[Squidder]

It was a dark and still beach which greeted me at 4.30am......and as luck would have it the early start was a total waste of time, as I didn't get a hit for over an hour, until the sun was starting to peep over the horizon. Started off with a few small 25-ish cm pinkies, then a red mullet, then a better fish of 35cm.
I met Tony (SMURFSMUGGLER) on the beach at 7am, and after gearing up we headed out through the marine mark to start fishing. I started telling Tony how the paddle keeper worked when things went a bit pear shaped.......a capsize which I blame myself for (putting a man in a 2.7m kayak which was not man sized).

However Tony surfaced with a smile on his face, and after executing a flawless re-entry we got fishing. By Ricketts Point standards the fishing was slow, only the very occasional tap, Tony did well to hook and land a nice red mullet (his first fish on a soft plastic, as well as his first fish from a kayak), and lost a few snapper after a short struggle. I lost a few fish before connecting with a 38cm model right next to a stinkboat, they hated it and I loved it. :twisted:

Tony, it was a pleasure to fish with you mate, I hope the upset hasn't put you off, and I hope to see you out with the mangoes again real soon :wink:

 

[Kevin]

I've been hanging out to hear how you guys went.

Jason you have done a great job introducing and welcoming Tony to the sport. I am sure that his dunking only added to the adventure of the day. Once he gets a bit more accustomed to the feel of a yak he will realise that capsizing is a very rare occurance on flat water.

Look forward to seeing you guys out on the water before too long.

 

[Y-Knot]

Absolutly (fkkn) fantastic :lol: :lol: 8)

Jason, your a true gentleman for letting me use your Yak. as i mentioned to you " It was by-far the MOST enjoyable fishing experience i can ever recall. And i hardly got onto the fish. I LOVE it. I LOVE it. I LOVE it.
i am definietly a Yak Fisherman at heart , spirit and bloody soul, and am completly overjoyed at the prospect that i will now spend my days on adventurous Yakking holidays / daytrips / sik days ( cough cough, is that a cold i can feel coming on), and any bloomin opportunity i get.

Fair-Dinkum, its a whole new lease on life for me. 8) 8) 8)

As for the dunking Jason, i was so pumped up just getting out on the water in a yak for fishing that it added to the whole pleasure. I didnt get into to much strife with the smurfette ( more upset about her phone than anything else) , BUT she could she just how overwhelmed with excitement i was ( that look in my eye) that she just gave me a kiss on the cheek and let me rant and rave about the whole mornings adventure.
I cant bloody wait to get my own Yak and the misses is really keen to - woohoo :wink:

so again i THANK YOU, and feel indebted to you for giving me that opportunity. I liked your ride and it has given me great ideas on pretty much all the little things i can do to my own yak to make it a FISHING MACHINE .. :shock:

By the way, i would definietly come out again if you are going out and that little VENTURER was available.

.......crikies this is a bloody novel, i gotta learn to trim these things down a little. THIS IS HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT ALL THIS.

See you out on the water again sometime mate - looking forward to it ... AND any of you Melb Mob going out anytime be sure to let old smurfie here know as i will be KEEN AS fkkn CHIPS.
Hopefully i will start posting trips of my own hey ...

 

[Scott]

Onya Guys. Good stuff for getting out there Smuggla, I reckon you will be hooked after that and onya Jason for introducing someone else to the ultimate form of fishing.

Catch ya Scott

 

[PoddyMullet]

Well done gents, some top notch efforts there. Smurf, congrats on the red mullet...that's a bloody exotic way to open your yak fishing account and gotta be a WORLD FIRST!! Re the dunk no shame factor there...I guess the only way is up (quite literally if ya underwater). By the way did ya notice all of those ink marks on Squidders yak? He's a hell of a top bloke, but not too worried about the skid marks (sorry I mean squid marks) on his yak :wink:
By the way Squidder, how did Squidette go in the run?

 

[hoit]

Hi Smurf,

I'm glad you enjoyed your first yak fish. It's a very addictive sport

Plenty of guys have been for a swim so there is no shame in practicing your re-entry technique. :wink:

I drowned a phone last year so I keep mine in a aquapac attached to my pfd now. Hope to see you out on the water soon.

Regards
Grant

 

[PhilipL]

Been keeping an eye out for this post and it was well worth it. Well done guys - see you out there soon.
Philip

 

[troppo]

. . .
Fair-Dinkum, its a whole new lease on life for me. 8) 8) 8)

Sounds like another convert! Yeah Smurfsmuggla, yak fishing is not a hobby, it's a way of life.

 

[Rod L]

Oh the love!

It sounds like someone has been bitten by the Yak bug

and now they're doin a little jig

Good on ya fella's, I love that excitement.

 

[ScottLovig]

Thanks for the report Jason. I was hangin out to hear how you went with that early start. I've experienced the same result here, nothing seems to fire untill first rays.

Good to see you had fun Smurf. Looks like you're hooked if you still have a smile on you're face after a swim.

Cheers

Scott

 

[Y-Knot]

Hey guys -0k i'll keep this short hey ...

No shame or embarresment here for the swim i took.
really it was quite fun & apart from snapping a rod ( bugger) and water logging a mobile ph( opps :shock AND #@%* digital camera :x - yeah thats right - stupid me & wife said DONT take the camera on your first trip out ( yes dear no dear it will be ok dear ).... i guess my personal bests will include 1x mobile ph. 1x digital camera. 1x fishing rod (snapped) oh and yeah a FULL packet of winfield Blues
Thanks for the ciggies Jason ...
So apart from a bloody expensive 1st time it was just brilliant

Question though - this fish i caught... It was very similar to that of a snapper but it had a couple of 'under the chin feelers like a Catfish. I actually claimed it as a snapper but when i mentioned these 'catfish like feelers Jason tells me it was a Mullet ( red ). i got home and looked mullets up and couldnt really see any similarity. Can anyone clear up this fish identifcation for me.

AND still im harping on here hey guys... i need to take lessons of finetuning theses posts ...

Take it easy guys ...

Cheers Tony.

 

[ScottLovig]

Hi Smurf

Its actualy a wrasse. Most Vic wrasse are bloody awfull on the plate but these guys are OK. They are very highly prized by some Europeans and Asians because they are belived to improve your manhood. My manhood is going fine and I prefer other fish on the plate so I send em back for the guys with smaller peckers.

Cheers

Scott

 

[Y-Knot]

ok cool .. i'll look that up.

should i be embarressed then ... my 1st catch a 'dikkie improving' bad tasting wrasse ... , nahhh i dont give a rats. 1st fish on SP's and on a yak. WooHoo

cheers hobie/scott

Tony.

 

[ScottLovig]

P.S. Also called a goatfish.

 

[Squidder]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it Tony , and especially glad that the good lady saw fit not to punish you too harshly As the day progressed I could see the joy, and your realisation that you were hooked on yak fishing, great to see and loved your keeness mate :wink:

As I said the Venturer is up for grabs if you want to come out again, and if I can pry Squidette off it. Your fish was definately a red mullet aka goatfish (see pic below) - some folks love em on the table, I'd rate them as fair, they smell very fishy when being fried. :shock: I've attached a pic of one I caught a while ago on SP, the big attraction of them is their prettiness - I reckon the prettiest fish in Port Philip. The last one Michelle caught, she was saying "I don't know what sort of fish this is, it's like a snapper, but PRETTY!"

Scott - it's a lesson learned the hard way, but if I'm planning to throw SPs for pinkies I won't bother launching until at least 5 or 5:30. It's a different story bait fishing for the big fellas though - the earlier the better!

Poddy, Squidette did damn fine in the half marathon - her first aim was to run the whole way, which she did, and her second aim was to get home in under 2 hours for the 21.5km - she did it in 1hr 59min 20sec!! I couldn't be prouder of her

 

[ScottLovig]

Hi Jason

Agreed. I think a high tide change on the shallow reefs at first light for pinkies is preferable too. High tide tomorrow is around 6am. I'm going to launch at 5:45am and off water at 7:30am at my Mornington local haunt. Can you be late for work?????? Anyone else fit it in or want to be late for work tomorrow??????

Cheers

Scott

 

[Squidder]

Oh how you tempt me Scott! I'd love to mate but just can't do the weekday morning thing - gotta be in the city by 9-9:30. I can't wait until the days get a bit longer so I can squeeze in a couple of hours after work.

 

[Y-Knot]

In 2 weeks time Scott i would be joining you on that mate...
not bloody long now 8)

Tony

 

[Davey G]

good to hear that 'the smurf is hooked'...

well done squidder on introducing him to this great pastime.

smurf, hope you had the wetsuit on when you took the unexpected swim.... brrrrrrrr :shock:

 

[Y-Knot]

yeah i did Davey, and it made all the diff' mate, being out on the water for 3 odd hours would have frozen me nipples off ..