A day of surprises, including an odd new PB 

Urangan pier, low tide

Upon arriving at Hervey Bay and having just a quick look about I knew that I'd have to stop in for at least a week. Not just because it's such a beautiful place (quite the understatement, that) but also because it also looks like a fantastic place to go kayaking and fishing. My first stop was Urangan pier for a quick look-see and what I saw made me pretty excited. Local kayak fishing enthusiast 'Hairy Mick' has informed me of a couple of reefs to check out but when I saw those big Tuna shaped fish swimming below that gargantuan pier I decided to make that area my first destination.

When I walked the length of the pier it was high tide. I was uninformed enough to make my first attempt a low-tide proposition and that turned out to be a mistake. With the low tide came the realization of just how shallow the waters of this part of Hervey Bay are. So much so that I had to get out and drag the kayak over sand bars several times. I also discovered that at the low tide those bigger fish just don't seem to be around. I'd planned this trip with anticipation of catching larger fish and as fate would have it the exact opposite was true.

Noting the state of the tide I decided to paddle all the way out to Moon Point, on the northern end of Fraser Island, proving to myself that no ferry was required to reach it. I dragged a troll lure the entire time and for the entire 10km journey out there, only managed one decent bite that failed to translate to a fight. My primary objective at this point was to spot and photograph the Humpback whales that I've been hearing about although I wasn't able to locate them.

The journey back was more interesting, due largely to the decision to step down in lure size. I elected to throw out an Owner Rip'n Minnow that started getting results immediately. My first catch was a Porcupine fish, which was promptly returned after a quick photo. This was followed by a Grinner, and then another, and then another, and then an eyeball...

Now you see it, now you don't

An eyeball? Well that's the weirdest catch I've made in a long time. The first indication that my personal best (and only ever) eyeball was hooked came with a slight tug of the line that I reeled in soonafter. Its probably pretty cruel for me to have laughed as much as I did but a side of me found this to be hillarious. Curiosity blinded the fish!

Who's laughing now, Grinner?

The Rip'n Minnow continued to attract bites for the entire duration back to land, although nothing of any real size showed any interest. Those Grinners continued to try and swallow it whole (ambitious little blighters they are) and all told I think I reeled in about a dozen of them. All were returned, but I'm sorry to say, not all of them safely. The hooks on those lures are so damned sharp that as they struggled for freedom, a couple of them just made things worse for themselves. It was another reminder as to why I have a love-hate relationship with treble hooks.

Sedate Porcupine fish

Clearly, this end of Hervey Bay is best fished on the latter parts of an incoming tide, so tomorrow's trip will be exactly that. I'll be spending most of today doing research on the broader area and figuring out a gameplan for the duration of my stay.

These lures attract fish, but always seem to lose their tails

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