Subject: fishing today
Date: Monday, 2 March 2009 4:48 PM
Hi guys
Very busy today so it'll have to be a quicky. Just Jaro and I went this morning. The seabreeze had dropped with the sun, as usual, and we were met with no swell and about a 3knot NW breeze at launch time, around 0545.
0542hrs. How's that for beautiful launch conditions?
Jaro joined me on the beach just before launch and I pointed out to the northern horizon. Jaro looked at me quizzically. "Birds," I said "thousands of them!". Jaro couldn't see them but I was pretty certain I had but while launching I lost sight of them. Never mind, I knew where they were, approximately, and so, appropriately rigged, I headed out to the north, Jaro close behind me.
It wasn't until we were well past the inner shark net that the birds could be seen clearly, and there were indeed lots of them. Not only that but small splashes could be seen right under where they were picking up breakfast. Clearly, there were marine predators present. Before long, Jaro and I were amongst them. We could see that the predators were small tuna but we both hoped that there might be some spotty macs mixed up with them. Jaro hooked up first with his customary holler: "I've got one!". I watched him play it out, a very small mac tuna which he quickly released.
The fish were busting out all over the place and very close to the yaks.
0626hrs -- mac tuna harassing bait fish. The noise was very satisfying... (still from video)
I'd had a few casts but was intent on trying to get the carnage action on camera, so paddled right up and into the feeding melee. Tuna were charging through the panicking masses of bait fish which were showering out of the water in their frantic attempts to escape. Like tiny torpedoes, the tuna were rocketing through, creating white trails where they slashed through the water in pursuit of their hapless prey. All of this was happening all around and under my yak.
Is it any wonder that I soon succumbed to temptation and picked up my casting outfit. One cast and POW, I was on. This fish stripped line off against the drag very quickly and soon I could tell that it was larger than most we could see around us. But the fight was typical mac tuna with the vibrations of its vigorously beating tail being transmitted through the line to my rod each time it screamed off. Jaro came over and kindly took a pic or two before I released it, still very much alive.
A pretty average mac tuna, maybe 65cm long, but one of the larger ones in this bunch. Released alive.
Jaro then nailed another small one, opted to keep it for sashimi.
These little mac tuna put up a hell of a fight for their size -- but no match for Jaro. Blurring caused by water on the lens.
After this we opted to head for Jew Shoal where there was little action, although Jaro did catch a legal sweetlip but decided to let it go. I had a soft plastic and jig bitten off. All I felt was a slight bump, and it was gone. As that was the third I'd lost within an hour, two others to the reef, I was pretty cheesed off -- this was going to be an expensive trip -- around $5 I reckon.
Things were so quiet that we decided to head home early and on the way back I discovered, with the sonar, a new piece of reef, blanketed in baitfish. Yes, I marked it on the GPS for future close examination. And yes, it is closer in than JS.
Predictably, our beach return was dead easy, with little waves providing a gentleman's surf which we both exploited.
Now for tomorrow.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09 or 22 (if alone), Call Sign: sunshiner
No comments:
Post a Comment