GoingFishing Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Gday raiders Do you ever wake up for a fishing trip and before you even head out get that feeling that you should go straight back to sleep? Today was one of those days. The first warning sign was when i woke up a good 40 mins past my alarm. Id had friends come over last night and they didnt leave until midnight. Dad was really keen to head out so we packed the boat and headed out anyway. Got half way to the ramp when dad said "ive forgotten the seasickness tablets at home".....that was warning sign number two. The swell forecast was for 1.3m but with a 10second separation so that seemed manageable. Boy was that forecast wrong. There was from what i could tell two swells. One heading west and another heading north.. wind was south westerly turning proper south later. It made for some ugly washing machine conditions !! Slimies were still plaguing every inch of reef and the few baits i got down were malled by slimies. I brought up two slimies which i wanted to put in the live bait tank....i go to turn the live bait pump on...not working...WTF.... played around with the fuses in the back of the dash and couldnt fix it. Stuff it ill fill it up with a bucket. By now it had been 15 minutes and dad had turned green. We were fishing in 70m of water and decided to tuck in behind manly...conditions were better but my old man was still feeling pretty crook. So we headed in to fish the harbour... which i haven't done in about 3 yrs ! The plan was to anchor up and drop some half alive slimies at the wedding cakes and see if any kings showed up... this would give dad a chance to recover the gut and have a cup of tea. Got to the western wedding cake and headed to the front of the boat to drop the anchor.....only to find the MOTHER of all tangles in the anchor line. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to untangle that bastard and only got about 10m out. Frustrated and beaten...i gave up. Unable to anchor, we sheepishly motored away from the wedding cake and did a couple of drifts over the the edges of sow and pigs for some micro trevally and a yakka. By now both me and dad were proper turned off....we packed up and headed home ! So yep....one of those days! Cheers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 One of those days that make the good days special! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Rule #1 Always check your boat over before you go out. That live bait tank not working and the tangled anchor could have been prevented at home. Can't help on the fishing front but hopefully your luck improves next time out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) 56 minutes ago, Fab1 said: Rule #1 Always check your boat over before you go out. That live bait tank not working and the tangled anchor could have been prevented at home. Can't help on the fishing front but hopefully your luck improves next time out. Cheers mate. Cant say ive ever checked anchor rope and live bait tank working before i leave home...probably because 95% of my fishing involves drifting and dead baits ! But your right, the anchor could be needed in an emergency situation one day so that should be added to the pre start checklist. Edited November 4, 2018 by GoingFishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz98 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Ah mate sounds like my fishing trip on Friday, but on a much larger scale! Sounds like a few fishos have had a tough run as of late... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 On a positive note GoingFishing, I did enjoy reading your very dour account of the days experience. If nothing else you will be better prepared next time your Dad and you hit the water. bn ps It appears that the bold and Italics buttons stopped functioning for a while...so we have a more creative aspect to my observation, than usual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 The 6 P theory “Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance”. I apply this every time I go fishing and still have shit days! Chin up Sam, at least you got on the water. Cheers scratchie!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, Oz98 said: Ah mate sounds like my fishing trip on Friday, but on a much larger scale! Sounds like a few fishos have had a tough run as of late... Thats all part of what makes fishing so special ! If we could guarantee the same results everytime we go out it wouldnt be called fishing anymore i guess. 2 hours ago, big Neil said: On a positive note GoingFishing, I did enjoy reading your very dour account of the days experience. If nothing else you will be better prepared next time your Dad and you hit the water. bn ps It appears that the bold and Italics buttons stopped functioning for a while...so we have a more creative aspect to my observation, than usual. Thanks Big Niel ! Its only to fair to share the bad stories along with the good ones isnt it ! You learn somethin on every trip! 1 hour ago, Scratchie said: The 6 P theory “Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance”. I apply this every time I go fishing and still have shit days! Chin up Sam, at least you got on the water. Cheers scratchie!!! Cheers Jeff !! Days like this are very rare so im glad about that! Edited November 4, 2018 by GoingFishing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Yeah, rough day. We've all had those. Learn what you can and move on. To me a day like that would be a reminder to give the boat a good old spring once over end to end. My son is starting to come with me a bit more, so reading that I think I might put a blister pack of seasick pills in the dry bag that lives on the boat. You could do the same for your Dad. It's too late when you start to feel sick but would have helped when you remember in the car. With my anchor rope that is part of my washdown procedure. I pull it out, hose off the anchor and chain. Then I remove any knots or twists while those dry and coil it away nicely. My first anchor drop is always fine. This saved me one-day when I was heading through a narrow, shallow channel near lots of boats and jetties and a loose connection killed the motor. Had to get the anchor down fast to halt the drift while I sorted that out. But if I had a live well I probably wouldn't have caught that either. That kind of thing I would only test on the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Oh Mate! What a day. Had some of those myself. At least you got out and had a go. Best luck next time. Btw- my ? symbol above was coz I was laughing with you not at you ! Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam bros Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Sounds like a rough day You can still get a decent feed in the harbour if you try, just got to keep trying and find what works But its still nice just to be out on the water, regardless of the fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 when getting the boat prepped the day before- check everything, even if ive been out a few days before you should go through a pre launch routine every time- check all your electrics, lights , bilge pumps, livebait pump, radio , sounder. bungs in , tie down strap- then you know you wont have any issues. As for not having a readily usuable anchor thats a pretty important safety issue. If you are getting tangles and knots in your rope switch it to "silver " rope- that stuff is virtually fool proof, also check your shackles every few trips and tighten them with pliers so you dont lose an anchor. Doing the same routine every time prevents stuff ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 If it makes you feel better here goes for my Saturday trip: Get down to Akuna late Saturday only to find they forgot to put my boat in the water (it's in the dry dock). Mechanic happened to be working on a boat and dropped it in for me (was dark by this time). Boat didn't start. Jumped it. Boated in pitch black and dropped the crab traps in. Tried to find a spot at Bobbin Head close to mangroves to catch a muddie. No muddies or fish for 5 hours. Went to bed. Got up a 6am and went to West Reef to get thrown around for an hour in the washing machine. No fish. Wrapped a line around the prop. Went for a troll past Box Head. Hooked up and lost it. Wind was picking up. Went to pick up the crab traps that were 200 metres apart. They were 10 metres apart and one was not closed. Thanks to whoever had crab Sunday night for dinner. Got back to Akuna, washed down the boat, went to the car and realised I left the car keys on the boat. Walked back to boat then back to car cursing why I went in the first place. Onwards and upwards from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizza Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Gutsy to talk about it.....some of us say nothing after one of those days....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) 8 hours ago, kiwicraig said: Yeah, rough day. We've all had those. Learn what you can and move on. To me a day like that would be a reminder to give the boat a good old spring once over end to end. My son is starting to come with me a bit more, so reading that I think I might put a blister pack of seasick pills in the dry bag that lives on the boat. You could do the same for your Dad. It's too late when you start to feel sick but would have helped when you remember in the car. With my anchor rope that is part of my washdown procedure. I pull it out, hose off the anchor and chain. Then I remove any knots or twists while those dry and coil it away nicely. My first anchor drop is always fine. This saved me one-day when I was heading through a narrow, shallow channel near lots of boats and jetties and a loose connection killed the motor. Had to get the anchor down fast to halt the drift while I sorted that out. But if I had a live well I probably wouldn't have caught that either. That kind of thing I would only test on the water. We all experience those days evrry once in a while mate ! All part n parcel of fishing i guess. Definately need to get that anchor rope sorted out. 8 hours ago, zmk1962 said: Oh Mate! What a day. Had some of those myself. At least you got out and had a go. Best luck next time. Btw- my ? symbol above was coz I was laughing with you not at you ! Cheers Zoran Haha thats ok Zoran a little light humor can lift the dark cloud that was yesterday off this report ?? 8 hours ago, sam bros said: Sounds like a rough day You can still get a decent feed in the harbour if you try, just got to keep trying and find what works But its still nice just to be out on the water, regardless of the fish I have fished the harbour a few times in the past and yes it can fish well but i find the harbour is (naturally) more controlled by tide, temperature and wind whilst bottom bashing outside is not as controlled by all those issues. The sheer volume of boat traffic combined with shallow water also doesnt help. 7 hours ago, PaddyT said: when getting the boat prepped the day before- check everything, even if ive been out a few days before you should go through a pre launch routine every time- check all your electrics, lights , bilge pumps, livebait pump, radio , sounder. bungs in , tie down strap- then you know you wont have any issues. As for not having a readily usuable anchor thats a pretty important safety issue. If you are getting tangles and knots in your rope switch it to "silver " rope- that stuff is virtually fool proof, also check your shackles every few trips and tighten them with pliers so you dont lose an anchor. Doing the same routine every time prevents stuff ups. I do a check on all my gear before leaving home every trip. I never check the live bait pump as its not something iv ever thought needs checking before a trip and doesnt influence life safety. The anchor rope i had checked on my last trip and i rarely use it as i do most of my fishing drifting but that is a lesson well learnt i will check anchor rope before every trip. 6 hours ago, Brew said: If it makes you feel better here goes for my Saturday trip: Get down to Akuna late Saturday only to find they forgot to put my boat in the water (it's in the dry dock). Mechanic happened to be working on a boat and dropped it in for me (was dark by this time). Boat didn't start. Jumped it. Boated in pitch black and dropped the crab traps in. Tried to find a spot at Bobbin Head close to mangroves to catch a muddie. No muddies or fish for 5 hours. Went to bed. Got up a 6am and went to West Reef to get thrown around for an hour in the washing machine. No fish. Wrapped a line around the prop. Went for a troll past Box Head. Hooked up and lost it. Wind was picking up. Went to pick up the crab traps that were 200 metres apart. They were 10 metres apart and one was not closed. Thanks to whoever had crab Sunday night for dinner. Got back to Akuna, washed down the boat, went to the car and realised I left the car keys on the boat. Walked back to boat then back to car cursing why I went in the first place. Onwards and upwards from here. Cheers mate sounds like you had a tough gig too !! Which reminds me nothing is worse than getting to the ramp only to realise the bait is still home !!!! 4 hours ago, wizza said: Gutsy to talk about it.....some of us say nothing after one of those days....... I wouldnt say gutsy.... we all have bad days mate (except for yowie and scratchie) and sharing failures served as lesson learnt/info for others. As kiwicraig above suggested he will now pack spare tablets on the boat ! Perhaps an idea that might not have occured had my old mans suffering not been made public ? Edited November 5, 2018 by GoingFishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 mate the dual swell was forecast on 2smhitide radio at 4 15am on sunday morning which makes life in a goat very unfriendly once you leave the heads . I hopeyou get out there next week cheers dunc333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, dunc333 said: mate the dual swell was forecast on 2smhitide radio at 4 15am on sunday morning which makes life in a goat very unfriendly once you leave the heads . I hopeyou get out there next week cheers dunc333 Cheers mate, was definately not friendly! Cant say i listen to the radio at that time of the morning! I checked seabreeze again before i left home and the forecast had not changed. Edited November 5, 2018 by GoingFishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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