rjc123 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) Hey Raiders, Had a great session in middle harbour on the yak this afternoon. With the stormy conditions predicted late afternoon i knew the fish would be firing prior to this. So, headed out after a few bream on plastics. I also planned to fish a few live mullet on dusk to see if i could coax a jew out of hiding. As soon as i hit the water i realised that i forgot the home made anchor system so instantaneously threw the jewfish session out the window... I had a few gun spots to try out for bream so thought i'd give that a go. What a decision that was! Started off flicking a few z-man grubz 2.5" in "watermelon red" around the pylons and first cast BANG! On the drop a lovely little 29cm bream snaffled the plastic. Not a bad way to start! No more hits in the next 10 minutes so continued on upstream. I missed the best part of the tide for fishing the snags (first 2 hours of run out) but still gave them a quick flick. Came up with a 29cm Whiting on the grubz after a few minutes. One of my first whiting on plastics. And boy it took the little grubz right down! Decided to pop him in the livewell with Mr Bream. Continued upstream fishing every likely snag i came across. Most of these snags produced a few bream each. However, one big snag i had a big hit first cast and got absolutely smoked. Even on 8lb braid, 8lb leader i had no chance! Shredded my leader! Most likely a big big bream but given what i caught later on, the high water temp (25.2) and suitable environment, A Mangrove Jack pops to mind. Hit just like the 49cm model i got up north earlier in the year but as i said, very unlikely! The next snag i hit looked so breamy it wasn't funny! First cast and a 30cm tailor snaffles the grubz. Next cast went wayward so cranked the grubz back in and right at the boat (literally less than a foot from me) a 26cm bream smashes it! These plastics are by far the most productive bream lure i've come across! They really do scoff them right down as well! No luck after that great spectacle so moved on. As much as i wanted to have a quick flick at my jewie hole i stayed in close going for the bream. Pulled a few just undersized bream from a rockwall tumbling into deep water. Then a solid thud and whack! Something a little more substantial! It fought slow and deep with the odd run back towards the rocks. To my surprise, a nice little estuary cod surfaces!?!? Never seen one caught in sydney but heard of the occassional capture. This would potentially support the mangrove jack theory from earlier but still... This cod was a greedy guts as well! Not only had he inhaled my grubz, he spat out a small mud crab and had 2 other hooks in his mouth. Clearly from busting people off! Anyway, put him back to grow bigger and give me a real tussle one day! Just a few casts later i got smoked again but this time it felt more breamy. Would have been a horse of a bream though! The clouds were closing in so i had only a few casts left. Right on Que had a good hit and came up tight to a 28cm bream. Good fun wrestling him out of the snags. The final tally was 21 Bream (13 legal and biggest 30cm) 1 Estuary Cod (42cm) 2 Whiting (biggest 29cm) and 1 Tailor (30cm) Pretty happy with the session. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Kept a couple of bream and whiting for tea Cheers, Tom Edited December 16, 2012 by mulloway man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph2593 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 You have done it again tom! Nailing those bream on 2.5 inch grubs. I'm still yet to do so using the grubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.e.p.d Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Great work Tom.. I went up there planing a days fish but got cut short when my dad fell on the oysters sliced his hand open bad. Spent the day in the E.R at hospital. Surgery to sew to up. There are good bream up there A.T.M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Great work Tom.. I went up there planing a days fish but got cut short when my dad fell on the oysters sliced his hand open bad. Spent the day in the E.R at hospital. Surgery to sew to up. There are good bream up there A.T.M Sorry to hear that mate While the bream weren't overly big they were hitting the plastics more aggressively than i've ever seen! Really hotting up around Rosie. There'd have to be some jews about. I'll put in the time and try and repeat my jew from April. Hope you get yours! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffox Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Nice piece of work! Sounds like you're enjoying the yak. Interesting with the Estuary Cod. I caught one down at Tuross a couple of years ago, only a little one so I threw him back. I think they are protected, or is it only the Black Cod? Or are they the same fish? Can anyone confirm? I know Rock Cod and Bar Cod are good on the chew (and legal!). Hope you have better luck with the Jewies than I've had lately!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) Nice piece of work! Sounds like you're enjoying the yak. Interesting with the Estuary Cod. I caught one down at Tuross a couple of years ago, only a little one so I threw him back. I think they are protected, or is it only the Black Cod? Or are they the same fish? Can anyone confirm? I know Rock Cod and Bar Cod are good on the chew (and legal!). Hope you have better luck with the Jewies than I've had lately!! Not sure on the specific species but i've caught hundreds of them in Weipa (Cape York) so they're definitely predominately a northern species. I've put in a few sessions with only the one hook up (ended up pulling the hooks ) but if the rain stays away then this afternoon might be worth a crack! Cheers, Tom Edited December 16, 2012 by mulloway man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Tom awesome work again mate. I am yet to try the z-man. Ive been using the atomic plazos lately and they are working really well also. Looks like you had a great day out, keep up the good work! Cheers, Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinsoi Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Well done Tom on a classic session and wonderful commentary to capture it all You're in fine form this season aren't you! Sounds like you had a lovely day out on the water. You speak so highly of the Z-Man plastics, so highly in fact that you've convinced me to invest in a few What would be some must haves Z-Mans for land based estuary work, I take it the 2.5' grubz. Any others and particular colours including jig sizes that work well. Would Nitro jig heads in 1/16 or 1/24 with No. 1 hook be ok for the grubz or are these too light to achieve the action. Many thanks mate and keep up the nice work. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bharris Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Good work tom.Bloodworm moteroil opening night and the one tom said i do fine on 1-16th but i dont use nitros i like the hidden waights that way you can minimise tha use of glue which is a must most of the time. Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Well done Tom on a classic session and wonderful commentary to capture it all You're in fine form this season aren't you! Sounds like you had a lovely day out on the water. You speak so highly of the Z-Man plastics, so highly in fact that you've convinced me to invest in a few What would be some must haves Z-Mans for land based estuary work, I take it the 2.5' grubz. Any others and particular colours including jig sizes that work well. Would Nitro jig heads in 1/16 or 1/24 with No. 1 hook be ok for the grubz or are these too light to achieve the action. Many thanks mate and keep up the nice work. Ian Yeah they're gun plastics! So tough as well. I used the same plastic for all fish yesterday! No damage to it at all. The 2.5" Grubz will get you flathead, bream, whiting, trevally and occasionally school jew. "Watermellon Red" is #1 colour for Bream Especially. Bloodworm and Copper Penny are also fantastic. The 3" Minnowz are also a great plastic for flathead, tailor and the odd jew. For Big Flathead and Jew the 4" Swimmerz is #1. Great paddle tail plastic. "Red Shad" and "Black Bad Shad" Being my favourites. The 6" size also works well on Big Jew and Kings I'm told. Having a jew session this afternoon so hopefully all goes well! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinsoi Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks heaps Tom. I'll get myself some for Christmas You mean to say that you used one single plastic for the entire session without changing it .... that's great value! Good luck this arvo and hope you land a monster. Thanks again Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Nice effort mate. I'm wondering if it may have been a bigger Estuary cod that smoked you?? That's a great haul of bream. A top bag of species actually! Top report & thanks for sharing your tactics & techniques. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Nice effort mate. I'm wondering if it may have been a bigger Estuary cod that smoked you?? That's a great haul of bream. A top bag of species actually! Top report & thanks for sharing your tactics & techniques. Cheers, Grant. Yeah that came to mind Grant. It just felt a lot different though. Took it a lot quicker and screamed off, while the estuary cod was a dead weight for most of the fight with the odd run back towards the rocks. Certainly a possibility though! Just had another session on the jews (landbased) and had a near miss. Yakkas and tailor wouldn't play ball until half hour before i was leaving. Finally got a big yakka and chucked it out on the 50lb gear. 10 minutes later, baitrunner screaming! Gave it 10 seconds and struck up. Nothing... Wound it in and yakka was destroyed. Two massive gashes on it and its face was crushed. Only two things that could do this in this spot. A jew, or a bull shark. I guess I'll never know I'll attach a pic and comment what you guys think. Jew or shark? Keep in mind that it was a big yakka of around 25cm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.e.p.d Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Strange with the livies not being there. We burleyed up for a few hrs and only got 1. Hope it was a Jew. I want to head back and try again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingiemaster Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I tried for Jews on Saturday night in MH and caught a whaler. So good chance it was a shark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Yeah that came to mind Grant. It just felt a lot different though. Took it a lot quicker and screamed off, while the estuary cod was a dead weight for most of the fight with the odd run back towards the rocks. Certainly a possibility though! Just had another session on the jews (landbased) and had a near miss. Yakkas and tailor wouldn't play ball until half hour before i was leaving. Finally got a big yakka and chucked it out on the 50lb gear. 10 minutes later, baitrunner screaming! Gave it 10 seconds and struck up. Nothing... Wound it in and yakka was destroyed. Two massive gashes on it and its face was crushed. Only two things that could do this in this spot. A jew, or a bull shark. I guess I'll never know I'll attach a pic and comment what you guys think. Jew or shark? Keep in mind that it was a big yakka of around 25cm. Not a chance of a bait coming back like that after being hit by a shark. That's got all the crush & pin marks of a good jew. They are there! Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Not a chance of a bait coming back like that after being hit by a shark. That's got all the crush & pin marks of a good jew. They are there! Cheers, Grant. Oh god.. I guess thats a good thing that it was but man i can't believe i didnt get a hook in it! I remember thinking should i rig the livie near the front or back i went for the back Its a good sign i guess! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Oh god.. I guess thats a good thing that it was but man i can't believe i didnt get a hook in it! I remember thinking should i rig the livie near the front or back i went for the back Its a good sign i guess! Cheers, Tom Pin them through the nose mate. Not only do they live longer & present better but as you can see by your pic they hit a livie head first. If fishing circles simply pin a livie through the nose with a single 5/0. If fishing J hooks put one through the nose & snood a smaller keeper through the top of the tail section. Once you rig 'em right you won't miss too many. It does take practice & many a missed fish though!! Keep at it mate. It will happen. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Pin them through the nose mate. Not only do they live longer & present better but as you can see by your pic they hit a livie head first. If fishing circles simply pin a livie through the nose with a single 5/0. If fishing J hooks put one through the nose & snood a smaller keeper through the top of the tail section. Once you rig 'em right you won't miss too many. It does take practice & many a missed fish though!! Keep at it mate. It will happen. Cheers, Grant. Thanks for that Grant. I tend to agree with you as i pinned the live tailor through the nose when i got my 9kg fish back in April. I've been using 7/0 Octopus or Circles. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooooled Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Pin them through the nose mate. Not only do they live longer & present better but as you can see by your pic they hit a livie head first. If fishing circles simply pin a livie through the nose with a single 5/0. If fishing J hooks put one through the nose & snood a smaller keeper through the top of the tail section. Once you rig 'em right you won't miss too many. It does take practice & many a missed fish though!! Keep at it mate. It will happen. Cheers, Grant. How do you pin it through the nose? is the nose located straight ontop of the top lip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 How do you pin it through the nose? is the nose located straight ontop of the top lip? The nose is just above the top lip. There's a little hole on each side which the hook goes through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooooled Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 The nose is just above the top lip. There's a little hole on each side which the hook goes through. thanks mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 thanks mate Sometimes its hard to get the barb through if your using a big hook so keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish1999 Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 How do you pin it through the nose? is the nose located straight ontop of the top lip? Great haul mate I wish I could have that good of a day in middle harbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinsoi Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Bad luck Tom, I'm sure you'll get him next time. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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