session 8 - superstar

A starfish. He managed to catch a starfish. Who does that?

Lures: Halco Twisty Metal 20g, Gillies Blue Pilchard Metal 25g, Gillies Glow-in-the-Dark Metal 25g
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: Craig caught a star fish.
Session Fish Count: 0

session 7 - back on the rod

We showed up at Lilli Pilli armed to catch squid. We had burley. We had lures. We had a second fishing line. The water was calm and crystal clear. The tide was out, and we knew that today we'd be bringing home the big ones.

The dock was busy, as usual; and I cast off its low end. Almost immediately squid came over to check out my lure. No doubt they were interested, but they weren't quite ready to dine. I dropped my jig again and felt a tug. I started to reel in, but I couldn't manage the resistance. I pulled and tugged and called out to Craig for help. Had I caught a monster? No, I snagged someone's long ago abandoned line. It was a struggle just to get my lure back.

Undeterred, I dropped my jig again and again and again. Another tug turned out to be a boulder which I reeled all the way to the surface before cutting it away.

And that was it. Another night squidding. Another night of failure.

Jigs: Rogue Calamar Pink 1.5 and  2.5
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: Schools of small fish danced under our light
Session Squid Count: 0
Squid Count to Date: 1

session 6 - somewhere new

We moved to a new bay this weekend, and I felt good about our prospects. Gunnamatta Baths Wharf had telltale signs that it was a prime squidding locale; black ink stains decorated its concrete floor. With plenty of room to spread out, the new spot was tipped to be a winner. We made camp in a heavily inked area and cast out in hopes of picking up dinner.

Next to us, two old women sat with their legs dangling. They has spools of fishing line and a small pile of bait. They cast down sans rod, then waited for a tug. Hand over hand, they pulled the line in. Each time they landed a nipper. Five little fish, one right after another.

Our line though told another story. Nary a tug. Nary a pull. With no calamari in sight, we packed up and went home empty-handed once again.

Jigs: Rogue Calamar Pink 2.5
Location: Gunnamatta Baths Wharf
Highlights: Watching women catch fish without a rod
Session Squid Count: 0
Squid Count to Date: 1

session 5 - lid lost

Just when I was certain our squidding sessions couldn't go any worse...  The dock was empty at Lilli Pilli when we rolled up just after sundown on a Saturday night. It was a bit unusual to have the place to ourselves. I led the charge down the stairs and out on to wharf with the reel and bucket in hand. It was a bit chilly with a heavy wind. Too windy for squidding, I thought as I sat down our bucket with our lures inside. A big gust came pulling the bucket precariously close to the wharf's edge. I grabbed on saving the lures in the nick of time. The bucket's lid lost to the sea - floating off into the blackness.

We packed up and went home.

Jigs: None cast
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: The dock was empty.
Session Squid Count: 0
Squid Count to Date: 1

session 4 - dock overflow

It's been a long time between casts, but weather and water conditions haven't been the best. We darted over to South Australia in the hopes of catching larger Southern Calamari, but wind and wet kept us off the jetties. We could see the potential in Beachport and Kingston, but those squidding adventures will have to wait for another road trip.

Back home, we popped over to Lilli Pilli last night. The dock was teeming with anglers jostling for position. Fishers had taken all the prime squid positions which left us casting in weird places and reeling in very little. One fisherman caught a lucky break pulling in a good-sized salmon. It was the first decent-sized catch that we've seen in the area. The dock spontaneously broke out in a round of applause.

It was a bit quiet on the squid front. We met another duo who, like us, were waiting for the sun to dip and the squid to come. He scooped up a smaller calamari as our rods sat empty. Just as the last sun rays floated across the water, the sky was bright and alive.  Deciding that it was best not to hold a metal rod in a lightning storm, we quickly gathered our things and left the dock empty-handed once again.

Jigs: Rogue Calamar Pink 2.5
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: Meeting fellow squidders
Session Squid Count: 0
Squid Count to Date: 1

session 3 - one for the books

The sun was shining on Port Hacking. We knew it was a bit early for squidding, but headed out to Lilli Pilli wharf around five o'clock.  The pier was packed to the gills with fishermen - all dropping traditional hooks loaded with bait of every measure. They fished with chicken, sardines, prawn and bread. They could have made a nice picnic with everything they cast out in the waters. Unswayed by the crowd, we stuck to our simple squid jigs.

Empty buckets lined the wharf. No one landed any keepers. Our rod with its squid jig was silent. Someone on the dock hooked Craig. Then my own wayward cast landed at his feet. It seemed like Craig might well be the only action at the dock.

Would Denham would be the first and last squid that we'd see caught? Had we fluked it back on holidays?  Was our teacher some sort of squidding guru? I pled my case to stay until sunset. Fishermen came and went. Squid had yet to make an appearance.

Night finally fell. I aimed our light into the water. We were surprised and elated when a green eyed monster finally latched on. The pier was a bit chaotic as we reeled him in. I get the feeling that happens every time someone lands an ink spraying critter. Being our first catch, it wasn't exactly a smooth transition from rod to bucket. We made it though. Craig removed the hook and no one got inked; that's a win in any book. We landed a Southern Calamari. A big one to boot. We cast out one more time; then sensibly called it a night.

We brought our catch home, and I cleaned him myself. Craig says he is not into cleaning them.  Fair enough, as he is apparently not into eating them either.  More for me, I guess.

It was a good session. One for the record books.


Jigs: Rogue Calamar Green 2.5, Rogue Calamar Pink 2.5
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: Landing our first Southern Calamari
Session Squid Count: 1
Squid Count to Date: 1


--
The afterthought: We didn't think to get a photo of our green eyed monster until after we dispatched of him. The cleaning sink is not the best background, nor was it the best light. We have only this rather grotesque and clunky photo record of our first squid catch.

session 2 - catching the dock

We brought four jigs this time. It was about 9pm when we walked out on the Lilli Pilli wharf for our second squidding session. The dock was empty when we arrived, but a shine of our light revealed a school of squid feeding below. Luck would be on our side. We rigged up a jig and cast out.

No takers.

We cast again. And again. And again. We waited. We bobbled the rod. We changed our jig. They showed interest, but didn't nip. Natural born squidders, we are not.

After losing my first jig the day before, my confidence slowly returned. I was casting like a pro until four strangers appeared on the wharf. Something went terribly wrong. Like a boomerang, the jig returned. I managed to snag the dock. Two men fled in terror. They never returned.

After two hours we packed up and went home. The dock was the only catch of the day.


Jigs: Rogue Calamar Green 2.5, SureCatch Cuttlefish Pink 2.0
Location: Lilli Pilli Baths Wharf
Highlights: Small rays chased our lure.
Session Squid Count: 0
Squid Count to Date: 0