Cooks River - 18-11-07

Another session looking for the elusive bream even though I'd said last week I'd go and chase bass but it was only because Mr Munns had said the bass were a bit quiet. This time we thought the Cooks would be worth a shot but it was unusually quiet. I've had some brilliant days here and for C&R fishing, it one of my top spots. (There is NO WAY I'd eat one of the fish caught here. There is just too much pollution from old factories on the river that I'm sure is seeping into the water.)

Mick had managed to persuade Paul from Sailing Scene (http://www.sailingscene.com.au/) to part with a Hobie FloatCat 75 to take it for a spin...or paddle, I suppose. This beast was very stable and I was really surprised at how quickly and effortlessly Mick scooted about using it's two oars. (Not as quick as my mirage Drive, of course!) You can't see it in the photo, but Mick could dangle his legs in the water if he wanted to: it'd be easy to wear a pair of fins for extra maneuverability while you keep fishing. I don't know if I'd want to go outside the heads in one but I can see it as being perfect for chasing bass on the Nepean. In summer it'd be sweet to simply skim across the top of that dreaded weed that always shows up and makes the kayaking tough.

Back to the fishing. Within the first few minutes, Mick and I had both been smoked by good fish and shortly after, Mick landed a 28cm bream. I was landing plenty of small (read that as 20cm's) flathead and couldn't even raise a bream scale. Two hours into the fishing, I landed a monster that went 17cm's. Yeehah! Try as we might, they just weren't interested in what we were throwing about. At one point I thought I'd hooked a nice one but it turned out to be a 34cm Luderick which had taken a 3" bass minnow. That was definitely a first for me.

On our way back, I had one last spot to try. On with a Gulp 2" Minnow Grub in pumpkinseed and BOOFO! it's hit as soon as it sinks just below the surface. This was a much, much better fish than the 17cm tacker I'd landed earlier and twice I thought he'd get back to his snag and do me over. Luckily the knots held and this 37cm beauty was the result. At least I ended up with one good bream for the day.

Next week I'll be fishing in the first round of the Squidgy Challenge with Gary Brown so I hope I fair better with the bream then. I'll still try to sneak out mid-week for a fish so the report won't be all powerboat stuff. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Georges River - 10/11/07

Last week I said I couldn't wait to get out to chase a few bream as I reckoned that after the rain there'd be a few on the chew. And boy was I right! The first round of the Squidgy Bream Comps is on in a couple of weeks and I wanted to suss out a few spots. I won't give exact details of where but I did get around a fair bit.

The best of the day was this 42cm (total length) bluenose that took a fancy to the Berkley Gulp 6" Sandworm in camo that I was flicking about. It was in fairly shallow water and the SP had just settled on the sandy bottom when my line zipped sideways. I struck and this guy hit the afterburners! Now bream aren't like kingies but these big guys certainly put the light gear to the test. It's essential to have drags working perfectly and set accordingly. Around jetties and racks you may need to lock up and hold on but on the flats it's ok to let them take line when they need it.

After half a dozen runs he was pretty well played out but I took my time getting him into the net as he was still darting about trying to get under the yak. I hope I can land one or two of these guys during the comp, that's for sure. The bream weren't in any particular area today. I found them on the flats, along rocky shorelines and holding under boats. Back at the ramp I put the smallest I got (28cm) next to the big fella so you could see the difference in sizes! Makes him look like a tiddler, doesn't he? : )

With the tides being high, I thought there would have been a few flatties about but I could only manage one of 50cm's on a Halco HB I was trolling while moving between spots. Maybe all the fresh in the system put them off but it certainly felt like flattie weather to me.

Of course, I also had a mid-week fish down at the HWO, still trying to get a legal king. I had one HUGE hit that ripped the Mojo off the hook but unfortunately it missed the pointy bit. Tailor

were still about but not in the numbers that they have been previously. I'll blame the fresh water again. To the right is an example of the last thing that many baitfish will see this summer. CHOMP! Man, it'd be fricken scary being one of those baitfish. Imagine swimming around at night knowing that things like this were looking for ya!

If the rain stays away this week, I think a bass session on the Nepean may be on the cards for next weekend. Looks like I'd better ring Mr EastCoast and get the lazy bones out of bed. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Botany Bay - 1/11/07 & 3/11/07

As I write this report I can hear it howlin' about 20 knots outside and it's chucking the rain down in bucketloads. I think I might sleep in tomorrow. But last week conditions were great for some early sessions and twice I snuck out and was home before the family were outta bed. I'm yet to get a legal kingfish this season so I'm going to perservere at the HWO until I get one. The last few times have seen tailor biting their heads off and this time was no different. The EastCoast Splash n' Dash worked wonders again and it's now looking decidedly chewed. Any colour I threw today was successful and a quick retreive had fish climbing all over them.

Once the tailor disappeared, I switched to the Mojo Sp's and the third cast was hit just as it landed. I thought it must've been a tailor but the strong, deep run told me Mr.King had grabbed hold. Line wasn't peeling off at a great rate though and this guy was quickly subdued. He put on an acrobatic display when I got him to the surface so I took a few quick snaps of him dancing away. 60cm's on the tape and he's back into the ocean to fight another day.

A couple of other kayakers had arrived (Tim and I'm sorry, but I've forgotten your mates name) and Tim was soon into a king also. I switched from the blue Mojo to the yellow to see if it made a difference. Well, I guess not, as 5 minutes later I'm hooked up to number 2! This guy has a bit more grunt and when I measure him he's HEAPS bigger than the first at 61cm's. : ) What a monster... Another one goes back but at least now I only have 4cm's to go until I catch a legal one this spring.

Saturday morning was a bit windy and overcast but nothing too extreme. But where were the tailor? Not a nibble. Ok, let's try for kings...Zip. Funny how only a few days apart can be so different. I switched to a Mirashad minnow HB as the guys from the other day had been getting into the trevors. The first fish is a cracker that was 47cm's long and screamed off at the start. The next two were a bit smaller at 38 and 39 cm's but they went almost as hard. I stuck with the HB's today but another great method for targetting these guys is to drift over the sand and flick and twitch SP's such as a 3" bass minnow in watermelon colour rigged on a 1/16th oz jighead. They'll hit them nice and hard but just remember to go fairly gentle on them as their mouths are quite soft. Bream are also a very real prospect using this technique, too.

I hope this weather improves soon so I can get out and tangle with a few thumper bream as I reckon after these storms, the bream will go nuts. Happy yakkin', everyone.

cheers,
Cid