Fish, birds, monster. 01Jul15

TR by sunshiner


Wind: S up to about 5 knots (as forecast by SeaBreeze)
Swell: 1.5m ENE
Water temp: 22.2°C
Tides: 1:35 am : 0.45 L; 7:06 am : 1.42 H
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Surface action: none
Participants: pedro, diesel, sunshiner
My trip distance: 11km
Keen Angler Program: I donated 2 snapper frames

Today was the only day since last Thursday that the wind had dropped below 15 knots during daylight. The retirees' motto is "Get 'em while you can" so diesel and I fronted again today, accompanied by pedro, who, while not retired, will fish every chance he gets.

Pedro must be getting old as he hung back waiting on the beach with we two older farts, all of us trying to get a handle on the confusing set pattern smashing into the groyne. The fact that we could hardly see the waves (moon had set, and cloudy, and little sign of the rising sun) made us doubly cautious. Normally pedro just shuts his eyes and paddles his pedal boat out, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Perhaps he's had a bad experience recently.

Eventually the oldest of us showed the way, and I dry bummed it to boot. My companions joined me soon afterward, damp but not disheartened.

According to pedro, the news from Davo's was that the snapper were on at Jew Shoal. This diesel and I already knew from last week. So that made three of us for Jew Shoal. Gonna be crowded out there!

We had it all to ourselves. A couple of stinkies braved the bar during our outward passage but didn't come anywhere near us, disappearing into the distance at best possible speed in the not-inconsiderable swell.

Diesel's sunrise and general conditions pic. Wind was around five knots max from the south.

Soon we were deployed on the shoal, pedro jigging for livies (successfully) at the southern edge, diesel bashing the bottom with baits around The Pinnacles and I starting my drift in the SE corner with my cast SP and trailing outfit.

After some 15 minutes of no-talk on the radio, diesel came up and asked me what was going on. At that time none of us had anything to report but within a couple of minutes after that I was on.

It's always nice to get on the board. A 40cm snap which took a liking to my SP.

As soon as I announced this fish by radio, pedro responded to confirm that he'd also just boated a sweetie.

The wind gradually eased and conditions were perfect, if not better. I hooked up again on the SP but the hook pulled (no tooth this time!). Then I was on again, the cast SP continuing to do the damage.

Just a keeper, but very welcome.

On the sonar there were many large accumulations of bait, probably yakkas, as that's what pedro had caught as live bait. In the air, numerous gannets wheeled around blamming into the clear blue water whenever they saw, or fancied they saw, a potential meal.

Just as diesel and I were leaving the shoal for home pedro radioed that he'd boated another sweetie which, once hooked, had been eaten and then disgorged by a probable large cod (evidence: sudden huge weight on the line then the appearance of the scale-less sweetie; ask pedro and see his contribution at the end of this TR).

As usual, we trolled home. Half way back my shallow-running trolled HLP went off with a decidedly lazy growl. I quickly radioed to diesel who was about three hundred metres to the east and then swung around to look after the "fish". Uh, oh! An angry gannet was flopping on the water behind me. This has happened to me before, quite a long time ago, so perhaps I should change to a deeper running lure until summer (when the gannets disappear).

Gannet hooked? Bring to port side of yak (this for right handers). Grab gannet gently but firmly, using left hand, around neck just below head and never allow its head to get within pecking distance of your face/eyes. Drag gannet onto the yak. With right hand access pliers and knife as required and then free the hook/s from the bird (this one was hooked in the soft flesh under the lower jaw and also in the right wing). Once hook is freed, make sure there's no line entangling the bird and then release it gently by just dropping it onto the water surface.

Picking up the gannet (pic by diesel)

Using the pliers (you're in trouble if you don't have any). GoPro video frame.

Checking there's no line entangling the bird before release. GoPro video frame.

This excitement over, we continued our journey. Cue the sand monster.

The surf wasn't big, but there was lots of it. I decided to try for a ride and screwed up. Wet bum. Video available.

But hey what a great morning. Clearly the snapper are there. So hone your SP skills and go get 'em!

Just heard from pedro:

~~~~~~~~
Hi Kev,
I stayed out till 12.30 landing the snapper on (second trip old) whole pilchard about 11.30, one other snapper 35cm not in pic.
No other news except a giant toad followed my livey in and bit me off very cleanly.
Notice the scales missing on the bottom grassy, had the cod on for a couple of minutes and managed to get it off the bottom before it spat the bait (hook fully engulfed by the grassy) so was playing the cod on the sweetlip's spines.

Cheers
Pete

~~~~~~~~~

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange

Yeehah! Longtails and snapper. 25Jun15

TR by sunshiner


Wind: S to SW up to about 5 knots (as forecast by MetEye)
Swell: 1.2m SE
Water temp: 22.8°C
Tides: 1:54 am : 1.43 H; 8:39 am : 0.54 L
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Surface action: at least one longtail seen jumping at Jew Shoal
Participants: pedro, diesel, peebee, tunny, jimbo, sunshiner
My trip distance: 11.5km
Keen Angler Program: I donated a snapper frame

Relying on MetEye's wind forecast, several of us headed out today. Good decision! If anything the winds were a little lighter than I expected at Jew Shoal, so thanks very much BOM for providing this extra insight into our local weather.

To my surprise, on this chilly morning, pedro hadn't yet launched when I arrived at Middle Groyne around 05:40. Diesel was there too and the three of us were soon down on the beach, ready to launch. "Dry Bum!" was the call from each of us as diesel and I launched in semi darkness, paddling towards pedro's light as he'd launched just ahead of us. Pedro had opted to go for Little Halls Reef/Halls Reef while diesel and I reckoned Jew Shoal might be worth a shot.

Beautiful morning. Sun still 30 minutes or so from the horizon. Heavy clouds to the east showed the presence of offshore showers, while we had clear sky over head.

I took my time paddling out, being entertained by some dolphins half way and noted that I was fishing on the shoal by 0645. The water seemed beautifully clear, despite the stirring up of the big blow we've had over the last week or so.

It didn't take long. My radio chirped with diesel's announcement that he had a snapper on board. Bewdy! This also heartened our second lot of three yakkers (peebee, tunny, jimbo), who had just launched together about ten minutes earlier and were enroute to their chosen fishing areas. Jimbo to Jew Shoal, tunny and peebee to Little Halls Reef.

Diesel's pic of the first fish of the day, taken on bait.

A little while later diesel announced that he had another snapper aboard and jimbo responded immediately letting us know that he too had just boated a snapper which had taken a banana prawn on his first cast on arrival at Jew Shoal. As you can imagine, I was feeling a bit left out, but decided to stick with the technique which usually works for me rather than switch to bait.

As we've noticed before, the snapper seemed to go off the bite at js about an hour after sunrise, as my two companions caught no more today. But I got a bit of action…

Firstly, when relocating the 500m or so after my first drift, my trolled HLP went off. I have caught, and seen others catch, pretty big snapper on trolled hard body lures around Jew Shoal and suspected that this was what had nailed my lure. I was just putting more pressure on when the hooks pulled free.

Then, a little more than an hour into my casting/trailing session I lost my jighead in a puzzling incident involving the ocean floor and maybe some weakened braid. A change of SP pattern was necessary as I had no more left of the type I'd just lost so I put on an old favourite, a dark coloured 4 inch PowerBait. Note that I'd been diligently fishing the previous SP for around an hour, today, for no action. First cast with the new SP I hooked up (coincidence?). Not big, but I called it for a decent snapper and was relishing the tussle when the pressure suddenly went off. A few curses here! When I retrieved the jighead and SP I noticed that there was something impaled on the hook.

A snapper canine tooth with root was impaled on the hook. Presumably the hook had embedded in the root area. So now I'm into snapper dentistry. And I've kept the tooth.

So I was still fishless (but not toothless). But now comes the reward. I'd just clocked up two hours drift fishing when my SP was comprehensively nailed in a typical snapper take. As usual, line poured off the spool and my heart rate went up to dangerous levels, as I really love to catch snapper and would be even grumpier than normal if I failed to boat this fish.

But I did boat it. (Cropped frame from GoPro video)

Safely in the fishbox.

Movie of the capture (1:36)

Whew! While this was going on I had become aware through radio chatter that pedro was again strutting his stuff over near Halls Reef somewhere. It seemed that he'd boated another big longtail after a long battle (see pedro's pics at the end of this TR). Peebee had been forced early to retire for the day due to sea sickness and tunny also had nailed a snapper over at Little Halls Reef. Jimbo and diesel, nearby to me, had reported no more action.

So the remainder of us, except pedro, who was now harassing the grassies at Halls Reef, decided to head for home.

The combined catch (pedro excepted, see below). Tunny, jimbo and I caught one snapper each, while diesel caught two.

The boys at the wash point

Info from pedro:

"Hi Kev
Made the Yeeha zone, fish went 24kg at davo’s
Caught on live yakker 8/0 circle hook drifting L Halls, 40min to boat.
Cheers
Pete"

In the Yeehah! zone. Only the second fish to do so at this stage.

Stonker of a longtail. Well done, Pete.

Looks like we might be in for a great winter.

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange

Interesting weather. 18Jun15

TR by sunshiner


Wind: S to SE less than 5 knots (as forecast by MetEye)
Swell: 1.6m ENE
Water temp: 22.8°C
Tides: 3:22 am : 0.42 L; 9:02 am : 1.39 H
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Surface action: none seen
Participants: pedro, sunshiner
My trip distance: 10.5km
Keen Angler Program: Nothing today from me

This is more a weather report, or rather a weather forecasting report, than a fishing trip report because it contains some info which may be useful to all offshore kayak fishers.

But first to the trip itself, briefly.

The weather for an offshore kayak fishing trip has been crap this last ten days or so, and several of us were watching anxiously to see if the slight chance offered by Seabreeze (and others) for today would actually pay off. At 6:30am today, having examined the various options I decided that I'd go despite not having made my usual preparations the previous night. By 07:30 I was on the beach at Middle Groyne checking the situation. It was good to go so I doubled back to the zook to unload my yak.

Pedro, I noticed, was already occupying my preferred space in the car park. Probably he was already at Jew Shoal. The swell was definitely up a bit (see graph later) but nothing that couldn't be managed with a bit of patience and care.

Launch time. As you can see, it was a bit boisterous.

Safely out the back, I radioed pedro who confirmed that he was at the shoal and had already bagged a flathead and sweetlip as well as releasing a shark. Forty minutes or so later I joined pedro and started my usual drift routine. Conditions were ideal, with a light SW-S breeze, clear sky, clean water and no other boats. I started my drift fish at 08:45 and that's about when the fish stopped biting, although it wasn't a hot bite in the first place (new moon). I only got one hit on my SPs in two hours or so, and this was the fish I brought home as a bait for the future.

Yellow-tail pike.

Pedro was also catching nothing else despite having a live bait out and other juicy dead baits wafting around. As often at Jew Shoal, it looks like you need to be there before sunrise to maximise your chance of fish.

Anyway, pedro decided to head for north Sunshine Reef and I hung around until about 11:45 before pulling the pin. I was safely back on the beach at 12:35. Perhaps pedro will fill us in on how he finished up.

Now, for those interested, let's take a look at the weather forecasting situation for today.

This is how Seabreeze interpreted the wind forecast. At Noosa, the wind was actually far less than forecast on this graph, which is for the whole of the Sunshine Coast. If I'd relied on this graph only, I probably wouldn't have bothered going.

The MetEye forecast display. Although this screen shot was obtained late and thus doesn't show the earlier forecasts (one every three hours), all of the earlier ones for today which I saw at 6:15am were very similar to this, with light winds in the Noosa area all day. These forecasts are what I relied on when I made my decision to go, and they proved to be spot on.

My only reservation about today was the launch conditions. In the above graph, Seabreeze forecast that the swell would be from the ENE at around 1.5m. From previous experience we have observed that any swell over one metre from the N round to the E will penetrate Laguna Bay and potentially cause havoc at Middle Groyne (as will unusually large swells from the SE). The amount of havoc depends not only on swell direction but also on swell height and tide state. From my observations today, Seabreeze correctly forecast the swell as there was potential for taking a ducking at both launch and return. Yes, I got through without a swim.

Since I discovered that its service had been extended to Noosa, I have been using MetEye for wind forecasting and have found it to be excellent, especially when used in conjunction with the live wind reading from Double Island Point (see below). For swell forecasts, I will continue to rely on Seabreeze until something better comes along.

Today's Seabreeze graph of the actual wind recorded at DIP, whose anemometer is located in clear, unobstructed air atop the headland, albeit 50km from Noosa. As such, it remains a significant indicator of what the open water wind speed and direction may be in Laguna Bay.

Hope you found the above observations useful.

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange

Four species, Jew Shoal. 04Jun15

TR by sunshiner


Wind: S to SE less than 5 knots (as forecast by MetEye)
Swell: 1.6m SE
Water temp: 23.3°C
Tides: 3:15 am : 0.42 L; 8:53 am : 1.45 H
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Surface action: some mac tuna and longtail activity
Participants: diesel, tunny, jimbo, sunshiner
My trip distance: 10.5km
Keen Angler Program: I donated a snapper frame

Let's get this clear right from the start: before today I'd had seven (yes seven) offshore yak fishing trips in a row without bringing a fish back to the beach. To say that I was getting anxious is an understatement. What was I doing wrong? As it turned out, nothing. It's just that the fish weren't present or active, I presume, because I used exactly the same techniques today and in the same location as previously and today I caught fish. I hope this points to the possibility that our usual fishing spots are coming back to their former condition.

Yesterday pedro told us all that he'd had a great day in Laguna Bay. His catch of two snapper interested me most (even though I was awed by the massive longtail he'd boated), because the snapper is one of my favourite fish, and one I hadn't caught this whole calendar year. Seldom if ever in my kayak fishing career have I not caught a snapper for five months.

So snapper were on my mind when I accepted diesel's invitation yesterday to join him at daybreak for another expedition into the bay. Jimbo and tunny also accepted, so that meant four of us to brave the cold.

And it WAS cold, until we hit the water, as the air at sea level was warmed by the much warmer ocean.

6:00am, just after diesel and I started paddling north for Jew Shoal. Note that the moon is full. Many locals say that fish can't be caught when the moon is full. Myth busted, again!

Jimbo launched a little later and also opted to head for Jew Shoal. Tunny was later still and opted for Little Halls Reef.

A light southerly breeze helped us all the way to Jew Shoal, and I'd put my first cast out (SP) at 6:29am, starting a drift from the southern edge of the shoal to take advantage of the breeze. Soon, diesel, fishing with mac tuna chunks, started to tell me by radio that he was catching various reef ooglies. Then jimbo arrived, armed with big prawns, and very quickly let us know that he'd nailed a nice fat grassie. Then diesel was also in on the act with a 48cm flathead, a fairly rare offshore catch in Noosa in my experience. Me? Nothing. Not even a touch. I had my trailing outfit rigged with a 4 inch white SP and hanging about 10-12m down; my casting outfit was rigged with my usual one-eighth ounce jighead and a 3 inch Z-man SP. Still, this system had worked in the past, so…

The GoPro caught it all. Whack! I was instantly shaken out of my torpor. The drag of my casting outfit (6kg braid) was set properly and line was pouring off the spool. I knew that this fish was almost certainly a snapper. It ran straight, deep and strongly. This was a fish I really needed. After a time the run stopped and I started to retrieve line, slowly but deliberately. A minute or so elapsed and then I could see the pale shimmer below. The shimmer became clearer and the beautiful detailed pattern of colours of a snapper were revealed. Bewdy!

The second gaff shot found a firm grip (cropped frame from GoPro video).

My first snapper for 2015!

That felt better. I now knew that my system worked and that snapper were present. I was very glad I'd got out of bed at 5:00am on this cold morning.

Jimbo by now had boated a second grassie, on prawn. The next bit of action I had was about an hour later, when my cast SP was taken by something which was obviously not a snapper.

Coach-whip trevally (regarded as "unusual" by Ern Grant). This is only the second specimen I've caught at Jew Shoal. A possible Noosa Yakkers record claim as it is not previously recorded in our list of species.

About now jimbo reported another grassie, again on prawn. And tunny had reported in, also.

The action slowed after about 08:30 and we at Jew Shoal opted to head for home, in near glassy conditions, just before 10:00am. Tunny had reported by radio that he'd caught a 40cm snapper at Little Halls Reef and was probably going to head for Halls Reef before coming back in a couple of hours after us.

Some beach pics:

Combined catch.

Three amigos (tunny still out there)

Trekker from Toulouse, visiting Noosa. "I nairver saw men fishing from ze kayaks before!"

Movie of the morning's activities

A great morning. You should have been there, Jaro!

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange

Sunday Spanish Special 31May15

TR by Diesel

Trip date: 31/5/15

Participants: Sunshiner, ScottieD, Jaro, Redwood, Diesel

Launch Site:  Middle Groyne

Conditions: Low swell, light winds from North, early fog for a period

Keen Angler Program: None

Sunrise behind the clouds that eventually enveloped us

I arrived at Middle Groyne at around 0530 , thinking I would be first, only to find Redwood and Scotty D already there.

I went and checked out the beach for launch conditions and found perfect for a  dry bum launch.  A fog covered the main beach and we had 30 cm waves to contend with and almost high tide.  Perfect!

Sunshiner had arrived so we set up to launch, Four Stealth kayaks lined up on the beach  in the pre dawn light. As there is no collective noun for stealths , I made one up!  A slyness of Stealths!

Jaro arrived soon after and we set out for Little Halls Reef  (Shark Alley) which should provide smooth conditions and has been productive over the last few weeks.

I was chasing any thing that swims in the sea and there was a big possibility of a shark between MG and LHR. Being an ex Victorian we don't mind a bit of flake.

I was trolling with a 120 Halco minnow pattern HBL and a pilly set up on a mack special rig.

Diesel's Spanish special

The sun had risen behind the fog on the horizon and it  was coming on 0700 when my Shimano Charter Special  started to squawk.  With line coming off at walking pace I was thinking it would be a shark leisurely swimming off with my tackle so I casually  jacked up the drag on the Charter and  started recovering  my 120 HBL on the other rod and generally tidying up the deck to make room for a Shark.

After recovering around 200 metres of line back onto the reel and a not so difficult fight I got colour for the first time and to my surprise it was a Spanish Mackerel, now I wasn't casual any more, this was serious, my first Spaniard.

After a couple of short sharp runs I had him along side the yak and with a single stroke with the gaff it was out of the water and  into the hatch. Well not quite so easy, I had to twist and jiggle it quite a bit to fit it in!

A tight squeeze. Time to celebrate with some ice-cream

I called sunshiner and told him of the catch and started paddling in his direction for some on water pics.

My first Spaniard

There is a bit of radio chatter with Yakkers  being bitten off  by hit and run pelagics. Redwood lost a 160 deep diver to one of Halls Reef denizens of the deep.

I started  bottom bashing for something different  and within five minutes I had a very angry shark sharing the cockpit, the day is getting better. The hatch is filling fast!

Over the next half hour I hooked two more sharks which were released back to the reef none the worse for wear. By now its after eight and the fog rolled in. Visibility at this time was reduced to around 70 metres so using the GPS was the order of the day. Everyone continued to troll or bottom bash without result. We bumbled around in the fog till it lifted then the exodus started, back to Middle Groyne. I had travelled quite a way north and therefore was the last one back at just after eleven.

Sunshiner and Redwood waited for me to land and then the show and tell started.

I enlisted the services of two lovely young ladies on the beach to help with the photo's.

Danielle and Camilla from Saskatchewan, Canada who are holidaying in Noosa  were more than happy to hold the fish for the photo's.

Danielle and Camilla from Saskatchewan, Canada. Spanish Mackerel from Laguna Bay.

These girls could have a big career in fish modelling. Just joking!  Thanks girls, enjoy your stay in Aust.

Thanks to Sunshiner for the pics.

My first Mackerel, it doesn't get any better.

Another day in paradise!

Tantalized by tuna. 29May15

TR by sunshiner


Wind: calm (maybe 2 knot SW) (as forecast by MetEye)
Swell: 1.2m SE
Water temp: 22.8°C (dropping slowly)
Tides: 4:46 am : 1.47 H; 11:12 am : 0.45 L
Current: none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Surface action: very little reported
Participants: hobie-wan, diesel, tunny, jimbo, stormin, sunshiner
My trip distance: 18.5km
Keen Angler Program: n/a

With a 6:00am launch planned, in perfect conditions (no wind all night), I found that even my 05:30 arrival at Middle Groyne wasn't enough to get there before diesel and tunny who were unloaded and prepping before I pulled into my favourite carpark (thanks for leaving it for me, guys).

There was hardly a whisper from the tiny surf on the beach and before long we three were paddling out in the half light, dry bumming it. I had made up my mind that I would head east as I'd spotted longtails some 22 hours earlier frolicking just outside the break at Sunshine Beach. Tunny and diesel also opted for this approach and off we went, headed for Hells Gates initially. One thing very noticeable was the large number of terns heading out passing us on left, right and overhead showing us the way to the fish (yeah, sure!).

Just to set the mood. GoPro movie frame at about 05:50 as I paddled out after setting up.

Once they arrived at Hells Gates tunny and diesel turned NW toward Jew Shoal while I opted to continue around the headland in search of the longtails which HAD to be there. Meanwhile, jimbo and hobie-wan had launched heading for Jew Shoal, the latter on his first trip out with us (nice to have you along, Mick).

It was somewhere here that I discovered that my trolled Halco LP had picked up something skinny and bright green. Turned out to be some disconnected braid whose embarrassed owner was quickly identified when I reported the "catch" by radio.

The weather was great and I felt good so set course for Sunshine Beach, paddling steadily south at around 5kph. The dolphins that joined me were a bonus as the view was superb with the rising sun behind me, slowly tracking the coastline about 500m or so out. No signs of predatory fish, though, except a couple of small patches of undisturbed bait here and there. Still no action by the time I'd got to the baited shark hooks opposite my local pub, the Sunshine Beach Surf Club so I turned to the north and headed a little wider.

By now, I was aware by radio that stormin also had launched and was heading for Jew Shoal, and that the only fish sighted so far were a couple of jumping longtails reported by diesel as he approached Jew Shoal from the SE. Tunny had also opted to head south and was visible to me, ahead, hanging around A-Bay Reef, to no avail, apparently.

Sunrise by tunny

Even though those at Jew Shoal were reporting no action I decided that I'd head for that destination for want of a better plan. This put me on a course which took me close to Hells Gates, again. Still no action, or signs of feeding fish.

My GoPro runs continuously, once I deploy my trolling outfit, and I'd just taken note that it had been running for 2 hours and 4 minutes as I closed on Hells Gates. All that way for no strikes! At 2 hours and 8 minutes all hell broke loose! Something had grabbed the HLP and was heading for the SE, fast.

The moment I reacted to the screaming reel. That's the southern headland of A-Bay in the shot. (GoPro video frame)

This was as good a strike as I'd had this year so far and line was still pouring from the spool for several seconds after I picked up the rod. It seemed typical of a longtail or Spaniard strike and I was savouring battling this fish when the line went slack. Ah, it's turned toward me, I thought, hopefully, but soon it became apparent that the fish was no longer connected. ^^Insert several expletives of your choice here^^

All my gear was intact so I continued with the plan and eventually joined jimbo and hobie-wan at Jew Shoal, where I tried SP fishing for a while, even though I knew that this was probably not going to result in fish. After all, if jimbo, hobie-wan, diesel and stormin hadn't caught anything significant in the couple of primetime hours they'd already spent there, what chance did I have? Stormin and diesel had also abandoned the shoal, the former for the west and the latter for the south. So you can tell, if you have even a basic knowledge of our fishing area geography, that collectively we had a large area covered. And all techniques were being tried, even live bait by diesel, which resulted in a feed for the Mexicans (they eat sharks), as he likes to say.

By 09:45, in glassy conditions and nice warm sunshine, I'd had enough and announced my intention to return to Middle Groyne. This resulted in a general exodus and a simultaneous beach return by all of us except stormin, who, despite having just worked a night shift, was up at Halls Reef and paddling the 5km back from there. Just off the beach, while I was packing up to run the surf zone, I was approached by another kayak fisher, Sam, from Coolum in a bright green Viking, who expressed an interest in joining Noosa Yakkers. You can see him in the pic below, as he met the other guys on the beach.

Overview, from left, hobie-wan, tunny, jimbo, diesel, sam.

The fishless five.

And stormin's email contribution (he arrived back a little later than the rest of us):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Back on the beach just before mid day. Fishless despite the effort from js to lh and hr. Got couple of hits at hr on trolled slimy but didn't stay connected. Some late surface action at hr -- a bit too big to be mac tuna. If my body has recovered might still go tomorrow with hr in mind as destination. Hooked up a big shark which i cut the line.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, I'm up for it again on Sunday! Maybe Halls Reef this time!

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
Stealth Supalite X, yellow/orange

Sharks, Mac Tuna: 27 May 2015

TR by Tunny

Trip date: 27 May 2015

Participants: Pedro, Tunny

Launch Site:  MG

Conditions: Wind S average less than 10 knots with stronger gusts, Low Tide 9h45, Swell 1 m

Keen Angler Program: They don't take sharks.

I arrived at the MG car park at 5h35 to find Pedro's car and a kayak track down to the launch area.  It was an outgoing tide but the launch was easy.  I radioed Pedro to find he was at Little Halls and decided to head in that direction trolling a Halco 120 lure.  There were no signs of birds or fish breaking the surface.

Sunrise near Little Halls

About 400 metres from Little Halls the reel started screaming and a short while later I had a Mac tuna alongside the boat which I released.

Mac Tuna on the Halco 120

I called Pedro to let him know what I had caught and he replied that his live Yakka had been taken but the fish had failed to hook up.  He put out two more live Yakkas but both were bitten off without the hook being taken.  On the fourth attempt he hooked a shark.

By now there was some patchy bird activity with occasional small bust ups of what appeared to be Mac Tuna.  I chased the bird action but this was always beyond casting distance.  I then trolled along the coast line between Little Halls and the river mouth a few times with no success.

Pedro continued fishing at Little Halls and caught another three sharks.  By 9 am I decided I had had enough, and headed back to MG.  The beach landing at MG was easy and on arrival I met Mick Binney (call sign Hobie-wan) who did not fish today as his Hobie Revo is in for repairs.  But the kayak should be ready for action soon and he is hoping to get out later this week.  Sunshiner also came down to the beach to see what he had missed and let me know he is planning to get out possibly Friday and Sunday.

I am not sure if I will get out again this week, but the weather looks likely to improve so good luck to those who manage a fishing trip.