From: sunshiner
Date: 2/06/2010 3:48 PM
Weather
Cloud cover: 7/10 initially
Wind direction & speed: westerly, less than 5 knots
0627hrs. Two Vikings ready to take to the water. How flat was the Bay?Before long all three of us were paddling toward Sunshine Reef. I, for one, didn't bother trolling today as I was intent on getting to the reef ASAP. At around the 40 minute mark we rounded Hell's Gates and there, right on the track pointed out by my GPS to our favourite mark on Sunshine Reef, was a dot on the horizon. That dot was almost certainly Eye-tag and so it proved some 15 minutes later when we hove to nearby. He'd boated two grassies (grass sweetlip) so this gave the rest of us some hope that we'd get a few fish today. We settled into our drift routine in perfect drift conditions -- no current and a very light NW breeze, all four of us clustered quite tightly around this favoured possie.
It wasn't long after I'd started fishing that Jaro announced the capture of a small grassy. Then I noticed that Ian was obviously connected to a very nice fish, judging by the severe bend in his rod. Being keen to get some quality pics I asked his permission to approach closely with the camera. This granted, I stowed my fishing gear and paddled over. I arrived to find Ian cradling a beautiful Spangled Emperor, a prized fish locally and one of the designated "coral reef fin fish". Just as I got to him, his other rod, lying across his lap, began to try to climb overboard. Grabbing this rod with his one free hand, Ian struck, to be met with a powerful surge as the rod tip pointed straight for the sea bed some 28m below and line surged off the reel against the drag. Finding somewhere to stow his still lively spangled emperor, Ian got stuck into the other fish which was soon revealed to be a handsome Venus tusk fish. I had the camera out and got some movie footage and then some still pics of both fish.
Venus tusk fish, fresh from the ocean floor. Min size: 30cm, bag limit: 6.
Close up -- Venus tusk fish (not the same one as above, but caught later today by Ian). Note the 'tusks'. Amazing eye, too, eh?
And now for the spangled emperor:
Spangled Emperor, 45cm minimum, bag limit 5
Look carefully at Ian's head. An insect has landed on it. We were 1.5km downwind from the nearest land.
Close up of the spangley's head. Note the two parasites, one near the eye, the other higher up.
Anyway, back to the fishing. I'd barely started to fish again when another photo op arose. Yep, Ian again. I snapped a quick pic of him in action before I got some more pics with the big camera.
Just to show us that he's a multi-species guy, this time Ian's victim was a very nice grass sweetlip.
Grass sweetlip, min size 30cm, bag limit 10.
Ian was on fire today. The rest of us were fishing around him most of the time but could hardly get a nibble. As for me, I didn't get a single strike but I put that mainly down to the fact that I spent most of my time taking pics. Now I know the technique he was using I hope to catch some fish soon.
But it was interesting out there. Stu, unfortunately had to leave early due to seasickness. Jaro got sick of watching Ian catch fish after fish so headed out wide where he announced by radio the close sighting of the first whales (no-take species ;-) ) of the season as they cruised past him about 50m away.
Eventually, around 1015am I suffered the final indignity of drifting slowly past Ian, who was anchored, around a kayak's length away while he hooked up again. On the sonar I could see fish clustered on the bottom all around him but I coudn't get a hit. I then retrieved my soft plastic to find that it had been chewed away by many small mouths. My trailing rig, sporting a very tough Snapback plastic, when retrieved had only the faintest vestiges of the lure on the jighead. That was it. I opted to head for the beach, about an hour's paddle away. Jaro had left earlier as he had to be home by 1130am.
Ian caught up to me just as I'd finished my pre-landing tidying up and we cruised in to the beach together on the easiest of possible surf-zone transits. There on the beach Ian emptied out his iPod (pic below) and placed the contents on the measure mat.
The Ian Pod (iPod), an accessory for the now defunct Perception Swing. Owners of said craft may be able to get one at a good price -- check with Billybob.
The measure mat pics
Five nice tusk fish; and
Four emperors (the grass sweetlip is an emperor). Which one is the spangled variety?
Thanks, Ian for posing for the pics. Your absence over the next several days may give the rest of us a chance to get some fish :-[ .
Kev
Red & Yellow Espri, black paddle
VHF channel 09 or 22 (if alone), Call Sign: sunshiner
http://www.noosayakkers.blogspot.com/
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