Haven't fished much for a week or so with the holidays and the rain, and I was starting to get a bit twitchy - so I hit Bribie at dawn today to look for a few crabs. Put the pots down near the mouth of the passage - the water was brown, brackish and a bit choppy with the run out tide against a 10-15 knot SE wind. Pumped a bucket of yabbies and tried under the bridge for about an hour on the last of the run-out - didn't get a single touch on the yabbies.
Ran down and checked the pots (absolutely nothing) and since it was still fairly choppy I moved them up past the mouth of Ningi Creek for a bit of comfort.
Settled down in Stingray alley - a spot X where I usually can pick up a few nice whiting and the odd bream (but always heaps of stingrays in the shallow water) and was catching the odd small bream and Moses Perch. I was working one rod and had another in a holder, and was switching from one to the other as some toads or butter bream were knocking the yabbies about.
Suddenly the rod in the holder bends over double and the drag starts to scream.
'Oh well - here comes stingray number 1' I think.
I grab the rod but it doesn't stop and I'm thinking it's a pretty sizeable ray. I decided to try and work it back to get a look at it and manage to turn it after about 50metres. Slowly I start to get line back and I'm starting to think that somethings a bit dodgy - it's not fighting like a ray. It was almost on the surface about 50 metres out and never tried to hug the bottom.
As I work it closer I see the odd cream flash, like the underside of a rays wings, and I'm back to thinking it's a ray. Because of the brown colour of the water I didn't get a look at it until I brought it up to the surface right at the boat. Suddenly I was scrambling for the landing net and being very careful not to pull the number 1 long shank hook. Netted it after about three failed shots and reached for the camera. Measured 64cm. Couldn't believe I could catch that at 9.30a.m., using a yabby in only 2 metres of water in the Bribie Passage.
Half an hout later the rod took off again. This time I was careful in fighting it back to the boat and bagged - a stingray!
Caught a few legal bream and 7 legal sandies (threw back about 25 undersize bucks) - could only find one undersize whiting.
Would have been an ordinary day - except for 'stingray number 1'.
Cheers Freeeedom
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...nice work!!!
