Angling Report – 26 September 2014

If not for the strong south westerly wind that pushed on Thursday afternoon, it would have been almost perfect fishing conditions all week. The early morning periods were a pleasure with warm calm weather and almost no surf to speak of.
The flat surf was ideal for the sharks to move inshore and some anglers had great success targeting these predators just after first light. The majority of the anglers on the beaches during that first light period were trying for shad, but I did see a couple of guys who were bitten off when the sharks turned and headed out to sea after being hooked. The sharks I saw caught were all on the small side and it was great to see the anglers returning these fish back to the sea alive.
Blacktail seemed to be plentiful early in the mornings just before the sharks moved in and I saw some decent sized fish caught. When the sharks were feeding however the blacktail went quiet, some coming on the bite when they moved off . I even saw some tobies caught which I have not seen for a long time. It is interesting to know that the shad do feed on these fish even though they are deemed to be poisonous.
I did not see any shad caught at first light from the beaches I visited and this was probably because the surf was so flat. I called a few friends and they all reported that they only saw the odd shad at first light. There was a beautiful shad weighing just over 5kg that was caught by an angler fishing at the high rock. This will have the shad anglers a little excited with just over a week left before the season closes. North easterlies are forecast for next week and these winds are just what is needed to bring the shad on the bite so some excellent shad fishing can be expected. The tides should also be ideal.
On Wednesday I was on Westbrook beach talking to a crayfish diver when we saw a big splash not far beyond the shark nets. At first we both thought there was a whale splashing in the water but something did not seem right so I fetched my binoculars. There were at least three marlin leaping out of the water, crashing down and then feeding. It was amazing to watch because the marlin seemed to be keeping their prey on the surface and bunched tightly together. The show went on for over half an hour before the sea became calm again. What made the show so spectacular was that there was no wind at the time and the sea was perfectly calm. The marlin that we were watching were sizeable fish and to big too have been sailfish.
I spoke to a few other crayfish divers during the week and they said that although the water looked perfect, the visibility was not all that good and the divers said they had battled to see the crayfish. One unfortunate diver was in the water just south of stud rock when he looked back at the shore, there were individuals busy breaking into his vehicle. He swam as quickly as he could back to the beach but he was too late and the criminals were already driving away. This guy lost a lot of expensive equipment plus a divers watch worth twenty grand that he had put into the glove compartment because it could have become damaged on the rocks whilst crayfishing. The criminals gained entry by smashing the driver’s side window. These guys are driving around looking for any opportunity no matter where it is. They know exactly what they want and do not hang around for any length of time. Invariably they are also armed and are not scared to become aggressive.
Sealice