Another day of super calm seas. And first sailing, all returnee's. Three M's... Mike, Mark and Mitch, and Tim. All keen for fun and food, and greeted once again by a magnificent sunrise. And all familiar with each other, so spirits high, and laughter came freely.
Could we match that with fish though... Well... First hour, we went prospecting for a coddie. Once again, nothing, other than a few mackerel dropping off, happily. They have thinned out a lot for sure. I also noticed that the huge shoals of whitebait that had been forming in the marina prior to the wind, have been replaced with lots of sand smelt. Little changes, but all significant to the chain of events happening beneath the surface.
Once the tide got going, onto the bass. And happily they were there. But, that magnificent sunrise, and eventual warming sun, was stolen by a blanket of grey that crept in from the North West, and with it, a cold Northerly breeze. Suddenly, it was hats and gloves time. Be warned, all coming from now till I finish on 29th November, Summer has really gone. It just plays at being here. So, bring the layers. You can always take them off. And hats and gloves.
Lots of fun. Biggest, maybe pushing five. twenty fish landed. Full kill. Once we got going, action never got frantic, but very consistent. Fish on pretty much all drifts. The chill really doesn't seem so bad when it is all happening. But I wasn't too unhappy when the bugger off bugler signaled time to return for coffee and food.
Mark remained onboard, and was joined by Angela, her lad Dylan, and his friend Harry.
Took a gamble for over the top of the tide, but it didnt really work out. Just a couple of smalls. Back to where we had scored well on the first session, but that also was less populous. Onto where I had noticed some birds on the way back in the morning. Bingo.
We finished the session there, with a total of 18 bass landed. Max kill for Angie and the boys. Everyone catching. Happy folk. And, with just two sailings per day now, due to daylight restrictions, what seems like a part time job after the madness of high summer. 38 bass to 4 rods in six hours fishing. Pretty good, and likely to get better. But I hope not back to the 100 plus per session of previous autumns. Not if the bulk are again sub 42cm. Maybe the schoolies will have somewhere else to learn this autumn, and give the quality fish a chance to play in close.
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