25 July 2010

Headed out with Justin, Kurt and Aussie on 'Flying Fish' to look for tuna and marlin yesterday. Unfortunately, the conditions that had brought the striped marlin on during the previous week had changed a little and the warm EAC had moved further offshore. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' We left Coffs Harbour before sun-up and headed out to the shelf on autopilot. At the shelf, new co-ordinates were set for fish traps at 'hole in the wall' and we put out our teaser spread to try for an elusive billfish. We had 4 hookless kona-heads chugging behind the boat from the 3rd wave back to the 5th. The ocean was a cool 22 degrees and we set about kitting up. Each diver would get a 1/2 hour on and during that time any fish raised would be his responsibility. Kurt took first watch, then it was my turn, Aussie next and finally Justin. It was on Justin's watch that he and Aussie spotted something behind the back teaser. They weren't too sure but their excitement was contagious. Kurt and I looked back to see the bill and dorsal fin of a smallish billfish behind the port teaser. I could see the fish's colours all lit up under the lure. Justin was about to go over when the fish just disappeared. What an anti-climax. Hindsight is perfect sight and some-one should have gone over at the point the fish was seen. Probably a good idea to have the skipper clued up too because you don't want a marlin boat running over you with its props turning either.

We found the traps and took to burleying which brought interest from some good dolphinfish. We gave them a while to settle around the boat and soon Aussie and Justin had fish on board. The school then seemed to become quite elusive. At the second fish trap, we did not wait for the burley to have any effect and the dolphinfish were wary from the start, not offering much of a chance at a shot at all. This was a great trip but long and probably not something I would engage in regularly unless the chance of success was greater.

17 July 2010

Michael, Justin and I went in search of crayfish and snapper. There was a stiff southerly creating an unpleasant swell with a significant chop. We headed north of North Rock and jumped in on the sheltered side. Current was flowing north. We looked around for crayfish as well as heading into the gutters in search of jewfish but we could find none. There are some really good gutters and caves in this area. In retrospect we were on the wrong side with the current coming from the south. We set about getting a good burley trail going but nothing came in on it. Better to have headed into the teeth of the wind and sounded around for bait and then got the trail going. I get approximately 3 pieces of burley from one pilchard and count to 10 before dropping a piece of burley. That way I get a steady burley going and 2 packets of pilchards gets about an hour of burley (120 pilchards).

Reports indicate a large number of striped marlin offshore attacking schools of pilchards in the warmer water. We are trying to put together an offshore trip this weekend to chase marlin and tuna. I sincerely hope we are able to get this sorted out.

12 July 2010

There has been little if any spearfishing to be had off Coffs Harbour recently. Die-hards are looking for jewfish(kob) against the headlands or chasing snapper on the shallow kelp covered bommies. The water is cold and uninviting. A more pressing problem is the Solitary Islands Marine Park review which needs your submission. Please go to www.savesol.com and complete the submission. This should not take longer than 10 minutes. The submission is detailed with the inclusion of maps and motivation. All you need to do is add 3 comments and send it.