WSBB Bream Scramble - 16/6/13

Ooh, these mornings are pretty chilly now, but with lots of layers on, I was ready for whatever the day could throw at me. 32 boats were ready for battle and after a bacon and egg roll for breakfast, we were all keen to get underway. Gary and I were number 30 and we set off for our destination at the mouth of the Lane Cove River. The plan was to start off in the deep water until the tide started to push back in, then we'd head up Lane Cove River and fish the boat hulls. The bream for this event have to be 25 fork length and it's your best five fish.

Gary was starting off with a Blade so I opted for a 1/8th jig head and a Bait Breath 3.5" FishCurly in green. The heavy jig head was so I could get to the bottom seeing as we were fishing in 10m of water. Gary was first into a fish but he calls it for a flathead straight away. At 60 cms it was a good one too, but it's useless for us today, so back he went.

I'm next to hook up and it's also a good fish but the telltale pulsing of the rod tip signals that it's a trevally. Aaaarrgghh. Come on! We bump into Dave Tosland and he has two in the well already. I get a massive hit on the Fishcurly but no hook up. I wind in to find the plastic has been bitten in half, just behind the hook. Bummer. I re-rig and turn when I hear Garys drag squealing. 'Yes,' I say, but no, it's another trevally. About 50 cms so it's another great fish but the wrong species.

We motor back up and start another drift. I decide to change to a Gladiator Runner Blade in black and this gets a hit straight away. This feels better, definitely not a flathead or a trevally and yeehah, it's a bream. 27 fork length and he's our first one in the well. That's the donut-monkey of my back and after last year when I didn't land a single one, it was a huge sigh of relief.

Five minutes later and I'm on again and it's another 27 cm fork bream. Two! From me! Egads. And blow me down, it's only a few minutes later when I get number 3, this one slightly bigger at 28 fork. Gary has fainted so I revive him and tell him he can catch one now.

Back we go for another crack at them and it's my turn for a flathead. Then I get a bream but he's just under legal. We can see Dave and he's hooked up to something good. But it's another big trevva so there's no joy for him. Gary is next cab off the rank and this one feels right. Up she comes and she's nice and fat and at 32 fork she's our best yet. Then whack, he's on again and this one is 30 fork. Woohoo. That's our bag, so now its time to upgrade. But the bite goes quiet so we decide to venture up river.

We start working the boat hulls and I change to a Bait Breath Fishtail Shad. First boat I get a bream but he's no upgrade so he's sent on his way. I get another one (maybe it's the same one!) so he's returned also. We mooch around working different depths but we can't find any upgrades so we decide to go back to the deeper water.

This started off as a good move because Gary immediately gets us another 30 forker. I'm guesstimating we have about 2.5-2.7 kgs. We need that kicker fish. I'm back to the Runner Blade when it's belted! "Oh yes, this is it," I say. Nice strong runs and I back the drag off slightly to ensure I don't get busted off. We're peering over the side and see a flash of silver before it darts under the boat. I push the rod tip under water to keep the line clear and ease her out and NOOOOOOOO! It's a 40cm whiting! Our hopes dashed, we figure it's about time to start heading back.

There were no more fish for us and we weighed in for 2.708 kgs. Andrew was fishing this with one of his mates, Graeme, and they'd had an awesome day. Andrew snaffled the big bream with this 1.267 kg beauty and their total weight went 3.204 kgs. This fish anchored their bag and they took out 4th place, so well done guys.

Without that kicker fish, all Gary and I could manage was 9th place, but at least we cracked the top 10. And more importantly, I contributed to our bag this year! Yay! Top place went to Team Gamakatsu/Samurai Rods with 4.288 kgs, a fantastic bag and they took it out by over 800 grams.

So another superbly run event by Western Sydney Bream and Bass and I wish they did one in the summer as well. Without a doubt, Gary and I will be back next year for another tilt at the title. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid