The BeaR
26-04-2007, 11:17 PM
Took off this morning for what we thought would be a great day offshore, being midweek and all, unlike Sunday when you had to fight for a spot. Anyway we were soon to discover that yesterday, being a public holiday, still seemed to of had an effect on the fish today. The plan was to go and get some reefies, but several hours and about 40 miles later, checking out most of our usual spots, it was not to be, so we decided to head back into the bay and see if there was some action happening.
And we were not to be disappointed, our faithful Longtails were busting up here and there in small schools(Managed to catch a few busting up in the background of one of the photos while fighting one of them on the Egrell S10). They were a little harder than usual to target this time as they were travelling at such speeds it was hard to keep up with them, and the conditions had turned a little rough.
But they were easy to work out by watching the direction of travel and positioning the boat right. With positioning the boat, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't. Get it right and well the proof will be in your photograph.
Most people talk about the cast and the retreival tecniques, but they forget to mention that a lot of the success comes also from boat technique and the skill involved in positioning it in the right place to make the cast. As these fish are constantly moving, it is very important to work out the direction of the fish and to position the boat in front of the lead fish (if it was like today it is not as easy as it sounds, but that is another story). Once in position, make a cast just in front of the lead fish, this allows the SP to be in front of not only the lead fish, but all that are following, giving a better chance at a hook-up.
Another part of the boat skill to remember is not to go roaring up to these fish as it will make them sound. Approach them at a reasonably slow pace and always leave the motor of the boat running, so as not to change the sound in the water. Once you have a hook-up, the motor can be switched off, to then fight the fish.
All in all, today was a pretty quiet day and conditions made it challenging but we still get to have a few good meals...thanks to the Tuna that saved the day.
Eric&Deb
And we were not to be disappointed, our faithful Longtails were busting up here and there in small schools(Managed to catch a few busting up in the background of one of the photos while fighting one of them on the Egrell S10). They were a little harder than usual to target this time as they were travelling at such speeds it was hard to keep up with them, and the conditions had turned a little rough.
But they were easy to work out by watching the direction of travel and positioning the boat right. With positioning the boat, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't. Get it right and well the proof will be in your photograph.
Most people talk about the cast and the retreival tecniques, but they forget to mention that a lot of the success comes also from boat technique and the skill involved in positioning it in the right place to make the cast. As these fish are constantly moving, it is very important to work out the direction of the fish and to position the boat in front of the lead fish (if it was like today it is not as easy as it sounds, but that is another story). Once in position, make a cast just in front of the lead fish, this allows the SP to be in front of not only the lead fish, but all that are following, giving a better chance at a hook-up.
Another part of the boat skill to remember is not to go roaring up to these fish as it will make them sound. Approach them at a reasonably slow pace and always leave the motor of the boat running, so as not to change the sound in the water. Once you have a hook-up, the motor can be switched off, to then fight the fish.
All in all, today was a pretty quiet day and conditions made it challenging but we still get to have a few good meals...thanks to the Tuna that saved the day.
Eric&Deb