2 February 2009

Yesterday saw the commencement of the first club competition for the year following on the cancellation last weekend. We launched from Arrawarra N of Woolgoolga. This gave us access to the N Islands, pinnacles and reefs. We headed out to the Big Island (North Solitary) and from there to the Wooli FAD. The sea was literally full of Dorado, hundreds and hundreds of them but nothing worth having a go at. Even the Yellowtail directly under the FAD were too small to warrant taking anything. Michael and I ended up with a Rainbow Runner each, for our efforts. The rules for the club comp is that you may only weigh 2 of each species for the year. The score for the species being higher than the weight but the weight is also ranked according to the expected maximum weight of the species for this area based on previous club records.

We moved to the pinnacles N of the Big Island but only managed some Fusiliers. The drift from the E of NW Rocks towards the Big Island produced 2 Goldspot Wrasse for me and a small Spanish for Michael. We continued scratching at various reefs, caves and supposed hotspots and Michael managed to rustle up some meagre reward in the form of a Goatfish and some Frigate Tuna, while I managed a small Yellowtail. In the end only Michael, Asher and myself weighed fish. Part of the challenge is knowing what to weigh and when. Last year half of the club competitions were cancelled because of poor conditions. This means you could realistically be shooting great quality fish but when it comes to a competition you may be scratching around for points through no fault of your own.

I took my first Samsonfish and it really is a handsome looking fish. Perhaps a little darker than Amberjack with a forehead reminiscent of a Giant Trevally. The smaller ones, which mine was, flash a dark barred pattern similar to a Bludger. Other fish weighed included Silver Trevally and Blue Morwong, for all intents and purposes think along the lines of a small Cape Bankie. There were none of the fish of legendary size like 30kg yellowtail, 20kg mackerel or 30kg+ Wahoo, never mind the big Dorado which have been seen and taken recently.