Botany Bay Report - 23/6/07

My hopes for chasing bream on the Cooks River were dashed when I saw the colour of the water on friday. It was still muddy and murky and recalling previous lack-lustre attempts when the water was like this, I decided to give it a miss.

So it was back to my 6:30am start on Silver Beach next to the Oil Refinery. The weather was surprisingly good, meaning the wind was only 10 knots or so and there wasn't any rain. As I approached the Hotwater Outlet I was surprised to see that I had the place to myself. I felt sure there would've been boats out in force after the crappy weather we'd had lately. 'More for me,' I thought and I let fire with my first cast with an EastCoast Splash 'n Dash. Flat-chat across the surface and 'Boof', it's hit by a tailor. Ooh yeah, first cast, I like it! Lots of jumping and splashing around and as I'm playing him out I notice baitfish jumping all around me with tailor in hot pursuit. I lift this guy into the Hobie, guess-timate him at about a kilo, throw him into the livewell and get back to fishing.

The next 3 casts resulted in another 3 fish all about the same size - same technique and it's a blast to see them chase down the popper. On the fifth cast I hook-up again but it's all too brief and I've been bitten off. Aaarrrgghhh! And that was my last Splash 'n Dash, too. : (

Ok, I've had some fun, now let's get serious. I rig up with a Mojo Twitchin Minnow (garfish colour) and cast out hoping it'll get down below the tailor. Blast hooked up again! Hee hee hee. Another tailor and one shredded mojo. Re-rig and try again. I manage to get through the 'mobile fangs' and start the 'lift, lift, wind' retrieve. On the 4th cast I get a nudge and get ready. 'Zzzzzzzzzzz' goes the reel and I know this ain't a tailor! Strong, deep runs and I'm off in pursuit. I'm hoping it'll be a new PB and when I finally lift him aboard my hopes are confirmed. 72cm's total length and this guy will be great on the BBQ.

Back to the same spot, fix up the SP that's slightly chewed and out she goes again. "Lift, lift, wind...lift, lift, wind...lift, lift, OH YES! I'm on again! This one really took off and before long I was being towed by another winter kingie! Thankfully there isn't any structure around here as she really put the burners on a few times and peeled off 20-25 meters of line each time. This 10lb braid would be a bit light around pylons but it's a hoot out here in the open. I ease her up and make sure she's nice and tired before I grab her with the lip-grips and slide her over the size. She's a bit chunkier than the first one and she's on the lie detector quick smart and what do you know? My new PB is now 75cm's, so I'm only 25cm's away from my goal of getting a meter kingie from the kayak.

I look around and I still can't beleive it: no boats anywhere to take a photo for me, so it's a quick juggling act to get a shot with both fish in it. I only had 10 minutes of fishing time left so I got her back into the water and swam her along until she kicked out of my grip and disappeared into the depths.

Well try as I might, I couldn't get another kingfish. But that's only because the tailor had returned and would shred any SP within seconds of them hitting the water! I quickly changed to a Halco Twisty metal slice and landed another 4 before it was time to leave. It was a crime to leave them biting so I rang Daveyg and said 'Get down here whenever you get a chance,' but I think the poor guy was shackled to soccer duties for the day. Poor bugger.

So what a day! Easily one of the best sessions I've ever had fishing and I am still amazed that I was the only one there. I know where I'll be going next weekend if the weather holds. But you know how fishing is, here one day, gone the next. We'll see anyway. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,

Cid