Towra Point 2 - 19/9/09

Another great morning but this time with a rising tide that would allow us to get up and over the oyster-encrusted rocks that are scattered over the flats off Towra Point. Terry and I worked the edges of the racks while waiting for the tide come in and it wasn't too long before I had my first in the well.

This guy fell to a Gulp 2" Shrimp in molting colour rigged on a 1/40th hidden weight jighead. Not forgetting my first hookup last week, I'd made sure the drag was nice and tight today. Lots of strong, surging runs told me this was a good fish but by using the cushioning effect of my rod and dropping the tip when the fish ran, I was able to keep him from busting me off or making the safety of the snags. Man, the fish are in good condition! I wonder how the guys are going down at Glenelg?

By now Gary Brown (http://www.garybrownfishing.com.au/) had turned up in his tinnie and after a quick chat we all split up. The water was just starting to cover the rocks so I made use of the kayaks skinny-water abilities and moved in to harass the bream that would hopefully be moving amongst them looking for a snack. I started off with a Lucky Craft pencil but only had one half-hearted swirl behind it for 15 minutes worth of effort. Time to switch to a shallow-diving Chubby. By keeping the rod tip high, I knew the Chubby would dive to about 30 cms, just swimming above the rocks. This was scary territory and I'd have to be on my toes to make sure I didn't get busted up!

First cast and I get a quick tap on the lure. Second cast and I get another whack, but still no hook-up. At least I know there are a few fish about. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a silver flash so I flick the Chubby in that direction. Crank, crank, crank, BOOFO! Oh yeah, lovely! The fish scoots sideways and I keep the rod tip up as high as I can while trying to keep him up on the surface. I prevent him from getting his head down and I slip the net under a twin of the first fish I caught. How I'd love to have two fish like this in a comp.

By the now the sun is quite strong and the fishing goes quiet. An overcast day over these flats would be sensational. I pick up a flathead right on the edge of the flats where they meet the weedbeds and that's it for me for the day. Terry had a day like I had last week and couldn't manage to get any legals. He'd moved up into the mangroves and picked up half a dozen off the surface but the biggest only went 24 cms. My two guys both went 33 cms to the fork and pulled the scales down to 1.305 kgs.

Back at the ramp, we could see Gary fishing around Captain Cook Bridge. I rang him and although he'd not managed any bream, he'd put three flatties of 50 cms into the well, as well as a 60 cm jewfish! Great stuff for middle of the morning with lots of boat traffic about.

Checking the results of the Hobie/ABT kayak tourny at Glenelg, I saw that day 1 was very tough. Only 5 legal (28 cm fork length) fish were caught but day two was being held closer to the mouth of the river where it wouldn't be so affected by the fresh water run-off. As predicted, more fish were weighed in and when all was done and dusted, the angler on top was Greg Lewis, a fellow member of the Hobie State Fishing Team. Greg's a top breamer and really knows his stuff and was the only angler to manage a full bag for the day. For a complete wrap up of events, please visit http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/ or http://www.bream.com.au/. Congratulations Greg on a deserved win.

Now the countdown is on for the first NSW round which will be held on Narrabeen Lake on the 7th-8th November. This should be a big turnout and remember, it's open to all SOT kayaks, not just Hobies. So get involved, meet some great anglers and see what it's all about. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Towra Point - 12/9/09

More bream! The tide wasn't great for Towra Point as it fishes better on a high tide but Terry and I were still keen to get into the old racks and see what we could stir up. As we set-up, the wind decided to be nice to us for once and it slowly eased until it was almost non-existent by the time we reached our destination. As the sun rose, so did our expectations of getting some bluenoses. We started with some surface lures but after ten minutes without a follow, I tied on an Ecogear SX40 and twitched it over the weedbeds. First cast and i'm on but it's too small for the livewell.

That was it for the weedbeds so we moved off into the racks, splitting up. I changed to a Squidgy Lobby and flicked it in between the crusty pylons. Thirty minutes had passed by and I'd only had one small tap-tap on the lure. I smeared some more of the S-factor on it and lobbed it right next to a couple of extra gnarly posts. The line immediately went tight and I set the hooks into a mighty solid fish. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz goes the drag and my eyes widen in shocked disbelief. I, the fool, had forgotten to lock up my drag! In the racks it's go hard or go home and this fish made me pay for my forgetfullness. Ping went the leader, quickly followed by a tirade of curses.

Eventually I met up with Terry and the jammy swine had two beauties in his well! Both caught on an SX40 which he'd just lost to an even bigger bream when the knot came loose just as he was about to net him. 'Aww, diddums', I thought and continued along another fruitless stretch of racks. I did get one hook up that I pulled the hooks on but I'm not counting that! Meeting back at the start, Terry had landed another two (WTF???) but they were just legal so we deemed them unworthy of a photo.

We had time for a quick flick under some boats in Woolooware Bay and on the way I trolled my SX40, the one with the Oil Slick colour on it's side. Half way to the boats and the rod is almost jerked out of my hands. 'Good fish', I yell and the yak and I slowly dance around what feels like a good flattie. And it is, too! 64 cms in length and she a new PB from the yak for me. If only I was fishing in a flathead comp, I'd be laughin' all the way to shore. I'd better pull my finger out and start catching some bream. Not long until the Hobie/ABT comps hit Sydney.

The first round for 2009-2010 actually kicks off this weekend on the Glenelg River in Victoria and there should be a good number of yaks entering. Good luck to all participating and I hope they get some real thumpers to bring back to the weigh-master. If I get out this weekend, it'll be to Towra Point again. This time the tide will be high and I'll have no excuses. Looks like I'd better get my A-game into gear. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid