I kept an eye out for surface bust-ups but apart from the occasional splish from chopper tailor, things were pretty quiet. I was flicking out a Gladiator Smash Bait minnow in colour 15 (translucent with a pinkish tinge) and it was rigged on a 1/20th HWS jig head. 1 chopper, 2 choppers, 3 choppers...then finally a big hit but there is no hook-up!
I moved around hoping to find some baitfish but even they were no where to be seen. Bugger this, I'm off to try something different. I high-tailed it to a small reef and started blading, hoping to get a whiting or two, or maybe even a snapper for the table.
It wasn't long before I started to land a few small reddies and then whiting number one came aboard. That's one for the live well. The last few trips I've manage a few of these, so my hopes were up. They're great fighters when they get to a decent size and they're bloody good on the tooth, too.
More blading and I've noticed a few larger arches on the sounder. The rod buckles under a solid hit and up comes an almost legal snapper. Aargh, so close but back he goes to grow that extra half a centimeter. They are such a pretty fish, very tropical looking.
As I fish I wave to another 4 Hobie kayakers moving across the front of the bay, probably heading towards Lilli Pilli and beyond. When I started this kayak fishing caper 10 years ago, you'd be lucky to see one or two other yakkers in a day. Now we're bloody everywhere! Great to see how the sport has grown over the years and also good to see the amount of Hobies on the water. For a fishing kayak, you can't really beat the Hobies and they are almost the only kayak you'll see in any of the tournaments around the country now.
Behind me I hear a large splash and turn to see something big slash across the surface. Just at that moment, my blade get's hit and line zips off the reel. Ooh, this feels pretty good and a few tell-tale head-shakes transmit up the line. The fish runs into deeper water and I know I'm pretty safe out there so I back off the drag slightly and I let it run when it needs to.
I can tell it's not a huge fish but it's great fun all the same and I'm keen to get it in to take a few photos. I landed one just over a week ago while fishing with Adam Costa from Fishin Tackle Store and another one today would be fantastic.
Eventually she comes into view and I slide the net under her. They really are a magnificent looking fish: glowing silver scales along there lateral line and a purple-pink tinge across their head and back. The colours never really come out that well in photos but captured at the right angle, you can get an idea of it.
I took a few quick photos and slid her back into the dark water and swam her about while she got her strength back. A few more tail beats and she eventually shot back off into the depths to fight another day. With a self-satisfied sigh, I remembered the big splash just as I hooked up. I quickly scanned the water but there was no activity anywhere, so I figured I'd retire for the day and head for home.
Next weekend there is round 2 of the Basin Lure and Fly Southern Bream Series being held down at St Georges Basin. It's a 2 day event and fingers crossed, we'll get another good turn up and the fish will be on the chew. There's normally about 50 boats and 30 kayaks which will make it a challenging weekend but we all know there's some cracking big bream in that system. Last year in the Grand Final, Andrew Death landed a 1.76kg beast so we'll all be hoping to emulate that effort. Happy yakkin', everyone!
cheers,
Cid
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