gibodfisho

Awesome report, great read. Cheers Dave

Wow awesome Bass, fishing always throws up the unexpected.

Couple of bad photos from a good session.

After a failed attempt on Sunday due to flat battery got out on the Parra on Monday. 1st up went for a long run to charge the battery down east of the bridge. Hoping for some pelagic action but nothing doing. Had a go in Rusccutters and Double bay but apart from a folow, a legal and a dusting pretty quiet. The spot i got the dusting I think I will have to go back with heavier gear, just was not enough room to play softly softly with straight through flurocarbon. Headed back up into the middle reaches of the Parra and I wanted to fish new spots I had not fished before. Spotted some structure and gave it a crack and got a legal fish. Looked around for anything similar and had a few hits but no hook ups. By now I was coming up to rocky bank which had wash, current and wind pushing onto it. Not much structure but hey worth a shot. Well the fish were holding on it even if I didn't think it looked that good, and after 2 drifts 36,35 and 38cm fork plus bram a couple of legals and rats. Easily best window of action I have had on the Parra. Headed up river to road and Rail bridges. Couple of sub legals and an absolute smoking and I had enough and headed to the ramp. Had a last cast at a spot I used to fish from my canoe and got 1 more good fish in mid 30's (did not measure this one) and left a happy man.

Hit the Hawkesbury racks around midday after accumalating enough brownie points, to discover a raging NEaster. Had a very quick and half arse attempt for a jew at high tide near Flint and steel but soon changed tact and hit some likely banks in Cowan to try for bream. Very little bait so moved to fish some racks. Got smashed under a rack by a horse, braid broke on another and pulled hooks on the last fish. Left soon after blown away by the wind and tough fishing. First time I think I have gone without having to unhook anything at all.

Hey Squizzy. Most people target bream in racks as in Oyster racks especially on lures. Bream tend to be very aggresive in and around the racks and you have to stop em or pop em. I was still pumped and put up the quick post for any lure anglers who may have been interested. Chubby's are a hard body made by Jackall and are a must have in my book for estuaries. Cheers Dave

Great information there Gary. I am no Game fisherman but your approach and obvious buzz you get is cool. Cheers Dave

Top session in the racks with a 2 hour hot bite just before and during the start of a storm on Berowra. Savage hits, pulled and broken hooks, trashed leaders and a few good fish landed. All legals caught on chubbys, colour did not matter saltwater pink, brown dog and crawdad all worked. Fished a normally reliable bank without a hit so I reckon they shut down pretty quick after the rain set in. Cheers Gibbo

Not doing the bets series at the moment as I can't commit to many rounds as I have a baby on the way. The bent minnows are a cool and unique lure, they will become a favourite of mine I am sure. Still have not got a big fish on 1 yet but it won't be long Gibbo

Went looking for topwater bite after Sundays fun session. Had a surface plastic and a bent minnow rigged up but there was alot of water between the bream and the ones I did see were just lookers. Changed to a Atomic deep crank and got into them on pontoons and boat hulls. Took home a feed as they were all average size fish.

Had finally made time to go for a surface session. It was well into the afternoon and pretty windy so had a crack at finding some whiting on the flats. Took a little while to find them and figure out the correct lure and retrieve for the day which was a medium paced walk the dog. Had the most consistent bite I have had with whiting until the change and rain came through and the wind stopped. Had got a tip from Rich that bream had also started hitting the surface and went to test his information. Well it was not exactly on fire and after a good crack I still had not spotted a bream. But like how it often happens in this section of river 1 finally appeared out of no where while I was day dreaming and spooked. Finally one charged out and with a little convincing had him on with alight leader was in big trouble, now this is what I come for. This bream was old ugly big blubber lipped thing and had a few more lookers but it was to hard for me and went looking elsewhere. Time to try a hard body on some banks. 2 decent fish in nasty country had me free spooling and using all the tricks to get them out. Had a ball over the whole day and cant wait to go again. ps set a few crab traps in some bays but a lot of snot weed present so no go there.

Have gave one a try only the once, but in my opinion the splasher is a good popper for bass or bream holding tight to heavy cover as you get a lot of splash without dragging it away. It is not as versatile as say a Stiffy and I found it hard to get a good whiting type of retrieve going.

Fished Berowra Friday afternoon. NE wind was blowing so hit the flats first with a popper and a stick bait, absolutely nothing doing except got a 45cm flatty on the popper. . Hit a favourite bank couple of tentative hits and had a follow from a good bream. Was using a bigger sebile 45mm crank and decided to fish the racks thinking big lure big fish. First cast along the inside of a wash board and I was belted, unfortunately my drag was not cranked up and was lucky to get it out. Definately not the longest Bream I have caught but surely one of the fatest. Got a couple of other legals then got a bit 2 cute with 6pnd and sx40 and got stitched up. Fished a deep point on dusk for Jew but only small flattys and bite offs from choppers.

Hey mate the fishing could be tough in the lake as there was a fish kill a few months back. If I had to catch a fish with kids I would be drifting on the NE side of where the channel comes into the lake. Cheers Dave

Great effort, sounds like you had fun.

Dam that is a real shame. I have always loved fishing there, and over the long weekend at Easter had 2 of my best sessions ever. 1st session scored my first ever big Lizard 88cm and 2cnd got onto hot bite of big bream, with masses of schooling bait it was no surprise really. Hope it bounces back quickly.

Nice work must have been a proud moment.

Wow awesome fish and report. The first pic is a great one even if a little blury. Cheers Dave

Sounds like you have your leaders pretty well sussed out, but try the slim beauty knot.Basically u are just using a double granny knot in the leader to grab the braid instead of doubling it over.With your blades are u using DO-IT molds? If so how do u paint them, the ones I have done look ordinary,and have not caught a legal fish yet.

No worriesWould love to fish Sussex as never fished there before, but no chance, to many up coming things. Good luck, take plenty of blades and use the light leaders you have mentioned in your posts, and make them long at least 3.5m. If you are using a leader knot that causes a drama with this let me know and I will help u out. cheers Dave

I did try and warn you so here goes. Thursady. Pre-fish up at 4.30am left at 2pm totally down and depressed. Caught 1 bream all day. Briefing had a attitude adjuster and good chat with some good blokes. Drew 2 high profile non boaters, hopefully they can crack a pattern If I can't. Friday. Up at 5am. Splash $85 in the boat. Tell Bernard we are going to run and gun up river.Pittwater 0. Rockwall 0. Rack 1. Bernard gets good fish on of all things ZX blade. He gets smoked twice more and and I can't get a hit cranking a deep chubby.Finally get a good fish and then another straight away Brown Dog colour. Rework rack 0. Rack 2. Small fish decide to leave then pick up solid fish on way out. Still decide to go upriver to Berowra more out of desperation than anything.Berowra hulls,pontoons,washboards,racks all 0. Back to Rack 1. Tide is way up difficult to see the individual poles but fluke my 4th fish almost straight away. Bernard gets smoked again. Flog water to a foam but can't get number 5.Starting to worry reworking the rack is shutting it down. Relizing we are going to be late punish boat and us back to Pittwater.We are soaked.Weigh in 2.54kg docked back to 2.44kg for being late. Sitting in 9th overall. Saturday. Feeling a lot better and with a simple plan to head back to Rack 1. Up at 5 again and anothe $85 of fuel. Get to rack 1. Tide is still up 0. Rack 2 0. Go searching 0 + loose Brown Dog lure. Phil asks what about this rack, why not I say. Tie on a favourite of mine a yellow cricket pattern. 1 fish for Phil and 3 for me. Leave rack 3. Rack 4 just legal fish fish. Back to rack 1 for 0 and really worried I am flogging the racks to hard and it will all shut down, also get smoked and loose yellow lure. Back to rack 3 and get 2 fish quickly while Phil pulls hooks. This gives me a small up grade 25.2cm -25.5cm. Starting to think I will qualify fot the top ten but still worry aboaut overworking the fish. Head back happy at a much slower pace but still get wet. Weigh just over 2kg and sit in 7th qualifying for the final day. Sunday Up at 4.45am for earlier start.Boat takes only $71. Fish on my own straight back to the racks. Rack 4 small fish and a luderick. Get done by a small fish by relaxing when I saw how small it was Rack 1 0. Go searching and pick up first fish on some broken down racks that were a bit shallow yesterday. This gives me confidence in starting to know how the tide works in the bay. Go to rack 3. 3 good fish and pressure is off and its only 10.30am. Back to rack 1 just to rest rack 3 0. Back to rack 3 Biggest fish for the day and thats five Have been using more and more natural colored Chubbys to keep bite going. Upgrade a 27cm for 28cm then another small upgrade. Start going for broke casting way deep into racks and poles etc. Get smoked and loose lure. Leave and fish a deep shoreline basically trying for huge fish 0. Back to Pittwater fish flats it is seriously blowing 25knots due south. I am sitting down cranking a hard body cause its thats rough and cold. Did I mention it had teamed down all morning. So when I busted lure off I packed it in. Heading back I thought I had about 3kgs and I might move up to 5th which qualifys for the Grand Final in Forster. With 3.67kg it shot me up to 4th with the biggest bag for the day. Cold but real happy and with my young family down to watch it was even better. There you go BreamBucket Cheers Dave Tackle used Shimano Rack Raiders, Daiwa Tierra reels, Sunline Castaway braid and Rockfish 8pnd Leader. I was only tin Boat in the top 10. Winner was in a Polycraft

All my fish caught east of Brooklyn on Chubbies. If you want a blow by blow report I will tell anyone who will listen. Cheers Dave

On the long weekend there was an Abt Super Series on the Hawkesbury River. There was a good field of 30 odd boats with some of the best breamers in the country and then there was me. With a little determination and some luck I stuck it out in the consistently worst weather I have fished in and finished 4th picking up $1100. The Iceman who was in an online tipping comp to pick the top five place getters in the boater and non boater division picked me to finish 4th. I just like to say thanks Andrew for backing a fellow fishraider and bream angler, and it was a bit of a buzz to see my name picked. Just next time for the grand final pick me as number 1 Nostradamas. Cheers Dave

Hi mate. I know the video you have mentioned. I don't exactly know where it is but any point with some current a bit of depth and bait is going to go alright. Also are you fishing with lures, if so secret spots are not that important, as its better to stay mobile and find the fish. Cheers Dave Or if its driving you mad and u have to know, ring him up and ask him, but my best guess is that its on the western shore line in front of the second lot of houses i" think" as you travel downstream from the ramp