Yakabout - Sunnyside Beach, Mornington, Port Phillip Bay 15/03/07

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Sunnyside Beach, Mornington, Port Phillip Bay 15/03/07

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Tuesday, 01 May 2007

Sunnyside Beach Mornington Victoria March 15

Dinner for two!

_Location:	_{Sunnyside beach}
_Date:	_15/03/2007
_Launch:	_{6:45 AM}
_{Fished till:}	_{11:30 AM}
_Tide:	_{High 9:20 AM}
_Conditions:	_{Sunny skies, warm (26 degree celsius) clear water}
_Wind:	_{Light northerly (5-10 knots), swinging to a westerly later in the morning}
_{Species caught:}	_{Flathead, Snapper}
_Method:	_{Trolling and jigging soft plastic lures, anchoring berleying and bait fishing with fresh squid}
_{Quick comment:}	_{A tale of one that didn't get away!}

After having a fairly good day several days earlier, Steve and I went back to the same bat channel at the same bat time - this time a little better prepared. Steve arrived with some pillies, me with some squid tentacles and both of us with a bit of berley. We anchored up at the same bat spot (actually, Steve was there well before me). Despite hooking 2 undersized fish trolling soft plastics out to the sot (1 pinky, 1 flatty, both released) it was a quiet day on the placcies.

Steve onto suspected gummy shark

Not so on the bait, however. Steve's pillies got smashed left right and center in typical frustrating effect. He did hook some nice fish to, though lost all of them to an under-powered tracer (and I suspect too tight a drag setting) while I was there. In the photo above he was fighting what we think was a gummy or maybe a very big snapper. It took a lot of line very quickly.

I managed to bring in 3 table-bound fish - 2 just legal Pinkies (1x27, 1 x 28cm) and then finally hooked the one I really wanted. A 44cm Snapper. All of these fish were caught on the squid (which was caught from same area last time I was there) using a running pea-sized sinker and 20kg mono trace.

It would appear our berley really helped. Not only did the fish come on for a while, but we were surrounded by hundreds of gars for a while soon after letting out the berley (note to self: always pack emergency gar kit). A sizable Sting-ray also came to have a look, but fortunately leaved our baits alone.

All in all a perfect way to start the morning. The name "Sunnyside Beach" really lived up to it's name today but not in the nudest sunbathing sense of the term, however, which Sunnyside beach is known for.