Scott nthQld
29-01-2008, 03:22 PM
Thought I'd put up a report, just to make people jealous of the conditions on an other wise uneventful day.
Launched from the Coast Guard ramp at 6am on Sunday morning, not sure what the weather was going to do, the BOM had predicted 10-20knt wind, where seabreeze had it down to 5-10knts. Launched 1/2hour before dead low, and headed to bayrock first up for a bit of a troll for any pelagics. When out of the prot was ecstatic to see the glassy conditions that presented itself to us (Fishing_Dan was my deckie). Flat chat to bayrock took about 25min, spying a few turtle's breaching along the way.
Out goes a couple or lures, mine a 150mm Rapala Magnum in a pilly colour, Dan a 190 halco, also in a pilly looking colour. Done a couple of laps around the rock for a couple of hits and no hook ups. We decided to wait until the current picks up with the tide and anchored up one of the likely looking bits of structure we found while trolling, that there weren't any divers or other boats on. Using squid and pillies for bait, we had some bit hits and brickings, a bite off or 2 on unweighted pillies, until a small little reef dweller was boated, not sure what it was, so if someone could ID it for me that would be great. Things quietened down when, just out of range, something was chopping at bait on the surface, not once, but twice, the second time a little closer to the boat, but still just out of range of Dan's casting efforts (I was stupid enough not to take any plastics or spinning gear with me).
Bay rock was becoming a bit of a carpark, so we decided to have another troll now the current was moving a bit, and had to head out a little wider to avoid the other boats. With one bigger hit on Dan's lure, and no hook up, we decied to make our way, trolling to Westpoint, when we spied some big baitballs and predators on the sounder. They weren't interested in our lures, so we stopped and drifted baits over the top of them, while Dan was also casting plastics, but for no result. We discovered that the bait in question was no bigger than an inch long when they just erupted around us. We were entertained by some idiot doing circles around another bloke who was anchored up, looking for "some nannies to put his kids onto". I could believ the bloke already fishing was being so tolerant, seeing how this knobend was within 20 metres of his boat, when he finally spoke up. "Don't mean to be rude mate...but...." something or other was the reply, yeah bullshit mate, if your not meaning to be rude, then why the hell were you so close in the first place? If I was the bloke being circled, I would've lost the plot well before he did, and let fly, so 2 thumbs up for his patience.
With nothing resulting from the drift, and our entertainment now over, we decide to head in close to the rocks and see what we can tempt there with our baits. We sound out a likely looking trout hole and anchor up, putting a bit of weight on our lines as the current had picked up. We were casting up current and letting it drift down past a small peninsula in the rocks and were getting smashed nearly every time, unfortunately most times ended up in brickings, the rest were a mix of small cod species, until Dan brought in his cod, going 37cm (it was a tense moment on the phone to my brother, who was looking up the legal size for them as I couldn't remember, and Dan's mouth was watering), it was in the esky for him, so thats Dan's dinner taken care of, my turn...A couple minutes after that fish I was absolutely smashed, with a big first run, but I managed to turn the fish with my 20lb fireline and 40lb leader and get it quite close to the boat. As the water was still a bit dirty, I couldn't see what the fish was, even though it was only a couple metres down, just out from the boat. He was real heavy to move, I thought he'd succeeded in taking me under a rock, but I was making a little headway on hime and I could feel the big beats of his tails the whole time, if I didn't feel these, I wouldn't sworn it was a lump of rock I was bringing in as there was no more fight, just a dead weight (very Heavy I might add) with the tail beating every now and then, until he finally won and bit me off....Damn. I could tell it was a really good fish and I was very dissappointed to have it slip away after feeling like the battle was already won, but I can't decide on what I think it was, the initial grab and dash was very coddish, but I can't help wondering if it was a substantial Trout, as bigger specimens I have caught have fought the same way, a big initial run, and once you get it away from its home, it just gives up. On the bright side, this is one spot where I will definately have to go back and try.
The bite slowed from there on, and it was getting very hot, and after I pulled in another wierd, poisonous looking thing (Can some one ID this for me as well, have tried looking but couldn't find it, will post pic later) that I wouldn't touch with a 10foot pole, so a quick pic was taken and the line cut to get it back in the drink and away from me. Next bait soaked resulted in a tuskie @29cm, I wasn't sure what the size was and questioned keeping it breifly but decided to toss it back, lucky, as it was short, so I guess the voices in my head were right this time around. We moved about 100 along the rocks to another spot, where the fishing was just as slow, with a few good hits mixed in, but only resulted in small cod. I had a feeling with the way some fish were biting, that they were grunter, and I was suspisious that our hoks make have been too big for them to get in their gob.
After about an hour here, we up anchored and started to make our way home, with 2 more things to do first. One was to have a quick dip (stupid I know, being stinger season and all), but a quick in and out of the water was exactly what we needed and well worht the risk this time around IMO. Then it was over to my trout spot on the picnic bay reef, just to be harrassed by stripey's and small cod show their faces yet again, I knew it would be too late in the day for trout, but it was worth a try. So after some fun on stripeys, and cod, Dan hooks up on a longtom, around 3ft long, and it performed some great aerial stunts for us before biting Dan off. Then even the small cod had gone off the bite and we decided to call it a day and headed back into port flat chat bouncing over the top of minimal chop brought on the blustery 7knt winds.
Nowhere near as many fish caught as what Alchemy and Horsboy reported, but it was a good day out nonetheless, and Dan....well he finally got a feed while fishing with me, so it looks like we've broken the voodoo there (touch wood). Still can't get over the fantastic conditions out there, they were so good, if I had enough capacity to carry more fuel, a reef trip would've been on the cards.
Launched from the Coast Guard ramp at 6am on Sunday morning, not sure what the weather was going to do, the BOM had predicted 10-20knt wind, where seabreeze had it down to 5-10knts. Launched 1/2hour before dead low, and headed to bayrock first up for a bit of a troll for any pelagics. When out of the prot was ecstatic to see the glassy conditions that presented itself to us (Fishing_Dan was my deckie). Flat chat to bayrock took about 25min, spying a few turtle's breaching along the way.
Out goes a couple or lures, mine a 150mm Rapala Magnum in a pilly colour, Dan a 190 halco, also in a pilly looking colour. Done a couple of laps around the rock for a couple of hits and no hook ups. We decided to wait until the current picks up with the tide and anchored up one of the likely looking bits of structure we found while trolling, that there weren't any divers or other boats on. Using squid and pillies for bait, we had some bit hits and brickings, a bite off or 2 on unweighted pillies, until a small little reef dweller was boated, not sure what it was, so if someone could ID it for me that would be great. Things quietened down when, just out of range, something was chopping at bait on the surface, not once, but twice, the second time a little closer to the boat, but still just out of range of Dan's casting efforts (I was stupid enough not to take any plastics or spinning gear with me).
Bay rock was becoming a bit of a carpark, so we decided to have another troll now the current was moving a bit, and had to head out a little wider to avoid the other boats. With one bigger hit on Dan's lure, and no hook up, we decied to make our way, trolling to Westpoint, when we spied some big baitballs and predators on the sounder. They weren't interested in our lures, so we stopped and drifted baits over the top of them, while Dan was also casting plastics, but for no result. We discovered that the bait in question was no bigger than an inch long when they just erupted around us. We were entertained by some idiot doing circles around another bloke who was anchored up, looking for "some nannies to put his kids onto". I could believ the bloke already fishing was being so tolerant, seeing how this knobend was within 20 metres of his boat, when he finally spoke up. "Don't mean to be rude mate...but...." something or other was the reply, yeah bullshit mate, if your not meaning to be rude, then why the hell were you so close in the first place? If I was the bloke being circled, I would've lost the plot well before he did, and let fly, so 2 thumbs up for his patience.
With nothing resulting from the drift, and our entertainment now over, we decide to head in close to the rocks and see what we can tempt there with our baits. We sound out a likely looking trout hole and anchor up, putting a bit of weight on our lines as the current had picked up. We were casting up current and letting it drift down past a small peninsula in the rocks and were getting smashed nearly every time, unfortunately most times ended up in brickings, the rest were a mix of small cod species, until Dan brought in his cod, going 37cm (it was a tense moment on the phone to my brother, who was looking up the legal size for them as I couldn't remember, and Dan's mouth was watering), it was in the esky for him, so thats Dan's dinner taken care of, my turn...A couple minutes after that fish I was absolutely smashed, with a big first run, but I managed to turn the fish with my 20lb fireline and 40lb leader and get it quite close to the boat. As the water was still a bit dirty, I couldn't see what the fish was, even though it was only a couple metres down, just out from the boat. He was real heavy to move, I thought he'd succeeded in taking me under a rock, but I was making a little headway on hime and I could feel the big beats of his tails the whole time, if I didn't feel these, I wouldn't sworn it was a lump of rock I was bringing in as there was no more fight, just a dead weight (very Heavy I might add) with the tail beating every now and then, until he finally won and bit me off....Damn. I could tell it was a really good fish and I was very dissappointed to have it slip away after feeling like the battle was already won, but I can't decide on what I think it was, the initial grab and dash was very coddish, but I can't help wondering if it was a substantial Trout, as bigger specimens I have caught have fought the same way, a big initial run, and once you get it away from its home, it just gives up. On the bright side, this is one spot where I will definately have to go back and try.
The bite slowed from there on, and it was getting very hot, and after I pulled in another wierd, poisonous looking thing (Can some one ID this for me as well, have tried looking but couldn't find it, will post pic later) that I wouldn't touch with a 10foot pole, so a quick pic was taken and the line cut to get it back in the drink and away from me. Next bait soaked resulted in a tuskie @29cm, I wasn't sure what the size was and questioned keeping it breifly but decided to toss it back, lucky, as it was short, so I guess the voices in my head were right this time around. We moved about 100 along the rocks to another spot, where the fishing was just as slow, with a few good hits mixed in, but only resulted in small cod. I had a feeling with the way some fish were biting, that they were grunter, and I was suspisious that our hoks make have been too big for them to get in their gob.
After about an hour here, we up anchored and started to make our way home, with 2 more things to do first. One was to have a quick dip (stupid I know, being stinger season and all), but a quick in and out of the water was exactly what we needed and well worht the risk this time around IMO. Then it was over to my trout spot on the picnic bay reef, just to be harrassed by stripey's and small cod show their faces yet again, I knew it would be too late in the day for trout, but it was worth a try. So after some fun on stripeys, and cod, Dan hooks up on a longtom, around 3ft long, and it performed some great aerial stunts for us before biting Dan off. Then even the small cod had gone off the bite and we decided to call it a day and headed back into port flat chat bouncing over the top of minimal chop brought on the blustery 7knt winds.
Nowhere near as many fish caught as what Alchemy and Horsboy reported, but it was a good day out nonetheless, and Dan....well he finally got a feed while fishing with me, so it looks like we've broken the voodoo there (touch wood). Still can't get over the fantastic conditions out there, they were so good, if I had enough capacity to carry more fuel, a reef trip would've been on the cards.