Houseboat Fishing

[wazatherfisherman]

Anyone who has fished the Cowan system during the winter would know, that as well as being "renown" for it's tranquil and unspoiled surroundings, the area is well known as a place of extreme cold. 

After initially fishing the shoreline, then in aluminium hire boats, and finally in our own boats, we got a pretty good idea of how cold it could get, yet still were often under-prepared for the long nights of fishing. The species most often targeted- Hairtail, although available during daylight hours some of the time, are primarily nocturnal feeders and to guarantee success, night time fishing is the best approach when they aren't about in big numbers. In big numbers, there of course is competition for food, but the enormous schools that were once commonplace, are more of a rarity these last ten or so years, hence night time is now the "norm" when planning a trip.

Nights however, as well as bringing the often freezing air, would bring "wetness" in the form of condensation and quite often thick misty fog. The fog sometimes resembles smoke and looking at it in faint marine lighting, you could see the moisture droplets moving in the air currents of this "smoke" like a misty rain. Anything exposed gets wet- boat, clothing, fishing tackle- everything. Wearing "spray proof" gear as a minimum for night fishing is essential, better still is of course, some quality rain-wear, however there is another factor that contributes to the cold and that is lack of movement in the confines of a small craft. So even with enough clothing and good wet weather gear, being unable to simply walk around, ends up a major factor in the cold equation.

So after doing the small boat trips for a couple of years, we hired a 30 odd foot Halvorsen cruiser from Bobbin Head at the western end of Cowan and did a 3 day trip, giving us two nights to try for Hairtail. The old wooden Halvorsen's were lovely old timber vessels, but being designed long ago (I'm not sure exactly when, but before my time) they lacked many of the modern additions of similar sized craft built more recently. Nevertheless, being a "houseboat" of sorts, we were able to get out of the cold and also move around and make hot food and drink, making the experience far more comfortable. One of the problems though, was that there was only minimal deck space outside and none of it covered. Back to the "wet" problem.

To get around this, you could roll up a side cover each side at the last section of the boat and fish from the "window" you created, but this too had it's problems. Firstly, by fishing inside, you brought unwanted associated fishing mess, such as blood, bait scraps and the worst- Pilchard scales, into the interior. Secondly, the bench seats directly underneath these windows were also to be later used as beds, no good letting the same foggy, misty air in and onto where you would eventually be sleeping. Thirdly, from a fishing point of view, when fishing from inside, you were too far back inside the boat to either watch the cyalume light stick on your line (a small glow stick used to attract the fish)- which becomes truly addictive- or manoeuvre once you had a fish.

After a few Halvorsen trips, we then hired a modern (at the time!) houseboat. This was the boat we'd been looking for! Great interior design, with plenty of room, all mod cons, walk-around sides and best of all, covered decks front and back to stay mostly out of the dreaded wet. It had sliding glass doors to keep the warmth inside and the oven was a beauty, with a door you could leave ajar to let the gas-heat out, warming up the interior in a matter of minutes. We hired this houseboat for a few years nearly always taking it for five day midweek trips. In "good" years, when fish were really around, we sometimes did two trips. Then unfortunately, it was sold and the new owners no longer hired it out.

Next, we tried the big houseboat companies at Brooklyn and initially hired the "6 berth" sized boat, taking only four of us (there are four beds) and although the front deck was covered, the rear deck wasn't, leading back to the wet problems again. Solution? Get a few more guys together and hire the big 45 ft 10 berth boat. Plenty of cover at each end and enough space to walk around and keep out of each others way. It was easy to get a crew together, as all the mates wanted to come, even the non-fishers wanted to be part of the trip and we looked forward to going every year. There were 6 beds, so generally 6 crew, but a couple of times an extra person was squeezed in and one year we took 8, with the last crewman declaring he'd sleep upstairs on the top deck if need be- and he did in the end.

In different years, due to other commitments, some couldn't make it for the whole time, and instead would come for a night or two, meaning that they'd at least be in on the trip and the fun. Missing the trip was devastating, as it was the focus of our social gatherings, long before and certainly long after the trip was done.

Some years we caught a heap of "Hairy's", some years only a few, but only twice we didn't get one in over 40 trips. Other fish caught were Jew, Flattie's, Bream, Tailor, Snapper, John Dory, Frigates, Salmon and a lone 30 lb Blue Groper, plus plenty of "oddities" like a Nannygai and a Rays Bream. Some years, Squid were so plentiful they became annoying, as they pestered and killed the live Yellowtail that we now preferred as "Standard Hairtail" baits. The Yellowtail and Hardyhead schools swimming around on the surface at night have got to be seen to be believed. They are in the tens of thousands some nights- no wonder there are plenty of predators lurking the system. Sharks were also a welcome catch and plenty of Whalers and some small Hammerheads gave a good account of themselves when hooked on light tackle.

A feature of the waterway of a night time is the abundance of bio-luminescence, anything moving in the water disturbs it and creates a "glow" effect, which lasts a few seconds and gives away the presence of any moving life in the water. Some nights, particularly nights of little moon and a run in tide, it looks like an "electric" light show and is genuinely fascinating to observe. The Hairtail, with their ultra-smooth skin, can move almost unnoticed through the "glow" which adds to it being the perfect hunting ground for them.

 Now of course, all this action is by night, daytime fishing isn't usually as productive and often we'll fish for Garfish during the day, as they are also around in numbers and provide the crew with fishing "action" until the serious business time of about an hour before dark arrives and then the entire focus is on Hairtail until the next morning. Everything is treated as a "Hairtail" bite as they do bite in different patterns at times, often fish like Tailor would be missed by giving them plenty of time with the bait, but as there was always a serious "friendly" competition going on, lost or non-Hairtail fish were not really worried about and didn't count on the scoreboard anyway.

A few things we learned over the years in regard of what to take:

A large cylindrical plastic washing basket with handles is vital to take with you. A bicycle inner tube (or 2 is better) tied around the outside of the basket and secured  next to one of the rear motors keeps as many bait fish alive as you want, without the need for an aerator, which is noisy and battery consuming- still take one for when moving spots to keep your baits alive until basket re-deployed. We used to take 2 washing baskets like this, one for small live bait and the other for "large" live bait including Squid. We'd take a couple of deeper fish boxes to sit the baskets in while moving locations. Using one as a "dedicated" small bait holder means you can just dip your net in while dark and know what you are getting

At least 2 small, soft aquarium nets fastened onto about a 3 ft handle- for reaching the bait in the baskets without having to go down on your knees and getting wet in the process. Attach a polystyrene float to each one as without doubt, someone will drop them overboard and it's a hassle getting a bait out of the basket without a net.

2 Gaffs with 5 or 6 ft handles- one for each end of the boat and a net is handy for "general" fish, crabs and Squid.

A small burley dispenser that you can leave in the water to keep the bait sized fish constantly around the boat

A roll of venetian blind cord or similar strong cord. Heaps of uses- attaching baskets to rear of boat, tying rear of supplied dingy to side of houseboat- they can be moored virtually in the centre by tying off each end-there is only a short tow rope on dingy. Tie a life-jacket between dingy and hull of houseboat to avoid bumping constantly.

Make your own rod holders out of PVC pipe and drill 3 or 4 pairs of holes in them and tie with the venetian cord to rails so they don't tip. This makes leaving set rods safe and secure. Also gives defined positions when fishing with a group.

More clothes than you think you'll need, I for one, have fallen over the side in freezing conditions and clothes are really hard to dry up there in winter.

If you are a smoker, (I'm not) take more smokes than you think you'll need as they get moist easily and although there is a shop at Cottage Point they have limited supplies of most things. Also moving means up anchoring.

Warm sleeping bags are better than supplied doona's

Pre-cooking meals bar bbq food is a great labour saving activity and individual foil containers are easy to reheat in the oven.

Also worth taking are plenty of rags/old bits of towel to wipe your hands on as you get quite grimy hands when fishing long sessions and you're forever wiping them!

It's also worth taking a Yabbie pump as there are pink nippers on the sandflats of almost every bay in Cowan and they are great bait for everything other than Hairtail.

For bait, just Pilchards and a few good quality prawns is all you need, you can get stacks of different small fish for live bait easily.

Taking disposable plates saves time and washing up!

No doubt, others have more on their checklists for this style of trip, but those are the basics to help make things run smoothly. 

Give house-boating a try, it's always a memorable experience whether you get many fish or not!

 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by wazatherfisherman

[masterfisho7]

Sounds like a blast must have been top trip love your reporting and posting 

[61 crusher]

Hi Waza another great informative read. As a young teenager our family did quite a few trips up there & we soon worked out the halvos were nice to look at but not practical for a modern gathering even the larger ones had restricted space but we’re a lot more comfortable. We once tried the modern version the clipper & found them also a tad cumbersome. As with you we moved onto the houseboats & also soon released the constraints the weather could create, & the only way to go was to hire one which would at a minimum have an extra 2 up capacity above our crew, What a great list of sundries to have while on board for fishing I’m assuming you guys would’ve also had a few eskys with ice & someone’s boat as a larger tender for fishing expeditions, supplies, etc

[Green Hornet]

Good on you for posting all this Waza, your typing finger must be getting a real workout.

Sounds like a great way to spend a week or weekend away with the boys and don't forget to add beer to the checklist.

 

[wazatherfisherman]

8 hours ago, 61 crusher said:

Hi Waza another great informative read. As a young teenager our family did quite a few trips up there & we soon worked out the halvos were nice to look at but not practical for a modern gathering even the larger ones had restricted space but we’re a lot more comfortable. We once tried the modern version the clipper & found them also a tad cumbersome. As with you we moved onto the houseboats & also soon released the constraints the weather could create, & the only way to go was to hire one which would at a minimum have an extra 2 up capacity above our crew, What a great list of sundries to have while on board for fishing I’m assuming you guys would’ve also had a few eskys with ice & someone’s boat as a larger tender for fishing expeditions, supplies, etc

Hi Dieter yep, had a couple of big esky's and the last 7 or 8 trips took a 17 ft half cabin to make picking up and dropping off overnight fishers easy and sounding out the entire system when fish were harder to find.

Like you, once you've done the houseboat there's no going back to the cruiser design.

[wazatherfisherman]

7 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Good on you for posting all this Waza, your typing finger must be getting a real workout.

Sounds like a great way to spend a week or weekend away with the boys and don't forget to add beer to the checklist.

 

Hi Pete it's a great trip for anyone who loves fishing and we always had fun regardless of any Hairy's there or not

[Rebel]

Super Story.

[wizza]

Also great typing /editing skill,great read..

[wazatherfisherman]

53 minutes ago, wizza said:

Also great typing /editing skill,great read..

Thanks wizza! Glad you enjoyed it