Nothing but pollock - 2nd October 2011

Last Sunday was calm misty day and looked like the last opportunity for lure fishing as more windy weather was forecast for the coming week. I got to a reliable rock mark at about 4.30 pm just as the tide was starting to push in. Normally I would make my way down to the eastern end of the bay but rocks on the foreshore were quite slippery due to the misty rain so I decided to stick to a good mark near the western end. As the tide was still quite low it provided a good opportunity to study the terrain before it became submerged. That was useful as I could see some of the structures where I had previously caught bass.

I commenced fishing into a narrow deep gulley to the right. The water was clear, there was a bit of turbulence and it was overcast so the conditions looked perfect. First cast I had a small pollock on a Hazedong from beneath the kelp on the gulley margin. Next cast I could feel another fish snatching at the lure but it was not hooked. Third cast I had another pollock, again on the Hazedong. The fish totally engulfed the lure.

I changed to a Slug Go and cast it to the left of the gulley, after a few casts the lure was grabbed by another pollock. This was a bigger fish of about 3 lbs.

As the tide was now filling the small bay to my left I turned my attention to bass. I cast a Slug Go across the shallow rocky ground and on about the fifth cast something made a lunge at the lure but was not hooked. I was convinced it was a bass and continued fishing across the same area but could not tempt it again. I switched back to a Hazedong and very slowly retrieved the lure. This time the fish grabbed the lure and was well hooked but it turned out to be a small pollock.

I was pushed back by the tide and onto a small rock platform. This stage of the tide has been the most productive for me in the past at this mark so I was very hopeful of getting a few bass but all I could managed were more pollock. Then a shoal of bait fish swam into the bay and were leaping out of the water. Several pollock leapt clear out of the water as they chased them. I was hopeful that there might be a bass in amongst them and switched to a Feed Shallow but all I got were more pollock.

As light began to go I changed back to a white Hazedong with silver glitter but again only the pollock were biting, the biggest was about 3.5 lbs. When the light was gone even the pollock stopped feeding.

So while the pollock kept me busy I was disappointed not to have had any bass, particularly as the conditions looked ideal and there were plenty of bait fish around. That may well be my last lure fishing session of the year as there does not appear to be any respite from the windy weather for the moment.