Graham and Gary had set of earlier in the morning and I was scheduled to meet up with them after finishing work on the Saturday morning and sorting a few other issues out first. The drive down was a relaxed affair and I must say that the air conditioned comfort of the car took the sting out of the heat of the day.
I arrived at around 6.00 pm to be greeted with a hot north, north westerly that also took the edge of the heat. Walking down to the beach I was greeted by a reasonable big swell and the tide well on the way out. I also spied Gra and Gary well down the beach near a large rip area. I trudged down and talked with the guys and the news wasn’t what I was hoping for as they had only scored one small salmon since morning and were not even having there baits hit by the usual hord of crabs that we get down here.
( Graham & Gary )
Still not to be put off I headed back to the car and loaded myself up with the gear that would see me through the evening , with the exception of my beach chair which I had forgotten in my haste to get down to the spot. Still it could have been worse as the heat had become very manageable and if it wasn’t for the wind it would have been ideal.
The outfits I had decided to bring were my TT Super match as well as one of the new HPR rods that I am working with as I wanted to see how they performed head to head. My older SM was mated to my Penn Torque 100 loaded with Ultima red Ice and the new HPR had my Penn Squall loaded with Ultima Powersteel. I love this line except for the colour, which being clear makes it near on impossible to see at night. It would be brilliant to see this brought out in a high vis yellow colour as it would then be brilliant for the fishing that I do.
As per usual I had the lines set up with plaited doubles and then tied off to 70 pound Shock leaders, the rigs that I chose were a standard pulley rig for the SM loaded with a 9/0 circle and running wire as I was expecting to get into a few sharks as the night progressed. The lighter outfit was mated up with a two hook clip down rig with cascade swivels and CRT springs to ensure 100% hook release from the sinker clip and the bait clip on the swivel.
Baits for the session were salted whitebait, Chicken fillet and salted small pilchards and large banana prawns which I hoped would be preferred by the Gummies, the other baits were with the intent of getting a few salmon for bait later on as well for the gummies and school sharks that we were hoping for. Tide movement along the beach was running very strong and even with 7 oz grip leads the lines were being taken down most of the beach. The choice of location that we had taken was to minimise this and be at the beginning of the gutter with the hope as the tide turned and started to come in the fish would follow this path past our baits.
Sad to say that the action was noticeable by its absence and even the crabs weren’t taking the baits. The scenery however was exquisite on a number of fronts and we were happy just being away from the city.
( It's not always about the fish )
The night was as I said very mild and there was no need for the usual waders and warm clothing though long sleeves were still in order to keep the mossies and other bugs off us.
( Great place at a great time )
It wasn’t until late in the evening or should I say early in the morning after the first hour of the change that I started getting a few hits, with the first solid one looking promising with a solid run. It didn’t prove to be what I was after but still better than striking out. After the usual battle I beached a reasonable sized Skate, taking a few photos and then getting it back out again as quickly as possible.
( Ugly old Skate but still better than nothing )
I should note at this stage that I had gotten a small piece of the Salmon that Graham had and had that dangling from the 9/0 circle. Casting out again to the back of the gutter, it wasn’t too long before the Torque set out a solid scream that put a smile on my face . The smile improved even more when I felt the surge of the fish and new that it wasn’t another Skate or ray. After a short fight and a bit of drama in the wash I was able to tail a small but keepable Gummy that made the evening most enjoyable.
( The Gummy from the evening )
Things shut down after this and it was just a matter of enjoying watching the stars and relaxing , that is until I realised that I had to walk back up the beach with all the gear as well as the fish . Still a great session and after a sleep in the car I freshened up and took the long drive home.
I’m looking forward to the next few weeks as I hope to get out even more with whatever free time that I have.
Regards :D
