JamoDamo

Hey mate well done on the blackies. If you are going to fish for them you must use weed burley as that will be your bait of choice, It doesn't have to be amazing weed just any weed cut finely and put in a good sand to weed ratio you can even use cabbage and it'll do the same thing. I usually soak my burley so that its like a soppy consistency as it sinks quickly and keeps the fish where I want em. Try to scrounge some cabbage or weed off the waterline of the wharf generally there are plumes of cabbage growing on them, if you don't want to use cabbage look for creeks that are shallow and meet the salt, you'll generally get it there. If you need any help just pm me I am happy to help you out. Jamo

Bury them at least 2 foot deep as when the birds get to them the eggs can get taken back to the river by the birds if they have any and you give the environment some free fertiliser!

Good fish! At this time I spose we all have to make do with what we have in our area to fish, who knows you might find your own little local honey hole . Next time you do get one I suggest you give it a friendly little pat on the head with a rock or bring a knife next time , but again well done mate.

How much fun are 1-2kg rods!!! Getting a td black 1-3kg itchy twitchy for next setup with a freams or legalis for my birthday can't wait! Thank you as always Rebel!

Cheers Rick! Cheers Isaac! Its on fire because of no rain which means the fish are absolutely everywhere! No more fishing for a month or more for me though but thats how it goes I guess. Thank you Jenno! Theres been heaps of action! I reckon the months coming into spring are always the premo time to fish lures in the system!

Cheers Mate! Love getting out there for a fish! Thank you Green Hornet, I really appreciate the feedback. Had to make it a good one for everyone! Thank you SO much Welster, it means so much to know people enjoy reading my reports when they come along! The Georges is firing right now! Cheers as always Rebel! Cheers puddlejumper, he went like an absolute stream train on 4lb! Thank you Waza! I always take care of the fish I catch they deserve respect as they are wild born fish and have made it up to that point in their lifespan which is pretty impressive in a pressured estuary! Must have been dodging hooks as a juvenile! Again Cheers it means a lot! Thanks Blackfish I'm absolutely loving getting out and topplings over some old personal bests! Thank you!

Spot on! Best forum thats out there fishing related I reckon! And again also a young bloke here 16 turning 17 soon, you'll meet and speak to plenty of people who are very experienced and happy to pass on their knowledge to young blokes like us and beginners alike! Let us know how you go in your next session coming up! Jamo

G'day Raiders! Hope all of you are staying safe during this lockdown and haven't had to deal with any close calls. I thought as we are in lockdown it was time to give you all a rundown of the quality of fish getting about in my local system the magnificent George River. If its from big bags of blackfish all the way to big flathead and everything else in between we've been getting em! A few months ago I was given my dream rod for free off one my extremely generous fishing mates who had an old TD Commander 1-2kg Bayonet division that he had never used not once, so it ended up turning into my new favourite rod that i'll ever own! I must say when you step up your gear in finesse fishing you really do feel a difference whether that be its weight, the guides, blanks, reels and all their intricacies it really becomes and absolute pleasure to fish with! I ended up matching the rod up with a Japanese exclusive Daiwa Fuego 1000D LT that I found shopping around on FB marketplace, it was a completely brand new and unused reel still in its box! Had to snap up the deal as it was $110 for a $180 reel, Bargain! Spooled it up as soon as it turned up in the post with 10lb sunline siglon braid as it was the only braid I had around, yes it has a bigger breaking strain but its awesome as it has the diameter of 4lb making it not an issue at all to use. All set and ready to go I set off on my first session with the new rod! Taking out the rod for its first session Walking down the street with my new pride and joy I had arrived at my spot of choice for 10 minutes, a flick here and there but no fish however I was confronted with a dark "plume" of poddy mullet running up and down the spot. I flicked into the school and had follows and even managed to hook one out of curiosity but it pulled the hook as I was lifting it up. With no fish biting here I decided it was time for a move, another 20 minutes walking later I had arrived and my final spot for the day. First cast in... nothing. Second cast, double hopped it off the bottom and I feel a small thump. Not thinking much of it I lifted and damn! Its a snag but wait? Its moving with me. In one quick motion I feel a massive head shake as whatever the hell is on the receiving end of the line has woken up and screamed off. Ooooo this is interesting could be something pretty damn good. The rod lunges into a fierce succession of slow tapered headshakes, what the hell is this?! Zzzzzzzzzz the line keeps peeling off the reel at astronomical speeds and by this point i'm really starting to worry after all i'm fishing 4lb silly string tied onto the line via a slim beauty. I slowly turn its head towards me and it finally cooperates to come in slowly moving towards me via sparingly grasping the spool and leaning back with the rod being careful not to highstick it if whatever it is goes for another big lunge. By this point i'm thinking either : Trevally, BIG bream, a decently large flathead or a little jewfish has taken a liking to my bloodworm zman grub and whatever it is its a damn big one! It finally starts to move towards the rocks I am fishing off and I see it! Its a big flathead! Slowly lifting the fish towards me being careful to keep it calm and its head underwater so it doesn't have a chance to either shred my leader and saw me off or catch me one of the oyster encrusted rocks along the rock wall. A few small runs and later and she's at my feet! I can't believe it! I get the lip grips and hoist her up supporting the belly and get a few glory shots with the rod that brought it to its undoing right in my gob! I swiftly unhook the fish and start to move her back to the water and gently lower her down to the waters edge. Head in first and shes in! I let her sit there and get her breath back and off she goes! She slowly snakes back through the water and swims off the go and make me some more flathead to catch and give someone else the pleasure of catching such an awesome fish. Didn't measure her as it was of paramount priority to get her back in the water as soon as possible after a long fight on 4lb so I didn't bother but it would've gone probably mid 60's potentially touching that 70 mark however all in all an incredible fish to have been in the presence of. Soon after this my mate lands another large flathead around the 70cm mark very fat and long, it was only fitting that she too got to go back as well as they are so important to our ecosystems. Big old fish takes me on a run for my money on 4lb. Only a few days later and I was back on the water but at another spot extremely close to home. Tied on a new leader and lure and i'm back into it, todays choice of lure was again another zman but a slim swim in bloodworm in the 2.5" size on a 1/16th size 2 jighead as usual. Second cast I get onto a small flatty that goes back. Not four casts later and I'm onto another one again same size. I move over to another spot along the wall and flick off a rock ledge, flicked out front and felt a big doonk, classic flathead bite. This one feels a lot better and I bring it in and it turns out its a big and very well fed 45cm model. She went back again. Whilst flicking off the front I see a massive 45-50cm Silver trevally come up and harass some jelly prawns taking refuge close to the rocks. I absolutely freak out with excitement theres trevally around! A couple casts later and I feel a really good hit. I strike and i'm on! This fish fights really weird, its holding down in the current just kicking about it must not know its hooked. I few winds and lifts of the handle and all hell breaks loose! That beautiful sound of screaming down fills my ears and I see the rod fully loaded up and working against the powerful persistent headshakes of this fish. It turns its head and starts to move to the left, very bad news theres heaps of snags and rocks it can get me under in there. I do my level best to keep this fish out of the rocks but its doing everything in its power to get me in all sorts of worry. Now its really down to the wire I've gotta get this thing out of the rocks. I keep my rod well above my head and start to coax it out of its hiding place, and few headshakes and its out and now running back to snag! I finally turn its head and start to bring it back to me, finally! Its turned it head and is running towards me. I quickly reel the line onto my reel to maintain tension and now its really tired! My mate says "trevally for sure" and sure enough a big silver flash is sitting down deep in the water. I finally get it towards me and its a Silver Trevally and its HUGE! I pull it up a rock crevice and beach it. Finally! Its mine! A few cheers and high fives all around. I pick the fish up and its a stonka! Its really thick across the shoulders and really long and its got a massive forked tail! A few quick glory shots of the fish and its coming home for sashimi. I would usually release fish but it had been such a long time since I had been able to enjoy fresh trevally sashimi so it came home with me. Bags and Bags of Blackfish Over the school holidays me and boys decided it was time to go for some long awaited blackfish fishing, last year as you may know me and @SaltyGreek cut our teeth trying to figure out the little buggers but safe to say that the blackfish run as of late in the Georges River has been absolutely amazing! From our first session we easily caught over 45 fish with 16 in the keeper net. Divided through our families we gave away feeds to family and friends and neighbours. Most fish were in the 30cm range with a only a miniscule few 33-35cm models. From start to finish they were on! Every drift resulted in a fish being caught and netted and at one point at a later stage in the tide we had to do the dance of a triple hookup in the same area! Taught a few of my mates how to set up the rig, how to drift your float properly, how to bait up and set the depth and how to create a rich berley mix to keep them interested and on the bite. With that all set they were ready to give it a red hot crack at it. Every drift resulted in a fish being caught whether it was in close or far out the school was everywhere! On this day we also had the pleasure of meeting @Oscarthebeagleand @hookerbruceagain and his son ended up catching a monster 42cm blackfish on a weed fly! You should have seen the bend in the rod! It was insane! From that point on our minds were set on and only on blackfish fishing. We became addicted! I probably fished 12 out of the 14 days of the holidays for blackfish and only blackfish working out what tides our spots were good on or plumbing the depth. Took some of my mates blackfishing and they got really into it and couldn't wait to get back into it! We generally caught around a dozen or more a session releasing pretty much all fish but keeping them in the keeper net for the big photo! After eating a fair bit of blackfish i've got to say, filleted, skinned and processed properly and looked after they are absolutely superb! When you batter them its like eating flake from the fish and chip shops with a sprinkle of chicken salt on it fish and chips. Tried new spots close to home and also ended up with large bags our best going 11 between two people and a bunch of fish we elected to just throw back and not bother with the keeper net. I'm thinking of lining up a session for this weekend going for them, i've caught the bug for them and I don't think for the rest of my life that i'll ever stop fishing for them! Heres some photos: Well guys thats it from me for the last month or two of fishing but what can I say it was an absolute blast with good mates fishing for some awesome estuary species that everyone can catch! Whether it be from the trevally in plague proportions up the river, pelagics of all sorts including a few kings pushing up the river or salmon and talior theres plenty about for those wanting to get into a few and everything in between like those classic bread and butter species all the way up to jews and kings theres always something in the Georges for everyone! I hope you all enjoyed reading this lengthy report on all things fish in the Georges! If anyone needs any help catching fish during the tail end of winter heading into spring just shoot me a pm i'd be happy to help! I'll keep you all posted on whatever gets pulled up from the murky depths of my local estuary and give people an idea of whats getting around. Plenty of fish about just gotta find where they are holding and use light lines to get them . Stay safe and have a good one, Jamo

What an awesome pb for flathead and on lure! Well done mate so stoked for you! Jamo

My condolences for stewy and his family RIP Bert

Hahahaha the good old oops I dropped my phone in the water happens to the best of us! My first squid was awesome! @SaltyGreekgot me onto my first one and man it was fun whats ever better is that I sight casted it over a weed bed! It awesome watching them eat the jig! So good! On ya mate well done keep up the reports so good to see some of the success you are getting! Stoked! If you persist more you'll become a bloody good squid angler! Jamo

I guess its time to pull out the release weights!

Man, I wish I could do that hahahah! Maybe with the blackfish I may have some luck!

Thank you again for your amazing stories. You really are an amazing writer, all your stories captivate the mind and make you feel as if you were actually there. I really enjoy reading these stories during lockdown it gives me something to do and something of such quality to read! Thank you again Waza! Keep em coming! Jamo

Please keep making these awesome fishing stories! Its always a pleasure to read them over lunch or just in general! Keep it up you legend waza!

Go for a td hyper 2-5kg or 2-6kg awesome bang for buck. Really good plastics rods give it a look. Good luck mate. Jamo

Going the bream raider 722 1-4kg, don't really fish anywhere else and I like the shorter rod. I either get this or a td hyper but i'm leaning to the raider

Hey guys! Thinking of buying a savage gear bream raider 1-4kg to replace my savage gear manic. The reel seat has moved over resulting in the reel seat and guides being off centre so now it won't cast very well at all. As they say out with the old and in with the new! At $100 it seems pretty damn good! My mate has one with a sienna 2500 that I tried today and it wasn't too bad, tad heavier that I expected but I loved the crisp taper of the rod, perfect for plastics I thought to myself. Anyways wanted to hear what you guys have to say. Cheers James

Move onto other species that you can catch more easily during winter ie blackfish and leatherjacket if you want your catch rate to go up. I moved from primarily plastics to getting back into blackfishing and i've done alright

Daiwa 21 legalis reels are an awesome choice if you are on a tighter budget, but seeing as you have a good price range, I recommend the shimano stradic FL's, Nascis, saharas, on the daiwa side of things I reckon these few would be good. Daiwa exceler, legalis, freams. Shop around and actually go into store and try them out for yourself

6lb braid, 4lb fluorocarbon leader. 1-2, 1-3 and 2-4kg rod with a whippy tip but enough backbone are perfect for bream fishing. For the reel pick a 1000-2500 size as that is all you will need to fish for them effectively. In regards to lures, i've had success on zman 2" grubz and 2.5" grubz in watermelon red, gudgeon, midnight oil, bloodworm and motor oil. The slim swimz you have will work well too in 3" but cut them down a centimeter or so, this retains the fatter profile of the lure whilst becoming a smaller sized plastic. 2.5" slim swimz are also great for this. Squidgy 65mm wriggler in bloodworm work super well along with red rum, all these lures I have done quite well with. With jigheads get size 2 jigheads for 2.5" grubz as they fit perfectly and don't catch the tail as much as size 1's do however either side will work well on grubz and slim swimz in the 2.5" size. Use size 4 jigheads for the 2" grubz and squidgy wriggler 65mm ones. With weights 1/8th will work however if you want to catch more fish I suggest you get sizes from 1/12th to 1/20th or even lighter if you can get them. Hidden weights in size 1 work well for the 2.5" grubz and size 2's or 4's for the 2" try get around that 1/20th size. If you have the coin invest in some crankbaits! Prolure cranks, Atomics and all sorts of other crankbaits will work a treat! With scents for bream specifically you can't go past pro cure shrimp or saltwater yabby/nipper S factor also works a treat. Use scent sparingly, it goes fast than you think. When fishing for bream your retrieves can vary on the day from a singular hop, to the old trusty double hop, and a quick flicky retrieve that brings the lure up off the bottom and coupled with the light jighead it waffs back down to the bottom. Don't be afraid to try different things and see what makes them bite on said day. With bream retrieves try to keep it as slow as you possibly can. Hop every 10 seconds or so and WATCH YOUR LINE you may not feel the bite but you can see pickups, bites and all sorts of useful info when watching your braid. Also fish around STRUCTURE, this can be snags such as fallen tree branches, steep banks, rocks, boulders, drop offs, slower moving water all sorts of things. Try to assess the area you are fishing and fish it accordingly. With leader any 4lb will work but I prefer the berkley vanish brand and sunline fc rock. Both awesome leaders with awesome abrasion resistant if you get shredded into a snag by a bream or hook up to a flatty. Hope this helps somewhat and points you in the right direction regarding bream! They are a tricky fish to target but once you learn the intricacies of these fish I am sure you will smash them! Good luck mate let me know how you go. Jamo

Try a sliding live bait rig, will give you the chance to belt your sinker out to where you want without injuring your livebait with a big slab when it smacks the water. This rig allows you to keep your livie in prime condition and the ability to selectively cast where you want your bait to sit. Give it a go and let me know

Buttery smooth, super light, finesse drag, balanced with the rod super well just an all round top setup

I've made up my mind. Stuff the freams, the kix or the legalis.. I am going the shimano stradic FL 1000! $230ish and a 1-3kg td hyper balanced beautifully so thats my setup! Can't wait!

The legalis was the reel I was going to go with at first, then I tried the freams and then the kix and now I have no idea what to get