Woolooware Bay Flats And Leases

[mako1]

I hit Woolooware bay today in search of some more bream.

I pedalled through the twilight and arrived at the back of the bay at about 6:30am.

I started out with a popper but the fish were quiet and I only picked up one squid on the popper.

As the sun came up the fish finally came on the bite. I picked up a few small bream and whiting but the fish seemed to be timid so I changed to a pencil.

First cast and I on and after a short fight I net a nice 28cm bream.

Next cast and I pick up a legal whiting on the pencil.

I kept working the area and picked up a few more just legal bream and then I had another good hit

and this fish seemed better as it put up a really good fight. It went 28cm but it felt much bigger.

I met up with cjchen(nice to meet you today) who was trolling some HBs and casting plastics.

I kept working surface lures while cj kept trolling and casting some plastics. I saw cj pick up some flatties but I was struggling to get any fish to hit the surface lures. I tried many different types but the fish would come up for a look and then take off. There were some good size bream but most were small. Cj went before lunch (Did you get any fish trolling back to the launching spot?)

and I continued to work the flats but most of the fish were just legal so they went back.

The tide was dropping quite quickly so I went back to the area where I got cleaned up last week but this time I came prepared with a heavier outfit.

It was quiet at first but after quite a few casts I finally had a good bream following the popper so I paused and it rushed up and smashed it on the surface. I locked up and the fish tried to take off but it couldn’t but it did start to turn the kayak. After a bit more of a tug of war I had the fish it the net and it was a better fish at about 35cm but it was very solid.

I kept working the area and missed another fish. I then had another good fish chase the lure and it tried to take it three times but each time I missed the hook up but I twitched the popper again and the fourth time it took the popper and I finally set the hooks. This was a powerful fish and it even took some drag even though it was done up quite tight. I finally netted it after a few more lunges and it was 35cm too and also very solid.

The tide bottomed out and things went very quiet. I did miss two more fish while working the leases on the way out. I trolled on the way back and halfway there the pink scorpion takes off and after a 20m run I turn the fish and begin working it back to the kayak. It put up a really good fight next to the kayak but I eventually wore it out and I netted a nice 34cm bream.

That was enough fishing so I pulled the lines in and headed for home with a good feed.

It ended up being a great day even though it was a slow start and it was great to have a fish with another raider.

[Breambucket]

Man i have to get into the surface action befor its too late!1

Great catch buddy

Pete

[paul.kenny]

Mako, how one day can change things. Well done persisting today, by the look of the lack of chop in your photos it was clearly a better day than saturday. Bassboy888 and I hit the Oyster Leases at dawn on Sat morning, however the wind and chop was so bad we could not hold station long enough to work the area properly. We did not see a single follow or strike. We then tried the Oyster Leases to the east of Woolooware Bay as they we partially out of the wind and the water less choppy, however we were pestered by small tailor. Unfortunately I could not go fishing today due to family commitments

You clearly have the surface bream mojo!!!

[cjchen]

caught nothing but a snag

my atack lure is goneeeeeeeee =(

looks like your whole days fishing paid off

i bought a pink scorpion but i think i got the wrong version its the STD which sinks but only does 1m, not the 1.4m , it could make a diff

its same depth as the laser pro

im in search of some trolling hb for fishing near kurnell oil wharf to the sticks but i can't locate/figure out any

seems like they are all made for the flats of max 2m depth??!?

if i can get something like 4m depth trolling it would be awsome to hit the sticks with it

any ideas??!

sx40 goes down to 2m only same as most of them

Poltergeist seems really big ay.......3m normal , 8m the crash depth one

i read somewhere pink works because it looks like yabbys hehe, thats interesting

[jenno64]

Andrew, You had another solid day on the bay! I fished Oyster Bay from 8-10am for about 20 flatties up to just keeper size, but most around the 25cm range. I should have hauled myself out of bed a bit earlier and joined you!

[screech]

well done on the catch!! cleaning up!

tell me tho..... are u fishing by urself?? reason i ask is on a yak how do u manage to take photo's without holding the camera?? haha

[brendong]

Way to smack'em Mako....awesome top water sesh that one.....

[pmak]

Mako,

Still braining 'em on the topwaters!

I am doubly surprised with the squid you pulled out - that it came from the Bay (did'nt expect them there) and that you got it on a popper!

I had a quiet timewith the topwaters early in the morning and decided to switch to lightly weighted Gulp prawns and shallow running hard bodies which worked better. I suspect you had to get closer to the shore as the tide was rising to find the fish. High tides in the bay are scary in a boat as I found out before with the boat scraping and banging on submerged timber numerous times. I expect the kayak lets you get to where no boat dares to go!

No big fish to get the adrenaline running so we pulled out by about 10.30am to explore other areas.

[Daniel Frost]

Some quality fish mate and a bloody good feed to , your reports are making me keen to head out that way in the boat and give it a crack myself soon.

Might take my flat mates boat though after reading pmak's reply!

Bubba

[arpie]

WOW!! Well done Mako - some terrific breambos there - don't the bigger ones 'go'!!!?? Your squid was a bonus, eh? I've had them chase squid before on HBs but not hooked up!

Your JaZz Zappa looks like the greenish one I lost to the Giant Herring up here!!

Well done on the poppers too! Isn't the top water stuff exciting to watch!??

Cheers

Roberta

[mako1]

caught nothing but a snag

my atack lure is goneeeeeeeee =(

looks like your whole days fishing paid off

i bought a pink scorpion but i think i got the wrong version its the STD which sinks but only does 1m, not the 1.4m , it could make a diff

its same depth as the laser pro

im in search of some trolling hb for fishing near kurnell oil wharf to the sticks but i can't locate/figure out any

seems like they are all made for the flats of max 2m depth??!?

if i can get something like 4m depth trolling it would be awsome to hit the sticks with it

any ideas??!

sx40 goes down to 2m only same as most of them

Poltergeist seems really big ay.......3m normal , 8m the crash depth one

i read somewhere pink works because it looks like yabbys hehe, thats interesting

Unlucky about the Attack lure.

I have the standard version scorpion that dives to 1m. I use it for trolling and have caught a lot of fish on it. The 1.4m version is designed for casting and retrieving and it slowly rises. It can also be used for trolling.

If you want the 1m scorpion to go deeper just cast it out and wait till is sinks down for a bit and then begin the troll.

You can do the same for the laser pro as it's a slow sinking lure too.

Andrew, You had another solid day on the bay! I fished Oyster Bay from 8-10am for about 20 flatties up to just keeper size, but most around the 25cm range. I should have hauled myself out of bed a bit earlier and joined you!

There are heaps of small flatties around at the moment. I picked up quite a few while trolling between spots.

I should be out this weekend again but I'm not sure which day. I'll let you know towards the end of the week if you want to

join me for a fish around the leases.

well done on the catch!! cleaning up!

tell me tho..... are u fishing by urself?? reason i ask is on a yak how do u manage to take photo's without holding the camera?? haha

I do fish by myself. To take a pic I get a 15cm bolt and screw it into the bottom of the camera. I then point one of my rod holders vertical and rest the camera on the rod holder so that the bolt is in the rod holder. This prevents the camera from sliding off and into the water. I then put the timer on and set the shot up.

Mako,

Still braining 'em on the topwaters!

I am doubly surprised with the squid you pulled out - that it came from the Bay (did'nt expect them there) and that you got it on a popper!

I had a quiet timewith the topwaters early in the morning and decided to switch to lightly weighted Gulp prawns and shallow running hard bodies which worked better. I suspect you had to get closer to the shore as the tide was rising to find the fish. High tides in the bay are scary in a boat as I found out before with the boat scraping and banging on submerged timber numerous times. I expect the kayak lets you get to where no boat dares to go!

No big fish to get the adrenaline running so we pulled out by about 10.30am to explore other areas.

I have caught three squid in Woolooware on HBs. Two while trolling pink laser pros and one on the popper. They were all unexpected as I didn't think they would be in such discoloured water.

I did get a few fish twitching shallow HBs but most were undersize.

It can get a bit nasty fishing in the racks as a lot of them have collapsed so an area might look clear but the timber is still there just under the surface.

It's a big advantage being in a kayak but I still have to be careful as I don't want to damage my fins and the rack poles would make short work of my plastic kayak if I hit them with a bit of speed. I do use my paddle a bit more than the fins when I'm right in the middle of the leases.

Some quality fish mate and a bloody good feed to , your reports are making me keen to head out that way in the boat and give it a crack myself soon.

Might take my flat mates boat though after reading pmak's reply!

Bubba

Smart idea to use your mates boat as the unseen racks came make a mess of a boat not to mention the electric motor.

WOW!! Well done Mako - some terrific breambos there - don't the bigger ones 'go'!!!?? Your squid was a bonus, eh? I've had them chase squid before on HBs but not hooked up!

Your JaZz Zappa looks like the greenish one I lost to the Giant Herring up here!!

Well done on the poppers too! Isn't the top water stuff exciting to watch!??

Cheers

Roberta

The big ones do go and they certainly know where home is.

That colour Zappa has been quite successful for me.

Top water fishing is just awesome. I hope it lasts for quite awhile longer.