Grassy record busted. 22Nov12

TR by sunshiner

Wind: Gentle SW land breeze at first, then glassing out about 8:00am
Swell: 1.5m SE
Current: at Jew Shoal, none detected
Launch point: Middle Groyne
Participants: pedro and partner wendy, sunshiner, jimbo, kahuna

What a glorious morning. Gentle SW wafting across Laguna Bay, clear sky, clear water, almost no waves at Middle Groyne. Fan-bloody-tastic. Pedro and Wendy were at Middle Groyne car park before me and there was as yet no sign of the other two.

Wendy was the first to launch, in her newly acquired Prowler. I tried to get a pic but she beat me to it and was very quickly out of range in the semi-darkness.

Launch time. Safe to launch with rods erect, I think. Pedro and his Revo in the foreground; Wendy and her Prowler out the back.

As soon as we launched we could see terns wheeling around just offshore, way before sunrise. Pedro decided to chase them around a bit hoping for some surface action but I stuck with my plan to hit Jew Shoal as I figured the snapper were probably arriving at the inshore reefs, based on my experiences in my recent couple of trips. I'd bagged out on snaps very quickly at Doggie Beach reef on 17Nov, then scored another couple on 19Nov at Halls Reef. Surely today, 22Nov, they had to be at Jew Shoal, which is between the other two reefs in terms of depth and location.

With pedro and Wendy charging around the inner bay, I set course for Jew Shoal, trolling my as-yet-undamaged HLP. Perfect conditions. The yak was just kissing the water, making that lovely gentle swishing noise as we loped along on the 4km journey.

Only one stinky went past me on this journey, and its single crewman gave me a friendly wave as he went past, heading east toward Sunshine Reef. The sonar was running as I approached Jew Shoal and the closer I got to its edge the more baitfish were showing on its display. Eventually I could resist no more and hove to on the SW edge of the shoal in about 18m, surrounded down deep by baitfish, packed into the vertical space starting about 3m down. The light breeze suited this location anyway, as a drift from here would likely take me right over The Pinnacles and out into the deeper water on the NE corner.

By now, jimbo was also on the water having decided to head toward Halls Reef after initially chasing the terns near the river mouth without result.

Using the same SP on my casting outfit as I had over the last two trips, I started the drift, moving gently toward the NE with the breeze. The trailing outfit was out as well, hanging near vertical in mid water. Second cast, the SP got clobbered and I very quickly boated a small but keeper snapper.

Snapper #1. Lovely fish, fresh out of the water, eh?

As I'd promised Mary fresh fish for dinner tonight (I cook Thursday nights) I could now relax. I also, as usual, passed on the news by radio to my companions, scattered around the bay. The drift was going nicely and I could see that it would go close to plan, passing into the deeper water NE of the mark. So I simply continued, as there was plenty of sign of baitfish all along this section.

We drifted past The Pinnacles and soon the depth started to increase past 18m and the cast SP got clobbered again, this time by a fish which I could tell was better than #1. After some line in and line out episodes up popped the next fish.

Snapper #2. Subsequently measured at 55cm.

My day was now made. Other than a noisy stinkboat whose fishless skipper had been manoeuvering, trolling and drifting, with the engine running for pity’s sake, there were no other watercraft in sight. Pedro and Wendy were on their way to the shoal, however, and kahuna had now launched, been given the fish info, and was also headed for Jew Shoal.

Having now judged that I was at the end of the productive water (seeing flat bottom at 22m on the sounder), I headed back SW toward the Pinnacles to do that part of the drift again. This manoeuvre gave me an opportunity to take a pic of Wendy as our paths crossed when she and pedro arrived at the shoal.

Wendy, in her own boat.

OK, I'd gone far enough. Back into the drift, pretty much duplicating the path I'd just travelled and which had produced snapper #2. Again, just as we slid off the shallows into the deep, the cast SP got hit. This was a different take and a different fight. A sweetlip fight, up and down, not with runs to the side as you tend to get with snapper in deep water.

Sure enough, a grass sweetlip, later measured at 47cm. Mary prefers these to snapper so I was rapidly accumulating brownie points, which I'll easily spend in the next couple of months.

Shortly after this the breeze started to drop and thus the drift would change. I had enough fish anyway so hung around for a little while longer before deciding to pull the pin and get home early. Jimbo was still fishing at HR and had caught and kept for the table a small shark. Action had been very slow for him and I think he was despairing of catching anything other than sharks. Pedro, usually a prolific catcher, had caught nothing and neither had kahuna.

When I announced that I was heading back in, Wendy, who had been suffering a little from sea sickness, opted to come in with me and so she and I set off together, leaving pedro to try to contribute to the Doff larder.

Then jimbo announced from HR, with great relief evident in his voice, that he'd boated a small but keeper snapper, the first in many months for him. Wendy and I were paddling in glassy conditions toward Middle Groyne, occasionally passing evidence of anchovy concentrations, but seeing no sign of pelagic predators.

Wendy again, heading south, with me as escort.

Before beaching I heard from pedro that he'd boated a keeper sweetlip, and then from jimbo asking for the current record for sweetlip as he'd boated an exceptional specimen, apparently. Indeed he had (see pics later).

My better two fish, on the beach.

Jimbo's exceptional grass sweetlip, pic by beachgoer.

A record claim at 63cm. Jaro's previous record of 61cm, which I'd confidently said, a couple of weeks ago when it was established, would last a long time, blown away very quickly. How big can these grassies get?

Another great Noosa Yakkers day. Comments from other participants welcome.

Kev