Portsea salmon hunting adv, 5/11

As the sun rose over the alluring waters of Portsea, Poddy, Milt, Mushi and myself unloaded our rods and kit, fitted out the yaks and prepared for the promise of abundant fish. As we slid our yaks into the water it sure looked like it was going to be a picture perfect paddling day and we turned out to be right. Unfortunately, it wasn't really a picture perfect fishing day. A few factors probably went against us, not least of which being the dolphins and seals that were hanging around the general area. There were light winds blowing from the southeast and for the most part the water was calm... too calm. My trolled SPs got more bites from birds than they did fish.

After a well-earned sleep in, Squidder joined us a few hours later closer to high tide and our luck didn't improve as the day went on. With only a single exception at the hands of Mushi, we weren't even able to intice any squid. I did manage 2 table-sized salmon (32 + 34 cm) but had to go to some 'extreme' lengths to get them. And if memory serves correctly, thats all that was caught all day (we fished till almost midday) and was definitely the slowest I've even seen the area fish. Oh well... when it comes to fishing, it's days like this that make the good days great.

That's not to say that it wasn't a great day out, however. It's always a buzz when the dolphins show up and it's always fun to get out on the water in such good weather, even if we did prefer the wind to be coming from the other direction.

T'was great to meet the guys in person and put faces to the names. It's always good to get out with like-minded fishos and I'm already looking forward to the next outing. I should add that it was a relief that Mushi didn't turn out to be anything like his avatar would suggest either.



Milt 'n Mushi in the mornin!