew Shoal caught a longtail so let us know if it was you.
Geetrain's fish. 1.34m, 16kg. Caught on a trolled garfish. Pic by ?
A very enjoyable morning, and now the wind's getting up again, but only for the weekend!
Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange
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