Thursday Friday Overnighter (With a non-fishy traumatic experience)

[fragmeister]

Hi Raiders,

I decided on an overnighter because the weather looked very promising.

So, on Thursday I launched at Wharf Road and headed off to Bantry Bay which would be my overnight base for an early morning fish outside Sydney Heads.

I wanted to try a spot in 80 meters of Rosa Gully that had fished well for me in previous years, but I just never got back to. When I say it fished well, it was more about the quality rather than the quantity.

Bantry Bay is a favourite spot of mine to anchor up on the public moorings and just relax the afternoon and evening away. Yesterday I got there at about 1:30 in the afternoon and that was just about on high tide.

I had packed the boat with my overnight gear including the portable stove plus some sleeping kit and food of course. When I say "packed", I actually meant thrown in, so I rigged a couple of lines and started to organise the boat.

I have a plan when I stay overnight in Bantry Bay, and it almost always plays out perfectly. It can be very slow during the winter, but generally you can count on a few bream when casting towards the shallows and at random times, some jumbo salmon turn up.  More to my liking, however, are the tailor that turn up during the evening. They are good Jew baits and there are a few Jews that haunt the area.

True to form, the Bream and the Salmon turned up, but there were no Tailor. All the Bream went back, and I settled in to a steak and sausages.

Aside from the absence of Tailor there were no baitfish around either. I usually throw a few pillies in the berley bucket and after a while the yakkas come around for me to catch and save for fresh strip baits.

Anyway, adjusting the plan, I put out a fillet of salmon on a two hook rig for a Jew.

After a few hours I had an inquiry on the Jew rig and a few minutes later I had one beside the boat... and beside the boat was where we parted company.  It was about 70cm long and would have been released, but my fluffing around with the net that I had lost track of in the dark made its escape a little quicker. Never mind.. But don't they look cool in the water under the glow of a head torch with that bronze side and reflective eye!

I had a couple more takes later in the evening, but I was bitten off by whatever they were. A 70cm Port Jackson was the last catch of the night at about 10PM. I went to bed thankful that I had my -5 degree sleeping bag with me because it was a clear, cold night.

At about 6am I headed back out into the harbour and through the heads off to my planned GPS location. I noted a remarkable lack of sea life compared to my trip out a few weeks ago. No whales, no dolphins and not many schools of bait.

The forecast for 0.6M swell was about right, but the uncomfortable Nor Westerly was not predicted. Anyway, I headed out to my planned spot and started a series of drifts. There were lots of inquiries and lots of baits being mauled, so I downsized the hooks to see what they were ...   small Bluespot Flathead and red spot whiting.

I preserved, and eventually I landed a quality Flathead in about 80M. This looks like a Dusky to me, but I wouldn't expect to find them in 80M.

Any ideas Raiders!

 

Now for the slightly traumatic experience...

I have a Border Collie called Ellie. She is very smart and very faithful. The whole family loves her, but she is clearly my dog.

When I got back from fishing, I washed down my rods and I noticed that on one rod, the hook, restrained in a runner, had some bait left on it... you can probably see where this is heading.

I thought, I must get rid of that, and I went about unpacking and cleaning the boat. Long story short, I find the dog half an hour later with a hook through her top lip and fishing line trailing out of her mouth. I thought the hook was safe in the rod runner, but clearly it was not.

She had grabbed the bait, the drag on the reel has provided sufficient resistance to embed the hook in her top lip, and she had apparently bitten through the line, enabling her to come back in the house.

I could see she was trying to deal with something in her mouth, so I grabbed her and took her into my shed. She was not happy with what I was doing, but eventually I managed to cut the hook in two and pull the barbed and the eye ends out in either direction.

I was relived, the dog was relived, and it all ended up ok except for me feeling that I was the most neglectful dog owner in the world!

All I can say, now that I have recovered from the trauma, is that I am glad it was a circle hook!

 

Cheers

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by fragmeister

[noelm]

Sure looks like a Dusky Flathead.

[Yowie]

Dusky.

Unusual to be caught so deep, however, some fish don't stick to the plan and turn up anywhere.

Recently caught tailor in 200 feet of water, taking baits just off the bottom.

[fragmeister]

27 minutes ago, noelm said:

Sure looks like a Dusky Flathead.

Agreed,

I didn't see any spots on the tail, though, and I have never caught a Dusky so deep.

Process of elimination though ... what else could it be.

.

Cheers

Jim

[Isaac Ct]

Great report mate, well done. Good day out.

Sorry about the dog, very lucky. Had my dog a few years back get a lure stuck in his mouth. Painful experience for him in the vet for the next few hours.

[bessell1955]

Poor dog, I am glad all ended well.

[JustJames]

Glad Ellie is OK.  And yes, BC's are renowned 'one person' dogs.

 

Bantry Bay is my neck of the woods...I like your plan very much, but I will wait until it's a bit warmer before I try it!

[big Neil]

Looks very much like a Dusky Flathead Jim, take your word on the "normal" depth they hang around at. Hope the dog is not too traumatised by the experience and lesson learned for the owner, eh? Your overnight trips should produce better once the weather warms up a little, and yes Jewies are a magnificent looking fish. Tight lines.

bn

[Larkin]

Love the adventure of an overnight session. That’s a good size flatty! 👍

I always worry my dogs will smell fish on a rod when I’m letting them dry and do the same thing. 

[kantong]

Great story and a good catch too. Glad the dog is alright too.

[fragmeister]

7 hours ago, JustJames said:

Glad Ellie is OK.  And yes, BC's are renowned 'one person' dogs.

 

Bantry Bay is my neck of the woods...I like your plan very much, but I will wait until it's a bit warmer before I try it!

I don't blame you! It was pretty cold outside the sleeping bag.

 

[fragmeister]

Thanks for all the concern over my dog too.

...and the dog is fine.

Yesterday's  "operation' took place in my shed, where we spend a lot of time together.

It was actually quite tricky to get her to sit still while I cut the hook in half with some side cutters. She was not a happy puppy.

I had my fingers in her mouth and she would have been excused for biting me, but she didn't.

I was worried that she wouldn't want to visit me in there again after that, so today I cooked up some chicken and coaxed her into the shed.

That worked a treat and after that, she came and went all day as I did some post fishing trip maintenance.

At one stage though, did show her the side cutters, but she wouldn't look at them!

LOL! How funny are dogs!

Cheers

 

Jim

 

[fragmeister]

7 hours ago, big Neil said:

Looks very much like a Dusky Flathead Jim, take your word on the "normal" depth they hang around at. Hope the dog is not too traumatised by the experience and lesson learned for the owner, eh? Your overnight trips should produce better once the weather warms up a little, and yes Jewies are a magnificent looking fish. Tight lines.

bn

Thanks Neil, I think I was the most traumatised!  But yes, that wont happen again.

Cheers

 

Jim

[GordoRetired]

Glad the dog is OK. Sounds like an eventful trip.

[DrRaymondSnapper]

As a Veterinary Surgeon , I can`t number the fish hooks and lures that I have retrieved out of various parts of a dog`s anatomy. The worst thing that you can do is pull on a line with a hook attached that is not visible in a dog`s mouth or lip. You will " set " the hook in your pet instead , most likely the oesophagus or stomach. Retrieving a hook from the oesophagus is extremely difficult  and dangerous. . And expensive. Watch your dog around baited hooks at all times. They can , and will ,  do the unexpected when food is involved.

[mrsswordfisherman]

56 minutes ago, DrRaymondSnapper said:

As a Veterinary Surgeon , I can`t number the fish hooks and lures that I have retrieved out of various parts of a dog`s anatomy. The worst thing that you can do is pull on a line with a hook attached that is not visible in a dog`s mouth or lip. You will " set " the hook in your pet instead , most likely the oesophagus or stomach. Retrieving a hook from the oesophagus is extremely difficult  and dangerous. . And expensive. Watch your dog around baited hooks at all times. They can , and will ,  do the unexpected when food is involved.

Thanks for that @DrRaymondSnapper for your expert words. 
Please don't hesitate to make posts on anything else you feel would benefit our community. We have an articles section that posts can be kept in. 

Donna (Community Manager)

[jenno64]

Epic adventure Jim, glad to hear the pooch was released along with a very deep dusky:)