paul.kenny Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 (edited) Hi raiders – I have had this week off with the school holidays and decided that whilst supervising the kids (teenagers) I could also get a couple of days fishing in. Unfortunately Bassboy could not join me as he is busy studying for his HSC. I decided to give the long weekend a miss due to the usual increased boat traffic, which was fortunate considering the inclement weather. Instead I spent the weekend servicing my reels, boat and trailer. I planned the remainder of the week based on the weather predictions. First off was to fish Botany Bay on Tuesday and then chase EPs and Jewies in the upper Georges River on Wednesday. Thursday would be family time and if the permitted I would finish the week with another crack at the upper Georges River on Friday....noting the best time to fish the Georges is during the week when there is minimal boat traffic. I headed out to Botany Bay early Tuesday morning in near perfect conditions. I started at Towra Point in mirror flat seas for this 55cm flattie on my third cast. He was taken just on the turn of the tide in 3m of water via a blade and released to be caught another day. Next cast a tiny squire jumped onto my blade.........it was only a couple of cm longer that the blade!! I kept casting a mixture of lures off Towra Point for no other hits. After 30 minutes of no action, despite trying SPs and blades in varying depths I had a final cast (yep it was my final final cast for the Towra session – all seasoned lure fisherman understand this concept) which resulted in what I thought was a plastic shopping bag, only to be surprised when it got close that I had caught a numbfish. My first Numbfish and a PB LOL. This convinced me to move on and I decided to give the draining flats of Woolooware Bay a crack. By this stage it was about 10am and becoming quite hot and humid. As a consequence I tied on a surface lure and threw the lures up onto the flats to prospect for any bream, whiting or flatties. I had a couple of follows by some medium sized whiting but none would strike the lure......too early in the season I reckon, but it was worth an attempt. I then switched back to my trusty MF40 and SPs to work the flats and associated drop offs. I had limited success with a 20cm and a 40cm flattie being boated. After 45 minutes of trying the flats, drop offs and oyster leases for no further success I decided to change it up a bit and head for the deeper holes of the lower Georges River with larger SPs to target large flatties in the deep water. This tactic immediately paid off with 6 flatties caught ranging from 39 - 57 cm. All of these fish were taken in 6 metres of water using 80 – 100mm SPs. Thus ended a slow but beautiful day on the water and all the fish were released to grow into breeders . Wednesday dawned as another glorious day, both because I was fishing rather than at work and weather wise. It is the first session in months that I didn’t start the day wearing thermals and a jumper. The plan of attack was to work the area between Picnic Point and the M5 bridge, mainly targeting EPs. As the sun rose I realised that the water was very discoloured with a lot of rubbish (both vegetation and man-made) flowing upstream........mmmm no wonder I don’t keep any fish caught in the Georges River. The first hour was focussed around Lamberth and Sandy Point for a succession of small tailor and tails bitten off my SPs. I then tried a couple of locations near Picnic Point for a couple of small flatties on blades. This is where things started to get interesting........noticed a piece of bread floating on the surface near a rock wall being attacked by small fish so I cast a lightly weighted small SP on my finesse gear (3lb braid and 4lb leader) at the bread and as it sank it was immediately attacked by a nice 25cm bream. I kept working the same rock wall with the ‘silly string’ casting small SPs tight against the snags. As I cast into one of the many sunken trees the SP was hit by a solid tap as it sank down the drop off and the fish ran for cover. The reel screamed as a I tried to put pressure on the fish without snapping the line. Fortunately I was able to turn the fish and it ran away from cover and into the deep hole. After about a minute of short runs I was able to get the fish to the surface and was delighted to see it was the target species, this nice 38.5cm EP – yippee a new PB . After a couple of quick photos it was released to continue breeding. Knowing that EPs are usually schooled up I cast the SP back into the snag. This time I was surprised to catch an eel.....an interesting fight. As I placed the net down and prepared to take a photo it slithered out of the net. I captured this image before it escaped over the side and snapping me off against the motor. Another PB on SPs The area went dead after the eel and I decided it was time to move up stream to work the area between Voyager Point and the M5 bridge during the turn of the tide and the run out tide. I worked a number of locations for small flatties and tailor before finding a school of EPs. During the next 45 minutes I pulled 12 x EPs ranging from 18cm – 30cm from the same location . The fish were mainly taken on small SPs, however I did take a couple of feisty EPs by HB. The EPs hit the SP with a very light tap, whereas they take the HB very aggressively. I had an absolute ball and all of the fish were released. Both days were just fantastic and I am looking forward to my next chance to fish during mid-week. PS - I apologise for the essay, but thought I should share my experience in our local waterways with you all. Edited October 7, 2010 by Basscatcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassboy888 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Nice report, not long now till i will be out again! surface bit should start to warm up too!! Its always good to read a report After you have told me about it a dozen times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerz84 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 wow what a report ive been targeting eps in the georges for ages im hopeless at it. your report just proved they are there in abundance just got look in the right places. great report mate cant wait to see how you go tomorow looking forward to the report. ive been in bed all week with the flu wish i was on the water. cheers hamerz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Couple of good sessions there You should have tried the surface lure when you found the school of EPs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.kenny Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 Couple of good sessions there You should have tried the surface lure when you found the school of EPs Iceman - I considered it, however there was a lot of vegetable matter on the surface (leaves etc) and I didn't want to sppok the school. In light of the aggressive strikes on the HBs I will give the surface lures a crack next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captin Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Great report, good photos, enjoyable read. Hope your luck continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joco Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I like it awesome session you must have experienced.... Georges is firing up.... Congrats on your new PB's.... That Numbfish is one of a kind..... Keep the reports coming.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hatte Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Cracker of a session mate!!!! Crongrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewdreamer Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Well done buddy! What a session, up the river. Congrats on the PBs Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmak Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Hey great session there - looks like you had an absolute ball of a time with the EPs and flatties. How did you unhook the numb ray? I got one on a squidgy fish before and got a series of mild jolts when I used my stainless steel pliers to try to get my jighead back. Had not come across them before. Maybe the first jolt got to my brains first so I could'nt figure out what was happening ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.kenny Posted October 8, 2010 Author Share Posted October 8, 2010 Hey great session there - looks like you had an absolute ball of a time with the EPs and flatties. How did you unhook the numb ray? I got one on a squidgy fish before and got a series of mild jolts when I used my stainless steel pliers to try to get my jighead back. Had not come across them before. Maybe the first jolt got to my brains first so I could'nt figure out what was happening ... pmak - I was a bit of a coward and decided the numbfish could keep the SP and jighead . I just cut the line close to the jighead after a couple of photos. Cracker of a session mate!!!! Crongrats Thanks Mick - it was your last report from the upper Georges that inspired me to focus on the EPs for a session. I think I have identified where they are schooling at the moment.....my next session will confirm whether I am correct. I will also have to focus on the Jewies in the same area of the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Congratulations on the pbs! Great report! You're on fire! Those numbfish are really weird. Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendong Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Wow great sessions mate....you cleaned up on your EP's and Lizards. Ep's are right up there on my list too....and your right how hard do they hit hard bods, little freight trains in my book... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Top couple of sessions there and some top flatties and EPs!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breambucket Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 Great report buddy! Especially with the ep's I got to get into some of them soon! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.kenny Posted October 9, 2010 Author Share Posted October 9, 2010 Great report buddy! Especially with the ep's I got to get into some of them soon! Pete Pete - thanks mate. Pm me if you want some advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fran1mat Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 What a great read. The fish in the Georges River will be glad that you don't have every week off to fish. Those flatties, bream and EP's are crackers. Just on another note, your PB on the Numb Ray doesn't count unless you get cracked by it! Well done mate. c'n'r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smole82 Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Awesome report and some fantastic fish! You should definately submit the numbfish for the FR record! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JET01 Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Great reports mate... Keep them long as possible... When i haven't been catching fish i love reading the reports on here for inspiration to keep me going during the dry patches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACIMA Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Great Report and pics Basscatcher What a strange day of bycatch for you Nothing better than getting out for a session midweek without the weekend boat traffic. Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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