charleville
15-08-2006, 10:36 AM
I should really be too embarrassed to submit this report after seeing the great efforts by Solwata and Foggy over the past couple of days but, then again, perhaps it is sometimes reassuring to have a report in these pages that reflects what happens to the bulk of fishos on their outings. :-[
Also, I have not submitted a report for about a month so perhaps it is time again, even if the result is very ordinary. :(
I have my excuses for not submiting a report over the past month. The truth is that I have not been fishing very much over the past month. One week had bad weather for fishing; over another couple of weeks, my computer developed a severe crashing problem and spent two weeks in the shop getting looked at - I say getting looked at because they never found the fault short of suggesting that I replace the motherboard, which in a Mac is a $700 job and so therefore I would rather go and buy a new mac which I am mulling over at the moment as to which one. ;) I won't go out into the Bay unless I can see the Inner Beacon report and the Seabreeze.com.au forecast. By comparison, the BoM phone report is pathetic. Those guys ought to move into the third millenium some day. :( One report for the day at about 5am and no live updates throughout the day is idiotic with today's phone technology. >:(
Then, of course, there was the week when I had to admit to my wife that I had slept with a grandmother for the first time in my life. :-[ She responded quite nonchalantly that that night was the first that she had slept with a grandfather as well. :-? Not sure who was more shocked. ;D I did not get any brownie points though for then saying that in all of my life, I never ever ever ever wanted to sleep with a grandmother. ;D ;D ;D Anyway, all of that took a few days out of the fishing calendar for some unknown reason. (BTW, baby and Mum are doing very well). ;)
In fact, my last four trips have involved taking a guest of one sort or another - brothers-n-law, ex-bosses, grown up sons etc. Half of these trips have yielded very little. This is mostly because I feel a responsibility to take them somewhere where they would have a better than average chance of catch at least something so I have taken them out to the Grazier. However, because some people have to work week-days, the only time that I could take them was on weekend nights when the Grazier is a car-park full of non-serious loud, torch shining, camera flash popping, rock concert listening, drunken boofheads who wonder why they don't catch any fish. Worse still, they make it impossible for others to catch much either. >:( >:( >:(
And so, dear reader, it was on last Saturday night, as Foreshore remarked in his post on 13/8/06 that somewhere around 20 boats were parked on that tiny piece of real estate called the Grazier. :-? Took my bro-in-law that night and caught zippo. :-[ He took home a barely legal bream and, wierdly, seemed pleased to have done so. :-/ All I took home was left-over bait. :(
So when I saw the weather forecast for yesterday and saw that at 10am it was 5 knots at the Inner Beacon, I just had to go out to Mud for my first solo trip in a month. Damn - it felt good to be in the boat on my own again without having to worry about having to turn on a "show" for someone else. I would hate to be a fishing guide! Imagine the sunken feeling in one's gut at the end of the day if your paying customers did not get a bite!! :-/
Well, I did not fare too well at first. :( I hit the water at midday and fished north, south, east and west at Mud Island with only two bites. One of which was the largest grinner that I have ever seen and the other was a small sole.
And so much for the Seabreeze forecast of 5 - 10 knots! >:( Even they get it wrong! :-[ From the time I launched the boat until I left at 7.15pm, a steady 15 knot north/north-easterly commandeered the day's comfort. :( Not dangerous by any means but rolling waves and white-tops just make it uncomfortable at times. Especially when the wind is working against the tidal run and the boat cannot find an equilibrtium position swinging around a lot, and being mostly sideways to the incoming waves. (That reminds me, I must straighted my anchor tines as they are now lopsided and the anchor drags a fair bit if there is not enough rope out. :( )
Then at 5.30pm, just as Foggy reported from last week, the fish started biting. Did not catch much as shown below but at least it was a feed. Not bad for left-over bait from Saturday night, though. (The pilchards had been salted and refrozen). Once again however, this proves the veracity of the conventional wisdom shared on this site that sunset (or sunrise) is a more predictable time of fish bite than the tides as this was well before the change of tide.
The whiting in the picture was obviously lost or drunk or something. Caught him on a 7/0 Mustad penetrator hook on 30 lb line with a big sinker on a whole squid. :-? :-? :-?
Anyway, I am back into the fishing groove again and it was sure nice to be out there on my own for seven hours or so. Simply heaven! :)
Also, I have not submitted a report for about a month so perhaps it is time again, even if the result is very ordinary. :(
I have my excuses for not submiting a report over the past month. The truth is that I have not been fishing very much over the past month. One week had bad weather for fishing; over another couple of weeks, my computer developed a severe crashing problem and spent two weeks in the shop getting looked at - I say getting looked at because they never found the fault short of suggesting that I replace the motherboard, which in a Mac is a $700 job and so therefore I would rather go and buy a new mac which I am mulling over at the moment as to which one. ;) I won't go out into the Bay unless I can see the Inner Beacon report and the Seabreeze.com.au forecast. By comparison, the BoM phone report is pathetic. Those guys ought to move into the third millenium some day. :( One report for the day at about 5am and no live updates throughout the day is idiotic with today's phone technology. >:(
Then, of course, there was the week when I had to admit to my wife that I had slept with a grandmother for the first time in my life. :-[ She responded quite nonchalantly that that night was the first that she had slept with a grandfather as well. :-? Not sure who was more shocked. ;D I did not get any brownie points though for then saying that in all of my life, I never ever ever ever wanted to sleep with a grandmother. ;D ;D ;D Anyway, all of that took a few days out of the fishing calendar for some unknown reason. (BTW, baby and Mum are doing very well). ;)
In fact, my last four trips have involved taking a guest of one sort or another - brothers-n-law, ex-bosses, grown up sons etc. Half of these trips have yielded very little. This is mostly because I feel a responsibility to take them somewhere where they would have a better than average chance of catch at least something so I have taken them out to the Grazier. However, because some people have to work week-days, the only time that I could take them was on weekend nights when the Grazier is a car-park full of non-serious loud, torch shining, camera flash popping, rock concert listening, drunken boofheads who wonder why they don't catch any fish. Worse still, they make it impossible for others to catch much either. >:( >:( >:(
And so, dear reader, it was on last Saturday night, as Foreshore remarked in his post on 13/8/06 that somewhere around 20 boats were parked on that tiny piece of real estate called the Grazier. :-? Took my bro-in-law that night and caught zippo. :-[ He took home a barely legal bream and, wierdly, seemed pleased to have done so. :-/ All I took home was left-over bait. :(
So when I saw the weather forecast for yesterday and saw that at 10am it was 5 knots at the Inner Beacon, I just had to go out to Mud for my first solo trip in a month. Damn - it felt good to be in the boat on my own again without having to worry about having to turn on a "show" for someone else. I would hate to be a fishing guide! Imagine the sunken feeling in one's gut at the end of the day if your paying customers did not get a bite!! :-/
Well, I did not fare too well at first. :( I hit the water at midday and fished north, south, east and west at Mud Island with only two bites. One of which was the largest grinner that I have ever seen and the other was a small sole.
And so much for the Seabreeze forecast of 5 - 10 knots! >:( Even they get it wrong! :-[ From the time I launched the boat until I left at 7.15pm, a steady 15 knot north/north-easterly commandeered the day's comfort. :( Not dangerous by any means but rolling waves and white-tops just make it uncomfortable at times. Especially when the wind is working against the tidal run and the boat cannot find an equilibrtium position swinging around a lot, and being mostly sideways to the incoming waves. (That reminds me, I must straighted my anchor tines as they are now lopsided and the anchor drags a fair bit if there is not enough rope out. :( )
Then at 5.30pm, just as Foggy reported from last week, the fish started biting. Did not catch much as shown below but at least it was a feed. Not bad for left-over bait from Saturday night, though. (The pilchards had been salted and refrozen). Once again however, this proves the veracity of the conventional wisdom shared on this site that sunset (or sunrise) is a more predictable time of fish bite than the tides as this was well before the change of tide.
The whiting in the picture was obviously lost or drunk or something. Caught him on a 7/0 Mustad penetrator hook on 30 lb line with a big sinker on a whole squid. :-? :-? :-?
Anyway, I am back into the fishing groove again and it was sure nice to be out there on my own for seven hours or so. Simply heaven! :)