crystalliser

Good on u mate, u definitely beat my pb trev on lure! Regardless of big or small, if they could hit my hb's I'll be a happy man for sure. Cheers Ronald

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. Have been doing my regular breaming but nothing spectacular to show. As usual, always more keen to test lures than catching fish. Got a River2Sea Static Shad from Fishfinder Tony and decided to wet it the 2nd time. Apparently there's no weight transfer inside but surprisingly the action was not too bad. I did however change the treble size. Managed to score a small chopper on the 1st cast and subsequently a bream. Then, it was time to rekindle my night ops again. To be honest, I did 4 nights instead of the previous 3. The conditions were quite similar and they were still surface feeding under the full moonlight. However, the luring was far from expectations. This time round, I opted to go bigger on the plastics and the 3 inch gulp minnows were on the menu for that week. 1st op only saw a 34cm bream taken on Smelt which gave some respectable runs. As the tide wasn't that high in 1st op, I plugged out a neglected overseas-bought hb and gave it her 1st saltwater bath. On the first cast, the StrikePro (old version Pygmy) snag me a small bream. After that, a couple of solid hits but no hookup. On my 2nd op, I brought a mate who had never lured before. Hooked him up with some Gulps and he managed to nail a 36cm and 41cm flattie. He was stoked and glad that he enjoyed fishing with plastics. On the very same day, I bought another pack of 3" minnow in Lime Tiger and keen as mustard to toss it into the water. Managed to snare a couple of good size flatties and small breams, including this 31cm specimen. Very happy with the 3 inchers. They seemed to last longer and had the ability to attract bigger ones. Brought my mate (nzwarriors) along for the 3rd op. It was windy that night and not much surface activity. Didn't do well but nzwarriors managed to get a 35cm whiting on a whole camo worm which was meant for a jewie. With the morning tide not being too ideal for me, I went out anyway to my favourite flats with the mentality to test run some surface lures. 1st up was a Lucky Craft Bevy Prop and it took me quite awhile to figure out a way to work these lures. Seemed like when I discontinued the pauses and wind in constantly with intermittent twitches, the swirls started appearing. Next cast with the same patterns and I managed to score a super duper small chopper that was pulled in like a leaf and looked the same size as the lure! Continued for awhile more and even practiced how to "walk the dog" but nonetheless without any hookups. Iceman told me about this attractant called megastrike might help and so I went out and bought one out of curiousity. Heavier curiousity ensued and this crystalliser just wouldn't be a good 'stay-home' boy and had to eagerly try out if this $hit works. To be honest, I'm not sure, but this "smell-like-pizza" attractant did snatch me some breams and flatties on Gulps that had been soaked in water many times without a touch till this bream took it on the 1st cast with megastrike. Till next time. Tight lines! Cheers Ronald

Nice report pmak! Those bridge pylons looks like a good practice ground for casting in tight spaces eh.. Cheers Ronald

Bloody hell BM, good on u to have spots for sussing out your treble! WTF am I still breaming for?! Well done mate, that is sure one hell of a holy grail. Cheers Ronald

Congrats to pmak JR on his 1st SP caught fish! U're a good coach pmak. Cheers Ronald

Generally when u stop cranking the lure, it floats. This secondary action might trigger an attack from the persuing predator, as compared to a suspending lure which sits stationary, but stays in the 'strike-zone' much longer. However, both versions have their specific usage for different conditions u fished in. That explains why an SX40 is priced higher than some other cheaper floaters, because their bouyancy had been properly tuned and they really do float slowwwlllyyy... Cheers Ronald

Yeah mate, that sure is a chinamen LJ. Good tucker. Cheers Ronald

Nice one mate! You've outdone me, as I've never seen a trev before in that bay! Bloody good! Cheers Ronald

pmak: Mate, u should try luring at night. Lure fishing itself might already posed a challenge to fishos, but by adding pitch black condition when u can't see $hit, it makes the capture much more special. 1975: Billy, I haven't written a will for the hbs. mottyman: Thanks David, it's like my mini fishy blog to share to fellow fishraider forummers. gerg: Thanks for the compliments.

G'day. Here's a report on my recent "3 consecutive NIGHT OPS" and one that will take a long time to forget. Since it was king tide for last week, I had been planning some night raids in the hope that it can be executed in good weather. Luckily they played ball and I made a call to a mate that the ops order had came through. My mate held some hopes that a jewie would come knocking on his door. He went for big plastics while I opted my favourite 2" Gulp grub. At one point, my mate registered some resistance and gave a hard yank, and I could hear his certate's drag jerk for a split sec. But there was no connection and the usual "what was it".. "what the heck".. curiousity tortured us. Continued our raid and suddenly I had a take which wasn't hard-felt. Put on my slight-strike mode and true enough, there was something at the end of my line. This thing came in easy, without a single line take. A couple of headshakes had me speculating a good size flattie. But as soon as it started swimming sideways to the bank, I had second thoughts. Nonetheless, it was brought nearer for visual inspection and turned out to be a 36cm bream. Too bad she thought she was a flattie and I promptly returned this 'plastic-bag' back into the drink hoping she'll haunt other future breamers. Night ops number 2 saw me and nzwarriors headed out in search of more surface activities I witnessed the night before. Nzwarriors was using whole camo worm while I continued with my grub, which happened to be the one I used the night before (yes, cheapskate, I know). However, it didn't last too long before it fell off the jighead, which ironically withstood the thrashing from 3 landed fishes including the 36. Suddenly I noticed nzwarriors was onto something. His Tierra was singing hardout and we knew this was a biggun. I regrettably advised him to tighten his drag a little as it was kinda loose and within seconds of the fish being near the oyster encrusted banks, it busted him off. This gutted nzwarriors and I wasn't feeling too well about my advise to him, sorry bro.. We moved to another spot and I was at one of my favourite spot very near to where I caught my previous 36. We noticed a lot of surface feeding and wasted no time to make a few casts. On a parallel cast, I felt a take on a twitch and instantly strike it. Kixy's singing woke both of us up and this one did better than any wet-socks. Funnily, this was another 36cm job. Thanks to nzwarriors for this pic and also assisting me in lip gripping this bugger. Continued for awhile more and managed one more 32cm before heading back to HQ. 3rd night came and the ops order came through for the final assault. I was met with the same conditions and the surface feeding activities were still there and more bustling. It was pretty quiet at the starting spots except for a take that made kix burst for a split sec but missed the hookup, darn.. It certainly felt like a good one. So, back to that productive spot and the water was alive. Casted my grub and probably on the 2nd cast, I felt a take and since I couldn't see my line in the pitch black condition, I struck nonetheless. Zzzzz... followed by a jump within a foot away from where I was standing! Almost shit myself but kept my composure and played her confidently. With little space to move around, I had to pray that my rod steering is up to standard. She made a good respectable 5-6 runs, and with some improvisation, I landed her successfully and she measured 41cm (37.5 fork). This biggie certainly left me with a good impression and was rightfully returned to where she was from. Continued a short while more with another 31cm to close up this session. These night ops were truly enjoyed and will definitely not be the last. Cheers Ronald

That's a very good session guys, well done! Congrats on your 1st hb-bream billy, and to get a 33cm is a good feat. Go the SX40! Cheers Ronald

Iceman: Thanks for the tip mate, megastrike it shall be. Jewhunter: G'day Grant, good to hear u revisiting your ex-backyard. Cheers Ronald

Howdy raiders. Here's another short report on my landbase escapade. Recently decided to embark on another form of breaming. Having heard about an article in April's issue of Modern Fishing Magazine featuring surface popping, I went out to grab meself a copy and 'studied' in detail how it was done. Told FishFinder Tony I needed poppers and he picked me a StrikePro Rack Popper, cool! Anyway, on one particular morning, went on an unplanned trip since I woke up too early. Tried an assortment of sps 1st, as I didn't plan to use hardbodies yet. Whilst on the move to a mangrove tree, my sp was decimated on the drop. A call was made to do hb'ing. After looking through the tackle box, I decided to let the popper go for a morning dip. 1st cast... ploop.. ploop.. SPLASH! Almost shit myself! Pop more and the swirls just kept teasing me. Few casts later followed by some refinement, ploop.. ploop.. zzzzz... Yeehar, my 1st popper caught bream at 27cm! That was all it takes to make me get excited and basically I pop the whole session. There was another angler not far from me and out of the sudden, I heard a loud drag. That was some serious run and he was fighting to keep the fish connected since he was only using 2 kilo line. I volunteered to help him body-lift the bream and it was a staggering 42cm (39 fork) grandpa bream! It was caught on a ZipBaits Rigge. Made our acquaintances and I was happy to see him land such a big fish. His Daiwa Steez 2506 sure is a lean-mean machine. I continued my poppering and all I could muster up were 2 fail hookups and countless missed-strikes. They were definitely there in numbers but probably forgot to wear spectacles. WARNING: Top water action IS ADDICTIVE! Cheers Ronald

Well done David. That is a good size bass from up there. Gotta get my act up and do some bass'in. Cheers Ronald

Ah.. look at Mitchell's smile.. Good stuffs rzep, that's what fishing is all about eh. That yabby lure is a definite killer for sure. Cheers Ronald

That's some great fishing there. Luckily IC turned it on for you guys! Cheers Ronald

Hi rzep. Nope, I wasn't luring on saturday, went on boat instead. G'day pmak. I was at IC. Well done on your first whiting! Those 2" pseed gulp grubs are dynamite eh.. Tight Lines Ronald

Hi fishraiders. Here's another report of a short evening session on friday the 13th. I didn't realised it was that infamous date till I my computer proves it so. Arrived on a pretty low high-tide and began casting the obligatory sps to suss out any activities. A few flatties climbed onto the various gulp worms/grubs and powerbaits to keep me occupied till the sunsets. As soon as darkness prevails, the tide began to recede as well. Changed to a LuckyCraft Tango 45SP and few casts later, an angry flattie took the lure near the bank. It totally went berserk and took line as if she thought she was a bream. Not a biggie but released with my seal of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. approval. Saw an eddy under the street lights and casted around it. After a few slow cranks, kix wanted to sing straightaway. The beauty of hb-fishing. The movement of the rod tip suggested a bream run. However, when it was near the bank, it wanted to do some death-rolls, thus it got wrapped around the 5lb Nitlon DARM fluoro. A slow lift by the leader and a 31cm bream was forced to have her picture taken. The water was getting low and I had to incorporate the sp technique to work the lure. On a particular pause, a take was felt and a smallie seems to like this approach. I was soon getting hungry and thinking about food more than fishing. On the last few casts, there was a take and I gave a strike. It felt like there was no connection but as soon as I wind in the slack, there was something at the end of the line. It was a crappy tussle and a 28cm came in as the last fish for the night. Bloody bugger thrashed non-stop on the grass and all I could think was why it didn't waste its energy trying to run my drag and instead gave me a hard time to remove the treble. Packed up for the night and left for dinner without knowing it was "LURING ON A FRIDAY THE 13TH NIGHT". Cheers Ronald

Top report pmak! Well bloody done on your pbs! That 62 sure looks huge. Cheapies are good lures too mate, and it's good to hear u're reycling your softies as well. Yeah, rodd point is quite a good place for luring, particularly ideal for any type of wind conditions IMO, but it does gets a little snaggy. Well, that's why there are fishes there, isn't it? Once again, u did well mate, keep the reports coming in. Cheers Ronald

G'day. Have been doing a few short (hopefully breaming) sessions during the easter holidays and a couple of pics to share. It was a rainy easter sat night with intermittent showers and feeling bored, decided to give my new EverGreen Mini Combat Crank a night swim. It's a rattle-less lure but the action was quite sexy. 2nd cast and I was onto something. Just a small bream but nonetheless the lure was de-virginised. A couple of hits and misses before the heavens poured and I was outta there after half an hour. With a low-low tide during the easter arvo, beach luring session was in order. Decided to give sp the 1st run to see if any fishes were around to play. Indeed, my gulps and powerbaits were gone in matter of few casts. Time to let some hardies have a few swim. 1st up was an EverGreen Spin Move Shad. Stimulated with some ultrabite and it got hammered on the 1st crank. The take was strong but the tussle was crap. This pinkie loved the treble and took it in entirely! A small whiting also liked the lure. Decided to change it as it was diving deep pretty fast due to its sensitive weight transfer system. Got a pack of Decoy snaps from FishFinder Tony and they are pretty strong stuffs. Changed lures easily and decided to opt for a SX and within a few casts, a 'plastic-bag' 41cm flattie wanted to beach itself. Was contemplating for a feed but due to my laziness in cooking, decided to let it go. Next up, got another 'real' plastic bag feeling. I thought it might be a clump of weed or something. To my surprise, it was a bloody numb ray! I've heard about how they actually got their name "NUMB" and was dumbfounded on how to remove my poor SX! So, foolishly used my crocs and flipped that bugger over and saw the treble lodged onto its big-a$$ mouth! Luckily got my SX back and gave the ray a slight push and she was happily flipping away. Decided to give that shellshocked SX a rest and went for poppering instead. No takers unfortunately and it was back to using my faithful Angler's Republic Rapid 45DSP. Was kinda quiet for awhile but eventually there was a customer. Finally there was something that is willing to make my kix sing. This bream made a good account of itself in shallow terrain, u beauty! Moved a little further down and was cranking this lure pretty fast. A 'plastic-bag' 46cm flattie didn't mind the speed at all. Let her go since I wasn't needing a feed. Felt tired and called it quits. Cheers Ronald

Good job there pmak! That bream is cute. Cheers Ronald

Nice work there, top breamer! Keep the reports coming! Cheers Ronald

Good stuff! Good on you being a guide in HC. Are you sure they're just nagging u for another session or implying a loomis/daiwa outfit for their birthdays? Cheers Ronald

Hi raiders. Having finalised my thesis last week, I couldn't resist having a quick flick just before handing in. The early morning saw me woke up to find that the batteries for my digi cam were dead. I thought to myself, "nah, there won't be anything worth taking a pic today". Well, the following events in FD definitely ate those words. Arrived to a relatively high tide and tied on an sp 1st. Made the cast and was busy fiddling with the kix. Closed the bail arm and just as about to turn the handle, I felt a weight. A wet-sock tussle ended with a 26cm bream landed, how good is that for a first cast! As usual, 1 gulp = 1 fish. Opted for the 2" pseed powergrub and it was kinda quiet for awhile. By then, the sun was up. On a particular cast, felt some taps and I instantly paused. Gave a little twitch and while on the drop, saw my line moved and I striked. Woohoo.. fish ON. A slightly better tussle ensued and I landed a 28cm job. Apologies for this crap camera-phone pic. By now, I began to regret not ensuring that the batteries are charged. Soon, the grub was raped by the usual suspects. This time round, whacked on a halved camo worm. Moved further down and the casts were registering plenty of hits. Ironically the worm was still intact. Then, the same thing happened again. I gave the lure more action in hoping to scare off the timid bites, as it was on a drop, the line instantly shot out! The sound from kix definitely woke me up. 4 good solid runs courtesy of this whiting at 38cm. Still anticipating to crack the 40-mark for whiting. Checked my watch and there was still some time left. Changed the badly damaged worm to a bloodworm grub. Few casts later and this time round, the line moved slowly on a pause. The fight was baffling me at that moment. It was slow moving and the rod tip was shaking. I thought it might be a big flattie but the line movement suggested otherwise. Out of a sudden, a solid zzzzz went on for 5secs. Quickly gain my line back and by then, I noticed it was a big bream! Luckily there were steps nearby and I body-lifted my FD-pb bream of 39cm. Now I wonder why the fight was kinda wet-sock from her. The eye was in pretty bad shape as seen in the 1st pic. It was mushy and pretty gruesome, probably got damaged from a previous hookup onto its eye, OUCH! Quickly released her and she powered away effortlessly. Time was up and I left a happy camper and to top off the good day, my thesis has been handed in. Yeehar! Cheers Ronald

G'day, IC stands for iron cove. The reel I'm using is a Caldia Kix 1500. Cheers Ronald