Garie Beach - 19.03.11

[ishuffle]

Hi Raiders,

Been a long time reader thought it's about time to post my first report! Here I go!

Have been itching all week. Reading reports, fishing magazines and got a new beach outfit which I was dying to try out. Light 9'6" (Majorcraft - Zaltz) with Daiwa Caldia 3000 reel spooled with 16lb braid. Have recently tried out the rod but not with the new reel!

Plan was to get to the beach by 5:30am with a few mates who was going to meet me there. One also just purchased a new Daiwa Steez rod/reel combo who was eager to get his first real fish! Was looking at all the weather forecast and was expecting showers, a 15ish knot SE wind and with high tide at 8:36am. Had all my gear packed and loaded in the car the night before and set the alarm for 4am!

4:00am - BEEP BEEP BEEP.. Alarm off! packed the bait and off I go! while driving had little rain drops on the windshield and notice the trees moving around abit. I was just hoping it would die down when I get there! It's about an hour drive to Garie from my place so I get a lot of time to think while I'm driving. I don't know if it's just me but I cannot help but think about what rig I should do. Other things run through my mind like gutters, fish the south end or north end, how many rods should I take, gang hooks or single etc etc... just have this hour of internal conversation! I had to keep reminding myself to keep it basic and simple!

5:18am - Arrived at car park. Looks like I'm not the only crazy fisherman here, a couple guys rigging up just about to head down to the beach. Rain was coming down with very strong gusty winds 15-20+ knots! It wouldn't deter me, not after that long drive. My friends arn't here yet so I started rigging up. Decided to take 2 rods, rigged the new light outfit with a running sinker with long shank hoping to target bream/whiting and the old beach rod with gangs and star sinker for salmon/tailor. Also packed some metal lures just incase. My friends arrived shortly and started to rig up as well. While all this was happening, it started to piss down! The wind started to pick up and I thought to myself... give up? Still new to beach fishing, I remember when I first started, I had fished similar conditions with no luck and it was probably the worst experience ever! We did have rain coats but for some reason, my rain jacket started to soak on the inside? t-shirt was all wet! at this point I was willing to call it quits! My friend was still eager so after changing shirts and wearing a poncho underneath my rain jacket, problem fixed! Ready now but we don't know what the surf conditions like, all we can hear is lots of wave crushign!

6:15am - The 4 of us started walking down to the beach. As we got closer I notice the surf was very rough! Big swells, white wash and churned up sand everywhere! No visible gutter at all. There were a couple of blokes fishing already, they said they haven't caught anything yet. Scanning the beach I thought best if we walk closer to the rocks (north). As far as I can see, it was really rough with no clear water. In an article I read recently, it said to look for clearer less disturbed water, usually the corners. About 80 meters from the rock, the water started to look promising, could see a nice gutter and told the boys.. 'Let's fish!'. I got the burley going which was an experiment! (Dog food in sausage packed style inside a mesh bag).

We staight away start to battle seaweed! It was everywhere! and big ones too! Snapped my line a few times on my light outfit trying to drag the weed up the beach! retired the idea of small fishing and focused on the big outfit for the bigger fish. My friend then gets onto a decent dart on his steez outfit but was struggling to battle the rip and seaweed. Then all of a sudden while holding my outfit, I get this nice bend and weight! this ain't no seaweed! after a short battle, a nice decent salmon lands on the beach! Everyone now was pumped!

Being the more experienced one beach fisher than the guys, started to help them as they were struggling with their rigs holding ground (pillies under a float?). Still battling the seaweed, we now had a new problem! Blue bottles! With the SE winds also picking up, it was blowing rain in our faces which felt like someone throwing little stones at us! So with all of the above now with ocassional hoping around (blue bottles Not long after, I get another bend in my rod, this time it was heavier! I quickly called one of my mates to take over so he can get his first decent fish off the beach! After a longer fight compared to the first one and a battle with the waves dumping on the sand, we drag up a nice 3kg+ salmon! Sadly that was the last fish we were to catch! Theres always a first for everything and it was soon to be my first taste of what a blue bottle sting feels like!

Funny thing was with conditions like this, people were still turning up at the beach fishing, I could see a dozen people down the south end with a few others walking past us who looked like they were going to fish off the rock???!? It was just past 9am so decided to call it a day! Walking back, you could see everyone trying to un-tangle their lines with the seaweed. Not sure if they caught anything. Was just a terrible day to fish off the beach!

A few things I learned.

1. Even in rough conditions there are still fish about. Need to find them! Less disturbed water!

2. Burley? Not sure if we were just lucky or did the burley actually work? Will keep doing it!

3. Bring a raincoat that actually keeps you dry!

4. Keep clear of blue bottles! It fricken Stings!

Have a nice day,

Phil

[james7]

Geez you're keen Phil!

Up at 4am! ... An hour's drive! ... Rain! ... Wind! ... Seaweed! ... and bluebottles!

At least you scored a few fish for all that effort! You certainly deserved something.

Are you going to eat the salmon? I reckon they're bland and boney. Maybe just okay for fishcakes.

When I've been in a boat fishing off Garie, I've often seen people lined up shoulder to shoulder along that ledge on the northern side. Apparently they get a lot of salmon there.

Well done on your first report!

I hope it's the first of many.

Cheers

Peter

[zephi]

Nice fishes, and good job braving the poor weather. did you fish with Trevor by any chance?

[ishuffle]

Thanks guys! With difficult work hours and family commitment, make the most of it when I can! The main thing is that we still had fun!

Peter: usually I don't bother with taking home the sambos, but after all that! I had to take one home! Kept the smaller one and gave the other one away. I agree they're not the best eating but I finally found a decent method!

Fillets battered in crumbles. Deep fried! Served with squeeze lemon and dip in Japanese mayonnaise! Very nice!

Nope I wasn't with Trevor

Phil

[robeebee]

Jeez your keen

good onya for sticking with it

[Basil D]

I find doing something like getting wet an all, it just makes you feel alive (except for Blue bottle stings)

Edited March 20, 2011 by Groper

[Noodles]

Big effort and yes bluebottles hurt. Salmon are OK smoked too. Not great, but certainly quite edible if you take the time to prepare them. I fillet and bone the ribs out and cut each fillet in half along the lateral line then remove the blood meat. Rub some salt (and Brown Sugar if you like it sweet) into them and allow to sit a while. Not too different to smoked Tailor or Mullet. The bonus is that the frames and blood strips make great crab bait for the witches hats.