People: me and petekd
Duration: 19:30-22:30
Tide: HW 21:45
Weather: easterly breeze, overcast, misty later
Bait: fresh mackerel and launce
Rigs: feathers, 3 hook flowing trace, 2 hook flowing trace and 4/0 single hooks
Results: doggies, dabs, weaver fish, mackerel, launce and a bullhead
Report: Headed out in my boat this time to try for the blondes again. Headed out to fish the drift back in and pick up some macks for food and bait. Pete saw a gannet diving off buoy 4 so we headed over and drifted in a couple times picking up plenty of mack. I was feeling nostalgic so I got out my handline to remind me of the good old days before I got my boat rod :) . The gannets seemed to be getting launce high in the water so I targetted them a few feet or so under the boat. Using 4/0 hooked feathers so not an easy task, plenty of bumps on them, managed one eventually.
Anchored up near the bank, fishing a rod each for the blondes (both of us opting for launce for bait) and a rod each for whatever else was out there with the flowing traces and mackerel strips.
Pete had a steady stream of fish coming to the boat. I was managing a few, but falling behind Pete's total rapidly. Time to tie up some proper flowing traces I think....
Wanted a weaver for my species total, and got one first drop, so was actually delighted to get one. Pete got one soon after. A few dabs came up next, biggest about 30cm.
As the tide slackened off Pete started turning up a few double and treble shots of fish (myself a few singles and a double). Probably the most interesting one was a treble shot consisting of a doggie and two weaver fish. Must have been weaver city down there, think we landed 6 or 7 of them in total, both of us having only ever caught one or two previously.
With still nothing bothering the ray baits (other than a doggie or two) and deciding that we were investing to much time looking for the ray - never had so much trouble catching one before this year - we decided to fish the drift. With the slack tide and easterly breeze, we were drifting across the harbour. Across the edge of the bank yielded us nothing, further up the harbour gave us some doggies, dabs and to Pete's delight a surprise bullhead for his 2nd brand new species of the year. Great looking little creature.
Headed back in at 22.30, had got pretty dark with the light fading and the mist coming in. Rigged up the light on the boat for the first time, but as it was shining in our faces ended up half blinding us. My hat over it muted it enough that I could see where I was going,but not so much that it still stopped us being a navigational hazard :D
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