Cooks River - mid-May 2012

I love it when a plan works out as it should. A midweek session, great tides (low at 10:55am) and magic weather and hopefully there'll be a big jewfish or two around.

It'd been a while since I'd hooked one of these silver beasts and I was itchin' to do battle. That big initial run, those ferocious head-shakes and the ensuing stubborn fight make these fish the king of the estuaries. I launched at 10am from a deserted boat ramp. The various bridges within the system were my targets and with a little luck I'd also pick up a couple of bream while travelling between them.

The first few bridges were fish-less but I managed a couple of average sized bream (about 28cm tip) on my 2" Atomic paddle tails rigged on HWS hooks. These kept my interest up but they weren't what I was after.

My tackle of choice for the jewfish was a Daiwa Advantage Rod and reel, spooled with 8lb braid and 10lb fluoro leader. The lure was a Squidgy 100mm slick-rig in black and gold.

As I approached the next bridge the current had virtually stopped. There were a few swirling eddies and the sounder showed a depth of 3.9 meters. Perfect. I started with the middle pylons, casting to the bases and letting the lure sink down until it settled on the bottom. I'd then give it a big double-hop and as it fell I kept the line taught to feel for any bites or 'ticks' that may indicate it being picked up.

Fourth cast, third hop and it's hit hard. Oh yes, this is what I was after. There were immediate head shakes and then a powerful run that thankfully went out into open water and away from those line-shredding concrete pylons. It peeled off 20 meters of line, there was another series of head shakes and again there was another 20 meter run. I could tell it was a good fish (duh?), but would it crack that magical meter mark? My best to date was 84 cms, so I at least hoped it would beat that.


The fish slugged it out near the bottom and started circling me anti-clockwise. I think this is where the Mirage drive really comes into it's own when you're fighting a big fish. I was able to keep maneuvering myself away from the fish to get different angles of pull on it and and in doing so could dictate which way it ran and thus keep it away from the bridge and out in the open.

This slug-fest went on for about 8 minutes and the last few runs were only of 5 meters or so. Eventually she planed up from the bottom (ooooh, will she go a meter???) and rolled on her side next to the yak, beaten but still glowing in those magical purple/silver hues they are so well known for. I carefully lifted her into the yak and headed for shore so I could get her on the brag mat. As I made my way in, Andrew called to see how I was going? "I'll call in 10 minutes", I said! : )

Oh man, wouldn't you know it? There was not one person around that could take a photo of me with her. So onto the mat she went and no, she's not a meter but it's still pretty close. 91.5 cm and that a new PB for me. I slip her back into the drink and swim her about to refresh her. Eventually she started clamping down on my hand and I just manage to get one last photo before she zooms outta sight. Beautiful!

There were no more jewfish after that but I managed to get what I came out for which isn't always the case, especially when chasing these elusive big predators. Now it's time to ring a few fellow yakkers and start the bragging. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Oyster Bay with Danielle - 6th May 2012

Earlier this month Lachlan was staying at a friends place for the night so I took the opportunity to smuggle Danielle onto the kayak seeing as it's been awhile since she's been out with me. She was so excited, the night before she was saying, 'Early to bed, Daddy. We're going fishing in the morning!'.

And thankfully it wasn't too cold either. We had the ramp to ourselves and conditions were excellent. We started trolling a Chubby and a Babyvib while we watched the mullet jumping sporadically around the bay. Last time she managed a good flathead, so our goal today was to catch her her first bream.

Things were surprisingly quiet and we even had a short stint at flicking a surface lure under overhanging trees. I was hoping for a big surface smash but alas, no luck there. Finally though, the rod bucked and with a 'Ooh' and wide eyes, she was on!

This wasn't a big fish but she loved it just the same. I repeated the words I'd mentioned to Lachlan when he was learning. "Rod up, a little more, no, not that much, point it towards the fish, keep winding. Well done, that's it...'. And yes, it was a bream. Not legal but who cares when you're just out having fun. We had a quick photo and she dropped the little guy back into the water for another time.

We continued around the bay, eating a few chocolate biscuits, talking about fish and ballet and let's not tell Lachlan and 'Ooh, are there sharks in here? What about crocodiles?' Our laughter was interrupted by the singing of the drag as a better fish raced off with the Chubby.

Lots of funny faces were pulled as Danielle struggled to wind this 'huge' fish in. I saw the silver flash and this bream was soon in the net, too. Yay! This one was legal (about 27 tip length) but we weren't out for a feed today, so this guy won his freedom, too.

The time literally flew by and before we knew it we had to head back in. There was still time for another first for Danielle though, and although the drag didn't sing or the rod bend too much, she landed her first tailor. 'See ya fishy!' we yelled as he shot off into the depths and we continued back to the ramp.

Another fantastic day and I love being able to share these experiences and teach my children a wonderful pastime that hopefully they'll treasure as much as I do. Our time is all too brief on this planet so you've gotta squeeze every last drop out of it while you can. These memories will last a lifetime for me and I'm pretty sure Lachlan and Danielle will cherish these times too. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Botany Bay in April

Phone calls made, locations discussed and a launch site decided. We're off to Towra! Larry, Andrew, Stewart and myself met at the western end of Silver Beach at Kurnell and launched from the boat ramp. Conditions were great but the swell created a nasty shore break that would be tricky coming back in.

Neither of us had been here for over a month, so it'd be interesting to see if a few kings were over the flats, or maybe even a school of bonito, but with me in tow, it was unlikely any bonito would show up within coo-ee. We were pretty confident there'd be a few big bream about as the tides were good for some action over the weed beds.

I started off with some surface lures and soon switched to un-weighted SP's. Not even a touch. I slow rolled a Chubby mid-diver and couldn't even raise a pike. The other boys had moved out into deeper water (2.5-3.5 meters) and on approach I could see Andrew hooked up. In comes a trevally and over his shoulder I can see Stewart hooked up, too. His is also a trevally and it's not too long before we all get involved.

I rig up with an Atomic 3" paddle tail (flecked motor oil with a chartreuse tail) on a 1/24th jighead and get monstered on the first cast. That happens sometimes with 2lb leader. On goes anotrher one and this time I keep it under control and bring in my first treva of the day. As I slip mine into the live well, I can see Larry is on for his first, too.

The next hour saw us all land fish, with multiple hook ups a common thing. Andrew was the standout today though and landed over a dozen cracking fish. Stewart did see one king but couldn't tempt him and Larry was the only one that could get a bream into the kayak. Still, when the trevally are on, it's a great session. I left the fish still biting and the boys went back the next day and although not as many fish were caught, the size was noticably bigger.

A week later, Stewart and I gave the HWO a try. It's been very lack-lustre at this spot lately and we weren't that confident of getting much there, in fact it was really the Drums in the middle of the Bay we were going to have a crack at for kings. Still it's always worth a throw and the first casts with our Waxwings saw us both hook up. Woohooo! The tailor are here and they were a good size, too. At between 45-50 cms, they had a bit of grunt and we probably landed a dozen each before we decided to continue out to the Drums. Of course, we lost a good deal more as they jumped and threw our hooks and the main reason we moved on was because a bigger specimen had taken my waxwing as a souvenier. It's hard to leave when they're biting like this, but we had bigger fish to fry, so to speak!

But as our luck would have it, as we neared the Drums, the tugs moved in with a tanker and that was our chance gone. 'Back to see if the tailor are still there?' said Stewart. Why not?

Fifty meters away Stewarts sounder lights up and he reckons they're bream, so he stops to drop a blade down. I continue and have now rigged up an old blue/silver metal slug that's been laying in my tackle box for years. Out she goes into the middle of the churning water. A few cranks of the handle and it's hit. "The tailor are still here,' I yell back to Stewie and then all of a sudden, things change. The spool starts singing and I quickly realise that this isn't a tailor!

It makes a 50 meter run towards the beach and I think 'Thank God it didn't head towards the oil jetty.' But this fish can read my mind and on cue, takes a left and races off again. I'm chasing it now and there is considerable weight on the other end of my line. I'm only using 10lb leader and can't put too much pressure on it. More tug of war between us and then another 30 meter run before I stop it again.

Now we're only 20 meters from the jetty and I decided to try the gently-gently approach. Sometimes with Kings, if you just keep gentle pressure on them, you can guide them with you. I start to move away and 'YES', it's following me. And it did for 5 meters before it decides that enough is enough and it does a screaming run to the jetty and ping!, it's all over. Ooh, that was a big fish, easily the biggest king I've hooked (my best to date is 89cms). In fact, I don't think he was even that troubled by me. If only I'd hooked him on the heavier gear. Ah well, that's fishin'.

From there we headed into the shallows and picked a a few bream and trevally on a range of HB's and SP's. I landed one good bream of 38cms on a Saku lure and after a quick photo, back he went. The next report I put up will be on the Squidgy Shoalhaven round that was on the other week. You know that weekend, it was the one when the southerly blew all sunday while we were out trying to fish the racks. LOL Happy fishin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Breamin' with Tezza - 25/4/2012

As promised, here is the report from Terry. I'll follow this one up with a report on the couple of times I mad it out onto Botany Bay with Stewart, Andrew and Larry when we struck gold with the trevally and Tailor.

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve done some serious bream spinning, so I organised with a mate to hit the Parramatta River on Good Friday in our yaks.

We met up in the car park at 5:30am, discussing our plan of attack on where to hit some spots. We slid the yaks into the water, as the tide was still rising to a 1.7mtr, we both started off with surface lures, hoping for some surface action, trying to tempt a bream or two to take our offerings. For me there was no interest, while my mate Jeff had a little interest, but they were only small fish, so I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

We moved on. Jeff fished with plastics, & I fished the rock walls with hard-bodies. We did this for ½ hour, still for no hits or bumps. I had two rods rigged with divers & each one was getting worked for nuthin’!

2 hours on the water and we still had zippo. I suggested we move to the main part of the river, as by this time the tide had turned around and still not too many stink boats were about. Off we headed to a particular spot I knew and we worked the rocky point that has plenty of barnacles over the rocks.  I was hoping that the bream would be there feeding and not long after arrival, my lure was smashed as the tip of the rod loaded towards the water. It felt solid as it headed for cover, but with a bit of rod work I steered him into the net and what a relief that was.

 Jeff was yet to catch his first bream, though he was getting some cracking whiting on his Atomic Hardz. Some fish were measuring 45cm which he was very amazed with, but luckily I was there to show Jeff what we were really after as whiting wasn’t our target species.

We kept at it, getting a few bream just under the legal limit, which kept us interested. Slowly we moved along the rock wall casting our lures.  Soon I was on again, for fish number 2; the signs were now looking good for us to get a bag of 5 in the well and possibly an upgrade or two.

 The next cast I led another chunky solid fish into the net. At this time of year the bream feed up ready for winter & some of these fish were of high quality.

The blood was pumping and I had a great feeling about this spot, that I would get my bag within a few casts and sure enough, I’m on again the very next cast: it was a hat-trick!

 

Now if it was a comp you’d be struggling to turn a reel, I think the bream know these days LOL. Jeff couldn’t believe how I got that many bream in so many casts & upgrade in between. Never mind Jeff there is always next time, maybe those Easter eggs you gave me gave me good luck.

There's some crackin' fish amongst those, Terry. Just catch them during a comp next time, eh? Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Bassin' with Tezza - April 2012

While I haven't been getting out too much, Terry has been getting into the natives with his usual gusto. Here is his latest report, and this one will be followed with a report on a Breaming session that Terry had on the Parramatta River.

In the last fast weeks that's gone by, we 've had some descent rain falls, bringing the river levels up, making it fairly unfishable .

With levels at 6 metres flowing strong, it was dragging out old cars, alligator weed, up rooting trees, collapsing banks, etc. It was going to take sometime for the river to settle completely but when conditions seemed OK, I ventured out.

On this two day trip I planned to investigate the river, to see how much it had changed, but hoping that the bass would be still there & didn’t catch a free ride to head down river to spawn in the salt.

I had got my father in-law to drop me off at a particular spot bright & early, as I was planning on heading down stream for the day with him kindly picking me up in the afternoon.

I set of with the current, as the water still had plenty of flow. The water looked really good, but let me tell ya, the river had changed dramatically and I was hoping there would still be snags for me to fish.

I kept my fishing gear simple for the day: I packed light with 2 rods and I rigged 1 with a hard body & the other with a Betts spin.

I flicked around for awhile for a few little hits & bumps, trying different lures as I went. It was going to be one of those days, I thought. I continued being fish less, casting lures into those sneaky pockets & snags, honing my casting skills to be more accurate. I thought that's what its going to be, casting practice all day.

I was a fair way down river, by this time and I finally had a big hit & the line was swimming across the yak, It felt like a good fish, tho' even small bass can fight just as hard as a big one. “Where do they get all the power from”, I thought but soon it was in the landing net looking in really good condition without any scars or bruising. I didn’t give it a measure, but a happy snap did me fine , a descent fish was released & I was on the board. I was hoping that from this point on there would be more.

These bass do very well to fight the floods & not get any marks or bruising, they hide in deep pockets of the river. It's amazing that any can remain at all after seeing what the floods were like.

I was on a high after that 1^st fish, and the next cast into the bank, as the lure was falling into the depths, I waited a few seconds before I retrieved the lure.  It felt like the knot had come undone, there was nothing there. ‘WHAT HAPPENED HERE ‘ I thought as I wound in & the line went straight under the yak , "Oh hang on, I’m on!" Wow this fish didn’t waste anytime at all, being 15 metres away from the bank, this fish went like lightening & into the middle of the river .The yak was getting towed around as the fish was fighting for freedom. As I slid it into the net I thought "where is my lure?" WOW !!!! it was down its gob, it was smashed .

The only down fall was not putting the fish into too much stress , trying to get the lure out of its mouth but luckily I was using the Betts at the time .

I approached  a very narrow section with plenty of water flowing through it with timber all over the place. I cast into a back eddy  and WHAMO, I was on again, no mucking around now, as it can run for cover very quickly & its all over in a blink of an eye, but with a few awkward moments, it was in the net . These fish were quality & I was surprised to see them in numbers and I continued to get plenty more. Normally at this time of year when the river has been flowing they start making their way down river for spawning.

Day2   I started where I had left off from day 1, it was crazy! Every 5-7 casts I had a bass, it doesn’t get any better than that.

I had lost count by mid morning on how many I caught. Though as the day went on it was slowing down making things just a little tough. Most of the fish were averaging the same size. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t crack a 400mm. That would of put the icing on the cake .

It was  a great 2 day adventure I had with plenty to see & lots of fish caught. Hopefully next season the weather will be a bit kinder to us .

Thanks again for the report, Terry. At least someone has been getting out regularly. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid