The Chum Line November 2010
Welcome to the November 2010 edition of the Chum Line... your editor has been slacking... we have not had a Chum Line since August... which means there is a lot to report on!
Offshore Fishing Report
It is hard to believe we are at the end of another fishing season...at least the "official fishing season".
The offshore bite has been a bit unpredictable over recent months. The weather certainly hasn't been doing us any favors with Igor and friends paying us a visit in the months of September and October. Igor even caused the prize presentation for the annual Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament to be rescheduled!
Speaking of the Wahoo Tournament, 54 fish came to the scales at Dockyard with only one fish bettering the 50lb mark, although there were another 8 fish that were better than 40lbs. So all in all, the quality of the fish was not too bad this year.
Some days, despite great looking water and plenty of bait, the west end of the Island has failed to fire... other than the ubiquitous Barracuda. What are they doing out in 70 fathoms??
Brian Lines and Dean Rea took another visiting Kiwi out fishing in the lead up to Igor's arrival. Despite putting in many hours of live baiting on the Banks, they could only put their angler onto a solitary Wahoo. Even the Barracuda didn't want to play ball!
It's not all doom and gloom! Boats plying the other end of the Island have enjoyed some great days...with Dolphin, Yellowfin and Blackfin Tuna and Wahoo all featuring in the mix. Jason Lewis and friends enjoyed some nice fishing in October in an "undisclosed location"... well away from Challenger and Argus. Nice fish!
While things are a little hit and miss at present, there will still be some stellar days over the pre-Christmas period with plenty of fish to be caught. The key is to have your boat and tackle all ready to go so when the weather window comes you can head out wide. And unless you are self employed it probably also helps to have an empathetic boss!!!
Fishing Reports From Afar
Club members Fiona Beck and Cindy Mitchell recently travelled to Florida to compete in the 17th annual International Women's Fishing Association (IFWA) tournament held in Islamorada. It is an inshore event with all participants fishing using Ande 6lb monofilament.
This year there were 38 anglers competing in the event and both Cindy (5th) and Fiona (9th) managed top ten finishes.
Each angler has a limit of 5 fish per species e.g. Jacks, Redfish, Sea trout, Snook, Tarpon etc so once you have reached the maximum on that species you need to target another.
Cindy and Fiona report that the fishing was good, but there had been a cold snap in winter which had killed the Snook and the baby Tarpon. For comparison last year there were 355 Snook caught, this year only 14 were landed. It's an all release tournament (unless world record is a possibility). And it is a lot of fun as with all the guides and a bunch of women who fish all day and shop all night!!
It is not often you get a chance to go freshwater fly fishing with steel wire leaders... but that is what was required when Dean Rea and Fiona Beck went fly fishing for Golden Dorado and some toothy prehistoric looking creature with an unpronounceable name. The fishing took place in the San Javier River in Argentina. While they did not catch any large Golden Dorado, they did catch a lot of them. In two days fishing Fiona and Dean caught and released well over 120 of the target species, with the occasional Piranha thrown in for good measure!
Here's Dean with a Golden Dorado.
While the Golden Dorado can reach weights of around 50lbs, most of the fish Dean and Fiona landed were around 5 to 8lbs, which is apparently typical for the September and October period. The larger fish are caught in February. Even so the smaller variety put on quite a display, jumping when hooked and racing upstream to avoid being attacked by their brethren. They are voracious predators!
Here's a shot of the toothy prehistoric critter...
And finally here's the reason you don't swim in the San Javier River... the Piranha! Ouch!!
Club Events
The next regular Club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 17 November at 7.30pm at the RHADC. And it is only a few weeks to go till the Club Christmas Dinner which has been scheduled for 4 December. Mad Hatters is the location. It's a 7pm start for drinks with dinner at 7.30pm. And the cost is $65.00 including gratuities. Remember to RSVP your Club Secretary, Fiona Beck!
Club Catch Records
In the lead up to Christmas remember to email Francis Patterson with your catches as they come to hand. Francis needs to know the species, the line class, and the weight of the fish, the date and the boat on which the fish was caught, along with any method of catch. Francis' email is fhpp@northrock.bm
In the meantime... don't let a window of decent weather pass you by...get out there and go fishing!
