5th January 2018 Friday

Thursday was a bit better than Tuesday. After departing the Marina at 05:30 Skipper Ken went northwest, fishing the 30m lumps catching very little and not much showing on the sounder until about we got to the 35-40m lumps at 13:30. With the wind behaving itself and certinly no more than the forecast 10Knts, we were able to pick up some nice fish.  Leaving fish on the bite, we returned home to the pen at at 16:15 with 1 Pinky about 60cm, 2 nice Dhuies with 5 returned successfully, one Baldy and a good sized Foxfish along with some other odds and sods Wrasse and sgt Baker etc.

 

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2nd January 2018 Tuesday

Ian skippered the boat for the first trip out since early October last year with 5 crew. Left the pen at Two Rocks at about 05:30 with the southerly at about 5 knots. The wind built steadily during the morning and was at 20 knots by the time we got back to the marina at 14:30. It was a hard day with Jon P getting the only keeper dhuie with 3 others released. Jon also got the only Baldie. Ian got a reasonable Breaksea cod and Terry got a good Flathead. Overall not a very good day. Hope Ken has a better day on Thursday.

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16th December 2017

Boat ready, Crew ready Skipper ready. Weather very ordinary. hopefully we can get a tripin soon and pay some bills.

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25th November 2017

We took the boat out of the water for annual maintenance. Pressure cleaned the hull and put on a new coat of antifoul. replaced the shaft and keel anodes. The sea cock for the deck hose was seized solid and could not be turned off so it was replaced. The seacock for the engine cooling was cleaned up and works ok. Back into the water monday morning where we found the voltage regulator on the alternator was failing intermittently and overcharging the batteries. Angelo weaved his magic and soon got it working properly. We are now ready for the reopening of the demersal season.

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1st October 2017

Ian took the boat out with 5 crew. Jon S got a 70cm Dhuie and Dale got a Pinky that was bigger. It was a pretty good day withe final tally being 2 Dhuies, 2 Baldies, 2 Pinkies, a couple of Longtail tuna,  5 sampsons and  2 sandbar sharks.

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9th September 2017

Yesterday’s trip had all 8 fishers happy with action most the day. The water was a calm, flat, light roll with a light NW all day.  First drift was at `17 Duhie` & immediately  had us all at action stations with shark, duhies and a few others. First slow drift went for almost one nautical mile as all were kept busy and fish below us almost the whole time.

We then went into the 35`s to a baldie spot we have called `Brian’s Patch` which produced two large Baldies, of which one was 63cm. Then went to `Lucky Last` which had nothing.

The last spot was `POTS2` which also was loaded and we got smashed with all sorts. We had to leave the fish on the bite to head back in.

So overall 22 good fish, with 10x duhies thrown back. And yes our resident dolphin friend showed up for his lunch, took a undersize Duhie we had just released, then went.

We also had two whales entertain us while waiting for a bite.

All in all a very good trip with everyone getting their 2 demersals

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2nd September 2017

Had to do a dive on the boat this morning and sure enough found a piece of pot rope loosely wrapped around the prop shaft. All fixed in about 15 mins. The water wasn't cold but the wind when you got out of the water was. All you people have a great Fathers Day tomorrow

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29 August 2017

The boat went out yesterday with a skipper (Ken) and 6 crew. They left at sunrise (6:30) and fished in various depths to 40m just west of More River. 5 Dhufish were released and 2 kept. Jasons was 750 mm and Toms was 790mm. Several Pink Snapper all over 55cm and several skippy were also kept. Ran over a pot line on the way in and left a rope wrapped around the prop shaft so it looks like a dive next week.

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22nd July 2017

Its been a long time between notes. Ians foot is ok. A new Stainless Steel pedestal has been manufactured and the seat reinstalled. There was no trips without the seat and as usual this coincided with good weather. The AGM was held on the 12th July and Bill Shean cleaned up with 3 of the 6 trophies thus giving him bragging rights for a while. With the weather looking like normal winter patterns, I dont know when the boat will get out next.

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20th April 2017.

4 members and  skipper Ian  took the boat out for the day. It turned a bit af a disaster when the skippers seat broke off at the base while Ian was sitting on it. A severe laceration to his foot was the result so after we patched him up it was back to the marina where an ambulance was waiting. Not a very good day.

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12th April 2017

The fundraiser last Sunday although down on numbers still raised over $1500 including donations which helped us pay for the boat insurance and the replacement of Battery Bank No 2. We also gratefully received a donation of $1000 from Wally Pheobe.

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5th April 2017

The fundraiser this coming Sunday looks to be loads of fun with lots of raffle prizes. Let Kevin know by Friday night if you are coming

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Wednesday 5th April 2017

5 members and 2 visitors plus the skipper left the marina at 6am and went fishing yesterday. Mike and Reg dragged skirted lures on the trip north and Reg got a hit from a tuna that took loads of line. It was lost at the boat when the braid broke at the knot to the mono. Mike and I both believe it was a small Yellowfin.  The fish bit well from the first drop at 8am  just north of Moore River with a 68cm Dhuie landed by Rod McFarlanes guest and 3 others were  released. We all got bites and a couple of good King George were kept.  Mike Fogarty and Rod then got a reasonable Breaksea cod each then it all went quiet for a couple of hours. The good bite time was for less than an hour. Rick Walker got his biggest ever King George at 54cm and Ian got a 53cm one at almost the same time. That was it and as the wind got up to 15knots, we headed into it all the way home. We were back in the marina by 2pm.

 

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Friday 31st March 2017

Ian has planned a trip for Tuesday 4th April and it didnt take long for all the spots to be taken up. It will be good to get out with a full crew and get some fish

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Wed 8th March

Our Easter Fundraiser is going to be held at Jon and Susi Pallettes place in Neaves Rd. The mains are nearly all seafood with steak for the non fish eaters. There are heaps of raffle prizes with packs of crayfish and fish being the main ones.

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Friday March 3 2017

The next meeting of the West Coast Angling Club will be at the Maylands Yacht club this coming Wednesday March 8th at 7:30 pm. Discussion items include the Seafood Fundraiser at Jon Pallettes on Sunday the 9th April, latest trips, how the boat is going. Fuel consumption with the new motor and the financial report

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Friday March 3 2017

Ian took the boat out yesterday with 5 crew. Fishing was really tough with a northerly current and no wind. The first decent fish, a Breaksea cod wasnt caught until after lunch then with a bit of a westerly breeze we were able to drift slowly along a ledge,  2 Dhuies at 53 and 54 cm were released along with one under 50. Kevin got a big fat King George whiting at 53.5 cm and Rod got a 53 cm Red Snapper to go with his Breaksea cod. Two good Foxfish made a disappointing day marginally better.

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Monday February 20 2017

Ken skippered the boat yesterday with crew of 6. He worked hard to get a bite despite seeing lots of fish on the sounder. The caught most of the fish as the seabreeze came in after lunch. They kept one good Dhuie and released 3 others. other fish kept were 3 Breaksea Cod a nice big Baldchin Groper a Harlequin, a Foxfish and a 50cm Red Snapper

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Sunday 5th February 2017

Ian took the boat out with 7 members on Friday. One Dhuie was kept at about 650 mm and one under 550 was released. Mike trolled up a northern bluefin tuna. The decided to fish the shacks on the way out and managed to score a couple of dozen reasonable sand whiting but the area was plagued with undersized flathead but a good sized one was kept.

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Thursday 26 January 2017

Ian took the boat out todat with 4 members. Fishing was tough with all dhuies released as they were under 55cm. All that was kept were a tuna trolled up by Angelo on the way out and a Foxfish and a good breaksea cod.

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Monday 23 January

Ian will skipper the next trip this coming Wednesday. The forecast is food with light winds for most of the morning and up to 2pm. If you are interested ring Ian or email him to book in. Meet at the Marina gate at 05:30 for a 05:45 start.

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Sunday 22 January

Saturdays trip was hard going with fish being found easily enough but getting them to bite was a real challenge. Mike dragged a lure out and back and was rewarded with a couple of Long tail ( Northern Bluefin ) Tuna. A couple of good King George whiting and a Foxfish were also caught.

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17 January 1300 hrs

There is a trip planned for this Sat Jan 21. Ken will skipper the boat. If you want to go please email or call Ian to book your spot. Meeting time is 05:45 at the gate. Only 4 people have booked in so far.

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12th January 1600hrs

At the meeting at Maylands Yacht Club last night we had a robust discussion about the boat and how much better it is with all the lights, sensors and alarms working properly. A big vote of thenks to Jon, Angelo and Ken who performeed the majority of the work. Early stage planning for the next fundraiser was brought up. If will be on a Sunday probably 2 weekends before Easter and will be at either Jon or Kevins place. Seafood will be the main food. Membership was discussed as we have only 34 members so getting a spot to go fishing  is relatively easy as there was only 4 plus the Skipper on yesterdays trip.

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12th January 2017 1000 hrs

Ken took the boat out with 4 members yesterday on its first club run with the new motor. Everything went really well and some comments were that its so much quieter than the last engine. The Lucky Last spot produced most of the fish againwith the fishers keeping one dhuie ( releasing 5 under 55cm ) 3 whiskery sharks, one Baldchin, 2 Breaksea Cod, 2 King George Whiting, a Foxfish, a Sampson fish and a Blue Morwong(Queen Snapper).

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8th January 2017........1500 hrs

Our Booking Officer, Ian Stott has emailed members today to see if we can get a crew for next Wednesday Jan 11. As expected it took little time for most of the spots to be taken. Ken will be the skipper.

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8th January 2017....1200 hrs...

The boat came out of the water for its annual maintenance in early December. We expected to have the new motor in and running within a week but we had just a few problems. The new engine was perfect and is considerably quieter than the old one. We had a few problems with the cooling systems resulting in replacing the Thermostats and a week later replacing the main engine water pump Impeller. Not a lot of cost but difficult to discover the problem when it only showed up over 1600 rpm and under load. After a short test run early this morning we have an engine that is working perfectly driving the boat along at between 11 and 12 knots at 1900 RPM while having an engine temperature of 82 degrees C. We have rewired all the gauges and dashboard lights, replaced the engine alarms and got the Turbo Pressure gauge working. We have ordered an Hour meter to replace the busted one which will be installed soon.

Time to go fishing