My first yak shark sighting. 10Nov14

TR by diesel

When I launched at 0410 at Middle Groyne, it was bright moonlight and the breakers of about half a metre were coming in in nice regular sets. It was low tide and there was a swell of around half a metre plus and it made for a dry launch.

I headed up along the coast toward the headland then out to JS, towing a Halco 120 HBL on the hunt for anything pelagic that might like to come home with me!

I checked the lure twice on the way out for free loaders (grinners) but as I started to reel the lure in at JS it loaded up and away went the lure. I put some drag on and started to win back the line lost. This lasted all of two minutes then the unidentified fish turned and ran back at me, leaving me with a heap of slack line and a spat out lure. Bugger! The high point of the day at 0550!

From then till 0815 I used three different types of soft plastics, bottom bashed with a paternoster rig and had a pilly on a gang set up at ten metres and it all amounted to zilch. Nothing was coming up on the sounder and for the whole time out there I saw one bait ball and only one fish on the sounder.

A red Hobie turned up about this time and I was talking to the operator, Tom, who hales from Redcliffe and who is interested in the Noosa Yakkers. I suggested he do a run out on Tuesday and meet some more of the yakkers.
At 0830 I got a strike on the pilly and boated a small Australian Bonito; we eat tonight!

Later while I was talking to Tom (who also got a small Bonito) I got another strike on the pilly which threw the hook at the yak.

I set off for MG at 0900 and had my first shark sighting. The swell was now up around a metre and as I looked forward I saw what I thought was a dolphin surf down the face of the swell. Wrong colour and wrong fin shape! As I took my next stroke I looked down at the paddle blade as it entered the water and just then a large shark shape passed me from bow to stern. The head was at my shoulder and its tail was just passing the bow. It was about two metres down and had khaki top colouring with a white belly and I guesstammate it was three metres plus. A bronze whaler perhaps? It gave me a bit of a buzz!

I arrived back at MG and made a text book landing on the river side of the groyne, very uneventful.

Just another day in paradise.

diesel

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