BLF SBS Round 3 - Clyde River, Batemans Bay - 22nd March 2015

Two weekends ago I was able to fish a new location: The Clyde River at Batemans Bay for round 3 of the Basin Lure and Fly Southern Bream Series. This was a special event as it was an affiliated ABT Hobie event and was also the NSW State Titles. With 4 spots up for grabs for the Hobie Daiwa Grand Final at the end of the year, everyone knew it would be a hotly contested round. This was my first crack at a Hobie round this year so to grab one of the GF qualifying spots would be extra sweet. Just after 7am, 30 kayaks set off to find the elusive Clyde River bream.

I didn't have to travel far to my first set of racks and only a few racks away from me was good mate Terry Grima. Only a few minutes into it and Terry is on but the hooks pulled on a very good fish just as he was about to net it. Man, that had to hurt.

I'd been trying a few surface lures without much interest so I switched to the HB lure that worked so well for me in round 1: a GLADIATOR Fishing Tackle Shiver Vibe. I didn't have any of my favourite purple and black colour, so I tied on colour SV4003 (Brown). After a few tentative bumps, I finally hooked up solid and fish number 1 came to the net. 32 fork, so not a bad start.

I had the lure rigged on 8lb fluoro and 8lb Gosen Mebarin Pe. I was casting them as close to the racks as possible, letting them settle for a few seconds before I gently lifted them a foot or so before letting them drop back down. That brown Shiver Vibe didn't last long as I was absolutely smoked by a beast that I just couldn't get up and coming towards me. In fact, this guy started to pull me and the kayak towards him and eventually he did me on one of the posts supporting the racks.

On goes another Shiver Vibe and it's not long before I get destroyed by another brute. Terry has also lost two fish so there are a few big ones about. I tie on another colour (SV4012) and I eventually get number 2 in the well. Over the next 30 minutes I'm busted up twice more and land a few undersize bream before the bite shuts down.

I decided to move upriver, hoping to find fish in a variety of places (mangrove edges, weed beds, submerged rocky boulders) but I just can't land a legal bream. Time ticks on and I decide I'm going back to my original racks to have another quick try to get number 3. I'm eagerly casting away when Eric Wood drifts past and he has his 3. "Well done," I say as he heads off. "Ya mongrel,' I mutter as he gets out of earshot... : P

It's 1:16pm, only 29 minutes to go when my last Shiver Vibe gets whacked and I lay into the fish and get him in quick smart. As he skips across the surface he must be thinking 'What the hell is going on here?' Phew, that's my 3. I'm guessing I've got about 1.4kgs, so I'm hopeful for a top 10 placing.

Back at the weigh-in there's lots of tales of woe and misery and I'm surprised to take out 3rd place with 1.39kgs, just pipping the in-form Simon Morley by 10 grams. Eric took out 2nd place with 1.59kgs (congrats Eric) and the number 1 spot was taken out by Luke Kay with 1.69kgs. Luke is blitzing it, with three 1sts and two 2nds in his last 5 tournaments, pretty amazing stuff and well deserved, too.

We were all stoked to grab those qualifying spots for the Hobie Daiwa GF and we're all keen as mustard to get to the next round on the Shoalhaven next month. Thanks to Ian Phillips and his team for putting on another great event and thanks to all the sponsors for making these tournaments what they are. Thanks also to Stephen Blackmore from Gladiator Tackle for his support and the great gear that's helping me get the results.

The next round is down on the Shoalhaven River. This place can bit a bit tricky, but she's been pretty good to me a few times before, so hopefully I can find a fish or two. Ideally, I'd like to find at least three, but I'll start with one.

On a different note, after 6 years, Adam and I are winding up the Kayak Fishing Sydney website. It's served it's purpose well and has allowed us to sell quite a few DVD's and introduce a lot of new people to the world of kayak fishing.We had fun making it and bringing it to fruition and who knows, maybe one day we'll do another one. Thanks for coming on this adventure Adam, we made a pretty good team.

I'll still be doing this Blog however, so you'll still be able to pick up many fishing tips through the reports. In fact, there are over 200 reports on the blog now, so there is heaps and heaps of information on different species and locations that'll help you get into a few fish. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

BLF SBS Round 2 - St Georges Basin - 28th Feb-1st Mar 2015

25 Kayaks and 53 boats at this round of the Basin Lure and Fly Southern Bream Series. Conditions were good for Saturday but a little more wind would ruffle up the water a bit and hopefully get the fish on the chew over the flats and shallow weed beds. My plan of attack was to head out to the cockle beds in Erowal Bay. I'd had a little pre-fish there and picked up a 36 fork bluenose that engulfed one of the Bait Breath SL Remix soft plastics, so I was hoping to emulate that effort on comp day.

On the way I had a few quick throws with a Gladiator Kozami surface lure but the water was way to still for my liking, so I ventured the 700 meters to my first way point. Checking the sounder, I could easily see the cockle weed and fingers crossed, the bream would be here too.

I was fishing a 3" SL Remix (colour 787), this time rigged on a 1/40th HWS jig head with 4lb Fluoro attached to Gosen Mebarin 8lb PE. I gotta tell you, this Gosen is unreal stuff. It's super thin and casts a mile and is amazingly strong for its size. Being able to get those extra few meters each cast really makes a difference I think, especially over the flats.

After 45 minutes, all I had to my name was one 50cm flattie and two small bream. Hmmmm, what to do? I decided to mix it up and I rigged up with a 1/20 jig head. Maybe the fish were feeding more off the bottom. This did the trick for me and within half an hour I had two fish in the well. Not beasts, but good enough for a start.

I bumped into Gary Brown and David Tosland (in a dirty filthy stink boat) and they still didn't have one in the well yet. They moved off to try different waters while I decided to give it another 30 minutes. This turned out to be a good decision as five minutes later I landed number 3 for the day. Well that's my bag but it's nothing special. I need a kicker. A few people today will get fish near a kilo and to be in with a chance, you have to have on in your well, too.

I eventually moved into deeper water to see if the fish were there in bigger numbers. I land a few small snapper and eventually I get a mighty wallop and the rod buckles over. There's some good weight here but it doesn't feel breamy. As I peer into the depths, a big flattie planes into view. Luckily I see Gary and David again, so I call them over and they scoop her up for me in their large net (Note to self: I've got to get myself a bigger net.)

I'd called her for 70cms when I saw her in the water but now she looked a little bigger, so I called out to Gary, 'What is she? 72?"
"No way," he says. "She's 71!" Well I was close. A few quick photos (thanks Gary) and she slides back down into the depths until next time.

By now the wind had picked up a bit so I moved over to the shallow weed beds and again switched to a lightly weighted SL Remix. I picked up another 3 legal bream but none were upgrades. These fish had obviously been living among the weed for a while as they were all a coppery-gold colour. Close to me Simon Morley was hooked up to something that was giving him the run around. I asked what it was? "Don't know," says Simon, "it's silver though!" Jason Reid and I are both spectating when he finally brings it aboard and it's a big trevally. "Oh, bummer!" we say sarcastically and return to our fishing. : )

My measly bag weighed in at 1.26kgs and saw me sitting in 12th place, 840gms behind Brian Hunt in 1st place. See, I told you I needed a kicker fish!

Day 2 dawned the same as Saturday but there is a predicted southerly so the organisers have called an early finish. The kayakers have to be back at 11:45am so we'll have 2 hours less fishing time. Ok, time to get my finger out and get a big fish or two.

Well, unfortunately no-one told the fish about my plan and by 9 am all I'd brought aboard was one small tarwhine. Ok, think Carl, think... Right, the last few days it's been blowing a North-Northeasterly. "Fish the wind blown banks," they say (who 'they' are I don't know) and if that's the case, I'd better get a move on so I can fish the southern side of the bay directly across from the launch site. It takes me 45 minutes to get there and I want to give myself at least an hour to make it back with plenty of time, so I have 1 hour to catch my bag.

There's a few boats in the area so I'm hoping I've made the right decision. First drift I get one in the well. 2nd drift I get another. Then BAM and my drag screams. Please, please, oh please be a bream but there's a few violent head rattles and I'm thinking it may be a snapper. Sure enough it is and I land my first legal snapper from the Basin. It was fun but not what I'm really after so I set off for another drift and it's not too long before I get number 3. Yes, what a turn around! From nothing to a bag in 45 minutes. I land another two legals but again they aren't upgrades and I have to head back for the weigh-in. Bummer, no kickers again and I know I'm out of the running for a podium placing.

There are a few slight gusts of a southerly as I head back and by the time I make shore, it's up to about 15 knots. Excellent timing I reckon and within 10 minutes, it's blowing about 30 knots! Good call Basin Lure and Fly, glad to see that angler safety always comes first. Kudos to you all for calling it early.

My bag came in at 1.6kgs (two day bag of 2.86kgs) and it was enough to bump me up to 7th place. Any time you make a top 10 is good and I was quite pleased with my efforts but without those kicker fish, it's very hard to get into the top spots. See, I told you I needed a kicker fish!

Top place went to good mate Stewart Dunn who smashed us on day 2 and ended up with a weight of 2.32kgs (2 day bag of 3.97kgs). 2nd went to Scott Marcinkowski (3.9kgs) and 3rd went to ever consistent Simon Morley (3.67kgs). Simon also took out the big bream prize with a beast of 1.32kgs. So again, another title comes back to live in the Shire! Yay Stewy.

Round number 3 is going to be held on the Clyde River, a place I've never fished before, so I'm really looking forward to it. Apparently there's lots of oyster racks in this system, so I reckon my Gladiator Bingos and Shiver Vibes are gonna get a work out. Thanks again to Stephen Blackmore from Gladiator Tackle for his continued support and for bringing in the great lures that keep catching me bream (and flathead and snapper and jewfish and whiting, etc, etc). Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

Yowie Bay - 21-2-15

Kingies! Lots of reports of Kingies being caught in the Hacking so I thought I'd go and catch me some. Live squid would have been the best bait but being limited to time and being too lazy, I was sticking with SP's for today. On the water at 6:15am and I was at my first spot by 6:30am.

I kept an eye out for surface bust-ups but apart from the occasional splish from chopper tailor, things were pretty quiet. I was flicking out a Gladiator Smash Bait minnow in colour 15 (translucent with a pinkish tinge) and it was rigged on a 1/20th HWS jig head. 1 chopper, 2 choppers, 3 choppers...then finally a big hit but there is no hook-up!

I moved around hoping to find some baitfish but even they were no where to be seen. Bugger this, I'm off to try something different. I high-tailed it to a small reef and started blading, hoping to get a whiting or two, or maybe even a snapper for the table.

It wasn't long before I started to land a few small reddies and then whiting number one came aboard. That's one for the live well. The last few trips I've manage a few of these, so my hopes were up. They're great fighters when they get to a decent size and they're bloody good on the tooth, too.

More blading and I've noticed a few larger arches on the sounder. The rod buckles under a solid hit and up comes an almost legal snapper. Aargh, so close but back he goes to grow that extra half a centimeter. They are such a pretty fish, very tropical looking.

As I fish I wave to another 4 Hobie kayakers moving across the front of the bay, probably heading towards Lilli Pilli and beyond. When I started this kayak fishing caper 10 years ago, you'd be lucky to see one or two other yakkers in a day. Now we're bloody everywhere! Great to see how the sport has grown over the years and also good to see the amount of Hobies on the water. For a fishing kayak, you can't really beat the Hobies and they are almost the only kayak you'll see in any of the tournaments around the country now.

Behind me I hear a large splash and turn to see something big slash across the surface. Just at that moment, my blade get's hit and line zips off the reel. Ooh, this feels pretty good and a few tell-tale head-shakes transmit up the line. The fish runs into deeper water and I know I'm pretty safe out there so I back off the drag slightly and I let it run when it needs to.

I can tell it's not a huge fish but it's great fun all the same and I'm keen to get it in to take a few photos. I landed one just over a week ago while fishing with Adam Costa from Fishin Tackle Store and another one today would be fantastic.

Eventually she comes into view and I slide the net under her. They really are a magnificent looking fish: glowing silver scales along there lateral line and a purple-pink tinge across their head and back. The colours never really come out that well in photos but captured at the right angle, you can get an idea of it.

I took a few quick photos and slid her back into the dark water and swam her about while she got her strength back. A few more tail beats and she eventually shot back off into the depths to fight another day. With a self-satisfied sigh, I remembered the big splash just as I hooked up. I quickly scanned the water but there was no activity anywhere, so I figured I'd retire for the day and head for home.

Next weekend there is round 2 of the Basin Lure and Fly Southern Bream Series being held down at St Georges Basin. It's a 2 day event and fingers crossed, we'll get another good turn up and the fish will be on the chew. There's normally about 50 boats and 30 kayaks which will make it a challenging weekend but we all know there's some cracking big bream in that system. Last year in the Grand Final, Andrew Death landed a 1.76kg beast so we'll all be hoping to emulate that effort. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

Basin Lure and Fly SBS - Round 1 Georges River - 8th Feb 2015

Time to get this blog back up and running. I've had a few adventures since my last update (was it really back in March last year???) with one major highlight being my selection for the Australian Hobie Kayak Fishing Team that jetted off and competed in China in their Open Championships with 9 countries and 56 anglers involved. I'll get to that at a later date but I will say the Aussie team blitzed them.

Last Sunday was the first round of the Basin Lure and Fly's Southern Bream Series and it was held on my local waterway, the Georges River. I'd managed a few pre-fish days leading up to the event and I had my game plan worked out. I was heading up into Woolooware Bay to fish channel markers, oyster racks and flats and fingers crossed, I'd have a good day. With 58 boats and 32 kayaks at this event, getting a bag early was key on my list before too many spots were hit by other anglers.

From the start I made a bee-line for my first set of markers. There were kayakers to either side of me but they thankfully peeled off and I was left alone. The tide was just starting to push in and I'd rigged a 3" Bait Breath SL Remix (colour 787 - similar to the Grenade colour) on a 1/28th HWS jighead and 6lb fluoro leader. 

On my 3rd cast I felt a slight bump, so I paused a few seconds and slowly lifted the rod tip. There was weight there so I struck and the fish charged up and rolled on the surface. 'Crikey, that's a good fish,' I thought and I stopped her from getting back to the marker and turned her out into open water. Then it was a test of patience as I took my time and let her run when she needed to and I slowly eased her back towards the net. With fingers, eyes and toes crossed, I slid the net under her and gave a small fist pump. Just over 39 fork length and wow, what a start! There's my kicker fish straight away.

 

I calmed myself, ensured the live well was full of water and set back to getting another. I moved to more markers and soon had another cracker in the well. This one went 34 fork length and I knew I was on a roll. Again, this one fell to the Bait Breath SL Remix.

From here I continued further into the bay and started fishing an old set of broken down racks. I swapped to a hard body: a Gladiator Shiver Vibe (colour SV4040 - purple black) with 8lb fluoro leader. Half way along the rack I pulled a 27 fork and a few casts later I upgraded him to a 29 fork. 

I then moved to the flats at the back of the bay and continued to land fish. Surprisingly, the only lure I could land them on today was the purple and black Shiver Vibe. I'd swap colours around but every time I came back to it, bang, I'd be on again. I got one more upgrade to a 30 forker before having to turn for home. So seven legals all up and 4 undersize saw me have a great day, especially in the still, sunny conditions which saw the bite shut down for me from 11:30am.

I knew I had a good bag but I still wasn't sure how the other guys had gone. Towra can hold some big fish and if someone had managed to find a few of them, they could bump me off. Plus Stewart Dunn, Andrew Death, Luke Kay and Jason Reid are others that know this place like the back of their hands and they usually do really well here, too. Back on shore however, I found out it'd been a pretty tough day for some and I was feeling pretty confident.

My bag went on the scales and stopped on 2.56kgs and the big girl went 1.36kgs, which is my biggest bream to date in a comp. 2nd place went to Luke Kay with 1.72kgs and 3rd was a split between Jason Reid and Brian Hunt with 1.61kgs each. 

Next round will be down at St Georges Basin later this month. Last year I won down there so I'm hoping for a repeat. Better get some more of those Gladiator Shiver Vibes rigged up! Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid

ps If you want some good tips from Australia's top kayak angler, Chris Burbidge, grab a copy of the February Fishing Monthly magazine that has the ABT Angler Guide included within it. I've penned an interview I had with Chris where he highlights his spectacular year just gone and passes on some valuable information on lures and techniques.

BLF SBS Round 2 - Georges River - 9-3-14

After the success of the first round, I was keen for round 2 that was on my home 'turf' so to speak: the Georges River. 27 yakkers today and I was up against two other locals that know this place like the back of their hands - Stewart Dunn and Andrew Death.

My plan was to basically fish the racks most of the day with a quick session fishing boat hulls while heading back to the weigh in. I headed straight to a set of racks that I'd found some fish on a week ago and I was accompanied some of the way with Craig '450' and Andrew who is the sole member of Team Doofus!

Gladiator Bingos are my go-to lure in the racks and this was attached to 8lb fluoro which was connected to 9lb Gosen braid. Things were quiet to start with but eventually I get one into the yak. He's just legal at 26.5 cms but at least it's a start.

I move among the old rails and put a long cast along some posts. Half way through my retrieve the rod loads up and there are some head shakes but little else. I'm thinking that this is gonna be a monster bream that's just shaking his head before all hell breaks loose so I quickly lean back on the rod and crank the reel like crazy.

The nest thing this big spikey football floats up and it's my first spikey puffer fish on a lure. He's absolutely mangled my Bingo and it was amazing that the thing held together for me to land him. I unhooked him and set him free to de-puff himself and swim off.

I changed the lure for another Bingo. I was getting a few just under-size so I knew they were around here somewhere, I just had to keep casting. The next fish I landed was pretty good at 30 fork and a few minutes after that I was smoked by a big brute that pinged me on one of the numerous posts jutting out of the water.

On goes another Bingo and two casts later I get another roasting and that's two big fish I've lost! Aaarrgh. The next guy is just legal for the comp (26 tip) so I really want to upgrade him. Luckily he didn't have to swim about in my live well too long and he's replaced with a 27 fork length specimen.

I stay in the racks and land another few legal bream but none of them are upgrades. The fish eventually went off the bite so I started to head back towards the weigh in and figured I try some SP's under some boat hulls on the way. The only problem is that most of them have probably been worked over by other anglers, but it's still worth a try. As it turned out, it wasn't, but oh well, that's fishing for you.

Back on shore I definitely didn't think I had anywhere enough weight for my three fish to challenge for a podium spot, in fact I'd be lucky to crack the top 10. Sure enough, Stewart and Andrew have done really well and they clinch the number 1 and 2 spots. Third was taken out by Glenn Ross, a fellow Gladiator team member who had ditched the boat for the day and decided to fish out of a kayak.  The winning weights were 2.045 kgs, 1.92 kgs and 1.815 kgs. I ended up in 7th with 1.325 kgs, so all up I was pretty happy with my final result.

The next event for me is the ABT Hobie round up at Forster on the 5th-6th April. This year we are launching into Pipers Bay instead of from the marina, so this area is completely new to me. Should be lots of fun and hopefully they'll still be taking lures off the surface. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid

BLF Southern Bream Series - Round 1 - St Georges Basin - 8th-9th Feb 2014

Basin Lure and Fly have again picked up this great series and the first tournament of the year saw me standing on the shores of St George's Basin. Those that know me also know it's been a bit of a nemesis for me but lately I've been working her out and I was hoping for a better result this time. I lined up ready for the start along with 24 other keen yakkers and just after 7am we spread out to our various destinations.

I headed off to the weed beds around in Erowal Bay near the boat ramp and tried surface lures for about 10 minutes but without even a swirl I decided on a new tactic. I rigged up a Bait Breath SL Remix on a worm hook tied to 3lb Fluoro straight through. 

Using the slowly increasing wind, I'd punch out long casts and count to 3, figuring my SP would be just above the weeds. I'd retrieve with a slight lift and wind, pausing to let the lure flutter down again. This did the trick and within 20 minutes I had two 26 forkers in my well.

I persevered for another 30 minutes and dropped two fish before the bite slowed so I took off to the Cockle Beds. There were lots of boats around so I was hoping there'd be fish too. 

I started with a Gladiator Blade Runner and after two drifts I only had 4 Flathead come aboard. Starting another drift I went back to the SL remix (now rigged on a 1/12th jig head) and 2nd cast I pinned a 30 fork. Great, that's my bag and I still had time for upgrades. But it wasn't to be and after day one I stood in 7th place with 1.19 kgs, only 610 grams behind leader Simon Morley who had 1.8 kgs for 2 fish. If I could get a kicker tomorrow, I'd be back in the hunt. 

Day 2: The wind was expected to be even worse and true to form it was. I tried the weed beds again and couldn't even get a touch. Back out to the Cockle Beds and I hook up first cast. Only a flounder though and I proceed to move about and try various depths to try to find the fish. I find them alright but they're flathead, snapper, whiting...everything but bream. 

It was 10:45am and the wind was getting worse. I decided to try the deeper water out the front of the start area and I could see another yakker and a boat working the same area. The boater was Gary Brown and I could see them hooked up as I deployed my drift chute. 'That's a promising sign', I thought and I grab my Blade Runner again and started casting.

My first drift I dropped 3 fish. Aaarrggh! Come on! Back again I go and not long into it I get smacked. This thing screams off and I thought it has to be a snapper. I have to give chase and the wind and waves aren't doing me any favours either. Eventually she comes up and my eyes pop. She's a cracker and we circle each other while I try to get her into the net. Finally I get her in and what a relief that is. I didn't measure her but she looks about a 38 forker so I'm over the moon. 

Back to fishing and 15 minutes later I get a 33 fork and 20 minutes after that (and two more dropped fish) I get a 35 fork. Wow, what a turn around. Within one hour I have my bag and it's a good one, too. I land another 3 fish but none of them are better than these so I head back in wondering how all the others have gone. 

Back on the beach I'm hearing some tales and it seems the yakkers in front of me on day one haven't done as well as I have, except for Andrew Death who also has a cracking fish that may be bigger than mine. 

It was great to walk up to the weigh in with a heavy bag and with 2.82 kgs I managed to leapfrog to the number one spot with a total weight of 4.01 kgs. Yee hah! You bloody ripper. 

Andrew took out 2nd place and also big bream with his 1.35 kg beast (mine went 1.17 kg) and Simon came in 3rd. Simon was only able to fish until 10am on Saturday so if he'd have fished all day it may have been a different story. 

So my winning lures are of course all from Gladiator Tackle. Day one all my bream fell to the Bait Breath SL Remix while on day 2, they all were caught on a Blade Runner, slightly modified with keeper hooks on the back. The rods I use are Psyborgs and they're bloody brilliant!

I'd like to thank Stephen Blackmore from Gladiator for supporting me and also the Basin Lure and Fly Club for running these excellent events. And if you're after any of the Gladiator Tackle, contact Adam Costa from www.fishin.com.au. He'll look after you. Thanks for reading and see you all at the next round. Happy yakkin', everyone! 

Cheers, 

Cid

Summer Bassing - December 2013

Terry finally convinced me to drag my weary bones out of bed at 3:30am one morning to go tangle with these Bronzed Battlers. We headed out to a stretch of the Nepean River at spot 'X' and as I was launching Terry hooked up to his first bass of the day. "That's a good start," I thought and the 'Anticipation Meter' went up a couple of notches. There were numerous Fruit Bats skimming close to the water and when one of them crapped on me for luck, I knew I was in for a good day.

We slowly cut through the swirling mists, heading further downstream and away from the launch area which is obviously hit fairly hard from other anglers. A couple of km's later we started casting. I was using one of Gladiator Tackles most successful surface lures, a Kozami 60 and had two rigged up, one in colour #10 and one in colour #14.

First colour out was #10 (black top/orange belly) and it started getting hits from the first cast. First there was a tiny 15cm 'bassette' but this was quickly followed by a 35cm beastie that screamed out and away from the snags which I thought was very generous of it as they normally try to dust you up in the closest snag possible. A couple of quick photos and he's back into the water and off to his lair.

Terry was about 50 meters behind me working the opposite bank and I heard him cry out in despair as he lost a big girl.' Ha ha, sucka,' I thought just as my lure landed next to a semi-submerged log. The surface erupted in a huge spray of water and the Psyborg rod bucked in my hand as this fish surged back to it's home. The drag was locked up but that doesn't stop the fish from dragging me and the kayak in it's direction. Just when I thought I had it under control, the rod kicked back and I knew I'd been done over in a grand fashion. Bugga! That was a really good fish. I guess you win some and you lose some.

I picked up the other rod and started casting with the Kozami 60 in colour #14 (translucent olive green with dark stripes). Thankfully the fish were liking this colour too and a succession of bass between 22cms and 32cms joined me yakside.

The Kozami 60 is easily worked on the surface and I was fishing it in a slow walk-the-dog fashion, working it for a few feet before pausing it for 5 seconds or so. The lure was tied to a meter of 10lb Gosen leader which was attached to 9lb Gosen Braid.

Casting right under the shade of an overhanging tree, there was a small boil just behind my lure. I paused then gave it two subtle twitches. BOOFO! and I'm on again. This is another good fish but this time I stay connected and extract her from her lair. She's a nice chunky bass of 36cms and another worthy victim of the Kozami 60.

Not to be outdone, Terry also hooks up but his is a tiddler compared to mine. But what he's lacking in size he's making up for in numbers. In fact we're both having a cracking day and have both landed over 8 bass each by now.

We continued moving downstream but the bite slowly tapered off. Every now and then I get a half-hearted swipe at my lure but there was a definite difference in their bite pattern. Ok, time for a change to try and rile them up again. I figured maybe they wanted something smaller and changed to one of my old favourite lures, a Mick Munns hand-made Fizzzer style lure.

And it was just what the doctor ordered. The downsizing of the lure was exactly what they were after and Terry and I were back into them again. I pulled another 35cm bass out from an undercut in the bank and this was quickly followed by a 34cm model about 10 meters further downstream.

By now the cicadas were in full song and the fish we were pulling in were disgorging chewed up Black Princes left right and center. As we traveled along this absolutely beautiful stretch of the river, we'd keep an eye out for surface smashes and swirls ahead of us. If we saw one, we'd quickly fire a cast off in that direction. You were usually guaranteed a big hit if you landed the lure in the right place and there were many hoots and hollers as we racked up our bass tally which was well over a dozen quality fish each and hand-fulls of tiddlers.

I unfortunately had to leave them biting but Terry couldn't drag himself away, so he continued on downstream without me and managed another half a dozen or so. In fact the fishing was so good, Terry went back the next day for a repeat performance and again cleaned up, this time fishing cicada pattern lures.

With prime fishing like this so close to Sydney, it's a wonder that we didn't see anybody else out and about. I'm hoping that it's not too long before I get back to tangle with these feisty fish. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,
Cid