Subject: fishing today: 31Mar10
Date: Wednesday, 31 March 2010 3:52 PM
WX
Cloud cover: 8/10 initially, some showers
Wind direction & speed: S less than 10knots
0538hrs. I'm ready to launch. Whalebait's drag marks at right.
Easy launch. The exit channel is nice and deep, if quite narrow. There were a couple of sets which broke 10m west of the exit but the exit slot was cool.
Radio checks over, and all in agreement that we'd head for Sunshine Reef after Stu's recommendation from yesterday (Thanks, Stu) we paddled off in stretched single file: Wb, jimbo, and I as tail-end charlie, a good 5 minutes behind as I'd found, after I'd tied the lure on, that I'd neglected to run my line through the level wind gizmo of my trolling outfit. Do it again, dopey!
Even so, I was paddling away by 0605, starting from 100m or so north of the shark net.
Approaching Dolphin Point (no dolphins, today) several white hulls hove into my peripheral vision on my right hand side, overtaking me. There they were, Noosa's finest (after Noosa Yakkers, of course), the Outrigger paddlers, complete with staunch NY-er, Hollywood, at the bow position in one of these beautiful craft. We greeted each other then they obviously thought they weren't tough enough to continue as they turned around and went home again.
Soon I passed Hells Gates and the choppiness caused partly by wave reflection eased as the water deepened. A few terns were evident but no big flocks but here and there small flocks of feeding terns and shearwaters were gathering brekky. Jimbo and I headed for the close in mark, my A405, and set up drifts, soon detecting that, despite a southerly breeze, we were drifting east. I opted to work over this area thoroughly so set up my first drift from 200m west of the mark.
After several casts I'd seen no activity until there was a light take and a scrappy little "yakka" emerged from the depths, having decided to monster my 4 inch squidgee.
0719hrs. Yellowtail, prized baitfish. This one about 25cm long.
Shortly after this, jimbo moved slightly further out to sea, despite the fact that Wb, already out wide, reported no activity. But jimbo soon cracked a nice sweetlip, announcing its capture over the radio to his two fishing mates.
After a while I was getting a little bored so decided to try some experimental photography while drifting.
0757hrs. Shot looking back toward Australia from a half submerged camera. That's my trailing outfit and if you look closely you'll see Noosa Hill on the horizon. The slack cord in the foreground is attached to my drogue.
By 0900hrs I'd drifted three times over my mark on three slightly differing paths and hadn't been able to scare up any more action so announced by radio to my companions that I was packing up and heading home. Jimbo agreed with me but just then, Wb, about 800m NE of my position, announced that he was hooked up to a decent fish. Being keen to get some action shots if possible I opted to join him and did so after about 15 minutes, by which time the fish had been boated.
0919hrs. Crazed serial killer with spotty mac, at Sunshine Reef wide of Noosa NP.
The slimy mackerel rig Wb used to catch the spotty.
This photography over, I selected the Middle Groyne waypoint on my GPS and was given the great news that MG was only 5.75km away, in a straight line. My yak doesn't paddle over hills too well so the actual distance to MG was likely more like 6.5km. I set off, followed by Wb, who at least had a nice fish in the bag.
On the way back we encountered several longtail tuna leaping clear of the surface and then a huge school of baitfish, possibly being sheep-dogged by large predators down deep. Wb became distracted by the possibilities of catching a longtail so hung around a while but I plugged on. Eventually I hove to at the shark net, tidied up my gear and had an easy landing. Jimbo had already come ashore 30 minutes or so before me and I knew that Wb was about 30 minutes behind so I recovered and washed my yak and roofed it before Jimbo and I wandered down to the beach accompanied by measure mat and camera, to meet Wb.
Wb's spotty mac, 81cm.
Jimbo's grass sweetlip, 50cm.
Thanks for coming along Wb and jimbo. Weather's looking good tomorrow, not so good for Friday, now.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09 or 22 (if alone), Call Sign: sunshiner
http://www.noosayakkers.blogspot.com/
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