Many firsts. Doggie Beach. 19Aug13

TR by sunshiner

Wind: NW, light earlier going to 10 knots around 09:45
Swell: less than 1m SE
Current: none
Launch point: Doggie Beach
Participants: tunny, bomber, soren, lisbeth, jimbo, eyetag, stormin, sunshiner

Another good roll up today with three of us taking another crack at Doggie Beach after last Wednesday’s effort. Experiencing their first Doggie Beach launch today were eyetag (yes, surprising but true), stormin, lisbeth and, I think, soren. Lisbeth really did it in style because this was her first kayak launch into the ocean as well. Not only that, but I think this was the first time Noosa Yakkers had a lady launch at Doggie Beach.

Anyway, Doggie Beach was quite heavily overcast early this morning, as moist air coming over the Noosa headland from the NW was cooled and condensation occurred. Eyetag launched in fully dark conditions, probably at least 30 minutes before any of the rest of us came down to the beach. When I asked him about this later, he reckoned he could just discern the dark horizontal lines of building waves coming toward him.

As I usually do, I went down to the launch point for a look before unloading and judged it safe. Bomber was already unloaded, having full confidence that the lack of wave noise at the carpark was a positive sign.

The high tide and low swell were certainly making things easy as the hole right at the creek exit easily absorbed the waves pulsing through, resulting in no white water at all straight ahead, and only occasional breakers on the shallow banks to the right and left.

That's bomber about to launch. Stormin went next. I waited until I was sure soren and lisbeth didn't need my guidance.

Looking back to the launch spot. Note the misty conditions.

Lisbeth admitted to me that she’d got a bit wet at launch time, missing her footing when trying to scramble aboard in the shore break. I assured her that we had all done this at some time. Other than that, all launches went OK.

Contacting eyetag by radio as soon as I'd launched I was happy to hear that he’d hooked a 40cm snapper on his first cast, in the dark, but released it as he thought this might be a sign that fish were plentiful today.

Heading east toward Doggie Beach reef after launch. Awesome.

Pretty much straight away bomber came up on the radio and announced the capture of a small keeper snapper. Unlike eyetag he kept this, though, no doubt recalling last Wednesday.

Keepers were scarce today. It was interesting though, that by 09:25 only bomber and tunny had caught anything fitting the description of keeper, but within the next 15-20 minutes, the catch reports flowed in from widely separate places. Jimbo had caught a snapper, eyetag had a double hookup on small sweetlip then another double of snapper, then soren radioed asking ID advice on what eyetag and I called for (correctly as it turned out) a tusk fish, soren's first. Fishing with lures only, I had not had a touch. Stormin, fishing with bait, was also fishless.

Although most of the time I was well separated from the rest of the group, at one stage lisbeth drifted close to me and presented the opportunity for a pic.

Our lady participant with Hells Gates in the distant background.

Around 10:00am the wind speed started to increase, accompanied by a few drops of rain. These factors, plus a distinct shortage of fish, caused all to head for the beach, where the water level was now much lower and the swell a teeny bit bigger.

Just as we were packing up, out the back, stormin saw a couple of longtails clear the water right among us. I think that was the only fishy surface action any of us saw.

In we went to the beach, bomber (second to run) deciding that the water looked too inviting and going for a swim. By the time I hit the beach (third, and yes, right way up), the little sandbank out the front was starting to allow waves to kick up and break. So I switched the camera to movie as the remaining five came back to the beach.

Jimbo hamming it up for the camera

Stormin did pretty well but was stitched up by the Doggie Beach shorey

Oops. Who was this? Surely not!

Soren sent lisbeth in first, to appease the sand monster.

Then he was clear to paddle in.

Lisbeth waded and swam back in after soren swam out and rescued… the kayak!

On beach pics

Fish of the day

bomber, tunny, jimbo

soren and his Venus tusk fish

beach scene

Thanks for coming along guys and gal.

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