Santa Came Early

[Hodgey]

GDay all,

Well, it's my last weekend on the saltwater for a while, so we opted to fish both days. Yesterday was pretty sunny, and although there were some good numbers of fish moving around, the quality of the fish we have seen in recent weeks wasn't there. With Dene throwing his stealth prawn around, and me using my 4" minnows, we managed 20 flathead for the morning. As the wind picked up we had a quick flick with a pair of Stiffy poppers. As we are about to call it a day, my popper gets smashed during the brisk retrieve and takes off like a scolded cat! Big bream? Flatty? Maybe a mullet? This thing played merry hell on the 1-3kg Sic Stik, and after much scampering around the boat, I land a new PB trev of 43cm

A quick photo, and off it swims. Bright sun, increasing winds and 9 flatties in the esky saw us call it quits for the day. You wouldn't reckon 24 hours could make such a difference ....

We meet up at the boat at 6:15 today and there is good cloud cover and a gentle breeze. I had spent the previous night trying to work out how I could encourage some of the bigger fish that I have been seeing to commit to my lure. The one thought I came up with was that my plastic was landing too heavily in the shallow water. With that in mind, I re-rig the SOL outfit, removing the 1/8oz jig head and replacing it with a 12th. I also opted for the thinner profile of 5" Jerk shad over the bulkier 4" minnow.

The first half a dozen casts and the lure is landing noticeably quieter ... so far so good A couple more casts and I'm into my first fish. A 20cm flattie does little to instil confidence in my newly-discovered logic! Oh well ...keep casting. 15 mins later and my lure comes up hard against 'something'. I can feel a thudding sensation through the line, but the line is not peeling off the reel? Dene has snagged two stingrays in the last 2 weeks and I mention to Dene that I reckon that's what I've done this time.

The SOL is bent in a nice arc and the stalemate continues for a good 15-20 seconds. Finally, 'it' decides to swim off ... at warp speed! The reel is screaming and line is peeling off at top speed. 'It' stops and settles into the sand, and I regain a lot of my line. Another stalemate By now I'm getting a little frustrated, because this thing is dragging us through some prime territory we had intended to fish. To make matters worse, it makes another long scorching run. Dene fires up the outboard and we set off after it.

After a bit of effort to regain most of the line, we finally get a glimpse of the fish. It's not a ray after all, but a fine flattie. She is one stubborn lady, who keeps trying to bury herself in the sand, even while boatside. Judging from the distance between the leader knot and the edge of her mouth, my lure is going to be a looong way down. After a little more coaxing, she finally slides into the net. 91cm

The lure was deep in her throat and too close to the gills to attempt recovery, so the line was cut well in side her mouth. A couple of quick photos and off she swims. We continued on for an hour or so, alternating between poppers and plastics. Our drift takes us to the location that has produced a couple of nice fish recently, but we see very few fish moving in the shallows. Time to move again. Dene turns to start the motor, and my line gives a very pronounced 'tick'. "Hang on, mate ... I've got an equiry". A subtle wrist-flick, and the hooks comes up solid.

I'm pretty sure this is another good fish, because it is staying deep and there is very few head shakes. I could be in for a nice double. Water conditions are a lot clearer here and we get to see the fish early. This time we get to see first hand how she fights. She swims lazily into some deeper water, then doubles back quickly and buries herself in the weed bed. We watched her do this twice! The fight is nowhere near as prolonged as the first fish, and this girl makes her way to the carpet. 85cm

This little lady was pinned nicely in the corner of the mouth, and with minimal fuss was sent on her way. I will remember this day for many years to come A new location, and Dene's popper disappears in a splash of water and weed! It's a terrific whiting, taking a lot of line and giving a good account of itself. When Dene finally gets it boatside we can see why it gave him so much curry. We've caught longer whiting than this on popper, but I reckon this has to be the fattest! 37cm.

A half hour later and his popper claims its next victim. This time there is no mistaking the explosive take of a flathead on popper Dene is rapt. Although it wasn't a big fish, it had been his target for the morning. By now the tally has reached 22 fish and it is time to call it a day. We have a nice feed of fish for both the families and some good photos on the camera. A top session to finish the year off with. Let's hope 2010 is as productive!

Cheers

Hodgey

[arpie]

Well done Hodgey on those Two HUMONGOUS FLATTIES!! That was a terrific result, given the slow start - just goes to show you ....... don't give up!! Were you able to weigh them? Someone may be the recipient of a digital weight set this Xmas ......... won't that be fun??

Nice Trevor there too, Hodgey - don't they 'go'??

Very nice Whiting there, too Dene! They put up a good fight at that size!

A terrifici day on the water for a couple of mates!

Roberta

[alasdair]

Great days fishing. Two big, healthy looking flathead.

Very well done

alasdair

[Jewhunter]

That is simply awesome Skip!!

Two big mummas like that! No wonder you're celebrating.

Congrats mate. They are beaut coloured & fat crocs as well.

Well done on the new p.b trev.

Thanks for the report & terrific pics mate.

Cheers,

Grant.

[brickman]

bloody hell ian two masive flattys in one day is that a pb for you on size

hope you and the family have a great xmas mate.btw dylan got good marks in the hsc and now can pick and choose what uni he goes to

cheers gary

[Ray R]

Mate what a great report, I felt like I was swimming along with her, beaut fish and some top shots..

Congrats to you Hodgey and Dene..

[slinkymalinky]

What an awesome Christmas present. Either of those 2 fish would make a handy shovel Fantastic effort landing that big girl after she swallowed your lure... I know how light you like to go with your leaders.

And let's not forget a new pb. Congrats on the Trev, mate... awesome fun on light gear.

Deano looks pleased with his 37cm live-bait in the photo too.

Cheers, Slinky

[Squizy]

Bloody hell Skipper... leave some for my next visit. The Ol' man is up at the moment and wanted to know who the bum was in the pics..... he thought it was Buschy...

Have a great Christmas from the Taylors.

[Young Gun]

Mate well done, some very nice fish there, awesome report.

YG

[Dusky]

fantastic fish - have an even better christmas!

[IVZ350]

Awesome crocs mate santa sure thought u were not naughty but real nice this year

[rockfisherman]

Hodgeys always holding monster Lizards...

[Luke K]

That's sensational Hodgey, some awesome fish there.

I'm heading up to Nambuccca next week hoping to get amongst a few of the prehistoric kind myself.

Cheers

Luke

[jenno64]

Hodgey,

I thought my two fish last weekend would be hard to beat! What atop outing you guys had and well done on tweaking the technique. They looked fantastic fish and such beautiful colouring. I went poddy hunting today and caught some prime models from 10-14cm. Hitting the water at dead low tomorrow to try a few in holes that might contain good fish. Otherwise its trolling for flatties and a feed!!! Have a great Chrissy and Santa will always be good to you....I'm thinking the metre might be on your list

[DarkHorse]

Wow Hodgey! You are the man. I going to have to come back down and take you and Dene out on the boat and get some expert instruction!

They are awesome fish, and it is an awesome spot. We cant wait to get back down there. It is such a beautiful place. It's attraction certainly has not been lost on me, like a magnet I am drawn back.

You really do live in Gods country!

Take care Hodgy and Dene, tight lines over Xmas, more importantly have a very safe and merry xmas.

Rob

Edited December 20, 2009 by DarkHorse

[Penguin]

Top report and two HUUUUGE crocs well down

penguin

[pmak]

Those are great fish - and to catch them in one day and have a great feed in the esky, what a special place!

I can see a magazine cover shot in the making ...

[hodgey.son]

CON-BLOODY-GRATULATIONS there Dad! What a top pair of fish, and a PB trevally to boot.

Well done to Dene also, must have been a kidney bruiser!

Great report, so informative.

What an excellent x-mas present (much bigger than a king size Mars bar!)

Bryce.

[tide'n'knots]

woooow hodgey! gotta be happy with either one of those monster crocs. you sure have the big lizards wired down your way.

pete.

[jewgaffer]

Nice session Ian You and Dene have sure been getting onto some pretty decent flathead down there for a while now... It's as though the good fishing along the whole coastline is steadily improving in harmony all the time...

Cheers Ian and Dene and Merry Christmas to you both...

jewgaffer

[doug43]

Fantastic Hodgey,

What a great weekend to end the year on! Any more reports like this and they put up "Beware of crocodiles" signs down there.

Cheers.

Doug.

[brendong]

Happy Days my friend, very Happy days!!!

[dene m]

I must concede the young apprentice did very well-part of the reason was that he wasn`t changing lures every 5 minutes! He also has some good skills to match the thinking he puts into his fishing.

Thanks for lots of laughs on the water in 2009 Skip-but if you kick my backside like that again there will be trouble!

Merry Christmas to all,

Dene

[Roffo]

HO HO HO Gents,

They are great fish guys well done..

Cheers

Roffo

[GregL]

Well done to both of you!

Dene gets his target on a popper, you get a PB and a couple of cracker flatties.

What a year you have had on the fishing front and a fitting way to end it buddy!

Good luck to you and your family over the festive season and into 2010.

Greg