Can you believe its Easter again?
Looking at the long range forecast it looks as if we will have a good boating weekend with little wind but we may have a few showers so don’t forget the wet weather gear.
With the lighter winds predicted and with the water temperatures being so high it will be a perfect chance to get out into the bay and chase the mackerel as they won’t be around forever. As soon as the colder weather hits and the water temps drop the mackies go north following the warm waters. One of our regular contributors, Pete Sweatman, managed to land the fish that has been tormenting him all season. While he was fishing for schoolies a Spanish mackerel decided he wanted a feed and he managed to hook up and land a 12.5 kg specimen. This was happening inside the bay at the channel markers so if you are getting hit hard try increasing the strength of your terminal tackle and you may get a surprise.
The small amounts of rain we have had recently hasn’t been enough affect the fish at all so all your normal species can be found in the passage but what it has done is to make the water dirty looking (usual just after the rain). This makes the perfect conditions for jewfish, if you have ever seen underwater footage of jewies they swim in large schools and tend to stay around structure. This is why we have had so many fish caught around the two main structures in the passage, the bridge and the jetty. They are also attracted to the bait fish that are in turn attracted by the lights on these structures. Live baits are the best way to catch these fish but with the current that runs so hard here in the passage it is very easy to get a dead bait to move like a live bait. When you defrost your baits whether it is a fish bait or a squid rig them up so they look like they are swimming. With fish baits break the back bone so it moves in the current and with squid put them on whole including the head and tentacles as this is what moves in the current and attracts the jewies.
With the Easter long weekend coming up the beaches and camp grounds are going to be very very busy. So make sure one thing you bring with you is your patience. There will be queues at the entrance and there will be people bogged. Instead of getting angry and frustrated get out and help the stuck people and everyone will be happier. Make sure you drop your tyre pressure to 18-20 psi and you shouldn’t have any trouble. The rangers have made a change to the speed limits on the beach. From the point where the track enters the beach and to just past 2nd lagoon the limit has been reduced to 30km/h look for the signs. Rangers and police will be out in force this Easter so make sure you follow the rules and you wont have any problems.