Hit the ramp around 6pm to head out to one of my favourite inshore reefs.  Conditions were good with 5-10kn sw winds, moderate swell and a high tide.  After about 10 minutes we arrived and watched the swells for a while before deciding where to anchor.  The sets were reasonably large and surging so we couldn’t really get as close as I would have liked.  Before we set up there was a quick dash to check out the flocks of birds which were active about 500m away but by the time we got there the action was gone.

I had been dusted by kingfish at this spot before so brought out the reasonably heavy gear and set a heavy drag.  40cm garfish was the bait of choice and after a dozen casts or so it was smashed.  The fish played the game initially and headed away from cover towards the boat.  A moment of concern as it headed for the anchor rope but it swam above it and then saw the boat.  After seeing the yellow flashes there was no doubt what it was and it went pretty hard heading for the bommie that was close to us.  Nice to see it in the net and while it was only a rat, pound for pound they go pretty hard.  A quick photo and released to swim off strongly.

We kept casting and just after the sun set the tailor came on for a short while.  I had quite a few garfish loose their tails and probably need to change my rig to position a hook in the tail section.  It didn’t matter though as my eldest boy, who has never really fished a lot, hooked up to an angry fish using a large mulie on a gang.  It is always good to see “new” fishers tackle the task and we were stoked when it was landed.  Again, a quick photo and a strong release.

As the light failed we packed up to be back at the ramp about 7.45pm.  A quick trip where everything went to plan, other than having to cut the anchor off as the surging conditions wrapped the chain around a rock.

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