Big jump in tide height for todays tides, and with it came a bit of a shock. All that bait that has been for a few days now quite reliable, simply didnt show. Well, it wasn't in any of the places I was previously encountering it. A few bits and pieces here and then, but not the mega clouds that had been. With me on todays 1000 sailing (ironically I canned first sailing on a forecast of strong Northerlies and rain. Early morning was flat calm and dry. The wind came around... 1000) Dean, his dad Darren, and his daughter, nine year old Deanna.
After the previous days results I didn't think, even with the stiff NE wind that the bass fishing would be a problem. But it really was. Just one when we were all out bassing, which happily was Deanna's first fish caught from a boat, so already a good trip. But after an hour and a half of struggling, due to not many fish and stiff winds, I called on a plaice venture.
On the first mark we were quite exposed to the wind, and drift was too fast for plaice. But I did mark some bass so switched to shads. Two smalls quickly followed. Then we all got on the plaice, as I found some lee from the hospital (its not all bad the new building. Does soften a NE a treat) which gave us a reasonable drift speed, and finally some consistent plaice fishing. A couple for the table, and Deanna has decided she likes fishing. Result.
Next, Suntus, Jamie, Paul and Sam, all regular Biffer's. I gave them the sad news that the scheduled three hour trip, was actually going to have to be a four hour trip, at no extra charge. It was during the trip, when wondering where the flood tide had gone, that I realised I had consulted the tide table wrong, and low tide was actually 1730, not 1700, so the trip actually ended up being four and a half hours instead. None of this due to my overwhelming generosity. Simply that the 1400 sailing finished with no water to let me get back to my dock.
It was one of those go hunting and keep on hunting trips with very little to show for it for a long time, and a lot of nautical miles. We broke the duck with a couple of pouting, and then headed in to search once more for those bait clouds. Which once more were not there. A wrasse to Sam. I think I bagged a schoolie. For low tide, I let the boat wander around a ledge in twenty feet of water. Here we got takes. And missing tails. Then Sam landed one. Bream. So good at munching even Axia mighty minnow tails. A graveyard for Fiish bodies. I had a huge gar follow me up. Some action.
Finally we got some flood tide. I used it to check lots of spots as we headed back towards the marina. For the final half an hour we fished a reef close to it. Where... Soooo much baitfish... and of course, some bass with it as well. A nice table fish to Sam, but Sam is a releaser so it was a very lucky bass that trotted off. Well, swam.
And then a succession of small bass. I stopped counting at seven. I don't even remember how many more were caught. I was just so happy to see bending rods again. And without the time extension, it would have been a tale of a wrasse, two pout and a bream.