First Hobie session

[SgtBundy]

Dad got himself a 2015 outback on Friday to upgrade his 2010, and also have the 2010 one available to take others out with him fishing. Keen to break it in the plan was to go as early as we could get up and hit the lake at the Entrance.

Got on the water a little after 7 into a thick sea fog (bridge was not visible from picnic point). I followed Dad out to his usual spots.

We were using only lures - for the majority of the session I used bloodworm wrigglers. Fairly quickly we were onto some undersize flatties amongst the weedbeds. We kept prospecting and after a few location changes Dad was onto a good one, but as I had the net he called me over but before I could get there it spat the hook.

Same continued in more spots - heaps of 25cm flatheads, lots of big tail boils around us but nothing decent.

Later on I got game enough to try standing up as I want to get a hobie myself and I wanted to see how that aspect worked. To do so required tsking my new samaki combo off the kayak leash. Clearly I was not steady enough to perform this feat so after a few wobbly casts I went to sit down again. Put the rod in the holder but before I could situate myself I managed to knock the rod out into a weedbed in 2ft of water. With no other option I had to jump out, and discovered the sand was extremely soft and I nearly lost my shoes in it. With the rod recovered, my shoes removed and in the kayak I the had to figure out remounting by myself. It wasnt pretty but I managed it and continued on. Dad was a out 300m away and manged to not see any of this spectacle.

Eventually Dad got onto a good 40ish flathead and we worked that area a while hoping for more but just found more small ones.

Around 10am with the fog burnt off the lake started to fill up with hire boat holiday fishos, the odd yahoo in fast boats and other traffic, but fortunately we could stay clear of it in the shallows.

We started to make our way back and prospected some areas we did earlier that morning. I continued to regulalrly pull more undersize flatties as well as a lot of spat or shaken hooks. I wanted to change jigheads but my tackle box had slipped out of reach in the hull so I had to make do.

We were planning to head back but of course a few more casts turned into many more. About that time I realised the life jacket had pulled open my shirt exposing my obscenly white gut. I now have a tender shark fin shaped sunburn on my belly button area. Lesson for next time, tuck in shirts.

On the way back to the launch spot Dad hooked unto a solid flathead. As I still had the net Dad called me over to net it, exactly as I hooked yet another 25cm flathead. Rather that risk losing Dads fish I kept mine in the water while I paddled over - causing my fish to water ski at one point. I netted his fish and it was hefty - he did a quick measure with the fish in disagreement and called it for at least 55cm but probably more, and it was quite fat. We kept prospecting a while longer with no more than more small catches.

With the sun biting more and lunch calling we called it quits around 1pm. Taking home some very good fillets which became beer battered for dinner.

So a bit of sunburn, a lot of fun on dozens of small flatties and lessons learned whenever I pick up my own hobie.

[antonywardle]

A great read!