Bate Bay again

[Yowie]

Headed out early this morning. Had just launched for my mother's boatshed and saw a few fish breaking the surface. Flicked out a small metal, first retrieve and several heads are following the lure on the surface. One grabs it, hooks up and off it goes. A salmon around 40cm, released,  and then head off towards the ocean. Very little swell out there.

Motored up to the Kurnell Lighthouse, dropped a jig in close and hooked a sgt baker. Released it then tried a bottom bait, a couple a small nannygai, maori wrasse and a barry couta. Drifted out further but not a bite, so headed a bit further south to where I was last week.

Straight in to the spikies, then the occasional blue spot hooked up. I'm guessing about the 150/160 foot mark, the bites stopped, so kept drifting to around the 200 foot mark, then a few tiger flatties, mostly undersized ones. Headed back in for another drift - spikies, a couple a blue spots, a dead zone then a couple more tigers.

The keepers were just over size, and up to 50cm which were better sized.

Moved further south in the 200 foot mark, and hooked the red spot whiting. Not a big one, but after being hooked under the head with a large hook, and hauled up 200 feet, not looking good so kept it. They are a small fish, good eating when filleted and bones removed. (very popular in the fish-n-chip trade in souithern states). Even at that size, it had large roe. Some more little bites at the baits, so guessing more red spots.

At one time, an albatross settled out the back of the boat. I threw it a piece of old bait, which it wolfed down, and looked again in a few seconds - 8 albatross sitting around on the surface. Slighlty different sizes, all the same feathers, however, some had the creamy coloured beaks, and others had mid grey-black beaks.

The brown skua was also floating about again, but kept away from the boat, and the albatross.

[fragmeister]

Great report Yowie...

I don't suppose you could push some of those flatties north, could you?

 

Cheers

 

Jim

[Yowie]

1 minute ago, fragmeister said:

Great report Yowie...

I don't suppose you could push some of those flatties north, could you?

 

Cheers

 

Jim

Thanks Jim. Still a bit scattered at present, however, the over abundance of spikies is annoying. Hit the bottom and spikies are biting straight away.

[Larkin]

Going going mate!

Managed another good feed. You always seem to find them.

I haven’t tried local for a while - mainly because council still haven’t opened the ramp there at tonkin park. Spoke to one of the workers there and he told me they finished the dredging 2-3 weeks ago - but council still have the gates on it.

[jenno64]

Productive day Dave, I bet the conditions were pleasant out there too!

[Rebel]

Top haul again.

Well done.

[Yowie]

3 hours ago, Larkin said:

Going going mate!

Managed another good feed. You always seem to find them.

I haven’t tried local for a while - mainly because council still haven’t opened the ramp there at tonkin park. Spoke to one of the workers there and he told me they finished the dredging 2-3 weeks ago - but council still have the gates on it.

Just had to hunt around to find them amongst the spikies.

Tonkin Park was a good ramp when I used it in 2012, though limited space.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Productive day Dave, I bet the conditions were pleasant out there too!

Happy with the feed. Good conditions out there. Mate wanted to go but cancelled so headed out myself.

[Fab1]

Great catch as always mate.

[Couta]

Hey Yowie,

the albatroses with the grey/black beaks are most likely immature specimens. Adult beaks are the creamy colour you mentioned. Can't tell the exact species as they tend to look similar.  

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, Fab1 said:

Great catch as always mate.

Thanks Fab.

[Yowie]

8 minutes ago, Couta said:

Hey Yowie,

the albatroses with the grey/black beaks are most likely immature specimens. Adult beaks are the creamy colour you mentioned. Can't tell the exact species as they tend to look similar.  

I was thinking the darker colour were juvenile birds, however, some of those with the darker beaks were as big as the creamy coloured beaks, so maybe size determines male/female.

[Isaac Ct]

Nice bag Yowie, well done. I've had 3 pelicans come up to me at Yowie Bay before, one will come under one arm and distract you whilst the others make a move on your fish. Cheeky buggers.

[Yowie]

1 hour ago, Isaac Ct said:

Nice bag Yowie, well done. I've had 3 pelicans come up to me at Yowie Bay before, one will come under one arm and distract you whilst the others make a move on your fish. Cheeky buggers.

Thank you.

I have a few pelicans turn up at times when I clean the fish at my mother's place. One of them tries to keep the others under control by a bit of rough tactics. It then waits for a feed, taking the fish skeletons from my hand.