McLoughlins Beach
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:38 pm
Not wishing to hog the board but In the absence of any Gippsland related posts thought Id put this up for those only able to fish vicariously today.
Met up with the Usual Suspect yesterday - my fishing offsider G and made the long 140km trek down to McLoughlin's Beach for an estuary session afloat and the day went something like this:
Late 9am start - met up at our midpoint rendezvous in Sale. I got the pies in (as is our custom when the other provides the boat - a Blue Fin Sidewinder series today). Pies consumed sitting by the lake watching the wildlife go by whilst generally talking up the expectations for the day. My gear and 2 rods transferred to his truck to join his 7 - each of which was rigged differently to cover fly, lure, bait ( paternoster & flowing trace rigs) and whilst it is a bit OTT its an effective way to change styles quickly (and support the local economy / tackle shops)- whilst I generally have to fumble about in my tacklebox for at least 10 wasted fishing minutes each time. On arrival it wasn't so busy with only about a dozen trailers parked up. No Q or dramas on the ramp (which is not always a given for us) and we were on the water by about 1030- a couple of hours before high tide. Water clarity was quite good but there was some weed about (especially later on the ebb). Target species? Anything with gills ! But flathead were the main topic of conversation earlier ( amongst other things e.g. the wildlife) so that's what we were hoping / expecting /planning for. A short 10 mins motor out (no safari to Manns Beach needed) saw us quickly anchored up in a channel between submerged sand flats in about 3.5 metres. Berley in & 1/2 pilchards away, (hard on the bottom), soon saw a couple of flathead hit the deck. Both keepers around 40cm. Over the next 30 mins or so a few more came up to join our table for dinner before word got out down below decks that the pilchard was 'off' and all went quiet . So it was time for a move. Staying in the same channel we relocated to the next spot (similar depth) about 100m away and repeated the process- (adding a bit of SP action) with pretty much similar results (mainly on bait though) along with a few undersize flatties and some puffers! 4 such moves throughout the day using a variety of tactics (me utilising both rods - G only 4/7 !) saw 13 legal size flathead landed (9 kept) a small Banjo Shark (returned) and a couple of bonus / surprise (but very welcome) 28cm whiting on the runout, caught midwater on a paternoster rig set up for flathead (largish hooks) on squid. A few escapees declined to come aboard once they saw the boat , including my one solitary take on a SP. As the day progressed the pretty stiff breeze (generally the status quo at McLoughlins) went from fresh to moderate to bloody windy (as forecast ) and by 3pm it was time to hit the ramp, drown a single cold beer (supplied by the boat owner- another of our customs) and head for home, where I would process the catch for both of us using my recently acquired Marttini filleting knife (thanks Santa) and hand over a share of the spoils / frozen fillets on the next meetup (this saves messing about at the ramp cleaning table and allows us an extra 30 mins afloat and still meet an ETA back home ). Overall another successful, albeit fairly short, session out on the water, which surpassed expectations and as always provided more than just entertainment: i.e. a pie, a beer, mateship, banter, and a fish or two .. what better way to spend the day (that's rhetorical by the way as most fisho's already know the answer ).
Tight Lines.
Pirkz
Met up with the Usual Suspect yesterday - my fishing offsider G and made the long 140km trek down to McLoughlin's Beach for an estuary session afloat and the day went something like this:
Late 9am start - met up at our midpoint rendezvous in Sale. I got the pies in (as is our custom when the other provides the boat - a Blue Fin Sidewinder series today). Pies consumed sitting by the lake watching the wildlife go by whilst generally talking up the expectations for the day. My gear and 2 rods transferred to his truck to join his 7 - each of which was rigged differently to cover fly, lure, bait ( paternoster & flowing trace rigs) and whilst it is a bit OTT its an effective way to change styles quickly (and support the local economy / tackle shops)- whilst I generally have to fumble about in my tacklebox for at least 10 wasted fishing minutes each time. On arrival it wasn't so busy with only about a dozen trailers parked up. No Q or dramas on the ramp (which is not always a given for us) and we were on the water by about 1030- a couple of hours before high tide. Water clarity was quite good but there was some weed about (especially later on the ebb). Target species? Anything with gills ! But flathead were the main topic of conversation earlier ( amongst other things e.g. the wildlife) so that's what we were hoping / expecting /planning for. A short 10 mins motor out (no safari to Manns Beach needed) saw us quickly anchored up in a channel between submerged sand flats in about 3.5 metres. Berley in & 1/2 pilchards away, (hard on the bottom), soon saw a couple of flathead hit the deck. Both keepers around 40cm. Over the next 30 mins or so a few more came up to join our table for dinner before word got out down below decks that the pilchard was 'off' and all went quiet . So it was time for a move. Staying in the same channel we relocated to the next spot (similar depth) about 100m away and repeated the process- (adding a bit of SP action) with pretty much similar results (mainly on bait though) along with a few undersize flatties and some puffers! 4 such moves throughout the day using a variety of tactics (me utilising both rods - G only 4/7 !) saw 13 legal size flathead landed (9 kept) a small Banjo Shark (returned) and a couple of bonus / surprise (but very welcome) 28cm whiting on the runout, caught midwater on a paternoster rig set up for flathead (largish hooks) on squid. A few escapees declined to come aboard once they saw the boat , including my one solitary take on a SP. As the day progressed the pretty stiff breeze (generally the status quo at McLoughlins) went from fresh to moderate to bloody windy (as forecast ) and by 3pm it was time to hit the ramp, drown a single cold beer (supplied by the boat owner- another of our customs) and head for home, where I would process the catch for both of us using my recently acquired Marttini filleting knife (thanks Santa) and hand over a share of the spoils / frozen fillets on the next meetup (this saves messing about at the ramp cleaning table and allows us an extra 30 mins afloat and still meet an ETA back home ). Overall another successful, albeit fairly short, session out on the water, which surpassed expectations and as always provided more than just entertainment: i.e. a pie, a beer, mateship, banter, and a fish or two .. what better way to spend the day (that's rhetorical by the way as most fisho's already know the answer ).
Tight Lines.
Pirkz