30-12-2011, 05:53 PM
I was the late shift on this mission.
I arrived at Watsons bay at 5.50 and was determined to put some yakkas in my new bait tube or 'the palace' as the as the yakkas are now calling it.
I soaked a bit of bread in the water and there they were, i couldn't believe it. I set to work with the jig but these yakka wee tiny, about 120mm at the most.
It was my first time with a bait tube but after losing about 4, (through my scupper hole, bouncing off the side of the tube and swimming back out of the tube) i was starting to get the hang of it. i got half a dozen before moving on but while i was there a charter boat at the wharf was hauling in the slimies and bigger yakkas, they were using bait not jigs and it made a big difference.
They also kept seeing kingies chase their bait away but i looked at all the boats and pylons and thought better of it.
So i set off trolling with a couple of different offering, one hard and one soft both of which i had bought with a guarantee that they would catch kings.
I trolled past a couple of markers and past the wedding cake on my way to clifton gardens.
When i got there i could see Ken making a run for it but i caught up for a quick chat with Gatesy before he left.
My plastic was just a stub that ended at the hook when i pulled it in so i changed that and dropped down my yakka ( the dam thing nearly died when it saw the hook ).
There was a definite disproportion between the size of my yakka and the size of the hook but i hoped the fish would be hungry enough not to notice.
I saw my yakkas freaking out a few times but other than that the squid eat them all.
The one day i didn't take a squid jig and i was plagued by them. I spent 20 mins trying to catch one of the little b*stards, i tried to gaff it, i tried to grab it (i did touch it), attached a few treble hooks to the yakka but i still couldn't get it.
Anyway with all my livies gone i was still determined win a profish so i headed off trolling for middle head.
Nothing on the surface anywhere and the wind had picked up but i had to get a fish.
I headed off around middle head which so so choppy every second wave came over the yak and there was an unbelievable amount of rubbish.
I finally got around the corner and put on a deep diver as i headed into Balmoral to see if i could get a flatie. Trolled over towards the beach and then thought i had better brave the paddle back to Watsons bay.
The paddle back was a tough one but as i made it back across the channel i got a second wind and thought i would try the sow and pigs and a couple of other markers but still zip
I trolled all the way in to the beach still in denial that i could have been out on the water for 6 hours and got nothing
oh well a great day for a paddle (maybe a bit shorter) and the bait tube works.
I'll post the tube pics up in a few days.
I arrived at Watsons bay at 5.50 and was determined to put some yakkas in my new bait tube or 'the palace' as the as the yakkas are now calling it.
I soaked a bit of bread in the water and there they were, i couldn't believe it. I set to work with the jig but these yakka wee tiny, about 120mm at the most.
It was my first time with a bait tube but after losing about 4, (through my scupper hole, bouncing off the side of the tube and swimming back out of the tube) i was starting to get the hang of it. i got half a dozen before moving on but while i was there a charter boat at the wharf was hauling in the slimies and bigger yakkas, they were using bait not jigs and it made a big difference.
They also kept seeing kingies chase their bait away but i looked at all the boats and pylons and thought better of it.
So i set off trolling with a couple of different offering, one hard and one soft both of which i had bought with a guarantee that they would catch kings.
I trolled past a couple of markers and past the wedding cake on my way to clifton gardens.
When i got there i could see Ken making a run for it but i caught up for a quick chat with Gatesy before he left.
My plastic was just a stub that ended at the hook when i pulled it in so i changed that and dropped down my yakka ( the dam thing nearly died when it saw the hook ).
There was a definite disproportion between the size of my yakka and the size of the hook but i hoped the fish would be hungry enough not to notice.
I saw my yakkas freaking out a few times but other than that the squid eat them all.
The one day i didn't take a squid jig and i was plagued by them. I spent 20 mins trying to catch one of the little b*stards, i tried to gaff it, i tried to grab it (i did touch it), attached a few treble hooks to the yakka but i still couldn't get it.
Anyway with all my livies gone i was still determined win a profish so i headed off trolling for middle head.
Nothing on the surface anywhere and the wind had picked up but i had to get a fish.
I headed off around middle head which so so choppy every second wave came over the yak and there was an unbelievable amount of rubbish.
I finally got around the corner and put on a deep diver as i headed into Balmoral to see if i could get a flatie. Trolled over towards the beach and then thought i had better brave the paddle back to Watsons bay.
The paddle back was a tough one but as i made it back across the channel i got a second wind and thought i would try the sow and pigs and a couple of other markers but still zip
I trolled all the way in to the beach still in denial that i could have been out on the water for 6 hours and got nothing
oh well a great day for a paddle (maybe a bit shorter) and the bait tube works.
I'll post the tube pics up in a few days.