It was with some trepidation that I drove into the carpark and spotted two hobies on car roofs. Pulled up alongside, got out and introduced myself to two personable guys. OK, perhaps this isn't going to be too bad. One of them even has a quest so paddle stealing antics should be kept a a minimum. Then more and more hobies arrived, some borne by familiar faces, others new to me. I lost count how many there were in the end, and can't remember all the names - Peter, Rolley (sp?), sbd, kraley, jt, on the edge (awesome adventure), ... (I'm sure I've forgotten someone)
We chinwagged and stuffed around, eventually getting on the water about an hour after first light. Paddled round to Bluefish. Gee, these guys seem alright. Usual banter, discussion of tactics etc. I might have been the only one without a hobie but soon felt relaxed in their midst.
A range of tactics were tried to little avail. I tried drifting and jigging a white 14g searock, hoping for a slimy to arm my 10kg outfit. Hooked up but dropped it. A while later hooked up again and brought my first sergeant baker to the surface. While they make good soup, they are very bony so I sent it back. Tried several more drifts with only one more hookup that dropped off again. Put out a gulp 5" jerkshap in a 1/4oz jig to bounce along the bottom as I drifted. It got munched without obvious strike - maybe squid, too much of it left for leatherjackets.
Put another one out and was drifting along, jigging the searock, when sbd approaches me. By now I was completely at ease with the hobie posse. I didn't see it coming, concentrating as I was on the jigging. The rod with the gulp was in the front rod holder on the right. Next thing Dave says sorry as he rams the rod. I fumble for the rod holder, trying to release the lock, but tipped too far to the right. P2 ejected me and I was in the drink once more.
Now at this point you'd think there'd be a major rescue operation launched by the hobie fleet. No, they realised the complete self-sufficiency of the paddle fisher and left me to clear my deck of the two rods, which both had lines out, stow them and get myself back on the yak. Found my crocs and hat and all was well. Nothing lost.
As I paddled back from that incident to begin another drift, DPI Fisheries came up in a rubber ducky. Their mother ship was sitting off the point and they were going around checking fishing licences and the legality of the catch. Gave me need to open the centre hatch, which I hadn't done before while on the water. Put a leg over either side of the yak and got it open without incident, had my licence checked and they moved on. Funny, but they made no comment about me being dripping wet.
Mentioned shortly after to Dave that I probably wouldn't stay out too much longer. Then we saw some birds working, for the first time this morning. Hightailed it over there for them to disperse. I continued to drift then looked around to find the hobie fleet had vanished. Paddled back around Bluefish to see them heading in so I followed, catching up along the way.
The conditions were excellent today, although the water was sloppier than a fortnight ago. Launching and landing at Shelly was a breeze, only problem is that it gets very busy down there late morning, with surf crews practising, guys on skis and dive schools all jostling for space.
We chinwagged and stuffed around, eventually getting on the water about an hour after first light. Paddled round to Bluefish. Gee, these guys seem alright. Usual banter, discussion of tactics etc. I might have been the only one without a hobie but soon felt relaxed in their midst.
A range of tactics were tried to little avail. I tried drifting and jigging a white 14g searock, hoping for a slimy to arm my 10kg outfit. Hooked up but dropped it. A while later hooked up again and brought my first sergeant baker to the surface. While they make good soup, they are very bony so I sent it back. Tried several more drifts with only one more hookup that dropped off again. Put out a gulp 5" jerkshap in a 1/4oz jig to bounce along the bottom as I drifted. It got munched without obvious strike - maybe squid, too much of it left for leatherjackets.
Put another one out and was drifting along, jigging the searock, when sbd approaches me. By now I was completely at ease with the hobie posse. I didn't see it coming, concentrating as I was on the jigging. The rod with the gulp was in the front rod holder on the right. Next thing Dave says sorry as he rams the rod. I fumble for the rod holder, trying to release the lock, but tipped too far to the right. P2 ejected me and I was in the drink once more.
Now at this point you'd think there'd be a major rescue operation launched by the hobie fleet. No, they realised the complete self-sufficiency of the paddle fisher and left me to clear my deck of the two rods, which both had lines out, stow them and get myself back on the yak. Found my crocs and hat and all was well. Nothing lost.
As I paddled back from that incident to begin another drift, DPI Fisheries came up in a rubber ducky. Their mother ship was sitting off the point and they were going around checking fishing licences and the legality of the catch. Gave me need to open the centre hatch, which I hadn't done before while on the water. Put a leg over either side of the yak and got it open without incident, had my licence checked and they moved on. Funny, but they made no comment about me being dripping wet.
Mentioned shortly after to Dave that I probably wouldn't stay out too much longer. Then we saw some birds working, for the first time this morning. Hightailed it over there for them to disperse. I continued to drift then looked around to find the hobie fleet had vanished. Paddled back around Bluefish to see them heading in so I followed, catching up along the way.
The conditions were excellent today, although the water was sloppier than a fortnight ago. Launching and landing at Shelly was a breeze, only problem is that it gets very busy down there late morning, with surf crews practising, guys on skis and dive schools all jostling for space.
There is a saying: there is safety in numbers. [What numbers if nobody lent you a hand?, but maybe they thought you wanted to go for a swim, did you?] :lol: 
