Botany Bay - 12/4/08

4 weeks! 4 long, long weeks since I'd been out in the yak. Pray that THAT doesn't happen again. In the last report I stated how Gary and I were competing in the final rounds of the Squidgy Bream Challenge at Lake Macquarie. Power boats only unfortunately...the organisers are scared of yaks! : ) To make a long story short, I was crap and thank God that Gary was there to land a few bream because all I could land were Long Tom and trumpeters. The only stand-out fish was the whiting Gary is pictured with that snaffled his popper and raced off over the weedbeds, fooling us for a few seconds into thinking it was a cracker bream. But we placed well enough to qualify for the Grand Final on the 19th April on Sydney Harbour, so at least I have another chance to redeem myself on the breaming stakes.

But Joy of Joys! Last weekend I quietly slipped into the tranquil waters off Foreshore Rd aboard my beloved Hobie. Ah, the serenity! Terry was already on the water and we quickly set off for the 3rd runway and what I call 'Terry's Corner', as he always seems to score a few fish here. We flicked SP's over the flats and were rewarded with a few nice trevally that always fight way above their size. Terry stayed with the treva's while I moved into the 'corner' proper.

First cast and the lure is hit while dropping but there is no hook-up. Next cast I give it two sharp flicks as soon as it hits the water, there's a boil and the drag starts singing. There's no real weight in this fish though and when he jumps I realise I'm connected to a small salmon. But not for very long though, as the next jump he throws the hooks back at me.

Terry has caught up by this stage and we see some bait skittering across the surface 50 meters away. We close in and fire off casts to the edges of them. I'm still using my 3" Gulp minnow in Lime Tiger and Terry is flicking an East Coast Popper. We zip them across the surface and have the lures hit 2 or 3 times buy a few fish but fail to hook up. The next cast it's hoots all around though as both our lines come tight to nice fish. The fight is decidedly different this time though and we call them for tailor. And two nice ones they are, too. But strangely enough, that was it. By the time we'd gone back, the baitfish had gone and so had the tailor.

So back to slow flicking of the SP's and we are rewarded with a few more trevally and a single bream for me. Oh, so that's what they look like, eh? I do a dance around him, chant a few 'Haya haya's', hold him up to the Gods, kiss him, and set him free hoping it'll bring me good luck for this coming saturday. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,

Cid