Georges River Report – 24/7/06

Fordy and I both have young families as many fishos have and we all know that sometimes fishing has to take a back seat to family business. It also means that when an opportunity comes up to get out in the yak, we leap at it know matter how small the window of time available. So it was last Sunday where we had 3 hours to catch what we could. Oyster Bay is close to both of us so we set off even though the tide was at dead low and not really the best time for fishing in this area.

We headed out to the main river and across to Oatley to work the moored boats and pontoons. Recently we invested in a pair of walkie-talkies as an additional safety measure and they’re also great for keeping in touch on the water. Or so I thought… ‘Beep…ONE NIL’ says Fordy and now I’m playing catch up. A few boats later and I feel a bite and I strike. There’s some nice weight but then it’s gone. I wind in and see that my SP is bitten off just behind the hook. Bugga!

Try as we may, that was the extent of the action at Oatley. At least the tide was running in now, so we pedal our way back to Oyster Bay. Fordy heads straight over and I work a few of the pontoons before following. Another bite and as the rod bends I see a nice bream about 30cm zip back towards the cover. The line goes slack again and once more the SP is neatly trimmed below the hook. Double bugga!

We worked our way up opposite sides of Oyster Bay and as I wind in my Berkley 6” Sandworm there is a momentary flash of tawny-white, a splash and I’m on. Finally! The drag on the President reel works beautifully and I take my time until a nice flattie glides up from the depths into view. 53cm and I put her in the livewell to show Fordy. I buzz him on the walkie-talkies but there is no answer. So, he’s either sulking, tipped the yak or fighting a fish. I can’t decide which of those three options I’d prefer…

I get one more chance at a fish off the next pontoon and it’s a bream but it’s just legal – 25cm. Fordy eventually crackles over the airwaves and I find out he’s been filming, so he’d turned off the two-way so I wouldn’t interrupt him. Back at the ramp we take some quick photos and send the fish on their way.

The final tally was 1 bream each and the flathead for me plus Fordy picked up a couple of undersize bream also. Still, it was a nice few hours to be out getting some fresh air, some exercise and even a few fish. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid