Tackle Tactics Surfcasting Message Board
[ Message Archive | Tackle Tactics Surfcasting Message Board ]

    The Pilferer Archived Message

    Posted by Rex HB on 16/1/2012, 3:39 pm

    I have a question?
    But first I must say it was good to see some clean sea and a few quality fish appearing (at last) for the just completed field weekend. Of course there were a few hiccups such as that buffeting Nor Easter that almost cleaned out your false teeth if you bent over. Then there were those who didn’t seem to quite be able to find a good spot, or they left a good spot to go to a bad spot. Or they got told off for trying to get to a good spot and discovering they were crossing locally planted vegetation (also a bad spot). For some it could have been the disturbing appearance of a summer red cod that showed up amongst the catches. But there were some good fish too.

    And then there was the odd pilferer.
    But what is a pilferer? Imagine a person who gets chauffeur driven to a particular location. He pays a minimal fee for diesel and travels in the luxury of knowing that he can sleep all the way there and back if he wants to as he doesn’t LIKE to drive his own vehicle. On arrival the said leisurely individual suddenly discovers a lease of life and runs to the beach to pronounce its perfect for HIS chances of getting good points. You quickly indicate where you want to go and shove your rod stands into the sand expecting the individual to fish on the other side of you. Then he suddenly whizzes past you, taking the same side you have chosen but only CLOSER TO THE CHANNEL THAT YOU WANTED TO FISH. He fails to understand why you look rather PEEVED about this situation and proceeds to bait up his rod. As he’s busily baiting preparing his gear he rather pointedly comments that the reel YOUVE LOANED HIM (his is broken, apparently in the shop and he can’t afford a new one) doesn’t have a shock leader, But don’t worry, he’ll put one on !!!!!!!!!. GEE THANKS. GRRRRRRR.

    Well the rods are in and sure enough even in the heat of that day guess whose rod goes over first . Yep ,the individual. And yep, its nice gurnard, probably pulled out of the channel that you would have been fishing in. IF HE HADNT PUSHED YOU OUT OF IT. Time passes slowly and nothing’s happening except the wind has turned to a gale. Then suddenly the individual is running to his rod again. Yep another bl***dy gurnard. Meanwhile the only hits your getting on your rod are the gusts that are just about blowing you over. More time passes and then whizz ... the individual is up again. A kahawai. Yep thats three fish while you’ve had diddly squat. That smirk is beginning to cross his face and he is staying well away from you at that point. Very wisely....


    Suddenly while your rod seems to be moving a bit more than you can attribute to the wind. You realise you actually have a fish and stumble through the sand to your rod. It’s on and so you furiously begin to reel it in. You get into the last piece of surf about half a metre from victory, just holding for that last wave to drag it in. Then there is a ping as your line snaps. The shock leader knot you retied yesterday for some unexplainable reason breaks and you can only watch in horror as the first fish you’ve had in about 4 hours, a probable pin kahawai slips into the sea. As your cursing and swearing in mystified disbelief, the individual your fishing with blithely informs you that your drag was too tight. Not helpful really....... A few choice words are exchanged. Things get even more sour when you pull your perfectly casted straight line in to find it has somehow got over his and you have to undertaken a mission untangle. How did this master caster end up in your zone? Well who knows??????He doesn’t seem to. Must have been your fault he can’t cast straight.

    The afternoon the continues. And the fish begin to come. Well on his rod anyway.... One snapper two snapper, three snapper , four snapper....... On one rod....... With one reel ... And guess what. It’s the reel you loaned him. Your reel .... filling his chilly bin ....while your other reels move idly in the ever present wind. Your mood is getting somewhat darker every second.

    Dusk is closing in and finally you get a good run, then a landed snapper and another kahawai. Things go a bit quiet for a while. Then you notice a light nod in the rod and you dive over and grab it. A few bites and a quick tug on your rod. You’ve hooked the bugga. No2 fish. Things are slowly looking up, even as the individual in your chosen spot also hauls in another snapper. At least you’ve got something, and then another one, before it goes a bit quiet again for about 30 minutes. Then the rods start getting bites again. Very sneaky snappery nibbles. You walk over and pick it up and wait. Suddenly there is flashing blur of a figure heading towards you. “Are you getting bites? I’m not getting any, I’ll bring one of my rods over here and fish on the other side of you. “. You are staring in disbelief. “WTF???? Your gobsmacked as he whizzes past you slamming his rod stand just past yours. He seems to have developed a hearing disability when you mention your not too happy about this and suggest he returns to his own (stolen) spot (Not the exact words used). Meanwhile your trying to hook those sneaky snapper but man are they slick. The bites stop after a while. Then the pilferer says “oh well its gone quiet now I think I’ll go back. ....Then “ Oh hang on a minute I’ve got a fish.” Can you bl**dy believe it. In comes a decent sized Trev.

    Your not happy. Meanwhile the individual slides back into the darkness giving you a wide berth. A very, very wide birth.

    Nothing much happens until about 11am at which point the Pania pilferer comes over with a peace offering of a crab. But you decide to stick to targeting the snapper. Another hour passes. Suddenly the individual comes over and informs you of the time.” Its 12.30 you know. Maybe its time you had a sleep.? Your gobsmacked. Whatttt? I’m 53 not 93. But no, its not your age, that’s the concern. its your ability to drive. The individual informs you that he’s going to be fishing all through the night and he’s worried that you wont be able to drive HIM home safely to weigh in HIS catch if you haven’t had a enough sleep. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? More words are exchanged. I made sure I stayed up at least another hour before I went to bed just to p*ss him off. Cheeky B***gger .

    So that was a good chunk of my weekend. But here’s my question? Am I right to brand this individual a pilferer? And what of his fish? Should he have offered me any given they were caught on MY REEL in MY SPOT? I wouldn’t have taken them cos in truth they were hard earned and it was a damn good catch really. But what do reckon?????



    Message Thread: