Work was so quiet that I just did the unthinkable and accepted an invitation to go sea fishing with a work colleague. I was so close to saying NO but after some cogitation I reneged on my initial thoughts and decided to try something new. Would you believe that a man of my age has never gone fishing? That's because I have never wanted to. There was one little irk, getting up at 4.00am is not my idea of fun; anyhow, I was parked up at the lighthouse in Cleveland at 6.00am, all set for the big day out. The first site of the day was outside the bay in 35m deep water; the sun was hardly over the horizon when we started fishing. Steve showed me how to tie the weight and hook onto the line, then he put a sardine on the hook for bait. I did the easy part and dropped the line into the water, counted to 10 and got a bite. I reeled in a 45cm long snapper in less time than It takes for me to have a dump. I put on some more bait and dropped the line back into the deep blue water; meanwhile Steve caught a 65cm snapper whilst Wayne couldn't catch a cold.
I have to keep reminding myself that we are in the middle of winter and I am out on the ocean wearing a tee shirt at 7.00am, the sky is blue the wind is calm and I have already caught my dinner.The wind picked up and the boat started bobbing up and down like a turd in a piss pot. Steve said we should head for the bay as it is sheltered and safer. I reeled in the line and bugger me, there was another snapper on the hook. I was really happy now that I had two meals to take home for on the BBQ.
On the way back to inside the bay Wayne spotted spouts of water coming from whales on the north shore of Stradbroke Is. so we went to investigate. By the time we got to Flat Rock they had disappeared. We anchored up and tried our luck once again, we now had the pleasure of a dolphin keeping us company. Beginners luck for me as I didn't get a catch for the rest of the day, but I wasn't the only one and I didn't feel as bad as Wayne, everything he caught was under legal size and I swear that he caught the same fish three times.
We arrived at the yacht club by 11.00am and had a couple of beers under the Queensland sun, it was 27c, not a cloud in sight and the sound of flying foxes was heard all around us, something was spooking them as they are not normally active during the daylight hours.After our liquid refreshment we chanced our luck fishing inside the bay, the only luck we had was bad luck, but not as bad as the turtle who copped it from a careless boat.
Steve contacted the Coast Guard who advised us to leave the turtle as it is illegal to take them (unless you are an Aborigine) 
We explored the oyster beds on the sand banks at low tide and saw quite a few pelicans throughout the day. I also saw a fish eagle from time to time but no more fish.
I got into the car at 3.00pm and went back to work feeling very relaxed.
