Interesting day today. Started early to catch the low tide for a little mudcrabbing. Hanno had "hired" some metal hooks that are used to poke into likely looking holes and when you here the clicking of a crab defending itself, you manoeuvre the metre or so long hook to pull the crab out of its hole. We walked for 2 hours through soft boggy sand, through rushing water and over sharp oyster covered rocks and didn't see a single solitary mud crab. It was an interesting walk but probably the last time we go crabbing on foot. Drop nets from the boat seem like a much easier approach.
On returning to the car park near the launching area after crabbing there was no water at all so we calculated we had at least an hour and a half before we would have enough water to launch the boats.
Our calculations were way out as once the tide turns water simply pours in to the bay, literally filling the whole place in about a half an hour. After following a boat down to the launching area amongst the mangroves we soon realised we needed to get a riggle on if we were to avoid the track leading to the launching area being covered in water.
After launching the boat in a gap between the mangroves barely as wide as our boat, Pete, Eleni, Carol and I headed out in our boat while the Hannan's headed out in their tinny.
Heading out through the entrance to the lagoon and out to sea, expectations were high as we headed out towards Justice Shoal, a likely looking spot about 7 nautical miles west. The wind was causing a bit of surface chop so the going was slow as we came across a lump of about 8 metres in 22 metres of water. Several drifts produced smallish tusk fish, nor west snapper, an emperor and a couple of mangrove jacks. A bit of unproductive trolling and it was time to head in to catch the high tide and an easy retrieve at the car park.
As the water was right up to the car park we decided on a swim before returning to the caravan park.
The Hannan boat had had some fun hooking something really big while trolling, but unfortunately the skipper let the team down while trying to net the big fish. Still don't know what it was but it sounds like it was an impressive fish.
This place has a lot of potential but we are along way from realising that potential at the moment.