TR by Redwood
Trip date: 12 January 2013
Participants: Jono, Red Greg, Ben, Redwood
Launch Site: Middle Groyne
Destination: Jew Shoal
Conditions: Wind SE 5 knots, in close and 10 knots at JS. Swell 1.5m. Current very strong to the south
Jono, Ben (not sure if NY or not) and myself set out from MG at 4.30 with the first crack of light. I was planning to head to Little Hall's and then JS but both Ben and Jono didn't have a GPS and with Ben mentioning that he was just easing back into things, I changed tack and decided to accompany the guys and go directly to JS.
The previous afternoon I'd been surfing with my daughter at MG so I knew timing was going to be crucial on exit. I think we all got a bit wet, but timing was good and we made it through the surf zone unscathed. I pointed Ben in the direction of JS and he headed out first with myself and Jono following soon after.
We all trolled various lures to JS. I was using a Halco LP on one side and the Pulsator lure I'd won at the Stealth comp on the other. Dennis T had said these are intended for use with no bait or a strip bait. I had no strip bait so I trolled it bait free. None of us had any hits on the way out.
I positioned Jono and Ben on the Pinnacles as they were keen for a bit of bottom bashing, while I trolled around for a bit. I decided to add a pillie to the Pulsator skirt to see if that changed anything, It didn't. After 10 min trolling I decided to use the early morning for some bottom fishing as it seems fish like Grassy and Snapper are often on the bite early. In my experience they seem to be active early, then go quiet and then pick up again later (around 10.30 to lunchtime).
Jono soon announced that he'd caught and boated his first fish; an undersize Squire. Unfortunately for Jono, despite having the most active session of all of us for the day, all of his catches were undersized. Jono reported catches of Squire, Flathead, Grinners and reef Cod, totalling about 10 fish.
I was getting didly-squat on my squid bait at one of my favourite marks and the wind was pushing me off the mark very quickly. I decided that as the wind was coming in from the SE I would set up a mega drift from the pinnacles to my mark which is about 500m off the pinnacles to the north. On my way back to the pinnacles I ran into Red Greg; literally. I stopped to ask him his handle and how he was going, when I suddenly found I'd drifted across his lines and they were now across my lap. Red Greg started reeling in the one while I passed the line over my boat. This almost landed up in a prickly situation when the lure suddenly came across and snagged in my hat. It was all a bit of a mess and Red Greg had to cut some line and loose a 'good' lure. He managed to get the other one back, which was a very interesting and heavy contraption hooked up to a Garfish. Luckily Red Greg seemed like a real pro and was re-rigging in no time. Sorry about that Red Greg, my bad; I owe you a lure.
I finally got to the pinnacles mark and started my mega drift. Half way through and still no touch on the squid so I switched to half a pillie and it was immediately hit by what felt like a decent Snapper. A short fight later a 35cm Squire was in the hatch; a very feisty fellow and probably the reason it felt bigger than it was. This buoyed my spirits as I smelt more, but it wasn't to be. Three mega drifts later and not another bite.
By this time, around 8.30am, all the trolling stinky's had headed for home and with the weather deteriorating I thought it was time to do the same. Ben had headed in an hour earlier and Jono was also keen to pull the pin. To boot, I was also sea-sick and not really in the mood for more. We re-rigged for the troll home and headed back. It was a tough paddle into the wind and kudos to Jono for catching up and keeping up to the Evo in the Prowler.
The tide was lower for our return and the bank of surfers at MG didn't bode well for us as they were catching come pretty decent waves. There were people everywhere which made picking a return spot difficult, but we both timed it well and landed without incident, Jono to the right of the groyne and me to the left.
And, so ended a rather slow day at Jew Shoal.
PS - Let us know how you landed up going Red Greg.
Addition by Red Greg
The previous afternoon I'd been surfing with my daughter at MG so I knew timing was going to be crucial on exit. I think we all got a bit wet, but timing was good and we made it through the surf zone unscathed. I pointed Ben in the direction of JS and he headed out first with myself and Jono following soon after.
We all trolled various lures to JS. I was using a Halco LP on one side and the Pulsator lure I'd won at the Stealth comp on the other. Dennis T had said these are intended for use with no bait or a strip bait. I had no strip bait so I trolled it bait free. None of us had any hits on the way out.
I positioned Jono and Ben on the Pinnacles as they were keen for a bit of bottom bashing, while I trolled around for a bit. I decided to add a pillie to the Pulsator skirt to see if that changed anything, It didn't. After 10 min trolling I decided to use the early morning for some bottom fishing as it seems fish like Grassy and Snapper are often on the bite early. In my experience they seem to be active early, then go quiet and then pick up again later (around 10.30 to lunchtime).
Jono soon announced that he'd caught and boated his first fish; an undersize Squire. Unfortunately for Jono, despite having the most active session of all of us for the day, all of his catches were undersized. Jono reported catches of Squire, Flathead, Grinners and reef Cod, totalling about 10 fish.
I was getting didly-squat on my squid bait at one of my favourite marks and the wind was pushing me off the mark very quickly. I decided that as the wind was coming in from the SE I would set up a mega drift from the pinnacles to my mark which is about 500m off the pinnacles to the north. On my way back to the pinnacles I ran into Red Greg; literally. I stopped to ask him his handle and how he was going, when I suddenly found I'd drifted across his lines and they were now across my lap. Red Greg started reeling in the one while I passed the line over my boat. This almost landed up in a prickly situation when the lure suddenly came across and snagged in my hat. It was all a bit of a mess and Red Greg had to cut some line and loose a 'good' lure. He managed to get the other one back, which was a very interesting and heavy contraption hooked up to a Garfish. Luckily Red Greg seemed like a real pro and was re-rigging in no time. Sorry about that Red Greg, my bad; I owe you a lure.
I finally got to the pinnacles mark and started my mega drift. Half way through and still no touch on the squid so I switched to half a pillie and it was immediately hit by what felt like a decent Snapper. A short fight later a 35cm Squire was in the hatch; a very feisty fellow and probably the reason it felt bigger than it was. This buoyed my spirits as I smelt more, but it wasn't to be. Three mega drifts later and not another bite.
By this time, around 8.30am, all the trolling stinky's had headed for home and with the weather deteriorating I thought it was time to do the same. Ben had headed in an hour earlier and Jono was also keen to pull the pin. To boot, I was also sea-sick and not really in the mood for more. We re-rigged for the troll home and headed back. It was a tough paddle into the wind and kudos to Jono for catching up and keeping up to the Evo in the Prowler.
The tide was lower for our return and the bank of surfers at MG didn't bode well for us as they were catching come pretty decent waves. There were people everywhere which made picking a return spot difficult, but we both timed it well and landed without incident, Jono to the right of the groyne and me to the left.
And, so ended a rather slow day at Jew Shoal.
PS - Let us know how you landed up going Red Greg.
Addition by Red Greg
S is for shit of a day lost two head start lures on top of JS. Was on the water at 5am had a hb on one rod and a gar on the other rod, 4 hours going around JS for a donut. So reset with z man SP. Landed 2 very small snapper (squire) put back by this time it was 11am. So back to the beach MG clean landing no one got hit with my kayak.
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