Rough week at Iluka (again)

[Freeeedom]

Headed for Iluka last Wednesday- arrived about midday and by about 2 pm was on the wall looking for bream or tailor. Managed 2 nice bream in the washes around dusk but no tailor, although a couple of small ones were caught by other anglers. Swells were quite large and fishing wasn't easy. From there things just went downhill fast. Two dawn sessions at the Iluka Bluff yielded one bream and one tailor. Then the winds got up to about 30 knots, the seas to about 3 metres and the showers became quite regular and heavier every time. The only fishable place was the gutter on the north side of the Bluff which gave me some nice luderick in the washes around the high tide. On Saturday, as I was putting my gear back in the car a guy from National Parks is doing something to the sign at the carpark, so I wander over to have a look. It says that the Ilkua Bluff and Shark bay will be closed for the next week due to aerial spraying of bitou bush. Can things get any worse? Not really - the weather was so bad on Monday that aerial spraying would have been impossible so I was able to fish the bluff again (although I'm not sure why I bothered). After fishing the wall for a few hours around dawn today for bream and/or tailor, getting drenched by waves and rain, and not getting a single bite except from terns and gannets diving on my baits I gave up and came home a day early. Everyone I talked to said the same thing - they can't remember the fishing being so bad at this time of the year. Certainly it was my worst trip ever. That's why I'm going back in a few weeks for another shot. It can't be that bad twice!
Cheers Freeeedom

[theoldlegend]

Mate, at least we didn't have to put up with the spraying, although on a previous trip we got kicked off Main Beach by somebody because of spraying. Did you notice the 4WD access to Main Beach had got washed out by the tides?

We probably saw each other at the usual haunts in the later part of last week and as you'd know, the options were pretty limited.

Interesting what Slider said about the mullet netting: might have to be aware of that for future trips.

TOL

[johnlikes2fish]

Read the reports posted around the Queens B'day long weekend and believe it can be that bad again and again. I have never seen it so bad down there. But I wll say that you can buy mullet for $1.50 a kilo in 10kg lots around iluka so the lack of bait may have something to do with it.

[fishn-ads]

Bad luck hope you get dew next time. Do you ever take heavier gear and try for tuna of the seawall?

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[fishn-ads]

Sorry it should have been "FEW"