# NSW, 01/2011, Cuttagee beach, Bermagui



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

If you are only in this report for the photo porn get out while you're ahead as I only took the iphone out on these trips and not the big camera.
In fact if you are only in it for fish porn you may want to go as well.

Ok, so now that i'm alone i'll start waffling on about the 2 weeks I just spent down near the coast.

My brother and his family came over from NZ and we all headed down to Barragga Bay (about 14 ks south of Bermagui ).

We had a great time and there was loads to do but i'm only here to talk about the fishing.










So&#8230;&#8230;.

Studying google earth before we left (as you do) I had high hopes that we may have been able to wheel the kayaks down to the local beach and fish with out going near the car but that wasn't to be as the path had too many twists, turns and tree roots so a drive it would be.

I have fished out of Bermagui before and new the harbour launch and local spots but my plan for this trip was to make it a bit more challenging and practice my surf launches.
My brother although new to kayak fishing (apart from a previous trip with me) is an old surf hack with plenty of surf ski experience.

We managed to slip in 4 trips over the 12 days. Because the sea gods had heard of our plans and laid on some decent swells for us we generally needed the breaks in between to recover and re plan.

TRIP ONE 
Our first stop was Cuttagee beach. I had picked up a load of gps marks from the local tackle shop and the word on the street was that blue fin had been caught a couple of days ago as close in as the 50 to 60 metre mark (about 5 ks out).
A launch from the south end of Cuttagee would give us the closest start to the marks i had in mind.
The kayaks were set up for the launch with all rods, sound and any loose bits stashed in the hatch.
My friend Patrick (eyekayak) was also in the area and up for some fishing and ken to see how his 2 man hobie would perform with one and a large container of water that didn't pull its weight but did however keep the nose down.










My brother was first out the back, me second with a refreshing dose of salt water in the chest and then watched the front of Patricks kayak up and down and left and right as he made his way through the waves.

All present and accounted for we rigged and paddled out.
Just like in Sydney bonito seemed to be the order of the day and gave us some entertainment on the way out.
Unfortunately the 50 to 60 m area wasn't as lively and after searching up and down with nothing showing on the sounder and only the occasional flutter on the surface we headed back in. I managed a few casts at some very fast moving fish and had one blistering run on my trolled HB but that was it.
A few more bonito encounters on the return a successful landing with a good rush of adrenaline and some fish for the BBQ. 
Not the fin I was after but a good paddle.

The trouble with these trips is that although you are totally knackered after the trip, you then have to partake in family activities and look full of energy, if you pass out in a chair or on a bed (i wish) then you forfeit the brownie points gained by a half day trip and it gets called a full day trip.

TRIP TWO

Rumour had it that the blue fin had now moved further off shore so the focus was moving back to the old favourite of kingfish.
At the south end of Barragoot beach and a km or 2 out there are some rocks called the 3 Brothers, I had heard form some of the boaties that kingies had been schooling up off the back of the islands so a trip out there became my next obsession. We new the surf was too big down near the islands but if we launched again in the rip at the south end of Cuttagee it would only be 4 or 5 k paddle.
Patrick was still with us at this point and after staring at the surf for 30 odd minutes going yes, no, yes, no &#8230;.. we settled on no and headed down to Bermagui for an easy launch out of the harbour.
Conditions were grey and choppy and the troll around the headland was a bit wet. We trolled up and down by the bommie at the blue pool with very little to show for it. (we don't count pike).

As always when you see a bunch of boats in one spot on the horizon curiosity and imagination eventually get the better of you and off we went to see what was happening. The bad news was that they were picking up flathead but it did mean that I may get something for the BBQ so on goes a heavy weight and down goes a squid strip, the bite is big, the fish is heavy and the BBQ in looking good, until a bloody banjo ray pops up. I'm beginning to see a pattern developing with me, squid, the bottom and banjo rays, so I've vowed not to do it again.

After messing around with this thing, then re rigging, I look up to find that a boat has moved up beside me and is casting like crazy. They inform me that they saw all the kingfish busting up around my kayak and presumed that i had just boated one (thanks mr banjo).
Of course they have now moved on but I set about trying to find them. The odd single boil here and there had me casting as I moved but it was my trolled HB that got my attention as it started screaming. With the drift of the wind and the direction i was being pulled i got the inevitable tangle as the 2 lines crossed under the boat and in an effort to free one of them the fish was gone. I was then left with a mess that had my line wrapped both around the rudder and the front hatch, of course the kingies new that and fish erupted all around the kayak with me unable to cast.
Cutting both lines and only retying one I decided to to join the others who had already headed in.

TRIP THREE

We had hoped that when we got up this morning the swell may have dropped off, alas it had not and a 2.5 m swell was pounding the beach. I really didn't want to fish out of Bermagui, I still had that island nagging at the back of my mind. 
Patrick had headed out on a charter with his family and I had turned it down to fish from the kayak so failure was not an option.










There is a small beach at the south end of Cuttagee that you can carry the kayaks down to but this also was being hit by the swell, however just past this there are some sand and rocks and there was a gap out through the rocks where the waves weren't all breaking, so if you timed it right you could make it through a gap.










We lugged the kayaks and gear around there and one after the other set out at a casual pace which soon turned in to a sprint and we were past the rocks. The next issue was the huge swell that was coming around the point, it was much bigger that what was hitting the beach but each wave seemed to be on the verge of breaking without actually falling, these waves were in the area of 12 to 15 foot and I was glad i had vacated my bowels before i left.

Once over these we rigged up and tried to put the landing to the back of our mind.
The water was smooth with no chop so the swell wasn't an issue out on the water. We paddled north to the island and the water was alive with good sized bonito, catch and release was the name of the game as i was sure if we got to the island we would get some good fish.
I actually trolled a soft plastic on the way as the bonito didn't seem to like this so it gave me a chance at something else.










On arrival at the islands we could see fish busting up everywhere and my brother set about having a good time with the bonnies although it turned out the the bonnies were both the hunters and the hunted.
I focused on the sounder and paddled around looking for some larger pray. It didn't take long before the sounder gave me what I was looking for so I threw on a 200g jig and went to work.
I can't remember whether it was the first or second drop but it felt like I had snagged a sunken car on about the 3rd lift, the car was then put into gear and it was game on. After a good battle that i was not going to lose a very very fat kingie joined me on deck. He only measured 78cm but was packing some serious weight. When cleaning him I found a couple of small bonnies inside.
Looking under the kayak was probably the best thing i have ever seen, the water was deep blue and full of huge kingfish, I would say mine was one of the smaller ones for sure. I couldn't believe I didn't have the camera with me.

The jig went back down and although it got followed on every retrieve, it didn't get hit.
We had some baby octopus with us so these were rigged up and feed down through them. Again they looked but wouldn't touch.










My brothers concern for the landing in the kayaks was getting the better of him as the tied was dropping and we didn't know what to expect so it was time to head off.
I had a plan in my mind where we could paddle the 12 or so ks north to Bermagui and my wife could run me back to get the car. I have been over the mobile phone safety thing with her before but she has a habit of forgetting that the phone is actually mobile. She had taken it with her on this occasion but had managed to put it on silent with a switch she claims she didn't know existed.

So, off back to have a go at the landing. A few more bonnies on the way and before we new it we were riding up and down over the top of the swell with our legs over the side of the yaks discussing exactly which was the gap that we had to head for.










At least from the top of the swells you got a good view of how many more were coming and when to take your chance. But there was the fear that you had stopped to far in and a bigger one may be coming.
We timed it just right and got a clean shot in through the gap and it was high fives all round.

TRIP FOUR










The day before we left and our last trip out, we wanted to fish the island again, the swell had dropped to about 1.5 m and we thought we would give the beach launch a shot. 
We drove down to Barragoot lake, paddled across to the end of the lake, dragged the kayaks over the sand and were ready to launch. I really didn't like the look of it, the beach was quite steep and there was not gap between the waves where you could assess the next stage, basically you had to go for it from the time you hit the water. This was made worse by the fact that there was a strong rip running along the beach at the edge of the sand, so you couldn't even hold the kayak in the water, it was a Le Mans start, grab the yak run to the water and paddle like shit.










My brother did this pretty well, he took a lot of white water over the yak and himself but he made it out.
My turn, they looked bigger when I got down to water level and with continuous white water coming over the kayak and unable to drain at the same speed it felt like I had sunk. I thought I was home free but then I saw it coming, oh shit, this was one of those waves i had seen every now and then and thought "you don't want to be in the zone when that baby comes through". Options, wait and get picked up by a wall of white water that would be well over my head and with no forward motion i would be creamed or paddle as fast as I can, hope the wave holds up a bit longer and I have enough momentum to get me through the top. 
I was already paddling hard before i had gone through the options as I new there were none, if there was, stay in bed was looking like the best.
I turned a bit to the right as the wave looked slightly lower there and straighten up just before impact.
I punched into a wall on green and the wave went over my head and broke on the back of the kayak, my head and the front of the yak came through the back and i thought I was through (my brother out the back gave me a wave, I thought hello but apparently goodbye), i struggled to free my arms from the water so I could keep paddling and at that point I realised I was moving backwards, the bow went up in the air and i was poll driven into the sand and off the kayak.
I still had the paddle and I followed the kayak back into the beach to reassess.










My rudder was bent at a 90º angle, I had to bend it a bit to free it and get it out of the way but the worse thing was that I had lost my hat, blue sky and a bald head aren't a good combination. 
I tried to call my brother on the radio but water had go in and it wasn't working, with paddle signals we discovered he could hear me but by the time i had figured out i could tie my old fish cloth over my head he had to decided to come in.
He came in to wait for his moment but then discovered another huge wave that was going to break further out than he was, he turned to try and get a bit further out but didn't make it. I waded out to grab the kayak and he swam into the beach. He had forgotten he was wearing his light sensitive bifocals and was now $1000 lighter in the pocket, the decision to not change the damaged seal on his front hatch also turned out to be a bad one as 2 of my reels were now submerged in the hull of his yak. He had also pulled some muscles around his hit and groin and the decision was made to go home and put on our FAILED T shirts.










I was feeling lucky that I had got off without injury but when I brushed my teeth that night I wondered why no one had told me about the 2 huge lumps on top of my head.

I loved that hat


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## MickG (Dec 5, 2010)

That settles it. No beach launch for me...


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## FHM (Mar 21, 2008)

Hi Keza,

Sorry to hear about you and your brother misfortune launch at Cuttagee beach. Must have been some huge waves and I must give it to you guys that you have balls of steels to launch at the beach. I was driving pass Cuttagee beach a few days after Xmas and it was very windy and must have been 30-40knots wind and the waves at Cuttagee beach was huge. I can even see the yachts from the Sydney to Hobart race passing by.

Nice that you have landed a kingy from the Three Brother island. Must be a great fishing spot if you can manage to make your way out there.

Nice report btw.

FHM


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

bwahahahahaaaa. classic report. :lol: :lol: :lol:

you are a goose. a very bald goose ;-)


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## Cid (Nov 14, 2005)

Holy Granola, Keza! :shock: Ditto on the 'no beach launches for me", too. Nice fat kingie though.  Great report.


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## bushwoodboy (Oct 5, 2006)

Great report Keza,
Sorry but I near pissed myself as you got sucked over the falls backwards.
That is a truly horrible feeling.
TOW?
Cheers Mal


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Great report, had a bit of everything, congrats on the kingie and commiserations on the surf launch woes, cheers, Dave.


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## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

Loved reading this report, gave me a chuckle or three! 

If it was me there, I would have ditched the yaks for the boards. The waves in one of the early photos seem okay for a session.

Rick


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Didn't even miss the porn.
Well written and fun. 


> ...i had gone through the options as I new there were none, if there was, stay in bed was looking like the best.


Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well the bear eats you.


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

A very enjoyable report!

thanks for sharing, and yes, I thought it was porn of sorts, but that warm and fuzzy soft core stuff. :lol:

Nice to see a kingy on the decks!

Cheers andybear


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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.

----

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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

A great story with a good finalie..Pity it was for real..I think that you were both very determined.

Grant


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## SkybluCraig (Sep 28, 2010)

Great read. I was happy enough with my launch in 1-2 foot of angry mollymook surf. It's hard when you know the fish are there but you can't get to them.


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## john316 (Jan 15, 2009)

I love that place but have never launched from the beaches. Someone mentioned balls of steel but I think that age sees the steel start to get tinged with reality. The south end of the beach often looks like it might be OK from the road but a touch dodgy from water level. I hope that you enjoyed the stay down here and that you will feel the call of the south again some time soon. I am green when it it comes to the kingy - please don't say "only" 78cm... I haven't even landed a rat from the yak as every time I have hooked up its been on the light rod taken out to catch livies...

cheers

John


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## paulb (Nov 12, 2006)

Well done on the king Keza and having the kahuna's to go out in some very ordinary conditions. Nothing like the fleeting feeling of success as you punch through a wave, only to experience the sickening suck back into the abyss.... rather you than me.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Classic ! Yes Ive had that feeling of terror of smacking the lip and feeling that Ive made it only to be dragged backwards. Just one quick word on your wave assemnet - in Australia wave height is discussed in surfing circles as half of what it actually is from the peak to the trough - so a six foot wave when your at the bottom of it is in fact more like 12 foot. There fore are you saying those wave heights were double that - or were in fact that height to the eye.... either way I can undertsand the fear...  

PS Love the Iphone shots - very cool with the distortion !!


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

wopfish said:


> Classic ! Yes Ive had that feeling of terror of smacking the lip and feeling that Ive made it only to be dragged backwards. Just one quick word on your wave assemnet - in Australia wave height is discussed in surfing circles as half of what it actually is from the peak to the trough - so a six foot wave when your at the bottom of it is in fact more like 12 foot. There fore are you saying those wave heights were double that - or were in fact that height to the eye.... either way I can undertsand the fear...
> 
> PS Love the Iphone shots - very cool with the distortion !!


I think they are similar to what I'm saying not double but I find the wave height thing a bit confusing, shame I didn't get a shot of a yak in the waves for some scale.
I'm no surf guru on the kayak and would probably get my arse nailed to the wall in the stuff the guys go out in up north but I'm keen to get better and apart from the paddle out through the rocks it all seemed safe and not full hardy, I'm no big risk taker.

The 1.5 or 2.5m are off seabreeze and appeared to be right from what I have seen in the past.
The 12 to 15 ft waves which were peaking near the headland estimate comes from my brother who has spent the last 30 years living on the beach and in the surf club.
It was amazing that the waves picked up so much in this point, they were twice the size of the ones at the beach and really quite scary, in surfing terms it felt more like you were in Hawaii.

In kayak terms the height doesn't matter as much as the wave period and how steep they are. On day 4 I don't think they were that big but the period was short and they were dumpers. I was a bit unlucky with the one that nailed me, bit smaller, couple of seconds later all would have made a difference, it was the biggest of the set and as I punched through the top of the wave was above my head by about 3 feet. This section of beach is quite steep with strong rips and there were some rocks in the water to our left.
If i hadn't have lost my hat I would have had another go, although not having a rudder when you're use to it would have been harder.
If the kayak hadn't of dug in and hit the sand then the ruder would have been fine and I would have been wet but ready to get back on the horse, I have had much worse bumping on a body board.

I recommend getting out in the surf (without your gear) to anyone, maybe not as messy as some of this surf but small even surf is a great way to get to know your yak.

ps. the amazing thing is that the google earth pic for the 3rd trip shows the exact gutter and way out that we used, out through the gap and a slight ver to the left at the end, the waves must have been coming from the exact same direction and been around the same height.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Sounds a bit scary at those sizes.... its interesting but in Haiwaii they measure the height of the waves from the back - which kind of makes sense really - because from the back is more of a mean point - ie half way average - what it fails to take into account is the thickness of the wave !!!

Anyhow bud you get to tell your tale and fight again a little bit wiser.....

At Christmas in the UK my folks wet themselves laughing about how they all pushed me out into a dumper at Samarai beach up at Port Stephens fully laden and i got totally smashed snapping rods and all as I hit the lip and went up and back over myself - thought it very entertaining indeed - family fodder !!! :lol: :lol:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I never understood the application of the back of wave height. It's moot when riding waves, and moot when paddling out.

So what if the swell is 1m at the back, when the front is 2m of trough, grinding and sucking sand off the bottom.
You aren't going to punch through, wipe your brow and say, "Oh that was just a 3' wave."
You're going to stain your shorts, and claim it was over 3x overhead sitting down, because that's what matters when you are paddling into it. When was the last time the back of a wave gave you the axe?


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Zed in my school science days I think we measured wavelength from the mid point - I could be wrong here as its been many years - sadly my old teachers probably never saw their physics applied in reality when paddling into a six foot face = 12 foot......... I'm sure in that instance calling a spade a spade would have made sense to them - but looking at waves on an osscillascope aint nothing like the real deal !!


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