Yakabout - Cape Hillsborough

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Cape Hillsborough

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Wednesday, 17 October 2007

Great kayak fishing... most days

Cape Hillsborough is a top yak fishing spot

Launch:	- 8:30 AM
Landed:	- 10.30 AM
Tide:	- 11:30 AM,High
Weather:	- Hot, 28 °C, 5 - 10 knots
Caught:	- Nothing
Method:	- Casting and trolling hard body and soft plastic lures

We didn't have too many expectations of getting out for a kayak fishing trip this day because the previous nights weather report had predicted 'tonnes of rain' in exactly those words. So we didn't make an effort to get out of bed too early but soon after we did arise we'd started wishing we had. Conditions were much more accommodating than we were expecting, with a few patches of rain clouds present, but with low winds and otherwise sunny skies. A quick decision was made to head down to Cape Hillsborough, where Astro has recently had some good success. Given the results of the past couple of trips we were determined to catch a fish and figured that the Mackeral might be kinder to us than the Barramundi had been.

Our kayaks were geared up by waters edge on the beach of Cape Hillsborough and after returning the cars back to the nearby car park, were on the water soon after. Winds were practically non-existent at this stage but with expected northerlies, today's strategy involved heading around the southern end of the cape which is nicely protected from in-coming winds. It was right after we'd turned the point and were heading towards this protected area that my first hit came, bringing with it all the tell-tale signs of a Mackeral of some kind, grabbing and running hard. Line peeled off quickly, but there was never any danger of being spooled because it managed to spit the hook a few moments later. It was over before it even began. This encouraged me to bring in the lure and check the sharpness of the hooks, as this poor, cheap little lure had caught a fair few impressive fish over the past few weeks. Indeed, a couple of barbs were due for a re-sharpen. Once that task was out of the way I cast it back out for another try. It was struck again soon after, but this time with much less commitment and no hook up at all.

No fish, but nice day for kayaking

And that about wraps up any encounters we had with fish for the rest of the day. Despite trolling a considerable distance and covering a good amount of water, neither of us were able to attract any more bites. Eventually the wind started picking up and signalling the end of the trip as they roared in. The one hook up I did have has left my confidence high - that was a good fish, whatever it was - so I'm resolute to head back here before moving on. At this stage the plan is to return to Cape Hillborough this Tuesday, with intention to fish from the slack of low tide right through to high tide at 1:00 PM.