Oyster Bay - 21/11/09

My brother-in-law, Brendan, was around for the weekend so it was time to get him out on the yak to show him what this kayak fishing caper is all about. I was tempted to take him out onto Botany Bay to chase a few salmon or kings but seeing as it was his first time, gently does it was the favoured choice, so off to Oyster Bay with Lachlan in tow to get a few flatties and bream.

Brendan quickly settled into the Outback and although a bit sceptical about the Mirage Drive at first, within minutes he was totally blown away by how quick and easy it was. Lachlan jumped on with me and we started trolling around a selection of HB's - Jackall Chubby's, SX40's, Atomic Hardz and a River 2 Sea Baby vib.

Lachlan is first off with a small flathead that goes back into the drink. A few more small fish come in for a quick visit but it's a fairly slow day so we head down to the Georges River to work the weedbed edges. I'm hoping Brendan gets a few fish and on the way we hear 'Got one!', and in comes his first fish, a flathead, from the yak. And what a monster, too. : ) At least he's on the board.

Using the sounder we troll right along the drop offs and I get a 'Narrabeen' bream before we hear Brendan again. 'Yes, much bigger!' he yells. Lachie and I go over just in time to see him swing a very nice bream aboard. 29 fork length and we finally have a keeper.

The flatties are still very scarce, as well as the bream. Water temp is 24 degrees so it's nice and warm for them. As we turn around and head back along the weedbed, Lachlan's rod bucks and the drag starts singing. His grin is like a Cheshire Cats and he's 'Oohing' and 'Aahing' as he tries to control the fish. 'This is HUGE, dad!' and up comes another keeper bream but it's only 26 to the fork. The reason for the big fight was because it was foul hooked in the side but it certainly gave Lachlan a big thrill.

Time to head back and I'm still fishless (small ones don't count according to Lachlan). Brendan is next to us and his rod whacks back and he's on again. Jammy git! Another bream and that's 3 for the morning, so it ended up ok in the end. Brendan is seriously looking at getting one of the Outbacks now so I guess that's another convert to the yakkin' world.

I take a quick snap at the ramp as the two 'beginners' ask the 'expert', "Where's your fish?" Cheeky swines, I should make them walk home... Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

ABT/Hobie Narrabeen Tournament & Oyster Bay - Nov 2009

Sorry, but last week was flat out at work (and still is), so here is a belated and brief report for the tournament. Saturday saw about 40 spreading out over the lake to catch their 3 bag. I had a great day for catching bream BUT none of them were legal. I landed 14 of the buggas with the biggest being 24 cms to the fork; 1 cm shy of going in the live well. Plus I landed 2 flatties and lost a monster about 70 cms. And I also landed two Long Toms, both about 3 feet long.

Sunday was seeming like a repeat with a multitude of small fish and wrong species coming in to say hello. The excitement of the day was hanging around with Greg L while he was hooked up to a massive Jewfish on 3lb line. I sat at the ready with my camera for 30 minutes until deciding this was gonna be a long battle and left him with Stewie standing guard seeing as I still needed to get a legal bream. Eventually (at 11:14 am to be precise) I got one! 26 cms fork and he fell to a Jackall Chubby worked slowly over the weed beds in the center of the lake.

This was followed by a few more flatties and another 24 cm bream (Aaarrrggghhhhh!!!) before time ran out and I had to head to the weigh in. I worked out the distance I travelled on Sunday and here is the path I took. All up, 18.62 kms and boy did I sleep well thet night.

A few guys had managed to find the bream and there were a few crackers, too. The best was a 1.1 kg specimen that really put my 360 g fish to shame. All I could manage was 12th place. However, I backed myself before the start of the event and upgraded to PRO status for $50. Only 6 of us took this option and seeing as I was the only one to land a legal bream, I walked away with the 300 buckeroos. Thank you very much indeed! Well done to the top 3, Matt, Jason and Dave.

Oh, and on Greg and his jewie. To the right is a picture mid-battle with Stewie standing on his Outback, trying to get a glimpse of colour. Greg was also competing in the comp in Queensland the following week and his kayak had to go on the truck to be transported there, so Stewart went back out in his kayak, they swapped mid-water and Stewart took it back to be loaded up. He then grabbed his surf board and a pair of goggles and paddled out to sit next to Greg. 'If you don't hurry up and land it,' he said, 'I'll dive down and gaff the bloody thing for you!'

By now a crowd had formed on the bank and a kind-hearted canoeist brought Greg a few beers to quench his thirst. 6 hours after hook up, the beast decided it'd had enough and bolted. Greg took chase but eventually....PING! The leader parted at the lure. So close yet so far but kudos to Greg for staying connected for that long on 3lb gear. And top marks to Stewie for staying around, too.

For results of the weekends comp, visit: http://bream.com.au/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=550&mode=&order=0&thold=0

For a heap of photos, visit http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/

Oyster Bay - 18/11/09

Now that the weather is a bit warmer, it was time to get Lachlan back out and into a few fish. Tides were perfect for Oyster Bay so we went after a few flatties. Fifteen minutes into the day and Lachlan hooks up. A good tussle and in comes keeper number one - a 27cm bream. We're trolling around a couple of different lures: a River 2 Sea Baby vib 45 and an Ecogear SX40.

Around we go and we cover a fair amount of ground but the fish are very scarce. Two small flatties and one more bream that's just under (it must've come from Narrabeen) and that's all we can rustle up. I was really surprised as I thought 3 or 4 flatties would've been on the cards for sure. Oh well, it was good to get the little guy out again and This summer will see him get his quota up into higher numbers for sure. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

SP's for Bream

Last week I covered the selection of Hard Bodies I'll be using during the ABT/Hobie Kayak Bream Tournament round at Narrabeen this coming weekend and as promised, here is a selection of Soft Plastics (SP's) that will get a swim sooner or later over the course of the two days. Again, these are my preference and by no means is it a be all and end all for what will work. On certain days some work, on other days they don't even raise a scale, so remember to mix it up to see what the fish are interested in at the time.

One of the most popular SP's at the moment is the 2" Gulp Shrimp and this can be really effective either rigged on a hidden-weight jighead and fished slowly above weedbeds or even 1/16th or 1/20th oz jighead and left to sink and hopped off the bottom. If there are big bream around, they love the 3" version.

For those early morning presentations on the flats or over weedbeds, the Lobbys or Squidgie Bugs rigged on a unweighted hook and slowly rolled back to the yak can result in some spectacular hookups. Hold the rod tip high and slowly swim the lure across the surface. The fluttering arms and tails fire up the bream so watch for the fish following and be alert at all times.

The Gulp Minnows and Sandworms are my favourites around structure such as bridges and pontoons. I buy the 6" Sandworms (they are also available in 2" and 4") and cut them in half and rig them as you'll see in the photo.

For more information regarding the tournament this weekend, visit http://www.bream.com.au/ or http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/ . There'll be a great turnout this weekend and it's still not too late to enter as you can sign up on the day. You can fish either day or both days and regardless of how many fish you catch, you'll have a great time and get to meet a whole bunch of like-minded yakkers and maybe learn a thing or two along the way.

ABT, Hobie and Sailing Scene (http://www.sailingscene.com.au/) will be putting on a BBQ after each days weigh-in and after the yaks are finished, the boaters (that will be fishing on the Hawkesbury) will be weighing in. It's guaranteed there'll be some crackin' fish caught, so even if you don't want to compete, come and watch the spectacle and see what all the hype and talk of the tournament fishing scene is about. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid