# Chelsea Chomped...with pic's.



## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

best fishing session yet for me, it was bloody unreal...

Got up at 3.30am to find a PM from Squizzy saying he couldnt make it to sunnyside this morning so i changed plans and decided to head out from chelsea and try for a good feed of flatties (freezer is chock full of pinkies). i could have gone back to bed for another hour as chelsea is half as far as s/side but was never gonna get back to sleep...its hard enough to get to sleep night before im that excited about going out fishing the following day.... Got to the launch by 4.15 and was paddling out into the night by 4.30. As i dont have any lights bar the cap light i stayed in close maybe 2/300 Mts and cast about a 3" P/Seed as well as a pilchard on very light lead.There was bugger all wind and a reel slow drift so conditions were ideal for me in my half kayak/half canoe.

Didnt get any hits and decided to try out deeper and paddled a further 2/300 Mts out. started to get a few hits on both bait and SP's,nabbed a couple undersized, released and then scored a flattie at 39cm  ...beautiful... followed immediatly by another at 34cm...sweet, thats dinner. Then the action stopped and no more hits for about 15 minutes.

ok, time to head right out deep... could make out bit more of my surroundings and felt a little more at ease on the water and so paddled out to my mark (love using the distant land as marker points).

i was a little dissapointed as i wasnt getting any hits from the same spot where the last 4 times i had non-stop flattie action from word go and double hook ups were common place. changed over to Camo worms thinking they are pretty tempting to a flattie but still no takers.Pilchard wasnt seeing any action either and so filleted 1 of the flatties i caught earlier and hooked up a nice big juicy fresh piece.

Had changed over again to a 3" blood scale and was flicking and jigging for a while before i realized it was 7.50am.i start work at 8.30 and its a 40 minute drive in peak hour as well as a a 15/20 minute paddle back to the car + 10/15 minutes to pack the car so already im looking at being reasonably late already.Decided to have a last ciggie in these awesome surroundings.

untied a squidjig on the third rod and was in the process of tieing on a HB for the paddle back when bait rod buckles to almost breaking point in the rod holder...Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz i nearly swallowed my ciggie... this fish just chomped my flattie fillet and barreled off. it was amazing to experience the monster double head shake and then ZzzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzthump thump headshakeZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ...i have heard about this identifyable run of a big snapper but had yet to truly feel it having only caught smaller pinkies. i couldnt stop him taking line and was way to scared to tighten the drag for fear of losing him (5Kg line/leader) this thing was tearing of line at a frightening speed. The kayak was turning and and being slightly towed    (how fkkn unreal is that feeling)... I was completly blown away with what was happening so when the SP rod nearly got ripped out of the holder and started screaming i nearly died....ZzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzzz bang bang ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.the rod was getting smashed in the holder and line was tearing away frighteningly.hoping the line wouldnt spool i tightened just enough to make the fish fight a bit for all the line he was taking.

It was flabergastingly (ok i think i made that word up) mindboggling...can you tell how pumped i am 3 hours later    ... after i reckon 3/4 minutes i finially caught sight of my fish :shock: this thing was reely big.will it fit in the landing net, christ i hope so...and then he surfaced a my heart nearly gave out. The hook was out of his mouth and was holding onto a very very small bit of flesh next to his eye (i have a photo and im sure it'll make most of ya squirm) i reely thought he was about to dive again and forever be lost to me and that would have devastated me but i managed to get his head in the net which i gleefully pulled outta water and dumped in my lap...my heart was racing...all the while my other rod was screaming away.i had lost over 3/4 of my line and this fish was planning on taking it all. i tightened the drag a couple of notches and my poor 5Ft rod was touching water at an angle i wouldnt belive without snapping.I couldnt get line back on the reel as this fish just thump thump ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. i reckon i had him hooked for 5/6 minutes and actively fought him for another 3/4 minutes.

I was half expecting to see smoke coming of the reel reimisent of that scene in jaws when they hook a shark and had to poor water on reel as it was smokin hard... No smoke but this baby was on fire.

still wasnt getting any line back on the reel, 5 ft rod wasnt giving me any leverage so made the poor but inevitabe decision to tighten drag and try stop this beast...snap... kayak stops rocking and all was still. WOW. goddamn that was the most explosive hardcore feeling ive EVER experience fishing, and looking down at the biggest snapper ive ever caught, just started shaking and laffing.

Quickly put on another bit of flattie and cast out the bait and started putting on another SP...BANG bait got hammered again ZzzzzZZZZzzzzzzz.

Not half the fight as the last two but damn good bit of weight behind him and got him yakside and dropped in next to my other big snapper.

Ohhhh by the way its now 8.15am and im dangerously late. Had to go. had to go....BUGGER.

1st snapper came in at 62cm and 2nd was 44cm ( i know ive made out they were monster snapper, and to me the bloody were and to anyone fishing in a kayak on lightish gear they are im sure) The fish i lost, christ i couldnt even begin to imagine.

apologies for the long read but im still pumped.

kayak fishing. Yup. Love It. 8)

a nice flaphead for my dinner tonight...









and now the misses can have some too...









That is the flimsiest foul hook.though i dont believe the snapper orginally hooked up that way, but was a heart pumping moment getting him into the net...









i will dream about this morning for a long time to come.well at least until i get onto something bigger anyway :twisted: ...









man i so have to get 1 of those fish measuring mats...









betcha i wouldnt have gotten 'The One That Got Away' into that esky...









and to finish of a fantastic day i dropped into my local Fish 'n Chip shop, gave the owner the smaller of the two snapper (he's 1 of these old school chippies that KNOWS how to REALLY make great f/chips)...where in but a few moments had cleaned filleted skinned and boned my prized fish.


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Geez Tony, I felt like I was there with you mate, awesome report! MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS on those cracking fish, you're a fair dinkum snapper fisho now.   Please hurry up and post the pictures!! :wink:


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

Mate, it is you i wholly have to thank... there are a few cold crownies waiting for you down here in Melb, look forward to hooking up with you again.


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## FishinDan (Jul 3, 2006)

That sounds like an absolute cracker of a morning! Congratulations mate! Can't wait to see the photos!


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

...Y-Knot ... said:


> Mate, it is you i wholly have to thank...


Pffft, rubbish  You did it all mate - caught a fresh bait, threw it out, caught a big snapper   I still wouldn't mind one of those crownies when I'm down next though.... :wink:


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

Oh wow, what a loverly read....I could smell the drag burning....I really could.

Cheers Andybear :lol:


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

Nice morning mate, wish I could have been about.


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Congrats Tony. That's sensational. Well described too


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## Grogfather (Jan 8, 2007)

Tony, Bloody good read mate, that fishin'.
Gaz


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## Kevin (Aug 29, 2005)

Bloody ripper Tony!!!! What a great session. Congratulations. I reckon that your boss could fire you for being late and you still would be on cloud nine.

Great read too, photos will just be a bonus - I was there with you.

I have always found on the bigger fish that really fresh bait sure beats anything that you bring out with you. BTW I'm still just ahead of you on yak PB snapper, by 2cm - but I'm definitely going to have to upgrade to stay ahead.

Not the time of year that I would have suspected catching good sized fish in that area, but Squidder may have some further advice on that matter.


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## evarn (Jul 10, 2006)

sensational.. can't wait to see the photos...

i was driving past on my way to work at about that time.. thinking about how nice it'd be to be out on the yak


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

You cot a car with racks yet Ivan?


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## Garfish (Jun 2, 2006)

Awesome, awesome, awesome....


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## PhilipL (Apr 15, 2006)

Damn Tony, you had me on the floor with that read. Awesome stuff


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## evarn (Jul 10, 2006)

Tim, I got the girlfriend to get a new car with racks etc.

At this point access to the vehicle is limited, but we'll work on that!


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

heya cheers y'all ... i know it was terribly long winded and probably let a few of you down thinking i'd really gotten onto something really really big...but as i said it was a monster fish for me,my biggest if you dont take into account a couple of reel big flatties but they dont count on the scale of things when it comes to a line tearing head thumping biggish snapper.
Surprisingly only weighed in at 3Kg approx...i recall when i 1st started reading on here back in nov '06 some guy up qld way had gotten onto, i think, a 6 or 7 kilo snapper... Now that was a monster snapper.

should be able to post pic's tonight...cant wait myself


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## ScottLovig (Aug 7, 2006)

Good on ya Tony

Great stuff!!!

Cheers

Scott


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## squizzy (Mar 3, 2007)

fantastic Tony, and to think I got up at 5 & had to go to work instead  , Im glad you got out there and got into the big'uns. Cant wait to see the pics, you are gunna need a bigger freezer....great problem to have. Catch up soon
seeya a busy but even sadder squizz


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## Clarkos (Oct 11, 2006)

Great work Tony. I know I'd be calling it a monster..


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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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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

Great fish - At that size they taste thier absolute best.

Top stuff mate and hopefully heaps more fun to come on those Port Philllip nobbies.


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## PeterJ (Aug 29, 2005)

Excellent report and well done on what must be your first big snapper. I hope you marked the spot on the GPS. Imagine what a 12 kilo fish will do. Might be time to up the rod size you are using.

Congrats again.


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## Kevin (Aug 29, 2005)

Tony,

It's a good fish by anyone's thinking (except for maybe those guys who are spoilt over the Tasman).

Yeh mine at 64cm weighed at 3.4kg so a 62cm at a bit over 3kg is a fair weight. But don't they look huge though when they first come on board!


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## lostinoz (Feb 18, 2007)

great post mate, got me thinking about my next trip out on the bay, can,t wait, steve.


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## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Thats what we all dream about!! Well done. Snapper - thats another one I haven't bagged yet!


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## Jeffo (Sep 10, 2006)

thats a great post mate, really well done... & a very good size snapper, especially on light line. Look foward to the piccies.

Cheers

Jeffo


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## tunahound (Oct 28, 2006)

Nice fish! Great work.


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## Grogfather (Jan 8, 2007)

Hey Tony, they are great pics and its a great catch this time of year mate, well done.
Gaz


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## Biggera Yakker (Jan 25, 2007)

Fantastic post Tony!!!
Congrats!!!


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## GuardianZAct (Feb 7, 2007)

Hey did you get "Brownie points" from the misus?

If I read that right.... The Flaty for the Misus's tucker was the bait? Now thats a nice upgrade for dinner. Flatty to Monster Snapper.

I can only dream of a fish like that...

Great read. The Photos are great too. They just add to the excitment, and suspense.

Adrian


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

lucky for me Adrian,wife was out on girls nite out and missed out on the whole feed...all she got was a photo of the fish she didnt get to eat.lol

spewing you couldnt make it Squizzy - mind u if ya hadent pulled out we woulda fished sunnyside and then, well, who knows. Next time fella.

Hey Kevin, where abouts did you hook onto your big snapper... and yes the fish did look huge (and seeing in the photo looks smaller still). You know it was nothing like Spooled1's big 21Kg monster but it felt like it was once i had him in the yak.

g'day PeterJ...definietly gonna upgrade some of my gear and try for something bigger next season.unfortnatly no GPS but am fair confident of locking back onto that spot each and every time i head out that way.And with your mention elsewhere of 6kg snapper in Corio during winter, will be aiming for a few sessions out there when things cool down a bit.

Glad you all liked the tale that came with the fishing, for me thats half the fun,reading of other peoples adventures and excitment and getting a feel for actually being there on the water with them.


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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.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWXRJDEcAADRfgAASUaWYsqSgVBo/7/+gMADllDU9U9RNPUAZqeiZMj9UAxD1MGqep4jVNpGI00Bo0AGjamglTSaQZkynlND1GgAAGghmbPVGzBNB5kqsf2rFfE1wvlafyckrHx8LXjbK1widiOAvDRILmTC0Ks4KuM8BRpEAQgwkeOnaJENBrs4ms845CZUJwl1YBIC1nQVwK7wrEfBrnvx/WCLw2Gb5MeQLOI0fuKQnbA8l41SG8jFhlImpUEdnMQUkCTNExdqEhNJQPljVeseJkqHdhgsYYaioc06a4IKloiSyBpE0WAjNNlZzCIqDxSL7wdYUS0UjEHIkbf1dBWWCCy655/F3JFOFCQdEkMRw


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Great pics Tony, worth the wait! :wink: 

Love the new avatar pic as well


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## Kevin (Aug 29, 2005)

Nice photos Tony, who took the one of youself? Usually no shortage of passerbys willing to take the shot when you got something worthy as you sure did.

Boy! as you mentioned there wasn't much between a long distance release and boating the big fella - I reckon if you had heavier line and were able to give the fish more stick you would have lost it with the hook tearing out.

I got mine the season before last around 4.5 km out from Chelsea - an earnest 3/4 hr paddle. Saw many fish on the sounder out there, missed some really big runs and got a couple of smaller 2kg fish as well. This year got a bit lazy and didn't put in as many trips out wide. But next year I'm right with you - we both need to crack the 7kg mark!


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

Outstanding report Tony "straight to the front of the class"!!!

Sunday looks like an absolute bloody pearler for a yak fish at this stage???

Milt,


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

4 kms out... thats pretty bloody daunting Kevin, i find it hard to judge distance out on the water but im guessing i was about 1 / 1.5 kms out and by golly thats a fair whack in my waterholding beastie.fingers crossed i get myself a SOT for next season and then i'd follow you out through the heads  
as for the photo,at 8.30 on a beautiful morning there were dozens of people walking the beach and a few gawkers...naturally i had to get a photo taken with my fish :roll:

heya Milt, weather is looking spectatcular from sunday through to wednesday...should be a large contingency of melbo yakkers getting out and lotsa reports. I'm planning for a early morning session and an evening as well over those couple of days, especially with the potential bigger snapper still circulating. Hope to see you and the rest of PPB locals getting out there...


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

I'm in for sunday 90% today's out.


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## Gibbo (Feb 26, 2007)

Hey you made me feel home sick! And such a calm sea by the looks. I used to get out on Port Phillip for snapper before dawn (stink boat :evil: ) and you reminded me how exciting it is when the drag goes off. I caught a 6kg snapper at the edge of a rock that sticks out at low tide about 500m from shore just south of the Cerebrus @ Black Rock one morning, so the big ones can be in close when you make the effort to get out before dawn as you did. Great stuff.


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

Anyone keen for an afternoon paddle fish around Beaumaris / Black Rock say from about 2pm till 6:30ish on Sunday???

Milt,


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

I'll let you know Milt, was thinking of sunnyside AM, but I reackon Ynot and 511 have nicked all the fish.

Sleep in on sunday sounds grand :mrgreen:


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

Yes your're right a sleep in would be grand, and a ripper sunset in the arvo would top it off after a few fish have been boated!!! :arrow:

See how you go no pressure mate! :wink:

Milt,


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

I know the spot, I was there, I caught them too.



Great read and congrats. Inspirational stuff.

I can still smell the sea.....


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