# Vic-TeaTree:Critters, Snapper and all, 30-31st/10/09(PICS)



## mtfisho (May 30, 2009)

Hi Guys,

The long awaited tea tree snapper comp had come this weekend. Oohhohoh yeahhhhhhhh! That day at school couldn't of been any longer  
Got home at Pakenham about 3:45pm to load up all the crap. The plan was to hit Ricketts for sundown and after dark. After several phonecalls about where to park, etc. Arrived at Ricketts just after 5pm(Stupid Springvale road :roll: ) Bigyakka lost his life jacket(Idiot) so Geoff bought one of his for me and the old G got mine. Arrived to see everyone is out. Not everyone. Fishnsurf and his Revo just about to launch said Gday had a chat then went to unload my yak. Soon enough Maccayak arrived. Setup pretty quick and then went to launch. Paddling, paddling and more paddling. Finally think I'm right in 1 metre of water than it goes to nothing :shock: Smashed the Mirage drive into it and it got stuck. Bent the mast and the mast popped out of the fin(More of an Idiot) Still worked. Caught up with Bigyakka, Camoyak and Matty. One fish landed at 35cm by Matty.(Tiny) Everyone goes for a troll but at the time I didn't have a decent Snapper trolling lure so just anchored. Anchored and anchored and anchored. Then I get a phone call from Maccayak. Mitch mitch mitch guess what. WHAT? I've got one. How big? I dont know maybe just a Pinkie. Pull the anchor up and go over to him. Pinkie. Your kidding me stuffen big fish. 59cm was the final tally(weighed in as 2.805?) Good onya Geoff well deserved. Scounged around looking for a hardbody found one. Trolling trolling and trolling and getting the crap scared out of me by a dolphin! Bilby got a nice Snook and Camo got a 42cm Pinkie which got him into the comp. We head in after lightning everywhere. The old man and Bigyakka head to the bottleshop. Then The old man, me and Matty head to black rock. Rhino has landed a 75cm fish! Get there and theres pizzas, beers and kayaks(Good old fisherman) Madfishman, Seasquire, Rhino where there. Getting late. Then the storm hits by this time Matty is GoNe and we all are in Madfishmans car lol. After a while of talking crap we end up just camping it on the boat ramp. Wasn't much of a camp as we only got 1-2hours sleep. Well we did 3am Neil is banging on the car door. Time to go fishing boys lol. Get up Donuts is there. There all ready to launch. Waiting for Starver. Stuck in rod works. They all launch. We stuff around for a bit and decide to head to Sunnyside. After accidently heading to Brighton :? :? We hit the petrol station for petrol(derrr) and drinks, etc. Rhinos and Donuts 3am beer effort wins the courage reward! Arrive at Sunnyside and Richy is there. Say hi unload and head out. As soon as I get out there Davidl hooks into this fish. Thinking its a Snapper he is happy and then we have this Thresher shark jump out 4 times :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: Then he was towed a good 2-3km. The shark chasers were chasing him. Was easily 4-5ft Fighting for ages and then twang. Spewwing but we have about 5 witnesses it jumped out. Critter hunt. We troll Rapalas up and then I relize I have Maccayaks keys in my pocket so I have to go back. End up just playing around with Squid but couldnt land one. After the landing we all talk and Elm rocks up and after that we head to Scottys. Scottys still working so everyone was looking around in the store and then we put the Barbi on. Ended up with about 15guys there you reckon maybe more. Thankyou to Scott who put on the show for us. Then we went to Morny race course for presentations. Sat for 2hours and none of us won prizes. Dam. Thanks to all who came and made it an awesome time and see you out on the water again soon!








Anchored








His a bit shy. First time photo you know!








Not so shy now!








Camoyaks Fish
At Lovigs!








Tea Tree!Morny Race course!








The old mans pine tree fish hahahahaaha








MATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!








The sea fog was too thick at Shoreham to go out!

Thanks Mitch


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## bilby (Sep 2, 2008)

Yes it was another great couple of days to be on the water, fish wise, well its not my best effort, but thats fishin. It started for me Thursday night loading up the trusty suby and getting everything ready, i made it a mission of mine to fish the whole year out my kayak with no bait, so i was armed with 5" gulps, hardbodies, vibes. I hit Ricketts as the most consistent reports seem to be coming from that area, anyway met Allister99 in the carpark and we were off, trolled hardbodies and picked up a 25cm monster pinkie, then i flicked some plastics around and got a 38cm pinkie (i was thinking of putting him on the rack to make him legal for the comp) anyway he went back to grow a bit bigger, then i got smashed just on dark, headshakes and taking line, i was getting pretty excited but it came straight to the surface, i knew then it wasn't a red, it was a snook about 60+cm, i let him go, i then decided pretty quick that graphite rods and lightning don't like each other, so i called it a night.
Was on the water at 5.30am this morning, launched from Canadian bay and straight away got 5 or more pinkies to 38cm but just couldn't get a legal, so i went out deep to the 19mtr mark i had, on the way out i could hear the boys hollering and shouting out, i could see them and thought they had a monster snapper in close to Sunnyside, it turned out it was a thresher of about 4-5ft (its probably 10ft now after a few beers eh Dave) Out at the 19mtr mark i threw vibes, plastics, kitchen sink at them, but no players.I got a few flatties and decided to troll in and try shallow again, to see if the pinkies had grown since the morning,(they hadn't) I called it a morning at 10.00am.
Anyway big thanks to Scotty and Richard for putting on the barbie and beers.
Cheers and see you out on the water.
Bilby.


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## salmonsnature (Apr 24, 2008)

Well that was a very informative post, pitty you didnt get any mitch but atleast you wern't at home trying to study with the attention span of a gold fish and 2 exams to look forward to on monday, thinking ohhhh ahhhh rrrrr i should be out there and your mates calling saying they have bagged out in 18 m and you could have been there :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: Anyways that thresher would have been freakin awsome, I will be chasing it in 1 week ;-) 8) :lol: 
Howd Matty, Scott and all the others go??


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## Starver (Aug 18, 2008)

While Rhino is sleeping just thought I post up a pic of the snapper he pick up on Friday night off BlackRock photo was taken next day at Kocomo(Altona) after being gutted.
Fish went 75cm 4kg well done mate.

Cheers Pete


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## FISHPEDDLER (May 12, 2007)

Well done guys, some keen fishing hours and gustsy with the lightning nearby. Good to see a few Reds were landed. Cheers Paul


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## zipper (Feb 27, 2008)

awesome job guys, headed out off briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighton friday night with anton70 for a toadie and a 30cm pinkie... PFFT! f*kin everywhere those kents. chewed the head off my whole squid i was dangling down for snaps. 
glad to hear a couple of you guys got into good fish. see you all in 2 years haha (looking forward to year 12 exams haha)
how big was the winning fish?

cheers
patrick


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## maccayak (Oct 20, 2008)

Good report there Mitch. I caught my first ever snapper there on Friday, so I had a ball. To say I was excited would be an understatement. Got it on a weighted Rapala Taildancer in 9m of water. (thanks Matty). Also had a good run when I was chatting to Big G and that one bent the treble(hooks will be replaced next week). I like that spot at Ricketts, so I am sure I ill be back. I too bent my Mirage drive, same spot as Mitch. Thanks to everyone who fished that night in that area, it was good fun. Bad luck to David L for missing the critter. When I heard the first splash, I was sure Bigyakka had just fallen out again. 

Cheers Geoff


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## cruiser (Dec 19, 2007)

Fish or no fish looks like everyone had another top weekend ,might have to book in a leave pass for next years comp

cheers cruiser


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## fishnsurf (Jul 20, 2009)

Good report mitch, well done. I tried Brighton early Fri afternoon, but only a couple of flathead, so hit ricketts around 4.30 and fished with the crew out there till around 10. Good to see geoff landed a nice fish. I only managed a couple of undersize pinkies. Ricketts on low tide in the dark is very nasty on the mirage drive if you get caught out. I spent about half and hour the next day fixing it up. I think next time in that situation I will be paddling in from around 100m offshore. Great to meet a few new faces and thanks to scott and the boys for the bbq. Great couple of days. A bonus was matty putting me onto a hobie cushion for the rear end which will go a long way in my hunt for the 70cm+ model I am chasing this season - after seeing your fish rhino i'm a believer.


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Good report Mitch and well done to everyone for having a go and those lucky buggers that managed a red. Only regret was I missed out on seeing the 5' to 6' Thresher leaping from the water, bad luck but a good effort from all reports DavidL.
Humid, dressed in my longjohn wettie and around 7pm, I launched the AI into a gentle northerly from Mornington, planned to head out (west) and troll hard bodies & large SP's off the down rigger in 20+ meters, also to troll some vibes on/near the surface for some fresh couta baits so I could later anchor. Only made it out about 1.5 to 2 km (19 meters) when the lightning started (south) in the distance, decided against heading out any further and instead turned and headed back in towards Sunnyside. Came in to around the 8 meter mark , where I left a floating Rapala hanging off the down rigger while I threw the vibe around for no taker's, cracked open the sail once more and tried trolling again. Shortly after more lighting, only this time right over Mornington so I dropped the lightning rod on the AI settling for the pedals. Continued with the downrigger making regular changes to the lures, no interest apart from something rising from the bottom to swim along with the downrigger weight as I watched it on the sounder (18 meters).
The storm appeared to break up behind me on the eastern side of the bay and moved around to the west, decided to leave the mast down but move further north towards Ansetts reef. For a while I thought I had kept a close eye on the storm as it moved around the west while I trolled my way north, until in the distance I could see all the boats from out near the channel racing back into Mornington, stopping for a good look I found the storm was closing in across to the eastern side behind me, turning around I hit the pedals in an effort to get back closer to Mornington, still leaving the downrigger down in hope. Passing Sunnyside I could hear the roar, then a cold snap as the front hit me, wound everything in and hit the gas trying to punch through the now head on wind with the full AI + tramps. This time last year there would have been sixty boats in close, but this year there were only about ten and they were all gone bar one, as I came in close to Mornington he motored up beside me to check I was ok and to see if I needed a tow, thanks, but I reckon Ill be right from here!!! Entering the harbor there was a Que of at least 40 boats waiting for the ramp, so I cruised in to the beach, plugged in the wheels and well jumped the Que so to speak. 
Glad to be on land I headed over to the the Marine rescue tent where a hot coffee and egg & bacon were devoured while chatting to all the boaties and checking out the catches. Packed it in around 2.00am.
Next morning the back and neck aching, decided to give the morning fish a miss and just socialise, Rang Matty to here DavidL had just lost his shark off Sunnyside (wonder if it was it that swam next to my downrigger weight?). Joined up with all the crew then went to Scotts for a great BBQ and chat (thanks Scott & Richard for the BBQ also Dan for the home brew keg.

Braved the heat (not used to it down south here in Melbourne) at the presentations to see a 10.8 kg monster one first prize for biggest fish and to see some poor bugger win a boat but then lose it just as quick because he didn't have his ticket, HOW WOULD YA FEEL?????????????


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## lostinoz (Feb 18, 2007)

great report mate, i bet the thresher was fun,


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## Rhino (Dec 17, 2007)

I've finally had some computer problems sorted, so I can now post a quick report of the Tea Tree trip.

I didn't actually enter the comp because I just didn't get around to sending the entry form, but I fished with the guys anyhow. Madfishman and I met at the Blackrock Boat Ramp and started to get organised. Mikeyoda drove in but ended up going to Brighton I think. We were constantly interrupted by rain storms, but took our chances when it eased for a bit. And it was only for a bit.

While at anchor we sat through numerous rain storms and squalls of up to 30 knots. Not pretty, but what are you gonna do?

WE were marking up plenty of fish on the sounder but nothing took an interest. WE made a move of three hundred metres and started the process again of burleying and presenting baits. Madfishman and I were yelling across the water towards each other as we swapped fishing stories when the rod on my right buckled over. Pick it up and the battle began. About 20-30 seconds into it and the rod on my left took off like a steam train. I picked it up quickly and set the hook before placing it back in the holder to wait it's turn. I got the first fish to about 5 foot under the yak. I was just preparing the net and it was as if it just let go. I watched that fish of about 3 kgs casually swim away.

Oh well, no time to sulk. On to the second rod, and what a battle that was. Run after run after run. WE were in 14.5 metres of water and this fish refused to come up. When I did get it up to about 8-9 metres (I could see it on the sounder) it would fight it's way back down again. My arms were aching as the fish hit the surface and I notice that it is hooked in behind the gill plate. I reckon that if it took one more run when it saw the net that it would like pull the hooks. Luckily it slid straight in and I was a happy man. It measured 75cms which on the "Weigh your Catch Ruler" is 4.9 kgs.

Seasquarie came soon after but unfortunately for him we didn't stay long as the lighting show had just begun. In for beer and pizzas and we watch the lighting show as the change ripped through. I got about an hours sleep before heading out again about 4am. My first set of baits got me a smaller one at 47cms and that was it for the day.

Because of the rain and wind I didn't have the video cameras setup. They were in the hull, but I got a bit of video (in poor light) after netting the fish.


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## fishin (Jan 19, 2009)

Rhino said:


> It measured 75cms which on the "Weigh your Catch Ruler" is 4.9 kgs.


Well done Darren. That's got to be a near record from a kayak? You've set the target for the rest of us this season. Glad your visit to this side of the bay was a success. I have fished black rock countless times for just undersized pinkies, what was your secret?


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## mtfisho (May 30, 2009)

fishin said:


> Rhino said:
> 
> 
> > It measured 75cms which on the "Weigh your Catch Ruler" is 4.9 kgs.
> ...


Beer, beer more beer and patients!


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## breamski (May 3, 2009)

Rhino said:


> I've finally had some computer problems sorted, so I can now post a quick report of the Tea Tree trip.


well done 
HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH at the song :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## seasquarie (Sep 25, 2008)

Nothing to add other than I shared some good man-time on the weekend with some aquaintances from last season and some new ones as well that I hope to catch on the water again soon. Just wanted to add three things to this post:
1. Thanks to Rhino and Starver for helping me sort my shit out when I fell in 2 k's off Brighton :shock:, 
2. Thanks to both again for allowing me the dignity of dobbing myself in, and
3. Neoprene waders will not send you straight to DJ's locker if you are wearing a decent LJ!
An expensive lesson as I had one rod that wasn't locked in - a $300 outfit that I would have shared a bed with if allowed I loved it that much  !
Great fish Rhino. Sorry Scott for missing your barbie but I had the Shits!
Good night all


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## CamFish (Jul 25, 2009)

good choice of song for the video rhino........matches fishing very well


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## Rhino (Dec 17, 2007)

fishin said:


> Well done Darren. That's got to be a near record from a kayak? You've set the target for the rest of us this season. Glad your visit to this side of the bay was a success. I have fished black rock countless times for just undersized pinkies, what was your secret?


What was the secret? - A friend with a GPS mark :lol:

As it turns out, we were only 310 metres from it anyway. Funny thing was we were marking up more fish where we were than where we got fish. :shock:

Mitch got part of it right. Patience. We'd been out about 6hrs before landing a fish. The beer came later :lol:


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## bilby (Sep 2, 2008)

Great fish Rhino, i'm taking up knitting or something easier, i'm struggling to find a decent fish this year so far.
Cheers mate.


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## Rhino (Dec 17, 2007)

bilby said:


> Great fish Rhino, i'm taking up knitting or something easier, i'm struggling to find a decent fish this year so far.
> Cheers mate.


Thanks Bilbs,

I haven't exactly been setting the world on fire either mate. Certainly not doing as well as last season. 

Let me know how the knitting goes. I might be looking for another hobby as well :lol:


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## topgunpete (Jul 19, 2009)

Rhino said:


> Thanks Bilbs,
> 
> I haven't exactly been setting the world on fire either mate. Certainly not doing as well as last season.
> 
> Let me know how the knitting goes. I might be looking for another hobby as well :lol:


tuffen up princesses, it is only early in the season :lol: :lol: - at least you have a fish or two. how are the unwashed supposed to stay positive with 2 legends giving up so early.


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## Rhino (Dec 17, 2007)

topgunpete said:


> Rhino said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks Bilbs,
> ...


 :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm not giving up yet Topgun, I've still got a month off work. ;-) 8)


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## topgunpete (Jul 19, 2009)

bugger! I haven't.  Go hard. ;-)


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## mattyp (Mar 7, 2008)

Here's some photos of Davidl being pulled along by the thresher shark.


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

matty said:


> Here's some photos of Davidl being pulled along by the thresher shark.
> View attachment 1


Strewth no wonder the thresher didn't want to stop, thought it had Merv Hughes after it with another All Bran Challenge.

Good shots Matty

Great Red there Rhino, dito on the tune's.


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## topgunpete (Jul 19, 2009)

yep I fished from the stinker during the tea tree, I did manage a couple of snapper 48 & 50 cm, both taken on 1/0 circle hooks on light rods with a squid tentacle for bait. 19m off Mt Martha, straight out from the clock tower - however the interesting feature was that one of them had a small sand crab (red spot crab) in its belly. Might be an alternative bait option - even 1/4 or 1/2 crabs if they are on the larger size.

My mate managed 5 snaps, and a couple came from the same area using squid bombs as bait when all else had failed. (small whole squid rigged on a snelled hook with a whole pilchard rigged on the lower hook).


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Huge congrats on that song Darren!!! Absolute cracker!

...and the fish too...


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## widsa (Nov 26, 2008)

Hey fella's just noticed this on Cranbourne Tackle world fishing report....



> Peter Richie sent us an email after fishing last weekend out from Sunnyside in his Kayak. Peter was flicking a 7inch soft plastic and hooked into a nice Thresher Shark, after a few jumps, the fish busted off.


http://www.ifish.com.au/weekly_fishing_report.php

You changed your name recently Dave??
Seems you cant trust any thing you read these days ey'!!!! ;-)

Will


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## topgunpete (Jul 19, 2009)

yeah, pretty happy when I saw that on their newsletter. hopefully the Mail are running the story with the correct information and a picture of merv hughes hooked up..


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## FishoPhil (Oct 28, 2008)

Great work guys!!


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