First off we hit the many scattered channel poles on the way to the racks and I picked up a small bream on a Green 7cm Gladiator Smash Bait. That was it though and yay, just as we made it to the racks, here comes the rain. It's not too torrential though so we push on and into the 'Gnarly Zone'. These places look so good, you just know there's going to be bream lurking about ready to tale your lures home with them.The water was slightly murky, so I switched to a Saku Jr in Banana Bone colour hoping the rattle-sound would get the breams attention and draw them in. It only took a minute or two to get my casting-eye in and I started landing the lure right next to the racks on the shady side figuring this will be the location where the fish will be taking shelter.
I had a few tentative bumps before I eventually landed number one for the day. Not a big guy (25 fork) and he had little chance with my 8lb braid and 10lb fluoro leader on my Daiwa Advantage reel with a locked-up drag. As he skipped across the surface I yelled out '1 nil!' to Andrew. I turned to see him get a hit but the hooks pulled straight away. Nyah nyah...This area doesn't have commercial oysters in it anymore but the amount of structure is amazing. This in turn attracts oyster, barnacle and weed growth, thus attracting the bait fish, prawns and crabs that are welcome additions to the menu for the feisty bream. Regular rack fishers know that there can be some serious 1 kg+ sized Bluenosed Bruisers and trying to extract them from their homes is no easy feat. Heavy lines and a no-give attitude is necessary and you have to be on your toes to get them out as soon as they hit your lure.
We continue along and just after I take a snap of Andrew with a rainbow showing where the pot of gold is, he get's another hit and again fails to hook up. So far, it's a good lesson he's teaching me and to rub it in, I land number two for the day. This guy is a bit better and he tries to make it back under the racks but I'm too quick and into the net he goes. He's a beautiful clean silver colour so has probably come in off the flats for something different. I bet he wishes he'd stayed on the flats now though. Onto the ruler and he's 28 fork length. Two for me, none for the 'Teacher'.
Times running out for me so I leave Andrew and he continues further into the racks. The tide is coming in now and is almost at the perfect stage where the water is just lapping at the base of the trays. In fact, it's too tempting and I duck back into the rows and decide to fish the last set of trays which is about 30 meters long.
First cast and I'm on. Woo hoo! Again it's not big (26 fork) but anything in the racks is great fun. This Saku is going great, so I flick it out again. CRUNCH! Another one, magic! This guy is 27 fork and I'm cursing the fact I have to head home. Third cast and I get two bumps but no hook up. Back out goes the lure and it's given a big whack. I pause the lure for a few seconds then give it a slight twitch. It gets another whack. This time I give it two quick twitches and that's obviously enough to fire up this bream and I'm on.
This definitely feels like a better fish and he dives under the rack. I push my rod into the water to keep the line away from the rails and crank him out into the open. He breaks for the adjacent set of racks so I swing my rod over to the other side and halt his progress. He's in the clear now and makes a few darting lunges but it's too late and I scoop him up. Lovely, he's just on 30 fork length and nice and fat. I'd be happy with three of these in a competition. And thus I finished my session in the racks and reluctantly left them biting. Ooh, that was hard to do... I couldn't see Andrew but I was sure he was smashin' them.
But no, he wasn't. He managed one and dropped another three or so. And that is so typical of how a day fishing can be. Next time, he'll probably kick my butt and I'll be the one cursing the lost fish. Either way, it was happy days and it was great to get a good breaming session under my belt before the next tournament.
Speaking of which, the next one I'm off to is the next round of the Gamakatsu Hobie Fishing Series down at St Georges Basin on the 3rd March. Check out the details on the Hobie site: www.hobiefishing.com.au or visit www.fishingcomps.com.au to pre-enter and save yourself some money and also get a good starting spot. I'm also pretty sure that David O'Toole from PaddlePedalsail ( www.paddlepedalsail.com.au ) will be manning a BBQ like he did at the Brisbane Waters round and if the snags are as good as they were up there, then they're worth the price of entry alone.
No reports from me this weekend as I have some friends from interstate staying with me and as comfy and stable as the Hobie Outback kayak is, we won't all fit on the one kayak. So stay tuned for the update of the St Georges Basin round after its run and won. Happy yakkin', everyone!
cheers,
Cid
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