Early session for something different

[kiwicraig]

I have been getting stuck into the flathead lately so this morning I decided to mix it up a bit and try something different.  Low tide slack water at Rip Bridge was due just after sunrise so I decided to soak some baits in the hope of a nice Jewie.

It was still dark as I launched just before 5am and standing on the jetty Rip Bridge was lit up not far away.  It was not going to be a long trip.  

I motored gently over to Rip Bridge.  The tide was still running out so I anchored on the downstream side of it just on the ledge where it drops into deeper water.  I was just fishing one rod with a butterflied slimy mackerel on snooded hooks below a swivel and a running sinker.  I had one hook pinned through the head and the other just swinging loose towards the back of the bait.

There were certainly fish around - I could often see some nice arches around mid water.  This screenshot shows plenty of fish but it is nowhere near as busy as it got.  What are we seeing here do you think?

The problem I had was the current was still running hard out - even well past the time where it should have slackened off.  I'll need to figure out exactly how far past the top or bottom of the tide it actually slackens because despite the promising looking sounder I struggled to get a bait down to where the fish were.  

I switched up to my biggest ball sinker and cast up stream to let it sink but it was being swept back before it got down to where the fish were.  I tried putting the reel into freespool and feeding line out to sink the bait a bit further back.  Doing this I lost my first bait to a amazingly subtle bite.  Encouraged I rigged up my next slimy and tried again.  This time I felt a bump and dropped the tip, counted 5 and lifted it up.  The line came up tight and there was weight, but it felt weird.  I was getting little nods and a very light pull but could not feel any tail beats or head shakes.  After a short fight I got sight of it - a great big eel.  I didn't measure it but I would call it at somewhere between 80 and 100 cm.  Hard to tell because it was going nuts and tying itself up in knots around the line.  Couple of bad photos attached - sorry about the quality but it was not cooperating.  I grabbed it with the lip grips and did a few quick snips to free up the loops around its body and dumped it unceremoniously over the side.  I hate those things!

Out of fresh bait and with only an hour or so before I had to head in I shot out to Ettalong to try prospecting for some flathead with a soft plastic.  I had two really good strikes but failed to hookup either time.  Pretty sure the first one was a tailor judging by the cuts in the soft plastic.  Second one felt like a flathead - but I ran out of time before I managed to land one.  Back home by 9am so a pretty great way to start the day - even without a feed. 

[tyrone07]

Fish the eddies off to the sides mate out of the flowing water would be my best advice, the Jewys will ambush the fish in here as the bait is flushed past with the current. Least you had a crack, the lizards have definitely slowed I have found recently