Christmas Garrick

On Christmas afternoon, Carl and I decided to make a final launch out of Buffalo Bay on “ABF”. Over the past few days, we had tried a few spots to get our heads around the area. On these scouting trips, we found a few spots where the maasbankers were shoaling. We also saw a trend with water colour and wind direction which helped us with our daily gameplan.

 

In this day, the Westerly wind had blown a bit and at 3pm, we put to sea. After catching a livewell full of bait, we headed to the blinders between Brenton and the  Western Head. Carl and I were keen to try catch a Garrick, but we were not sure if we were in the correct season, place or using the preferred bait for the area. It seems the locals guard these secrets and leave the newcomers to figure it out themselves. Not to be put off by a challenge, I rigged up our standard Garrick setup, 2 surface baits and 1 deep. Carl slowly trolled between the blinders in the white water while I put out the lines. I was busy with the last line when the far surface bait was eaten. I fed the fish for a while and then tightened up... hookup! There were a few good head nods as it took some line on the surface. I told Carl that it was probably a hammerhead as we had caught several in the previous trips. I slowly brought the fish closer, expecting to be bitten off any moment. It was then that the line angled to the surface and the fish shook its head on the top. Carl and I looked at each other with the same expression. We both knew what specie fought like that... it was a Garrick! Taking it easy, I pampered the fish to the boat where Carl grabbed it by the tail and lifted it into the boat. I don’t think I have ever been so glad to catch a Garrick. The fish measured 82cm fork length and was about 6kg. Not a bad Christmas present.