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Gataker's Bay, Hervey Bay

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Saturday, 15 September 2007

Great day for kayak fishing

Welcome aboard, Mr Snapper

Launch:	- 2:45 PM
Landed:	- 5.30 PM
Tide:	- 4:40 AM, Low
Weather:	- Hot, 26 °C, 5- 10 knot northerly
Caught:	- Snapper, Pike x 3
Method:	- Trolling hard-bodied lures and flesh-bait/rubber occy combo 'Spanish special'

I was giving serious thought to having a rest day today, hoping to shake out a bit of stiffness that had emerged after kayaking 5 days in a row (including a lengthy trip of almost 30km). Trying to make up my mind to go snorkeling or whale watching, thoughts of fishing continued to intrude so I decided to scratch that itch instead. It turned out to be a good decision because not only did I manage to shake out the stiffness by pedaling out to where I hooked up the large Grunter the day prior, I was soon rewarded with a nice Snapper that measured just over 50cm. And for a refreshing change I didn't lose any lures to toothy fish. On the flip side, I did lose a couple to reefs that were precariously close to the low tide water's surface.

Sunset over Gatakers Bay

The Snapper was caught at exactly the same spot where the Grunter was caught yesterday, falling prey to a red & white Trollcraft hard-body lure. Opting for the lure attached to my lighter rod, it gave a really good account of itself to, racing away with a couple of hard runs before being brought to the kayak. I was tempted to put my new gaf to the test in order to bring it in, although this fish was easily managed with my Environet instead. The same lure also accounted for a few pesky Pike as well, all of which were returned.

My other lager rod (Wilson Texalium model) was relegated to trolling baits in the form of a mock-up Spanish special (Billybob style), with a rubber octopus lure attached. At first I tried using the Wolf Herring that I'd picked up on the other side of Point Vernon a few days ago, later followed by a Pike that I'd caught from the same place. Neither were touched though and after a couple of hours of trying I gave up on it. As the sun crept down towards the horizon line the stiffness started to return so I decided to call it a day. For the third night running fresh fish was on the menu, accounting for both dinner and breakfast.