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

Squidgy Southern Bream Series - St. Georges Basin - 18-19 Feb

Ooh, we nearly cracked the fifty! Forty seven kayaks set off and I had my game plan ready to go. No travelling a bazillion miles for me, I was staying fairly close and from the launch I turned left and started at the first point you come to, drifting down with the breeze, working SP's on a HWS over the weedbeds.

Jason Reid was only 30m away from me and it wasn't long before he hooked up on his surface lure. A few seconds later, I snared one (woohoo, a double hook-up) and it was only 7:23am! The very next cast I land another but it's only 24.5cms to the tip, so it goes back into the drink.

I'm swapping between Squidy 100mm wrigglers and the Atomic 2" paddle tails and at 8:25am, the paddle tail pins me number two for the day. Jason already has two and soon after he gets his third. All off the surface, too. Bloody show-off! A flattie of about 55 cms gets my hopes up briefly and eventually I decided to move out into deeper water and try blading.

Another couple of flatties and then a 35cm snapper keep me on my toes and at 9:34am, I land number 3. Hallelujah! My first 3 bag down here at St. Georges Basin. I nearly faint and fall in the water but I keep my composure and proceed to catch more flatties, snapper and whiting and eventually have to come in with just those three that I landed.

After the weigh-in, it's even more of a shock to just be outside the top 10 in 11th place with 1.19 kgs. Andrew is just in front of me and Stewart has had a cracker of a day and sits in 2nd place. That night there's lie upon lie told about what, where and what with and we hit the sack early in anticipation of another good day tomorrow.

It was the same game plan for Jason and I and he has two in the well before I get my first hook-up. This guy hit the paddle tail on the run and zipped the line off the reel before coming to a sudden halt. I kept the pressure on the fish but somehow it just didn't feel right. I kept the rod bent but there was no movement so I figured he'd done me in the weeds. I approached where my line entered the water and I could see my line disappearing into a big weed clump. 'Bugger,' I thought and I grabbed the line to pull the lure free. But then the weed kicked and I could see a silver shape underneath it. 'What the..?' He was still there! I eased him out and into the net and I'm on the board for day 2!

But that was it. I landed one more undersize bream and picked up three flathead in the last 45 minutes but as far as legal bream go, nada. Andrew has only picked up two today and Stewart has donuted. I drop back to 19th place with a total of 1.725 kgs. Andrew takes out 15th with 2.03 kgs and Stewart ends up in 13th with 2.11 kgs. Jason ended up in 4th with 3.46 kgs.

Top spot went to Matty Petrie with a cracker bag of 6 fish for 3.93 kgs and second place went to Josh Carpenter with 6 fish for 3.855 kgs. Josh also took out big bream with a massive beast of 1.37 kgs. Both these guys have qualified for the World Championships in the US of A later this year so congratulations to both of them.

This weekend (10th-11th March) see's us all up at Forster for the NSW State titles. Forster has everything you could want in a fishery: lots and lots of racks, weedbeds, sand flats, etc and also some really, really big bream. All the details are on the usual websites: http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/ and http://bream.com.au/index.php

And we should get the fifty yaks this weekend, weather permitting. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Botany Bay - 12/2/12 and the next SSBS/Hobie Tournament

No chance of getting out for me but Tezza hit the bay last weekend hoping to get stuck into the schools of surface fish - Bonito, Tailor and Salmon - that have been doing the rounds. He moved about a bit and had a couple of hits but the fish just weren't busting up.

He decided to change tactics and threw on a Mick Munns Lexan blade (the cool ones with the silicon legs) in the hopes of picking up some bream and trevally. Poor bugga didn't have any luck with those fish but he did manage some ok by-catch. FOUR JEWFISH!

Bloody hell, I'd love to get some by-catch like that. None of them were huge but on the light gear

that Terry uses, they are pretty good results. A simple lift and drop technique is what tempted these guys and I reckon Terry will be hitting this spot for more action over the next few weeks. I think I'll have to follow him just to see where it is! Well done, Tezza and thanks for the photos and not rubbing it in too much.

This weekend sees the next round of the Squidgy Southern Bream Series kick off at St. Georges Basin. This is a two day event and for us lucky yakkers, it's also a qualifier for the World Championships that will be held in the US of A later this year. The top two spots qualify, so I'm expecting that this drawcard, as well as the excellent payouts from these comps will see a field of over 50 yakkers competing at this beautiful fishing location.

The weather is looking good too, so I'm hoping to finally get my full bag at this spot. This is yet to be acheived by me so I reckon I'm well and truly overdue! For all the details, please visit http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/ or http://www.ssbs.basinlureandfly.org.au/. See you all down there. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Hobie Squidgy Southern Bream - Georges River - 29/1/12

Wow! 41 kayaks turned up for this years round, that's 15 more than last year. Great to see some good numbers turning up for these events. Hopefully it'll just get biggger and better each year. The conditions were great at kick off and with the 86 boats on hand, the beach was a crowded spot.

Most of the yaks set off into Woolooware Bay but 4 of us headed out towards Towra Point. This area consistently holds some big fish and I was hoping for a similar fish or two as I landed last week. But, on arrival at Towra Point, 'SNAP' and there goes my idler cable. Not a big problem though as it's mainly for keeping the turbo fins in time, but I still decided to go fairly easy on it for the rest of the day. Pretty good lifetime really, as it's 3 years old and gets plenty of workouts.

Andrew cut in towards the shallows while I remained out in the 1.8 to 2.5 meter zone. I started with HB's but soon changed to a HWS jighead with a Squidgy 100mm Bloodworm Wriggler attached. First a small flattie and then nothing for the next hour. I moved around further towards Quibray Bay and at 9:33am I landed my first bream (29 fork) that absolutely wolfed the plastic down. That's the donut monkey off my back and I decided to keep drifting the weedbeds for the morning.

The wind was howling now, probably 20 to 25 knots and conditions were considerably lumpy. I changed to a Gulp 3" Grub in camo colour (on a HWS again) and this resulted in number 2 for the well but slightly smaller this time at 28 cms fork length. I bumped into Andrew who hadn't even encountered a small one yet. Good for me, bad for him. A few of the boats I'd spoken to were doing it tough also.

The wind just wouldn't ease up and at about 11:45am I decided to start slowly heading back towards the weigh-in. As I rounded Towra Point, I decided to let the wind push me along this potentially nice drift along the shore. The ledge dropped from a meter into 2 meters and as the tide was running out, I was hoping a bream or two might be lurking there waiting for a feed. I'd changed lures again; this time it was an Atomic 2" paddle tail in translucent pink, rigged on a 1/32nd jighead, just to help it get down that little bit quicker and tied to 3lb fluoro straight through.

First cast I let is sink and give it two hops when it's hit like a freight train. This thing races off and does a wide arc around me, heading back out into Botany Bay. With 3lb silly string (and a light drag), I have to give chase and I take my time, giving a return thumbs up to two boats that are cruising around the corner and who saw me hook up. As it comes up, I can see it's a good fish (not a kilo though) and I'm wrapped to get him in the net. 35 fork length and probably 650 to 700 grams, so that's a good full bag for me. I'm guessing I have about 1.5 kgs which should get me top 10 but I douvbt it'd be enough to make the podium.

No more joy for me over the next two hours apart from one more undersize bream and at the weigh-in it's many a tale of woe but there are also some good bags thrown in, too. My main goal is to qualify for the Grand Final and with 4 spots up for grabs, I may be in with a chance. My 3 fish pull the scales down to 1.59 kg and I'm sitting in 5th place. But Luke Kay has already qualified, so I'm holding on, but only just. but then Jonathan Chen steps up and Aaarrrghh, he weighs in 1.64 kgs, bumping me out of contention. Well done to him though and it's a case of Deja Vu' for me as I came 6th here last year, too!

The winner was Ian Seeto with 1.935 kgs and 2nd was shire local Jason Reid with 1.91 kgs. 3rd was taken out by the ever consistent Jason Meech with 1.73 kgs. Overall I racked up just over 13 kms and the photo shows the path I took and where I landed my three fish.

The next comp is on the 18th & 19th February, down at St Georges Basin. This is a location that turns on some great fishing, but unfortunately, not for me. I'm due to have a good round down there though and this would be a good one to take out as it's also a qualifying round for the Hobie World Series (http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/). we should get 50+ yaks there for this one, depending on the weather but either way, it'll be a hoot of a weekend. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

January Bassin' and bream in the Georges River

So another update from Tezza and also a quick report on my pre-fish on the Georges River for the upcoming tournament on sunday...

"Happy New Year to everyone, hope you all had a safe & enjoyable Christmas & looking forward to a bright 2012.

Well finally the weather is starting to warm up, after a few weeks being very unsettled, it felt like August all over again. This is a great time of year, this month & the next, to target bass, as the weather really heats up, hot days & in between balmy nights, breathless mornings & the water being a mirror which means surface action. It doesn’t get any better!

As the New Year kicked in I've been out again for bass, chasing them with surface lures. Being on the water bright an early & a 40 minute paddle one way & the steam coming off the surface, was looking very promising. As I approach a very narrow section of the river it was lit up with life, flying insects ,a few slurps & splashes from the feeding fish, as the morning was breaking through.

A cast into the snag, as the fizzer landed, it exploded with an almighty splash, not even giving me a chance to flip over the bail arm on the spin reel. As quick as I can be turning this fish around, it pretty much stitched me up into the snags. These fish can be very suprising at times with the amount of enormous speed & power they have which shock alot of people.

With an investigation trying to rescue the fish or the lure from the snag luckily it was at hand reach. This fish was quality size. Being alone made things very difficult trying to rescue the fish into the net & cutting the leader. Eventually the fish was on the lie detector at 365mm I was very happy, a quick snap shot & the fish was on its way to its natural habitat.A quick investigation showed I could rescue the fish and the lure from the snag as luckily it was just within reach. This fish was a quality size, too. Being alone made things very difficult, trying to get the fish into the net & cutting the leader. Eventually the fish was on the lie detector at 365mm I was very happy, a quick snap shot & the fish was on its way to its natural habitat.

After the leader was replaced, I was back into action. Another good fish took the liking to the surface lure, though it didn’t get a chance to stitch me up. Even the little guys were having a go. Most of the numerous fish that I landed were averaging 300mm. The biggest was 380mm. In the couple of days that I was chasing them they were shutting down early as the sun was getting high . So getting as many casts in as possible was needed.

Especially in heavily fished areas, they tend to get spooked, though there is no harm in trying for them during the day, just work the lure very slowly. Concentrate in very deep shadow pockets as the bass don’t like sun.

There are a number of surface lures on the market these days , so its important to get a various types such as fizzers, walkers, poppers, etc. They all swim in different ways, so its best to try different lures and see what works best on the day & most importantly, try matching the hatch. Here are just a few of what I use.

As I mentioned in the previous bass report, be very observant and imitate the lure as a wounded insect. Its then a matter of casting under an overgrown tree or snag & be prepared for a sudden eruption. Sometimes as the lure hits the water it gets smashed, other days you have to work a little harder to attempt them to strike. If there is no surface strikes then have a try with divers, spinnerbaits, etc and hopefully they will work."

Thanks again Terry and once more, you've brained those bass. And such amazing locations you get to fish in, too. Brilliant.

This sunday (29th January) sees the first round of the Squidgy Southern Bream Series kick off on the Georges River. Full info can be found here: http://www.ssbs.basinlureandfly.org.au/

Last year there were 84 boats and 26 kayakers, but I'm sure those numbers will be eclipsed this year as now there are also qualifying spots for the ABT Grand Finals up for grabs. The reigning champ from last year is Andrew Death (the Bearded Swine) and I'm definitely out to improve on my 6th place (with a 1.265kg bag) from last year.

I snuck out for a quick pre-fish on saturday and pinned a few with one very nice specimen coming over the side of the kayak. At almost 38cms total length, three of those in the well would do me very nicely. I wont tell you where I got him : P but I'll let you know that he fell to a Squidgy Bloodworm wriggler rigged on a TT HWS hook. He was nice and fat too, and probably just shy of a kilo. Fingers crossed I'll catch up with him again this weekend. With a range of enviroments on offer for the Georges River round (flats, weedbeds, racks, moored boats, bridges, jetties, rocky shorelines), there is ample opportunity to fish whatever technique is your favourite. Hopefully we'll see you down there. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Terry gets into the Bass - Oct- Nov 2011

Still not much fishing for me except for one trip with Stewart chasing Kings. That report will go up later this week. However, Teryy has been getting into some quality bass (as he usually does) and he's sent through this report:

"Its been awhile since I have done a fresh water report. In the lead up to the bass season ( back on the 1st September ) I’ve been stocking up on fishing gear & some bass lures: hardbodies , softplastics , vibes, spinnerbaits the list goes on, there is so much on the market these days. These style lures catch bass in all conditions whether its rivers or dams.

Its always good to have various types of lures to cover all your basics & colours as well . Bass fishing can be very difficult some days, so trying out a variety of lures & colours is a must, just to see what works on the day.

Rods & reels, these days there are plenty to choose from, but only recently I purchased 2 rods - Pflueger Trions, 6ft 1-3kg . These rods are ideal for casting under overgrown trees & getting into some very skinny water. The reels I have are Shimano Stradic 1000's and they are just perfect for the outfit. I have 4lb & 6lb on these, which is perfect for targeting bass.

Now lets go for bass!

In the last month or so I have been getting out in my kayak in various locations & even in new waters. Sometimes we have to work very hard to get to some unique water ways ,whether we have to drag the yaks over rapids or rocks & let me tell ya it ain’t easy, tho' if your getting fish it really makes it worth while .

This year with the amount of rain we have been getting, most rivers are getting a great flow of water through them ,which is great for the bass to migrate back upstream from the salt. There have been some descent bass getting caught in the area that I fish & I was keen to get amongst them .

So after a very long paddle & arriving to perfect bass ground, I wasn’t wasting anytime, I cast a spinnerbait under an overgrown tree, right into the depths to the bank watching carefully for any sudden hits on the line, as the spinnerbait helicopters down into the depth. With a very slow retrieve & a few bumps through the sunken timber I was excepting a solid hit ,but it wasn’t to be .

One more cast & this should really fire up the bass , as they are very territorial, sure enough the line came up tight & I was on. The thing I like about spinnerbaits is that they can be worked very slow to really fire up the bass when they aren’t in the mood.

I kept on plugging away into the deep shadows & came up tight again . Geez they fight hard don’t they? Whether its a biggen or just a tiddler, they have an enormous amount of power. No matter what size bass you catch they are just beautiful to admire.

The bass in the last few trips have been quality & I can’t complain. When they are in the high 40’s 0r mid 50’s they are trophy fish that you’ll never forget for a long time, not for me anyway.

Just really looking forward for the weather to warm up & the insects are flying about . This is a great way of visual fishing, using top water lures. It can be retrieved in all sorts of ways imitating a wounded insect & bass can’t resist. Just be alert for an eruption.

So if there is a fresh water river near you, it might be worth taking the kayak & doing some exploring, you’ll be surprised whats out there !

cheers, Tezza"

Thanks for the report Terry, we'll have to get together and get into a few bass soon. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid