# Qld. Longtail saves the day. Noosa 24Feb13



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Here it was, 24 Feb and, other than eyetag's brilliant pair of spanglies in tough conditions last weekend at Stradbroke Island, outside our catchment area, Noosa Yakkers were possibly about to score an offshore donut for an entire month, an unprecedented situation. This offshore donut was about to come about because the weather had been so extreme that only two viable offshore opportunities were presented. On the first of these, 10Feb, several desperate Noosa Yakkers hit Laguna Bay but had to scurry home wet, embarrassed and fishless. What is more, a quick look at the weather forecast for the rest of February indicated slim chances of getting out. Could we throw the monkey off before the end of February?

Thankfully, the forecast for calm conditions was accurate and a reasonable swell completed the picture. It was go at 4:00 am, for a 5:00 am launch. Six Noosa Yakkers were to launch today and the first of us, Jaro and I, were on the beach by just after 5:00am, 30 minutes before sunrise.

Even though we were in the flood phase of the tide, with about another hour to go before full, there were still waves closing out our narrow exit. But the lulls were readable and these were the best conditions offered for a month so how could we turn back now? Jaro paddled straight out cleanly without a pause, just at the end of a lull. Fifteen seconds or so behind jaro, the Middle Groyne express pushed me out along the channel and, as I expected, a big set arrived causing me to back paddle at the end of the wall, as I've often had to do. Five waves went through before the lull invited me to go, which allowed me to dry bum it today. It felt good to get out in the bay again in windless conditions, even if the usually clear water was murky. This was another difficulty we faced and much of this month, the seasonal rainfall in the Noosa River catchment was forcing the river to give up its store of tea coloured, tannin stained fresh water reserves which were now pouring into our bay and turning that area into a no-go zone for pelagic predators. So today our goal was to find the clean water boundary, hopefully within range of our craft, and hopefully find fish.

Jew Shoal offered the best prospect, I thought. With Soren and lazybugger now safely launched also, the four of us turned for Jew Shoal as soon as we were individually ready. Paddling out was dead easy as the sea was unruffled and only slightly lumpy from the swell rolling into the bay. My trolled hardbody lure went all the way to the shoal in murky water without attracting any attention. Nor was there any surface action visible, and only one tern on the way out. But one good tern deserves another and there were plenty of terns visible once out at Jew Shoal, where the water was still murky at The Pinnacles, four km from the launch beach. The terns, however were flocking further out to the north and north east and I pushed on toward them, eventually finding the clean water boundary about 800m further out.

By now we were aware that stormin and kahuna had launched and were heading for Jew Shoal also as they were briefed by radio as to our situation.

In this clearer water I decided to drift fish a while in 23m depth, hoping that some fishy predators would arrive to feed on the smaller critters the terns were obviously having for breakfast. The silence was remarkable and such that before long I heard the unmistakeable shoaling and splashing noises which emanate from surface-feeding fish The activity was unseen but somewhere in my vicinity. When I commented on this and the clean water to the rest of the gang by radio, they started to head toward where I indicated. Soren soon found the activity first, and got a few casts away into a shoal of what I took for bonito, or maybe tiny mac tuna, rippling and causing a mini commotion as they joined the breakfast bar feasting.

No serious fish were evident, however, although lazybugger reported a huge strike on a trolled SP. This strike had damaging consequences as the carbon rod, in the rod holder, was snapped off, leaving the butt section behind. Scott's rod leash did its job however, and being attached higher up the butt, near the reel, saved the rod and reel from a watery grave. The fish busted the lure off but at least lazybugger got his gear back.









Lazybugger displays the butt end of the broken rod.

Shortly after this, with no activity for me on the SPs I was using while drift fishing, I decided to open up my horizons a little by trolling the area where the terns were still wheeling and dipping. Barely had I begun this when a huge splash occurred about 30m in front of me and then a longtail tuna over a metre in length cleared the water two rod lengths away on my port side. This info was passed by radio to my companions. Now we knew what we were up against.

Jaro at this time was bottom fishing with bait around Jew Shoal and had been pretty quiet on the radio so I knew the action was slow in that department. Then up he came on the radio saying that he'd caught and released a 60cm mac tuna (cast a slug into a bustup which happened to pop up next to him).

By around 7:55 I had paddled along, following tern activity, all the way down to A-Bay. Here I found kahuna, doing the same as I was, following the edge of the giant plume of fresh water which was spilling out of Laguna Bay and being carried out to the south around Hell's Gates. Terns were picking up a feed here with only rare glimpses by us of fishy predators, including my second sighting for the day of a leaping longtail tuna, this one blasting out vertically close by. I'd just decided to head back toward Jew Shoal when jaro, who was still there, came up on the radio saying he was hooked up to something huge. No other detail was offered and as I was heading in that direction anyway I let him know that I was 1.5 km away and that I was heading toward him. Knowing that jaro was fishing with bait, I presumed his monster fish was a shark, especially with the murky water around.

Every now and then jaro came up on the radio to give us a progress report. My interest level increased when he told us he'd seen the fish briefly and reckoned it was a tuna. On the way to his location I marked a couple of spots to the east of Jew Shoal where heavy concentrations of baitfish were evident. The water here was clearer than before so perhaps these bait schools were concentrating along the edge of the murky water.









One of the baitfish concentrations.

I reached jaro about 8:35am, some 700m east of The Pinnacles, in relatively clean water. He'd been battling this fish for about 40 minutes by now and now I first learned that it had taken a large prawn bait, drift fished and intended for snapper or sweetlip. The throbbing on the end of his rod tip indicated that he had a tuna on alright so I hung around to see the end of the encounter.









Jaro half way through the battle.

Having been through many such captures, jaro was in no hurry to finish off this fish. He just maintained pressure and gained line whenever he could. The fish hung under the yak most of the time and eventually the pressure did the job and he came peacefully to the side of the yak where jaro inserted the gaff into the operculum and lifted its head out of the water.









Gaff just inserted

Once he'd secured the fish and brought it on board we set up the standard Noosa Yakkers big fish pic and here it is.









Jaro with longtail tuna.

This was a good time for jaro and me to call a halt to our fishing for the day so we headed for the beach. All of our companions decided to also head in, but not all together.

The water level being lower than at launch time meant that the same swell as earlier was now causing the sand monster to become active. Waves were breaking 20-30 metres out from the groyne and prudence dictated that care be taken in timing. Lazybugger, soren and I all returned to the beach without drama. This left jaro out there getting ready for his run and, knowing that jaro usually has impeccable timing in this process I was not paying attention and did not have the camera running. I looked up briefly only to see him sideways in the break zone about to be engulfed by a breaking wave. Next instant he was upside down. He had failed to notice that the break zone started further out now than earlier. Soren and lazybugger were worried about the fish, which had been too long to be stored completely inside his fish box. I assured them that jaro would have the tuna secured to the kayak with at least two leashes and this proved to be the case when he eventually made it to the beach, very damp and a bit embarrassed, but with his fish. There's a lesson there for newbies. Always make sure that your valuable catch is very secure before running the surf zone.

A few beach pics









Kahuna reckoned he was hamming it up for the camera









The longtail on the mat; 108cm; 13.8kg









Lazybugger and his broken rod









A couple of Swedish visitors had an unexpected opportunity to experience Noosa locals.

Thanks for reading AKFFers. Tight lines

Kev


----------



## 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.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWRhzE3sAAAdfgAAQYAEAAIAA0AAm554AIABA1NT0NR4oyPFCjRkDRpkaXI1x4/snfWvjdksqaSy42JiAwzR8BCrYmm65LMBzB/i7kinChIDDmJvY


----------



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Longtail on a prawn? :shock: First time Kev? What about other baits? (we caught a couple late last year drifting SP's).

Good one Jaro! Especially for early in the season.

trev


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Hopefully the longtails spend a bit more time in the bay than the mackeral have so far this season. That's a good solid fish to whet the appetite for (hopefully) good things to come.

Kev


----------



## bruus (Aug 27, 2010)

Great catch Jaro, too bad it wasn't a snapper hey? Lazy at least now you know the rod holder and leash can withstand a hit. I've never had a hit like that but i'm thinking I might have to use a lighter drag to begin with before I grab hold of the rod. Assuming I actually get myself out there to try catch one of whatever it might have been.


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Hey Scotty,

Did you have you're drag cranked up too tight? Thats a pretty serious injury to inflict on a rod, usually it's the other end that snaps. :shock:


----------



## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

A nice way to avoid the donut, shame about the rod breakage though.


----------



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

BIGKEV said:


> Hey Scotty,
> 
> Did you have you're drag cranked up too tight? Thats a pretty serious injury to inflict on a rod, usually it's the other end that snaps. :shock:





Lazybugger said:


> Kev,
> 
> Drag was set about normal for the reel, a 30cm snap might have just pulled a bit but a 35cm would definately pulled line off on the first run. The drag was going off before the rod left the holder. Buggered if I know why it happened.


I reckon that's a fault Scott. You've been around long enough to realize it wasn't locked drag. Fact is the drag _was _working. It should not have broken. Possibly another longtail.
If that was a graphite rod, then I'm finished with them forever. I must have read about 10 breakages on the forum in 2.5 years. It's Ugly Sticks for me (or equivalent)!

trev


----------



## carnster (May 27, 2008)

Fantastic report Kev and gr8 catch Jaro. Good to see the noosa boys back in action with the female tourists.
I love the ugly sticks and have never broken one unlike the only 3 graphite rods that i have ever owned.
I have noticed that my rods have a crease in the butt foam where the top of the rod holder is, but i have used lock up drag on big fish many times.
I bet the rod broke at that point where the load form the holder is placed directly on the bare blank.


----------



## hoit (Aug 29, 2005)

Another great report Kev. Its good to see the Noosa guys finally get a chance to head out.

Nice effort on the LT Jaro. Hopefully it will be a cracker of a season.

Cheers
Hoit


----------



## bigalex (Mar 16, 2008)

I am impressed by the size of the long tail so early in the season. Well done.


----------



## Foxxy (May 12, 2008)

Great read, great fish! Quick question for you on the sounder; I've got the same one and have trouble getting fish to show up without noise - it seems like 97 - 100% show up fish but lots of cr$p in the water and I'm sure plenty of noise too. Anything less and I just get the bottom. The sounder is in the hull (hobie adventure) with sikaflex. Curious how you have your sounder mounted? Any tips on sensitivity and getting the fish to show without noise?
Cheers, Tom


----------



## SLB (Jul 8, 2010)

Great read, cheers for the detailed report.


----------



## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

That's the stuff!

A shrimp. Amazing. I've observed tuna will eat whatever they want, but rarely the same thing on consecutive days. Way to capitalize on crustacean day.


----------



## Safa (Aug 4, 2006)

Unless the drag is really loose it seems those thin fighting butts can't handle the rod holders on the yak we have had a few break down here aswell,good fish there and maybe just maybe there's a chance of saving the season here on the Goldie aswell ,it's been like a grave yard ,except for Carnie that can raise the dead !


----------



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

RedPhoenix said:


> Oooh.. longtail! Promising start to the longtail run?
> 
> Red.


Hi Red

We got one in January, 118cm, and this was our second for the year. In 2012 we got the first in February and then caught them every month from then until September, none after that. We're hoping that the wind drops, only got out here twice this month.

Kev


----------



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

BigGee said:


> Another fantastic report of a Noosa Adventure.
> 
> Regarding the last photo though ... was that you steaming up the camera or them Kev? :lol:
> 
> ...


G'day Gee

Steam? Me? Naah!

I must have been distracted as I obviously didn't check the lens cover for moisture, which, with the high humidity here, is a common hazard for photography. I nearly didn't use the pic but thought you guys would cut me a bit of slack. Interestingly, the ladies were both very tall and I asked them if they were Swedish, figuring that if they weren't they'd be flattered at my guess.

Kev


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Safa said:


> Unless the drag is really loose it seems those thin fighting butts can't handle the rod holders on the yak we have had a few break down here aswell


Hmmmm, I only have the split butt in my t-curve which is my slug casting outfit anyway, I'll make sure I don't troll with it in the future after hearing this, thanks Safa. And well done on highlighting this potential trap for young players LB, your dedication to educating the AKFF fratenity is truly stoic. ;-)



Lazybugger said:


> with the white Zman paddle tail


So this is what you were trolling Scotty? Anymore details? Plastic size, jighead size/weight?

Kev


----------



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

kayakone said:


> Longtail on a prawn? :shock: First time Kev? What about other baits? (we caught a couple late last year drifting SP's). Good one Jaro! Especially for early in the season. trev


Hi Trev

A year or so ago eyetag threw out a banana prawn bait at Sunshine Reef and it was taken by a longtail. These are big prawns, fished with little or no added weight, just drifting slowly toward the bottom in reefy areas. In the last year we've caught longtail on SPs, slugs, hardbodies, live baits. They're a hazard when fishing for snapper with SPs as they swoop in, nail the SP and you spend the next hour trying to subdue the beast on your light gear.

Kev


----------



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

tfoxsmith said:


> Great read, great fish! Quick question for you on the sounder; I've got the same one and have trouble getting fish to show up without noise - it seems like 97 - 100% show up fish but lots of cr$p in the water and I'm sure plenty of noise too. Anything less and I just get the bottom. The sounder is in the hull (hobie adventure) with sikaflex. Curious how you have your sounder mounted? Any tips on sensitivity and getting the fish to show without noise?
> Cheers, Tom


G'day Tom

If you're using your sonar in shallow water (eg Moreton Bay) you'll probably get a lot of false echoes/noise. I manually select the depth and sensitivity, which I reduce slowly until I reduce the clutter and still get a clear bottom signal. Often there are spurious echos appearing on my screen, but there's no mistaking the baitfish concentrations when you go over them. I've proved this by looking over the side and seeing the top of the mass of baitfish about three metres down.

My transducer is internally mounted, firing through a water filled balloon which it rests on and which is in close contact with the fibreglass hull. The system works just as well on my plastic Espri, too.

Maybe you just need to try it in deeper water, and play with the sensitivity. If the problem persists, try removing the transducer and just hanging it over the side temporarily to get an idea of the best the system can do. I find these cheap fish finders are totally adequate for my needs and are remarkably resilient.

Kev


----------



## Foxxy (May 12, 2008)

Thanks Kev, I'll give IT a whirl off straddle in a couple of weeks if the weather ever clears up enough to go for the dive we booked. I fish off Redcliffe a lot, so never much more than 7m of water.. I reckon I'm beginning to see the difference between rubbish and fish, so I'll keep tweaking the sensitivity.. I hadn't realised you could specify the depth (I thought it was just the screen display rather than any type of power / resolution setting), so I'll take that off auto and see how it goes.


----------



## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

It's great to see somebody actually getting out on the briney... weather's been bloody awful and water looks really crappy. All the beaches have changed radically here at Redcliffe, with the water now coming up under the board-walks... it never used to prior to this run of bad weather.

Nice longtail, Jaro... hope there are plenty more... Way to capitalize on crustacean day.(good one Zed!)

Lazybugger... commiserations on losing the fish, and also your broken rod-butt . Could a metal tube/rod be inserted and araldited inside the broken pieces? might give it another life for you... I'm sure you'd like to use it again if possible.

Cheers all... Jimbo


----------

