Subject: fishing today 21Aug08
Date: Thursday, 21 August 2008 3:26 PM
Four starters this morning. Jim, Jaro, Eric (first timer), and I. Overcast, cool southerly breeze to start with. Very easy launch.
Eric opted to pedal out to JS, easily keeping up with me, the navigator. Conditions were ideal for fishing, albeit a little cold, with overcast, clear water, very little swell, but it was a bit joggly as a result of a confused chop coming from the east.
Eric, who is a keen fisho but has never fished in the open ocean from a yak, was the first to score a keeper -- a small snapper, which was fortunate as, or so he confided to me, he'd promised his wife he'd bring home a snapper.
Shortly afterward he got another -- beginner's luck no doubt. And then shortly after that he started to become seasick. Jim by this time had caught little of note and reported that he was "freezing" so very soon our fishing party was down to two, with Jim and Eric departing for shore. At this time, Jaro and I had nothing in the bag, but I did catch and release a maori cod, whose pic is below for the benefit of yakkers who haven't met this particular species.
Above: Maori Cod, minimum size for retention: 45cm. This one about 30cm.
Shortly after Jim and Eric left I bagged a keeper snapper. The fishing was very slow, with occasional bursts of action which encouraged us to hang in there. Jaro reported dropping a good fish (a probable snapper) which seized the jig very soon after his cast hit the water, and I saw him capture a near legal pearl perch, bigger than one I caught. I bagged another just-size keeper snapper, then Jaro, in the last five minutes, at last got one.
And so we headed off toward our landing site, 4km distant. On the way we encountered several schools of bait fish on the surface. Although occasionally they'd burst out of the water in fright (as you do, if you're a baitfish) we couldn't see any fishy predators attacking them, although the local terns and gannets were certainly trying for a meal.
Above: a baitfish school ripples the smooth water of Laguna Bay
Transit of the surf zone was completely uneventful due less to the keenly honed skills of Jaro and I than the total lack of significant swell. And as usual, we captured a pic of our meagre combined take-home catch. Note that this does not include Eric's two fish.
Three succulent snapper, small but welcome.
Hopefully I'll get another trip in before Mary and I depart next week for a month's absence from paradise.
Thanks for organizing, Jaro. Let's do it again soon.
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09 or 22 (if alone), Call Sign: sunshiner
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