Quantity not Quality

I had a late start on Sunday and wasn’t on the water till 1pm, just in time to catch the ebb. I decided to leave the bait rods behind for this trip, I didn’t want any distractions while searching for Bass today.  I often thought about fishing this stretch of coast from a kayak, way before owning one. On the barren days I would often wonder what it would be like, just a little further out, beyond the range of my best casting lure, on a good day with the wind behind me. Most of us have probably had a few such thoughts. There’s a lot of tide here, more than I’ve fished in so far from my Outback so I was looking forwarding to exploring the area.

I had been fishing for a couple hours with a mixture of trolling, casting and jigging and had one hit before I decided to get in the thick of it tide wise. I had the light wind at my back and the tide running about 2.5mph in the other direction, there was some nice 2/3ft waves tumbling and breaking behind me off a point which needed some consideration. I was able to hold position and fish, but it wasn’t easy on the peddles. I was sure there would be a few fish around. I changed lures and while doing so drifted further back. This did the trick on the next cast I had a Pollack, at least it was a start. This continued and I had about five or so, good fun but probably not worth the effort to keep me where I was, I’m sure on another day these might have been Bass. The tide slackened a little and it flattened out so I decided to have a troll about 400 yards offshore.

A humble Bass but I was glad to pick it up so hit the waypoint button to mark the spot.

I had a scout around the area and picked up another one about ten minutes later.

Nothing to shout about size wise but these were fish that I wouldn’t caught from the shore unlike the other Bass I’ve had so far from the yak. Anyone who hasn't caught even one of these little fellas before would be surprised how much they pull for their size. I was wishing I had the fly rod with me, next time maybe.

 

I explored a few reefs a mile or so away, chased a few seals out their hunting spots which is a novelty, it’s normally the other way round. I picked up a couple of School Bass but on my return to the waypoint area  again, all I could find were the same size fish, in numbers, ending the session with 14/15 small Bass and as many Pollack over the course of the day.

The two hour drive home and getting in just before midnight wasn’t any fun right enough. A small step in the kayak Bass game but an interesting day just the same, more questions than answers however, isn’t there always?