Subject: Fishing today -- 16May08
Date: Friday, 16 May 2008 3:36 PM
G'day yakkers
Four of us turned up to Doggie Beach on a beautiful morning: Terry, Jim, Jaro and I. We all surveyed the launch area and noted the waves (1m swell) but the overall decision was that it was do-able.
In the end, Terry opted not to go, Jaro got a wet arse, and Jim and I, who got through the launch unscathed, considered ourselves fortunate that we'd recently practised surf handling during our camping trip to Lennox Head.
My GPS showed that it was a mere 2.3km to my Sunshine Reef mark and we headed off together as soon as all were ready, all trolling lures various.
There were no birds or surface action visible, but the water was a brilliant blue and the sky was largely cloud free. Having reached our mark without any hits on the trolled lures, we deployed our usual JS techniques to see if they worked in this, much deeper, environment. Two casts with my 1/8oz jighead convinced me that I was not getting to the bottom, so I switched to a 1/4oz head and soon after was rewarded with a solid strike from what turned out to be a keeper grass sweetlip:
This turned out to be the best fish of the day for us, while Jaro nailed a smaller one, and Jim, for once, came home fishless but he did have two close encounters with probable marauding mackerel, as his jig head was bitten off on two consecutive casts. Oh, I also caught a tiny whiptail (a small fish generally regarded as suitable only for bait) and I include a pic to help other yakkers who may not have seen one before, with identification. The upper lobe of the tail has an elongated ray, like a whip, hence the name.
Although conditions out there were perfect (see pic above), we opted to come back in when it became clear that the fishing was not very productive. The return run through the surf was at least as exciting as the launch. Jim and I, again benefitting from our recent practice, came through unscathed while Jaro again got a little damp -- but no real harm was done. Back on the beach, I photographed our meagre combined catch -- just for the record.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09, Call Sign: sunshiner
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