January’s Clinic on Success

Mark Maher’s new strategy came up trumps during the January 27 clinic on Success. But he also paid a price for his compact dhufish, the only legal dhuie caught on the day.

With Martin Smith at the helm, Mark decided that he’d discard all the crappy old bait and fish solely with new stuff.

Well, one dhuie liked the idea, snaffling a squid head much to the delight of the nine members on board.

The fish didn’t go down without some resistance though because Mark suffered a little collateral damage to his legs and arms as the dhuie was brought on board by Bob Litster.

Martin had steamed through the Windmills, and slightly sou’west to some ground that he liked. Mark opened the scoring with his 51.5cm dhufish, and another was released when it measured 48.5cm.

An excellent gurnard, sea sweep, breaksea cod and many undersize pink snapper kept the anglers on their toes while wrasse, whiting and a goat fish were other species aboard.

With Mark already pretty chuffed with his dhuie, he’d promised Bob the lesser fish if he nailed another one.

And just as anticipation grew, Mark landed a gummy shark which also didn’t go down without a fight because it gnawed a hole in the landing net.

Don’t get fooled by the name. Gummy sharks have flattened teeth that are turned inwards such that the points and edges are not exposed, hence their name.

Later, Angling Section captain John Bech filleted the fish which was shared by several anglers on board.

Most anglers enjoyed a meal of fresh fish that night.

Report and photos by Ray Wilsom