Another jaunt off Torquay, solo outing, with much needed launch assistance from my mate Daz. Quite a rough morning in contrast to the forecast, decent swell and all the boat trailer parks full, half with only cars… Had to park close to the main street on a vacant block, and run back down to the beach… Just motored straight out to the 40m line, dropped down pilchard baits for a prompt return of a gurnard…. Have eaten them before but chose to return them today. Got pretty quiet for a while, then hooked a mid water mackerel, turned into bait. Put a whole head out on a paternoster rig, top hook unbaited, with a flashy skirt on it though… got another gurnard on this unbaited hook. Just enough action to maintain my interest, and the whole head bait goes again. Heavy weight, no kicks, and up comes a big arrow squid! Not hooked, but too tightly entwined in the bait to let go. First keeper.
Not much happening, and by now a solid SE wind across the solid SW groundswell… Moved over to the artificial reef for any number of undersized pinkies. Repositioned further off the back and the mackerel fillet goes bang! Obviously good fish, and a nice gummy added. Enough for today, back to fishos, where I had been blocked in by cars…., had to unhook the trailer and with some tight manouvering extricated and from there a nice relaxed retrieve. Daz got the squid as a barely adequate return for hanging onto the boat at the launch, gummy for me and the fam
