Went for a run last Tuesday to see if there were any late season mackerel or big sweetlip around off Pt Lookout. The weather was a bit average with a 15kn Westerly blowing so that prevented us from going too wide in my 4.8 Galeforce.
After a bit of a slow start and no action on the big stickbaits and poppers, Lynne began catching all manner of small critters on a jackal mask. We took the hint and started bouncing the bottom with plastics. After a few more drifts I hooked something a little more substantial. The fish didn't do too much at first. Then it then grew a bit, then a little more. Then it got a really pissed off and proceeded to drag me all over the bottom, with the 40lb flouro leader twanging and see-sawing through all manner of reef 15m down. Following a few minutes of back and forth as well as a prayer for the leader, the fish threw in the towel and came up for the net. The 97cm of fat snapper just beat my previous best so I was over the moon! A couple of pics and on release she powered back down to the bottom.
Just to prove it wasn't luck I nailed an 80cm fish on the next cast! The others were all ready to shove me overboard at this stage especially when Lynne was comprehensively blown away on the Jackal with her next cast. After that loss the fish shut down, we could see them on the sounder but couldn't make them bite, so we tried a few location changes and called it a day.
All in all great for me, but not so crash hot for Lanks and Lynne. The snapper were caught on watermelon Zooms and electric chicken Assassins. The Smith KGS rod/Saltiga 3500 reel combo doing the damage.
Cheers
Duncan