Friday from Mindarie
Got a call from my mate Darren claiming his freezer stocks were low and a nice Dhu or two had to be had to replenish it. Fri was looking good so calander was cleared and gear was sorted.
Launched at Mindarie at 8:15 and headed to the "cant miss" spot in the 40's. Poking our nose out of the marina it was a bloody washing machine with waves coming from every direction and i was sure it was going to be one of those days where just hanging on exhausted you. We threaded our way through 3 mile with swell breaking all over the place and what do you know, calm (ish) on the back side. Not glass but calm enough to head out at 15-18Kn.
The plan was to nail a couple of size Dhuies at "the spot" and then head to a known Baldie area for a drift around to get our bag. Well within 2 min of dropping a line the first Pinkie hit the deck. Just size at 51cm. Well that was our test drift and we were off the mark by a bit so reset the drift and try again.
Darren hooked onto a solid fish with a lot of head shakes so pretty soon the second Pinkie is netted.
A school of Pinkies must be on the lump and as we want a Dhuie we decided to move and try somewhere else. The next 4 hours were spent trying spot after spot getting nothing. There wasent even the usual pickers having a go at the bait. The saving grace here was that it was bloody beautiful out there. The seas had glassed off, sun was shining and just a hint of a breeze.
The call was made to move in to shallower ground of around the high 30's. On the first drift we both hooked up on smallish fish that turned out to be a pair of jagged Sea Sweep. Not even good for bait IMO.
Second drift and i hooked onto a nice one. Peeled off 10m of line and really was hard to get off the bottom. We were on pretty sharp ground so i was a bit concerned for a bit but managed to get back some line and get it up about 10m. Still there was a lot head shakes (snapper) but strong runs heading down like a coral trout or cod.
After 10min of good fighting a nice 71cm pinkie was in the net.
A few more drifts produced nada so time to head back on that glassy sea. Once back inside 3 mile it was still rough as shit so i pity those guys i saw hanging in close.
It was pretty strange out there with almost nothing on the chew even on the slack tide. The moon being full must have given everything a good feed during the night??
Still 3 Pink Snapper for the day gave Darren some fillets and out the back it was a cracking day.
Merv
Sometimes when the water is quiet, you can hear the fish laughing at you !
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
Well done on the snaps
Well done on the snaps blokes .. good report and pics as well
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
tell ya what certainly looks
tell ya what certainly looks like mint conditions, couple solid snaps to boot
Madmerv
Posts: 672
Date Joined: 24/01/15
Sunday
Yep and if sunday is the same you should have a cracking day also..
Sometimes when the water is quiet, you can hear the fish laughing at you !
Skippy123
Posts: 1
Date Joined: 01/06/15
Thanks for the hand
thanks for helping on the retrieve at Mindarie. I was pretty tired. Went out early, worked hard due WSW with no reward. Maybe should have stuck to my usual area further North. Anyway still learning. Nice Pinkies!
Madmerv
Posts: 672
Date Joined: 24/01/15
No Problem
Always willing to give a hand especially for the solo guys. You never know, one day you may want a deckie and i may need to go fishing..lol
It was a strange day with the bite shut down during the tide change. Even the pickers were not there.
Sometimes when the water is quiet, you can hear the fish laughing at you !