CBT
User
Expert Boarder
| Posts: 23 |   |
Karma: 6
|
Coffs Fishing report - 2008/07/22 14:56
This weather has been a blessing and a curse much like the week before. The water clarity has spooked the fish and most fisher folk found the best results in deep water or amongst the wash. Rick wilson did alright at Sawtell for a 5kg snapper and Beth Donovan has been weighing in a few fish, the best being a Bream of 900gr she caught off Boambee Beach. The winner this week though is Geoff Farrell who landed a lovely Tusky at Sawtell.
This week gone Jason Rogers and myself hired a canoe at the promenade to chase a few flathead in coffs creek. The water was so crystal clear we managed to get in a staring contest with a Luderick. If you haven't tried canoe/kayak fishing, hire one down at Promenade Canoes and give it a shot. The paddle past the botanic gardens alone is worth it. We didn't catch much but what was caught fell to a smaller hook with fresh bait and Flouro-carbon invisible leader. When the water is as clear as it has been well presented fresh baits and invisible leader are quite often the difference between catching nothing and a few.
This week we have a new contributor to the column. Chris Fagan will be giving us a report every week on what he's seen and caught. Chris has been a tops customer for ages and a truly mad keen fisherman. Chris has a european fishing back ground and often comes out with great tips i haven't heard before so i look forward to reading each week.
Thats it for me, see you down at the shop. Good luck till then.
Chris' Fishing report
The North end of Boambee Beach has some good holes and gutters forming during the lull in the recent swells. It pays to take a walk at dead low tide on the bigger tides and you'll be surprised at what you'll find in the otherwise barren expanses of sand.
During the build-up to the full Moon, the decent holes and large gutters at the Gallows end of the beach were producing Bream just shy of the 1 kilo mark, some monster Salmon to 5 kg, and the occasional Tailor to 2kg (when the Salmon didn't gatecrash the party)!
As they say, fresh is best, and slabs of fresh Slimey Mackerel, and live Beachworms have been the gun baits with rogue Salmon snaffling both offerings. Surf Poppers have also proved irresistible to Tailor and Salmon when fished in a bit of turbulent water.
If you want to get your arms stretched, casting a paternoster rigged with a Surf Popper, and a slab of Slimey Mackerel into one of the fish holding features is the go. Buckle up and hold onto your rod because the bites will be explosive when they come, and you just never quite know what might be swimming past.
If the gutter is running pretty hard, it may pay to think outside of the square and use a small grapnel sinker if you want to hold the rig in that area.
A relatively unused method on our beaches, but pioneered maybe by our Pommy cousins fishing the beaches, and harbour walls of the English Channel, the grapnel is a sinker with 4 wires protruding from the nose.
These are bent into 4 different arcs which grip the bottom much like a reef pick. This allows the bait to be held stationary in the water against the current until a fish swims up the scent trail and the force of the bite pulls the lead from the bottom, eliminating the need to strike.
Rumour has it that because the rig is fished up current from the mainline, the bait sits away from the vibrations, or "scare zone" created by the line in the water, not spooking any passing fish.
Chris Fagan
Woopi Yakkers Report.
Perfect conditions for the kayaks & fish everywhere on the fishfinder, but couldn't get a bite for love nor money. Even the tailor are quiet with only 3 fish succumbing to Wal & Chris's lures. The water is crystal clear & that probably hasn't helped too much, but even so !!!! Oh well, at least it has been great weather for a paddle.
There has been plenty of marine life to see though. Often we end up close & personal to a few dolphins. Whales, thankfully, are keeping their distance. It's a bit disconcerting when you see something that big & your bum is only two inches off the water. Chris picked up a turtle in a bit of trouble on Friday & took it into the Pet Porpoise Pool. It wasn't hurt, but apparently very exhausted. The Porpoise Pool will keep it for a few days to give it a rest & feed it up before releasing it.
I was talking to Col & Karen from Skee Kayaks at Mullaway recently & they were telling me there are more & more people getting into kayak fishing. Aside from the obvious advantages (no fuel costs, & good healthy exercise) it is a huge amount of fun, & you can also get the kayaks into places where you just can't get a boat. Col went out wide off Mullaway on Friday & caught a few nice pearl perch. It was the first time for a while that he has been able to get out for a fish, so I bet he was a very happy bloke when he got home.
So ends a fairly quiet week for the yakers off Woopi. Hopefully the weather will allow us out next week for another crack at them.
Ray. Woollgoolga Caravan Park.
Geoff Farrell
Post edited by: CBT, at: 2008/07/22 15:02
Post edited by: CBT, at: 2008/07/22 15:04
Post edited by: CBT, at: 2008/07/23 12:16
Coffs Bait & Tackle
1/15 Orlando st Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
02 66518181 Fax 02 66518191
coffs.baitandtackle@bigpond.com.au |
