Got to spot X at 9 for the last hour of the flood. Scored 4 small cod and 2 small bream before slack versus wind, made fishing practically impossible.
Moved to spot Y for the first of the run out and had to deploy the stern anchor to keep in touch with my hooks..........wind was all over the place.
Put out one rig with pilly and one with prawn, berleyed up, and was onto pickers immediately. Ten minutes into it and I was pulling pike on the retrieve with them hitting the glow bead. Tackled up the 8 kilo gear with tandem 5/0's to 30lb leader and 15lb main line and flung out a live pike, stuck the rod in the rest and waited. All the while I was pulling undersize bream and pike with the odd small chopper thrown in for good measure.
About 20 minutes later I saw the line on the big gear running straight towards the boat. No warning bite on the rod tip as the line zipped uptide and past me. Grabbed the rod and the ratchet was screaming as the line zipped through the water. A 20 minute tussle ended in most of the line stripped and bust off and that rod out of action for the dayThe runs had been fast with the fish changing direction many times and not once heading for the bottom as a shovelly or ray would do. No idea what it was, but it was fast.........not like a small whaler or any other vermin that I can think of.
Still pulling small bream, pike, and tarwhine on the other rods and pretty pissed off with them so stowed 'em away. Rigged up the baitcaster and was gonna use plastic when I changed my mind, rigged up with 2x4/0 baited with herring and started working it as I would plastic. First cast I was on.....a flatty going 27 cm. Over the next hour I had a couple more undersize and one lost at the side going about 50. Finally got one into the boat going 58cm.
Only fish worth bringing home apart from 14 pike for the bait freezer all over 30 cms and well conditioned. The pike seem to be of exceptional quality this year, more girth than usual. Enjoyed the solo trip despite difficult conditions.
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Originally Posted by DICER
I've always swore by herring as the prime bait for the Pine, but last few trips the pillies have outfished everything else when it comes to bream, but the herring seems to pull the bigger stuff.
