Woolgoolga, Round 1, 25Mar13

TR by sunshiner

Wind: NW less than 5 knots
Swell: 1m easterly
Current: toward north, gentle
Launch point: Woolgoolga Main Beach
Participants: me, alone

First time fishing in a new place is always a challenge. Add a kayak launch on a surf beach and a new dimension is added.

I'd chosen Woolgoolga as a two day stopover with the yak mainly because it's about half way to Sydney. Accommodation within a short yak trundle of the beach was also important, so here we are at Woolgoolga Beach Caravan Park, and we've cracked great weather with light winds and low swell.

Here's the situation. The location bubble is where our cabin sits.

Daylight savings time applies in NSW so it was a late start this morning, particularly as the sun presently rises a little later here anyway.

Launch time. Beaches down here are afflicted with what looks like a type of kelp.

Getting out was dead easy and after setting up I immediately set out for the big bommie, as visible on the map above. A young couple in a double yak with a fishing rod were also out, earlier than I was and we exchanged good mornings as they headed back in toward the beach, fishless, I understand.

I found that there was lots of structure east of the bommie in 12-14m depth, so decided to fish Noosa style here. Other than a shoal of small baitfish that I drifted over, I got and saw no action, so started to look around. About 800m east there was a stinky with a couple of blokes in it so I paddled over to find out why they were there. The water here was 20m or so but these guys were catching nothing so I decided to hang around there for a while and did so, for two drifts in about 45 min before I started to get the itch to have more of a look around.

The view from offshore.

To the south the headland you can see just east of my launch point caught my attention so I headed out in a straight line across the bay toward it. All of the time I was paddling I had a lure out, just in case. On this track I came across obvious surface upwellings and at the same time began noticing the depth reducing from around 18m to 16m. Here there were also some faint surface actions and a few terns hanging about. After taking a good look around with the sounder I decided it was worth a try so pulled up and deployed my plastics. No action at all, and as my self imposed deadline of 09:30 was imminent it was time to head for the beach. My trailing outfit had been hanging out the back with a four inch SP on it and as I was retrieving this quickly it got slammed and I was on.

The fish seemed to me to have been probably a snapper around maybe 50cm so I was really stoked as I was clearly going to break my duck. Then the line went slack. Bummer; the hook had dislodged. Headed for the beach, tail between legs, cursing loudly.

Again an easy surf zone transit. Now getting ready for a late arvo session, same place. Then tomorrow morning again. Wish me luck.

See you in a couple of weeks.

Kev

Isobar and Dave, 24Mar13

TR by Isobar

I launched with my friend Dave at 6:00am from Moffat beach, Caloundra. We planned to head north towards Rapier shoal, but halfway there we saw many terns and birds feeding on bait fish, but without a sign of pelagics.

We trolled our lures. I was with a small mullet Frenzy, like the one I gave Jaro, and Dave was trolling a green mullet Halco LP 120 through the bait schools.

At some point I got a strike, which felt quite tame at first, but gradually put on a nice fight which ended eventually with a circa 60cm shark that I kept.

We kept trolling for another hour or so, without any result and decided to head back. As we were just off Dickey beach (less than 1k from our launch site), Dave was hit hard.

I got close and gave him my best advice how to handle the fish and setting the drag. Dave played the fish beautifully and 10 minutes later, the long silhouette of the Spaniard made it to the surface, where I gaffed it and helped Dave land it.

Photo by IsoBar

From there it was an easy 10 minutes paddle back to the beach, with lots of interest and questions from locals.


Photo courtesy of IsoBar

It seems like the fish are back!

Cheers, IsoBar and Dave

What a sunset! - 24Mar13

TR by Gemini
Participants:  Gemini
Launch Site: Jamesy's Run, Lake MacDonald
Conditions: Fine, light breeze

Today I decided to try a different launch site for Lake MacDonald. There is a rarely used "ramp" off Hoy Road which I discovered one day while geocaching and, although overgrown, is still in perfect working order. I hit the water around 4:20PM, only planning to fish until dark.

I headed over to the far bank and turned north, attempting to find the open water in between the weeds. It was hard going. The algae in this section of the lake was catching my lure frequently, and it's a pain to remove compared to the weed there. Not far up I had my first (and only) take for the day. This fish had a few cracks at the lure before he took it, but when he did it went down whole. He felt like a good size, and I wasn't disappointed. At 42cm he gave me a new personal best for bass. Only a 1cm difference from my last PB, but i'll take it!





From there on the going was slow. I cruised around the 3-Ways and annoyed some bird life, and then made my way back. I had a hit along the way, but it didn't take and I couldn't entice him back for a second serve.

As the sun started to disappear I was greeted with one mighty fantastic sunset. The pictures really don't do it justice, but you get the idea.






Cheers!

Matt (Gemini)

Big Spaniard, 24Mar13

TR by WhaleBait

A solo trip report today from me as Gemini and BJ pulled out due to launch conditions. I launched at 5:30am and paddled out to Sunshine Reef. The water is still very dirty with a few birds heading north but no surface action.

I did 1 drift with no action so started paddling back up my drift line when my trolled pillie was smashed. The first run very nearly spooled me and after 45 minutes, 2 more big runs and an epic tug of war under the kayak, I now found myself along way from home (southern end of Abay) with a very large Spaniard on my lap.

It was a very slow and unbalanced trip home which took nearly 2hours. Somehow I managed to land upright back on the beach.

The 162 cm beast weighed in at Davos at 24kg.


Photo by Bill Watson / Davo's Fishing Tackle.

Sorry for the rambling report but very tired. My first paddle for 3 months.

cheers, Brian

Conditions improving, 23Mar13

TR by sunshiner

Wind: SW less than 5 knots
Swell: 1.8m easterly
Current: At Jew Shoal, toward the east
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Participants: solman, yakfinn, stormin, kahuna, sunshiner, and possibly tarzan (spotted his car in carpark after return)

At last, a near windless day. Four of us assembled on the beach at Middle Groyne in the near darkness about 5:15. A quick assessment of the break made each of us aware that a wet bum, but nothing worse, was a strong possibility. Even though the tide was high, there was enough swell to cause waves to break on the bank about 30m out from the groyne. There were lulls, but not very consistent and not easy to predict.

Out I went, first, and had passed the end of the wall and was going well until one of THOSE waves started to rise quickly seemingly out of nothing. I knew I’d crash through OK, but don't like getting wet on the way out, especially when there are observers like yakfinn on the beach. Anyway I switched on the shiraz powered afterburner (refuelled the night before) and cleared the dumper just before it collapsed into a chaotic frothy wall behind me.

So, drybum, off to a good start. My companions followed. I think solman got a wet bum as he managed to pick a set of four all of which he climbed over accompanied by a fair bit of spray which was clearly visible from my vantage point a further 150m out.

Noting that the water seemed murky, I opted to head for Jew Shoal in the hope that the clean water boundary might be between here and there. Paddling conditions were great, for a change, with almost dead calm conditions in the bay. Sunrise on the bay is always a pleasure in such conditions.

Very occasionally I spotted a tern, or maybe three or four, but there was no surface activity, and the terns would have found it difficult to get breakfast I think. Jew Shoal did not look inviting as the water had that tinge which usually means no fish in my experience. But I gave it my best shot, as did my companions all of whom had followed me out there. The sounder had a very occasional showing of fish, or debris, in mid water, but generally the indications were that there was little around. Kahuna arrived about 40 minutes after calling us up from Middle Groyne and just as he arrived he reported that he'd got and dropped a quick strike at The Pinnacles after which a longtail jumped nearby.

Solman with wet straw hat (probably a launch casualty) in his quite new Supalite X.

After 90 minutes or so of no action, not even for stormin, who was using prawns for bait, I opted to head toward Little Halls Reef to take a look. Ominously, just as I announced this I spotted two stinkboats coming toward us from that very place. The closer I got to Little Halls Reef the more attractive the idea of pulling the pin became because there was no improvement in water quality, no signs of terns feeding, no surface action. My decision to head for the beach was also influenced by the announcements from solman and stormin that they and yakfinn were heading in.

And so we four arrived back at the beach together. The surf zone was turbulent but managed well by all, although stormin did come close to moving the rock wall a little to the east.

I reckon those who go out tomorrow should head for A-Bay Reef or Sunshine, where the water may be clearer and more amenable to the fish.

Thanks for coming guys. See you in a couple of weeks.

Kev

Additional Contribution by Kahuna

I hauled in a nice snapper at Jew Shoal about 9.30am after you guys choofed off.  It was 750cm long and I reckon weighted about 5kgs. I didn't have anything to weigh it with so cant be sure. There is a large area there that I'd not identified previously, as I hadn't had the opportunity to have a good look before. It is only about 8-9m deep and that's where I got the snapper on a combo pillie and prawn bait.

I had noticed it before breaking during the last really big swell a couple of months back and figured there was a shoal there that was quite shallow. Lots of rough ground and lots of bait fish around yesterday. I also saw three explosions as Longtails launched themselves into the air close by me during my time out there.

Don't know how Tarzan did. I launched about the same time as him but he disappeared towards Sunshine Reef with a vigour and speed I was unable to match.

cheers, Kahuna.

Sharks, mainly. 17Mar13

TR by sunshiner

Wind: NW to SW 5 knots
Swell: 1.5m SE
Current: In Laguna Bay, toward the east
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Participants: lazybugger, jaro, jimbo, solman, yakfinn, soren, emil, stormin, redwood, sunshiner (sorry if I've missed any other NYs present).

Background: Since our previous offshore trip, 24Feb13, three weeks ago, until today, the wind had exceeded 20 knots and the swell exceeded three metres so no offshore fishing opportunities have arisen. In February we got out offshore only once. We have also experienced high and ongoing rainfall events which have only just stopped in the last several days. After today's light winds and low swell the forecast is for no more offshore fishing days in Noosa for the next week -- a grim prospect, but hopefully the rain will hold off and give the sea a chance to clear.

The Middle Groyne carpark was busy at 05:10 when I arrived. I expected to be one of the earlier starters but was upstaged by several others. All three of my favourite (favourite because they have clear space on one side which makes for easy unloading and loading single handed) carpark spots were taken so I had to make do with a "normal" park which forced me to seek help to get my yak off.

Down at the beach the first three of us, jaro, lazybugger and I, could see that launch would be easy and that proved to be the case. Dry bum! Except for some!

The water was still murky :-(, but at least the wind was light. Gradually the launchers arrived out the back. Plans varied. Some were heading for Halls Reef, others for Jew Shoal. No one for Sunshine Reef. Lazybugger, jaro and I headed for Jew Shoal. Everyone was hoping to find clean water and thus, possibly, fish.

At Jew Shoal the water was still somewhat murky, but not so bad as in close. Although the sun by now had risen there was no sign of surface activity. A few terns could be seen from time to time, but except for one brief flurry of activity about 1500m west of the Pinnacles there was nothing happening. Jaro was fishing with his usual baits and immediately started to catch sharks. Radio reports from the west, around Halls Reef and Little Halls Reef, indicated the same result.

At one stage jaro saw a couple of tuna leap right in front of him but I saw none. No turtles or dolphins either.

By 08:30 I and some others had exhausted our patience. The area looked and felt dead, except for sharks. Stormin reported the catch of a "cod" just under 40cm, which he released. Solman managed to convince another shark to take an SP which would have provided a great tussle with a disappointing end. Imagine thinking that a decent snapper had taken your offering only to have a small shark appear next to the yak with your offering in its mouth. Jimbo reported releasing a very small snapper, caught on bait.

The great paddle/pedal back in started about now and by around 10:00am most of us were either on the beach or pretty close to it. It was good to see such a strong rollup and I'm sure the practice gained will stand all in good stead in the next few months.

Colour on the beach as we assembled for a chat afterward.

Thanks for coming guys

Kev

Lake Mac Quickie - 01Mar13

TR by Gemini
Participants:  Gemini
Launch Site: Strawberry Patch, Lake MacDonald
Conditions: Overcast, rain periods, light breeze

After yesterdays failed trip (for reasons you can see here) I was pretty keen to get out on the water today, regardless of weather. After a slight delay getting ready, I finally launched at around 4PM into a light rain.

The action was slow going for a while. Bait fish were jumping all over the place with birds cleaning them up, but the mummy and daddy fish were apparently still asleep. I made my way around towards Toga Bay, passing a nest full of baby birds of prey high up in a tree. They were too high for my GoPro to get a shot of unfortunately, but they were big and noisy. I'm still trying to identify the species.

I moved up towards the Palm Farm and found some inquisitive swans barring the way. They were honking and carrying on, but they didn't seem too worried when my path led right between a pair of them.



At the top end of the Palm Farm, after no strikes whatsoever, I decided to let the breeze push me back the way I had came and take the lazy way home. Good plan said the fish, we'll play now...

Strike one gave me the first bass of the day, measuring in at 37cm.



Strike two happened not 3 casts after releasing the first bass. This fella measured in at 35cm.



Only another 5 minutes had passed when strike three had my reel buzzing. This guy felt like a good fish, diving and running about like crazy. He measured in at 39cm.



After the excitement I had no further luck. I had a couple of missed strikes near Toga Bay (one I managed to get on video), but no takers. By this time it was getting dark, so I called it a day. As usual, video to come later.

Cheers!

Matt (Gemini)