Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 56 - 80 Mile Beach Day 2

We are here for a day ostensibly to fish again, and the topography of the beach will mean we can attack the prey for about 2 hours either side of the top of the high tide. The tide is comfortably occurring at 10.00am so we can leisurely have breakfast before wandering over the dune and attack. Very civilised really. It might be a different story once we get there, as every van seems to have fishing gear stacked beside it ready to go, and we don’t really have the fuel for a bash down the beach to get away from the crowds.

Breakfast is eaten with a little bit of urgency knowing that at 8.00am we will need to be on the beach and ready to stake a claim.

The beach was more picturesque this morning that yesterday, the wind had dropped significantly, and the spray and the dust were nowhere to be seen, allowing for the complete vista to be taken in. I have rigged two rods, one for lure fishing a small slug and the other with a large running sinker to a gang hook. The latter rod will have to wait for Silver Leader to arrive with the pilchards, I will throw the lure and if (and that’s a big IF) I happen to snag something in the meantime, I can always slab it and use it for bait.

The tide is still racing in, I have to move the bag and the other rod a couple of times to ensure they are not washed away. I toil for a while, rest, then toil again, all with no luck. Once Silver Leader arrives the whole game changes. Now with bait, I hurl the filled gang hook seaward and settle down and wait.

I don’t have to wait long, almost from the time the bait hits the bottom there are enquiries. First none bait and then another, then bang, I am on. It doesn’t feel big, but it is a fish. In what surf there is the fish attempts to pull free, to no avail. Then the disappointment, because as soon as we can see it, we can see it’s a small shark. Not even a foot long, this potential monster of the deep has taken the last hook of the gang and been hauled ashore.

It is short work to release it, take a picture and return it to the water. Forbsy has now joined us and he too is into something. This one a little bigger than mine, but still a shark. Again, pictures, hook retrieval, although this one is big enough to bite back and strong enough to be a handful, then return with a hearty kick to the water’s edge, and the shark does the rest.

Robyn has joined us now and I hand her a rod so she can fish while I re-rig the lure laden line so we both can fish. Now with four people using the bait, the reserves are diminishing quickly, and without much to show for it. Within minutes of Robyn arriving I nail two blue-eyed salmon, small but they are one of the target species. Both are put in the bag for bait later, which is now as we are almost out. I slab the smallest one and attach the two halves to mine and Robyn’s line with immediate effect.

I catch another blue-eyed salmon and while I am getting it off the hooks, Robyn is creating a commotion. She has caught a seagull.

Pandemonium erupts as the tug of war continues. Robyn thinks the gull will simply let go in time, but I can see the bottom hook is firmly lodged in its bill. Once pictures are taken I grab my hook extractor and release the bird, which flies off annoyed I suspect because it actually didn’t get the bait.

Back to the fishing and Forbsy has nailed several decent fish. Fish barbeque for dinner again tonight, excellent. All of a sudden, I get a huge bite and the reel starts to scream and then nothing. I still have weight, so I haven’t been bitten off. I retrieve the rig and to my dismay the end hook of the gang has gone – gear failure, not happy Jan.

I re-rig with a new gang hook and re-launch back into the water. Its not long and bang, again, a huge bite. This time the line is screaming much louder than before, and again nothing, even less happy Jan. I retrieve the rig and this time the bottom two hooks o the gang are dislodged from the top one and facing away from the line – again gear failure and almost livid, that two great hits, only to be thwarted by the same issue. I walk to Silver Leader, show him the second failure and ask if he has a better batch, which he does, but to no avail, I get no more bites.

During the session we have seen sharks to almost 2 metres swimming just in front of us in the waves. Not far from us children have been swimming and we have gone to them and suggested their recreation was a little too much on the dangerous side and they quickly get out of the water.

Silver Leader and Forbsy head off to find a cleaning table as I have a couple of very late casts, again to no avail, and then I head back. On the way I see its my potential son in law’s birthday today and I quickly call my daughter and arrange for her to buy some movie tickets for him from us.

Sitting down for a rest after the big session, Silver Leader pokes his head in and lets us know of some very bad news. A good friend of his, one he and Forbsy, along with the Missing Link, have holidayed with on a regular basis for over 20 years, has died in a motor bike accident. They are all devastated. We had met him several times and understand his family will miss him greatly, as will the community from where he is located, which is too close to home.

We talk to the Missing Link, who’s close friend we have lost, and he is devastated, but reserved. He is talking about what they will do to support the family. Does that mean they drop everything, they are presently in central Queensland, and head home or look to cut away to relatives in say Mackay, fly home and resume at a later date. In any event they need to stop and think, the accident will mean an inquest and an autopsy, so there will be plenty of time before the funeral, although they will want to be home as soon as possible to support their friends.

There are amazing sunsets here. 80 Mile Beach is a great expanse of beach as the name suggests. At low tide, as it is as we arrive, the mud flats beyond the beach are exposed for several hundred metres. Robyn and I head out into the now rising tide. There are ripples of mud and now and again the firm mud gives way a little and we sink down to our shins, disconcertingly.

We get as far as we can before we are permanently with our feet in the water. We are a long way from the starting point but standing still here means the incoming tide quickly covers our feet. I take a 15 second video to show the speed at which the tides come in here. There can be more than 9 metres height change in the tides here, and although we are in the midst of smaller tides they are still 7 metres for now.

Time to head back across the mud banks, this time videoing the mud crawling, walking on the mud at times and in the mud at others, squelching all the time, observing crabs and other small animals caught ahead of the rising tide.

This will be our first, and only look at an 80 Mile Beach sunset, the spray haze whipped up by the wind, will create a sunset worthy of any we have seen, and we have seen some amazing ones. As the sun sets towards the water, the sky lights up on fire as the elongated rays struggle through the atmosphere. Capturing the changes, playing with light settings on the camera function of the phone, then posting what we are seeing are the order the day.

Unfortunately, the camera does not do the view real justice. Yes, I can capture colours, but the ambiance of the setting is no available for those other than us. Add to that, its not just the time while the sun is visible, there are lots of shots to take post sunset, with the sun now shining up into the atmosphere we can see many more changes in the vista. The wind is quite cool, in fact its cool enough to want a jumper, and we retire to the van to look for warmth.

Dinner is a little subdued, although we talk of making up days by putting together a couple of almost 600 kilometre days to catch up to the original plan after the “debacle” of Halls Creek. We decide it will be a 7.00am kick off and simply see how far we get, there are lots of options. The fish we have caught have been filleted and spiced to each diner’s requirements. Mine I have attacked with Lemon Spice, which gives it quite a tang. Fish is usually not high on my dining menu, although I do have the ones I like, but these salmon we have caught are very tasty.

There is football tonight. The Raiders are playing my Bunnies. The game is close all the way but Canberra prevail. I go to bed a little disappointed but we did put in a great game. The Raiders will be hard to beat in the grand final next week