TR by Diesel
Trip date: 22 December 2015
Participants: Scatter, Diesel, Tunny
Launch Site: MG
Conditions: Wind variable less than 10 knots, Low Tide 11.30 am
Keen Angler Program: Nothing donated
After watching the waves for about 15 minutes , looking for a break in the big sets that were rolling through, I launched at around 0310 hrs. Not a dry bum launch ,but who cares when the water is around 25 degrees. The idea to be on Sunshine Reef as dawn broke to hook into a few spotties real early, it seemed a sound enough idea, but was not to be. I did laps up and down Sunshine Reef for an hour or so without even a touch and not a bird in sight. At around 0600 hrs I decided to paddle back to old dependable, Jew Shoal for a bit of bottom bashing and maybe a change of luck.
After watching the waves for about 15 minutes , looking for a break in the big sets that were rolling through, I launched at around 0310 hrs. Not a dry bum launch ,but who cares when the water is around 25 degrees. The idea to be on Sunshine Reef as dawn broke to hook into a few spotties real early, it seemed a sound enough idea, but was not to be. I did laps up and down Sunshine Reef for an hour or so without even a touch and not a bird in sight. At around 0600 hrs I decided to paddle back to old dependable, Jew Shoal for a bit of bottom bashing and maybe a change of luck.
Scatter
was on Jew Shoal and Tunny was a Little Halls Reef, with Tunny the only one
with a fish. He caught a Spottie of 80 cm and lost a second one when the fish went under the kayak and the line cut off on the rudder. Both of these hook-ups were on trolled pilchard.
 |
| Sunrise from Little Halls (photo by Tunny) |
It was
quiet with nothing taking our baits, so Scatter pulled the pin and headed back
to Middle Groyne at around 0745. I followed
a short time later with a hard body lure out the back in a last ditch attempt
to catch a fish. I was just
past the shark nets when my reel went off and after a short battle I had a
shark alongside the Yak. I went in
with the gaff and lifted the Shark, intending to shoot it into the hatch ,
head first. The Shark
had different ideas and screwed around on the gaff and landed across the hatch,
with one set of trebles in its mouth and two sets out. Having heaps
of trebles to spare, a hook on one set lodged in my shin while the Shark is
doing the “I’m getting out of here” dance and I am move with the beat cos
it hurts heaps.
 |
| That hurt !!!! |
Decision
one is kill the Shark and stop it thrashing around. Done with a knife in the
head, left handed as right hand is controlling the Shark. Decision
two is get the hook out of the Shark. Done left handed as right is controlling
the Shark to keep the weight off the hook. Hook is out
of the Shark and the Shark is in the hatch, now to get the hook out of me.
I have two
pair of expensive pliers on board and neither pair would cut the shank or the
hook so we are back to square one. With split
ring pliers I managed to rotate the ring around and detach the lure, oh the relief!
 |
| Lure detached |
I then stowed all my gear in the hatch and headed ashore. The life savers didn’t have a tool box and no one in the car park had
anything that would do the job. I washed, loaded my gear and drove home and attacked the treble with a
small set of bolt cutters, job done!
The lesson learnt was to having something on board you know will
cut through a hook. I was lucky as it was right in front of me and reasonably easy to work
on, but it could have been in my shoulder or head where I would have trouble
getting at it. At least have something that will cut the wire trace!
By the way if you are worried about the Shark doing the same to you,
don’t!
It’s in my freezer!
 |
| Tunny's Spottie |
No comments:
Post a Comment