Bassin' the Nepean - Dec 2010 or Jan 2011..not sure of exact date

As stated last week, Terry has been getting into a few bass and he sent through this report that covers a trip he had a few weeks ago...

With all the rain we had in the last few weeks, I was begging hard for it to blow out to sea.
As each day this week I was watching the weather very closely & hoping to get a line wet.
Sure enough today was the day, I couldn’t resist, the humidity, the stillness & those cicada’s (don’t ya love em) buzzing in my backyard, gave me an indication to have a crack at dirty bassin.
Although the barometric pressure wasn’t favourable (not that I look at it) I set off to my local river .

It was a late start at midday, water was coffee, overcast, not a ripple in the water (mirror finish)& insects everywhere (looking good just how we like it). As I paddled along & looking at the sounder WOW the water temp was 26degrees.

Well out came the surface lure , just love my surface action so visuial. I pulled up to a great looking snag, timber everywhere, sure there's gotta be a bass here .

As the lure landed tight against the snag & the ripple disappeared BLOOP BLOOP 10 secs later BLOOP BLOOP nuthin , not even a tap, mmmmm.

I fished with surface lures for half n hr for no result even in places you think to yourself, how did i get that lure in there with all that overgrown branches where bass love to hide.

I looked in my tackle box deciding on what lure to tie on next , the stumper jumper was it , have had some great success over the years with this lure & it wasn’t before the line wet tight , drag peel’n off , WHHHOOOO , this felt like a descent fish , as he was racing back for cover, still no colur, as it was trying to snag me up.

After a great tussle & the fish landed & measured 380, my blood was pumping, a quick photo & the fish was swimming away.

By this time it was 1pm & I didn’t have much fishing time left.
As I flicked into the shadows & retrieved into the depths , was on again how good is this ( thats how fishing should be ) another well condition fish was landed it measured 350. The next half hr was just awesome fishing , it surprised me with all the rain & run off we’ve had, it was worth giving it ago in dirty water . I ended up with 9 bass ranging from 270 – 380 mm. Its only going to get better from here. Happy bassin'.

Great report, Terry. Thanks for sharing with us.

And this weekend (sunday, 23rd January) sees the next round (no. 5) of the Daiwa ABT/Hobie Kayak Bream tournament kick off in Victoria at the legendary location of the Bemm River! Last year the bags were massive (24 anglers from a field of 38 had a weigh-in bag of over 2kg's for three fish!!!) and there is sure to be a strong turnout for this one.

More info is available here: http://bream.com.au/abt/2010/Bemm10.pdf and if you can only do one tourny, this would have to be high on the list. Hopefully the yakkin' fraternity haven't been hit too hard by the floods and they can still make it to this premium event. Good luck to all attending, I know I wish I could've made it... Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Popping for Botany Bay Kings - 7 & 9/1/11

It's been a while since I'd been to the HWO off Kurnell and honestly, I haven't caught a fish from there the last 5 or so times I'd been. I think the dredging for the pipes across the bay really stuffed it up as it was almost a sure-fire spot for getting a few tailor and maybe a king or two right on sun-up. But I hadn't even had a hit there lately but I'm not ready to give up on it yet, so out I go again in the dawn gloom, hoping to have my arms stretched.

There was one boat casting large poppers at it when I arrived and I decided to flick out the 6" Mojo stickbaits for something different. I gave it a good going over for 15 minutes and once again, not even a touch. The same result went for the boat who eventually packed it in and shot off to the other side of the bay. I gave it another couple of casts and decided to head out to the Sticks to see if I could get a bream or two. I'm sure that the HWO still fires at times but it's definitely quieter than it used to be.

On the way out to the Sticks, I saw a few boils ahead of me, 'Maybe Bonito?' I thought and flicked out a small metal slice and cranked it back at high-speed. After a few casts without a touch I switched to the Mojo. Nuthin'! They were still boiling up, nothing wild though and I reached for a new Ecogear popper I have, an orange and black TP88F. First cast and it's snaffled off the surface. And then the drag starts screaming! Oh yeah, this isn't a bonito.

Strong determined runs and then down deep it goes, slugging it out. Now this is more like it. I soon get colour and it's my first Kingie for a long time. Into the net and onboard but it's just short of legal at 62cms so it's back into the drink for this guy. The boils had stopped by now so I continued to the Sticks and started with a blade.

I'd been blading for about 10 minutes and had landed one small pinkie and a 33cm bream when 20 meters away there's a bit of a bust up on the surface. A quick switcheroo of rods and out goes the TP88F again. It's hit 3 times before the hooks stick and I'm dragged away by what feels like a good fish. By now a few boats have seen me hooked up and are slowly creeping closer.

I get colour again and it looks like a twin of the first King and at 63cms, it almost is. Aaaarrrgh, so close to legal, but back this one goes, too. I scan the water, searching for more bust ups but the boils have disappeared for now so I go back to the blades.

But it's not long before they're back on the surface and to test them out, I switch to the Mojo again. Still nothing. So I downsize to smaller squidgy flickbaits but again they are ignored. I even cast the blade out and landed it right in the middle of the school but to no avail. So back to the popper and it's instant action again. I pulled the hooks on two fish before I finally get a solid hook up and this guys goes deep straight away and gives me a good tow.

When I eventually drag him aboard I'm only 20 meters from one of the boats and the guy yells out 'What are you getting those bloody Kings on?' I return with 'Are you using Soft Plastics?' 'Yes', he says. 'Well I'm not getting them on those,' I say with a smile. I flicked my lure towards them and said 'Try a popper like this.' I hope he managed to get into a few.

As fortune would have it, this one is a smidge over 65 cms, so hallelujah, there's dinner. My time on the water was now up so I left them biting. Man, I hate having to do that.

Of course, after a good session like that, I was keen to have another go so on the sunday I headed out into the overcast slightly drizzly morning which at least kept the boat traffic down. The fish were a bit shyer today and again I could only get them to take poppers. The TP88F (see right) worked again, as did an NW Pencil and also a River 2 Sea popper which promptly had the light gauge hooks completely straightened. Silly me forgot to back the drag off. D'oh!

So I ended up hooking 5 and landing 2 but the biggest was only 60 cms, so none of them came home with me this time. But gees they're bloody good fun! Let's hope there are a few more sessions with bigger specimens involved over the next few months.

On a different note, Tezza has been getting into a few bass lately and will send me a few photos with a report to go with them, so I'll get those up within the next day or two. Happy yakkin, everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Cooks River - 28/12/10

So from all reports the Bonito were going off their proverbials in Botany Bay, especially around the Port Botany area. A plan was quickly hatched late one night to go out and get a few as they are one of my favourite fish to eat (filleted, rolled in sesame seeds and dried chillies, seared in a pan for 30 seconds and served with soy and wasabi and pickled ginger...perfecto).

And thus Tezza and I stood at the ramp on Foreshore Rd at 5am, looking into a 20 knot southerly. A guy in a half cabin cruiser was also there at the ramp, looking at the chopped up water. 'Fugg that', we thought, and decided to skip the Bonnie chasing and head to calmer waters.

Next closest place was the Cooks, so we set off to get a few bream although the rods we had were a tad heavier than we'd normally use. At least the ramp was nice and quiet. Bouncing a TT switchblade along the side of the freeway wall saw me come up with one bream of 27cms fork length within five casts and I left the next stretch to Tezza and moved onto the boats out in the deeper water.

Hop, hop...hop, hop and boofo! Ooh, this doesn't feel like a bream. I could feel a decent weight on the end of the line and off down current we go. He took me on a bit of a run and we danced around the anchor ropes with there being one moment when I thought it would all end in tears. He was going the left hand side of an anchor rope when he suddenly veered off and went the right side. I quickly tried to turn but there was no way I was going to make it to follow him and suddenly I felt the line rubbing against the rope. There was nothing else I could do, so I flicked over the bail arm and free spooled him praying that he'd stay attached. As I rounded the anchor rope, I frantically wound in and yes, he's still there.

The runs weren't as strong now and I knew that with patience and a backed off drag, he'd be mine. Up he came and into the net (it just fitted) and our plan B turned out to be A-ok! Ha, who needs Bonnies when you can catch these brilliant fish? He was hooked right in the side of the jaw and the fluoro didn't even have a mark on it. Luckily it must've been the braid that rubbed against the rope. Sometimes ya gotta get lucky, I suppose. 78cms total length and only 4cms short of my best one from the yak.

Tezza was keen to get his own now and from the distance I hear 'I'm on!'. I can see his rod doubled over but he's right near an anchor rope too and when I catch up to him it's all over. On the hook up, this brute shot straight between the front of the boat and the anchor rope which didn't give Tezza any chance at all. Next time, buddy, next time.

To round out the day we picked up some great whiting and a few more bream, but nothing was going to top that jewfish. Well, maybe a bigger one I guess would've done it...

And sorry, but I don't have time to get the Kings on Poppers from Botany Bay report up today but it WILL be up tomorrow. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,

Cid

Another Dubois starts her fishing adventure - 24th Dec 2010

Firstly, let me start with hoping you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New year. Fingers crossed you got out a few times and landed some fish and hopefully santa brought you what yopu really wanted.

A couple of years ago I took my son out on my old Hobie Sport and we had a ball landing bream in Oyster Bay. My daughter, Danielle, asked me 'When can I go fishing?' and I thought if you're old enough to ask, you're old enough to go. So we loaded up and set off for the same spot as I took Lachlan that first time.

The tide wasn't quite right (it was a bit too low) but she was really keen, so on with the type 1 PFD (much to Lachlans protestations: Hey, that's mine!) and up the front of the Outback she went and we started trolling an SX40 and a River2Sea baby vibe. She loved being out on the water and giggled with glee as we bounced over the wakes from the other boats zipping about.
We'd been trolling for about ten minutes when the River2Sea is smacked! 'Here, Danielle, hold the rod, no not like that, like this, that's it now wind like we practised, no, the other hand, wait lift the rod up, no, like that, yes, that's it, yes, that's...damn.' Between all the instructions and the excitement, the flattie chewed through the leader. Must've been a good 'un. So on with another SX40 (no more R2S's) and off we go again.

It's not long until another rod buckles and this time I sit her in my lap and hold the rod while she winds. This guy put up a feisty fight and Danielle squealed with excitement as we netted him. 40 cms he goes and he'll be perfect for dinner. We came in after this as the tide was almost bottoming out but she loved the whole experience and now it'll be trickier going out and deciding who stays at home.

To make it up to Lachlan, we snuck out a couple of days later and landed four between 38cms and 44cms and lost two that felt bigger. Naturally, when we got home, Danielle was there with hands on hips giving us the dirty look for not taking her. Hopefully, I'll have two fantastic fishing buddies for the rest of my life and I couldn't be luckier. I just hope they'll grace me with their company when they hit the teenage years.

A few days later I hit the Cooks River with Terry and landed a very nice surprise. I'll get that report up tomorrow as well as adding the session I had chasing kings in Botany Bay on poppers. Now that was exciting stuff. So until tomorrow then. happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Daiwa ABT/Hobie Kayak Tournament - H&C Bay, 21st Nov 2010

Finally the season was here for us Sydneysiders and shock, horror, the weather gods had forgotten about us and it dawned a simply beautiful morning with just a faint breath of wind. Forty yakkers lined up for the 7am kick-off and on go we spread out to our favoured haunts.

I turn right from the beach and proceeded to the jetty in Hen and Chicked Bay but the SP's I flicked into the shadows didn't even get a bump. No problem, I'll slowly make my way over to the mangroves (ah crap, I can already see half a dozen yaks over there) and pick up a few on blades on approach. Or so I thought but it was another zero.

Over on the other side, the others were all working the shallow water and I followed suit with a couple of shallow divers. I kept my eyes peeled and after ten minutes of MORE fruitless casting, I'd realised that none of the others were having any luck either. Time for a change of tactics, me thinks.

On with a Squidgy Lobby (Dusk) and I start heading out into deeper water, slowly increasing the depth, hoping I'll eventually find the depth that the fish will be in. At 1.5m depth, I hook-up. Ooh, it's a bream. I think he'll go legal, too. This year, the tournament legal length has been changed from last years 25cm fork length to 26cm total length (or one cm more than the fisheries legal length, so it'll change from state to state). This guy goes on the ruler and NOOOOOOOOOOO! He's 25.8 cms, so he back into the drink. Just once I'd like to get a good start in one of these ABT/Hobie events and today looked like it may be a typical crappy start for me.

I re-rigged and thought I'd stay in the 1.5m zone. A few minutes later the line jumps and I set the hook again. This feels better and yes, it's 27 cms so I'm on the board! Woo hoo! With the donut monkey off my back, I change to a Gulp Camo sandworm and blow me down, I hook another one. Another good tussle and this one stretches out to 29 cms total length. Two in the yak and I'm aware that I haven't seen anyone in the shallows land one yet. I'm hoping they haven't seen me and I quietly slip this fish in the well with his mate.

Back to the Lobby and it's not long before the rod bends and I'm thinking 'Please, please please be a bream.' I'm peering into the water and there's a silver flash. Ooh, it's not a flatty! Good, good. Then another flash and it's not thin. So it's not a whiting either. Gooder, gooder. Only one more thing it may be... then up she comes and yes, it's not a trevally! Into the net and I grab the camera and take a photo. Not of the fish, but of my watch. It's only 8:17am and I already have my bag. Un-bloody-believable! This one is 28 cms, so no monsters but three in the well by this time is great.

Nonchalantly whistling to myself while furtively looking around, I sneak this one into the well, too. Back to casting and looking for upgrades because those two smallest fish, although legal, are pretty thin. Try as I might though, the bite has finished and I move off to new pastures. I pass Paff on the way and he has two good fish in the well (a 29 and a 33 from what I recall) and while saying "Well done, fellow Hobie Team Member" with a big grin on my face I'm really cursing him until the cows come home. ; )

Into Exile Bay and I bump into Squidder (Squidgy GF winner). He only has a 26'er in the well. That's a big surprise for me and I leave him to his side of the bay and move to the other. I switch to blades and land a small flathead. There's little activity and I decide to give the shallows one more try even though the sun is high in the sky now and I figure the edges wouldv'e already been worked over by others before me.

I approach a section where there is a big Rubber Tree casting a shadow over the water and I shoot a Gulp 2"Shrimp (banana) towards it's edge. The line immediatly goes tight and the drag buzzes under the pull of a good fish. This thing wasn't stopping so just short of the shoreline I have to clamp down on the spool. I turn the fish and ease him out into the open but he's not finished yet. He runs again, but this time into the open so I let him have his head and follow him.

I back off the drag now as I don't want to risk loosing him in these final stages and I can see he's a good size. He keeps darting away from the net but the drag is faultless and eventually he's in the net and all mine. YES! That's what I needed. He's 35 to the tip and one more like this will see me up there amongst the leaders. I get him in the well and set the 27cm fish free. I just need one more to upgrade the 28cm one and I'll be happy. Well, I was happy now, but you know what I mean.

The wind was starting to pick up now and I move into France Bay and catch up with Scotty Lovig (the 2009 champ). He has two in the well and he hooks up but it's a massive whiting (phew, I say). Then my blade gets munched and the drag sings again but it's the twin brother of Scotty's whiting. Bugga! He had me going for a minute there.

I leave and land a few more whiting and flatties but that was it for me on the breaming stakes so I head back for the weigh in. I pass Steve Fields and Greg Lewis (AOY for the last two years) and they both only have one. Hmmm, could it be that everyone has done it tough? I still haven't seen Stewart or Andrew yet and those bloody Mexicans (Scott, Matty, etc) are too good to write off. Then there is the central coast gang (Dave, Ronnie, Jason, etc) so although I feel I'm in with a chance, there's too many good breamers that I haven't seen to start counting my chickens yet. Plus there's the Woods brothers and Gary Cook and WayneR so I'll just keep my fingers crossed for now.

At the beach there's plenty of tales of woe but also a few success stories that have me wondering about whether I'll make that podium and snare one of the GF qualification spots. Paff bagged out, as did Scotty and also Andrew. Stewart turned up right at cut-off time and shock, he only had one. I was guesstimating my bag to be about 1.4 to 1.5 kgs. Daniel Holder shot to the lead with a 1.445 kg bag which was quickly followed by Paff with a 1.435 kg bag. Only 10 grams in it and one of Paffs fish had a huge chunk (healled) missing out of it from a bite or net that if intact, would have put him in the lead. My turn next and I'm fearing that skinny fish will cost me. onto the scales and....1.390 kg! Ah, 45 grams short but at least I'm in third.

And then it comes down to Andrews turn. As he lifts his fish out of the live well, I know that my goose is cooked. He smashes us with a 1.815 kg bag and pushes me out of the qualifiers into fourth. Ooh, so close but there's more chances yet so I'll just have to get some bigger ones next time. Andrew also won the Squidgy round that was held on Sydney Harbour so we'll all be watching him the next time there is a comp on here. Here's a photo of the 'Rooster of Hen and Chicken Bay' surrounded by photographers. So well done to Andrew, Daniel and Paff for making it to the GF that will be held in Port Macquarie in October next year.

So another successful tournament has been run and won and here is a photo (Courtesy of

ABT/Hobie) of the entire group that competed. So the next round is on the Tweed River this weekend. Full details can be found here: http://www.bream.com.au/abt/2010/Tweed10.pdf

and as per all of these events, you can rock up on the day and enter so if you suddnely wake up and decide to give it a go, do it. Good luck to all the competitors and I know the usual contingent of travelling fishos will be there and good on them for supporting this great series. Work keeps me stuck in Sydney but I'll be checking the web regularly and making the obligatory phone calls at about 3pm to see what the shaledown is. Happy yakkin, everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Bloody Bream! Squidgy Grand Final - Oct 2010

Two days of breaming and all I caught were three of the buggas. This can be a heartbreaking sport sometimes. Day one was at St Georges Basin and the weather was fantastic. I had a great days fishing but a crap days tournament fishing.

In total I landed 3 Luderick, all caught on blades, 2 legal squire and eight flathead from 42 to 53 cms. Plus I lost a ripper of approximately 80cms right at the side of the yak. But I didn't land one single bream all day. I don't think I even hooked one!

Day two was held on The Shoalhaven river. Talk about chalk and cheese weather. The southerly was blowing at 20-25 knots and right on start time, it started to rain. What a miserable day. There were even boats coming back in by 9:30 am. But most of us crazy yakkers stuck it out in the cold rain and wind.

The breaming today was HEAPS better than yesterday as I hooked three of them. Two I landed but both were just undersize (one was 24.8 cm. They have to be 25 cm) and I dropped the only decent sized one that looked about 30 cms or so. So back on the beach I handed back my keytag and recorded a double donut. Shizer. Here's a collage of my fish from the weekend anyway.

The top three were deserved winners and the podium list was Squidder, Rebel1 & Blueyak. I hope next years grand final (if I make it) will be better for me.

The highlight of the weekend though was seeing the biggest bream ever caught in one of these catch and release style comps. It was landed by Adrian Van and pulled the scales down to 2.510 kgs. Man, this thing was MASSIVE! Apparently it was hooked on a blade in only 6 feet of water and it buried him in the weeds before he could manage to land it.

Photos never do them justice though but this guy was 46 cms fork length and at least 4 inches thick across the shoulders. If a kayaker had landed it, it wouldn't have fitted in any of our live wells. And it was fantastic to see it swim off at the end of the day, too.

But to more recent news, the ABT/Hobie series returns to Sydney this weekend and returns to where it all started three years ago, and that's good ol' Hen & Chicken Bay. Fingers crossed and touch wood, but the weather is looking pretty good so far and from recent reports, the bay has been fishing fairly well.

Come on yakkers, let's turn up in force and get a good crowd there. You can enter on the day so just be there by 6am and sign up. Here's a link to a PDF with all the info you need: http://bream.com.au/abt/2010/Sydney10.pdf There's always good prizes for the winners and a chance to qualify for the Grand Final at Port Macquarie next year. In fact there's three spots up for grabs. Well, only two of them really, because I plan to take one... : ) Happy yakkin', everybody!

cheers,
Cid

Georges River - 2/10/10

Well, the soccer season is over and we ended up the Minor Premiers and also the Premiers! Go the mighty Hedgehogs!

But with the end of one season, another begins and this weekend sees the start of the Daiwa Hobie ABT Bream Series at two locations: Mandurah and Ballina. Once again it's going to be a fantastic year with new venues and an extended competition, with the Grand Final planned for Port Macquarie on 29th-30th October 2011. The first one I'll get to is the Sydney round (where it all started nearly two years ago) on the 21st November, so put that date in your calendar and join in on a fantastic day with some great prizes and a chance to qualify for the big one next year.
For the full calendar, visit the Hobie Fishing website and start planning: http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/bb/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=317

In preparation, I hit the Georges River on a few days for some practice and now that the water is warming up, the bream are becoming more active. I ventured over to the racks at Towra Point and extracted a few (and lost a few, too) on a beautiful morning that was simply magic to be on the water. Hardbodies were the go today, and the SP's never even got a touch.

The best I boated went 27cm fork but they certainly are feisty critters. I normally get a few big flathead around here this time of year too, but try as I may, I couldn't even land a tiddler from any of my spots. They'll turn up eventually though...

A few days later, I went to Oyster Bay and targeted the weedbeds and channels. First cast and I come up tight and it's a small whiting. Any fish on a first cast is good though, and I spent the morning drifting about picking up plenty of undersize fish but there was nothing of note over the flats. The tide was still dropping, so I moved to a channel and switched to blades. This saw me land two keepers within 15 minutes as well as another three that were just undersize.

On my way back to the ramp, I rigged up with a mango ripple minnow and pulled a 28 fork bream out from under a pontoon. Another gutsy effort from a medium fish and twice I thought he had me back to the posts and his freedom. next time I'll remember to tighten the drag.

So in two weeks, a flotilla of 25 of us will be competing in the Squidgy Southern Series Grand

Final that is held on the St Georges Basin and the Shoalhaven River. The competition will be high and another fun weekend is guaranteed, regardless of how many fish we get. To read more about this comp, visit the Basin Lure and Fly website: http://www.basinlureandfly.org.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=8

The team have done a fantastic job with the series (boaters and kayakers) and they concentrate on the southern half of NSW, so you southerners have a wealth of opportunities for your competition fix and the next series dates are up already.

It's been a while, but it looks like Tezza and I will hit the Cooks River tomorrow to get a couple of kilo size bream (fingers crossed). Here's hoping for a cracker day. Good luck to all the competitors over this weekend and may your bags be full. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid