Oyster Bay - 29/8/09

The last fishing trip, Terry and I tried to get a few bream in the Cooks River. As it turned out, we weren't very successful. But almost a month had past since then and I was hoping that a few of them may have started moving back up into the estuaries. Plus we've had a few more warmer days and if the water has warmed slightly, then even better.


I launched at 6am and was surprised at how light it is at that time now. Beauty! That means I can launch even earlier and get in a few more valuable minutes fishing time. The tide was already half-out, so conditions weren't the best. I find Oyster bay works better for me on a run-in tide. I headed towards the weedbeds at the mouth of the bay and quickly picked up my first fish for the day, a just legal whiting that snaffled a Gulp Camo Sandworm. This was quickly followed by an undersize flattie. Back he goes!

A few rowers were coming through so I moved in towards the pontoons to give them plenty of room. First flick under the pylons and I'm on. 'Hello, what's this,' I said? Silver, yellow fins, roundish...OMG! It's a bream. 27cms total length and he's into the livewell with the whiting. The next few pontoons I get a couple of more hits and eventually land bream number 2. Ah, this is more like it.

I decide to give the HB's a go and head back over the flats. No fish are interested and as the wind picks up I venture back into Oyster Bay for shelter. As I drift past a pontoon I have one last flick over my shoulder. Suddenly the line goes tight and this feels like a good fish. There's a few head shakes and I pull him out from the pontoon. This is when I can see that it's a good bream but he's only got the tail of the worm in his mouth. It's funny to watch - as I pull on the line, he shakes his head from side to side, trying to win the tug of war. I reel him in but as he nears the surface he obviously thinks that something is amiss and spits out the worm. I put him at about 30 cms, so he wasn't a bad size.

I make it to my last pontoon and skip a cast right up into the shadows. 'That's gotta be worth a fish,' I think and sure enough, ziiiiip, I'm on! This guys hits the afterburners and I throw the rod tip into the water to keep the line away from the pontoon. Ah yes, this is what it's all about! She scoots sideways and out from under the pontoon before turning and running for the jetty pylons. I stop her just in time and the sideways pressure leads her away again. Up she finally comes and this is the calibre of fish I'll want in the upcoming Hobie/ABT tournaments. She only goes 32 cms fork but she's nice and fat and would easily go 700 grams. I put her in the well so I can get a photo on the brag mat back at the ramp. If I'd landed that other one I would've had a two fish bag of roughly 1.3 kgs, which is not bad for a couple of hours fishing.

So a quick photo at the ramp and back they all go for catching on another day. These Hobie Live wells work a treat. Easy to set-up and trouble free, they keep the fish swimming in constantly circulating water. The fish normally come out more energetic than when they went in. You can get by with just an esky in the comps (I did last year) with fresh water changes every 30 minutes or so but these live wells are set and forget.

Hopefully we'll get the dates for the Hobie/ABT comps released this week and I can plan my summer. Tides are good for this weekend too, so another bream session could be on the cards. But if the water is warming up, then the kings could be starting to show up too. Decisions, decisions... Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid