# QLD: Scarby - Luck and Skill



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Recently, several reports have mentioned luck. Take two or three equally skilled fishos, and _one_ only comes home with the bacon. 
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=60574 (why not Salti or RedGreg?) 
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=60545 (why not spottymac?)

After yesterday this got me thinking.

Just how much does luck play a part?

Yesterday dawned clear and light winds, with Beekeeper (Jimbo, aka TC) slept in slightly, arriving at 4.50 am in the dark. Because I had been cleared to paddle a few days ago, I was keen to get a predawn start, and launched at 5.05 am heading south past him on the beach towards Redcliffe Point. I was in for a paddle (trolling lures is a given).

Fighting loss of fitness, fatness, a falling tide (so against current), and a 7 knot headwind, I eventually made Redcliffe Point. Six plus kilometres return all for nada, save one momentary but reasonable hit, which did not hook up. I paddled back to the N Scarby reefs, tide and wind assisted, in less than half the time.

A while later while trolling the Beacon reef area, a 35 cm estuary cod saved me from the all too familiar donut. I joined Jim for a hello and to report my stupendous catch after 3 hours trolling.

Jimbo was up to his usual tricks of 3 small snapper, though unusual in that he usually has more on the board after that amount of time, including a decent one. He uses SP's on and just above the bottom drift fishing, and intermitently working each lure every 10 - 15 seconds. His skills and technique work for him, and he has runs on the board&#8230;.hundreds of fish, and some monsters to boot.

Conversely, coming from a sea kayak background, where the journey is the primary goal, I must paddle, as I get bored quickly just drift fishing .&#8230; so I troll hardbodies (HB's) for hours, most often to nil effect. Occasionally I get lucky. This was such a lucky day &#8230; viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57696

After I came over to say hello to Jim, I bid him goodbye and paddled away from him, once again trolling HB's. Only 30 metres from him - reel scream. Then not a movement &#8230; snagged? A rock? A moment later, Jim was also, by sheer coincidence, hooked to a rock, an inevitable consequence of bouncing SP's over or near the bottom.

We simultaneously cranked and retrieved to recover some precious line. Hang on Charlie! My rock moved. Jim's didn't. Mine moved again, _with head shake_s. A few minutes later, on an abraided leader, and here's my 'rock.'










55 cm at capture but...

Jim scored 5 snapper for the day, all released. Jim has the techniques and skills, and the proof in the enormous number of catches. I have none of the above.

How much part does luck play in fishing?

Not much I suspect, cause I 'get lucky' only about once a year, though in other localities I do have better luck with trolling.


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## DennisT (Jan 2, 2012)

Onya Trev - Good Report

I need a little luck on my side. *serious Dryspell for me.....


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## killer (Dec 22, 2010)

Well done Trev, 
you get lucky once a year, I'll take those odds any day.

Cheers 
Killer.

One word..... Menopause  .


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

You make your own luck Trev
Or more correctly, you pay your dues, Ray


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Lazybugger said:


> cjbfisher said:
> 
> 
> > Good on ya Trev, but in the future, please keep the photos from the waist up.
> ...


@ Chris 
Look who's talking. :lol:

Anyway, it was Jim's fault.

@ Scott
OK, I have the message. I'm still waiting for my brag mat.....can't be long now.


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## Bigdyl (Feb 13, 2012)

:lol:


salticrak said:


> http://www.akff.net/forum/download/file.php?id=84424&t=1
> 
> Damm, Trev you are Moe from the simpsons for sure


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## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

Nice fish Trev! I'm still chasing that snapper worth keeping. One of these days, possibly next week I'd like to get out in the TI and have a go at Scarby, need some one to give me the tour 

Tony.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Bigdyl said:


> :lol:
> 
> 
> salticrak said:
> ...












Trev: doppelganger
posting.php?mode=reply&f=18&t=60143#pr630554


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## wayneedden (May 19, 2012)

hey trev, good on you mate wish I could've been out there, to hear that screaming reel from the pink rock fish, great read, great pics..legend through and through.... picking up the goods with the good ju-jus I say....., beekeeper got to be from another planet though, a technique hes learnt from king Neptune himself...
love your work
wayno


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## bruus (Aug 27, 2010)

Nice catch Trev, great way to make a come back, again. Gee wouldn't it be nice to have one of those new mats to display your fish on hey :lol:


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Is this another entry for QLD in the snapper comp Trev?


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

AJD said:


> Is this another entry for QLD in the snapper comp Trev?


I suppose Al. 55 cms is hardly going to cut the mustard. We need Jimbo to hook another 90 + cm model.


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## CLJB (Jan 8, 2013)

cjbfisher said:


> Good on ya Trev, but in the future, please keep the photos from the waist up.


Severe Moose-knuckle...
but a great fish.


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## Sprocket (Nov 19, 2008)

Good on you Trev, I got my first hit on a hardbody in 4 years on Monday. Lucky eh?
Cheers,
Dave.


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## polylureosis (Jul 24, 2006)

kayakone said:


> Conversely, coming from a sea kayak background, where the journey is the primary goal, I must paddle, as I get bored quickly just drift fishing .&#8230; so I troll hardbodies (HB's) for hours, most often to nil effect. Occasionally I get lucky. This was such a lucky day &#8230; viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57696


Hardbodies and Snapper is my MO. 
I get lucky if I am trolling the right lure, of the right colour, at the right time, at the right depth, at the right speed, at the right direction, at the right location. Not too much to ask?

My one hint - Speed Kills.


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## sweed (Oct 1, 2011)

Good to see you back out there paddling again Trev,nice eating size snapper too.
Bring on the Longtails eh.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

polylureosis said:


> My one hint - Speed Kills.


What do you mean by that? Go fast, or go slow?

Jimbo reckons go fast, but several of my bigger catches have been trolling very slowly.



sweed said:


> Good to see you back out there paddling again Trev,nice eating size snapper too.
> Bring on the Longtails eh.


It is longtail time Gary. Noosa and Brays are in my sights for the next few months. We might even get lucky at Scarby again.


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Nice red dude, did you have the hardbody hanging in the water while you chatted to Jimbo? I've only ever caught one snapper on a hardbody lure and that was while I was rerigging a soft plastic and leaving the hardbody (sinking type) deadsticked in the water. Maybe your red had a chance for a good look at the stationary lure then jumped on once it started slowly moving eh? I think if you want to troll for snapper you'd want to troll for 3 or 4 strokes then stay still for 10-15 seconds then troll for 3 or 4 strokes then pause and so on but I've never tried that myself with a hardbody. Works with 1/4 oz jigheads and 5 second pauses midwater though for snapper and for squid with 3.5 jigs and 5 second pauses ;-)

Glad to see you're back in the saddle Trev.


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

When I first hit the water, Trev had already told me he was off South, and I did the in-close troll before going wider.

Within 4 minutes, the Storm Mid-thunder Grey Ghost was hammered by a 38cm pinkie, removed from said pinkie's jaw and hurled out for another go. Nothing more heading in the same direction, so doubled back for zip as well, but on the second Northwards run, right on the same spot, zoofter went the Stradic again!

This time it was a much better fish&#8230; easily high forties/lower fifties, but when stupid went to lift it over the side onto the spray-skirt-work-bench, I was left with an empty lure!

Sometimes I wonder at my own stupidity&#8230; growing with age!

Another run turned up empty, so I thought I'd try a drift with softies through the same area.

Due to light winds, the drift was painfully slow, but I persisted, and when almost level with the spot where the Grey Ghost had excited the local pinkie population, a commercial crabber decided it was time to harass the clown in the green/yellow kayak.

Can you imagine someone being so ignorant as to motor up noisily to within 6 metres of a quietly fishing person, noisily lift a crab-pot onto the tinnie, bang said crab-pot to shake crabs off the netting, shake them onto the tinnie's floor, and in general make a complete arse of himself?

I removed the mask from my face so he could see that I was mouthing words to him, and gave him a gob-ful!

I was so steamed up at his lack of decency to me that I could no longer fish on there&#8230; (it would be pretty useless fishing there after all that noise, anyway) that I reeled in and paddled off for less noisy places.

Within a few minutes of fishing after lining up marks and ascertaining the correct drift/current movement, I caught a just legal snapper. Whilst attending the formals, lip-grip, de-hook, measure and photograph, I noticed a green kayak passing within a hundred metres East of me&#8230;

The paddler looked directly at me, obviously noted the fish, paddled on and changed direction towards where I'd caught the fish. I picked up on his movements, and noted that he looked at his fish-finder, then after a short delay, began fishing right where I wanted to drift through again.

Blood in eyes, when I'd let the fish go, I reeled in and paddled directly up to him and told him in no uncertain terms that what he'd just done was not on! In effect, he'd just pirated a spot that I'd taken years to find, jotted it down on the GPS as a new-found spot, and fished it before I could have another run through that area.

If you happen to be the fellow in the green Prowler, you need to learn lessons about manners and appropriate/ethical behaviour towards fellow anglers.

In other words, go find your own fishing areas&#8230; don't jump in and fish where others have just caught fish, unless of course, you've been invited!

It took me half an hour before I was calmed down enough to fish properly, but the fishing warmed up, and in general I had a pretty good day... apart from the two skirmishes, of course.

Jimbo


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## shell225 (Feb 6, 2013)

brilliant fish Trev


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## redgreg (Oct 17, 2012)

good fish trev, and yes you do have to get your baits down to where the fish are


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Nice fishies trev.



kayakone said:


> What do you mean by that? Go fast, or go slow?
> 
> .


2.8km/hr and stop. You just want the lure to be working. Always go with the current.

The big ones hang out at the same spots, waste of time going anywhere else, just follow Jimbo around for locations.


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## polylureosis (Jul 24, 2006)

kayakone said:


> polylureosis said:
> 
> 
> > My one hint - Speed Kills.
> ...


Slowly.

I find it hard to stay on 2.8KM/hr  - Anything under 4.5 works for me.
Changes of speed and direction also help.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

polylureosis said:


> kayakone said:
> 
> 
> > polylureosis said:
> ...


Thanks Poly and Paul. I've been suspicious of that old fart's advice for a while (on trolling speed only, not on SP techniques). Slow and stop it is for a while. Watch this space.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

salticrak said:


> Trev, Jim has not been the same since he saw visions of the ''crak''


Correct. He has gone to the Hub for two weeks for therapy. Buggered if I know how that is going to help him.

Maybe if you post a photo it may help him....you know of the therapy theory, confronting his fears and traumas. :lol:


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

kayakone said:


> salticrak said:
> 
> 
> > Trev, Jim has not been the same since he saw visions of the ''crak''
> ...


Please no photos... I'm still twitching a bit at times when the memory/vision comes back... ugh!

Remember the old scene?
Ogre with bull-whip... "The Whip! The Whip!"
Poor little waif... "No! No! Anything but the whip!"
"Anything but the whip????" (anything in this particular case meaning "the crak!"
"The whip! The whip!"
:lol: :lol: 
Jimbo


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Show him your crack Salti! That should finish him off!*

* Actually Killer saw it too, and he has been acting a bit strange lately.


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