Monday, September 13, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ryan & Kym Hit The Foot, Get Kicked in the Arse
By the weather, at least.
Kym and I had the day off Friday, and after planning to head down to Salt Creek, we ended up going to Yorkes instead. We rolled onto Dust Hole beach around 1pm, and only one other group was fishing the entire beach.
There were a few decent gutters on the beach, so we found the best looking one and tucked the car into the dunes. We cast out immediately, and tried to cook up some lunch in the howling wind. The wind was so strong we basically had to cook in the back of the car - and we sat in the front seats to keep an eye on the rods and keep away from the stinging sand. After an hour, my rod buckled over and I raced over to pull in a double header of probably 1kg salmon. Kym wound in his line and found he had been bitten clean off, perhaps a Shark was also patrolling the gutters. Over the next few hours before sunset, Kym pulled in three more Salmon, and we had a good little catch on ice.
We had planned to swag it on the beach, but the massive wind was in our face and every half hour it bucketed down for five minutes. We didn't have much chance of securing a tarp down to get out of the rain. Faced with sleeping in the car, We instead opted to drive up to Gleesons to get out the wind and set up a fire, around 6:30pm.
We set the alarm for 5:30am, and although we woke up feeling pretty good, laziness had us sleep for a few more hours. Saturday was spent mostly looking for a spot to fish out of the wind. Went into Innes, and checked out all the surf beaches, but there were no good gutters, and Browns isn't known for its middle of the day fishing, so we didn't particularly want to tackle the massive walk. We went back to Stenhouse Bay for a quick fish on the jetty before deciding Armchair Rock at Stansbury would be our best bet for getting out of the wind. The jetty provided zilch, although we saw a few squid landed.
The plan was good. Hardly any wind and great looking water.. sort of LEDGE like. I casted out a big slab of salmon, but squid kept attacking it, so we quickly tied on some jags, and we ended up landing ten squid before they went quiet. With some big thunderstorms rolling in, and us without a campsite again, we pulled the pin and got home about 10pm Sat night. Just in time I think - the rain on the way home was crazy. Driving down Port Wakefield Road, all I could see was water, and reflectors on the sides of the road.
Sani cooked up a few squid on Sunday for lunch! Not bad. The rest of course went into the freezer, where they shall be used as bait to catch a monster mulloway!
Kym and I had the day off Friday, and after planning to head down to Salt Creek, we ended up going to Yorkes instead. We rolled onto Dust Hole beach around 1pm, and only one other group was fishing the entire beach.
There were a few decent gutters on the beach, so we found the best looking one and tucked the car into the dunes. We cast out immediately, and tried to cook up some lunch in the howling wind. The wind was so strong we basically had to cook in the back of the car - and we sat in the front seats to keep an eye on the rods and keep away from the stinging sand. After an hour, my rod buckled over and I raced over to pull in a double header of probably 1kg salmon. Kym wound in his line and found he had been bitten clean off, perhaps a Shark was also patrolling the gutters. Over the next few hours before sunset, Kym pulled in three more Salmon, and we had a good little catch on ice.
We had planned to swag it on the beach, but the massive wind was in our face and every half hour it bucketed down for five minutes. We didn't have much chance of securing a tarp down to get out of the rain. Faced with sleeping in the car, We instead opted to drive up to Gleesons to get out the wind and set up a fire, around 6:30pm.
We set the alarm for 5:30am, and although we woke up feeling pretty good, laziness had us sleep for a few more hours. Saturday was spent mostly looking for a spot to fish out of the wind. Went into Innes, and checked out all the surf beaches, but there were no good gutters, and Browns isn't known for its middle of the day fishing, so we didn't particularly want to tackle the massive walk. We went back to Stenhouse Bay for a quick fish on the jetty before deciding Armchair Rock at Stansbury would be our best bet for getting out of the wind. The jetty provided zilch, although we saw a few squid landed.
The plan was good. Hardly any wind and great looking water.. sort of LEDGE like. I casted out a big slab of salmon, but squid kept attacking it, so we quickly tied on some jags, and we ended up landing ten squid before they went quiet. With some big thunderstorms rolling in, and us without a campsite again, we pulled the pin and got home about 10pm Sat night. Just in time I think - the rain on the way home was crazy. Driving down Port Wakefield Road, all I could see was water, and reflectors on the sides of the road.
Sani cooked up a few squid on Sunday for lunch! Not bad. The rest of course went into the freezer, where they shall be used as bait to catch a monster mulloway!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Hillocks Drive - June 2010
Throwing away 4 years of June long weekend tradition, the guys opted for a trip down to Hillocks Drive, instead of the usual winter Coorong trip. Amongst the last minute planning, we some how decided on heading off after work on the Friday night.
Harry, Matt and Will arrived about 30 minutes before Kym and I, and it wasn't long before the tents/swags were up and the camp fire cranking. Given that it was past 11pm before we settled into a few beers, Will hit the swag first with a grand plan of getting up early and into the Salmon. The rest of us drunk beer until we convinced each other it was wise to stop.
Everyone was up around 8am and we soon set off to the beach. Matt and Will raced down that cliff and set up in our favourite spot, though, a little left of the gutter due to another group of fisho's already there.
By time I made it down to the beach, I realised I had left my camera bag on the bull bar of my car. $3k worth of camera gear sitting there for the taking. Enough incentive to run my unfit arse back up that cliff! I was buggered when I got back down and the only response I got from the others was "why didn't you bring beer?" (it was about 10am.. but regardless...)
It wasn't a long wait before a Salmon was landed, and not long again before Will's new Daiwa Sensor Surf buckled over to what appeared to be something very large. It turned out to be a double header of estimated 2kg Salmon.
Matt landed one or two smaller salmon, but for the rest of us, it was very quiet. Kym landed a few small fish on his bait rod, but me and Harry came up with zilch. Harry opted for his preferred method of fishing - asleep.
Just as high tide was approaching, we decided we needed food and set off for camp, leaving behind what was soon to be some prime fishing time. Our priorities are always a little twisted when it comes to fishing, and some food and beers around camp sounded pretty good!
After lunch we debated on where to fish with an hour or two before sunset to go. Salmon beach had a fair bit of weed earlier, so we figured we'd go to Butlers Beach if our usual spot was taken. I drove up to check it out and radio'd back to the others that it was indeed taken, but the rocks looked calm enough for a fish. A quick vote and we set off on the long walk to the rocks.
I set up my surf rod with a big bait and cast out, and set about some drunken photography whilst the others toyed with some small fish that were schooling around the berley bag. Lots of beers, rock fishing, and expensive camera gear. A quality combination. I had been wanting to try some long exposure shots though, and managed to get one or two I liked.
Looks like Harry has caught a small fish here - leaving me the only person without a single fish.
With darkness setting in, we headed back to camp and Harry set up a huge campfire - well needed given how cold it was going to get that night! The guys fishing the beach said it'd been a bit of a bumper session over high tide..
After a big night around the fire, everyone was up pretty late on Sunday, and we headed down to Salmon beach to spend the whole day fishing. Again the fishing was slow...
As high tide approached, a few other people appeared and set up close by. There was an enormous amount of rods in a close vicinity for awhile there, thankfully no more than a minimal tangle
I did manage to get a fish on the board at some stage - a bit of a fluke as I reckon it jumped my popper as I wound in. Just a small salmon but at least I had something for the weekend. Will and Matt got a couple more Salmon, and Kym continued to catch the smallies, but with the fishing just not firing big time, we headed back up to camp at sunset to set up the fire again. It got down to 0.5 degrees that night, but not cold enough to stop Matt and Will heading off at 6am for a big morning fish session. They didn't get back to camp until around 10am, but had managed to get six more fish between them. Three each if my memory serves me correctly.
The rest of us didn't bother doing any more fishing, and Will was awarded The Gashes, for his big double header and another big salmon to go with it. We packed it all up and headed home around 11:30am.
Far West Coast is locked in for November - looking like 5-6 people, our largest yet. Hopefully we'll get away a few times before then as well.
Harry, Matt and Will arrived about 30 minutes before Kym and I, and it wasn't long before the tents/swags were up and the camp fire cranking. Given that it was past 11pm before we settled into a few beers, Will hit the swag first with a grand plan of getting up early and into the Salmon. The rest of us drunk beer until we convinced each other it was wise to stop.
Everyone was up around 8am and we soon set off to the beach. Matt and Will raced down that cliff and set up in our favourite spot, though, a little left of the gutter due to another group of fisho's already there.
By time I made it down to the beach, I realised I had left my camera bag on the bull bar of my car. $3k worth of camera gear sitting there for the taking. Enough incentive to run my unfit arse back up that cliff! I was buggered when I got back down and the only response I got from the others was "why didn't you bring beer?" (it was about 10am.. but regardless...)
It wasn't a long wait before a Salmon was landed, and not long again before Will's new Daiwa Sensor Surf buckled over to what appeared to be something very large. It turned out to be a double header of estimated 2kg Salmon.
Matt landed one or two smaller salmon, but for the rest of us, it was very quiet. Kym landed a few small fish on his bait rod, but me and Harry came up with zilch. Harry opted for his preferred method of fishing - asleep.
Just as high tide was approaching, we decided we needed food and set off for camp, leaving behind what was soon to be some prime fishing time. Our priorities are always a little twisted when it comes to fishing, and some food and beers around camp sounded pretty good!
After lunch we debated on where to fish with an hour or two before sunset to go. Salmon beach had a fair bit of weed earlier, so we figured we'd go to Butlers Beach if our usual spot was taken. I drove up to check it out and radio'd back to the others that it was indeed taken, but the rocks looked calm enough for a fish. A quick vote and we set off on the long walk to the rocks.
I set up my surf rod with a big bait and cast out, and set about some drunken photography whilst the others toyed with some small fish that were schooling around the berley bag. Lots of beers, rock fishing, and expensive camera gear. A quality combination. I had been wanting to try some long exposure shots though, and managed to get one or two I liked.
Looks like Harry has caught a small fish here - leaving me the only person without a single fish.With darkness setting in, we headed back to camp and Harry set up a huge campfire - well needed given how cold it was going to get that night! The guys fishing the beach said it'd been a bit of a bumper session over high tide..
After a big night around the fire, everyone was up pretty late on Sunday, and we headed down to Salmon beach to spend the whole day fishing. Again the fishing was slow...
As high tide approached, a few other people appeared and set up close by. There was an enormous amount of rods in a close vicinity for awhile there, thankfully no more than a minimal tangle
I did manage to get a fish on the board at some stage - a bit of a fluke as I reckon it jumped my popper as I wound in. Just a small salmon but at least I had something for the weekend. Will and Matt got a couple more Salmon, and Kym continued to catch the smallies, but with the fishing just not firing big time, we headed back up to camp at sunset to set up the fire again. It got down to 0.5 degrees that night, but not cold enough to stop Matt and Will heading off at 6am for a big morning fish session. They didn't get back to camp until around 10am, but had managed to get six more fish between them. Three each if my memory serves me correctly.
The rest of us didn't bother doing any more fishing, and Will was awarded The Gashes, for his big double header and another big salmon to go with it. We packed it all up and headed home around 11:30am.
Far West Coast is locked in for November - looking like 5-6 people, our largest yet. Hopefully we'll get away a few times before then as well.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Far West Coast - February 2010
3:30am on Saturday morning and we were on the road. Some 10 hours later the big sand dunes that tower over Fowler's Bay came into view, and the excitement built up massively.
We rolled into the township for no real reason really, we never planned to stay there. We had a quick look at the water and then made our way around the back of the dunes to the western end of Scotts Beach. We deflated the tyres, engaged 4wd and set off down the beach, keeping a hopeful eye out for a school of salmon. The plan was to spend a few nights around Scotts and surrounds, and try and get a few Salmon for bait. We'd then head out to the dog fence beach to set up for awhile in hope of a big mulloway coming by.
Scotts Beach had no schools of salmon and the usual deep gutters half way along seemed rather shallow. We continued along to Fowlers Point and made our way to the ledge instead. Hopeful that we could entice a school in, we berleyed up the water a lot and waited patiently. A lot of small fish came around, but mostly rock cods and other shittys. I managed to hook a tommy ruff though, so put it straight back out as live bait.
Without any salmon action, we headed back along Scotts Beach and still unimpressed by the gutters, we made our way across to Mexican Hat Beach. Half way along Mexican Hat, there was a nice gutter so we pulled up and decided to make it a night there as the sun was getting low. The wind was fairly savage at this point and the super fine sand around our camp blew over everything. Day 1 and already our gear was coated in sand - every meal from then on would have added grain.
As night set in, Andre had some luck, and kick started our bait supply with 2 nice size salmon.
The next morning was a great sunrise, the wind had died down and Andre had kindly placed a rod holder in the sand and then wandered off to take a nature visit. Not one to waste such an opportunity, I casted out my rod and set it in his holder. 15 minutes later, and I have a nice salmon sliding up the beach! Andre not impressed. muahaha. Not long after that and I have another Salmon in the esky too.
Kym got out the small rod (seeing his lack of skill in catching Salmon like the rest of us) and got onto a patch of Mullet. I joined him and between us we had around 18 mullet joining our bait supply.
Happy with our supply of fresh bait (along with the many tommies, pilchards and squid we'd purchased) we made the decision to head off to the dog fence a day earlier than expected. The dog fence beach was easily drivable for the first 4kms or so, but I had heard the gutters get deeper the further you go down. We passed by a nice gutter with a broken rod stuck in the sand nearby. We made a note of the spot and continued on to check out the rest of the beach. The further we went along, the softer the beach got.. it was some seriously soft sand! I got some major sideways action sliding towards the water on occasion, but lucky enough kept the momentum up enough to get back up high. We got as far along the beach as we could before a headland blocked our progress. Perhaps there was a track around the back of it but we decided to head back to the spot with the broken rod. We passed by a large fresh mulloway head in the sand too - though next to no gutter what so ever. They do say you don't need a gutter for mullies though.. hmmm.
I must say that the beaches in Yalata look so much fishier than the dog fence beach, but both have good reputations, and you're allowed a few beers at the dog fence! (not to mention avoiding the exorbitant cost of Yalata at $12 per person per night).
Whilst we were fishing a decent gutter at the Dog Fence, it was fairly hard to cast right out in to it, especially at high tide.
I believe it was on our second day at the dog fence beach when Andre had a massive bite on his rod, causing a rare scene of Andre running frantically. He got to his rod and unfortunately what ever it was, had let go. With no further action, Andre appealed to the mulloway gods to bring a change of fortunes.
After two days and two nights at the dog fence, we got impatient and decided to try our luck in finding Cabbots beach - somewhere between the dog fence and Fowlers Bay. We stopped at Nundroo to top up the ice supply in the bait esky. We did have a solid bait plan to have one big esky stocked with bait, and then only access it to grab enough bait for a few hours of fishing, which we'd then put into a smaller esky. The idea was that less frequent access would keep the ice going for a much longer time. The problem with the plan is that my esky sucks, and even the four 3 litre milk cartons I'd froze with water had totally defrosted by day 3-4, so, regular ice top ups were necessary.
Anyway, at Nundroo I enquired about Cabbots, and the lady there told me to head for the coast and search for a windmill. The same windmill an old man on the Fowlers Bay jetty had told us to search for last year I suspect. She also mentioned a general lack of mulloway around and only 'small' 40 pounders being caught, as the snapper were chasing off the mulloway. I've never heard of this before, but I would have happily taken a few beach snapper!
After much driving and checking out little 4wd tracks along the coast, we begun to think the windmill was some what of a myth. Andre's prediction that I would never find it seemed to have some merit, until I spotted a water pipe running towards the coast - I followed it along and as we popped over a sand hill, the windmill came into sight, a glorious site! The place of legends, and more specifically, sharks and salmon schools.
The beach had some reef running parallel to the beach and nice deep water forming in front of it. It certainly looked fishy. Kym had all but given up and gone to escape the wind in the sand dunes, when his rod buckled over and he had to come sprinting out. He hooked into a solid fish and soon landed his first decent fish of the trip!
Due to the very annoying, grinding sound of the windmill at Cabbots (or whatever that beach is actually called) we decided to camp elsewhere and make another trip back here to try again. Despite only one salmon being caught, we were confident there would be fish to be caught there. Travelling along the coast, we ended all the way back at Scotts Beach, where for some reason, only a few days later the gutters seemed more likeable. We rolled out the swags and set up for the night.
Andre managed a smaller sized salmon at Scotts, but overall the fishing was very slow. We decided to make a base for the next 3 nights so we wouldn't have to repack the car every time we made a move. The caravan park seemed the easiest option, and so we set off back to Fowlers Bay.
We went out to the Jetty that night and it was extremely windy. We were the only fools to be out there, and huddled down at the end of the jetty. We had some big baits out in the water under floats, hoping for some mulloway or shark. After no action, and the beers run dry, we decided to wind in, to find that my tommy ruff bait had a big clean bite right out of its rear end. If only I had more than one hook in that bait. Damnit.
The next morning we headed back out to the Windmill.
I was taking my time collecting all my gear and getting the cameras in my pockets, and by time I got over to the beach, Andre was going crazy about something and hooked onto a large salmon. He'd seen a couple of dolphins round up a big school of salmon in behind the reef and they were just about jumping out of the water on to the beach. Quick as a flash, he had a lure on and landed a Salmon before I'd barely set my bag down.
The school seemingly went as quick as it came and we sat down and waited. An hour or two passed and I must've been the only one paying attention, because no one else saw the school of salmon come riding a wave in over the reef. Unfortunately for us all, I didn't have my lure tied on yet, and Andre couldn't get sight of where the school headed and casted the wrong direction. Kym's rod with bait and surf popper on hooked on and he got a big salmon into the wash before it dropped off and swam away. Andre and I frantically casted lures out into the water but to no avail. We all rebaited and sat down again. Maybe in a few hours they would come back.
We didn't have to wait long before fishing master, yours truly, got a bit of a nibble and wound in this fine specimen!
Now, the others called it a retard fish because of its deformed head, and massive lower jaw. We weren't exactly sure it was even a salmon at first. I suspect it was actually an evolutionary step forward for salmon - evolving so that they aren't as susceptible to being caught on hooks. However, I was still able to out smart it with my fishing prowess, and into the bait bucket he went.
Back at the caravan park, we had a visitor come perch right next to us. It didn't even move even when I put my finger right next to it.
Back at the jetty for the second night in a row, and this time we got some action. Kym's float took off and after a very short battle, he wound in a mulloway, estimated to be a bit over the 50cm mark.
Nothing else was caught, so we headed back in for the night. I think I might have had my first shower of the trip then - most refreshing!
On our last day, which coincided with Andre's birthday, we had a quick visit to Cabbots for no result, and then fished Scotts Beach. Firstly the shallows in hope of KGW (Kym landed a nice one the day before) and then the gutters in hope of some Salmon which we thought we'd take home in the absence of any better eating fish. Funny that when we actually wanted to eat them, they didn't show up.
Andre had a 2 salmon lead in the gashes and looked reasonably safe, but there was one night jetty fish to go and the jetty was showing lots of promise so far. Kym had already landed the biggest 'target fish' although being undersized it didn't hold much value. We considered the prize species to be mulloway, snapper and shark - any one of those of legal size would still take out the gashes.
My master plan was to catch a squid and then use the entire thing for bait. Said plan started excellently, when just bobbing my squid jag up and down over the rail, a squid latched on. I did want to keep it alive but with just one hook attached to my wire trace, I had to also make sure it stayed on the hook. I think it died. Kym once again had the good luck, and his float took off at a rate of knots. The rest of us wound in and made room for Kym to get his catch in. As he got it to the jetty we could see that it was a small shark. With no drop gaff, or crab net (back in the car) we walked it along to the stairs, and Andre grabbed it by the tail and brought it up. First prize species caught! Kym leading The Gashes.
Faced with a quick decision on whether to release or eat the shark, Kym opted to let it grow a bit bigger. Then regretted it thinking we could have BBQ'd that up at a post FWC BBQ. We decided to keep the next one (confidence was high)
My line with the squid on seemed to have been attacked by small fish. The squid no longer had a head (seems unlikely small fish would remove its head, so maybe a shark bit that off) and was a bit tattered up. None the less, I casted it back out, just a squid body now. Not too much of a wait later, Kym again had his drag start going, and we raced to our rods. His drag stopped almost straight away though, and mine started going instead! It took off wildly, and I tightened it up and brought a similar sized bronzy to the side of the jetty. This was the Gashes winning fish.
I walked it down the jetty, thanking fellow fisherman for moving their lines out the way, and getting it close to the stairs. Andre, after his last shark grabbing was confident for the landing. He declined the offer of a drop gaff from a nearby fisherman and got down to the bottom of the stairs. Just as it was in close enough, it bashed into the pylon and then took off downwards... we lost sight of it and then my wire trace came apart. I didn't get bitten through, but rather the loop that holds the swivel just fell apart. Unbelieveable. Still, I have landed no shark.
With a big drive the following day, I soon headed back to the park to get some sleep. Kym soon followed, but Andre who had led the Gashes for the most part of the trip, decided to fish as long as he could. The next morning he reported getting back to camp around 4am, for nothing other than a large squid, which grabbed on to his squid bait, and didn't let go - didn't even get hooked!
So with all fishing concluded, Kym takes his second Gashes victory in a row. Not bad for a rookie.
FWC - 3, Team Gashes 0
We rolled into the township for no real reason really, we never planned to stay there. We had a quick look at the water and then made our way around the back of the dunes to the western end of Scotts Beach. We deflated the tyres, engaged 4wd and set off down the beach, keeping a hopeful eye out for a school of salmon. The plan was to spend a few nights around Scotts and surrounds, and try and get a few Salmon for bait. We'd then head out to the dog fence beach to set up for awhile in hope of a big mulloway coming by.
Scotts Beach had no schools of salmon and the usual deep gutters half way along seemed rather shallow. We continued along to Fowlers Point and made our way to the ledge instead. Hopeful that we could entice a school in, we berleyed up the water a lot and waited patiently. A lot of small fish came around, but mostly rock cods and other shittys. I managed to hook a tommy ruff though, so put it straight back out as live bait.
As night set in, Andre had some luck, and kick started our bait supply with 2 nice size salmon.
The next morning was a great sunrise, the wind had died down and Andre had kindly placed a rod holder in the sand and then wandered off to take a nature visit. Not one to waste such an opportunity, I casted out my rod and set it in his holder. 15 minutes later, and I have a nice salmon sliding up the beach! Andre not impressed. muahaha. Not long after that and I have another Salmon in the esky too.
Kym got out the small rod (seeing his lack of skill in catching Salmon like the rest of us) and got onto a patch of Mullet. I joined him and between us we had around 18 mullet joining our bait supply.
Happy with our supply of fresh bait (along with the many tommies, pilchards and squid we'd purchased) we made the decision to head off to the dog fence a day earlier than expected. The dog fence beach was easily drivable for the first 4kms or so, but I had heard the gutters get deeper the further you go down. We passed by a nice gutter with a broken rod stuck in the sand nearby. We made a note of the spot and continued on to check out the rest of the beach. The further we went along, the softer the beach got.. it was some seriously soft sand! I got some major sideways action sliding towards the water on occasion, but lucky enough kept the momentum up enough to get back up high. We got as far along the beach as we could before a headland blocked our progress. Perhaps there was a track around the back of it but we decided to head back to the spot with the broken rod. We passed by a large fresh mulloway head in the sand too - though next to no gutter what so ever. They do say you don't need a gutter for mullies though.. hmmm.
I must say that the beaches in Yalata look so much fishier than the dog fence beach, but both have good reputations, and you're allowed a few beers at the dog fence! (not to mention avoiding the exorbitant cost of Yalata at $12 per person per night).
Whilst we were fishing a decent gutter at the Dog Fence, it was fairly hard to cast right out in to it, especially at high tide.
I believe it was on our second day at the dog fence beach when Andre had a massive bite on his rod, causing a rare scene of Andre running frantically. He got to his rod and unfortunately what ever it was, had let go. With no further action, Andre appealed to the mulloway gods to bring a change of fortunes.
After two days and two nights at the dog fence, we got impatient and decided to try our luck in finding Cabbots beach - somewhere between the dog fence and Fowlers Bay. We stopped at Nundroo to top up the ice supply in the bait esky. We did have a solid bait plan to have one big esky stocked with bait, and then only access it to grab enough bait for a few hours of fishing, which we'd then put into a smaller esky. The idea was that less frequent access would keep the ice going for a much longer time. The problem with the plan is that my esky sucks, and even the four 3 litre milk cartons I'd froze with water had totally defrosted by day 3-4, so, regular ice top ups were necessary.
Anyway, at Nundroo I enquired about Cabbots, and the lady there told me to head for the coast and search for a windmill. The same windmill an old man on the Fowlers Bay jetty had told us to search for last year I suspect. She also mentioned a general lack of mulloway around and only 'small' 40 pounders being caught, as the snapper were chasing off the mulloway. I've never heard of this before, but I would have happily taken a few beach snapper!
After much driving and checking out little 4wd tracks along the coast, we begun to think the windmill was some what of a myth. Andre's prediction that I would never find it seemed to have some merit, until I spotted a water pipe running towards the coast - I followed it along and as we popped over a sand hill, the windmill came into sight, a glorious site! The place of legends, and more specifically, sharks and salmon schools.
The beach had some reef running parallel to the beach and nice deep water forming in front of it. It certainly looked fishy. Kym had all but given up and gone to escape the wind in the sand dunes, when his rod buckled over and he had to come sprinting out. He hooked into a solid fish and soon landed his first decent fish of the trip!
Due to the very annoying, grinding sound of the windmill at Cabbots (or whatever that beach is actually called) we decided to camp elsewhere and make another trip back here to try again. Despite only one salmon being caught, we were confident there would be fish to be caught there. Travelling along the coast, we ended all the way back at Scotts Beach, where for some reason, only a few days later the gutters seemed more likeable. We rolled out the swags and set up for the night.
Andre managed a smaller sized salmon at Scotts, but overall the fishing was very slow. We decided to make a base for the next 3 nights so we wouldn't have to repack the car every time we made a move. The caravan park seemed the easiest option, and so we set off back to Fowlers Bay.
We went out to the Jetty that night and it was extremely windy. We were the only fools to be out there, and huddled down at the end of the jetty. We had some big baits out in the water under floats, hoping for some mulloway or shark. After no action, and the beers run dry, we decided to wind in, to find that my tommy ruff bait had a big clean bite right out of its rear end. If only I had more than one hook in that bait. Damnit.
The next morning we headed back out to the Windmill.
I was taking my time collecting all my gear and getting the cameras in my pockets, and by time I got over to the beach, Andre was going crazy about something and hooked onto a large salmon. He'd seen a couple of dolphins round up a big school of salmon in behind the reef and they were just about jumping out of the water on to the beach. Quick as a flash, he had a lure on and landed a Salmon before I'd barely set my bag down.
The school seemingly went as quick as it came and we sat down and waited. An hour or two passed and I must've been the only one paying attention, because no one else saw the school of salmon come riding a wave in over the reef. Unfortunately for us all, I didn't have my lure tied on yet, and Andre couldn't get sight of where the school headed and casted the wrong direction. Kym's rod with bait and surf popper on hooked on and he got a big salmon into the wash before it dropped off and swam away. Andre and I frantically casted lures out into the water but to no avail. We all rebaited and sat down again. Maybe in a few hours they would come back.
We didn't have to wait long before fishing master, yours truly, got a bit of a nibble and wound in this fine specimen!
Now, the others called it a retard fish because of its deformed head, and massive lower jaw. We weren't exactly sure it was even a salmon at first. I suspect it was actually an evolutionary step forward for salmon - evolving so that they aren't as susceptible to being caught on hooks. However, I was still able to out smart it with my fishing prowess, and into the bait bucket he went.
Back at the caravan park, we had a visitor come perch right next to us. It didn't even move even when I put my finger right next to it.
Back at the jetty for the second night in a row, and this time we got some action. Kym's float took off and after a very short battle, he wound in a mulloway, estimated to be a bit over the 50cm mark.
Nothing else was caught, so we headed back in for the night. I think I might have had my first shower of the trip then - most refreshing!
On our last day, which coincided with Andre's birthday, we had a quick visit to Cabbots for no result, and then fished Scotts Beach. Firstly the shallows in hope of KGW (Kym landed a nice one the day before) and then the gutters in hope of some Salmon which we thought we'd take home in the absence of any better eating fish. Funny that when we actually wanted to eat them, they didn't show up.
Andre had a 2 salmon lead in the gashes and looked reasonably safe, but there was one night jetty fish to go and the jetty was showing lots of promise so far. Kym had already landed the biggest 'target fish' although being undersized it didn't hold much value. We considered the prize species to be mulloway, snapper and shark - any one of those of legal size would still take out the gashes.
My master plan was to catch a squid and then use the entire thing for bait. Said plan started excellently, when just bobbing my squid jag up and down over the rail, a squid latched on. I did want to keep it alive but with just one hook attached to my wire trace, I had to also make sure it stayed on the hook. I think it died. Kym once again had the good luck, and his float took off at a rate of knots. The rest of us wound in and made room for Kym to get his catch in. As he got it to the jetty we could see that it was a small shark. With no drop gaff, or crab net (back in the car) we walked it along to the stairs, and Andre grabbed it by the tail and brought it up. First prize species caught! Kym leading The Gashes.
Faced with a quick decision on whether to release or eat the shark, Kym opted to let it grow a bit bigger. Then regretted it thinking we could have BBQ'd that up at a post FWC BBQ. We decided to keep the next one (confidence was high)
My line with the squid on seemed to have been attacked by small fish. The squid no longer had a head (seems unlikely small fish would remove its head, so maybe a shark bit that off) and was a bit tattered up. None the less, I casted it back out, just a squid body now. Not too much of a wait later, Kym again had his drag start going, and we raced to our rods. His drag stopped almost straight away though, and mine started going instead! It took off wildly, and I tightened it up and brought a similar sized bronzy to the side of the jetty. This was the Gashes winning fish.
I walked it down the jetty, thanking fellow fisherman for moving their lines out the way, and getting it close to the stairs. Andre, after his last shark grabbing was confident for the landing. He declined the offer of a drop gaff from a nearby fisherman and got down to the bottom of the stairs. Just as it was in close enough, it bashed into the pylon and then took off downwards... we lost sight of it and then my wire trace came apart. I didn't get bitten through, but rather the loop that holds the swivel just fell apart. Unbelieveable. Still, I have landed no shark.
With a big drive the following day, I soon headed back to the park to get some sleep. Kym soon followed, but Andre who had led the Gashes for the most part of the trip, decided to fish as long as he could. The next morning he reported getting back to camp around 4am, for nothing other than a large squid, which grabbed on to his squid bait, and didn't let go - didn't even get hooked!
So with all fishing concluded, Kym takes his second Gashes victory in a row. Not bad for a rookie.
FWC - 3, Team Gashes 0
Monday, February 15, 2010
Heatwave Approaching
So, what better time to head over to Fowler's Bay and surrounds?
The trip that almost never happened. Kym and I were all sorted with leave from work, but Andre assumed no chance of getting time off after a xmas break. Matt, true to his word, declined immediately. Will had a trip to Darwin booked already. At the last moment, Kym and I decided we'd throw the swags in the car and go for a road trip whilst on leave, and most likely end up driving all the way to Fowlers - we had a few weeks off, so why not? :D
Informing Andre of our plan (what little plan there was)... the realisation of missing out on a FWC trip set in and he put the wheels in motion at work. Week 1 was turned down, but his boss agreed to Week 2 off! So, with that, the three of us are heading off this coming Saturday to endure the heat!
The pictured thermometer didn't last long after the last FWC trip. It was 54 in the sun that day, but it got far hotter the following two days! I've now replaced it with a wireless version which is great as the cord isn't going to get demolished running from the back of the car to the front (exactly what killed this one). The hot weather is good, but hopefully it stays a little cooler on this occasion.
The trip that almost never happened. Kym and I were all sorted with leave from work, but Andre assumed no chance of getting time off after a xmas break. Matt, true to his word, declined immediately. Will had a trip to Darwin booked already. At the last moment, Kym and I decided we'd throw the swags in the car and go for a road trip whilst on leave, and most likely end up driving all the way to Fowlers - we had a few weeks off, so why not? :D
Informing Andre of our plan (what little plan there was)... the realisation of missing out on a FWC trip set in and he put the wheels in motion at work. Week 1 was turned down, but his boss agreed to Week 2 off! So, with that, the three of us are heading off this coming Saturday to endure the heat!
The pictured thermometer didn't last long after the last FWC trip. It was 54 in the sun that day, but it got far hotter the following two days! I've now replaced it with a wireless version which is great as the cord isn't going to get demolished running from the back of the car to the front (exactly what killed this one). The hot weather is good, but hopefully it stays a little cooler on this occasion.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Coorong - November 2009
Less than a month after landing my first legal mully, I was all set to repeat the feat and this time get my name on the gashes as well (frankly, I should be on there in massive bold letters and retain the trophy until some one beats it in my opinion!)
Andre, Kym, and I headed off at the leisurely time of 9am on Friday, all having the day off work. Winding our way through chain of ponds, we realised we'd left the eggs and sauce at home, but there was no turning back now. A quick stop off at Meningie fixed that problem, and then on to Salt Creek. We went across Tea Tree Crossing at a snail pace as there was an inch or two of water in it, turned left at the beach (no choice due to closure) and headed south looking for a nice gutter. There was a nice gutter running close to Tea Tree, but no campsites within walking distance.. we plowed on until we found a likely looking spot about half way between 42 mile and Tea Tree. The gutter was not as evident, but still there.
There was a bit of rain threatening, so we set up the big tarp first thing, and it looked magnificent!
Lines were cast out and cookers fired up for the first camping burger of the trip. Before the bacon was crispy, my rod started ducking over with a sure fish on. I bolted down the beach and wound it in. A bit of Kym's line was tangled up with mine but a nice flathead was still pulled up the sand. Upon closer inspection, Andre points out "Aren't they Kym's hooks?"
"....." "...DAMNIT!"
Kym had hooked the flathead on his line and it had swam around mine. Fish 1 to Kym, even if I did wind it in.
After finishing Lunch, Kym landed another Flathead, slightly smaller than the first, and was feeling a bit better about actually getting to wind this one in.
Matt and Will were due to rock up around 9pm Friday night, but after 10pm weren't sighted. We had fished all day without success, and a bit of weed was floating around at night, so we gave it in. We were starting to think they may have given up finding us in the dark and settled for a camp further up the beach, but then we saw a huge light beam coming over the horizon. Will's spotlight collection lighting up the sky.
Those guys set up their swags, and soon after we all hit the sack for some sleep. Unknown to me at the time, Kym actually slipped away to have a vomit before bed. His first camping vomit.. nice work Kym!
The next morning Matt told us that he had woken up at about 3am to take a piss, and saw Will out on the beach fishing. This is why Will always wins The Gashes! He was seen to pull in a big pile of sea weed and Matt returned to sleep. Will didn't get a fish for his efforts.
That day saw plenty of fishing, and even more beer drinking. The first were cracked soon after breakfast. Andre firstly devastated that he wasn't first to crack one (those were my honours), then Matt and Kym both get one, so Andre grabs one too.. but still not opening it. Will returned from down the beach and immediately reached into his Esky, sending Andre in to a paniced rush to open his beer and not be last. His priorities when fishing may be considered different to others. Probably why he never wins The Gashes :)
There was a fair bit of seaweed around on the Saturday, so not a whole lot of fishing was done. Will stuck it out and along the way managed a small undersized mulloway, a dog shark, and a little elephant shark. Kym was still considered leading with his two flatties, but Will making more inroads than the rest of us. The elephant shark had sea lice all over it.. Will pulled them off (they hold on pretty hard though) and released him. The fish was probably happy it had been caught, it was better off for it.
Will donned his bogan wig to cook up a huge steak amongst a sea of draught cans.
When time came to hit the tent for sleep, I considered rain an unlikely scenario.. and didn't bother to peg out the front canopy to stop water running down through the zips (a bit of a problem on my tent). Waking up the next morning, there was a pool of probably 10 litres of water at the bottom of the tent.. luckily I was at the high ground side :)
Outside was worse though - our once magnificent tarp shelter had caught about 50 litres of water in the middle and pulled everything down around it. Tables were pushed over and cooking equipment now laid buried in the sand.
A struggling eyelet on the tarp gave way in front of me at the pole pushed up straight through it and water gushed out everywhere. The tarp was pulled out the way and all that remained was a few poles standing, and a lot of sandy equipment.
It was blowing a gale and looking decidedly unfishy, so Matt & Will packed up and headed back home early. The remaining fishers cleaned up a bit and by mid morning the wind had died a little bit and conditions were good for fishing again, except for the lack of fish.
We spent a great deal of the day sitting in the car, out of the wind and odd shower that went past. At some point we got hungry enough to cook up the Flathead. Andre had all but given up hope on catching a fish, and tied on some big minnow lure and left it floating around in the water. It got hopelessly tangled.
We were listening to tunes for hours when we decided to perhaps drive the car forward a bit to be closer to the rods. But the car battery was flat. I hooked the two batteries together to give it more juice, but still no go. Then Kym tries and the car turns over, just. His lucky weekend I guess. We left the car idling for a good 1.5 hours or so, and had a reasonably early night.
We had a fishing session in the morning, but with still no bites since Friday between us, confidence was low. We packed it up and headed home mid morning - Kym taking his second Gashes win in just 4 trips.
Andre, Kym, and I headed off at the leisurely time of 9am on Friday, all having the day off work. Winding our way through chain of ponds, we realised we'd left the eggs and sauce at home, but there was no turning back now. A quick stop off at Meningie fixed that problem, and then on to Salt Creek. We went across Tea Tree Crossing at a snail pace as there was an inch or two of water in it, turned left at the beach (no choice due to closure) and headed south looking for a nice gutter. There was a nice gutter running close to Tea Tree, but no campsites within walking distance.. we plowed on until we found a likely looking spot about half way between 42 mile and Tea Tree. The gutter was not as evident, but still there.
There was a bit of rain threatening, so we set up the big tarp first thing, and it looked magnificent!
Lines were cast out and cookers fired up for the first camping burger of the trip. Before the bacon was crispy, my rod started ducking over with a sure fish on. I bolted down the beach and wound it in. A bit of Kym's line was tangled up with mine but a nice flathead was still pulled up the sand. Upon closer inspection, Andre points out "Aren't they Kym's hooks?"
"....." "...DAMNIT!"
Kym had hooked the flathead on his line and it had swam around mine. Fish 1 to Kym, even if I did wind it in.
After finishing Lunch, Kym landed another Flathead, slightly smaller than the first, and was feeling a bit better about actually getting to wind this one in.
Matt and Will were due to rock up around 9pm Friday night, but after 10pm weren't sighted. We had fished all day without success, and a bit of weed was floating around at night, so we gave it in. We were starting to think they may have given up finding us in the dark and settled for a camp further up the beach, but then we saw a huge light beam coming over the horizon. Will's spotlight collection lighting up the sky.
Those guys set up their swags, and soon after we all hit the sack for some sleep. Unknown to me at the time, Kym actually slipped away to have a vomit before bed. His first camping vomit.. nice work Kym!
The next morning Matt told us that he had woken up at about 3am to take a piss, and saw Will out on the beach fishing. This is why Will always wins The Gashes! He was seen to pull in a big pile of sea weed and Matt returned to sleep. Will didn't get a fish for his efforts.
That day saw plenty of fishing, and even more beer drinking. The first were cracked soon after breakfast. Andre firstly devastated that he wasn't first to crack one (those were my honours), then Matt and Kym both get one, so Andre grabs one too.. but still not opening it. Will returned from down the beach and immediately reached into his Esky, sending Andre in to a paniced rush to open his beer and not be last. His priorities when fishing may be considered different to others. Probably why he never wins The Gashes :)
There was a fair bit of seaweed around on the Saturday, so not a whole lot of fishing was done. Will stuck it out and along the way managed a small undersized mulloway, a dog shark, and a little elephant shark. Kym was still considered leading with his two flatties, but Will making more inroads than the rest of us. The elephant shark had sea lice all over it.. Will pulled them off (they hold on pretty hard though) and released him. The fish was probably happy it had been caught, it was better off for it.
Will donned his bogan wig to cook up a huge steak amongst a sea of draught cans.
When time came to hit the tent for sleep, I considered rain an unlikely scenario.. and didn't bother to peg out the front canopy to stop water running down through the zips (a bit of a problem on my tent). Waking up the next morning, there was a pool of probably 10 litres of water at the bottom of the tent.. luckily I was at the high ground side :)
Outside was worse though - our once magnificent tarp shelter had caught about 50 litres of water in the middle and pulled everything down around it. Tables were pushed over and cooking equipment now laid buried in the sand.
A struggling eyelet on the tarp gave way in front of me at the pole pushed up straight through it and water gushed out everywhere. The tarp was pulled out the way and all that remained was a few poles standing, and a lot of sandy equipment.
It was blowing a gale and looking decidedly unfishy, so Matt & Will packed up and headed back home early. The remaining fishers cleaned up a bit and by mid morning the wind had died a little bit and conditions were good for fishing again, except for the lack of fish.
We spent a great deal of the day sitting in the car, out of the wind and odd shower that went past. At some point we got hungry enough to cook up the Flathead. Andre had all but given up hope on catching a fish, and tied on some big minnow lure and left it floating around in the water. It got hopelessly tangled.
We were listening to tunes for hours when we decided to perhaps drive the car forward a bit to be closer to the rods. But the car battery was flat. I hooked the two batteries together to give it more juice, but still no go. Then Kym tries and the car turns over, just. His lucky weekend I guess. We left the car idling for a good 1.5 hours or so, and had a reasonably early night.
We had a fishing session in the morning, but with still no bites since Friday between us, confidence was low. We packed it up and headed home mid morning - Kym taking his second Gashes win in just 4 trips.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Got him.
Since 2005, I have made 12 trips to the coorong in chase of the elusive Silver Ghost. On my 13th trip, a quick overnighter on 31st October 2009, I landed it.
The Facts: Caught around 8pm, Brined Pilchard for bait, 2 x 8/0 Gamakatsu's on a running sinker rig. It was between tides - low was a few hours before and high wasnt until 1am. The moon was almost full (there goes that theory).
It measured 91cm long and around 6kg gutted. About 13-14 pounds. I didn't have any good scales so I just stood on the bathroom scales holding it.. not the most accurate but it gives a bit of an indication.
Woohoo!
The Facts: Caught around 8pm, Brined Pilchard for bait, 2 x 8/0 Gamakatsu's on a running sinker rig. It was between tides - low was a few hours before and high wasnt until 1am. The moon was almost full (there goes that theory).
It measured 91cm long and around 6kg gutted. About 13-14 pounds. I didn't have any good scales so I just stood on the bathroom scales holding it.. not the most accurate but it gives a bit of an indication.
Woohoo!
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