Port Mac 2010 wrap up By Ash Dance
Pt Mac Tuna comp 2010 report.
Saturday Day 1: Rough as guts put boat on the water and heard reports that 55 footers were getting a flogging so we chickened out!, Headed back to Victoria and got some awesome pippie's off the beach for bait stocks.
Sunday Day 2: Was fishable, got on the water, got 2 SBFT one was 14 kg on 6kg line in 95 meters of water (no bird life) and the second 14kg on 8kg line in 160 meters (no birds again) whilst fighting the last tuna reports were coming in that the swell was getting very big and quickly, so we got our fish in and headed for home. coming into port Mac via the south east path isn't much fun in 8-8.5 meter swells breaking around us!, even the pros were shitting themselves!, one Cray fisherman we know from over there said he has never seen it get so big so fast!!.
Monday Day 3: Sea way to big (apparently it got to 10.5 meter swells overnight)
Tuesday Day 4: Still girls, got to the ramp all loaded up and pulled the pin once we heard the reports for out wide
Wednesday Day 5: Put boat in and headed down to browns bay "intruder" got nothing, Neil woolsten croft on board the "Jayco pornstar" got a nice school shark 20.8kg. Looking forward to lots of Beers on the Wednesday night for the hospitality night!!!
Thursday Day 6: Felt a bit shabby with a 6:00am rise, loaded the boat with burly, get to the ramp and find that its a massive sea, pissing rain, howling wind and nothing like what buoy weather said it was going to be!!!. home to re pack the freezer and chill for the day, making up lures and retying doubles ect.
Friday Day 7: Loaded boat with burly and once again chickened out when we heard the reports, re load burly in freezer and head back to the pippie location to get more bait stocks.
Saturday Day 8: Weigh in at 1:00pm sharp) Finally get a half reasonable day, still lumpy though, load boat with burly and head to our favourite mako location ( where we had good action the year before). I put in a solid 3 hours on the pot whilst the other crew fished the bottom for little results. 10:30am small mako est. 25-30kg swimming around the boat, bites off a bottom rig on the way up and don't see him again!, 10:45 stinking old blue shark (est. 60kg) swims up to the boat and balloon goes off at the same time. In no time at all we have a mako 40.6kg in the boat on 8 kg line. 10:55 another mako turns up at back of boat (est. 90-100kg) we feed him the 6kg outfit and he jumps strait away (landing about 10 feet out the back of the boat and spits the hook). still swimming the boat for 1/2 an hour before I throw a mullet to him on 8kg line. He snaps it up without thinking about it. Another 4 jumps and nearly an hour later we have the trace up not quite in hand reach. Then out of character for this fish breaks the opposite way to he has all fight and darts under the boat, rod in the water up to the reel, I think its all good until he darts the other way and takes me around the leg of the port side Yammy 115, I can feel the line running along the motor (for what felt like another hour), before the line snaps and we head for home, only to miss the weigh in by 5 minutes!
Was a great comp as always, good fish when we could get out amongst them!
and its nice to have some fresh mako!
I nearly forgot how nice they taste!
Cheers Ashley
ALBACORE AND TUNA STARTING TO SHOW UP
Click here for the latest image
The reef fishing has also been really productive with snapper to 4kgs and good flatties being taken
Below a smiling Neville with a lovely Harpuka from 250 metres off Port Fairy
some excellent calamari have also come from the ground in close
