Gamakatsu Hobie Fishing Series (GHFS) - Brisbane Waters - 3/2/13

And we're off! The great turn-out of 43 kayaks swiftly dispersed from the start and I settled in to my long journey to my destination which was over 4 kms away. Along the way I noticed a few locals heading to the same location so I figured my plan had some semblance of 'being on the money'. Hopefully, it wouldn't turn into merely an exercise voyage.

The going was tough seeing as we were battling against the run-out tide but after 50 minutes, we were there with only a few pauses on the way to flick a soft plastic at a few jetties and boat hulls. I started throwing an Atomic 38 Crank deep into the shallows and had a bump the first cast! Oooooh, come on, hook up. Thankfully, I didn't have to plead for long and a crunch signaled a bend in my rod and the line slicing through the water. It's not a big fish but what the? The rod stops kicking and I'm stuck. I keep the rod up high and circle where the line enters the water. I can see a submerged post and the line around it. But the bream is still there so with some swift rod work, it's off and back out into the open water. This time he's mine and it's 27 tip, so it's into the well.

 I stay in the shallows but can only snare an under size bream so I decide to move into the racks in Cockle Bay. There are only old railings and a few posts left here now but these can still be bream magnets. I'm still working with my Atomic Crank when it's smacked. I've got this attached to 10lb fluoro that's connected to 8lb braid. The drag is locked up so I quickly skull-drag the fish back and into the yak. This one is 28 tip, so that's two in the well for me. One to go.

I move up and down the rows and as I'm fishing inbetween two rails, the lure is tapped. I pause it for a second then give it a twitch. Another whack, slightly harder this time but still no weight on the end. Another twitch then BOOF-O! This is a good fish and I see him twisting at the end of my line. I get him up and over the rails but he gets his head down and he dives for the one solitary post between him and the net. Ping goes the fluoro and another good rack bream gets his freedom. Curses ensue and try as I might, I can't get any more fish out of these racks.

I mooch around to various places and snare three more bream that are all 25 tip which are all no good to me as they have to be 26cm tip length minimum. It's now 11:30 and we have to be back by 1pm so I start to head for home. While heading down the main channel, the wind kicked in and turned the water pretty choppy. As I push into the incoming tide and wind, I drift towards a half dozen boats moored in 2m of water. I decided to have a quick flick as I move past them.

I flick my 1/20th jighead loaded with an ol' school  Berkley 2" Power Hawg to the middle of the boat hull and let it sink. Well, I would of if a bream hadn't of grabbed it and raced off with it. Yahoo, this guy is 26.5 tip length and is my number 3. That's a full bag but unfortunately there's no kickers amongst them. Onto the next boat and this time it reaches the bottom. Hop, hop, grab, Zzzzzzzzzz, ping! Holy Crapola, done like a dinner. That was a good fish, too. I curse for the 2nd time today and re-rig.

The next two boats see another two legals come aboard but only one of them is an upgrader. I fuss around getting out the smallest fish (no mean feat in a windblown kayak) and review my bag. I have 2 x 28 tip and 1 x 27 tip. I still need a kicker. One more boat to go and would you believe it, I get another dusting by a good fish.

I hot-foot it back towards the sweigh-in and pass one more boat that's sitting in 3m of water. This time I flick out the Hawg on the 10lb fluoro and 8lb braid outfit and check that I have locked up the drag. I slowly hop it and feel something grab it. I ease up, slowly lift the rod until I can feel the weight, then strike! The rod bucks down and the yak gets pulled towards the boat. The drag doesn't give though and I know this one can't run and do me over on the boat hull. And then the line parts! Aaarrggghhhh. I wind in and the line has been scuffed right on the end. There must've been a rock or something down there for the line to brush against. Either way, that's 3 good fish I've lost in 30 minutes, and all off boats. Losing one fish under a boat is bad enough, but three?

Kudos to Gamakatsu for the hi-tech check-in system (register on the I-Pad, scores updated automatically on the big LCD screens) before you weigh your fish although I would have prefferred to have started our weigh in as soon as we got back. Once we were combined with the boaters, the procedure took way too long. I'm sure they'll iron out the kinks for the next round though. And a huge thanks go to the major sponsors for the round, Atomic Lures (www.atomiclures.com.au/) who provided $14,000 worth of product for the goody bags handed out to competitors at the start and for prizes and give aways later in the day.

I was hoping to make the 1 kilo mark for my 3 fish but alas, I just came up short. All I could do was 990 grams and 15th place. The top spots went to Patrick McQuarrie (1.71 kgs), Bryce Beechey (1.69 kgs) and Sean O'hagan (1.5 kgs). Still, it was a fun day and the BBQ run and supplied by David O'toole from Hobies Paddle Pedal Sail (www.sailingscene.com.au) was eagerly attended by all the anglers. Thanks David.

I have a month off now until my next tournament which will be another Gamakatsu round down at St Georges Basin on the 3rd March. I think I'd better practice landing some big bream. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid