Botany Bay - 24-1-07 & Georges River - 28-10-07

With it being light enough to get out on the water nice and early, I love having a mid-week session before work. Quite a few of the guys from AKFF (http://www.akff.net/) having been getting stuck into the Kings and I was eager to get my arms stretched as well. I set off for my local launch spot at Kurnell and found tailor lining up to snaffle my lures. The SP's were copping a real hiding and I lost at least six good fish by being bitten off. I'll have to get some of that knotable wire trace, I think. I switched to poppers but surprisingly they weren't the least bit interested. Back to the SP's and whooshka! they're all over them again.

I finally managed to stay connected to a good one that stretched to 47cm's and by the time I'd landed it, the fish had moved on. It was like someone had flicked a switch and turned them all off. Oh well, at least now I could get my Mojo's down near the bottom and jig them back to the yak without them being shredded. After 10 minutes or so I get a solid take and I just knew I'd hooked my first king for the season. : ) No big runs though, so I figured he wouldn't be legal and at 55cm's he has a bit more growing up to do. A quick photo and he's back into the wet stuff.

That was about it except for a single bream I picked up on a Gulp 3" minnow in the Nuclear Chicken colour which was followed the next cast by a very quick bust-up by what would have been a very big bream amongst some very fishy looking pylons. Sometimes 6lb leader just ain't strong enough...When I reached the shore I set the guy free and took a happy snap as he said goodbye.

Summer sees the start of the bream tournament season and I'm partnering up with Gary Brown for the Squidgies Series. The first round is on the Georges River on the 25th November and Ausbream had a social day as a bit of a pre-fish last sunday. Ok, so we weren't in kayaks so it doesn't really count as fishing ; ) but I can tell you I felt very out of place being that high above the water!

Man, I hope Gary and I pull our fingers out for the tournament because we didn't get much for our 7 hours worth of fishing. I managed 2 bream which amazingly saw me clinch 3rd place but only because it had been a lousy day for most of the other competitors, too. The only fish of any note was a 48cm flattie that took a liking to my 6" sandworm. A month can make a world of difference though and I'm sure the Georges will be firing for the comp. Fingers crossed, Gary and I will be firing, too. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,
Cid

Oyster Bay - 6-10-07 & Botany Bay 14-10-07

Last weekend, Chris, Mick, Terry and I went after bream in Oyster Bay and the Georges River. Conditions were perfect and we hoped for a great session but for some reason, the bream weren't willing to play. We still managed a few between us though, with Chris getting the best of the day - a 32cm fork battler that had him in knots amongst some jetty pylons. Great rod work extracted the fish though and the performance was duly appreciated by us onlookers.

Flatties were out in force though, with Mick and Terry landing half a dozen each on a variety of HB's and SP's. We also bumped into Buj and a Andrew (9Ball) from KFDU (www.kfdu.com.au) that had also cleaned up on the flatties by working HB's over the flats in the upper reaches of Oyster Bay. Good to see you guys!

There's been some great kingfish sessions off Clovelly lately and I joined a group of about seven like-minded yakkers midweek to tangle with these mighty adversaries. If only we'd told the kingies to turn up, though! The water was a bit lumpy (it's Gatesy in the photo) and there were thousands of Blue Bottles which had been absent the earlier days. Maybe these put them off the bite. I think one or two small kingies were landed but nothing to write home about. Gatesy had been braining them over the last week and his best session was 9 legals in just over two hours, all caught on lures. Sensational fishing when you can get it. And well done on passing your exams, Michael. Congrat's.

Finally, Terry and I launched from La Perouse today hoping to find some schools of salmon near the mouth of the bay. There was no surface activity first thing in the morning, so we headed over towards Molineux Point. This turned out to be an excellent choice as birds started working within Yarra Bay as we approached. Out go the lures and yeehah! Double hook ups are on the cards. Two tailor hit the decks and it's grins all round.

And so it was for the next two hours but we had to keep our eyes peeled to find the feeding schools. They'd come up for only 20 or 30 seconds and you had to be ready to cast as soon as you were close enough. At one stage we had a school nice and close and Terry had just hooked up on his metal lure when his SX40 he had out the back took off too! In the photo you'll see one rod between his legs with it's tip bent down into the water while he's playing the other fish. Bloody show-off! : )

One of the fish I landed coughed up what they'd been feeding on and it proved that my lure had matched the hatch perfectly. Here is the half a pilchard/anchovy type of baitfish shown next to my SP which landed all my fish today.

We were hoping that there'd be a few salmon underneath the schools of tailor but today it wasn't to be. If you could manage to get your lures under the surface fish, the avarage size was a bit better though. Most fish were in the 35-37cm range, with my two best both going 40cm's. Not monsters, sure, but on light gear they're great fun. Terry and I probably landed over a dozen each and we easily dropped that many as well. As the sun rose the schools busted-up less, so if you're planning on chasing a few tailor, nice and early is the way to go. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,
Cid

Cooks River - 29/9/07 & Liverpool Weir - 1/10/07

Terry and I stood on the beach on Foreshore Rd with the predicted 10 knot winds (yeah, right) blowing sand into our faces. 'Fugg this,' we thought and made a quick retreat to the Cooks River to target a few bream out of the wind. The Cooks is one of my favourite breaming waters and it normally fishes best on an outgoing tide. Even though the tide was running in, I assured Terry we'd get a few.

At the Princes Hwy road bridge we flicked our SP's between the pylons. I was using a Gulp 6" Sandworm in camo and felt a bump as the lure dropped. I set the hook and this thing ran away from the pylons into open water. 'What's this?' I thought. 'I'm sure it's not a bream.' And it wasn't either. My first jewfish for the warmer months surfaced and I was pretty chuffed. No record breaker, he probably went about 50cm's but gees they're a beautiful fish. I checked to make sure he wasn't tagged, took a few quick snaps and back into the wet stuff he went.

And that was about it for our session on the Cooks! I landed two small flatties and Terry snared our only bream for the day, picked up on an SX40 cast in towards the mangroves. Very frustrating indeed. Except for the jewie, of course! : )

Monday morning I only had 2 hours spare and figured it was about time I got my first bass of the season. I set off for Liverpool Weir and slid the kayak into the fresh at 5:30am. I had the whole place to myself and I started with a few surface fizzers and poppers. Nuthin'! Figuring they may be down deep, I tied on one of East Coasts single bladed spinners rigged with a 1" grub. Purple had been working well in the Nepean, so I gave that colour a whirl first. Not having caught a bass on a spinnerbait before (well, I hooked a big bugga but lost it a few weeks ago) I was hoping my technique was right. A nice slow roll is what I hoped would turn them on seeing as the bass didn't seem very active. 'Bump, bump' and yes, the rod loads up. Into view comes one of the lovely little locals and it's now officially my first bass on a spinner! 28cm's and no matter what happens from now on, the trip is a success!

About 10 minutes later, I'm on again! Oh, this is great fun. This guy absolutely smashes my previous spinner record as he goes on the lie detector and stretches out to a whole 29cm's. Magic! Two PB's (sort of) in one day.

Another two bass came out to play - one to the spinner (go East Coast) and one to a purple SX40. Purple really worked for me today but who knows if it will work next time. I may have to try another colour to see what happens. Four fish in 2 hours was enough to keep me happy though. I've only fished here twice and I hear that the bass aren't huge but at least they are about. It was good to see they were all really healthy specimens, too. No red blotches or ratty fins. Let's hope they grow and prosper. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,
Cid