# NSW: 28/8 Malabar



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Simon and I hit the local waters (well not so local for him anymore, but I'm what matters).
I realised that I have been avoiding the rocks since I have had the new yak and I really need to get the first scratches over and done with (first cut is the deepest and all that).
Arriving before the sun came up, the conditions looked perfect, so why would you bother to take sea sickness tablets.
We hung around in the bay hunting for squid until the light came up. Simon found a nice one but the slippery little suckers evaded me yet again.

With the light coming up, it was time to head out around the cliffs, Simon had headed out 10 minutes earlier and had radioed to say it was a bit bumpy. Surely not.



















On rounding the headland I get hit by the wind and it is all whitecaps with a about 1m of swell. WTF
Not on any forecast I've sen and I know Dave and Gary are sitting on a lake at Longy.
Anyway, on with the fishing, I can see Simon about a k away chasing birds, so I toss out a repala and head his way. I can now see 3 lots of birds working and head for the closest.
On approach these disappear, so i head for the next lot, on approach these disappear, so I head for the next lot, on approach these disappear, so I head for the next lot.
I could go on but I think you are getting the picture, this was turning into a bloody good work out but so far, I hadn't got a single cast into a school (plenty of casts that fell short).

I decided F the school, who needs them, I'll be my own man.
I headed back into the cliffs to get some shelter from the wind and have a breather, sure enough the trolled lure goes off and after was was really a pathetic fight a nice bonnie hits the deck. Thank god for that, Ive got some food, I've sold the doughnut, I can relax, except for the fact that bleeding the fish had made me start to feel a bit green.










Back on the troll, I decide to head up to magic point, there have been birds working there for 30mins, I'll pretend I'm not interested and they may stick around.
The zing of the reel is a bit hard to here over the wind, so it takes be a while to figure out what is making the kayak drag a bit.
This one felt different and the fish couldn't wait to jump out of the water and show me he was a salmon. I wish I was trolling lighter gear as he doesn't stand a chance but big repalas are too expensive.
After getting him to the yak, bleeding him etc, with have a quick check to se who is looking the greenist and then into the bag he goes.










The birds are still working, so I keep paddling. This school has been up for nearly an hour and I arrive to see the last of the baitfish being picked off by torpedo leaving very impressive bow waves.
Amazing, I grab the rod and the water is dead, they've gone.
I start the paddle back and although I could see schools dotted around the place, I've moved into the cold sweat faze and decide to head straight for the shelter of the bay.
Out of the wind and swell, I try again for squid, I still needed a starter, deep, shallow, fast, slow, it wasn't going to happen, so when Simon arrives with a lot of mileage but not a lot of fish, we head for the ramp.

By the time we get to the ramp, we notice that the wind has totally died and the sea has glassed out.
Ho hum.



























Getting back home I found a cure for the scratches, Hang the kayak the other way around.










And if the scratches are really bad, coat them like this:


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Cracker report Kerry. Do you think they were Salmon at Magic Point too? By the way I think Malabar Is particularly bad for seasickness on account of the cliff backwash, I would have spewed for sure without meds.


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## paulsod (Dec 28, 2008)

Great read Keza, really enjoyed it. 
Isn't seasickness a wonderful feeling.
My avatar shows how I look and feel if I don't take my seasickness pills. :lol:
Cheers
Paul


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Pretty fishies. Hard to imagine there being a swell. Longy was still as. Absolutely fishless up our way but we wern't burleying.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Certainly a challenging outing with both fish and conditions mate.

And in some years of reading reports that is the first time i have seen that ramp wave free.

And suggest you check whether gift wrapping the yak in a tarp is good when stored. When I first got the swing 7 years ago I was a like new mother, and because it was stored outside wrapped it in a tarp same as yours.

On a summers day had to get something inside the hull after an outing and found under the tarp it was red hot, so did a thermometer check over about a week and it was consistently hotter under the tarp than exposed to full sunlight. From that point I removed the tarp and just draped a rectangle of shade cloth over the yak which gave a measure of protection and far cooler.

Prior to owning a yak, an outboard dealer some years before had told me not to wrap the outboard as it stuffed the electrics by sweating.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

It is actually a boat cover and is a thin fabric and reflective silver. The kayak is also on the south side of the house and only gets touched by the tiniest bit of sun.
I haven't noticed it getting warm at all but I will definitely keep an eye on it now.
Thanks for that Richo.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Jim, I reckon you are right about Malabar, the place is never calm and makes me sick more than anywhere else I fish.
It is a pretty fishy place though and does give you a few options.
I need to rebuild my relationship with squid, as I feel we have drifted apart.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

nice feet.

nice pics

nice yak

nice fish

nice report


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

The toes are covered. Pass.
So you don't want to scratch her, but you chase squid? :?

Great report and wonderful photos as always. It seems the pelagics are going nuts around Sydney atm. Not much down here that I've seen on my walks.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Wrassemagnet said:


> Cracker report Kerry. Do you think they were Salmon at Magic Point too? By the way I think Malabar Is particularly bad for seasickness on account of the cliff backwash, I would have spewed for sure without meds.


Jim/Kerry

It's called 'clapitos'. Clapitos occurs when a large wave bounces off a cliff face and collides with the wave behind it, turning the sea into an aqueous trash compactor. It is hell on small craft such as kayaks.

A 2 metre swell (not breaking due to deep water), will run up to the cliff face/rock shelf, bounce off and run back out to sea, clashing with the next incoming swell. It can easily produce a sharp peak exceeding 3 metres, and resulting sea sickness due to a very confused sea state. Particularly prevalent where deep water + swell meets cliff faces or steep rock shelves.

If parelleling cliffs you are better off well out to sea where the effect is reduced.

cheers dears

trev


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Those feet are proof that you're not only from Atlantis but also a hobbit Kerry 

I want to try the deeper reef past the heads for some squid using a paternoster set up one day. Have you ever picked up any from the deeper bits?


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Wrassemagnet said:


> Those feet are proof that you're not only from Atlantis but also a hobbit Kerry
> 
> I want to try the deeper reef past the heads for some squid using a paternoster set up one day. Have you ever picked up any from the deeper bits?


I haven't Jim, but I have seen the guys in a tinny bag out and i know where they were.
Lets' give it a go.

I was waiting for someone to notice the 4 toes, I thought sbd would be jumping on that one.
Remember, I am from NZ and these shoes cover my hooves.


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Ok but only if you promise not to give me the clapitos :lol:


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## SkybluCraig (Sep 28, 2010)

This whets the apetite.

After a long and rather expensive renovation of the house I'm back home and ready to get into the fish. Just need to locate the yak, rods and paddle amongst the chaos and we'll be back out there.

Looking forward to a better spring fishing wise than last year which was really quiet. Hoping the bonnies stick about.


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

SkybluCraig said:


> This whets the apetite


Yep. Got me thinking. Great report Kerry.


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