541 Schoolie Easter Sunday - 05Apr15

TR by Jimbo


Wind: 5-8 kn WNW
Swell: 1.0-1.5m E
Tides: High 1.8m 0820
Current: Strong W->E "upper layer" current aided by a slight WNW breeze resulting in a very fast 1.5-2.0 kph drift speed. Suspect there was a "lower layer" current heading in opposite direction, ie, E->W, given fast rate the cast line transitioned below the kayak while the drogue was hanging quite loosly beside kayak.
Launch Point: Middle Groyne
Conditions: Cloudy initially, brief shower about 0815-0845, then clearing to sunny late morning.
Keen Angler Program: no contribution.
Participants: Eyetag, Stormin, Wardy, Jimbo and new NY member Paul Siboni.

When I arrived at the Middle Groyne car park at first light at 0520, Stormin had already transferred his yak at the water's edge and was returning his trolley to his car, and Paul was completing his preparations. Stormin reported the launch conditions were doable but a wet bum was likely, and that Eyetag must have already launched earlier at "Oh-dark-hundred".

On the beach I gave Paul a few suggestions on how to better stow his gear, and offered some guidance on how to best negotiate a surf zone crossing next to the rock groyne. The sand monster was definitely working but with careful timing we three made it out the back relatively unscathed.

After setting up, we learnt by radio from Eyetag, now already trolling around Jew Sh, that Wardy was ahead of us, also on his way to JS. Paul, having only one rod, was first to set up and then set off towards the NE, which was a lille strange as he did not have a radio or GPS, and had said he intended to tag along with Stormin.

On arrival at JS, there were no birds to be seen, and no surface action, so I went into bottom bashing mode with prawn bait out towards the west of the shoal to utilize the W->E drift while Eyetag, Wardy and Stormin continued doing trolling laps around the shoal, which we were sharing with 3-4 stinkies. I could not see Paul anywhere, but distant visibility between yakkers was problematic with the prevailing swell.

After about an hour, with no hook-ups reported, Eyetag decided to head to Halls Rf, apparently followed by Wardy. About a further hour later, Stormin, having determined from Eyetag that he had not fared any better at Halls Rf, decided to give A-Bay Rf a try. Stormin reported that he also had lost sight of Paul, but had last seen him in the vicinity of the Pinnacles.

About this time, my trolling rig baited with a trailing pilchard started buzzing. Initially I thought this might have been a small shark, but was pleased when a smallish school mackerel came yak. A quick check of my new NY Limits Table indicated the minimum length for a schoolie was 50 cm, and given my hooked model was clearly about 60+ cm, I was happy to sink the gaff into him and pull him aboard.

At around 0830, and with light rain falling, Stormin reported that there was nothing happening at A-Bay Rf so he was going to start heading back to MG. About this time Stormin also received a radio call from an unidentified boat operator asking the location of "Stormin in a kayak". A brief conversation with this boat operator indicated he was passing on a message from a kayaker named Paul located ... “about 4 km north of the river mouth”. The boat operator was asked to pass back a message to Paul that all his fellow kayakers were now heading back to Middle Groyne and he should now start doing the same. Unbeknown to all of us, Paul had apparently left Jew Sh and made his way, without a GPS, to somewhere in the vicinity of Halls Rf, but was not seen by either Eyetag or Wardy.

Not much else to report fishing wise. Wardy, about 1 km north of Halls Rf reported hooking up to a longtail, apparently on a small cast slug, but the hooks pulled before it could be landed. Eyetag on return to the beach, reported there were bust-ups and birds all over the place around Halls Rf but trolled HBL and cast slugs generally proved non productive.

Back at Middle Groyne, the sand monster was still lurking, as was Sunshiner standing on the end of the rock groyne armed with his Go-Pro ready to video the surf zone returns to the beach. Anyway, four of us managed to judge the sets and land upright back on the beach at around 0945. Being Easter Sunday, with the cloud clearing and the sun now starting to stir the tourist beach goers, it was easy to entice a couple of junior fish holders.

Pic by Sunshiner

Here's my school mack on Stormin's new brag mat, thanks Stormin. Pic by Sunshiner

After we had all washed down our yaks and loaded them onto our cars, and it now being 1030, our thoughts turn to the whereabouts of new NY Paul who had not been heard of since the unidentified boat operator's message about two hours earlier. Sunshiner hung around for a while and subsequently reported that Paul eventually returned to the beach around 1100, fishless, and asking where he could buy a radio and which one he should buy!

Here's Paul after his very extended maiden Laguna Bay fishing trip with NY. It appears he had no concept of how easy it is to become separated from other yakkers in the open sea. At least he's now convinced of the great value of a VHF radio. Paul, perhaps you could add a comment below on how you managed to get from Jew Sh to somewhere near Halls Rf without a GPS, and how come it took so long for you to get back to Middle Groyne after receiving my message from the boat operator.

An Easter Sunday that looked very gloomy to start with, but turned out quite nice in the end ... well, for me at least. And good prospects for those yakkers intending to head towards Lt Halls/Halls RF and the North Shore this morning (Easter Monday).

Jimbo