A Lot Of Water Between Fish

[arpie]

Hi all

Well, since my successful end of the year & start of the decade sorties ........ I have had some very ordinary outings since, interspersed with the odd good one!! Definitely not much to 'write home about'!! It is pretty well the same ever year at this time - with the increase in tourist numbers & increased fishing pressure in the lake, I often have difficulty finding fish around New Year! However, I suppose I shouldn't really complain - I have caught some nice fish & had some fish meals (I just didn't take that many pics as I thought I'd be catching better ones )

My brother Sails/Cam & his family arrived late on New years Day & they were keen to have a fish, so I packed up my hobie & Perception minnow & 4 rods & we all went over to the Keys. The girls (Cam's wife & daughter) were fishing from shore & Cam & I put the yaks in. I put on a gulp shrimp & cast out, to show the girls how to retrieve a Soft Plastic ...... and blow me down if I don't catch a small flattie on the first cast!! They couldn't believe it! Now it was their turn. Countless casts & a some time later, a crab pot was caught, which Cam paddled over to disentangle!

Out in the bay, Cam & I weren't doing much better - I was getting a couple of small 'rises' but no real aggressive takes (unlike the week before when they were jumping out of the water onto my hooks!) Very disappointing. Towards late afternoon, we were getting more regular interest shown in Cam's popper & my sammy. I landed a small bream & had another 2 on briefly.

The next morning, Cam & I were up at 6am and headed back to the Keys, to fish a section I hadn't fished for over 12 months. I'd caught some good bream there, back then. This time, however, it was a complete doughnut!! Not even any strikes!! Very disappointing, as, when we'd put in, I'd had 2 casts from shore & both registered interest from fish! We left the canals & fished along the shore as we returned to the vehicle & we both had hits, but nothing spectacular!

Cam & family headed north a few days later, so I hit the lake & tried the Breck Channel (a place I normally avoid like the plague over Xmas Holidays!) In the shallows I had a few hits & caught a couple of small bream on sps. Some only marginally bigger than the lure!!

This one was a bit better

I headed up to the Wallamba to fish with a couple of yakking buddies & given that the three of us fished for about 3-4hrs for a total of 2 fish (a bream for Phil & a nice flattie for me ........ it was disappointing, especially as the bait fish were going ballistic all around us! We fished under them, beside them, behind them & in front of them for no hits! Something must have been stirring them up!! The water was chocolate brown from all the runoff of the Xmas rain - maybe that affected the fishing?

A lovely blue kingfisher repeatedly attacked my popper! I cast it below his branch again & again ..... and he attacked it yet again! I tried to video it, but he was so tiny, you could hardly make him out! I pedalled upstream & did combat with a ski boat who wasn't going to slow down as I tried to retrieve my line before he reached me! Finally he slowed down, otherwise his prop would have worn my braid!!

Heading back to our vehicles, I cast towards a submerged tree & felt a good bite! Yes! I'm on! The fish gave a really good account of itself & I almost thought it could be an EP or Bass as the water was almost like drinking water after all the rain ..... and pulled out a very respectable 52cm flattie! Yay! Dinner!! I'd cooked all my previous flatties for a fish meal for Cam & the family, so this one will go towards my freezer 're-stocking'!

A day or so later, I headed out again to the Paddock & landed a couple of bream, one of which would have been legal to the tail, but only just! The only bonus over this period is that at least it hasn't been raining, unlike the downpour we had for a week from Boxing Day!!

Last Sunday, after a couple of totally fishless outings, and as there was another 'Big Boats Bream Bash' on Wallis Lake & the high tide was going to be about 7-8am, I figured I may as well get up early & get some action before they spooked every fish in the lake ....... and was out & on the water bright & early - before 6am ..... which is AMAZING for ME!!! I am not normally an early riser!!! It was one of the most beautiful mornings I'd ever been out on! The sun was barely above the tree tops & the water was calm as ....... I was tossing my sammys into the shallows as I allowed the tide to take me up the lake! I had a few takes here & there, but no hookups.

As I found my preferred spot for the morning, I tossed my sammy out & got an instant inquiry, but no hookup. Casting to the usual 'posts & edges of floating leases' wasn't working this time, so I just broadcast my casts around from where I had used my 'stakeout pole' to anchor me. In the middle of no-where, I started getting some good hits.

Small ones to start off with ..... another one not much bigger than the lure

The next one was legal & as it came alongside the yak, I went to grab the leader to lift it into the yak and Damn It, it got off!! DUH!! Use the net, you twit (or something along those lines was going thru my mind ... or I may even have voiced it out loud!)

Another cast & another fish, much nicer size this time!!! In hindsight, I wished I'd kept him for dinner!!

I put another cast over the same spot & a big fish grabbed it & took off, taking line! I tried to slow his stampede down, but only managed to pull the hook out of his mouth! I was very disappointed, as he would definitely have been mid-high 30s I reckon!!

At this point in time, I had virtually caught a fish on every cast! The tide was well & truly dropping now & I cast to the edge of the area I had been fishing & came up tight with another nice fish.

I kept this one at 34cm, knowing that Cam & Christine were coming back & both enjoy another fish dinner ....

By now, a few of the competition boats were 'in my vicinity' and I was trying to play my fish with the rod held horizontal to the water, so they didn't know that I was getting into lots of fish & having fun, when they didn't seem to be hooking any!

I got quite a few more small non-legal fish, then got this one. A bit smaller at 28cm, but still a fat fish - into my keeper bag he went.

At this point, I must have caught about 20 bream all up, dropped a couple of nice ones but most of them not legal, with me out there, on my own, having lots fun, just the same. All were caught in the one spot & just by broadcasting my casts around me in the shallows.

Then I headed over to the fixed leases & got really bold, tossing my sammy over the top of the barely covered trays ...... just as well I didn't hook one, as I am sure I would have lost my lure! I came to a part where the trays had been taken off, leaving the 'tram tracks' and clear white sand in between. I had rigged one of the rods with a squidgy bug, so lobbed that onto the sand between the tracks ..... I felt the line tighten ....... and lifted the rod & POOF! It was all over in a split second!!! He'd skunked me on the oyster covered tram track! Felt like a good fish too! I'd forgotten that was the rod with the 1lb Silly Stuff on it!

I slowly made my way back to the car & went down to the Marina to see how the 'pros' had gone ....... some boats hadn't even caught ANY legal bream (and I am sure they had to pay $150 to enter!!!) 50 boats+ had entered - 10 boats had none, 15 had between one and 3 - and only half of the field had landed the full bag of 5! So, my tally of 2 legal fish to the fork, wasn't so bad after all!! Some stomper fish were taken, including a 1.5kg bruiser! Dan/Bubba Frost fished with his Dad, Max Frost & came 6= with a nice bag of 5 fish. I think that result will put them into the Final!!

Dan & Roberta

I had really enjoyed my morning on the water, having my spot all to myself!! The plan was to get Cam out with me the morning after he arrived back here, as it was my hope to bring him to my new spot, to get into some Topwater fishing!

I couldn't believe it! After my great 20 bream session the day before, I got Cam all excited about getting his first bream on topwater lures and we planned on being on the water before 6am the next morning, to have plenty of 'in tide' to catch those wiley bream!!

We got down to the lake side & after unpacking the yaks (with Cam using my Perception Minnow) I find that I'd left the Mirage Drive & net behind! The net, I could possibly do without - the mirage drive - NOOOO! I did that once before, and paddled the Sport for a few hours when I forgot the Pedals - it felt like a tank! Never again, I decided! I drove home to get them & only lost about 10mins of time!

We headed up the lake to my new spot & I gave Cam a selection of lures, including a popper, a sammy & a diver.

We started fishing the area where I had caught all the fish just 2 days before ....... for nothing!! We went further afield & I fished mid water whilst Cam fished the edges. He was getting the odd 'interest' shown to his lures, so was happy to stay there. I changed from my sammy (which had caught all the fish the previous session) to a popper & immediately was getting aggressive bloops out in the middle! I gave the same coloured popper to Cam & suggested he come over & fish the middle! He continued eating the oysters that were growing on the mangrove roots! Minutes later, I was onto a terrific fish, which didn't even 'bloop' - it just wallopped the popper & took off!! It wasn't taking line, but the rod was bent in half as I had the drag set pretty high, but I also wasn't able to turn its head without putting excess pressure onto the lure, so I loosened the drag a bit - my Dropshot rod was still bent in half as the fish tried to power away yet again! I adjusted the drag a bit more & a bit more again & put more pressure on the fish as it took line, I gained line, and eventually, the fish came closer to the yak & I was still afraid it might bolt before I could net it! Within a rod's length of the yak, the hook pulled from the fish & it was gone! Bummer!! It would have been a really good fish too - high 30's or or even low 40's. Cam had been watching all this from the edges & made the appropriate noises of consolation in losing a fish .... and continued eating his oysters!

Cam in the Minnow

I went back to the area I'd caught in the 2 days prior & still didn't get any interest! Not fair!! What am I doing wrong, or is it my Jonah tag following me YET AGAIN when I take someone out & no-one catches fish!!

We had fished different spots within the area for hours, with Cam getting the odd hit now & then, even getting a fish on, but dropping it! I had more hits & misses but no more hookups, so when Cam paddled to the other side of the channel, I thought I may as well go there too. Unfortunately a big wind had come up & whilst we had been sheltered in the first spot, it was blowing a gale in the 2nd spot!

I was getting a bit tired by this time & as I couldn't see Cam anywhere, I thought he may have been round the corner, heading back to the car! I pedalled against the wind & slowly made my way towards the car, when I suddenly saw movement to my right! I got a bit of a surprise! There was a bloke standing in the mangroves, wringing out a cloth.

OMG!!! It was Cam!!! 'What happend?' I asked! 'I capsised' was the answer! Even I hadn't done that in the Minnow!! Keep in mind that the minnow is a Sit In yak & Cam has a Sth African Fishing Ski, so is more used to 'SOT' yaks .... He'd seen lots of bream in the shallows & had turned the yak around to get closer to the bream, but the wind & current conspired to put him in the bushes, so he put the anchor out, to stop the drift! It 'snugged up' & spun him around, so he was still heading into the bushes & I think he leaned in the opposite direction to try & stop hitting the bushes .... and water came over the front of the yak & once the 'angle of no return' was reached, the yak filled up with water, with him in it & it tipped!! Luckily, all the lures (which were sitting on the dash) were swept into the yak, so none were lost, tho the rod did get a dunking. Double luckily, he was only in knee deep water, so was able to step out & drag the yak to shore, to empty out the water, wring out the wet gear & ponder the event!! He spent the next little while just getting his bits together & back into the yak, then we decided to 'call it a day' and head home!

On the way home, I suggested that he 'keep the spot a secret' & he said "Why wouldn't I??? I didn't catch anything & I didn't see you catch anything!! Some Secret Spot!!!" Laughing, I had to agree!!

So, Cam still hadn't caught any 'legal' bream at Forster on topwater lures yet, yet we still had some fun on the water! Better luck next time, Cam!

Cheerio & thanks for reading

Roberta

[marcel haber]

Roberta,

That Dan bubba Frost looks like a younger model of Pete ( TIDE AND kNOTS)

tWIN 1

mARCEL

[Jewhunter]

Great report Roberta!

I've been wondering what you've been up to. You covered the lot!

Yes Dan & Max have made it into the final which will be held here on the Tweed. I might have to pre fish for a couple of weeks before to give them the goss!

Sounds like you've been having a ball & catching up with alot of people as usual.

Cheers,

Grant.

[arpie]

....Yes Dan & Max have made it into the final which will be held here on the Tweed. I might have to pre fish for a couple of weeks before to give them the goss!....

Hi Grant

That is great news that they got into the final!! I am sure they would appreciate a bit of local knowledge! Or is Dan going up early so he can 'prefish' with you???? You'll love his skeeter!

Wish them good luck from me!

Cheerio

Roberta