[spooled1]

After Hairymicks inspiring Bass words about his joy at Lenthalls I thought I'd give those stubborn Clarrie Hole fish the benefit of the doubt - again.

(1) Drove for an hour
(2) Unloaded and carried the yak 30 metres to the water
(3) Fished for an hour using all those "blah, blah, blah, shit hot, eco go stuff yourself and micro shove it where it fits lures"
(4) Caught 3 bass to 7 (Yes, a whopping SEVEN) CENTIMETRES
(5) Carried the yak 30 metres back up the hill
(6) Loaded the yak
(6) Drove for an hour

Now, let's compare this scenario to Saturday where I tested my ultra bare bones fishing system:

In the fishing bag are 3 x pre rigged 6" handlines with 20 metres of 150lb mono each with a 2 metre 100lb Jinkai leader and heavy duty snap swivel:

Rigs were:

1 x Halco Laser Pro 190 Std in Gold 2M+
1 x 160 RMG Crazy Deep in Silver/ Blue 8M+
1 x 6" Yo Zuri Hydrosquirt in Purple 3M+
2 x Fresh bridle rigged Garfish

I clipped handline #1 into the bungy system and released all the line and trolled for 10 mins right on dawn. Big whack, the bungy pulled, the handline slammed into the line retaining clip, the yak turned and the knot broke at the spool. Bye, bye Halco.

I then set up Mr Zuri and tolled for 10 minutes without a touch. The birds started working and there were big bustups everywhere.

Mr Zuri was swapped out for Mr fresh Garfish with a pink squid skirt. It was in the drink for no more than 30 seconds when it was nailed by a 4kg nobby Snapper.

I then set up the RMG, let out 1/2 the line and WHACK. I grabbed the handline and then let it go because the fish was too big and running too hard. I wanted to let the bungy do the work. When properly set up, this bungy system has enough give to allow a huge fish to swing the yak, tow it and tire itself out before reeling it in. Within seconds the line was off the spool and the knot popped off like a cork. Bye, Bye, RMG.

My estimate is that this fish was a king or tuna aound 20kg. The yak spun so quickly and the tow would have been great if I tied my handline knot properly.

Two handlines spooled and one to go. I replaced the yo zuri with the 2nd garfish. Whack - Spooled - End of story. No more tackle, saved the yo zuri and had a nice 4kg nobby in the bag.

When I got home I respooled all my handlines and learnt how to tie the spool knot.

 

[Fishing Man]

Hi Dan,

yeah freshwater fishing can be a bit like that at times, but it can turn it on too if you get the right day. But i am with you on driving an hour for that when you have good fish on your doorstep at Byron. If your interested in catching bass, have you tried the creek near bangalow.

With regards to fishing around Byron offshore, what species do you mainly catch? im keen to get into some squire/snapper. are they pretty common down that way. and what methods are you using to get em?

 

[hairymick]

Heya Dan,

[/quote]After Hairymicks inspiring Bass words about his joy at Lenthalls I thought I'd give those stubborn Clarrie Hole fish the benefit of the doubt - again.

(1) Drove for an hour
(2) Unloaded and carried the yak 30 metres to the water
(3) Fished for an hour using all those "blah, blah, blah, shit hot, eco go stuff yourself and micro shove it where it fits lures"
(4) Caught 3 bass to 7 (Yes, a whopping SEVEN) CENTIMETRES
(5) Carried the yak 30 metres back up the hill
(6) Loaded the yak
(6) Drove for an hour

Mate clearly off-shore is working for you. Bloody top post mate. i used that heavy handline & springer thing for years. A solid piece of car inner-tube tied off to a deck loop towards the bow of the boat. A couple of half hitches round the tube allways held up OK for me.

C'mon mate, give the sweetwater one more chance. ya know ya want to.

here ya go.

 

[spooled1]

Maybe the moderators should create a new topic category called:

Bass Fishing

This breed of yak angler is not dissimilar to a trainspotter lurking on the railway tracks. We hear thier grand stories about the phantom #5 locomotive but never actually see it because, IT DOESN'T EXIST.

I reckon Hairymicks "Bass" photo's are conjured up bream images that were manipulated by a graphic artist in the Torbonlea Pub.

:wink::win:wink::wink::wink::wink:k:

 

[hairymick]

Heya Dan,

come to Queenland mate, We'll fix ya bass mojo for ya. Oh yeah, bring beer. :lol: :lol:

 

[Peril]

C'mon Dan, you're not gonna let little fish like that beat you, are you?

If it's phantom fish you're after, I'll organise a hairtail session in the Cowan next winter. You'll need to practise sleeping in your yak while drunk though (only way to keep warm!)

 

[spooled1]

Thanks Mick, Tell ya what!

I'll come to Qld, I'll bring the beer and I'll chase your barra.
Those bass aren't worth the heartache. I'll swap bass mojo for barra mojo any day.

Thanks for the offer, I'll take you up in January.

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[Fishing Man]

Hi Dan,

With regards to fishing around Byron offshore, what species do you mainly catch? im keen to get into some squire/snapper. are they pretty common down that way. and what methods are you using to get em?

any tips here Dan

 

[spooled1]

Ben: Gotta go out now mate but I'll send you a PM when I get back.

 

[Fishing Man]

no worries,

thanks mate

 

[Davey G]

Dan...after that story, you now need to change your username to spooledx4.

good stuff! I agree fishing the bluewater is a lot more fun than chasing tiny little bass in the fresh. getting slammed by a big fast moving pelagic is awesome stuff.... would have been a buzz seeing the handline spinning and thinking 'what the hell is THAT?'...

out of interest, why weren't you using rods? surely you'd have a bit more stopping power with a good drag?

 

[spooled1]

DayeyG: Good question mate!

I spent a day assembling what can only be described as a bare esssentials kit:

In effect it is one small bag (under 1kg) which contains everything you need to catch a decent fish:

3 x lures, 2 x Gars, 3 x handlines, Bungy system, Knife, pliers, donger, lip grippers, fish bag - and that is it.

Some chinese bloke had a proverb which I wanted to test: "The more crap you acquire, the more complicated your life is".

The proverb is true, I've never been spooled so quickly or easily.':lol:'

Seriously, I wanted to assemble a light and basic holiday kit that could be used at a Qld island tourist resort that provided free kayaks.

 

[YakAtak]

The blue water sounds like fun mate, hope you get that bungee system sorted, sounds like a goer. :wink:

 

[JustinC]

Spooled,

Mate I am with you 100%. I don't care how great a bass's power to weight ratio is. It's a little fish :lol: . There's no comparison between a bass that can drag a little line of a rig that's to light and a king fish, mackrel or other pelagic that's going to give you a good ride before he circles your yak in his final moments. Not to mention fresh water fish taste like *&%$.

You tell a great storey too by the way. I completely relate to your sense of homour.

Glad to see those you weren't starved of excitement.

Have fun!