Nepean - 20/12/09

It's been a long time but I finally made it out for a bassin' session with Mick Munns from Lure Logic Tournament Tackle. We launched from Tench Reserve at 5:15am into the gloom and very slight drizzle, hoping the bass would be willing to play.

I had rigged up with my favourite bass lure, one of Micks Micro Rack Rats with the rubber legs, that is all battered and bruised from previous surface hits from these bronze battlers. Mick is fifty meters ahead and has already landed a small tacker. I leap-frog him and miss my first two boofs before I hook a good fish. He dives straight down into the weed and buries me. I move in and lift the line slowly but as I thought, he's gone.

Lots of little guys are trying to hit the lure even out in the open but it's a cast right next to a semi-submerged log that gets a good hit. I'm quicker this time and keep him up out of the weed and in comes the first bass (29 cms) for the season (yeah, yeah, I know, it's a bit late...).

Mick has moved over to the other side of the river and is swoffing away with the fly wand. I hear him yell out "Good fish!" so I quickly set off to see what all the fuss is about. 30 meters away I pull out the video camera just in time to see him haul in a monster! Lots of yahoos and on the lie detector she goes. 44 cms and she's absoultely gorgeous and in prime condition. We take a few happy snaps and quickly get her back into the water where she gives a few hard tail beats and shoots back to her lair.

Mick had pulled her out from under some overhanging branches. He'd rolled his black & purple Bass Hopper fly right under it with his 3 wgt flyrod and given it a few twitches when all hell broke loose. First she came out, then darted back in, then back out and into the weeds, then back under the trees again before Mick could tame her. What a catch!

We continued moving downstream and enjoyed a great couple of hours taking fish off the surface. My best for the day was a 33 cm fish that came with its own salad supply. I really thought it'd buried me like the other fish had done earlier but luckily some quick rod work managed to extract her from her hidey hole.

This bassin' is such great fun and I can't wait to get back out and have another crack at these fish. The surface smashes and close quarters combat is so exciting. And hooking a fish like Micks is simply superb. My best is 40 cms, so I've got a bit of work to do to catch up to him, especially seeing as his best from the Nepean is over 56 cms!

And just in case I don't get another post in over the next day or two, thank you all for supporting Adam and I and our DVD and website and may you all have a safe and merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

ABT/Hobie Redcliffe Tournament - 12th - 13th Dec 2009

OMG!!! Worst. Tournament. Ever...

For me, that is! As per usual, Hobie and ABT lived up to their excellent reputation and showcased another professional tournament that combined with the good naturedness of kayaking to provide a fun and informative weekend for all. Including those that didn't catch fish.

Saturday greeted us with 20-25 knot winds and a surf launch which proved a bit wet for some. I'd never fished here before and had a choice of north to the reefs or south (to more reefs). I chose south and dropped a good fish only 10 minutes into the comp. Little did I know it, but I could've packed up and gone home then. I made it all the way down to Redcliffe and back, battling wind and some pretty wild swell for absolutely zip! Nuthin', nadda, zilcho. In fact, I not only didn't land a bream, I didn't land anything. Not even a small flattie.

Ooh, I was so frustrated. Heading back north at about 10:45 am, a wave picks me up and as I look down I see a large rock with my name written all over it. "Hmmm, not good," I think. "But wait, I think I'll make it!" Well, I almost made it. Crunch!!! The only part to hit was my rudder but that was enough to sheer off the pin that holds it in place. Now my kayak is swirling around and it's out with the paddle. I look at it for a minute thinking "How do you use one of these?" before I get into gear and head into shore.

As the others head back in, it's apparent that whoever went north had a pretty good day. Lots of tales of unstoppable fish but no really big bags which is quite surprising. After the wash up, it's the ever consistent Greg Lewis that's on the top of the table with 1.72 kgs. He's a breamin' machine and could catch one in a rain puddle, I reckon. Another regular that always manages to get fish that are just undersize is Steve Fields from Hobie, but today he has flung the donut monkey off his back and also bagged out.

Sunday is the opposite of saturday and we are greeted with almost glassy conditions. North I go with about half the fleet and start peppering the numerous reefs with HB's. I see a few yakkers hook up but no bream are coming over the sides.

I finally take up position next to a reef and decide SP's may be worth a shot and rig up a 100mm Squidgy Wriggler (Avocado) smeared with S-factor. Another angler pulls up about 30 meters away and we exchange hellos and general banter. I hear a reel sing and turn to see his rod bucking under the strain of a good fish. In comes a crackin' bream. 10 minutes later, he's on again and it's another beauty.

I'm thinking "I must be next," when he lets out a yeehah! Three fish in 25 minutes and he's off to weigh them in. I stay in the area but don't even get a touch. Please insert a dozen swear words here.

I'm starting to wonder if there are any fish at all around here when I finally, FINALLY hook

something. Not a bloody bream but a Moses Perch. That's a new species for me but I'd much prefer a bream. More casting and I get a flathead. Aaarggghhhh. Come on! It's bloody hot, the wind is starting to pick up and I still don't have a bream to my name.

I keep on casting and try numerous lures hoping to hit on a type and colour that will work. I try slow retrieves, fast retrieves, twitch retrieves, 'crank 'em down and bump the bottom' retrieves, surface lures with poppers and walk-the-dog style lures, floaters, sinkers, suspending and the whole kit and caboodle of SP's in my arsenal.

I do manage a small Rock Cod and another Moses Perch but these are all I can muster from the northern reefs. I head back towards the launch beach and decided to target the small reefs just out from it. The wind is pushing the waves and it's washing over the back of the rocks, so I settle in behind them figuring any fish will be searching for bits and pieces washed off into the white

water. I rig up with a gulp 2" shrimp (peppered) and stay put. I stick it out for the next hour and get busted up by two HUGE fish that I didn't even see and drop what would've been a 30cm fork bream.

With my tail between my legs, I mope into shore, utterly defeated by Redcliffe. Not one

bream (not even a tiddler) did I land all weekend. Frustrating.

And then to top it all off, the guy, Nicholas Meredith, who caught the 3 bream next to me ended up winning with 1.92 kgs (well done Nicholas). And what did he catch them on? A 100mm Squidgy Wriggler in bloodworm. Obviously the bream don't like avocado, eh? Greg Lewis held onto 2nd place with 1.72 kgs and 3rd was taken by Will Lee with 1.46 kgs.

It was great to see some of the top guns of the sport, Tristan Taylor and Darren 'Dizzy' Borg, getting in a yak and refining their techniques to temp the bream and hopefully in future tournaments we'll see a lot more of these top anglers joining our ranks. I've already thrown the gauntlet down to Steve Morgan and he's promised that soon, he'll jump in one and give it a go, too.

This weekend I might give the bream a miss and chase bass instead...Bloody bream... Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Botany Bay and Oyster Bay

Get your Orders in!

You have just over a week left to get your orders in for the Kayak Fishing Sydney DVD to gain entry into out giveaway. Place your order through our website by COB on the Friday 18th December to have a chance at winning one of our 10 prize packs.

The photo shows a selection of the items we have to giveaway and include rods, reels, hats, hard body lures, soft plastics, jigheads, braid scissors, rod covers, tackle boxes and shirts. The 10 winners will be randomly drawn and will be announced on the website and contacted by email.

Botany Bay

Terry set off from Kurnell last week and left the lures at home and decided to chase some fish with good ol' bait. He anchored up and started off a berley trail and rigged up with nippers to get a great haul of bream and trevally. Mixed in were a couple of undersize flathead and whiting so it was a pretty good session that he had out there.

CJ gets the goods...

Another report I had was from CJ, a regular reader of the reports and who recently purchased

the DVD and fired Adam and I off a few questions on the best way of catching his first king. So he watched the DVD, followed our advice and managed to catch a couple of beauties from Botany Bay.

CJ has really put in the time and effort and was amply rewarded. These two fell to the Mojo lures that we use in the DVD. I'm sure he'll rack up some big numbers now, in fact, I might have to get him to give me a lesson or two. Well done, CJ. I'll keep an eye out for you when I'm out on the Bay next.

Oyster Bay Bream ... but just one!

I had a quick one hour practice breamin' session last week and found it pretty quiet. It was the middle of the day however, so I wasn't expecting too much to be on offer. I did manage to get one cracker though, which nearly had me wrapped around the jetty I pulled it out from. He (or she) fell to a camo Sandworm on a 1/20th jighead. A couple of these would be nice in the next ABT/Hobie tournament.

Speaking of which, the next round is on this weekend at Redcliffe in sunny Queensland. You can enter on the day and fish either the saturday OR the sunday or both if you wish, but only your best bag will count. For further details, visit http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/ or http://www.bream.com.au/ .

If you're after a yak or extra gear in Qld, the place to visit is Sunstate Hobie. Mal Grey (07 5447 6317) is the boss and he has all the answers (although he wouldn't tell me where the good spots are at Redcliffe). http://www.sunstatehobie.com.au/ has all the info on hobie yaks and accessories.

Time to pray to the Bream Gods... Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid