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Salmon - Finesse Style!


Hodgey

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Location:

Tuross Lake

Equipment:

7'6" 1-3kg Duffman matched to 2000 Penn Applause spooled with 4lb braid and 10lb Vanish fluro (Deno)

7'2" 2-4kg Daiwa SOL matched to 2000 SOL spooled with 4lb braid and 10lb FC Rock (Hodgey)

4" Gulp minnows in a variety of natural colors

65mm poppers

Target species: Australian Salmon!

We hit the water at the very gentlemanly hour of 7:45, with every intention of pursuing the flatties in the shallows. On the way to the shallows, Dene pointed out a large school of fish 'tailing' in the water. " I wonder if I can coax one of those mullet with a popper?" says Dene. His first cast into the seething mass and he's on! "Hmmmm, pretty big mullet, mate" says Hodgey with a grin. A couple of seconds later and a 'salmon missile' rockets out of the water! What ensued for the next few hours was champagne fishing :biggrin2:

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My second fish for the morning really kept me busy. It refused to surface and jump, opting to give strong head shakes whilst heading to the depths. After much grunting and groaning, a new FR lure caught record of 72cm is lying on the floor of the boat :thumbup:

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It was around about this time that I phoned Slinky so he could enjoy listening to 2 x 2000 reels singing their hearts out. :074: He cast aspersions on my parentage ... so I phoned him 30 minutes later and did it again! The last I heard, Slinky was stumbling down his driveway, bristling with rods, and was heard to shout "Taxi! Tuross Head mate, and make it snappy!"

It didn't take long for the rest of the boats on the Lake to make their way to us, and the site of leaping fish and the sound of screaming drags could be seen and heard in any direction you turned. It would have been easier to measure the school in acreage as opposed to numbers. Yes...there was THAT many! :1yikes:

We switched to soft plastics and twitched them just below the water surface. Salmon candy! With the number of boats in close proximity alternating between 'annoying' and 'downright bloody dangerous', we decided to head towards the entrance. The salmon were in similar numbers there! More screaming reels, more destroyed plastics, and more silly grins.

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At one point I cast into water that was barely 6" deep, with the thought of sneaking the plastic off the shallow and into the waiting salmon. The bail arm had barely clicked over before a beautiful flathead measuring in the high 80's materialised out of the sand and took the lure in her mouth. Sadly, the connection was short lived, and she spat the lure a couple of seconds later. Bugger :( Oh well, back into the salmon insanity :1prop:

The morning was drawing to a close and I had broken the leader on my SOL. Ok, one more cast with my other outfit and I'd call it quits. Picked up the Strudwick SicStik Pro 1-3kg matched to another SOL 2000 loaded with 2lb braid and 6lb fluro leader and cast into the mellee once more. On!!!! This was going to be a personal achievement for me, so drag was loosened a touch and Dene sat back to enjoy the fun. The piscatorial gods had smiled upon me, for the salmon that had taken the lure was to be the smallest one of the day. After a few tenuous moments fighting the fish in the current, the net slid under the salmon and it was dragged on-board. A little bloke of 58cm

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The final tally? 40 salmon landed (20 each), with half as many again finding freedom before reaching the net. The average size of the salmon was approx 60-65cm. 3 salmon were kept for Dene's dog and the rest were released unharmed. 2 very weary (but satisfied) fishos trudged up to their cars at 12:30. A quick chat ... and we're going to chase them on the beach tomorrow arvo :yahoo: Hope you have a great weekend folks!

Cheers

Hodgey and Deno

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Sounds just awesome Hodgy. Light line, screaming drag, and more fish than water in the mix :1yikes: !

It doesn't get much better than! :yahoo:

... Oh yeah, and big congrats on the new record :thumbup:

Edited by g.t.
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Salmon galore, mate that was a top read, you and Dene sure had fun, they really go hard and congrats on the new FR record, you and I now hold the salmon records for bait and lure..

Congrats on a top sesh Hodgey and Dene.. :thumbup:

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It might have been champagne at your end boys... but at this end of the phone calls the taste was a little more bitter :1badmood:

The sound of little Sols bleeding line was being accompanied by lots of hooting and hollering whenever the phone rang. That's just insane action Skip & Deno. :1yikes:

The boys wouldn't say anything and Hodgey makes it sound easy but I know that a lot of fishos on the water were struggling to get fish at the same time. If any raiders ever want advice on how to fish an estuary, 'Team Tuross' are worth listening to. Have a look at those conditions... finesse fishing conditions if ever I've seen them.

Well done on a fantastic (if frustrating for me) morning on the water :thumbup:

And congrats on the record fish, Hodgey... all done.

Hope that beer tasted good. I'm about to have one to drown my sorrows. :beersmile:

Cheers, Slinky

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Hodgey,

Sounds like a brilliant day out. Good work, fella.

cheers

Totally insane morning!I`ve been fishing here for nearly 40 years and never seen so many salmon.

One thing to note is that it is still important to rig your plastic perfectly straight.Any spin and they won`t go near it.Poppers will work a treat but its safer and easier to release with a single jig head.

Hodgey-I went for a swim when I got home and helped a lady carry some big sambos up from Coila beach.they caught them at 2pm!

Dene

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OMG!! Where is the video camera when you want one!!! Congratulations Dene & Hodgey!!

What a fantastic episode on the water! That 2lb braid & 6lb mono was almost suicide!! But FUN!! :biggrin2: I don't know if any salmon come into our system? I hvae certainly never caught one in the lake yet!! Boy it would be fun tho!

Look forward to seeing video footage sooner or later!!!

GO GUYS!~!

Roberta

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And congrats on the record fish, Hodgey... all done.

Cheers, Slinky

Thanks mate.

Thank you for the feedback everyone. :thumbup: Looks like the weather is going to put an end to our beach session this afternoon :( Not to worry; I have plenty of tackle maintenance to keep me busy (upgrading hooks, line and leader replacement, etc) :1prop:

Cheers

Hodgey

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Hodgey,

That is certainly sportsfishing at its best. Unbelievable fish on the gear! How has the lake been for flatties since the grand opening?

GDay Rob

The big girl I dropped in the shallows is the first decent flattie I have hooked (briefly) since it opened.

I have SEEN plenty, but even now the falling tide is still dragging out very discolored water.

Give it a couple more weeks though and it should be a different story! :biggrin2:

Cheers

Ian

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Hodgey,

That must have been an awesome session especially on bream gear! I am so envious! I'm ever so hopeful a salmon school that size will come visit us at Botany Bay on day ...

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that sounds like you & dene had a session to remember.great read hodgey.landing big fast powerful fish is fun in itself,but to get em on the gear you guys were using is just the best.i love it,light lines & big fish,sportfishing heaven.good onya guys.

cheers johnny. :beersmile::thumbup:

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Fantastic effort by Dene and yourself Skip! :thumbup:

How were your arms afterwards???

As someone said, sportsfishing at its best! :1clap:

I've battled a few big salmon on 15lb mono, but 4lb braid?!?!? I take my hat off to you.

Excellent report and some great action photos. Video next time please!

Congratulations on the record too!

Cheers

Peter

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