S is for Spaniard, 26Dec13

TR by sunshiner

Wind: W ~5 knots
Swell: 1.2m ESE
Water temp: 25°C to 26°C
Current: at Jew Shoal, west to east, light
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Participants: stormin, gemini, tarzan, pedro, stretch (?), corie and friend Nick, jaro, sunshiner

Glassy seas, dry bums today. Having over-indulged a little (actually, quite a lot) yesterday I put off setting up the yak in the faint hope that the weather would change and the wind would be too strong. After all, this run of amazing kayak fishing weather probably has to end sometime.

But no, when I checked DIP live weather around 2:00am I could see that winds in Laguna Bay would be light and that there would be no excuse for not launching. So it was on. Packed and loaded the yak between 2:00 and 3:00, after I'd put out the rubbish bins, and was in the carpark at Middle Groyne by 03:35. Must have a nap this arvo!

Jaro and I launched by the light of the last quarter waning moon, with just the faintest glimmer of daylight on the eastern horizon. It was around 04:00, I reckon, and we were the first to hit the water. This timing would put us on the fishing grounds at Jew Shoal before the rising sun had cleared the horizon, a time we've noticed in the past which seems to suit the Spaniards. Anyway, that's our theory but clearly Spaniards do get caught at other times of the day, just ask soren and stormin.

Jaro and I were both trolling 120mm mid-water Halco Laser Pros today, poking along at a steady 4-5kph. Probably jaro was hoping for a repeat of his recent 70th birthday fish, or a bigger one. I certainly was hoping for another Spaniard to bring my score this season up to three.

My little Garmin GPS was pointing at our Jew Shoal mark and counting down the distance. It had been a beautiful paddle in glassy conditions and I was in the last two hundred metres to the target when the HLP went off, as announced by the screaming ratchet on my trolling outfit. In this area at this time such a strike could be caused by one of several species: Spaniard, spotty mac, one of several tunas, snapper, shark (blah!), or perhaps even a cobia. But it sure felt like a Spaniard as it quickly changed direction several times at high speed and easily pulled line off against the drag. The sun was just peeping over the horizon and the sea was still dark so I couldn’t see my fish until it got within about three metres of the surface and very close to the yak. Yep, Spaniard, about a metre long.

Opened the hatch, picked up the gaff and buried its point right into the Spaniard's head. It's not a huge fish, but very impressive and beautifully patterned and coloured in the faint cloud-filtered sunlight. It's lying in the fish box now, totally beaten. Took great pleasure in announcing the capture to Noosa Yakkers by radio and was delighted to find that jaro was only about two hundred metres away and has an operating camera with him. Thanks jaro, the on-water shots are usually so much better than those taken on land.

Having accepted jaro's on-water photo offer, I applied my tail rope (just in case I fumbled it) to the still-quivering fish and hoisted it back out of the fishbox for the pose. Pic by jaro.

The lure and wire trace.

Why wire is important in the rig.

A few beach pics:

1.06m

Beachgoer from Brissy

As far as I'm aware, no other fish were caught except possibly by pedro. Hopefully, we'll get that info soon from other participants.

Looking good for Saturday, and maybe even tomorrow.

Kev Long
Sunshiner
Author Kayak Fishing Manual for iPad and Mac (click linked text to view)
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