From: "Jim Thompson"
Cloud cover: initially 7/10 becoming 2/10
Wind direction & speed: ESE to 15-12 knots
Sea state: Short period 1.5m easterly swell with messy wind wave/chop
Current direction & speed: Slight SE
With Seabreeze indicating that next Monday might be a possible yak day, but this being normally my work day (ie, the same as happened for the past month!) I was prepared to have a go even if the conditions weren't going to be ideal. At 0400 this morning Seabreeze was showing DIP blowing a consistent 15k from the ESE, but Willy Weather was forecasting less than 12 knots for the Noosa North Shore for most of the morning, so decided I would give it a go anyway. Needless to say, Seabreeze was correct.
After launching at MG (small wave breaking at fairly low tide off end of rock groyne) and then setting up, I set out for Jew Sh at 0510 pushing straight into a messy wind-chopped sea with a few white caps. There were a number of birds flying close to the surface heading out to sea, but only once did I see a few gathering briefly before moving on.
I went straight to up-wind side of one of my JS marks on the ESE side of The Pinnacles, figuring the stiff wind and swell would soon take me on a drift back over my mark and back onto the Pinnacles. By the time I had rigged my heavy line with a trailing pilchard, and my light casting line with jig head and SP, I had already drifted ~150m in a WSW direction (there apparently being some influence from a slight SE current) and so relocated up wind to restart the drift.
Half way through the first drift I was already starting to feel a bit nauseous in the bumpy conditions, when the ratchet on the trailing reel gave a couple of buzzes. This turned out to be a reasonable Maori cod, that I thought was legal, but later measured at 41cm and so was really undersized (legal length 45cm ... Oops!).
By now I was out to the WSW of the Pinnacles and had already had a little chunder, but felt a little better for it, so decided to position myself for a drift over our favoured "Jew West" mark before heading back home. This turned out to be a winning move. About 100m into this drift the trailing line started screaming and I knew as soon as I picked up the rod this was a good fish.
After a short tussle I boated my best ever snapper (later measured at 72cm and 4.4kg), see pic below. With the nauseousness still present but two good fish on board I decided to head for home at ~0830 with a following swell and wind now slightly abated. The return surf conditions were quite gentle with the near high tide. I was home by 1000, quite satisfied with my efforts.
Cheers, Jimbo
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