Brisbane Waters - 18/1/08

Well, no kayaking for me for the last 2 weeks but I did manage to fish one of the Squidgy Bream Challenges up on Brisbane Waters with Gary Brown last weekend. Gary and I had both only fished there once before so we took some advice from a good mate who pointed us in the direction of some weedy sand flats and assured us we'd get stuck into the bream as the tide fell.

Upon arrival, we could see another 3 boats working the area. We gave them plenty of room and starting working various SP's and surface lures, including a new one for me, a Towadi (and yeah, yeah, for you experienced guys, I know they've been around for ages...). Only about 10 minutes into the fishing I land my first. "Aaaarrgghh!" 24cm's to the fork...bummer, as it has to be 25cm's, so back it goes. Soon after, I get another: 23cm's this time. Both were legal fish as far as the fisheries are concerned but they're no good for these comps.

Gary finally lands one that is 25cm's on the button, so YAY!, we're up and running. I pick up another one that's just under but this time it was on the Towadi, so at least I've christened the new lure. I change to a Gulp 3" Minnow in mouldy cheese colour rigged on a resin jighead and first cast at a post in the middle of a weed patch and WHAMO, it's snaffled straight away. This feels much better and he's a shoe-in at 29cm's. That's two in the well and it's only 10am. The bite went a bit quiet after that so we decided to leave the flats for the other boats and try somewhere else.

While motoring around we passed a nice little lagoon running off into deeper water and I flicked a camo sandworm into the current. I watched the line and it started moving against the current, which I thought was a bit unusual, so I struck and I'm into what feels like another keeper. And he would've been except for the fact he was a whiting. And a cracker at that, too. A real elbow slapper, he just snuck over the 42cm mark and he beat my previous PB whiting by 3 cm's. It's a lucky day for him though, and I ease him back into the water, thinking he looks more like a Bonefish than a whiting.

And that was about it for Gary and me. We landed the usual assortment of by-catch (flathead, tailor, flounder) and lost a few good bream, but we were never really in the running to take out the comp. To rub salt into the wounds, the guys that won the day were one of the boats working the same flats as us. They just hung around a bit longer and finally the bream went on the chew and they bagged out with their best 5 fish weighing in at 2.9kg's. Good on 'em, I say. We'll beat them next time though. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Nepean River - 6/1/08 & Sylvania Waters - 8/1/08

Well it's been a couple of months but I finally managed to get out bassin'! Terry and I launched into the darkness at 4:30am (I know, what a bloody stupid time to be on the water!) and paddled, YES, PADDLED a few km's to get to the good spots well away from where the crowds usually haunt. Paddling was the way to go due to there being lots of weed about and Hobie Mirage Drives don't go too well in that stuff. And I'll tell you what, man, were my shoulders and back aching a bit the next day...

Just as it was getting light, we started flicking surface lures around. terry had a couple of hits but no hook ups. I decided to change to one of my EastCoast spinners to see if some were down deep. From behind me a hear a 'BOOF' followed quickly by 'I'm on!'. I decided to wind in and go take a photo when crunch, I'm on too! Double hook-up, way to go! No problems for me as this guy is a few meters away from cover and I keep him out of harms way. 35cm's he goes and Terry lands his which could've been the twin of mine.

The morning was simply beautiful and the bellbirds and kookaburras sang to us through the light showers that kept us nice and cool. Terry was the champion today and landed another 4 beauties, the best going 37cm's. All I managed were some spectacular surface strikes that sprayed water everywhere but failed to connect. Who's complaining though when you get to fish in such beautiful surrounds. We didn't see another soul for the 4 hours we were out and it really pays to put the miles in to to get to the secluded and productive areas.

Monday was my last day of my holidays so I just HAD to get out for a fish. The wind was blowing about 15-17 knots so I set off to Sylvania Waters where I know I can get out of the wind within the canals. The fish certainly weren't thick but I did manage a nice mixed bag of 3 bream, 1 whiting and a PB flounder (from the yak) of 29cm's. All the fish were caught from under pontoons and jetties on various SP's: Gulp 2" Sandworm (Camo), 3" Minnow (Limetiger) and 3" Minnow (Mouldy Cheese). I also worked the moored boat hulls over and never even had a touch.

I'm hoping the water in the Bay will clear up a bit which should see the Kings come back in and start lurking around their usual spots. Maybe this weekend I'll get that 1 meter monster! Happy yakkin, everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Yarra Bay & Molineux Point - 28/12/07

Well I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and are looking forward to a safe and prosperous new Year. I've been flat out lately so I'll keep this report short and sweet and let the photos do the talking.

Last week I continued my assault on the HWO, but this time was accompanied by Terry who was keen to get a king or two after returning from a successful month bike racing in Europe. I was first to hook-up and guess what...? 63cm's! I reckon its' the same kingfish that's stalking me! Terry then landed a 55cm kingie and followed up with a 64cm bandit that looked big enough but just didn't make the grade.

My next trip there I got stuck into some nice tailor up to 45cm's but there were no kings about that day. I picked up a few cracker bream on the way back on Gulp 3" Minnows in Mouldy Cheese colour and I was surprised to see the colour difference in the two largest - one was the normal silvery colour caught around here but the other had a real golden tinge to him. I'd say he's come down from the upper reaches of the Georges or Cooks to get ready for the spawning season. You can see the big difference in the two fish in the photo and they were caught only about 10 meters apart from each other.

Terry had been out on the Bay yesterday and cleaned up on Aussie Salmon so we launched from La Perouse at 5am and ventured straight over to Yarra Bay where all the action had been. It was a picture perfect morning and there were hundreds of seagulls sitting around on the water waiting for things to fire up. Unfortunately, they didn't though! Not one bust up all day did we see and although we trolled nearly the whole 4 hours we were out, we didn't get one hit.

Molineux Point was jam packed so we ventured around a bit more to the port and decided to flick a few Mojo's at the Channel Markers. First marker and I skip the lure across the surface. Nothing. Ok, this time I'll let it sink. 2 meters or so down and the line goes tight so I lift the rod and YEEHAH, I'm on. I'm oh so close to the pole so I don't go hard and I slowly lead him out into the open water. When I feel I'm a safe distance out, I get stuck into him. ZZZzzzzzzzzz....oh Jasus, I hope he stops! He was heading straight back to the pole but I pulled him with up with about 5 meters spare (phew, that was close). He slugged it out down deep most of the time and when I got first colour I just knew I'd bagged my first legal for the summer.

67cm's on the tape (about bloody time, too) and as homage to the Kingfish God's, I set him free to fight another day. Terry and I had a couple of more hits at various markers but that one kingie was the only fish we saw this morning. At least I have that 63cm monkey off my back now. : )

Adam and I would like to thank all our regular visitors to the Kayak Fishing Sydney site for a very successful year. We have had visitors from over 30 countries in the last 12 months and we hope you'll continue to visit us over the next year as well. The DVD is in the editing stage and slowly but surely it's all coming together. Work has been a bit of a killer for me the last 6 months which has meant I haven't been able to dedicate as much time as I'd like to the DVD but we'll get there eventually. Thanks for your patience. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Botany Bay - 13/12/07

As many will know, the legal size for Kingfish was increased this year from 60cm's to 65cm's. This will mean a lot of fish will be going back into the drink that would have been going straight onto the barbie last year. And I know that I'm putting my fair share back because the only ones I've caught so far the last few trips have been just under.

Last thursday I had a late start and planned to fish the flats over near Towra for bream but the supposed 8-9 knot winds were more like 15-20! It was a grey day and I figured I'd give the HWO a whirl instead. There was already a boat anchored just off from it and they were casting a variety of baits and also slowly retrieving a gang-hook rigged garfish. I approached from the opposite side and proceeded to lob out my Mojo's. The tide was about an hour away from top so I felt the conditions were pretty good.


Ooh, what was that??? I had a hit but the hooks didn't stick. That put me back on my toes so to speak and the next cast there's a 'whack, whack' and the rod bends under the weight of a nice fish. The guys in the boat are watching as my line zips back and forth. It's obviously a kingie and we dance around each other for a few minutes until I lift him aboard. And hello, what's this? Hanging out of his mouth is a one meter trace with a swivel on the end so I unhook my lure and have a look down his throat. The fella is gut hooked so I just cut the line as far down as I can. Onto the tape and 'Aaaargh', he's 62cm's. For a previously hooked fish, he was in great condition and he powered off when I set him free. So if anyone was busted up last week that was using about a 25lb trace, don't worry, it wasn't a legal fish anyway. : )

Back to the HWO and I change to a Bass Assassin for something different. The guys in the boat haven't landed anything yet and they looked pretty cheesed off when my rod buckles over for the 2nd time. This guy takes a nice long run and I'm calling it for a 70cm specimen. When I finally bring him alongside, I'm shocked at his size (or lack of it) and he only stretches out to 63cm's. Man he went hard! He's in top condition too and another one (sheesh) is returned to the old briney.

The boat has had enough by now and they haul anchor and do the Russian Ballet. The wind is picking up a bit so I decide on 10 more casts and then I'll call it a day. On about cast number 6 there's a 'tug, tug, tug' as my lure nears the surface and then the smallest kingie I've ever seen almost leaps out of the water to get the SP. No real challenge here and as I lift him in I notice he has a mark on his side where he's been grabbed by something a bit bigger than him at some earlier stage. At least he managed to escape relatively unharmed and at 45cm's he's waaaaaay under legal. Maybe next year, buddy, maybe next year.

So not a bad couple of hours and I think the HWO is showing some sort of pattern to me. If it's dead calm without a breath of wind, I never seem to catch anything there but if it's blowing it's t!ts off with lots of surface chop, I normally pick up one or three. The overcast conditions and the tide phase would've helped also but I'll start to keep track of the wind conditions a little bit better from now on. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Georges River - 25/11/07 & 9/12/07

Kayak fishing has taken a backseat the last couple of weeks due to a few bream tournaments that have been and gone. The first was the squidgy Bream challenge where I joined up with Gary Brown as Team Pflueger. These team-event tournaments have a 5 bag limit of bream with a minimum 25cm fork length and you have 7 hours to catch your bag.

Gary and I hit a lot of our favourite spots and we caught a heap of bream, the only problem was that they were JUST short of the min length! It was sooooooo frustrating, catching a 26-27cm fish and tossing it back because it is 24.5 cm's fork length. We managed a bag of 3 fish that went 1.268kg's and we knew that it wouldn't be good enough. Out of 33 boats we came in at 17th. The best fish of the day went to Gary with his 35cm whiting, pictured above.

Of course, some teams hit pay-dirt big time and the winning bag weighed 4.88kg's. These were caught on the flats around Towra Point, working the edges of weedbeds with SP's as the tide dropped. But the fish of the day went to Chopper (g'day Bill!) with a monster that pulled the scales down to 1.618kg's. It was a horse and is easily the biggest bream I have ever seen in the flesh!

To ease the pain, I had a quick flick mid-week down at Oyster Bay and figured it was about time I carried out the Banana Theory test number 3. No 1.5kg bream came over the side but I did get a few with a nice couple of flatties as well that went very well on the BBQ later that night. All fish were caught on SP's. Funnily enough, I haven't hooked up on a HB the last two times I've been out. Strange that, as the flathead normally pounce all over them.

Last weekend there was the Berkley Summer Series first round which was held on the Georges River as well. This time I was with Steve Sommerville and we were team MOJOMAN! This time we got off to a better start and by 10:30am we had three ok'ish fish in the live-well. Little did we know it but we could've packed up then and there. I'd say we landed a dozen bream that were 24cm fork length. Deja Vu, or what? Plus we must've landed about 20 flatties each, ranging from 15cm's to a nice one that Steve pinned that went 50cm's.

We each had our share of hard luck stories and I was absolutely smoked by a big bream amongst some jetty pylons. He picked up the Gulp camo sandworm ever so gently but when I set the hook he ripped line off the reel and wrapped me around the nearest pylon before I could lock the reel up. Ooh, he would've been a nice kicker for the bag. Our three fish weighed 1.3kg's and out of 33 boats we came....17th! If nothing else, we're consistent. : ) The winning bag this time was 4.67kg's which came from the groynes over near Kurnell, I hear.

It's all good fun though and as long as you're having a good time, it doesn't really matter where you come on the leader board, although the $1,920 for first place does sound kinda sweet. There's a few more to go yet, so we still stand a chance of getting on the podium, I guess. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Cooks River - 18-11-07

Another session looking for the elusive bream even though I'd said last week I'd go and chase bass but it was only because Mr Munns had said the bass were a bit quiet. This time we thought the Cooks would be worth a shot but it was unusually quiet. I've had some brilliant days here and for C&R fishing, it one of my top spots. (There is NO WAY I'd eat one of the fish caught here. There is just too much pollution from old factories on the river that I'm sure is seeping into the water.)

Mick had managed to persuade Paul from Sailing Scene (http://www.sailingscene.com.au/) to part with a Hobie FloatCat 75 to take it for a spin...or paddle, I suppose. This beast was very stable and I was really surprised at how quickly and effortlessly Mick scooted about using it's two oars. (Not as quick as my mirage Drive, of course!) You can't see it in the photo, but Mick could dangle his legs in the water if he wanted to: it'd be easy to wear a pair of fins for extra maneuverability while you keep fishing. I don't know if I'd want to go outside the heads in one but I can see it as being perfect for chasing bass on the Nepean. In summer it'd be sweet to simply skim across the top of that dreaded weed that always shows up and makes the kayaking tough.

Back to the fishing. Within the first few minutes, Mick and I had both been smoked by good fish and shortly after, Mick landed a 28cm bream. I was landing plenty of small (read that as 20cm's) flathead and couldn't even raise a bream scale. Two hours into the fishing, I landed a monster that went 17cm's. Yeehah! Try as we might, they just weren't interested in what we were throwing about. At one point I thought I'd hooked a nice one but it turned out to be a 34cm Luderick which had taken a 3" bass minnow. That was definitely a first for me.

On our way back, I had one last spot to try. On with a Gulp 2" Minnow Grub in pumpkinseed and BOOFO! it's hit as soon as it sinks just below the surface. This was a much, much better fish than the 17cm tacker I'd landed earlier and twice I thought he'd get back to his snag and do me over. Luckily the knots held and this 37cm beauty was the result. At least I ended up with one good bream for the day.

Next week I'll be fishing in the first round of the Squidgy Challenge with Gary Brown so I hope I fair better with the bream then. I'll still try to sneak out mid-week for a fish so the report won't be all powerboat stuff. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Georges River - 10/11/07

Last week I said I couldn't wait to get out to chase a few bream as I reckoned that after the rain there'd be a few on the chew. And boy was I right! The first round of the Squidgy Bream Comps is on in a couple of weeks and I wanted to suss out a few spots. I won't give exact details of where but I did get around a fair bit.

The best of the day was this 42cm (total length) bluenose that took a fancy to the Berkley Gulp 6" Sandworm in camo that I was flicking about. It was in fairly shallow water and the SP had just settled on the sandy bottom when my line zipped sideways. I struck and this guy hit the afterburners! Now bream aren't like kingies but these big guys certainly put the light gear to the test. It's essential to have drags working perfectly and set accordingly. Around jetties and racks you may need to lock up and hold on but on the flats it's ok to let them take line when they need it.

After half a dozen runs he was pretty well played out but I took my time getting him into the net as he was still darting about trying to get under the yak. I hope I can land one or two of these guys during the comp, that's for sure. The bream weren't in any particular area today. I found them on the flats, along rocky shorelines and holding under boats. Back at the ramp I put the smallest I got (28cm) next to the big fella so you could see the difference in sizes! Makes him look like a tiddler, doesn't he? : )

With the tides being high, I thought there would have been a few flatties about but I could only manage one of 50cm's on a Halco HB I was trolling while moving between spots. Maybe all the fresh in the system put them off but it certainly felt like flattie weather to me.

Of course, I also had a mid-week fish down at the HWO, still trying to get a legal king. I had one HUGE hit that ripped the Mojo off the hook but unfortunately it missed the pointy bit. Tailor

were still about but not in the numbers that they have been previously. I'll blame the fresh water again. To the right is an example of the last thing that many baitfish will see this summer. CHOMP! Man, it'd be fricken scary being one of those baitfish. Imagine swimming around at night knowing that things like this were looking for ya!

If the rain stays away this week, I think a bass session on the Nepean may be on the cards for next weekend. Looks like I'd better ring Mr EastCoast and get the lazy bones out of bed. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid