# Clovelly Saturday



## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Gatesy, Dave73, JT, SBD, Kraley and myself met this morning around 0515 at the Gordon's Bay ramp, in Clovelly. Although the wind was supposed to be around 5-7Kn, it was considerably more when we first arrived. After rigging up, we wheeled our yaks to the edge of the ramp that goes into the water. There were a few waves, and the trick (as with any launch) is timing. We all managed to launch unscathed, as the waves broke over the rocks all around us. We paddled to the opposite side of Gordon's Bay where there are weed beds, in the hope of getting some squid. Gatesy managed to score one and so did Dave73. I decided to paddle out past Wedding Cake Island in the hope of seeing seagulls, which in turn would mean kingies.

After about half an hour, the rest of the group paddled out towards WCI and started drifting. There were a lot of birds around, but the kingies were hard to see, as the waves and the chop on the ocean disguised their surface action. It seemed that they had gone deep. The FF indicated a depth of 29 metres with featureless bottom. Gatesy and Dave73 both caught a kingie each, followed by Gatesy again with an Amberjack.

Closer to WCI, the depth was around 12 metres, and the bottom started having more features. I could see fish in around 5-7 metres of water, and sure enough they were kingies. Hooked up on one with squid flesh and after a couple of minutes it broke the 20lb Fireline leader. Gatesy seems to have lost around 6, and Dave73 also missed out on some. 
Kraley called it a day around 0900, and we continued drifting and getting hits.

Not the successful day I was expecting, but still a great day out. The change of wind direction and wave height threw me off a bit. The fish were there and in great numbers, but were deep and fought hard.

Great to catch up with everyone. Must do it again...this time launching from Coogee Beach :wink: 
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Well done on getting out there in different conditions and getting into them. You're becoming a king master Simon.

Gatesy, well done on the king and amberjack. Is there a seriola species you can't catch? Expecting a samson report soon.


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## Steveo (Jul 28, 2006)

God one Guys, It Looks like a couple of you guys weren't very confident in launching in those conditions. :lol:

Congrats Gatesy & Dave on the fish. Seems like they were pretty difficult to land, With the amount of unlanded hook-ups


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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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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

I don't know whether the conditions affected the hookup rate. I wonder,instead, whether the depth of the fish has anything to do with the fight they put up. During the last couple of days, I was hooking them near the surface, and although they stripped quite a bit of line, I managed to keep them from going too deep. The kings today were already deep, and in a way had a head start on us when it came to their runs.
I don't know what the others think. 
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

well done guys ,sounds like you had some fun , and some fish also , simon that looks like a pretty good place to launch, you may have to change your usere name to" king of kings"


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## MangoX (Feb 18, 2006)

top report Simon

not quite confident enough to venture out with this wind... :?

does that ramp go all the way into the water ?
looks like a good spot, although I see some waves coming in 

Hookups are still good fun 

catch you on the next one


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Well done fellas on a challenging day.

And good one Gatesy with the ambo :wink:


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## Billybob (Aug 29, 2005)

Good stuff Simon.

I look forward to your reports as I lived/worked/played in the Coogee/Clovelly/Bronte/Tamarama area for roughly thirty years before moving to Noosa.

The last ten years were in Coogee: Beach St (south and north) and Carrington Rd.

Keep it coming mate.

Gatesy; Good to see you chalking up more runs on the board buddy.

Have a good Christmas.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Good results guys. Catch you next time.


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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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## JT (May 25, 2006)

I must admit that the lack of integrity demonstrated recently on this forum is of great concern to me  I have always leant on this forum as a measure of truth and it today has disapointed me :evil: .

There was an incident on the trip that is worthy of mention that has not been bought up. Shame on you Simon, Gatsey et al that witnessed it (and laughed your arse off) and haven't had the the required onions to bring it up! There has been an incident on the trip that seriously shamed an AKFF member. One so severe in fact that the member involved should not be let within 100 metres of a fishing yak let alone the ocean itself.

And it was me 

Upon landing I bravely went where no yak fisherman is likely to ever go again. I completely mis-timed the landing on to the rocks (so called ramp) and was met with a serious wave broad side. I was at this point only 7 meters from the rocks and faced the choice of either going sideways and being sandwhiched between the yak turned over and the rocks or of going straight in towards the rocks and taking my chances. I'm not going over so straight in it is! All rods and other things that could be lost were strapped below or to the side. The wave picked me up and in I went. I can remember thinking as I roared in "wow.....what an awesome line I have.....I am heading straight into that huge rock...no side ways action at all!!!!". In I barreled "ramming speed I heard the Outback call!!" The mirage drive was locked in place and the paddle etc was strapped down. I was completely and utterly helpless as I rode that baby in. "Boom"!!! as the yak hit the rock full on nose first. I am by the the way not talking about nudging, hitting, striking the rock full on...I am talking about slamming into the rock. I was thrown like a rag doll over the front of the yak onto the rocks. Very graceful and refined stuff. I was then in a washing machine like environment as the surf giggled (a generous and mellow term) me amongst the rocks etc. Simon and Gatesy quickly came to my rescue and secured the yak. Meanwhile SBD (Dave) stood around with a look on his face that said something like "what the heck do you think you are doing?'. I came away with a couple of bleeding shins and a seriously bruised ego but beyond that was untouched. It could have been a hell of a lot worse i.e. smashed head and broken limb territory I reckon 8) .

There was a massive boom! as the yak hit the rocks. The amazing thing was that the Hobie was almost completely unharmed including the drive which astounded me (beyond a serious graze/gouge in the nose). The chaps were particularly generous in their lack of crap they gave me (beyond Gatesy describing me like a crash test dummy and like a kid hitting a wall in an out of control billy cart).

Count for the day was 1 Pike (live bait), 1 monstrous sweep, 3 non-keepers, a couple of bust offs and a seriously bruised ego!

Gents...it's ok to have a laugh when a laugh is due!  8) 

Nice to meet a new face Dave73

JT


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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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QlpoOTFBWSZTWfKrkMMAACvfgAASQOcAAIGAEAA/79+gMAELY0NT0IGkaCajMmk9R6g1TwTJqj1Mh6CGgA00moDTQaAAAQKVUfO+duXv68R63ToUZ2U77GIwxTiKSSsEgs50jNTZ0dTNFkjBe3a9SeFlTWNOjXO3GwJvEnh6b9fUpIdyigRQgSvdOUuYZdTCKq4V/PoKBRj7ANBuv2NpRN7xH9a3M8Gv9Ux1prlfSCpRiAYEQJgPb5jIaSPy2gji9trd+us1tlKdK6WbN3mfElZzMliiGBmEiG1dzOfGFfy0eO03pZa0TM5EHJcRiFYI8gpEj2Ic3BxGcBlTaiLnqeIIZE4KZAwgscoQcLUrRl2eCaMDI7CrP/i7kinChIeVXIYY


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Stop...please...can't take it anymore...got tears....stomach hurts....    
Must say, after all the guffawing, you were most lucky to have come out of that with just a bruised ego. In retrospect it could have been a lot worse. Amazing how so much can go wrong within a fraction of seconds. You did amazingly well to stay on the yak and surf in to the launching area and come off the yak. 
Great to fish with such a great group of guys. Next time it will be a beach launch.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi Red
Certainly the re-entry in places such as this can be very tricky, especially if the timing is out. I actually got out of my yak in about 5ft of water and guided it onto the ramp. I just felt I had more control over it. Gatesy managed to paddle in, and so did Dave73, Kraley and SBD. It was just unfortunate that JT happened to have a big wave behind him that suddenly appeared, otherwise he would have been OK. Hail to the hardnose of the Hobies.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

JT said:


> I must admit that the lack of integrity demonstrated recently on this forum is of great concern to me  I have always leant on this forum as a measure of truth and it today has disapointed me :evil: .


Hey JT, just as you are disapointed with the behaviour of your companions, I'm sure many of the rest of us are equally upset by their behaviour. I mean, where were the CAMERAS :?: :roll: They should have known that it is their responsibility/duty to record any such mishaps and that this should take priority over any concern for the hapless victim's wellbeing. It's a shame that Gatesy, having previously shown himself so skilled at this task, should have blotted his fine record.

Well done JT on rising above their poor performance by bringing the matter to our attention. And on surviving a potentially :shock: nasty landing.

Great reports on what was obviously an exciting outing fellas.


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Hi Guys,

Nice to meet to you all and get out there. Conditions were less than perfect but at least on the way back the breeze took us back the ramp. 
JT, It can be a nasty place to re enter as you had to find out. Been sideways myself it isn't a nice feeling. Sometimes the bail out early method is better in that area and walking it in. Thanks for taking the 
fall that time, I'm sure next time it'll be someone else!!

A mate of mine went scuba diving along the Bondi coast yesterday, came back with reports of squire, schools of big salmon and kings to 10kg + mark. 
Hoping to have a few more trips out before I go Brisbane for 2 weeks. Thinking of taking the kayak along, having grown up there and fishing from Brunswick 
to Noosa, now that would be great..

Cheers Dave.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

JT, classic stuff. :lol: :lol: I too, can't believe that nobody brought up your misfortune and it was left up to you to tell us about it. Shame Gatesy/Ken/Simon, shame! :wink:

I can just picture you now..........Heading into the rocks, here we go, oops where did that wave come from, aaarrgghhh, hang on, wheeeeeee, faaaaaarrrkkk. :shock: :shock:

I would have loved to have been there to witness the 'Extreme Yak Dismount"..... Looking forward to hearing the full story on Thursday over a beer. 8)


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2006)

Bloody good fish there Gatesy, well done mate. 8)

JT, thats living mate!!


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

great report lads. And the launching pad looks a lota fun :lol: .
Sounds like ya had a lucky escape there JT...exciting all the same :wink:


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

Good Stuff and a bit scary too. Simon, do you always launch at Gordons Bay fo doing Wedding Cake Island? Is launching at Coogee Beach just too rough?


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Davey G said:


> I would have loved to have been there to witness the 'Extreme Yak Dismount"..... Looking forward to hearing the full story on Thursday over a beer. 8)


Just think F111 ejection seat going off and you'll get a pretty accurate picture 8)

JT


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

LOOK, up in the sky...

Its a bird, Its a plane. No, its' JT.....SUPER YAKKER! :roll:


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi Eric
It just so happened that conditions seemed to be quite good for a launch at Gordon's Bay. In most instances I launch from Coogee, as it is easier to enter from the beach. This time around I got caught out by the weather prediction, and assumed the waves were not going to give us any problems. In hindsight, Coogee would have been better. 
Gordon's is great to launch from when there are no waves. 
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

I hope to at least put off the time where I have to consider whether it will be safer in the water rather than on a fishing kayak 



JT said:


> Just think F111 ejection seat going off and you'll get a pretty accurate picture 8)
> JT


I remember reading that Chuck Yeager once said that ejecting out of an airplane is like committing suicide to avoid being killed


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## SharkNett (Feb 20, 2006)

Great report guys and happy to hear all ended well (sort of).

Used to swim and snorkel at Gordon's regularly.

If there is any sort of wave action we always wait and come in on the back of a wave. May mean you have to struggle a little against receding water, but nowhere near as violent or uncontrolled as surfing in.

Rob.


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