Reel-em-in

G'day all, I have been fishing the Hawkesbury for the last eight years and have seen some dramatic changes in the way the river fishes. This last weekend I took my youngest daughter fishing and opted for an area that is not fished by many. Had good successes. This area of the river is very shallow and is not trawled commercially. I will be trying these areas a bit more as i beleive the fish will move to quiter areas if the presure on the system gets to much. Interesting point Inhlanzi made about the taylor cleaning up on juvenile fish, maybe the amount of eels and sharks is in the system is also not healthy. Good or bad, fishing is not called catching for very good reasons. It does not matter how bad it gets, the regeneration of the batteries i get to face another week in the concrete jungle is worth the effort on the water. Like my old man always said, if beer was $100 a slab it will still be a bargain. I liked the idea of a tourney between the river and the harbour and a swap around to see the results cheers Reel-em-in

Fella Fenatics, Muzz, no mate you are speculating about urban myths again. We were on the water at 5:30 and were back at home by 12:30 on Saturday. Must have been reel thunder. (good name for a boat) The cobia was around the 70CM mark. Tha flatie measured 915CM. What impressed me about this fish was the width and how fat it was. Let me add tasty to that last remark Cheers Joe Reel-em-in

Reely, Thanks for the info on the Cobia. I wished it was me mate. Sold the boat about 4 months ago.

I am sure many of you will understand the presure when it is expected to get a fish for a barbie organised by the Being boatless at the moment I managed to talk Inhlanzi into a quick session on Saturday morning....maybe for a Jew. both of us had to be back at home by lunch time so it was only going to be a short session. Inhlanzi had about 5 KG's of fresh slimeys for the trip and the first stop just before high tide was at spot X. Unbeleivably the peckers ruined every bait dropped to the bottom. I fished a seperate rod for liveys in the hope to get a livie down to avoid baiting up constantly. Instead of a livie I managed to catch a Cobia. I am not an expert at these things but I was very surprized to catch a Cobia in the Hawskesbury River. i would appreciate some comments from the clan about this. Back to the report The tide changed and we were of to spot Y. Baits down and nothing not even peckers. We decided to wait it out when I saw Mike pulling up something heavy. The first call was Eel and two head shakes later we decided it was a flathead. I got the net ready just incase. When he fish turned on the surface I looked at the net that was only about 25CM deep and 35CM in radius Better get the Gaff. Catching big flathead is definately a very reasonable expectation when fishing for Jews with big baits. Normally we let them go but remember the was expecting something for the table. No batteries in the camera and Inhlanzi had to go. Managed to get batteries from the Foxtel remote to take a quick snap before the fillet knife went to work. My daughter (13) was kind enough to pose with this baby croc. thanks for the morning out Mike it was good to get on the water after the stresses of the Car Crash. Cheers Reel-em-in Joe

G'day Fellas, Just want to say that the well wishes from so many is sincerely appreciated. I am on the mend and the medical staff reckons I will be good to catch a fish or two in the next couple of weeks. Thanks again for your good wishes and I will post my first fish after this little stumble. Tight lines everyone Reel-Em-In Jo

Mate, Spreading those rumours about my snoring again.... Jason, I will be too happy to sleep on the deck. It was a pleasure to be with Inhlanzi when he caught that fish. There are various ways to catch these fantastic fish. You stick with what works for you. If You find your hook up rate is better with the drag on then keep it on. I have found it works the other way for me. 94.1 FM on the river is my secret, Nothing beats a bit of country, a cold one (tooheys), one of Waynes hamburgers and a chance to tangle with a good fish Cheers Jo

There was a devious rumour that the snoring from one of the four "mates" kept the jewies away in the night. This is absolutely not true. What a pleasure to spend 24 hours on the water with a good mate and then to meet some more. Thanks Wayne for the best burgers on the river. Inhlanzi is one of those blokes who will put in the time and effort to reach his goals. Mike I hope your next Jewie goes double figures. Jo

Do not let the facts get in the way of a great story What a fish...... and this time of the year!!!!!!. Your first Marlin is like a Hole in One in golf. This will be a moment that you will never forget. I just sold my boat cause the wife wants to buy a house. Seeing the pictures and reading your story is only making me more depressed. Congratulations to the crew, a great effort. Cheers Jo Was REEL-EM-IN