Botany Bay Report - 29/5/07

Oh man, what a week! Headaches, cold sweats, shivering like crazy...I'll tell you, it's taken me ages to get over it; being stuck in a stink boat, worried that a fellow kayaker will see me and start screaming like Donald Sutherland did at the end of the movie, 'The Body Snatchers'!

In all honesty, Fordy and I had a ball last week and his Explorer is a great little boat to zip around in. Anytime you need a deckie, Fordy, just let me know.

I was itchin' to get a kingie from the kayak after our efforts and the last few times I'd been out with Daveyg had been a bit disappointing on the fishing front. So mid-week I dragged my weary bones out of bed at 5:15am and set off from Silver Beach to the Hotwater Outlet. It was a bit windy and there was a bit of chop about and I was thinking that I should've stayed in bed. In anticipation I'd set the camera up for filming but the waves and wind were throwing up too much water, so I packed it away for safe keeping.

With a 6" Mojo Twitchin Minnow rigged on a 1/4oz jig head tied to 10lb fluoro and 10lb braid, I proceeded to cast into the middle of the churning water, where I'd let it sink for 10 seconds and then jig it back with two sharp lifts of the rod tip, then pause and wind in the slack, then repeat. I circled around working the area thoroughly. I'd been casting for about 10 minutes when I almost had the lure back to the yak. Only 4 meters away from me there was a big boil on the surface, the rod bent over, I struck and ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, we're on!

These kingfish have amazing power and when you're in a kayak
they'll easily tow you around. First he headed west, then did an about face and decided going east would be better. I'd gain a few meters and then he'd race off and take them back. The nearest structure was about 100 meters away so I wasn't too concerned with him busting me off but some of the runs made me raise my eyebrows a few times that's for sure.

We circled each other for the next few minutes and slowly he started to come up. First colour and I thought 'Ooh, I hope he's bigger than Fordy's?' When I thought he was beaten, I attempted a tail grab. No way, Jose! He darted a few meters down and circled beneath me. The next time I had him next to the kayak I played safe and slid the net under him.

YES! My first Yellowtail Kingfish from the kayak. Onto the
lie-detector he goes and 'Aaaarrrggghhhhh", it's just under Fordy's
by 3cm's. But I'm still stoked to get him and 69cm's total length is good enough for me. A few guys fishing for bream and trevally in a boat named 'Spanardo' kindly took a photo for me for posterity. Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I hope the rest of your day turned out as good as mine!

I had a few more casts but apart from one bump from something, nothing else joined me in the yak. Back on shore a few early morning beach-walkers were amazed that I'd been out fishing in 'that tiny thing' but their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when I lifted the kingie out. 'What??? You can get fish like that in Botany Bay?' they asked. 'Oh, this is just the live-bait,' I said. : ) Only joking.

So for those keen enough, there are still a few kingies about and although the numbers may be down, the ones still here are pretty good sizes. Next time I may just have to flick about a few of Mick Munns larger EastCoast poppers. Having one of those smashed off the surface would be un-freakin'-believable! Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,
Cid

Botany Bay Report - 20/5/07

Last week Cid commented about owning a stink boat and if you'd bother going out for just 2 hours. Now I know what some of you will say, however I have to report about the purchase of my own stink boat.

I recently purchased a Quintrex 385 Explorer and on Sunday Cid risked his Kayak Fishing reputation to join me for my first official outing in the dreaded STINK BOAT.

We launch from the ramp fondly known as "hole in the wall" at Sylvania Waters and made our way up to Kurnell armed with a little knowledge passed down from friend and fishing guide Gary Brown.

We rigged up some of the 6" Bass Assassin Twitch soft plastics and started casting at anything that looked like it would hold my target. Yes I've been lure fishing for nearly 10 years now and I've never before fished for Yellowtail Kingfish.

We made about 12 to 15 casts each and although I thought I'd had a touch on an early cast, that first kingie seemed to be avoiding me like the plague. We discussed moving to a well known bait ground to gather some live bait to increase our chances, however as luck would have it we decided to make a few more casts. Suddenly my rod bent over and the line screamed from the reel and I held on as the fish made an attempt to throw me. I held on and prayed as the fish made run after run try ing desperately to escape and then finally after 10 or 15mins she appeared neared the surface.

Cid and I looked at each other and then at the fish,"Wooho nice kingie" Cid said as he scooped her into the net, "she'll be well and truely legal" he said as he lowered the net on to the deck. We passed a number of congratulations and I held her aloft for some photo time.

We settled down and moved onto the drums where Cid was soon busted up by another kingie before he even had time to yell "I'm on !". It really wasn't Cid's day with a drifting session over the flats for flathead seeing Cid 's lure get thrown by a nice flattie only a metre or so from the boat.

New rod, new reel, new lure, new species and a new stink boat...was it worth the effort...You bet and at 72cm and 3.2kgs, I'll remember this first kingie forever.

cheers,
Fordy.

Oyster Bay Report – 12/5/07

One of the things I love about kayak fishing is that with a moments notice you can be off fishing and who cares if you have limited time on the water. I only decided at 10:30pm on Friday to throw a few lures around my local, Oyster Bay. Within 10 minutes I had all the gear ready and the yak on the car. The next morning I was up at 5:30am and on my way within 15 minutes. At 6:05am I was pushing off from the ramp ready to catch my first fish. I only had 2 hours but big deal. Now if I had a boat it’d be a different story. Would I bother going for only a 2 hour session? Probably not.

The tide was getting towards the bottom so the poppers were put on hold this time. Well, not completely, I still had a few casts while heading for the deeper water. I had a couple of half hearted swipes at the lure but nothing that really connected. My first serious attempt at a fish was at the same jetty I landed the 40cm bream from the other week while out with Mick Munns. ‘Why change tactics?’ I thought and I flicked a Gulp 3” minnow in Lime/tiger towards the leading pylons.

No bumps this time, just the line moving sideways. I strike and yeehah, we’re on! This guy makes a few strong lunges for the pylons but the rod tip cushions the runs and the drag is set nice and tight for this battle in close confines. Not quite as big as last week but still nice at 35cm’s and it’s a bloody good start to the day.

I decide to give the SMAK rackwalkers (black and silver) are workout and I picked up a few smaller bream but they are all just under the legal length of 25cm’s. The tide is a bit low so I move to the front of the bay and return to the SP’s, this time rigging up with the fav 6” sandworm in camo. It’s not long until the next legal comes aboard but it just makes it at 26cm’s.

A quick glance at the watch and all to soon it’s time to head back for home but I know of a moored boat sitting in 3 meters of water which nearly always has something underneath it. Once I was smoked by what was either a nice jewie or a HUGE bream that I hooked under the boat. Whatever it was, I wasn’t stopping it with the 2lb braid I was using. : (

I positioned myself downstream from the boat and cast right up next to where the mooring line entered the water. I let it sink then slowly hopped the jig back to me. There was a solid ‘Thump’ and I thought, ‘Hello, this feels like a flattie.’ And it was, too! Once I got him near the surface I could see I’d hooked him right in the side of the jaw, so I took my time as I knew he couldn’t chew through my leader. Into the net and onto the lie detector and he (or she) is bang on 60cm’s.

The last few pontoons were still in shade and I dropped a nice fish of about 30cm’s right at the side of the yak. Bugga! Another few casts and I notice a slight ‘tic’ on the line. I lift the rod and this thing takes off back under the pontoon. I dip the rod and keep the line safe until I can get this guy out into the open. I had the drag tight but this guy still pulled some line so I knew he was a ripper. As I ease him into the net I let out a ‘YES!’ as he’s a new PB for me. 42cm’s total length (38cm fork) and approximately 1.3kg’s.

So if I’d owned a boat instead of a kayak, I more than likely would’ve stayed in bed and missed out on a fantastic mornings fishing. How good do us yakkers have it’ eh? Happy yakkin’ everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Oatley Report – 6/5/07

I’ve had a few mates ask me how I think Soft Plastics (SP’s) compare to bait. That’s a tricky question with lots of answers but I’ll give a few of my thoughts here. SP’s are extremely convenient: they can sit in your tackle box for months and are ready to go in an instant. The Gulp range of lures need a little extra care, because if they are left out of their packets they’ll shrivel up and dry out and become un-usable. However, they can be brought back to life with a soaking in water but I think they lose some of their effectiveness as their scent is diluted.

SP’s are very versatile and with a few assorted styles, you can target a good range of fish on any given session. The usual suspects like grubs, minnows, shads and worms will cover plenty of bases that will see bream, flathead, whiting, tailor, jewfish and kingfish be taken under the right circumstances.

I decided to test how efficient SP’s are and only took a packet of Gulp 6” sandworms in camo with me when I fished the Georges River and Oatley yesterday. The tide wasn’t great and I only had 3 hours but I still felt confident in getting a few different species. I stuck to areas where I knew there’d be a good chance of a mix of fish – jetties and drop-offs and the sandy patches at the sides of weedbeds.

The first hour was slow but as the tide gained some movement the fish came on the chew. Three bream came over the side quickly, followed by a few whiting from a channel next to the weeds. At one jetty I flicked the worm into the shadows and felt the slightest tap on the line as the SP sunk. I struck and came up solid against something with a bit of weight. The fight wasn’t overly aggressive which had me wondering what it may be and I was very surprised when a nice plump luderick surfaced next to me. These things normally go like the clappers and I felt lucky to have gotten him out of the pylons unscathed.

I only managed two flathead and both were just undersize so I couldn’t add them to my keepers list. I landed a few more bream but my best came off the last pontoon I fished. At 35cm’s total length he wasn’t a beast but was still an excellent fish in prime condition. My totals for the day were 6 bream, 3 whiting (the best 29cm’s) and 1 luderick (36cm’s) plus the 2 undersize flatties.

Of course, you don’t have to use SP’s. Try rigging bait on a jighead and fishing it as you would a SP. A nipper or prawn flicked under a jetty or on the edge of a sand-flat works just as well although you’ll be pestered a little more by the pickers. Mix it up when you’re out fishing and don’t be scared to try something that may be a bit out of the norm. Happy yakkin’ everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Kurnell Report – 14/4/07

For once the weather Gods were nice to me and when DaveyG and I launched from Kurnell next to the Oil Refinery Wharf, there was only a slight breeze coming out of the NW. With Davey paddling and me pedalling, we set off for the south head of Botany Bay with hopes of landing a few kingies or bonitos or tailor…or whatever!

Just as we rounded the headland, Davey gets a hit on his heavy gear (30lb) and he winches in a 50cm bonito that at least gives him a spirited run around at the side of his yak. This one had fallen to a deep diver and we were both optimistic about getting a few more. We trolled a km or so south and worked some washes with metals and soft plastics.

We trolled back, looking for birds or baitfish but they were conspicuous by their absence. We tried various depths, different lures and continued working the washes. All for nada! Even the rock fishos weren’t landing anything. Ah well, that’s fishing. I couldn’t stay out too long as I had my sons 3rd birthday party (Happy Birthday Lachlan) to set-up but at least it was nice to finally catch up with Davey and get a few photos on a beautiful day.

I met up with Mick Munns from EastCoast Lures on the way back in and he showed me the prototypes for his new bream surface lures that he’s testing. Oooh, do they look good! I can’t wait until he starts getting those into production.

He also let me have a turn of his turbo fins. These are larger and more rigid than the standard fins that I have and I have to say that my wife will not be pleased as I’ll have to spend more money and buy myself a set! They make a huge difference and I was tempted to do a runner and leave Mick with my old fins. The trouble is he knows where I live… : ) Happy yakkin’ everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Cooks River 6-4-07

I had Friday morning to take the Hobie out and there were 20 knot winds and showers predicted. Being a creature of comfort, I didn’t feel like battling winds and getting soaked, so my options were limited to one place: the scene of last weeks Banana Theory 2 experiment – The Cooks River. Sure, the Georges has bridges too but they are fairly high structures and the Cooks bridges are nice and low plus the river is a bit more protected being a lot narrower.

And it seems that I wasn’t the only one with that idea! I saw about 6 boats all chasing bream and there were a couple of regular faces amongst them. Gary Brown was out with his son and his sons girlfriend and they were quickly putting together a mixed bag of flathead, whiting, bream and tailor. Pukka (Joe) from Ausbream was heading upstream and final reports from him were that they caught a ‘shedload of bream’ on HB’s and SP’s working the shorelines.

I was banana-less this time and was confident of bagging out pretty quickly. WRONG! After 2 hours I’d only landed ONE 25cm keeper. Where’s a fruit stall when you need one?

‘So why the slow start,’ you say. Well, you’ve probably heard the comment ‘No run, no fun’, meaning that if there is no tidal movement then the action can be very slow. I’d started fishing with half an hour of runout left and then had to fish through the dead low and wait for the water to start running in again.

Having confidence in your spots and also your technique and lures is a big part and I knew that if I could hang in that little bit longer then I’d start to get some fish. And the last half hour proved me right.

Back at the road bridge I landed a 35cm bream that surprisingly didn’t put up much of a fight. 5 minutes later I hooked another that I felt sure would crack the kilo mark as it screamed off once hooked. It ran back behind me and I was trying to swing the rod around and over my other rod while keeping the fish out from the bridge pylons. I really kept the pressure on and this is where good hooks and good knots are essential. I use the Berkley range of jigheads that are made by Nitro and they are fantastic, plus I make sure my knots are nice and tight every time I tie them. When I finally brought this guy to the net I was really surprised at his size. At 34cm’s he was smaller than my first but put up twice the fight.

The next two bream came from boat hulls and both were 27cm’s. So after 3 hours I finally got my 5 bag but it highlighted the fact that tide times can really make a big difference. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Cooks River 31-3-07

After last weeks banana experiment I thought I may as well keep going and launch straight into ‘Banana Theory 2’. Last week I got my 5 bag of bream in 2 ½ hours. This time I decided to double my bad luck and take TWO bananas with me. Wow, talk about tempting fate.

I’m still limited time wise when it comes to my sessions due to our brand new daughter, so with 3 hours scheduled I launched at 6am and headed straight to the road bridge of the Princes Hwy over the Cooks River. The tide was right on high so I’d have about 30 minutes of slack water until the tide started to run and the fish came on the chew.

After an hour I thought that maybe I’d tempted fate a bit too much when finally, the first bream of 27cm’s came off the flats. The very next cast I landed a 30cm tailor, which was a bit of a surprise way up here. I’ve caught choppers up to 20cm’s before but this guy was heaps better.

At the railway bridge the tide was just starting to move when I landed number 2 of 25cm’s. I kept swapping SP’s but as has been the case the last few weeks, only the 6” Gulp Sandworms in Camo were getting the bites.

The next two fish were the best of the day: a 32cm and a very nice 38cm battler than made three desperate runs for the safety of the pylons but each time I managed to stop him a few feet short. I turned for home still needing one more fish for my 5 bag and I picked it up from under the hull of the 3rd last boat before the ramp. This 28cm bream gave me a 5 bag of 2.38kg’s, so not a bad effort for 3 hours.

So did the extra banana bring more bad luck? Well, it did take an extra 30 minutes to get my bag, I suppose. Apparently though, I’m not doing it right. I’ve been told that you have to EAT the bananas so that the smell of it gets on your hands, which means that when you handle your SP’s etc, the smell will get transferred and the fish will say ‘See ya!’ Looks like I’m not done with the banana superstition yet. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Cattle Duffers Flat 24-3-07

So who here has heard about the famous banana superstition/theory? For those that haven’t, it’s well known amongst many fisho’s that bananas are bad luck to have on a boat and if one is on-board then you can forget about catching fish. I’ve heard stories of boaties that won’t let those banana lollies on-board or even yellow shirts and I’ve heard of an instance where one guy wasn’t allowed on a boat because he was eating a banana while waiting on the wharf to be picked up. And if you’ve touched a banana, then wash ya filthy, stinkin’ hands before you touch anything else!

I’ve bought this topic up as last week Gary and I said ‘Any bananas around here?’ in response to the decidedly slow fishing we were experiencing. We checked that no monkeys had stowed away and put it down to just plain bad luck.

Now, I’m not overly superstitious but in all my years I have never taken a banana with me on any of my trips. Last week I was thinking that maybe bananas are GOOD luck, as we couldn’t have done much worse. So I decided to do a bit of an experiment and last Saturday I launched from the Georges River National Park at Cattle Duffers Flat, near Alford’s Point Bridge. And I took with me the biggest banana that we had at home.

At 6:45am, the tide had only 2 hours to go till low and I figured the shorelines would be a waste of time and decided to concentrate on the bridge itself. I knew I’d find deeper water, a strong current flow and lots of eddies for the fish to sit in around the big concrete pylons. Bream were my target and my plan was to flick 1/16 oz jig heads loaded up with 6” Berkley Sandworms (Camo colour) upstream right next to the pylons and slowly jig them back towards me. And all with that bright, yellow banana sitting right next to the fish finder…

By 7:15am I had two in the well, but they were just legal: 25cm’s and 26cm’s. Hmmm, so far, so good. I moved around a bit and half an hour later I landed a better one, 32cm’s and really fat. I checked to make sure the banana hadn’t fallen overboard.

As the tide slowed, so did the bites. I landed a couple of small flatties and decided to only target the shadowy areas now that the sun was up a bit. With half an hour to go I get another: 31cm’s and it’s another porker! It pretty obvious these guys are getting ready to do the spawning thing very soon.

With 5 minutes left, I get a solid hit as the sandworm is sinking. I strike and this one really puts a good bend in the rod. It zips away from the pylon into open water which was a big mistake on its part and I take my time landing the best of the day. I was going to lift it straight into the yak but as soon as I saw it I decided to slide the net underneath it. And just as well, too because as I lifted it, it just fell off the hook and into the net. Phew! Lucky me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the banana smiling at me…or maybe it just looked like it was because of it’s shape.

So this guy went 37cm’s total length and gave me my 5 bag in just over two and a half hours. Maybe I’ll take these bananas with me more often as it didn’t seem to stop me catching fish. But I suppose someone could also say ‘Aha, but if you hadn’t taken the banana, you’d have got 10 bream, 3 10kg jewies and a barramundi…’

Let’s just say that test number one gives bananas the thumbs up so far. Stay tuned for the next instalment on ‘Banana Theory’ in the next few weeks. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Georges and Parramatta Report – 17-3 and 18-3-07

Last Sunday I was in the final round of the Berkley Summer Series bream tournaments, teamed up with Gary Brown. 46 boats were registered and we figured a lot would head down towards the Lane Cove River for the last of the run in. But Ah-ha! We thought we’d be clever and avoid the crowds and fish the shores of Hen and Chicken Bay, bag out (5 fish) and then search for upgrades for the next 4 or 5 hours.

Well the first part of our plan fell into place…that is the part about starting in Hen and Chicken Bay! It was an hour before I landed our first legal bream. We were pretty surprised at the lack of fish, as the day was overcast, the tide was nice and high…conditions seemed perfect. We finally gave up and worked a few boats but they were also lacking in the bream department.

In one of the small bays on the Parramatta River, Gary put a long cast with a Gulp Sandworm way up alongside a jetty. ‘Twitch…twitch…BOOF!’ This fish was much better and Gary skilfully led it out into the open water. It was down deep and I stood by with the net, peering into the water. We still hadn’t seen the fish when with one last determined run it muscled its way towards the last pylon 5 meters away. Gary clamped up as tight as he could on the spool but it wasn’t enough. The rod flicked back and the fish was gone…followed closely by a few choice words from Gary.

Not long after, Gary brings in the twin of my fish and that’s two for the weigh-in, so far. Time to hit the boats in Five Dock. As Gary’s SP wafts down next to the keel of one of the boats, the line suddenly darts and another cracker of a fish is hooked. ZZzzzzzz…ZZzzzzzzzz…..tink! Not even a chance of stopping this one as it raced to the anchor rope and Gary is about to throw his rod in the water in disgust.

We then moved over to fish the edge of the flats and my first cast is chomped immediately. I allow the fish to run as there are no anchor ropes or pylons near here and I’m thinking this will be a beauty, too. And yes it was a beauty too, a beauty of a whiting: all 36cm’s of it! Over the next 10 minutes we took turns in landing them but there wasn’t a bream anywhere amongst them.

With 10 minutes to go, Gary hooks the triplet of our bream and we finally weigh-in and end up waaaaaay down the ranks in 37th spot. It turned out that a lot of fish were caught in the Lane Cove River…Sheesh!

What made it especially frustrating was that the morning before I’d visited my beloved Oyster Bay and bagged 4 bream in two hours. It just goes to show that local knowledge can definitely give you the edge sometimes. If only I’d kept those 4 bream. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Georges River – 8/3/07

Man, time sure is at a premium with a new baby in the house. Extended kayak trips have been put on the back burner for a while but I still snuck out for a couple of hours one morning to see if the bream wanted to play. A quick trip to my local waterway and by 8:50am I was heading to the first set of pontoons. The tide was nice and high and just starting to run out so I had high hopes of getting amongst them.

From the first pontoon I pulled a small flattie. Ditto for the second one. If only they’d been about 20cm’s bigger. As I made my way down towards the mouth of Oyster Bay I snared my first bream. He took a bite of my orange/gold Halco Scorpion as I worked it between the boulders hard against the shoreline and mangrove trees. 26cm’s total length so there was plenty of room for improvement. Two casts later I land one of 25cm’s. ‘Come on, where’s the big guys?’

That was it from the shorelines so I moved onto the boats and jetties. A quick flick with a 3” Gulp Minnow in Pumpkinseed right up the back of the shadows and it’s pounced on immediately. Ooh, this feels better and I wind quickly before it can turn its head. This ones 29cm’s.

And so I made my way along, casting into all the nooks and crannies where bream love to hide. I landed another two: one of 28cm’s with some healed net damage just in front of its dorsal fin (see the photo) and a big fatty of 31cm’s. I reached the end of my usual run of boats and the last one is a big 45 foot cruiser. There is a gap of about a foot between the boat and its jetty and I skipped the minnow down it with a bow and arrow cast. It stopped right next to a pylon and had only settled for a few seconds when my line zipped tight.

I struck and immediately knew I was in trouble. The drag sang and I quickly threw the rod to the left to try to turn what was obviously a thumper. I winced as I felt the line rubbing against the pylon so I backed off the pressure to see what would happen. Suddenly the fish changed direction and now raced under the boat. I pushed my rod down into the water to try to keep the line away from the keel but there was too much line out and it all went slack. I wound in to find a nicely shredded leader.

This is the sort of thing that I love about fishing for bream from a kayak. You’re right down close to the water, and you never know what you’re going to hook next. Every now and then you hook a beast that is unstoppable which leaves you shaking and quivering as you try to tie on another jighead. Great stuff.

This Sunday I’ll be competing in the Berkley Summer Series Sydney round and I hope to land a few similar to the one I lost above. I’m teamed up with Gary Brown and I’m sure we can put a good bag together and hopefully come out somewhere near the top. Fingers crossed. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Pittwater and Cooks Report – 18-2 and 6-3-07

Firstly, our apologies for the lack of reports the last two weeks. Adam (our web-guru) had a well earned holiday and I was busy with the birth of my new baby girl, Danielle. 52.5cm’s and 3.645 kg’s. She is definitely my best effort for quite a while. : ) Of course, my wife Natalie had a little to do with it, too.

Back on the 18th February I was in the Berkley Summer Series Bream competition with Gary Brown. It was held on the Hawkesbury and we launched in Pittwater. It was a team event with a bag limit of 5 bream. ‘It’ll be a cinch,’ we thought. Wrong!

We went to Careel Bay to fish the weed beds as the tide was running in. Gary nailed a 1kg bream on a surface lure after just 15 minutes and I landed one straight after that was just half a centimetre short of the 25cm fork length. And that was it!

We hooked everything BUT bream: flathead, flounder, snapper, tailor, whiting and even a 3 foot Long Tom. Towards the end of the day we did land a few bream but they were just undersize. The highlight of the day for me was my best whiting to date, a 39cm thumper that fell to a Berkley 2”Minnow Grub in Pumpkinseed.

Today I braved the 20-25 knot winds and assaulted the bridges on the Cooks River. I could find a few spots out of the continuous gale and managed 4 legals – 3 at 29cm and 1 at 31cm. Nothing huge but it was nice to get back on the water after a few weeks break. The water was a real coffee colour and the tide wasn’t quite right for the Cooks but I knew there’d be a few about. Funnily enough, they all fell to a different lure: Berkley 6” Sandworms and 2” Minnow Grubs, Squidgy Bloodworm wriggler and a Smak Rackwalker (Black/Silver).

Fingers crossed the wife will let me out for another round this week sometime and if the weather clears I want to get out into Botany Bay to see if there is anything a bit bigger kicking around. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Nepean River – 10/2/07

Bloop, splish, splosh! No, that’s not the sound of a popper. It was the sound my video camera made when it went for a swim last time Fordy and I were out here chasing bass. While I was retrieving a snagged lure, a wayward branch wrapped itself around the mic cable and when I pushed back from the snag the branch didn’t let go! Ah, the joys of fishing and filming. The camera was only in the water for a second but electronics and the wet stuff don’t get on too well. :( At least the film turned out ok.

But with a new camera in hand (and tied firmly around my neck! Aack…) we thought we’d get some more surface action on film. Early mornings have always proved best and the light was just good enough for us to start filming at about 6:15am. The usual small bass were about but we wanted some big hits.

Fordy was using an East Coast Pop-n-Bug in the Tiger colour while I had my trusty black/purple RackRat tied on for a few flicks, just in case Fordy threw a cast into the trees instead of the water. As we cruised along we passed a fairly barren section with only one log sticking out of the surface. We’d never caught a fish off this snag before but so what? I flicked the RackRat out and an immediate spray of water followed by a solid hook-up saw me land a 31cm bass. “Jammy git,” says Fordy as he peddles off.

The next section of the river bank was full of vegetation right down to the waterline. The gaps for casting into were very tight but Fordy’s a wizz with the rod and he was skipping the popper right back into the shady pockets. He had 3 HUGE surface hits that we captured on film but on each occasion the hooks didn’t stick. I’ll have to delete some of the language but it shows that sometimes surface fishing can be an extremely exciting but frustrating method of catching fish.

Fordy landed a few more smaller bass and then was hit by something way up the back of some snags. We didn’t see the hit but we heard it. Fordy’s rod was going from side to side like a light sabre as he manoeuvred the fish out of its lair. He lifted up a nice 30cm bass for a quick snapshot before sending it back on its way.

One of the last spots we fished has a fallen log running parallel with the bank. It’s an extremely fishy looking snag and Fordy peppered its whole length for only a half-hearted swipe. I decided to give my camera hand a rest and we both cast towards the middle of the log. Our lures touched down a foot apart and yeehah, mine is the one that is boofed big time! This was a nice fish and he raced along the log before burying me in the weeds. I slowly eased him out and the best for the day, 34cm’s, was slid into the well for a photo shoot back at the ramp.

Next Sunday I’ll be competing in the Berkley Summer Series Hawkesbury round chasing those sneaky bream, so I’ll give you an update next week. Plus I’ll try to sneak out in the yak early one morning if the weather clears up. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Port Hacking & Cooks River Report – 3/2/07

Well, another weekend with a competition but unfortunately, no kayaks are allowed so I had to do it from a power boat. I still feel weird fishing from a boat and at times I felt like sitting on the deck to continue casting! Its funny how you get used to fishing right down at water level.

This was another Squidgy Comp, this time on the Hacking. Bream only, with a maximum bag of 3 fish. My first came aboard at 8am and when I hooked him I thought ‘Hello! This is a beauty!’ He raced off along the shoreline then quickly changed direction before shooting up towards the surface before diving again. I was a bit surprised as for his size he was fighting way above his weight division. It was only when I reeled him close to the boat that I realised why he’d put up such a spirited performance.

There, shadowing him all the way were two Yellowtail Kingfish, both about 65cm long. Poor bugga! I’d have gone like the clappers too with those two big things behind me. They were only curious though and swam off once he was in the net.

The next two fish I landed both had kingfish following them up. If only I could’ve managed to hook one of these excellent sportfish. They probably would’ve made short work of my 4lb gear but it would have been fun while it lasted.

Gary was doing it tough landing snapper, flathead, whiting, flounder…everything except bream. Towards the end of the day he picked one up on a 3” minnow over the weedbeds opposite Lilli Pilli but that was it. Oh, except for a seagull that flew into his line on one of his casts. I was killing myself laughing and managed to get his capture on film.

The weigh-in showed how tough the Hacking can be sometimes and I managed to scrape into 3rd place with 1.463 kg’s. The biggest bream (not one of mine unfortunately) was a cracker of 1.06 kg’s that fell to a surface popper over the weed beds as well.

Sunday morning Adam and I ventured onto the Cooks River to film but it was quiet compared to 2 weeks ago. We managed 6 keepers between us with all of them falling for the 6” Sandworm in Camo. We got some good footage for the DVD but had to finish filming early due to the incessant noise from railway construction nearby. Happy yakkin’ everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Cooks River Report – 26/1/07

What’s a better way to start off Australia Day than with a quick outing on the Cooks River. It rained the night before and the extra run-off would hopefully put the bream on the chew. It was still raining when I left home but 5 minutes before arrival it stopped and stayed away for the rest of the morning.

The tide was running out so I first tried the flats with a couple of HB’s. I had a few tentative hits but no hookups, so I continued up to the railway bridge. First cast with a 2” Minnow Grub and it’s picked up by my first legal of the day. Only 26cm total length but it’s a start!

There was a bit of current so I made sure I flicked my lures right in behind the pylons where there was a bit of an eddy. I mixed it up using 2” Grubs, 3” Minnows in pumpkinseed and 6” Sandworms in Camo. Another 3 bream joined their mate in the livewell before it went a bit quite so I moved down to the road bridge.

This has some great pylons and invariably the bream are right in tight taking refuge in the shade. You have to be ready for a take and get that fish out of cover before he wraps you around a line-shredding pole. Sometimes when you’re fishing close like this though you just can’t stop all the fish.

I moved about slowly, fishing one set of pylons thoroughly before trying the next. Today the fishing was great and the final tally for the day was 12 bream between 25cm’s and 35cm’s. Twice I was busted-up by fish that I just couldn’t turn so some of the guys down there must be real bruisers. By 9am the current had stopped and the fish went off the bite.

A couple of weekends ago I fished in the Berkley Summer Series Comp on the Georges River. At one stage I thought I’d hooked a nice bream but it turned out to be a 38cm tagged jewfish. If you capture one of these fish, note the length accurately and take down the tag number and call the fisheries on the phone number on the tag. There’s a $10 gift voucher reward for the info and you’re helping in the research, too. My fish was released at Kurnell in April 2006 and was 24.6cm’s long back then so it’d certainly grown a bit in those 9 months. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Oyster Bay & Nepean Report – 3 & 7/1/07

Welcome to 2007! I had to get into the year quickly and with only a 2 hour window before work I raced down to Oyster Bay on the 3rd. The water was a bit murky after all the rain so I decided to go with a few hardbodies around the shorelines. I had two rigged up which I’d use for about five minutes each before changing back. I had on an SX40 (the purple coloured one) and a black/silver SMAK RackWalker. And the eventual winner of first bream of the year went to the SMAK lure. Not a huge bream but not a bad start either at 31cm’s total length and I’m up and running for the year.

I kept a fishing diary of my bream outings last year (kayak only) and these were some of my stats: I was lucky enough to get out 57 times and landed 210 bream of legal size or bigger. Average caught per session was 3.7 and average total length was 29.2cm’s. Biggest fish of the year went to a beauty from Woolooware bay that went 41.5cm’s total length. Hopefully I’ll meet up with him again later this year! : )

We also made it up to the Nepean for an afternoon session on the weekend, so it’s over to Fordy for that update. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Lunch was taken early on the 5th day and as the sun poured in from above I meet up with Capt Cid at Tench reserve to start the afternoon session.

Our usual paceman Mick Munns was out with what looked to me to be an ankle that was hit by a truck and the pitch report coming back from the centre was for increasingly tough conditions.
Capt Cid let rip early with a bank hugging cast that popped and skipped a little before being engulfed by the fish of the day, a 31cm specimen that fort hard for it’s size. I followed with a barrage of casts skipping Eastcoast Pop’n’bugs under every over hanging tree until finally I was on, not a huge fish at 25cm but the only one of the five I caught that was able to make the score board.

As the afternoon drew to a close we decided to target the stumps of the ever present rail bridge with spinnerbaits and small diving lures, but unfortunately the bass hard dug in for the afternoon and with a draw looming we headed for home and the bonus points awarded for an early return to the sheds.

Hopefully the next session will prove to be more rewarding !

Cheers,
Fordy.

Cook River & Nepean Report – 26 & 30/12/06

With the year nearly over I decided to give the bream one more crack. Woolooware Bay was to be the spot but the predicted wind saw me change to the Cooks River where there’d be protection around the bridges if necessary. And am I glad I did!

I started on the boats but they were very quiet. So quiet I didn’t even get a nibble! The road bridge wasn’t much better; I only got two from there, both of 27cm’s. I moved up to the flats and fished the drop-off and bagged another two, one of 25cm’s and the other of 30cm’s.

Onto the railway bridge and first flick with the camo sandworm and crunch! Ooh, this was a good un’. Luckily he first ran away from the pylons so that when he did decide to go back to them I had him far enough out. After I slid him into the net I was surprised to see he was a black bream and a cracker of a black bream, too. 34cm’s fork length and weighed bang on a kilo.

I landed a few smaller ones but nothing that was legal so I eventually headed back towards the ramp. As I passed under the road bridge I thought I’d give it one more chance. I flicked right up into the shadows and my line zips across current on the drop. I strike and we’re on! This guy really took off and put a serious bend in the line. But he was too quick for me and ‘dink’, he busted me up. Damn, that was a good fish.

I re-rig and move onto the other side of the pylons. Same technique but I’m on my toes so when I feel weight on the line after a few hops I’m ready for it. I lift the rod and this one screams off too, I palm my spool and apply sideways pressure and turn him away from the structure. Out in the open he makes some strong surges but he’s away from the oyster covered pylons and another cracker fish slides into the net. A yellowfin bream this time and longer than the black though not as fat! 37cm’s fork and 1.04 kilo’s. What a great way to finish off the year.

I’ll leave it to Fordy to fill you in on our bass day so until next week have a Happy New Year and may you land some sensational fish. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid


Bloop bloop bloop kaboosh…I love the sounds of summer, specially when it’s lures and Australian Bass, so there wasn’t even a decision to be made when Cid rang me about a morning session at Penrith.

We’d fished the week before between the motorway bridge and the narrows and got a good number of fish on surface lures and small divers, so we headed down to the rail bridge this week and worked both the banks as we went, crossing from side to side to hit the best looking structure.

From the previous weeks we’d learn’t that the bass would only hit fairly small surface lures, so armed with Eastcoast Pop’n’Bugs and Smak Skywalkers we worked the structure picking up a number of small fish until Cid and I both managed our first legals about an hour after we started, mine a 25cm and his a 27cm and both very healthy looking fish !
I had a bad case of the dropsies and I lost a couple of beautiful fish right next to the Yak including one that would have upgraded my current Penrith PB of 41cm. It was a top quality fish and it went like the clappers, running me in and out of the weed beds about 5 times before spitting the hooks right beside me, I was so unhappy.

I tried a number of other lures, working spinnerbaits down the outside of the weeds and cranking small divers through the pockets, but the bass just seemed to be holding the shoreline and waiting for small objects to fall from the trees, which they’d happily much and crunch as though they hadn’t eaten for weeks. We must have landed another 5 or 6 legals and who knows how many undersized fish before we headed for home.

Cid’s one last cast attitude paid off with the fish of the day, a 34cm fork being landed about 75m from the ramp, it pays to be searching with your lure from the moment you leave the ramp until you arrive back again at the end of the day.

The forecast doesn’t look too good, but then we’ve fished the last 4 trips for bass in the drizzling rain so we shouldn’t really be too worried about that. I’m sure we’ll be getting back into the upper reaches soon, until then have a very happy new year, stay safe and catch some seriously big fish.. remember the photo comp is still on so send us in your photos !

Cheers,
Fordy.

Nepean (Penrith) Report – 23/12/06

While the bassin’ is good you may as well keep it up! Back to Tench Park we go and Fordy and I give a low whistle as Mick Munns slides his new Hobie Outback into the water. This kayak is the big brother of my Sports and is just over 12 feet long. Mick also has the turbo fins fitted and these make a considerable difference to his speed. While I was pedalling at a good pace, Mick seemed to be taking a leisurely ‘stroll’ through the park, er river. It looks like I may have to look at investing in a pair…

It was another overcast day and this helped the surface bite continue longer than usual. It wasn’t as fast and furious as three weeks ago but it was still fairly consistent. At least the size of the fish was up and we ended up with six over 30cm’s with the best going 36cm total length.

It’s funny how the fish will hit something some days and go completely off it the next. Previously they’d been hitting big fizzers and poppers. Today however, they were more interested in smaller offerings that also created a little less disturbance. Top of the lures today was a Micro RackRat in black and gold. A slight twitch gets the silicon legs wriggling about and the bass loved it. It was essential to get our casts right in next to or under the overhanging bushes. If the lures fell a few feet short, the chances of getting a hit were considerably less.

Mick was also picking a few up with the fly and showed us how stable the Outback was by standing while casting. It just goes to show that the power of thought sometimes doesn’t work as Fordy and I were both willing him to fall in!

Fordy and I would like to thank everyone for supporting our site over the last eight months. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and hope you have a happy and safe New Year. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Ausbream Parramatta Report – 17/12/06

The last two weeks Fordy and I had been chasing bass but this weekend was the Ausbream final social of the year on the Parramatta River. I was leading the Angler of the Year table by 1 measly point and RichP was breathing down my neck! I had to get some practice in so had a quick after work session on the Georges midweek.

I arrived right at the bottom of the tide and it was very quiet for the first 30 minutes. But as the tide started to run back in, I picked up a couple of smaller bream. Then from under a boat I pulled a very nice 34cm bream that sped about in the shallows before having a rest in my live well.

With time running out I approached my last jetty. I flicked the 3” pumpkinseed minnow way up into the shadows and gave it a hop. The next thing I know, the line is zipping sideways so I strike to set the hook. This thing took off like a rocket straight around a pylon. I quickly dropped my rod and backed off the drag to allow it to run so my leader would hopefully survive past the barnacles. The fish then turned and went around another pylon before settling back under the jetty.

I could still feel it kicking so I kept the tension on while passing the rod around the pylons (and cutting up my hands slightly in the process.Youch!) Once these gymnastics were over the fish was STILL on the line. Now I had him under control and led him out into the open. And he was a ripper! 38cm total length and had obviously been stuffing his face for a while. 1.06 kg’s total weight and I went home a very happy yakker.

Sunday saw 11 boats and 1 Hobie set off at 7am on a beautiful summer day. Two bream were our target with four other species (whiting, flounder, luderick and snapper) being bonus points if you could get one. The tide was right on high so I moved up into Canada Bay and flicked the SP’s around close to the shoreline. 3rd cast and I land a whiting of 27cm’s. Beauty! That’s one extra point.

I continue along and I spy a drain. Sure enough, first cast and the Camo Sandworm is savaged and a 33cm bream is in the well, too. Over the next half hour I landed another 3 bream but only one was a keeper that was right on 25cm’s.

Flatties were everywhere and I landed about 7 or 8, with one beauty of 58cm’s. I moved around a bit and ended up as far down as Gladesville Bridge. I’d landed another 5 keepers but no biggies, with 28cm’s being my second best. I then bumped into Kraley who was also flicking SP’s about. Just as I was about to head back for the weigh-in, I managed a 30cm upgrade.

The weigh-in was a good one today, with everyone having something in their live-well. There were some cracking fish and Tujedu (Dave) took out the big bream award with a thumper of 1.334kg’s. The photo below just doesn’t do it justice. I anxiously watched Rich weigh in and although he beat me by about 100g’s, he didn’t have any bonus species and didn’t make it into the top five.

So that was enough to see me take out the AOY by 2 points. Rich and I had been swapping the lead all year and I was lucky enough to be able to clinch it right at the end. Thanks for the great battle, Rich.

My objective all year was to prove that you could compete with the guys in boats and still give them a run for their money. As long as you plan your strategy and stick to it and have confidence that it will work, things should hopefully fall into place. Of course, I’ve learnt a lot from many boaters over the last two years (Donfish, Camsy and BillS to name a few) so thanks to all of them and ironically Rich was one of the guys that had kindly offered me rides in his boat. But now it’s time to finish filming for the DVD, so it’s back to the bass next week. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

cheers,
Cid

Nepean (Penrith) Report – 9/12/06

Last week was such a ball with the bass on the surface lures that it was decided to have another crack and get some of these strikes on film. Last week it rained a bit so we didn’t capture as much footage as we’d have liked. I crossed my fingers hoping that this time the rains would stay away. Fordy couldn’t make it so Mick Munns and I met at 5:30am at the ramp. It was supposed to be 5am but I sat in my car like and idiot waiting for the gates to be opened while the exit gates were open the whole time. I wont fall for that next time…

Well the rains DID stay away but so did the bass! It was chalk and cheese compared to last week. We still caught about six fish each but the constant surface strikes were now few and far between and so was the size of the fish. The best I did was a 26cm fella and the smallest would have been lucky to reach 10cm’s total length. They certainly have big kahunas these bass and the small ones still hit the larger lures like a piranha that’s been starved for a month.

We played around with lure selection and the surface lures still worked the best. Darker colours were definitely the go. I had on a green and white Rack-Rat that drew a few half hearted swipes. Mick called out that he’d been getting hits with a Black Mini-Sic-Cada. I ferreted around in my tackle box and pulled out a red and black Wiggle-Whomp and first cast I started getting hits again. Finally I started to set the hooks and I’d landed about 3 when I lost it to an unseen snag at the back of some overhanging branches. I switched to a black and purple Mini-Wizz and landed another 3 fairly quickly (with the HUGE 26cm specimen being caught on this).

Next week I’ll be competing in the Ausbream December Social that launches from Bayview at Concord. So I’ll be taking off my Bassin’ hat in exchange for a Breamin’ one. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Nepean River (Penrith) Report – 2/12/06

As I stated in last weeks report, Fordy and I decided to chase the magnificent Australian Bass this weekend and we had the company of Mick Munns of East Coast lures fame. Mick had within his arsenal some prototypes that looked the goods for a top-water lure but would they work on these river bass? As Fordy and I set-up our Hobies, Mick flicked one of the new lures out from the ramp. Whack! And the first bass of the day is Micks. Only a small one but it was a promising start. A few rain drops started to fall as we pushed off for the opposite bank to fish the overhanging vegetation.

The bass love to hang right under the branches, tucked in tight against the shoreline. To get the lure into the strike-zone you had to have your casting spot on or you end up in the foliage. We’d skip the lures into the shadows underneath the leaves and twitch our poppers and fizzers slightly before retrieving them with short, sharp jerks of the rod tip. Many pauses were mixed in and the top water hits often came during these pauses.

Thankfully the bass were out to play and all you could hear from us yakkers were ‘I’m on!’ or ‘Woohoo, another one.’ Lots of 22cm and 24cm bass were coming over the side and Fordy snared the first decent one with a 28cm bass that smashed his lure as it landed. About 3 minutes later I was talking to Fordy when I heard a huge sploosh. Mick was almost crying. He sobbed how a bass of about 40cm had half leapt out of the water as it hit his lure but the hooks didn’t stick. We consoled him with a ‘Sucked in!’ and flicked our lures into the snag he’d just missed the fish off. What mates, eh? But the big girl wasn’t coming back for another round.

We made our way slowly down to the railway bridge and increased the sizes of the fish in the live-well slowly. By the time Mick had to leave we had two of 26, one of 28, one of 31 and one of 35. Thankfully it had stopped raining but it was still overcast and I’m sure this kept the top-water bite going. Fordy also managed one of about 80cm, but of the wrong species. It was an eel!

As Fordy and I made our way back to the ramp we continued to get fish from under the trees. We approached a section with lantana right down to the water and there was a nice gap to flick lures into. We both cast at the same time but I think my lure touched down half a millisecond before his. A big boil as my lure disappears and I’m on! This felt like a good fish and I really kept the pressure on to keep her out of the snags. Fordy starts to film and I eventually lift the best of the day for me. 38cm total length and she shoots off back to the same snag when we set her free. Just then we realized we didn’t take a photo, but at least she’s on film so you’ll see her on the DVD.

So what a day! We must have managed about 20-25 fish each and nearly all of them on Micks fizzers and poppers. It’s such exciting fishing when they’re hitting the surface lures with the gusto that they were today. We can’t wait to get back and tussle with these fantastic sportsfish. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Ausbream Pittwater Report – 26/11/06

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When, oh when are these bloody winds going to ease up and give us a break? A 20 knot southerly with 25 knot gusts is not the best of conditions to go breaming in from a kayak but it’s still better than working. There were only 5 boats and my yak in today’s comp and at 7am we punched out into the wind and scattered.

I stuck to the southern end of Pittwater and after an hour of flicking SP’s around the boats and pontoons I thought, ‘Hmmm, not even a bite. Let’s try something different.’ I switched to an SX40 and slowly rolled this along the shorelines. An hour later with only one slight nudge for my efforts, I thought I’d try the flats and the incoming tide.

Finally I hook-up and it feels like an ok fish. I see a few glints of silver down deep and then start cursing. It’s a smallish Pinkie (young snapper) of about 23cm. Gees they go hard. I persevere for a just legal flattie and decided to pull the pin on the flats, so I battled the wind into Winnererremy Bay - look it up if you want to know where it is. I had to! : ) – and ventured up into the small creek. I flicked a few poppers about, as well as SP’s, and continued my run of a duck.

At about 12:30 I finally, FINALLY, land a bream and it’s about 20cm’s long TOTAL length. Two minutes later I land its twin (or maybe the same one, who knows) and basically that’s it! I meet Jorg and Jeff who both have two fish each. Swines! I then bump into Gary Brown and Nicko who have two and one fish respectively. More swines! Eventually there are about four groups all fishing in this one little bay, chatting as we flick lures about. Jeff hooks up again and lands a nice fish from a boat that three of us have already worked over. ‘Thems the breaks,’ I think.

So I finished up with a big, fat donut! A few bream were weighed in but no monsters. Gary had the biggest bream at 690g plus he had a very nice flathead of about 65cm. The fish of the day however went to Jorg who had a 44cm (I think) whiting that weighed 890g. It was a ripper as thick as your forearm.

So, only one social to go and I’m leading by one point, so it should make for an exciting final next month. Fordy and I are going to hassle the bass population somewhere next week so wish us luck. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

cheers,
Cid

Oyster Bay and Camden – 18/11/06

Aaaah, how good was it to be back on the water after having last week off due to the U2 concert and too many late nights with friends from FNQ. To get back into the swing of things, first off was a dawn raid to my local, Oyster Bay.

Only a two hour session but I managed 4 bream and 3 flathead. Surprisingly, all the fish, even the flatties, were caught from under pontoons on Berkley Gulp Sandworms. I tried the flats and rocky shorelines with various HB’s and SP’s for zilcho! The tide was right on high so maybe they’d decided to move under the pontoons for security until the tide started to run out again.

I lost one nice fish that quickly wrapped me around a pylon while I was admiring the idyllic sunrise and conditions. D’oh! You’ve got to stay on your toes all the time around these pontoons and jetties.

In the afternoon, Mick Munns from East Coast Lures, Fordy and I launched at Camden to see if we could rustle up a few Aussie Bass. We had the water all to ourselves and despite the fact that the whole river looked very fishy with lots of structure and overhanging vegetation, we just couldn’t manage to land a scale.

Mick was well and truly smashed up in one of the smaller feeder creeks and Fordy and he both had numerous surface strikes that failed to hook up. I hooked what felt like a nice fish on a SMAK spinnerbait in one of the deeper sections along the weed beds but he promptly surged into the weeds and nothing I did could tempt him out again. He kept my lure as a souvenir! Even though it was a fishless afternoon, we had a great time on this beautiful waterway.

A few people have emailed me about my camera set-up on the Hobie. I’ve included a photo that shows how I’ve rigged my Video Camera on it. The Hobie has a mast hole just in front of the foot well and I’ve removed the central leg of an old tripod and this fits neatly into the mast hole. The tripod head fits the video and also the still camera I use, so it’s just a matter of attaching whichever one I like and start shooting. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Cooks River Report – 28/10/06

I was looking at my fishing diary the other day and noticed that at about this time last year, the Cooks River really started to fire on the bream front. It’d been a while since I’d had a really good bream session so with Seabreeze predicting 15-20 knot winds from about 6am, I decided to give the planned attempt for kingies a miss and instead see if the Cooks could deliver.

At 5am I launched from the small ramp off rd and the conditions were perfect. Not a hint of wind or a ripple on the water. I had about and hour until low tide so I was hoping to get a few before the flow stopped. Armed with my 7ft pflueger rod and president reel loaded with 4lb fireline, I flicked 1/16 oz jig heads rigged with cut-in-half 6” Sandworms in Camo. There were no takers from under the boats in the shallows but as I approached the main channel and the water deepened, on one of my casts I saw the braid twitch as the SP sank. I lifted the rod and came up tight on my first for the day: 27cm to the fork and only 15 minutes from launch. Lovely!

I landed one more a few boats later and then decided to hit the flats between the road bridge and the railway bridge. Now this is where my sounder really pays for itself and mine isn’t even one of the top of the range beauties that are so affordable now. I purchased my Eagle Cuda 168 about a year ago and it really opened my eyes (literally) to a whole new world previously unseen.

I pedaled slowly and watched the sounder screen change from the constant 1.3 meters to a quick increase in depth to 4.7 meters. Along this slope I could see fish suspended just off the bottom so I went back to the start of the drop off and flicked my SP up-current and slowly jigged it back. Over the next 30 minutes until the current stopped, I landed another two legal bream (33cm and 30cm fork) as well as 4 just under at about 23-24cm’s plus a couple of small flatties. Man, I wish I’d been here a bit earlier to get more of the run-out.

From here I moved up to the railway bridge to fish the start of the run-in. I love chasing bream around these bridges. You can hook some real horses and you’re never guaranteed to get them away from the line-shredding pylons and you have to be on your toes the whole time. It was a bit difficult keeping position as the wind had now proved Seabreeze right! But I persevered and with the Mirage Drive of the Hobie leaving my hands free to keep fishing, I managed to land four more before my 8am curfew rolled around.

All up I landed 8 keepers (34cm, 33cm, 32cm, 2 x30cm, 27cm & 2 x 25cm). It looks like the Cooks River is gonna fire again this summer. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Upper Woronora Report – 22/10/06

Before I get onto the Woronora, I wanted to quickly report on the dawn raid session I had from La Perouse mid week. Hoping for kingfish or salmon, the day started out promisingly with a nice tailor hitting one of my trolled Halcos 300m from the launch site. I continued outside the north head of Botany Bay to be greeted by a 2 meter swell and a lot of chop. Not great conditions but it was a good test for the Hobie Sports which came through with flying colours.

I scoured the horizons but there were no schools busting up anywhere, no birds working and nothing around any of the washes either. Unfortunately I was limited for time so I had to return with the one tailor. But one fish isn’t enough for dinner so I stopped off at Sylvania Waters on the way home and added a 43cm flattie and two 28cm bream to the menu. All were caught on a Berkley Gulp 2” Baby Shrimp in Molt colour from the moored boats near the boat ramp.

Fordy and I decided to give heading west for bassin’ a miss due to the unpredictable weather so thought the Woronora would be worth a shot with the off chance of getting a bass, too. At launch we were greeted with a shout from the other bank. “How’s this boys?” We pedaled over and said hello to Glen from Sutherland who’d just landed a nice jewfish from the shore. I snapped a quick photo, said congrat’s and we set off up river.

We worked the pontoons and snags and picked up a few bream as we went. I was absolutely smoked by something hard in amongst the snags of a fallen tree. Maybe a big bream, maybe a big EP, either way, I’ll never know. But it was fun while it lasted (about 2.6 seconds). Plus we were attacked by a very territorial duck that zoomed over towards us quacking his head off. He tried to climb into our yaks to bite us and then escorted us 50 meters upstream until we left his area. Very funny.

We made it all the way up to ‘The Needles’ (where the weir is) and stretched our legs before being pushed back by the wind which was now up to about 15 knots. We finished up with 3 keepers, which were all 27cm’s exactly. We caught a heap of smaller bream and a few flatties too which is good to see. It shows the future keepers are in the system in plentiful supply. Happy yakkin’, everyone!

Cheers,
Cid

Ausbream Port Hacking Report – 15/10/06

What a lousy turnout it was for the October round of the socials. Normally there’d be between 10 and 20 boats but all that wanted to duke it out with the Hacking was 13 anglers! Six boats and one yak and in hindsight, maybe I was the 13th angler, which at least gives me a reason for the lousy days fishing I had.

The weather wasn’t too bad and it was an overcast day so I had high hopes of getting at least 3 bream which was the bag limit for the day. To cut a long story short, for the seven hours (which roughly means about 500 casts) I totaled one 36cm flathead, two chopper tailor and two bream that were both 24.5 cm’s. That’s a lousy 5mm short of the legal size, so back they both went. I suppose I should have kept them in my live well and fed them something because they might’ve grown that extra little bit as the day wore on.

To make matters even worse, I bumped into Gary Brown at about 11am and said ‘How ya doin’, Gary?’ half hoping he’d say ‘Rubbish. Nuthin’ about,’ but instead he said ‘Not bad. I’ve got my three and have upgraded once.’ Swine! ‘So uh,’ I said, ‘…what are ya using?’ ‘Berkley Minnows in Pumpkinseed and Sandworm in Camo,’ he answered. Bugga, exactly the same as me! But there you have it, some days you get fish everywhere and other days you couldn’t catch one if it was thrown to you underarm.

At least the weigh in cheered me up slightly as everyone agreed it had been a tough’ish sort of day. Gary ended up in 2nd spot, just edged out by Stevo. If you’re keen to learn about some of the techniques and tackle that is used to chase these great sport fish, visit www.ausbream.com The site is full of advice from some brilliant breamers that really know there stuff. Hmmmm, maybe I’d better go and brush up a bit…

Depending on the weather this weekend, Adam and I will either be trying for kingies in Botany Bay or chasing bass out west. Either option sounds pretty darn good to me. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Liverpool Weir/Georges River Report – 2/10/06

This winter has been very quiet on the flathead front compared to the last few years. I’d normally pick up a couple on a day out but this year they’ve been very few and far between. The warmer weather though has seen them turn up again (yay!) so I threw the video camera on the yak and set off to spin up a few prime specimens. The tide wasn’t quite right but I still thought I’d get a few.

Kyle Bay and Connells Bay on the Georges have some nice flats and I started working a few HB’s – a Halco Scorpion and a SMAK Rack Walker. After about 10 minutes I hooked my first on the pink/purple Rack Walker. Not a big fish (about 38cm) but it was a start.

As I drifted about, if I was close enough to a boat or a pontoon I’d flick out a SP. Flathead, like bream, will shelter in the shade and pounce on unwary prey, as a flattie did to the 6” sandworm I was hopping along the bottom. This felt better and I slid a 52cm model into the net. A few snapshots and back into the depths it went.

I picked up one more on the SMAK lure again and it could’ve been a twin of the first fish….or maybe even the same one! These Rack Walkers are great for working the sand flats. They dive to about a meter and have a nice tight wiggle. Tie them to your leader with a loop knot to maximize their action and work them over drop-offs and the edges of weed beds with a few pauses and twitches in your retrieve.

Monday I put the yak in above Liverpool Weir to see if the bass wanted to play. Fordy couldn’t make it today so I had the place to myself…until another kayaker turned up, so I took one side of the river and he took the other. I had an early hit on my East Coast fizzer which was promising but that was it! I tried spinners, SP’s, poppers, shallow divers, deep divers….still nothing! I kept my eye on my competition on the other bank and he was having just as much success as me. Zilcho.

I persevered for a few hours then cut my losses to have another attempt at the flatties. Back to Oyster Bay and within 90 minutes I had two bream and three flathead in the livewell, although none of them were monsters. The hot lure today was the Rack Walker in Black with silver stripes. All the flathead and one bream fell to this little beauty.

Now if you’re a die-hard yakker, you mightn’t want to read this next section. Last week I went with my family to the Gold Coast and my wife and I had a half day session with Thomas Seebach who runs Coastal Sports Fishing Tours. Big flathead around Stradbroke Island were the targets and using live herring we managed 4 each. Nat’s best was a ripper of 80cm and she danced around me as all I had managed was one of 59cm which I thought was pretty good!

Not to be out done, with half an hour to go I hooked one that took off in the current. We took chase and I finally got the best of her. Then it was my turn to dance: 82cm and a new PB! How good is this! If you’re up that way and have a chance to get out, call Thomas on 0412 691 929. He has a very comfortable boat that can take up to six people, he knows the spots and you’ll have a good laugh as well. Plus he’s the man to see if you want some fly fishing action, too. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Berowra Waters Report – 25/9/06

Surely the weather guys were wrong! 25 knot winds with 40 knot gusts were nowhere to be seen as 10 boats and 2 yaks set off at 7am to chase a bag limit of your two biggest bream.

Most boats headed back upstream in search of oyster racks. I turned right and headed over to the rock walls still in the shade. I flicked a variety of SP’s – 3” Minnows, Hawgs, Turtleback and Sandworms. Most of the nudges and bites were on the Minnows and Sandworms and my first keeper (at 7:38am) snaffled a sandworm hopped along the bottom.

I played around with a few HB’s too, but the chopper tailors were everywhere. No real size to them, they were all about 25-27cm long. After I’d landed a dozen I put the HB’s back into the tackle box until next time.

Bream number two joined me at 8:10am. Good, that’s my bag but now to upgrade as they were only just above legal size. The first went 26cm total length, the second went 27cm. Next to pay a visit were two flatties and as I slipped the last one back into the water the trees started to rustle.

At 8:42am, the predicted wind howled down the valley so I legged it into one of the small creeks. Nothing up there, so back onto the main river and downstream I went. I fished close to the shore but the bite had shut down. I persisted and finally at 1pm I landed an upgrader of 32cm.

The tough conditions kept fish numbers down; in fact only 18 fish in total were caught. A few boats had pulled the pin early (can you blame them!) and only a handful of us were there to see the final results. Jorge took out top spot with two nice fish of about 38cm. Plus he had a ripper of a flathead that went 75cm. Not as good a result for me this time but I did get 5th place so I was still in the points!

Next week, if all goes to plan, Adam and I will be having our first crack at the bass for the season, so we’ll be praying for some great surface action from these Aussie Bronze Battlers. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Sylvannia Waters – 10/9/06

‘Ooh look, a worm!’ One of the fish swam forward to get it. ‘No, wait, wait….it may have a hook in it!’ the other one said. The first fish looked back at his mate incredulously. ‘Pffft, are you kidding? What sort of stupid idiot would be out in weather like this? It’s windy enough to blow a dog off its chain. I’m hungry and I’m eatin’ it!’ CHOMP. ‘Uh oh…’

The above bream didn’t realise that YES, I’m the sort of stupid idiot that will venture out when there are 25-30 knot winds accompanied by pouring rain. I’d waited all Saturday and half of Sunday for the weather to ease up and I was quickly running out of time. By 1:30pm, there were occasional breaks in the cloud so I bit the bullet and headed out even though my wife shook her head in amazement.

My options were limited. I still like to be safe, so sheltered waters were my only venues. With the wind coming from a south/south-east direction, I launched at the entrance to Sylvannia Waters. The houses close to the water provided good protection and although still windy, the water was relatively calm. There are lots of pontoons and moored boats so I only used SP’s today.

As I left the ramp it bucketed down! Not a great start but at least it wasn’t cold. The wind would have made fishing from a paddle kayak a futile exercise but armed with the Mirage Drive of the Hobie I was able to keep in position while I worked the structures. On the 3rd pontoon I met my mate from the first paragraph and he was quickly introduced to my live-well.

I pedalled into one of the arms and found myself almost completely out of the wind (almost). From under a large moored cruiser I pulled another bream, this one going 31cm’s total length. Number two in the well. I continued along, dropping a good fish right next to the yak but getting my 3rd and final for the day from under a pontoon adorned with a yapping terrier. Three was enough for me so after a very quick 90 minutes I set off to have a hot shower.

So why would I bother going out in such wild weather? Two reasons: Number One, I love fishing. Number Two, I also fish in competitions and on those days you fish irrespective of the weather. Today was a chance for me to expand my knowledge on where, what and how to fish when most sane people are rugged up in front of the TV. And I still managed to get some fish.

And just a quick note on Sylvannia Waters. This is a private waterway and the landowners actually own the seabed too. The only sign I saw said ‘No Commercial Fishing’ so I felt it was ok for me to go in there. Of course, if someone came out and asked me to move along then I’d happily comply. Even if someone came out screaming, I just give a quick sorry and keep going. No point in getting in an argument and letting them ruin your day. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Oatley – 20/8/06

Last week Adam and I had a very lean time on the Woronora so I was a bit sceptical of the fishing for this weekends August Ausbream Social day that launched from Oatley Bay on the Georges River. Thankfully I can say ‘What a difference a week makes!’

28 anglers (14 boats and a lone yak) set off at 7am, scattering to all points of the river. As per usual, I made my way to the first bit of structure, a row of pontoons encrusted with mussels, oysters and weed. I was using a 1/16th jig head rigged with a 6” Sandworm Camo. On the second pontoon I had a bump which was encouraging and the next pontoon came up trumps.

The fish picked up the SP on the second hop and when I set the hooks he did me the favour of swimming away from the pontoon, which was a nice change from their usual dirty tactics! Quickly he realised his mistake and reversed direction but a bit of sideways pressure turned him and I played him out in the relatively safe open water. He went 35cm total length and was a very nice first fish for the day.

The next lot of pontoons produced a few smaller fish and only one legal (just) of 25cm’s. I dropped one of about 30cm’s right at the yak which had me cursing. The fishing has been tough the last few weeks and maybe I’d just been lucky and hit a patch of fish. Who’d know if I’d get another chance to upgrade?

The tide was dropping and I felt it was getting a bit too shallow so I made my way down to the main river. Some more crusty pontoons and my first cast at one of them skipped the SP right under it into the shadows. BANG! I struck more on reflex than anything else and this thing bolted. The reel screamed and I pushed the rod under the water as I clamped the spool but it was all too late. This beast well and truly smashed me up quick smart and reinforced the fact that you have to be on your toes every cast.

Mumbling and grumbling expletives, I pedalled over to Oyster Bay. All the moored boats were out except for one so at least my choice was simple. New leader, new SP, drag tightened and just as bloody well, to! Another quick bite as the lure touched the bottom and I’m onto another nice fish. This time the drag only gave about a meter before I was towed towards the boat. More gymnastic rod work under water to keep the fish away from the boats keel saw me ease it out into the open and after a few more surges I netted him. 41cm total length and that’s the kicker that I needed.

I then tried the flats in Connels Bay and Kyle Bay with hard Bodies but could only manage a few smaller bream and two flathead, one of these a nice fat fish of 59cm’s that scoffed the SX40. A bit of delicate work removed the hooks and she swam off maybe a little wiser. Hopefully this warmer weather will see some more of these great fish pay a visit to the Hobie.

At the weigh-in I realised I’d been a bit lucky as half the field didn’t manage to land any keepers. It was close but I managed to take out top spot by about 30 grams. The fish of the day though was caught by Luke (Docky), a sensational 46cm fork Estuary Perch (EP) that looked like a mini barra!


So finally a weekend when I caught a few fish and it’s always nice to beat the power boats from a kayak. Another interesting catch today was a bream that at some stage in its life had been chomped right in the middle of its back. It had healed completely and this small guy was as feisty as anything. Just goes to show you what sort of injuries these tough critters can recover from. Happy yakkin’, everyone!

Cheers,
Cid

Botany Bay/Woronora River Report – 13/8/06

Last week was a complete wipe out for any chances to go yakkin’ due to ‘other’ social activities and a howling wind on Sunday. This week however, I managed two trips which kind of makes up for it.

The first outing was a quick trolling session around the closest airport runway to the Cooks River in the hopes of a winter kingie or salmon. I kept my eyes open for any bird activity but there was none to be seen and the only fish interested in my lures was a chopper tailor of 28cm.

I was returning to the ramp and was just about to go under the Endeavor Bridge when the silver Halco Scorpion I was trolling was hit hard. I could feel the weight of this fish immediately and the ‘thump, thump, thump’ being transmitted up the line let me know that it was a trevally peeling line off the reel.

I didn’t work the fish too hard as trevally have soft mouths and if you apply too much pressure you can pull the hooks. Slowly the silver-blue shape circled up from below and on the second pass I tail grabbed him and hauled him aboard. And what a ripper he was, too! 49cm’s to the tip and my best yet from Botany Bay. Or maybe it was the Cooks River, depending on whether the river starts from the breakwalls or the bridge. : )

The next trip was Sunday afternoon when Fordy and I launched from the ramp at Bonnet Bay on the Woronora River to see if the bream had started to venture back into the rivers again. To cut to the chase, we can say “No, they haven’t!’ We both hooked what felt like good fish but we must’ve just lip hooked them as the fight was over within a matter of seconds. The only two fish landed were a 38cm flathead for me and a nice ‘Pinkie’ for Adam from down near Como Bridge that both fell to 6” Sandworms in Camo colour.

Next Sunday will see me fishing the Georges River in the August Ausbream Social. I really hope those bream start to swim back upstream this week. Fingers crossed… Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

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

Parramatta River – 16/7/06

Another Ausbream Social, with a good turn out as today would be the last chance a lot of competitors would have to pre-fish the NBC Grand Final next weekend. There were a total of 36 competitors in 17 boats and two yaks captained by Dave (Peril) and myself!

The fog was thick at the start and at 7:30 I landed my first bream for the day, hooked on a Juro Pygmy cast towards the rocky shores and slowly rolled back to the yak. Beauty! That’s one in the live-well, one more to go. These socials normally have a two bag limit and as you catch a bigger fish you simply set your smallest one free. Hopefully as the day progresses you’ll upgrade several times and return with two good fish. Hopefully…

Next I gave one of the marinas a work out with SP’s and after no joy there I moved onto some moored boats. Hmmmmm…still no joy. I pedalled myself over to Bedlam Point and thrashed the shoreline to foam for nix. Where are these bream? I finally get another hit but it’s a flathead of 44cm. I’m back over on the other side of the river when I get a tail grab from something with a bit of weight but the hooks don’t stick so all I’m left with is a half chewed SP.

A complete change was in order so I headed upstream to Kendall Bay. I noticed that a lot of the Skeeters/Nitros/Attacks were zooming up and down the river as well so I figured that I wasn’t the only one having trouble finding fish. The Juro Pygmy is yet again pounced on and it’s another nice flathead – this one going 58cm and it’s the darkest one I’ve ever caught.

With just over an hour to go, I headed over to Morrisons Bay and I land a silver fish off one of the boats. ‘Hello, what’s this?’ I say. Oh yeah, that’s right, it’s a bream. It’d been so long I’d forgotten what they looked like. Well at least I now had two so back I go for the weigh-in.

So how did I do? All up I managed 11th spot, so I guess I’ll have to pedal harder at the next social. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Port Hacking Report – 8/7/06

Woolooware Bay has some great areas to fish - nice big sand flats, moored boats, mangroves and old oyster leases which are home to bream, flathead, whiting, trevally, jewfish and another half a dozen or so species that will give you a good work out on some light tackle.

‘Woolooware Bay?’ you say. ‘So why does the heading say Port Hacking report?’ Well, it’s because I didn’t catch a thing when I went to Woolooware Bay! Not even a little tacker. I had two tail-grabs off my soft plastics and that was it. That’s fishin’ for ya’…

But I still do have a report, though the fish weren’t caught from a kayak. However, the info may help you get out in your kayak and maybe get amongst them.

I’m currently working on Gary Browns and Scotty Lyons’ new DVD on fishing Port Hacking and we were out filming the blackfishing segment. Gary and Scott cover the where, when and how to catch these fantastic fish and the day reinforced a few basic rules that we all should follow when fishing.

The day started slowly and after about an hour Gary hooked the first fish of the day. It was a nice fat specimen, probably close to 40cm’s length. That was the only fish caught here so we went searching.

We tried about 7 locations all up. Each spot looked the goods with a nice current flow and each spot had produced in the past. Berley was regularly cast about but it wasn’t until our last port of call only about 300 meters from the boat ramp in Yowie Bay that we hit pay dirt.

It started slowly again but after about 30 minutes, Gary landed one. Then Scott was on and as he was winding it in, Gary hooked up again. The berley had done its job and each bait was getting a down of the floats. Scott hooked what we thought might’ve been a drummer but after some great lunging runs he landed a beautiful Sturgeon. About 10 minutes later the berley ran out and just as quickly the fish moved off.

The final tally for Gary and Scott were 7 blackfish and one Sturgeon plus half a dozen undersize fish, too. The importance of the berley could not be over emphasized as well as the simple act of perserverance - if you don’t find the fish at one place, move around until you do find them.

Of course, this doesn’t always work! I know, I moved all over Woolooware Bay for zip, but it was still better than sitting on the lounge watching TV. Ausbream have another social day on the Parramatta River this sunday, so visit us next week for the ‘kayaks vs stink boats’ report. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,

Cooks River Report – 2/7/06

Fordy and I knew the weather would be overcast so filming for this weekend was put on hold. But that didn’t stop us from getting out. It’d been a while since we’d been to the Cooks so that was our battle ground.

We had the last hour of run out so we knew we’d have to get stuck into the fishing straight away. The nearby airport service bridge and its oyster-encrusted pylons was our first choice. We’d both had a couple of tentative taps when I hook a fish that takes line immediately. Oops, drag too loose, so I clamped down on the spool and was quickly pulled towards the pylons. Some quick rod work kept the fish away from the oysters and a quick push off with my foot kept the yak away, too!

Out in the open I let him tire out and I knew it was a nice fish. I lifted him up with a yahoo and I’m sure I could hear mutterings coming from Fordy who was 50 meters away. 38cm’s tip length and into the livewell he goes.

Two pylons later and I hook another ripper. Slightly smaller this time at 34cm’s and that’s two nil to me. Fordy is still muttering in the distance.
Once we’d given all the pylons are good workout we moved to the moored boats. After I land my third fish of the day (32cm’s) Fordy says ‘Right, that’s enough head start for you,’ and promptly hooks his first. As we glide amongst the boats, casting as we go, we manage a few more before the bite stops. The SP’s today were 3” Minnows (pumpkinseed) and 6” Sandworms (natural).

The last area we tried was the freeway wall. Nothing for me on my HB’s but Fordy bags his final for the day. The final count was 6 to me and 3 to Fordy. My 5 bag weight was 2.58kg’s, so it was a fairly decent bag. It was also nice to receive a round of applause from a few spectators as we weighed the fish and set them free until next time. However, the guys fishing nearby just looked at us as if we were mad! Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid

Roseville – 18/6/06

Early morning starts in the middle of winter can be chilly affairs and today was no exception but at least it wasn’t raining! Today I competed in the Ausbream June Social that launched from Garigal National Park underneath Roseville Bridge. There was only a small field today with 8 power boats and two yakkers, Dave (aka Peril) and I, who were ready to show them the advantages of stealth.

7am kick off (launch off?) and I headed to the flotilla of moored boats opposite the ramp. First cast with a Berkley 2” Hawg (green pumpkin) at a crusty pontoon and I come up tight on a 24cm tip bream. ‘Ooh, that’s promising’, I think but it’s not big enough and today is especially tough as although we only need one fish, it has to be 30cm tip length minimum. Next three casts and I bring in three more bream – 25cm, 27cm and 25cm! If this was a normal day I’d have 3 keepers by now but TODAY they all go back in the drink.

I dropped one more smallish fish off the boats and decided to pack up and pedal my Hobie downstream towards Killarney Point to fish the shoreline for the last of the run-out. I changed SP’s to the 6” Sandworms (Camo) and finally I was rewarded with a 30cm fish. Yahoo! I’m on the board. I checked the SP then flicked it back towards the shore. On the first hop it was nailed by something big that took off like a freight train. I gave it as much pressure as I could which at least stopped it but it just screamed off in the opposite direction. The line sliced through the water as the drag screamed and I thought, ‘Hmmmm, I don’t think this is a bream…’ Of course, the inevitable happened and I felt the scraping of the line and ‘ping’, it was all over. A Kingie maybe? Still, it was good fun for the ten seconds it lasted.

The action died off for a while so I had a bite to eat then made my way back upstream, casting as I went. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed some small baitfish jumping right in close to the shore. I quickly rigged up a 3” Minnow (pumpkinseed) and flicked it to where the disturbance had been. It was crunched straight away and I managed to keep this one away from the rocks. Ooh, this is much better – a bream of 37cm and now I feel I’m in with a chance.
I finally make it up to Roseville Bridge and there is still 90 minutes until the weigh-in at 2pm. I change back to the Sandworm and fish the deeper sections near the pylons, casting downstream and retrieving the lure towards me. The lure is right below me and its hit on the run by another solid fish. He really went for it and I had my rod right down in the water to keep him away from the oyster-encrusted ledges. He spun me round once or twice but the hook held and the best for the day came onboard. 40cm tip length and with a big blue nose like Jimmy Durante!

At the weigh in we saw how tough the day was with only 9 anglers weighing in fish. But that last one of mine was enough for me to clinch top spot for the day so rack another one up for the Kayaks! The big guy went 0.97 kg’s and bolted once released. These big fish can be about 25-30 years old so I’m glad he’s still swimming about.

Fordy was meant to be Bassin’ but due to car troubles he was stuck at home getting phone calls from me. Next time, Fordy. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

cheers,
Cid