But we got out there anyway- you cant catch fish sitting at home (tie flies - yes! Fish - no!)
Met a boat of DFR members putting in the water as we were readying to launch our boat
Caught up with them off East Point where a plethora of boats were chasing the queenfish blowing apart the water surface periodically
We all get a few queenfish (the fly fishers anyway!)
After a bit of fun with a few strong queenfish in the raging currents, we leave the DFRs and another ten boats of various bait danglers and lure tossers behind and head off to Lee Point to target the edges of ant bait schools in the deeper water of high tide at Lee Point - hopefully a few tuna about (there wasn't!!)
We find a bit of bait about but no consistency in their location or movement - nor large predators harassing them - or that took a liking to our flies! So we target the current and pressure lines caused by the water moving over and around the reef lines and find plenty of small to medium predatory fish. A heap of mackerel (greys) up on and near the reef sections. A cast to the reef saw out flies being chased by multiple macks as they come off the edge
You had to get the retrieval speed right to get a take, - plenty of tail strikes so at times it took the speed of a water haul or a roll cast to get a strong take and thus a hook up from the macks
Which meant the hook up strip strike wasn't the best - so we loose a few, get a few
Peter commented he had never seen so many macks, acting the way they were as they chased and harassed the flies all the way to the boat - huge numbers of fish about in such poor conditions
Its tough fishing too - lots of swell coming across Shoal Bay with the strong easterly wind, crescending as the wave motion came over the reefs into high chop and swell making standing on the boat quite difficult at times
We are getting fish regularly but Peter had a rough and exhausting time standing on top casting deck in the swell and wind
A rearrangement of tackle boxes gives his some relief as the loose line falls off the top deck in a less tangle prone area now - much better
We are catching plenty grey macks and queenfish which are at times in their thousands frothing the water
But no major size
Though, I did hook up one standard grey mack about 50cm long and two massive GTs rose form the depths like wraiths, twice the mack's length and as I left in the water at the back of the boat, they both tried to eat it whole a couple of times before drifting off into the depths unsatisfied (me too! the fight would have been short but sooo much fun!)
We move about the Lee Point reef system to find bigger fish and we did find a few 80cm plus queenfish but could not get a take. a follow once but no more than that. They were moving around the edges of various isolated reefs. You could see them readily cruising about slowly and every now and then turn on the afterburners and scoot across the surface hammering and chasing garfish and yellowtial pike if they strayed too far from the edge of the reefs. these large baitfish would leap out of the water and we could follow their desperate efforts to escape by the splashes and diving and slashing through the water of both them and the large predators - very exciting to watch indeed!
The wind and rough water continued to hampered our efforts - easy to blame that than our (my!) poor skill sets I suppose!!
Long day in tough conditions but plenty of fish (if smallish) to hand
Peter did get a nice medium sized Golden - I think his PB
Find hereabouts a poor video of day's action (9minutes too long!)
A video of wild wind and crappy swell - last bit has the frothy water for your edification and as a bit of a tease! - enjoy!
