14/5/17 - Hard Weekend

So the weekend just gone was pretty hard going. With the weather changing from easterlies and no wind at all to stormy westerlies, my initial plans of getting out for the tope were dashed so plan B was a major effort for some bass, fishing short sessions over the (supposed) most productive times.

I went for four sessions at 3 different marks, using lures but also looking for some peeler crab as well. Unfortunately they were hard to come by, and with the swell picking up  clouding the water making it reasonably pointless using lures, both factors combined made the fishing hard going. I caught a glimpse of a bass in the afternoon, unfortunately it came off the hook on the retrieve. It was Saturday evening before I found a patch of seaweed that held enough softies and peeler crab to be able to bait fish for a few hours.

I had higher hopes no for my Saturday night session, however all baits came back untouched. Past experience here has lead me to believe that the fish would have already passed through here by the time I started fishing and that proved to be the case. Or they simply weren't there. There was one cast when my line ran slightly slack but picking the rod up I couldn't feel anything pulling. This was the only time I found my bait chewed upon retrieving. I cut my loses just after midnight and used up the rest of my bait Sunday morning.

It was going to be another short session in slightly better conditions than the day before. Casting close to the rocks I saw a definite pull and it was fish on. It was soon on the surface and as it wasn't a particularly big bass I swung it straight onto the rocks. Quick photo, then released, a pleasing end to a tough weekend.