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This week I stepped out of my comfort zone .......... The boat, I was given a great opportunity to go out and film with the Savage Sea's team and teach a newby to all fishing how to catch squid.
Another perfect morning in Melbourne, light winds, sun was just up and crystal clear water in Port Phillip bay, I made the dash down to Rye to meet with the team Charlie, Jay and Shae. Charlie spends a lot of time in this area both above and below the water line, Jay is a local angler who has spent heaps of time chasing fish all over the world and Shae is a world reknownd free diver.
I caught up with the guys at the Rye boat ramp and after a quick intro we got stuck into filming, before long we were on our way out to find some squid. Now the idea of the show was for me to teach Shae how to catch her first squid so we made our way to an area that I know would hold big numbers of squid, not big in size but in numbers and the perfect place to get some one their first cephlapod. We arrived at our chosen spot and I prepared a rod for Shae then started with a quick run down of catching squid. I then asked her to cast out as far as she could from the boat and let the jig sink to the bottom. There was a slight moment of silence before I realized that Shae had not yet cast a rod before. Back to rod casting 101. With the jig in the water Shae must have been a natural, first ever cast, first ever jerk of a rod and first ever squid.
Jay was also casting away in the back ground casting away but not yet landing a squid, we took Shae's first squid off and got her jig out into the water again, second cast second jerk and sure enough another squid. I guess some people just have it and some dont. We kept on casting for an hour or so in this area and decided to move to an area where we knew the squid would be a bit bigger but the numbers would be less. It was not long before we starting banging squid again, both Jay and Shae were pulling squid in left right and centre. Charlie managed to get heaps of film and the water was clear as could be.
I was then told that we were going to a different spot, we made a short move to a place I was very familiar with but was well aware that there was no fishing allowed. Hang on a minute, what are we doing at Popes Eye. Popes eye is a place in Port Phillip Bay where people come to learn how to dive or snorkel. Panic stations for the people in Sorrento. If I get into the water you may notice slight increase in water levels and to the good folks on board the dolphin and whale watching boat in the back ground relax, it is just me not a freak whale encounter. I am not familiar with the world of snorkeling and as I had been able to teach Shae how to catch squid it was decided that she was going to teach me how to snorkel. Now lets get one thing straight I love being on the water but am a complete stranger to being under the water, I was very nervous top say the least.
All geared up both Charlie and Shae were already in the water gracefully gliding around like they belonged, I positioned myself on the edge of the boat door and flopped into the water like an elephant. As nice as the water looked it was bloody cold to start off. A combination of being a big sook and the cold shrinking my lungs I struggled to breath with the snorkel and splashed around like a baby having their first bath. After about a minute Shae glided through the water next to me and grabbed a hold of me, she took my hand and guided me along the rock wall, all of a sudden everything was calm, I could breath and no more panic. The world around me became quiet and everything became clear.
WOW, so this is what all the hype is about, swimming around meters from fish and their homes among the sea grass, watching Blue Scaley Fish popping in and out of reef, Blue Throat Wrasse were playing around in their playground of the reef system, this was an amazing experience. Now I will be the first to admit, I was crap and snorkeling but the whole experience has encouraged me to go and buy some fins and a snorkel and a mask and give this underwater stuff a fair crack. Charlie and Shae you were both amazing and without you tricking me into doing this with the aid of a camera it is probably something I would never had done, I can not thank you enough.
The filming we did will be shown sometim
e soon on Channel 31, if you would like to share a similar experience to me contact Charlie at Savage Seas Adventures on 0415-242-902 or visit his web page www.savageseasadventures.com.au his vessel is licensed for 5. I will be back for more
