A Jewfish & Kingfish Session On The Hawkesbury With Mik Aka Boofhead 21/1/2010

[jewgaffer]

Hi Raiders.

Reporting back on a Jewfish & Kingfish Session On the Hawkesbury I had With Mik AKA Boofhead yesterday Thurday the 21/1/2010.

Mik AKA Boofhead Came Down with his family from Orange NSW to spend a a fair few days in real nice family holiday accomodation right on the river at Brooklyn and was hoping to catch a few Hawkesbury jewfish...Mik smartly gets into the Kingfish around mid day in a back section off upper Pittwater after we eventually managed to burley up lots of yellow tail which were in turn followed in by some big slimy mackeral and subsequently by quite a large number of kingfish and also catches three Jewfish of take home size one during our mid upriver session and the other two on his own during his first attempt at fishing the Hawkesbury system..

I am having a bit of trouble today sitting and typing because of a sore back so I'll make this report a short one and Mik will add a bit more to his stay on the Hawkesbury when he gets home.

I would like to thank Mik for inviting me out for a fish on the Hawkesbury in his 21 foot Quintrex, a colossal boat well set up with outriggers and the works especially to fish places Brown's, Port Stephend etc and I would also like to thank Mik for inviting me to stay over on Wednesday night in the holiday accomodation unit on the waterfront where he is staying with his wife and family so that we could have an early start on Thursday morning following a general tour around the river in the Quintrex on Wednesday during which time we dropped a few jew rods out and had lunch at Patonga, and just into dark we had a short hit at the jew off Bar Island and then headed off into the Marlo area and fished the mid river sections until close to midnight on Wednesday night...

Here are a few pics ...Mik has a few more jew pics to post up.

Results

Mik not only caught his first Hawkesbury jewfish but all up he caught three jewfish to take home to Orange... Heaps of yellowtail and slimy's were caught in this one particular spot off Pittwater and I was lucky enough to get to take home the unused twenty odd baitfish for next time including quite a few oversize slimies.

Two or perhaps three rat kingfish were landed on the bait jigs, four straightened our bait jig hooks and two broke the rigs, a small example of a hoodlum I'd say appeared to be under control on my bait jig which had larger no. 4 hooks on it but it was a problem getting up onto the front of the bow in time to net it - A couple of kingfish were very well handled by Mik and landed when Mik threw live slimies out on his Spheros and I held a fat female at just over 60cms upright on my big Alvey 725 that was going nowhere neither up or down until I had finished lighting my cigarette and was ready to land it.. Quite a few Kingfish took our slimies off the bait jigs and others ran around in circles after getting hooked on the prawn pieces on our bait jigs, and there were also fast flashes of hoodlum size kingfish at times. But we had to leave to start our jew session and it was better to be anchored and fishing the run out tide in that part of the river starting from just before the top of the tide as you get to fish the stillwater and see what the boat does as the water can whirlpool in different directions due to the uneven depths of 30 feet going into 45 feet and finally going into 70 feet just off the shoreline. As it was the boat turned side on and stayed there nicely thru the stillwater and even as the tide started to run out but the jew session then had to be cut short as Mik received a call and decided to drive to Sydney as soon as possibile.

Same kingfish as caught on my Alvey, just a better smile thru a bit of back pain that's all

A photo of happy looking Mik with his genuine smile and one of his three take home jewfish, and the fact that Mik caught the other two jewfish on his own during the night the first time he fished in the Hawkesbury is a top effort in itself.

I would like to thank Mik for his friendliness and hospitalilty and it is a shame we had to cut off the session at 2pm as Mik had to drive into Sydney urgently following a phone call and last night just felt so good to be outside and looked really fishy after what appeared to be a general shutdown early in the morning..I hope all went well and don't worry Mik there will always be next time mate ..

Mik is a country boy who hails from the back of Cobar NSW and has settled in Orange NSW and has a real love of travelling to the coast and saltwater fishing as well as fishing in Burrunduck which is over four times the size of Sydney Harbour proper..

I will fish with Mik again any time he comes to Sydney and as far as I am concerned people like Mik, his family and friends are simply the salt of the earth

Cheers

jewgaffer

Edited January 22, 2010 by jewgaffer

[Basil D]

great report Byron, sorry to hear about your back.

regards Basil

[OSHISWET]

Well done once again Byron for taking one of our members and showing them the ropes. A great read. Hope you back gets better soon

[tan the fisherman]

Good on ya Byron and Mik - sounds like you guys had a ball.

Byron, sorry to hear that you back is still giving you grief - I hope that we go out soon.

Well done \MIK on the Jew fish - now that you have started, you will always take a jewie rig with you!

I hope we have the same luck tmoro!

Tan

Edited January 22, 2010 by tan the fisherman

[Dhutchy]

Hey Byron, great report. Sorry to hear about your back still giving you curry. Hopefully, with the right treatment it is going to come good really soon. You dedication to fishing (through the pain and other aggravations) is a great encouragement to us all.

Rgds

Dhutchy

Edited January 22, 2010 by Dhutchy

[screech]

awesome trip!!! jews and kings over one fishing trip.... cant complain!!

hope the back gets better!! rest up for the next outing!!

[slinkymalinky]

Fantastic result boys. Great work on the kings and Jewies and good to see you out & about Byron.

Cheers, Slinky

[arpie]

Hey Byron - what a fantastic session!! Kingies & jewies - Brilliant! Mik would be real chuffed at that sort of action!!! hope your back settles down soon.

ROberta

[jewgaffer]

Hey Byron - what a fantastic session!! Kingies & jewies - Brilliant! Mik would be real chuffed at that sort of action!!! hope your back settles down soon.

ROberta

Thanks for saying that about my back Roberta, it's nice to be thought of by people that I know fairly well..

Here's a pic when I was out of pain somehow for a while last week when our Geoff took me out to give the Webster twin hull a run...

Here's a pic taken a couple of years back for your consideration over dinner by candlelight

Cheers

jewgaffer

[Mik]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. Yes it was a great trip & all the better for having met Byron. There are not too many people who would spend the time he did when I first arrived on Friday talking on the phone at well past midnight to help try & get me onto some fish. I was keen to get out there & Byron offered to "Fish" with me on the phone, it was brilliant as he was able to place me in a prime spot. Unfortunatley I ran out of bait & the fish were not all that cooperative the first night. To give you an example of Byrons fishing knowledge (Or superb hearing!) I did get one big hit which pulled some serious drag from my Spheros 8000, I was on speakerphone to Byron at the time it hit & after I settled down & confirmed the fish was gone Byron says to me, "Nice reel Mik, is that a Shimano? I can hear its sweet sound from here!"

I had a great time with the family & some friends from Friday to Monday. Unfortunatley our friends didn't see any quality fish except for one ripper Bream we caught in the crab pot on Saturday. We also lost that pot due to a mix up when setting it, neither of us were watching what the rope was doing when he asked me to back up a little so he could tie the float, the prop grabbed the rope, ripped it from his hands & left the float in the boat. He was VERY lucky not to lose a finger or three. Anyway, the prop was fine, the pot recovered several hours later at a lower slack tide when the rope wasn't held under by the current, nice effort considering it held the Bream & 2 crabs, one which was a stonker legal. As a side note the rope had also ripped the transducer from its bracket & broken one of two plasctic clips that hold it in place. It worked for the rest of the week with the occassional need to push it back into place. I should have fixed it properly when it happened because on the last day I discovered I had lost my transducer all together!

My mate did get one BIG hit when he first of all pulled in an eel & there was a squid following, I got him to hold the eel in the water for a minute while I quickly rigged a jig & threw it in......BANG!, one fresh live squidly thank you very much. We sent that out straight away & it was only a matter of a few minutes when the rod really buckled over. Being a fly fisho he wasn't used to something wanting to rip him from the boat so I think he may have struck a little early.....unlike Byron who rolls ciggies whilst a fish plays with his baits..... the fish was gone as quick as it came but I know my mates heart was racing for awhile after.

Byron had given me some tips for the rail bridge & on Monday arvo I set out with the wife & billy lids to see what we could do with a quick arvo tide change. I set my Jew rigs out with a livey & some fresh squid & then setup the boys on two light rods with 6Lbs line & 12Lbs paternoster rigs (Thinking they might get a by-catch for some fun, when your 3 & 6 any fish is fun) Well, not only did the boys pull in some eels that were alot of fun, they managed to score a fine soapy each. Now I'm not one to brag about my kids aimlessly, but with just a little help from me on the lift part, the boys each wound their own fish to the boat & my eldest (6 years) even played the fish to the boat so I could net it. They were both legal & Dad scored a donut, just goes to show you that all the right setups don't always score for the table! So, Lil' Boof & Mini Boof are one up on Dad for the Jewfish as I'm yet to actually get one in the net.

The day I took Byron out was a real treat, listening to the knowledge he has was excellent. I certainly learnt a thing or two about the Hawkesbury & Big Jews. Thanks mate, it was a pleasure having you aboard. We had some brilliant fun with the Kingies whilst competing with them for the slimeys & yakkas. That's two seperate occassions I've had kigies on my bait jigs, only this time I managed to get one in the net (Undersized & released after a qucik snap above in Byrons post) They were certainly easier to skull drag to the boat on the heavy gear once I sent some smaller yakkas out for them. We still managed some liveys for awhile after the rats arrived which surprised me. But after about 1/2 hrs the rats really got stuck into the smaller fish & they all disapeared. Shame we didn't manage one of the bustoffs as I'm certain they would have been legal and possibly hoodlums.

Anyway, the soapy I was rewarded with later on was worth the efforts & now I'm armed with Byrons tips on rigs etc & know it will give me a definative advantage next chance I get to do the Hawkesbury.

My wife fell ill during the arvo & I had to cut our session short & rush back to Sydney. Looks like some sun stroke after an initial scare but she's fine now & all is well.

Thanks again Byron (And also Steve who gave me the tips one bait grounds!) I have a great few days on a river that I previously felt was way too hard to fish or even barren of fish. With a little persistance, some great advice & an appetite for learning I now know there are pleanty of quality fish in that beautiful system & next time I will arrive armed with better skills & knowledge which may even result in a fishos dream of a big silver Mulloway.

Oh, just for the info of other members, the water was not the cleanest most days, the barometre played havoc with the bite but all in all we managed some great fish, loads of crabs & some excellent memories.

Here's some pics of the boys and their catches.

Lil' Boof all smiles after out doing Dad

Mini Boof was lucky to score not 30 seconds after I said we should get going back to the apartment.

[johnny doi]

great read byron mate.well done to you & mik on gettin into some fish.shame your back was playing up & your jewfish raid had to be cut short,but at least you got plenty of prime baits to take with you on your next session next week.

it never ceases to amaze me about how much of a knowledgable & experienced fisho you are mate.even though i havnt met you in person yet,everytime i speak to you on the phone,i seem to learn something new from your wise words.im sure that when i get the chance to fish with in person,il learn even more & get to put theory to practice.whats even better is il get to watch the master in action first hand for myself. .

your a very nice bloke byron,you always like to help other people.you know the situation me & my family are in atm & you take that into consideration when im gona fish with.[hope you know what i mean,sure you do].i'd just like to thank you mate & cant wait to meet you in person.

in the meantime,keep the great reports coming & good luck next wendsday.im sure you's will do fine.keep in touch mate.

cheers johnny.

[Penguin]

Well done Byron, Mick and kids, good to see you all getting together and

catching a few fish.

cheers

Edited January 24, 2010 by penguin

[tide'n'knots]

great stuff guys!

hey byron your kidding mate you were never that good looking!! but I like your sense of humour.

hope your back settles down soon.

pete.

[blower]

What a report, with members like these fellas you guys

have it made. Very fetching picture of a young Byron.

Those kids will never look back after a day like that.

[roosterman]

well done on what sounds like a great trip byron and mick.

hope ya back eventually gets better for ya mate..

those kings can sure play havoc when trying for liveys and always worth throwing the first yakka out for a kingy..

the smile on the dial of the kids is priceless mick and i bet was the highlight of ya trip.

long way to come for a fish so im glad ya got some action..

let me know when ya down next and ill see if i can help out more...

cheers...steve.....

[james7]

Great report Byron!

It's good to hear that you're on the water again terrorising those jews and kings!

Hope the back improves.

Cheers

Peter

[Mik]

Thanks guys for the comments. Yes I have to say it was a huge thrill to see my boys get into the fish, especially the fabulous Mulloway. They keep coming in & asking to see the photos so I guess I better print them off before my internet bill skyrockets

[Keflapod]

What a fabulous story, Byron and Mik.

I just love seeing kids getting excited over fish the way I used to as a kid.

Every fish was special, and of course HUGE !

I remember my kid fishing adventured better than my grown-up fishing adventures - I need a spreadsheet for that !

Byron, I sure hope your back eases up for you. Maybe a fold-out deck chair might take the burden off your back when you're in a boat. I have two of these (new) and I'll bring them along when we eventually get together - see if they are of any benefit.