# Cloey Sunday 3rd _ How many times can a man die !!!



## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Met up with Keza for a quick fish - the conditions didnt look too bad - with a few sets coming through on the biggish side. So got down to the waters edge and decided to make a go for it - realised that i had to paddle into a wash of water or hit a breaking wave... so headed for the foam and got pushed sideways knowing what was going to happen next so sort of baled on the safe side of the yak :shock: - I got pushed back onto the rocks abit and tipped but all the rods were fine once I'd righted the boat - although the front hatch had popped open. I was Ok but wet... so on went the hatch and I climbed onto a rock and mounted the yak and paddled off!!!! - Kezza had picked up my lure bag - yipeeee !!! He made it out fine and we manged to find a lure box of mine floating...... Only thing was the sounder refused to work.....

Got to WCI and put all that stuff behind me - on the first cast with the YUM Dinger (small 7inch) I get a good hit but he lets go. Second cast and I'm on for good - this fish goes straight down and I tighten up the drag and this slows his descent a little - but the rod is pretty much loaded up at maximum Kezza paddles over - to have a look - the fish is pretty much stationary - the drags stopped - but its just a stand off fish gets board of this and swims right under the boat putting that much pressure on the loaded rod that the leader pings off.....sheeeeeet.

So I get to retie again which I hate.............on the water....... so its a bit choppy and I'm tieing my leader and the whole Yak is quite wobbly. :? .. I almost fall out as a wave passes :? . Then keza looks at me and chrips up - my yaks way more buyount than yours....... well maybe he's insinuating that I',m a fat ba*tard... so I leave it at that :? . So besides the first run very little happens as my sounder is stuffed... my squid strip does get a good hit.... but when I go to replace it my bait im my pocket has gone to the rock monster..

We decide to paddle back as Kerry has to get back.. and I decide that having a helping hand back at the monster will be wise......... so off we paddle .... god Kezzas a good paddler I'm thinking as he's way ahead of me as I try and keep up :?

So back at the exit point Kezza chooses his moment and paddles in safely - I hang back and feel confident on getting in safely  so I choose my time and paddle in on the back of a wave alls good except for theres a rock in the way - no probs paddle away from it - sheeeeeet the yaks not responding and turning ...... sheeet I'm going for it and another wave comes and swamps me and rolls the yak - then a bl;oody big set comes in and rolls it again........ i'm getting hammered !!!!! Kezza to the rescue he manges to grab the yak and we try and carry it over the rocks but is very heavy - way more than its ever felt - we cant really move it far so we brace it on the rocks and realize this whole time that the yak is filled with water from the entry, hence the wobbles, slowness, waterline , unresponsiveness (well at least I'm not the fat ba*tard).....
I then have to fish around for all my bits in the water as Kezza stops the yak from getting smashed...... finally after a help from some locals the yak gets emptied.......... and we can carry to safety... the only thing to do then is to get the ctug aout and put it together - but its been pushed way up into the other end of the yak like some kids puzzle and getting caught in the soiunder cabling............ sheeeeeeeet agghhhhhh - Kezza and I top end the bloody thing and shake it till the bits finally fall out the end -------------

So lost at sea - lip grippers....... all of my smaller soft plastics ( mojo SnPs last packet fark). All the reels were submerged..... luckily my rods were fine except for a few bent guides and scrtches , these were bent back no probs on the Nitros.
One sounder battery submerged (Bosch drill) this was already corroding when I pulled this out and quite warm!!!
One flushmount rod holder ripped out - I'd just replaced the other one - so back to the yak repair shop....

I only had a few scratches on me - but it just goes to show that shit happens in the ocean - I'm going for a surf to rip the heads of some waves !!!!


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

Good God ***, sounded like you really dodged a bullet today.

Hope the Yak and the sounder comes good.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

It will all be good - sounder etc... just got a double bashing thats all !!!! The one batt I think is buggered... I did loose shit loads of my fave plastics...... I'm going to take a Solqhuist fishermans PFD next time and only ever take what I need - not everything i own. Ive just fixed the rod holder - easy. Am ready for longy soon !!! I can live to fight soon ....


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

well i think Whoopsie  has about covered it so i'll just add snippets from the 3rd person point of view.
Firstly i should state that as Dick and i are both professional photographers i did wonder if he would understand if i rather than help just got the camera out and covered the event for the viewing of the AKFF, that is what happens in war zones isn't it ?
Anyway my humanitarian side won out and i left the camera and jumped in. (sorry guys no pic).

So when we launched Dick got on the yak and i gave him a heave off (god i thought afterwards "i hope he was ready to go). It is a horrible feeling watching the inevitable unfold and as i saw the large swell coming in on his left i new i needed to start wading out.
Anyway once his yak was the right way up again and he was clear of the rock and i had anything i could find washed up i head back to my yak.
I paddled like hell as i saw the next wave coming in and managed to punch through the top of it.
Hmmm, the landing is going to be interesting i thought to myself.

Fishing wise it wasn't much cop for me, i didn't even get a touch, not even on my new chatterbait.
I did start to look at Dicks yak and think "shit it looks low in the water, i've never really looked at it before, is it meant to be that low? has he been eating to many burgers? how do i put this with out it sounding to offensive ???

Anyway i have to get back for nippers and the landing needs a bit of studying so i thought we should head in.
When i got there i thought, this would be great if i was on my bogie board but not looking good for a yak.
In all the times i have landed at clovelly this is the first time i have ever stowed my rods in the hatch, so i wasn't confident with the out come.
I choose my moment and paddled like shit, perfect, landed on the path (high tide) and never got touched by a wave.
I cleared my yak and waited for Dicks assault.

He came in on the back of a wave but half way in when the wave had past under him he seemed to stop (still paddling), time to get back in the water i thought, the next wave hit him broad side and he was over and the yak was into the rocks.
We managed to get the yak up on some rocks where i thought it was high and dry and Dick went in search of his gear. The set of next waves that came in had me struggling with the yak and the water was up to my neck, the gear that Dick had found and put up on the rocks had gone again. shit shit shit.

We then tried to move the yak again and realise it was weighing in the 100kg zone so we had to drain the water before we could move it.

Hope all is ok Dick, you really took a pounding today,
i was 30 seconds early for nippers (still with the car loaded) so i could have stayed a bit longer


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I tightened up the drags on my reels put them in the shower and steamed them in there for 10 mins - hopefully this shall get some of the salt out............ I might see how they stand up to that and not take them in to be serviced.....


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Captain Keza

THANK YOU for being a lifesaver - it really is time like this that we can thank our fishing buddies from AKFF for being there and giving a helping hand. Ive often thought of doing Cloey on my own - I kind of think of it as my back yard - safe and familiar - but the ocean is a cruel mistress and having your buddy there to help can be sooooooo important in times of strife. All lessons to be learned............


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Sometimes it all just goes to crap. Just as soon as I stopped laughing I felt for you Dick. That's the spirit though, get out there and fight the bastards with a yak full of water.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

At least I know that a full of water Swing can still paddle OK !!!!! It wasnt that bad in general considering the chop - its just that it was not very manouverable when it counted


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## KingHit (Oct 3, 2007)

So who is up for Malaber next time?? :lol:

Good to hear you made it Dick!!


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## MangoX (Feb 18, 2006)

:shock: the rock monster strikes again :shock:

Glad to hear your OK.

I really think Cloey is not a place for newbies. In difficult conditions, things can go horribly wrong in a second.
Unlike the sand monster, who will return your water logged kayak-broken rods and pride back to shore, the rock monster
can cause some serious damage to your gear and self :? 
I've only been there once, launching wasnt that hard, but coming back in can be iffy.

Maybe launching off the beach is a better alternative.

I think I will be doing that next trip, even if its a bitch to carry back up.


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## mattayogi (Feb 11, 2007)

Now that's a beating! Dodging waves and rocks - rolling - filling with water - losing gear. You've got my vote for the Tale Of Woe Awards.

Matt


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## paulb (Nov 12, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your mishaps today Dick, your equipment's copped a fair old beating recently - main thing is you got through relatively unscathed. Hopefully your sacrifice to the rock monster, will mean all is forgiven and the fishing will pick up at Clovelly again now.


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2008)

:lol: :lol: Now this is why I like freshwater fishing.

Glad to see you made it back in one piece. 

Cheers


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Hey *** you could say you were well and truly dicked today :lol: , but you and the swing have lived to tell a good yarn at the bar next time there are yak drinks down your way, and glad your losses were minimal mate.... also well done keza on you assisting the plastic submarine :lol:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Dodge - less of the Dick / Swing jokes mate !!! This is a family forum :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Good to see you made it back safely woppie!!


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## fisherdan (Apr 17, 2007)

Close shave Woppie!

I hope the lip grippers were cheapo's!


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I'm not too fussed about the lip grippers - just my lures probably about 20 packs.....


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Hey Woppie , ya better come along on wednesdays lunch and show us your battle scars and re tell the story , I'm dying to hear it again with your hands in your pockets :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Occy - I'l go 50 / 50 spilt on them !!!!

Bazoo - wheres the lunch on wed ??? might be able to do it now... not sure about the pocket thing but I'll give it a go !!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

The Oaks at neutral Bay Dick , check out Kraleys post called "im hungry ", and i will be looking forward to the hands in the pocket version , but i cant promise not to laugh , cause i'm, laughing now :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## jaredluke (Nov 23, 2007)

At least your safe and well aprt from your ego and the fact that you though you were a good yaker through the surf. Good report anyway and bad luck about your stuff being lost to the surf gods.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWfIBQicAACjfgEAQQKUACAEgmIA/79+gMADDYNTINCaYkwRo2pk9QamJhSPQynqDIyADUn6jU00aBoADRocGktRaEOLax9dU99O4nuuJt5KL70e9w7IiwbA0o+DEoToxRU4arxyFlkRqhnbYyDDNTCKwmtOzuqI0rs0JW6BMzyh+bjv9sjJUKssLgVFVchPgioBsJ5PwMpTgsbgRBKnAh60jYlExNLXKtJZ41QRklxvD9oCRb9S0CdQWc0uitQlLyQzwfky8FFrvDOhoxgpAHERScSqSEzmFOQ69GCAfxdyRThQkPIBQicA=


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

bwhahhaaa hahaha hhaahahaaaa hhaaaaaa.. :lol: :lol:

oops I mean , 'Oh that's too bad Dick"  teee heeeeee hee eheeee.. :lol:

Crikeys I reckon by now that big rock just west of the launch spot has about 20 different types and colours of yak plastic scratched into it.... Yes, it's a fine line between a safe takeoff at Clovelly and a "Holey Fark' moment.. :shock:

And it also proves that, no matter how many times you've been out you still have to have your wits about you EVERY time. :?

Glad you're OK. 8)

hee hee hee :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Davey G

It is that rock !!! Its funny as it saved me ( I managed to stand on it to get back on the yak in deep water) and it nailed me ( that was the one i was heading for and couldnt paddle around because of the water in the yak )..... yup no room for complacency with the RM !!!!

Woppie


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Sure are glad that you're ok Mr Woppie. I myself have been worked over by that very same rock monster which resulted in a lost net and some blood on the rocks and yak. You really only have a matter of seconds to get on the yak and out when the RM is feeling angry. I must admit that when it is demanding blood I sit out at Wedding Cake with a slight feeling of trepidation as I fish imagining the landing :shock:

Glad you're in one piece.

JT


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Thanks for the sympathy vote JT !!! Funny thing is I had no worries about coming back in - but what was a bit strange was that I thought i was a bit shocked or rumbled in the nerves because I found it hard to paddle and keep up with Kezza and kept on coming close to falling out of the yak ( i didnt realise it was full of bloody water) - when i paddled out I said to myself I'm leaving that catastrophe behind me.......... onwards and upwards ... but was doubting myself with my ability on the yak!!!!!. The effing lightbulb went off in the space I realised I was heading for a rock and my yaks not responding and realised its full of water and then OH shit I'm going to get rolled again !!!!

You live and you learn

Hey hows your Tale of Woe Award doing on your mantlepiece - I was hoping that Kezza was going to nominate me (witness to the event)- but wouldnt be so presumptious to do this myself :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

What percentage full was it Woppie?

It is with a tear in my eye and with no small degree of pomp and pageantry that I formally hand over to Dick the Tale of Woe Award (imagine trumpets blasting and flags waving). A very worthy successor and I ask that all fellow AKFFers now formally recognise Mr Woppie as the current holder of this award. (pending DaveyG's formal rubber stamping of course)

Congratulations Dick. Just brace yourself for the wave of papparazzi that will inevitably hound you as you go about your day :shock:

Again, pleased you came out in good shape.

JT


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Thanks JT for the nomination - I dont want to give my acceptance speech just yet ...untill Davey G sanctions the handover !!!! But FYI It took four fellas to lift the bloody yak up off the rocks and to empty it out in the end - so I'm thinking it was pretty damn full !!!


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

PS I'm just getting my teeth whitened and lazer hair removal done along with pec implants for the photos !!


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

sorry Dick, i thought someone early in the thread said they would put you up for it.
Now i'm not sure if you have forgotten or are just being decent but it has been on my mind that when we got on the water you wanted to head for the beach and fix your sounder and i said no we haven't got long i have to be back  
guess what, i think you might have noticed something when you got to the beach.
When we were paddling in i was paddling quite slow and because you were behind i kept looking back thing you must have hooked up

the swell will be 3 or 4m later in the week, shall we give it another shot :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

4m swell no probs !!! As long as my yaks empty of water - might stick to some creeks for a bit !!!


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i'd be keen for a spot of flat water at some point.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Maybe the flats at Bobbin head for whitting !!


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

wopfish said:


> Maybe the flats at Bobbin head for whitting !!


or even balmoral


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I'm thinking float fishing (quills). Bait - maggots - in a dam about 3 feet deep....... about 20 feet wide (the dam) - no danger... even if you are CURSED !!!!!!

The Keza Curse - has a ring to it..... doesnt it ...


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Dick, have you checked the yak for any damage? Or was it just a loose hatch. Doesn't sound right that you'd take so much water, even rolling it. Glad you weren't hurt


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Peril the front hatch popped mate - I think that maybe the weight of the c-tug probably caused it to come off - or it came off in contact to the RM - but saying that its now in my lock up under Dr Dicks supervision and I;ll give it a good check over for any splits..cracks etc. When I was in the water it was either retreat or paddle out of the imapct zone .. I decided on the latter.... and didnt realize how much water I took on board ( if its only the hatch ) but good on ya buddie for bringing it up - I might have cracked it on impact and I'll be certain to check it AM..

Woppie


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## tugboat (Nov 15, 2006)

keza said:


> wopfish said:
> 
> 
> > Maybe the flats at Bobbin head for whitting !!
> ...


Balmoral does have waves sometimes   

Glad to see you are in one piece Wopfish....


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Thanks Trev.... glad to hear your coping with fatherhood 8)


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## soggypilchard (Dec 1, 2008)

Gday fellas
Good story
Im not that familiar with clovelly, is the rock monster that rock ledge at the entrance to that clovelly baths place?
the one where the surf club is overlooking a little beach and cove?
I have watched that entrance some time back wondering if it would be a good way in for a big surf.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

No soggy - the launch is actually at Gordons Bay next to Cloey Baths - if you park in the car park and face the ocean its on the RHS. THe Rock Monsta - or RM as affectionalty know as - is the launch which is a pathway often used by divers... theres a small break there that can pick up especially in a S or SE swell... if its coming down from the N or NE it should be fine. At some stage she the RM has extracted a little bit of blood from most of us !!!!


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

I read the whole first post without looking at the date and thought, $hit I think something like this happened to him before


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## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

G'day Dick,

Sorry to read about your trials with the Rock Monster but at least there were no injuries sustained. A salutory lesson regardless of your experience level bad things can happen and you have to be prepared for the worst/unexpected. Hope all the gear is OK on inspection.

It has certainly put an end to any notion of fishing solo off Cloey as tempting as it might seem.


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## johnny (Aug 12, 2007)

Congrats on some good results in very trying conditions...if you fellas were upset-it would turn me into a washing machine....hope the gear ends up fine


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Fellas = its a very old report = happened a long time ago....


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## GMan (Sep 22, 2008)

nice effort man. good to know im not the only one who rolls it in surf and loses gear haha.


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