Oyster Bay - 24/3/13

Grabbing him by the ankles, I dragged Lachlan out of bed at 6am. 'It's still dark,' he said while rubbing his eyes. 'It won't be in 30 minutes,' I said. So a quick hot chocolate and some raisin toast and we were on our way.

The tide was right on high and there was no run whatsoever but I still figured we pick up a Flathead or two. You also get some good bream in this area but there definitely needs to be some water movement before they come on the chew. But we weren't here for bream, we were after a meal and nothing is better than fresh Flathead fillets. We only needed three fish around the 40-45cm mark and I was sure we'd get them fairly easily. And after the Narrabeen round the other week, I knew just the lure that would do the job: the Gladiator Bingo.

In fact, the Bingo was the only lure we took with us. That's how confident I was in it's ability to tempt the local Flathead population. It's only a small lure but it's action is perfect whether it's used with a slow retrieve or a medium-paced troll. The depth of water is about 1.3 meters which is an ideal depth for these lures. And luckily I had a pink one, too, a colour which is a Flattie favorite.

So we set off and quickly deployed two lures out the back, with Lachlan holding one rod and me holding the other. We'd only covered a hundred meters or so when my rod bucks and I'm on. 'Ooh, dad, gimme!', so I pass over the rod and flathead number one falls to the pink Bingo. 'Ha ha, one to me,' says Lachlan. What the....? So it's my lure choice, my rod, yet it's HIS fish. I can see where this days tally is heading already. This guy goes 41 cm so there's number one in the well.

Back out go the lures and it's not too long before we get another hit. This time it's Lachlans lure so I say, 'Gimme!'. Fat chance of that happening. This one goes 43 cm so there is number two. One to go. So out go the lures again and hang on, what's this? Aaarrgggh, it's a boat towing a wake boarder and he proceeds to race around the flats even though there's two boats and another yakker fishing this bay with us. Oh well, not much we can do about it I suppose.

To mix it up a bit, I took Lachlan in close to the edges so he could practice his casting. Maybe he getting better as a few times he cast right up onto the shore but then again it could be due to the fact he's using these Psyborg Rods which are a step above the rods he's cast with before. 'Come on Lachlan, we need one more Flathead,' and on cue, he hooks up. This guy was much feistier than the others and I was hoping for a bigger specimen but when he surfaced he looked pretty similar. And man, had he really wanted that lure! He'd completely engulfed it so I told Lachlan to go easy on him as we were only using 4lb leader. We eased him into the net just as he gave one last head shake and severed the line. Hoo-ee, lucky.

Once the lure was extricated it was high-fives as this was Lachlan's first legal 'cast and retrieve' flathead. Well done, Lachlan, you handled it perfectly. And at 42 cm he was ideal for the last fish for our bag. A quick photo and then it was time to head for home. '3 for me and none for you dad. I told you I'd beat you.' Hmmmm, I'm going to have to come up with some new tactics if I'm going to win one of these father-son fishing comp's. Next time I promised Danielle I'd take her out, so I think my chances of getting another beating will be pretty darn high.

So the Bingo's came through with flying colours. They cast well, have sharp strong hooks and swim perfectly straight out of the box. I can't wait to try them out in the racks down in Woolooware Bay. I'm sure there are some 1 kilo blue-noses just waiting for these to swim past.

The next lot of lures I'm going to test out are the Gladiator Elfin Shrimps. Maybe I'll swim these in the racks instead, or over the oyster-encrusted rocks around the edges of Woolooware. So many choices. Here's hoping you all have a safe and happy Easter. Happy yakkin' everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Gladiator ABT Hobie - Narrabeen Lakes - 9th & 10th March

41 of us ventured out on the 3.5km trek to the back of the lake which is where most of us yakkers headed to to try to claim our bag of four bream for each day. Normally the rounds are a three fish bag limit but a couple of them are four. A few anglers dropped off the flotilla on the way and as most spread out to work the edges, I went straight for my GPS marks that worked so well for me last year.

I was keen for a good result this tournament as I'd only just joined up with Gladiator Tackle (www.gladiatortackle.com.au) as one of their Pro Team Staff members. They have very generously kitted me out with a full assortment of gear from rods and reels to line and lures. The range is spectacular and some of their new gear is simply amazing. Their new minimalist Psyborg rods are out of this world and I'll give a report on this amazing piece of kit in a later report. I've been using some of their lures for a while now, such as the Smashbaits Minnow SP's and Hip Baby HB's but the lures that really caught my eye were the Bingo's and the Bait Breath 2" RushCraw's, which are very similar to the Hawgs that slayed them last year.

I started off with a RushCraw on a 1/20th jighead. I circled my marks and it wasn't long before I came up tight to something. This thing had some weight though and didn't feel like a bream. There were a few strong surges but my guess proved to be right and a beautiful 60cm flathead was led into my waiting net. A quick release and out goes the lure again where it is quickly engulfed as it hits the bottom. This feels flathead'ish again and another cracking flathead (this one was 55cms) says a brief hello. The wind was minimal and I would have preferred just a little more to bring the fish on the chew. Just to check if it was a colour thing the fish were fussy about, I rigged up one of the same hawgs from last year. After 15 minutes without a touch, I decided to move and try some deeper water blading. It seems I wasn't the only one catching flathead though and I passed Steve Fields from Hobie that was landing a beauty.

The Shiver Vibes are perfect for the depth I was fishing, which was between 1.7 and 1.9 meters. And Yay, a bream, but it's only 23 cms. And then another. And another! Finally I hook one that seems a bit more spirited and he's legal, too. Only 27 to the tip but it's a start.

I could've gone home then as it was the only legal I could manage. This massive beast weighed 320 grams and I prayed I'd find the fish tomorrow. It turns out that I wasn't the only one that couldn't find them though, as Meechy, who normally has fish coming out the wazoo, couldn't even get a legal. That shows that if you ain't where the fish are, you can't catch 'em!

The next day I decided to hit the weed edges early and my lure of choice was the Blue/Black Bingo. This is similar to a small Chubby or a Camion and it casts like a bullet and has a great wobbling action that works well at any retrieve speeds. I was getting it to dive to the bottom and would twitch it to stir up little puffs of sand and the first fish of the day was another 60 cm flathead. With great skill I'd hooked it perfectly in the corner of the mouth so with patience I knew it would only be a matter of time before I netted her. She was a nice fish but the wrong species.

The rest of the day I pulled in undersize bream with the biggest going 25 tip. So close yet so far. I managed legal Whiting and Flathead though, all to the Bingo but I just couldn't find the bream I needed. I even ventured up one of the creeks to see if I could find them but to no avail. That's fishing though, sometimes you nail them (like last year) and sometimes you don't (like this year).

Back at the weigh-in I bumped into Meechy. He'd managed 2 fish and it just emphasized my opinion of how frustrating it can be sometimes because if Jason can't find 'em, then it's tough fishing.

But of course some people did find them and kudos to them for searching them out. It looked like Kevin Winchester was going to take it out but he was pipped at the post by Bryce Beechey. Southern stalwart Craig Coughlan from Custom Lure Art rounded out the top three.

So it wasn't as great a tournament as I'd hoped but there's always next time. I think I'll try to take Lachlan out and test out some of the great lures on my local water ways. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Gamakatsu Hobie Fishing Series (GHFS) - St Georges Basin - 3/3/13

Conditions were great, there were over 40 kayaks and I was primed and ready to go. jason Reid and I quickly reached our 'go to spot' which has served us so well the last few tournaments down here. The fish haven't been huge but we've always managed our bag.

Jason likes fishing surface and I usually throw a lightly weighted SP or a shallow diving HB but this time I thought I'd follow Jasons 'Modus Operandi' and I started tossing about a translucent orange Gladiator Kozami 60. It was only a few minutes before I had a hit and the hooks stuck. It's silver and yes, it's a bream, but it's only 20 cms so back it goes. But at least that's a promising start. More casts ensue but there are no more follows, so I change to the green Chubby that worked last week in Woolooware.

To cut a long 6 hour story short, I got nuthin'!!! I didn't land another bream, not even an under size one. I got flathead, whiting and a few leatherjackets (one of which was a beauty) but when it came to bream, no way Jose.

I scoured the flats and weed beds changing lures every few minutes hoping to find something that would work for me. I moved out to the cockle beds and tried blades, vibes and SP's.

The wind picked up and I moved back onto the flats. Jason was still there and had been having just as much luck as me. We gave it another hour or so and decided to move out to deep water and see if we could pin a few with blades.

We caught up with Stewie that was having a blinder. Jason and I were true gentlemen and immediately pushed our way onto his drift. I don't even a bump, Jason lands two snapper and Stewart upgrades twice. We hate him and curse him and tell him to get stuffed and leave him to have his photo taken as he lands a 1 kilo bream for the Hobie photographers. Ooh, if only I had a sniper rifle with me...

And thus it ends and I quickly pack up and eat one of the Paddle Pedal Sail BBQ'd snags that are again a major highlight of the day. So thanks again to David O'Toole. In the wash up, Stewart smashed it and finished up with a fantastic bag that went 2.72 kgs. 2nd was Lachlan Gubb with 2.28 kgs and 3rd went to Steven Cefai with 2.17 kgs. Andrew Death had great delight in telling me he smashed me with his one fish of 310 grams. Another swine.

But of course, the Basin always provides at least one beast of a fish and this time it excelled itself with a 2.17 kg bream that one of the boaters that picked it up of the flats WHERE I HAD BEEN FISHING MOST OF THE DAY! Gaaarrrggghhh, if only.

So well done to Stewart, who really is a quality angler who knows his stuff. thankfully he has to work this weekend so he wont be at the Narrabeen round that is a double header (saturday and sunday). Remember, you can just roll up on the morning if you want to compete and the weather is looking absolutely perfect. For full details, visit: www.hobiefishing.com.au. Hopefully we'll get 40 plus yakkers again and I think there are a few 'Mexicans' coming up to try and take the trophy off the current holder, Jason Meech. But we're not gonna let 'em have it. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Woolooware Bay - 27th February 2013

A tale of two reports. One good, one rubbish. So typical of how these sneaky b*stard fish (to paraphrase DaveyG) can leave you elated one day and deep in despair (ha ha, for those in the know, that's a good joke) the next. So onto the good one first...

It was a high tide and I thought I'd give the racks another crack seeing as I had a blast there last time. It was mid-week and there was no-one else out to spoil the serenity. Perfect. I peppered the usual single posts on the way to the racks but nothing was ready to eat my offerings. Never fear, the racks were near. But hmmmmm, where are they? The tide was at the very top and the trays we could see before were now out of view. I could work out where they were with the sounder though, so I rolled a selection of HB's across them for nada.

Ok, let's try some SP's instead. First the Berkley Hawgs. Zippo. Then the Gladiator Smashbait Minnows. Zilch. Ok, let's go to the Squidgy Wrigglers. SFA. Not even a bite. And then all of a sudden, I'm on! Massive, a 23cm flathead...

Ok, this ain't working, so I think maybe they're over the flats near the mangroves. The wind is starting to pick up now and puts a nice ripple on the surface. There are lots of oyster covered rocks in this area and as the tide started to move out I figured the bream might start to get a bit more active. I switch back to HB's and start flicking out a small red and black Daiwa lure (sorry, I can't remember it's name). I get a few taps but it's 30 minutes before I land my first legal. Yay, I'm on the board. He's only 26 fork but it's a start. 

The wind is picking up a bit and this lure is a little too light to cast, so I change to the Saku lure I was using last week. It hasn't lost it's mojo and accounts for number two for the day, another 26 forker. The bream were really aggressive now, smashing the lure with gusto where as before I was only getting half-hearted hits.

As the water ran off the flats I had to drop with it to deeper water. There is a section I know that is a channel about a meter deep in between to built up rock/oyster bars. The water was just low enough to expose the tops of these and I thought this would be a good place to target. I grabbed my heavier rod that was rigged with a green Jackall Chubby and cranked down the drag.

First cast and it's belted! With no line giving, the fished sliced away through the water to the left and thankfully away from the rocks. I crank him in and he's the best so far at 29 fork and he's got a full belly on him, too. 

I continued to the end of the rocks then turned around an started along the other side. Casting was tricky with this wind but eventually I landed a cast only inches away from the oysters. I barely had time to crank the handle when the rod loaded up and a solid fish took off towards me. I wound like a madman to gather line and the fish kept going and ended up behind me. I held the rod up high and twisted in my seat to get a better angle and tried to keep the fish from ducking back into the rocks. It was a stalemate for a few seconds until I won the battle and led him out into the open water.

Fatter than the other one, this was a prime specimen of Woolooware Bay Bream. 31 fork length and I was a little surprised when he weighed in at just over 700 grams. He was a fat bugger though. On closer inspection of the lure I realised he'd almost straightened out the hooks. They sure can pull hard when they need to and he almost gained his freedom. As it was, he only had a quick ride with me back to the ramp with his mates before I took one last snap before I sent them on their way.

So Woolooware Bay turns it on for me again. Now it's all smiles and in 3 days time I'm off to St Georges Basin for the next tournament. Little did I know what a let down it would be but that is for the next report which will probably be tomorrow. I was going to include it with this one but decided why ruin this blog with the tale of woe that is (or was) the Basin. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Rack 'em up! - Woolooware Bay - 16/2/13

After last weeks miserable effort, it was time to get into some fish. Stewart was working today (sucka!) but Andrew was free and decided he'd give me a lesson in the old oyster racks down in Wooloware Bay. The sky was overcast and there was a little bit of wind about but as long as that rain stayed away, we'd be all right.

First off we hit the many scattered channel poles on the way to the racks and I picked up a small bream on a Green 7cm Gladiator Smash Bait. That was it though and yay, just as we made it to the racks, here comes the rain. It's not too torrential though so we push on and into the 'Gnarly Zone'. These places look so good, you just know there's going to be bream lurking about ready to tale your lures home with them.

The water was slightly murky, so I switched to a Saku Jr in Banana Bone colour hoping the rattle-sound would get the breams attention and draw them in. It only took a minute or two to get my casting-eye in and I started landing the lure right next to the racks on the shady side figuring this will be the location where the fish will be taking shelter.

I had a few tentative bumps before I eventually landed number one for the day. Not a big guy (25 fork) and he had little chance with my 8lb braid and 10lb fluoro leader on my Daiwa Advantage reel with a locked-up drag. As he skipped across the surface I yelled out '1 nil!' to Andrew. I turned to see him get a hit but the hooks pulled straight away. Nyah nyah...

This area doesn't have commercial oysters in it anymore but the amount of structure is amazing. This in turn attracts oyster, barnacle and weed growth, thus attracting the bait fish, prawns and crabs that are welcome additions to the menu for the feisty bream. Regular rack fishers know that there can be some serious 1 kg+ sized Bluenosed Bruisers and trying to extract them from their homes is no easy feat. Heavy lines and a no-give attitude is necessary and you have to be on your toes to get them out as soon as they hit your lure.

We continue along and just after I take a snap of Andrew with a rainbow showing where the pot of gold is, he get's another hit and again fails to hook up. So far, it's a good lesson he's teaching me and to rub it in, I land number two for the day. This guy is a bit better and he tries to make it back under the racks but I'm too quick and into the net he goes. He's a beautiful clean silver colour so has probably come in off the flats for something different. I bet he wishes he'd stayed on the flats now though. Onto the ruler and he's 28 fork length. Two for me, none for the 'Teacher'.

Times running out for me so I leave Andrew and he continues further into the racks. The tide is coming in now and is almost at the perfect stage where the water is just lapping at the base of the trays. In fact, it's too tempting and I duck back into the rows and decide to fish the last set of trays which is about 30 meters long.

First cast and I'm on. Woo hoo! Again it's not big (26 fork) but anything in the racks is great fun. This Saku is going great, so I flick it out again. CRUNCH! Another one, magic! This guy is 27 fork and I'm cursing the fact I have to head home. Third cast and I get two bumps but no hook up. Back out goes the lure and it's given a big whack. I pause the lure for a few seconds then give it a slight twitch. It gets another whack. This time I give it two quick twitches and that's obviously enough to fire up this bream and I'm on.

This definitely feels like a better fish and he dives under the rack. I push my rod into the water to keep the line away from the rails and crank him out into the open. He breaks for the adjacent set of racks so I swing my rod over to the other side and halt his progress. He's in the clear now and makes a few darting lunges but it's too late and I scoop him up. Lovely, he's just on 30 fork length and nice and fat. I'd be happy with three of these in a competition. And thus I finished my session in the racks and reluctantly left them biting. Ooh, that was hard to do... I couldn't see Andrew but I was sure he was smashin' them.

But no, he wasn't. He managed one and dropped another three or so. And that is so typical of how a day fishing can be. Next time, he'll probably kick my butt and I'll be the one cursing the lost fish. Either way, it was happy days and it was great to get a good breaming session under my belt before the next tournament.

Speaking of which, the next one I'm off to is the next round of the Gamakatsu Hobie Fishing Series down at St Georges Basin on the 3rd March. Check out the details on the Hobie site: www.hobiefishing.com.au or visit www.fishingcomps.com.au to pre-enter and save yourself some money and also get a good starting spot. I'm also pretty sure that David O'Toole from PaddlePedalsail ( www.paddlepedalsail.com.au ) will be manning a BBQ like he did at the Brisbane Waters round and if the snags are as good as they were up there, then they're worth the price of entry alone.

No reports from me this weekend as I have some friends from interstate staying with me and as comfy and stable as the Hobie Outback kayak is, we won't all fit on the one kayak. So stay tuned for the update of the St Georges Basin round after its run and won. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Port Hacking - 9/2/13

'Ok,' I said, 'I'm in. Where are we going?' 'Grays Point,' said Andrew. 'Okaaaaaaayyyyyy...,' was my not-so-enthusiastic reply. The Hacking can be tough at the best of times but then again, sometimes it really fires and the action can completely change your opinion of it. Until the next time, when she'll dash your spirits on the rocks and leave you shattered! But I was committed now and continued to sort out my HB tackle box which was getting it's annual re-arranging (not that it does any good) to make it look more fish-catching than last year.

I don't fish the Hacking very often and when I do I normally launch in Yowie Bay. Why I don't like launching at Grays Point is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the boat traffic around here on the weekend is crazy. Secondly, unless you go upstream, it's a long slog back towards Gymea Bay to find some fish. Sure, you may get some fish from the edges but 9 times out of 10 I reckon it's a struggle. Thirdly, you'll have to compete with the jetskiers and wakeboarders and ski boats zooming all over the place.

But we went anyway and it was a beautiful morning. Andrew wasted no time and started throwing around a HB at the mouth of the small creek opposite the ramp and latched onto a monster straight away. How he landed it I'll never know? He'd set the bar pretty high and I knew that Stewart and I had our work cut out to beat him today.

As we made our way downstream we peppered the few boats and jetties with SP's for nary a touch. While Stewart and Andrew decided to work the shoreline with cicada HB's, I ventured into Mansion Bay to try the moored boats and pontoons. Luckily for me, no fish were about to ruin my leisurely casting practice. Swines!

So I left the Bay and thought, 'I know, I'll work some HB's over the flats and weedbeds out at the front of the bay.' As I neared them I noticed that Stewart had the same idea and was approaching from the opposite shoreline. But what's this, we aren't the only ones with the flats in mind and with music blaring, a wake boat and it's following wake boarder did a few figure eights right where we were heading and promptly scared off any fish that may have been in residence.

Ah well, looks like it's back to the shorelines for us. Stewart and Andrew both say they've dropped a couple of fish and I watch Stewart pull the hooks on one, but it wasn't a keeper anyway so it was no great loss. I figure I'll go to the point at the end of Deer Park to fish the weed beds but joy of joys, I get to share it with four ski boats. That's it, I'm off and I wish the boys good luck.

As I pass over the edge of the flats, I figure I'll throw an Atomic 38 Deep Crank out and see if there is anything remaining in the area. The rod buckles under the strain and I pull in a tarwhine. A quick photo with the iPhone and I send it off to Andrew and Stewart with a message: 'I'm winning!'

A few more casts and this time I'm beside myself. Another photo and a message: 'Smashin' ya now.' Oh, how can I lose? Closer to the ramp I start flicking a popper deep into the mangroves and only manage a half-hearted swipe from something that didn't even come close to hooking up.

Later that day I hear that Andrew landed a bream of about 30cm fork length which I thought had trumped me BUT then I learnt that Stewart had hooked a small snapper AND a tailor on a blade at the same time. He kicked us outta the park and was the hands-down winner for sure. What a champion! In other words, he has a head like a spark plug. LOL : )

This coming weekend sees one of the biggest rounds of the ABT Hobie Kayak Series being run on the mighty Bemm in Victoria, the same place where the Grand Final was last year. This will attract a huge field of maybe 60 or more kayaks so it'll be a cracker. Keep up to date with results here at www.hobiefishing.com.au and if your online at 2pm, check out the live streaming of the weigh-in here at www.bream.com.au. It'll be a good rematch between the GF winner, Shane Taylor and the runner up, Richard Somerton. I'll be logging in for sure.

I think I'm going to go chase some bream in the racks for a change this weekend and see if I can manage to pull a big angry Yellowfin Bream out of his home for a short while. At least I know there wont be any ski boats hooning around there. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

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