What a glorious beginning to a lovely day on the water… spectacular pre-dawn display followed by a sunrise to be believed! I only took one photo… could have spent lots of time taking more, but time's a-wasting… there's fish out there!
Slipped the Acadia into the "Oh, so smooth" water, and before I was out of the launching area, released a just legal 'koolie caught' snapper… looks like a good day all round.
Trolled to one of my drifting areas, dropping a tailor on the way, and within minutes had a smashing run on the overhead outfit, but about 20 seconds of run, then come up empty… now that's two fish dropped to one fish landed… maybe not so good.
The 3inch Zman flat-tail electric chicken coloured softie looked a bit screwed about, but easily fixed then out it goes again. This lure, after such a dramatic start, only produced what I would reason to be squid bites for the rest of the day.
But… the lilelechick? (little 4inch electric chicken coloured Snap-back jerk-bait)… it had a momentous start to the day… but first I had to lose one to a snag (I didn't think much of that)… however… whilst I was watching the squid bites on the other line and jig/jigging the lilelechick line absent-mindedly, Big Bertha apparently was being switched on by the latter.
Wham! Big Bertha slams lilelechick and zooms off!
Action up top in the Acadia! Bail-arm flipped over, drag checked, Zman line wound in, out of the way… then full attention to the rod with the wailing reel.
Everything checked off… all OK! Line darting off in all different directions… what the hell kind of fish have we got here? Snapper? Jewie? Don't think mackerel, but never know… Whatever it is, I hope this doesn't end in spitting the lure! One a day is enough of that!
After some pretty hectic to and fro, a bit of colour… big fish, but still can't identify it… another glide past, and Snapper… big one! But it's not finished yet… zipping under the yak, out the front, and under again… but… my patience pays out, and Big Bertha's waiting there for the net. In she goes, kicks up a fuss about that, but there's nothing she can do now… she's mine… well nearly.
As I lifted her out of the water, "Wow! That's heavy!" That made me a bit more careful, don't want to tip over… now the net is sitting on the spray-skirt/work-bench in front of me… Mine at last!
Piccies first, although easy enough with little to medium fish, but with anything this big I can't get a decent picture, due to not having long enough arms… however, I try with three shots, but none of them were really flash, no pun intended.
That done, hook out… well, damn me… look where the hook is… not inside the mouth… she's hooked in the cheek (?)… this can be seen in the close-up shot. Hook out, get the lip-grips in so I can measure the ol' girl.
Just then I realise that the lip-grips have a scale included, so while she's still in the net, I lift the net and her holus bolus, and although there's still some of her touching the spray-skirt, (still suffering from too-short arms) she pulls the scales down to 18lb! Yes!!! Orright!
Now out of the net and measure… make sure head is at the end of the rule, 95cm! Check head end again, not right, slipped sideways as I screwed my body around to see the tail end… check again. 93cm! and again… confirmed 93cm!
Wow! I've caught one at this length before and only one slightly bigger at 94cm. Try and get the grin of this ol' face, feller!
That all done, slide the ol' girl back into the briny… no troubles… I could be wrong, but… did she wink at me as she slid back into the depths, waving her tail at me as she went? Nah! Dreamin' Jimbo.
Back to reality! Check out hook and lure, all OK, over they go again. After all that excitement, just the squid-like bites again, but while there are lures in the water, anything can happen… but it didn't and a little time later, a yellow runabout rolls up and chucks an anchor over-board, chain rattling as it dived to the depths. The two fellows in it just didn't care that I was fishing/drifting not a boat length away, so although I've told myself to live with it and also get on with it, I couldn't help myself and gave them quite a gob-full.
They'd just anchored over the spot that I like to drift over, and I'm now stuffed! I really wanted another ¾ of an hour drifting there (sweet-spot time) and when I looked around at all the other places I could work, there was a tinnie anchored at them all… bugger!
So, I headed South, trolling as I went, dropping another fish on the way, meeting up with a neighbour whose mate (on board with him) had landed a lovely fish in the 80's, and sported quite a large grin. I kept going till I got to the Shield St reef where there was a bunch of blokes in tinnies fishing, but I had to stop… just had to get this wind-cheater jacket off… the paddling was over-heating me… Have you ever tried to take a jacket off with all the safety gear on whilst in a SIK? Must have looked quite funny, but after a while it was off and stowed in a placcy bag, gear back on and lines back in, so I went further South.
A little while later, a 51cm snapper hit the deck, and duly swam away, but time was getting on, and by the time I hit the beach again, it was two thirty PM.
Al, a fishing friend greeted me at the car, and was duly impressed with my catch, and another fellow offered to buy future fish from me, but I told him that there were specific laws about that, and it wouldn't happen, besides I have a thing about snapper, and release all but those needed for the table.
Trev rang me seconds before I picked up the phone to tell him about my fish, and I tried to kid him that I'd got the fish at his secret spot, but they reckon you can't fool a fool, so gave up on that. He couldn't hold back, and posted one about a "rumour of big fish".
I'm sorry about the quality of the photos, but the short arms syndrome limits my abilities in this field. I even managed a double exposure on the first fish… obviously my expertise is limitless.
Cheers all… Jimbo
Slipped the Acadia into the "Oh, so smooth" water, and before I was out of the launching area, released a just legal 'koolie caught' snapper… looks like a good day all round.
Trolled to one of my drifting areas, dropping a tailor on the way, and within minutes had a smashing run on the overhead outfit, but about 20 seconds of run, then come up empty… now that's two fish dropped to one fish landed… maybe not so good.
The 3inch Zman flat-tail electric chicken coloured softie looked a bit screwed about, but easily fixed then out it goes again. This lure, after such a dramatic start, only produced what I would reason to be squid bites for the rest of the day.
But… the lilelechick? (little 4inch electric chicken coloured Snap-back jerk-bait)… it had a momentous start to the day… but first I had to lose one to a snag (I didn't think much of that)… however… whilst I was watching the squid bites on the other line and jig/jigging the lilelechick line absent-mindedly, Big Bertha apparently was being switched on by the latter.
Wham! Big Bertha slams lilelechick and zooms off!
Action up top in the Acadia! Bail-arm flipped over, drag checked, Zman line wound in, out of the way… then full attention to the rod with the wailing reel.
Everything checked off… all OK! Line darting off in all different directions… what the hell kind of fish have we got here? Snapper? Jewie? Don't think mackerel, but never know… Whatever it is, I hope this doesn't end in spitting the lure! One a day is enough of that!
After some pretty hectic to and fro, a bit of colour… big fish, but still can't identify it… another glide past, and Snapper… big one! But it's not finished yet… zipping under the yak, out the front, and under again… but… my patience pays out, and Big Bertha's waiting there for the net. In she goes, kicks up a fuss about that, but there's nothing she can do now… she's mine… well nearly.
As I lifted her out of the water, "Wow! That's heavy!" That made me a bit more careful, don't want to tip over… now the net is sitting on the spray-skirt/work-bench in front of me… Mine at last!
Piccies first, although easy enough with little to medium fish, but with anything this big I can't get a decent picture, due to not having long enough arms… however, I try with three shots, but none of them were really flash, no pun intended.
That done, hook out… well, damn me… look where the hook is… not inside the mouth… she's hooked in the cheek (?)… this can be seen in the close-up shot. Hook out, get the lip-grips in so I can measure the ol' girl.
Just then I realise that the lip-grips have a scale included, so while she's still in the net, I lift the net and her holus bolus, and although there's still some of her touching the spray-skirt, (still suffering from too-short arms) she pulls the scales down to 18lb! Yes!!! Orright!
Now out of the net and measure… make sure head is at the end of the rule, 95cm! Check head end again, not right, slipped sideways as I screwed my body around to see the tail end… check again. 93cm! and again… confirmed 93cm!
Wow! I've caught one at this length before and only one slightly bigger at 94cm. Try and get the grin of this ol' face, feller!
That all done, slide the ol' girl back into the briny… no troubles… I could be wrong, but… did she wink at me as she slid back into the depths, waving her tail at me as she went? Nah! Dreamin' Jimbo.
Back to reality! Check out hook and lure, all OK, over they go again. After all that excitement, just the squid-like bites again, but while there are lures in the water, anything can happen… but it didn't and a little time later, a yellow runabout rolls up and chucks an anchor over-board, chain rattling as it dived to the depths. The two fellows in it just didn't care that I was fishing/drifting not a boat length away, so although I've told myself to live with it and also get on with it, I couldn't help myself and gave them quite a gob-full.
They'd just anchored over the spot that I like to drift over, and I'm now stuffed! I really wanted another ¾ of an hour drifting there (sweet-spot time) and when I looked around at all the other places I could work, there was a tinnie anchored at them all… bugger!
So, I headed South, trolling as I went, dropping another fish on the way, meeting up with a neighbour whose mate (on board with him) had landed a lovely fish in the 80's, and sported quite a large grin. I kept going till I got to the Shield St reef where there was a bunch of blokes in tinnies fishing, but I had to stop… just had to get this wind-cheater jacket off… the paddling was over-heating me… Have you ever tried to take a jacket off with all the safety gear on whilst in a SIK? Must have looked quite funny, but after a while it was off and stowed in a placcy bag, gear back on and lines back in, so I went further South.
A little while later, a 51cm snapper hit the deck, and duly swam away, but time was getting on, and by the time I hit the beach again, it was two thirty PM.
Al, a fishing friend greeted me at the car, and was duly impressed with my catch, and another fellow offered to buy future fish from me, but I told him that there were specific laws about that, and it wouldn't happen, besides I have a thing about snapper, and release all but those needed for the table.
Trev rang me seconds before I picked up the phone to tell him about my fish, and I tried to kid him that I'd got the fish at his secret spot, but they reckon you can't fool a fool, so gave up on that. He couldn't hold back, and posted one about a "rumour of big fish".
I'm sorry about the quality of the photos, but the short arms syndrome limits my abilities in this field. I even managed a double exposure on the first fish… obviously my expertise is limitless.
Cheers all… Jimbo
