Bream Mad

Nice species How did the giant herring go, i have heard that fight HARD!!! Could you amagine the fight of one a metre long BM

Bad luck Matt Fish can certainly be funny when they are not in a feeding mood, must be the weather i recon. Had the same thing happen at my local Bass stream, could see the fish but were even frightened of a #14 nymph This was after they smashed my popper then went quiet Cant work out their moods BM

Well done Stewy and Dan on another 'Bass Attack!!' The betts spin again doing the damage, the great thing about Bassin is the pure anticipation of dragging a lure past a nasty snag. Some days you just know it is going to get nailed I am heading out tommorrow morning for another fly session can't wait!!!! Cheers BM

Wow those Browns are HORSES Amazing fish in top condition as well. what was the length of those monsters? I agree with you on trout fighting abilities, given open water trout will run just as hard and fast as any other fish, i have had plenty of TCD rainbows that have taken some stopping. Great fish again, those are definetly fish of a lifetime. Cheers BM

Jeese Mate, No Trout for all that work Sounds like we need to hook up for a session closer to oberon. Seriously though i myself returned on many occasions fishless from that stretch of the river. I recon the low water levels last summer may have wiped a lot of trout out that far downstream. You would be suprised how hot the water temp can get in mid summer (25+) which is may too hot for most trout. When i was there last i only managed a couple of small sickly rainbows (stocked) that did not look in very good condition If you are seeing fish without spooking them that is a good start, were there any fish rising to hatches? cheers BM

The pattern itself is still evolving, basically a mix of yellow or green foam, rubber bands for legs and pheasant tail for wings, and brown dubbing.

Hi Raiders, After some great HB sessions on my local Bass it was time to wave the long wand again. Large foam hoppers were tied ready for the assault. Hit the river at 5am and started casting my hopper into cover, giving it a little twitch then just letting it drift in the current. First pool and several small bass slash at the hopper but fail to hook up Then as i wade into a deeper part and cast over the top of a submerged log all hell breaks loose as a good Bass smashes the hopper and bends my 3wt though to the cork!! Despite diving into every snag in the pool the leader holds and i land this good fish at 34cm Now the ice is broken and the confidence is restored as i make my way upstream. After catching and releasing some ratbags (small Bass) i cover a likely mid stream snag and with a mighty splash the hopper is drowned but no hookup, an underwater strip brings a solid strike and i am once again hooked to a good fish, she again proves difficult to land on my little flyrod but is soon released after a few pics of course Slightly bigger at 35cm As i continue upstream i see (and hear) a mighty surface strike at the head of a punge pool. I start casting into the pool but no takers so i climb onto a large rock and just dap my hopper at the base of the waterfall. In full view i watch as a large Bass rises and quietly sips the hopper off the surface I stike and feel plenty of weight again, despite her large size the fight was pretty poor, as i unhook her at 38cm she slides off the rock as i am posing her for a pic, oh well. Once again the Bass prove great fun to catch on the flyrod, a top session Cheers BM

Great Trev Mate A Trev that size on 4lb leader is a serious effort Although as strong as they fight they are always pretty clean BM

All i can say is look out Bream You always pull good fish when others struggle. Great work on some monster Bream and 'soapy' jew. Like the look of your new sticks very flash Cheers BM

Well Done Dave nice Bass Don't worry about not having a boat, plenty of raiders with lifts available All do like i do and find spots were wading is the only option, landbased fishing can be just as good and does not require too much planning Cheers BM

Great fishing Grant with 3 going better than 40cm Good luck in the 50cm quest, ah what a buzz that would be in a kayak. I see the black bubble pop is getting a work out good stuff. The Bass are still firing down south but the size seems to be down from last week? Were do the big girls go? Go the Bass BM

Just got back from another killer session The Bass are just getting bigger First a 34cm then a 36cm then i feel a dull thud and the drag starts peeling She tries to brick me into every snag in the pool but eventually after a serious fight i cradle my new PB at 44CM !!!! I am still shaking as i write (sorry no pics) BM

Great Bass Good way to start of the new season with a PB, well done BM

for 3" plastics i would use #2 size in either 1/16 or 1/32 oz. for 2" plastics i would use a #4 size hook generally in 1/16oz because you want the plastic to retain it's action on the drop. I usually use 1/32 oz when using 2" bass minnows. BM

Yes i usually use either a resin head or unweighted on a worm hook. They are lethal around weedbeds, just drag the bastards though BM

Great Size Bass guys The early season definitely provides the bigger models Good to see another budding young Basser, keep up the good work Stewy Cheers BM

Hi Nathan There are a lot of Bass in sydney's west you just have to have a look, too be honest i just went to spot were the road crossed the river, obviously in the frest water and threw in a lure at the nearest snag I recon after about four casts a little Bass smashed it, after that i just expored both up and downstream of that point untill i found the best water. Any tributry of the georges or hawkesbury is worth a look i recon. But be prepared for some serious bush bashing! the stream i fish is so overgown sometimes the only way though is though the water Bass are a fine fish, very aggresive and great fun to catch Cheers BM

Hi Raiders, After Stewy's good reports i dusted off the Bass gear for another season Headed down to my fav small stream to see if the Bass had returned from their winter business Woke up early this morning and casted into this pool (an old fav) After a short time a typical aggressive Bass smashed my scorpion, the first Bass for the season A nice silverly look to her Well that was enough to fire me up for an arvo session further afield. I slogged though the thick bush and when i finally hit the water this is what greeted me Very pretty but no takers in this pool Then as i made my way upstream i came across a pool that was crawling with Bass First cast in and my lure is hammered and a strong fight ends with a good Bass 30+cm ready for release. I release him downstream so as not to spook the pool and next five casts = five quality Bass all better than 30cm Surely this can't go on but it just gets better the next pool yields my new PB at 35cm here he is Then the Bass just go balistic!! it seems every cast equals a solid hit Whilst fighting one fish i notice a much larger fish chasing it around, so after i release the first i toss out a surface lure downstream and SMACK it is inhaled by a monster that pulls drag like no other Eventualy I cradle he out of the water and take a few snaps of my new PB at 36cm here she is Pretty soon it is dark and i have to go but as i walk past each pool i see Bass rising I lost count but in two hours i would say 15 fish would have been caught and released The most awesome Bass session in my life BM

I don't usually use SP's on Bass, mostly because they are not that fussy (unlike Bream). so my fav HB/s for small stream Bass I go after are: 1. Smith Camion SR (twitched on the top or fished under. I actually caught a 33cm Bass on the first ever cast with this lure, that was after i had hammered the pool with everything else) 2. Buggie Pop R2S (i like the green/orange colour, just throw it at a snag, twitch it and wait for Bass to nail it) 3. SX40: these just BRAIN Bass at my local, the only problem is they are a bit to deep. 4. Halco Scorpion 35: in mullet colour and suspending form is a cheap good lure for Bass, again twitch it at the top and wait for abit before dragging it under. 5. I have used 3" Bass minnows to good effect in pearl blue, but usually end up with more snags than fish, I sometimes rig it texas and drag it though the weed beds Again remember this is for small stream Bass, i have never fished a dam for Bass but i know that pro's don't use much other than Jackall's. Cheers BM

Well done on the PB mate the flatties seem to be on the chew Just got back from fig tree myself and landed three good flatties in about an hour BM

Woh 9cm is too big for Bream Lets hope that was a misprint For Bream or anything estuary i would recomend 2" (5cm) grubs in bloodworm or pumpkinseed on a #4 Hook 1.5gram (1/16oz) jig head. When you rig it make sure it is STRAIGHT and give it a couple of test drops at you feet, if you like it's action chances are the fish will too Remember fish slow with plenty of pauses and watch that slack line when the lure is sitting on the bottom, because that when the fish will pick it up. Good luck BM

Hi Raiders, After struggling though winter with low catch rates and not a single Bream from my local stream things are turning around!. Last weekend the flatties returned and nailed four little ones before I scored a prize Bass(35cm) from the Salt So when i arrived on Sat morning I was once again feeling confident of some action. Despite the ultra low tide when it started rushing in the fish quickly got on the job, and once again the squidgy bug took this quality Bream A good size for this water at 32cm and fought very well, although after release he needed some resus which is unusual for Bream Bring on Spring BM

Length of rod definitely makes a big difference with my 7'2" raider I could cast easy 30m i recon, but with my 6'8" less than 25m. Once again 4lb fireline spooled right up to the rim helps and also a reel with a larger diameter spool also helps. Also when i am going for big cast i often use both hands. BM

Well Done Ice E.P's are always a welcome addition to any session. I find they really fire up late winter early spring. BM

Bobfish, I have been flyfishing both for trout and saltwater fish for a while now and also using SP's and HB's and here is a few observations. 1. Remember the fly rod was designed to present (almost) weightless tiny insect imitations to trout and salmon, thus when you try to use it to cast weighted flys such as clousers it makes the whole act of casting much more difficult. When starting out keep flies small and weight little. 2. I have caught many bream and flatties on fly but my catch rate with SP's and HB's far outways my best ever fly session. 3. Bass are much easier to temp on the fly especially using surface flys. 4. Pelagics such as salmon, tailor and kings are a viable fly rod targets mostly because they often feed near the surface and are much more aggressive than say Bream. 5. If you really want to give Flyfishing a go i would suggest try troutfishing in rivers first, this IMO is the most enjoyable and rewarding fishing available. Good Luck, but remember as my wife often puts it "he is married to his fly rod" BM