Finally got away to Straddie with six non-fishing friends last weekend. They just wanted to escape from their wives so that they could consume the 26 bottles of wine x90 cans of beer (x30 of them Kilkenny- beautiful) and x6 bottles of spirits that we brought with us. I provided six light surf rods and six Alveys.
I wanted to fish the surf gutters on Main Beach. Just my luck - 50 knot winds, four metre swell with seven metre waves out the back. Amazingly there was a Surfing Competition for 16 year-olds in full swing when we arrived at Point Lookout. The surfers seemed to be a couple of hundred metres out - I don't know how they do it.
Spent a couple of hours catching beach worms for them and headed for Cylinder Beach which is
at right angles to Main Beach and therefore no swell and very calm. Unfortunately there were no
gutters on this beach and all we caught were a lot of small dart, and a few small whiting to 20cm, and one small flathead (all returned of course). I don't like fishing in places that are dead calm.
Watched the Broncos v the boys in white with the big PINK V. I don't think I drunk my fair share of
about $500 we paid for the alcohol. All I could think about was going fishing the next day.
I drove up to Point Lookout by myself on the Sunday morning- even worse conditions- with the sea racing up the beach- even the Surfing Comp had to be cancelled.
I decided to come back in the afternoon and fish the last two hours of the outgoing tide
when in these conditions, fishing should be possible.
There were very good gutters every hundred metres all the way up the beach as far as I could see.
However, again all I caught were small dart and whiting. I was one of about four people on the beach and the only one fishing. After about three hours I gave up as I was freezing in the gale, now the only one on the beach and wondering what was wrong with me.
We caught the early Ferry back to Cleveland, and work on Monday morning.
Ah well, that's the way it goes sometimes, it's now 10.15PM, getting itchy, and the coastal forecast looks perfect for tomorrow,
All the best,
Neil