As we weren't out at first light the big ones might have to wait until later in the day so the first port of call was to flick some metal and small soft plastics around some likely looking headlands and bombies.  Ben had heard that some Tailor might be on the cards, which would be good as they are a species I have caught before in South Africa so one of their Australian cousins wouldn't go amiss. Looking at the ground we were fishing, I imagined some big fish would be found in the area at the right times, so was fully expecting to hook into something big as I worked the lures through the white water breaks. Maybe we were a little late for the big ones, but luckily greedy little herring were keen to keep us busy as they repeatedly scoffed the lures. They seem remarkably adept at jumping the hooks just as they are about to be swung over the edge of the boat, so most managed to rejoin their group of mates who had followed them to the side of the boat.

 

 

 

 

No Tailor had decided to eat the lures after half an hour, so a move was made in search of Sand Whiting a little further out from the rugged coast.  Apparently squid tentacles hooked so they go with the flow are the number one bait, and it wasn't long before we were lowering two hook paternosters down on to the sand 10 metres below.  It didn't take long before little Whiting were gobbling our hook baits along with the occasional small Sand Flathead. It wasn't going "off" as expected so a we made a couple of moves to look for richer fishing grounds. Ben told me on previous trips while fishing in the same way he had nearly been spooled by what he thought was a small shark.  So to get in on the action we drifted a big bait on wire over the back of the boat while we continued to feel for bites on the light sticks.

 

 

 

Amazingly half the day had already passed, when we started to catch some colourful wrasse on the squid baits as we drifted over some weed beds.  They fought hard on the light rods and gave us fun for a while but quickly we became bored as no other species showed. By now as predicted the wind was starting to die down, and in turn the sea was calming making it a perfect time to leave the toothy little wrasse behind and go in search of something a bit more substantial in deeper water.  Near the offshore bank we found a nice dropoff that screamed fish.  A change of depth of 5 metres over a relatively flat bottom is surely a magnet to our piscatorial friends and the depth sounder confirmed our suspicions! It looked pretty busy down there so Ben suspected and hoped that the Pink snapper would be hanging about amongst all the activity. 

 

 

 

 

And would you believe it after setting up a nice drift Ben's bait was snaffled and after a good scrap a fin perfect little pinky was brought aboard! A nice example of the beautiful species but not quite of the size we were hoping for.  As we set up for another drift over the hotspot all hell broke lose as a shoal of huge Long Tom suddenly turned up and started slashing at the squid baits as we tossed them over the side. As they darted back and forth, Ben soon hooked up but just as quickly the hook popped out and the fish swam free. A few seconds later another took the bait and this time was properly hooked. Bens little reel sung a merry tune as the Long Tom decided it would rather be as far from the boat as possible.  Jumping and cartwheeling, it removed line with ease, while all the time we wondered how it was possible that such thin line was holding up to the abrasion caused from those sharp teeth.

 

 

 

 

I grabbed my lure rod and cast a Bomber out, and with a fast retrieve it was hounded in time and time again by a pack of Long Toms, but unfortunately none of the fish hooked up.  A change of lure to the metal slice resulted in another five strikes but still no hook ups! All the time we could see the fish through the clear water darting about striking the lure as well as following the fish Ben still had on his line. After ten or more minutes the Long Tom Ben had been playing was tiring and came to the side of the boat. Neither of us had seen this species before.   We were used to the more or less plain silver fish found in warmer waters,  these had bright yellow jaws, and a vividly coloured body together with some dark spots throughout their length. It was a striking and beautiful fish and we desperately wanted a photo to remember it by.  Of course there was no way to fit a fish of at least 1.20m into the environet, but we had no other ideas apart from making a mad grab at the body. Figuring the best way would be to get the head in the net and then grab the body, we gave it a go, but disaster happened and the fish spooked, jumped, threw the hook and said bye bye! Any idea of the species guys as I would love to know?

 

 

 

 

That was unfortunately the last time we saw the Long Toms, so returned to our bait fishing to see what else might be hanging around the hump.  I soon hooked up to a lively fish that bent the little rod double. Would it be a pink snapper as I hoped? it turned out to be a double header consisting of our old friend the wrasse along with a Blackarse. Close but not close enough.  The next customer was pretty lively and tried its best to take line from the reel. The first glimpse revealed a solid silver bar rising from the depths which turned out to be a Skippy big enough to come home for dinner. It really was great fun to catch these small fish on the according tackle as every fish made us grin from ear to ear! More skippy followed while a pod of Dolphins played in the swell some way off into the sea.  Even a big barnacle encrusted turtle rose to the surface to take some gulps of fresh air before its next dive, and right on time as I had asked Ben earlier if he ever sees them about.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a quick count and found that eleven or more species had been landed throughout the day. Nothing big but throughly enjoyable all the same.  By now the sun had dropped and turned to a burning haze on the horizon. The wind too had also completely vanished, leaving us with a picture perfect evening to fish on through. It was fast approaching fisho'clock when the chance to hook a bigger fish would vastly increase.  The talk of big Snappers and Dhuies kept us wondering, as we celbrated the already succesful day with some ice cold Coronas.  Ben had been burlying the water with old mulies and the like, so we hoped there would be somewhat of a frenzy going on below. Our only problem was that anchoring in the desired spot had proved to be almost impossible. It was only a small problem so just continued to drift the spot. 

 

 

 

 

 

It was reaching that magical golden time of day when you should be holding your rod tightly.  I had given up bait fishing a few minutes before and put on my all time favourite lucky soft plastic lure, the Storm Wildeye sardine.  Now if a fish won't eat this lure I feel for it, as there must be something seriously wrong with it.  Sometimes I even get the urge to eat the lure myself and more than once I have had people comment on my catch, only for me to tell them its actually a piece of rubber! I could imagine large fish below, stirring ready for an evening of gorging on small fish as I lowered the plastic to the bottom.  having not fished this technique much before I was aware that the best chance of a strike was to keep the lure as close to the sea floor as possible. A little too high in the water and all chance to induce a take might be lost irrespective of how good a lure is on the end of the line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savouring the beautiful evening I contemplated the dangers of rolling a cigarette at such a time of the day. Rather I started to tell Ben how I had once spent a day strolling the local river in the UK flicking spinners for Pike, Perch and Chub. The morning had drifted into the afternoon and still I hadn't put a fish on the bank, which was surprising as it usually wasn't so quiet. Fed up and with the lethargy setting in the unbelieveble happened! The spinner flew across the river and was let to sink a little more than usual as I thought possibly the fish were sitting deep. After a few turns of the handle something bit and I struck into solid resistance. It was a slow steady fight and to my amazement a can of Stella Artois emerged from the water, neatly hooked in the ring pull and within the useby date. The fishless day didn't seem so bad anymore as I cracked open the cold can and took a sip.  

 

 

 

 

Just as i reached the end of the story my rod gave a hefty tug and pulled around in my hands! A fish was on and I tried to gain some control as Ben shouted "PINK SNAPPER" and grabbed his camera to film the action. My fireline zipped from the little shimano baitrunner as a solid fish made a dash for some underwater sanctuary.  Everything had happened as we had hoped, the timing was perfect and now my heart was in my mouth as I gently played the strong opponent.  Slowly I gained line but didn't give the fish too much stick as it was possibly my first Pinky! There was no way I was going to lose this fish! Ben had the net waiting and as the fish broke surface he expertly netted it, to shouts of joy and a congratulatory hand shake.  A fantastic big solid Pink Snapper lay in the net with the hook perfectly placed in the bottom jaw.  The factory hook on the lure was bent, but luckily the terrible hook I had attached saved the day. Of course I couldn't stop smilling as we peered into the net. A decision was made to stay out a little longer after dark and see if any more fish would take the lures.

 

 

 

It wasn't to be but we were both content with the fantasic day. A heap of species had landed on the boat with the grand finale of the a big Pinky. Life couldn't have got much better as we zipped over the swell, through the charcoal night towards the orange lights on the horizon. A big big thanks to Ben for making it possible! Cheers buddy!

Hopefully i'll have some more luck soon and will be able to post another report, All the best, Scott