Nikki

The response from women all over Australia, and overseas, to REEL GIRLS has been tremendous. In particular I have had women from Broome, whom I have never met before, approach me and ask how they can become a part of REEL GIRLS. I receive all sorts of strange questions such as; what do I have to do? Is there a test? How much does it cost? Is there an initiation? Do I have to look good in a bikini? Is there a waiting list? What can I do to help? When can I start? How……? The list goes on. It’s fantastic to see so many women keen to join in on the fun and really express their enthusiasm for angling.

One such keen angler is Nicki Bilston from Broome. Although she didn’t ask any of the weird questions, she was certainly keen to help in any way possible to make up a team. Consequently Nicki joined up with Deb Foster, another visitor to the REEL GIRLS team, to fish the Cockatoo Island Tournament in May. I met Nikki in April this year and joined her during the May Day competition in Broome aboard the Four Winds charter boat “LIVELY.”

Nik had been out on the water on Saturday with several guys and they had some equipment failure, so I said I would join them for the Sunday. We headed out to one of those famous x-spots and began by trolling past some shallow reefs. Nik was the first to hook up with my Shimano TLD 25 and reeled in a small mackerel. She wasn’t too familiar with the set up but didn’t take long to learn the rig I had set up for the rod. It’s amazing how attentive people can be to learning something about a sport they really enjoy. You can tell how much they do enjoy it by the persistence they give to achieving perfection, and the relevant questions they ask.

I had 10 kilo line spooled on the Shimano TLD 25 which I ended with a bimini twist. To that I attached a 10ft 60pound leader with an all brite knot and then tied a swivel clip on the end. This then makes it easy for attaching traces for different types of fishing. For the mackerel with lures from the Halco range we used wire traces to stop the mackerel from cutting straight through the monofilament. If any sailfish came up to the stern of the boat a small trace of heavy line with the appropriate hook and rig could be easily attached.

For the bottom bouncing or anchored rock fishing I prepared the Shimano Trinidad 30 with 30 pound fire line for Nikki. Once again I tied a bimini on the end of this line with a 10ft leader attached by an all-brite knot and swivel clip to finish off. To this I then could add any of the several paternoster rigs for fishing the bottom with bait, which I had prepared in snap glad bags before leaving shore. The fire line has much less stretch which makes it easier to feel the bites through the deep water and if there is a lot of current it lessens the bow in your line. However, this particular day the tides were small and we were fishing in only 25meters of water.

Nikki thought it was fantastic to have her own private deckhand help her for the day. She was learning something every hour and had more hook-ups and landed more fish than anyone else on the boat.

A school of mulloway were below the boat and put up a hefty fight for both the guys and Nikki. Nikki caught everything from moses perch to black spot tusk fish, to trevally and many mulloway. The day was definitely her day as she reeled in fish after fish. At the end of the day I decided to throw a line in and try a white jig on the bottom. Straight away I brought up a small mackerel which was followed by three very large predators. They were barracouda, and attacked the small mackerel on the surface beside the boat.

I was only using monofilament, not wire and amazed that I didn’t get busted off with the mackerel. I was amazed even more when I then spent the next ten minutes on the barracouda. It surfaced and then took off repeatedly during the fight until we brought it on board. Those are one fish species that really need cautious handling, as they have huge teeth that will easily penetrate straight through your foot or hand. We took the jig out from the corner of its mouth and released it back to its mates. The other barracouda were so pleased to see their mate back that they came right up to play. The bewildered barracouda that I had just released took fright and skittled across the surface. Great action on the video camera! The fish then settled down and swam off to tell its mates the story of the last 15 minutes.

Nik continued to bring in the fish as the guys weighed anchor. The day was over, but the celebration was yet to follow with a barbecue and presentation at the Broome Fishing Club that afternoon. Nikki thoroughly enjoyed the day and learnt a lot from the whole week end.

The following week I helped her with more knots, rigs and options for outfits for her different types of fishing. Whilst she reminisces about that day each time I see her, it was rewarding for me just as much, and each time I see her and hear of her fishing tails my smile gets wider because there she is: another reel enthusiast, another reel girl!