On Sunday 21st, Wayne,
Zander and I were bored and looking for something to keep us busy so we launched
“Galavant” in the Bay. There had been the odd Garrick around so we took a few
small rods and headed for the south pier. We anchored and set about looking for
live bait.
The pickings were very slim and
none of the boats were finding suitable bait. At one stage, Zander caught a
small seapike which he was about to release when I asked him to keep it so that
we could rig it... desperate times call for desperate measures. I pinned the
small pike and put it out in a balloon. I had hardly finished setting the line
when the reel gave a short burst. The balloon broke away and I started feeding
the fish... hoping for a Garrick. I tightened up and as the rod buckled, the
tip shot back. It was a small shark that bit the hook off... This was the start
of the shark plague and almost every bait we put out produced one.
Wayne had a tiny rod onboard,
intended for the kids to catch blacktail and moonies at the mooring. I could
not pass up the challenge and rigged up a bottom trace with a bloody chunk of
sardine. I struggled to get a shark, but managed to get a few small bottomfish.
I cut up some chum sardines to try and attract the shad. Eventually, Zander
caught one and rigged it on a balloon. While this was going on, I persevered with
my “Noddy” rod.
Finally, I felt the line tighten up and the game was on... The
little rod bent to angles that I have never seen before as reel screamed off.
AWESOME! I had a great fight with the fish making a few good runs before it was
close enough for Zander to grab it. Classic! Its amazing how a bit of light
tackle can bring the fun out in any kind of fishing.
Unfortunately the day ended
without a Garrick, but we all had a great day on the water.
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