What a week at Port Stephens! - Jewies, Flatties, Bream and plenty of Whiting!

[rjc123]

Hi Raiders,

Just spent the week up at Hawksnest, Port Stephens. Got A LOT of fishing in, especially from the yak. Be prepared for a fair read as it was an action packed week with plenty of good fish!

Day 1: Headed out on the yak to test the waters of the Myall River, In Tea Gardens. As i'd only ever fished the area landbased, i wasn't sure how I'd go. Decided to keep it simple and fish like i do back here in Sydney. Flicking little plastics under wharves and moored boats. Didn't take long to produce a solid bream. Took the plastic on the drop and went like a train! Measured up at 32cm. Not a bad start at all Continued on picking up 2 more decent bream of similar size over the next hour. Before the rains came an hour later i managed one more just legal bream and a fair few flatties to about 48cm. Nothing big but considering it was my first session here in a few years, was pretty happy!

Day 2: Elected to go for a feed of whiting from a favourite spot at Jimmy's Beach. Had a top early morning session on them using live worms as bait. Landed 20 or so and kept 8 for the table. Not big fish, ranging from 27 - 32. Still a bit of fun on a 1-2kg rod and 3lb braid.

Day 3: Ventured out on the yak again today. This time chasing flatties. Started off by flicking some HB's around the oyster racks. Just one bream of 27cm coming from here. Moved on down the myall towards the mouth. Found a spot that looked the goods for flatties and it certainly was. Managed 6 good flatties to 52cm on a mix of plastics and trolled HB's. It was a fast moving channel with a sandbank on one side, and an undercut bank dropping straight into 2 meters on the other. I found most of the fish to be sitting right in close to the under cut bank. Just before moving on, my little plastic was smashed. Initially i thought i'd got myself a snag. How wrong i was! Felt a couple of big headshakes and immediately pedaled out to the middle of the channel. For the next 10 minutes i fought this fish. Not only was a battling the fish, but also the strong current! Just as the beast reached the surface i pulled the hooks. Absolutely devastated. Got a good look at her and can 100% say that this flattie was over the meter mark! Absolutely devestated The wind picked up which made conditions a little sloppy... Gave the racks another quick go on the way upstream and surprisingly pulled 2 good flatties in 2 casts. Going 45cm and 52cm. They were sitting right under the racks in around a meter of water. The wind was too strong at this point so headed in.

Day 4: The wind was extreme today so skipped the mouth entirely. Started off with a few bream and flatties from the oyster racks. Nothing big but still a bit of fun. Next I Gave the wharves and moored boats a go for bream but no takers today. Unfortunately the bream stayed pretty quiet for the rest of the week! Just as the tide neared the bottom, a sandbank was revealed in the middle of the river, with a nice drop off leading into a channel within casting distance. Immediately had a gut instinct to put in some time here. For the next 3 hours i had some great fun landing at least 40 flatties to 50cm. At one stage i managed 8 in 8 casts! Goes to show how healthy stocks of flathead are up there compared to down our way... Never had a session on flatties close to this good in Sydney. Picked up a few more flatties from under the wharves before the wind became a problem again... Was the curse of my trip for sure!

Day 5: Had planned to give the whiting another go off the beach. However, I was tempted into taking the yak out for the afternoon. Wind was down for once! Headed down to the mouth and had a cracker session on the flatties landing some really nice fish! Had to wait for the current to slow down before i could fish it properly so wasted some time catching a few small flatties on drifted whitebait. Finally the tide slowed enough to fish it from the yak. 2nd cast hooked up. Turned out to be a nice 53cm flattie. Picked up a few more just legal flatties in the next 15 mins before i hooked a good fish. Really tested me out on 1-2kg Rod and 3lb braid/4lb leader. Another 5 or so minutes later i netted a beauty of a flattie! Pedalled into shore for a photo shoot and to brag mat him up. Went 71cm The disadvantage of fishing alone is there's no one to take photos of you and the fish! Ah well, got a few good shots anyway before returning the big girl to the water. Watching here swim away was great to see! Back on the water, next cast and hooked another good fish! After another great fight i netted another really good fish. This time going 63cm . Over the next few hours landed another 30 or so fish with at least 10 of them over 50cm! What a great session. All fish released

Day 6: My final day. Even though i was landed some quality flatties the day before, the metery that got away was haunting me. So, planned to do the same thing. Hit the same spot and hopefully come across that big girl i was after! The wind was terrible today... Made things very difficult. Over a few hours only landed 8 flatties to 45cm. I did drop another 60+ at the side of the yak though. With only half an hours fishing time left, i headed up to a spot i'd found earlier and knew there'd be something special hanging around. It's the deepest part of the river with plenty of structure meaning it's a likely holding point for a few jewfish. After a few casts hooked up to a big fish. Smoked me on 20lb braid/leader! Thinking good jew i was pretty devestated. With only 5 mins of fishing time left, i only had my really light rod rigged up. A 1-2kg Daiwa Black Label, Daiwa Caldia 2000, with 3lb braid and 4lb leader. I knew what i was about to do was most likely suicidal but didn't have a choice. First cast my little Z-man 2.5" Grubz in Watermelon Red got smashed! Straight away i knew it was a jew. Having hooked it hard up against structure, i pedalled my way out of there verY quickly. Somehow the fish didn't get me on the structure and the fight moved into deeper water. 5 mins later up comes what i was hoping for. A jewie Not massive but big enough considering the gear I was on. Anyone who says Jews don't fight well have rocks in their head. If you fish light (not too light!) they're an awesome sport fish! Headed in for a photo shoot. Measured him up to be 58cm. Not massive but enough to bring a very big smile to my face. Any jews a good jew if you ask me! Especially on plastics

What a way to end the trip! Couldn't have asked for anything better

Wish I didn't have to leave the place! Will be up there ASAP to tap into the amazing fishing once again!

Enjoy the pics

Cheers, Tom

Edited January 27, 2013 by mulloway man

[bharris]

good report mate top week away.a jews a jew good work

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

[joseph2593]

Wow what a week! If you pulled in that Jew on 3 pound braid 4 pound leader imagine the one that smoked you on 20 pound!

[Paul]

Great stuff Tom.

That is a LOT of Fishing! Glad you got onto all the species you we're targeting and shame about the lizard. Looks like you might need a camera mount on the yak to get a photo with all them fish: D

Edited January 26, 2013 by Paul

[bassboy888]

Sounds like you had an awesome time! Some of those high fish sessions would have been amazing. I am very envious of you! Congrats on the Jew on silly string as well

[elferoz777]

Thanks for sharing

was good to read.

[billseeker]

Great report mate sounds like some ace fishing up there shame bout the big flaty but when u keep having sessions like that it makes a lot easier to move on and forget about the lost ones well done on the Jews on plastics to

[Scratchie]

Respect mullowayman!! But please stop telling everyone how good the fishing is up here!!!

And thanks for the tips on SP's. Next time u up pm me and I'll show you my spots!!!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[loxo]

Great read. Sounds like you had an awesome break, congrats.

[PST115hp]

Hi Raiders,

Just spent the week up at Hawksnest, Port Stephens. Got A LOT of fishing in, especially from the yak. Be prepared for a fair read as it was an action packed week with plenty of good fish!

Day 1: Headed out on the yak to test the waters of the Myall River, In Tea Gardens. As i'd only ever fished the area landbased, i wasn't sure how I'd go. Decided to keep it simple and fish like i do back here in Sydney. Flicking little plastics under wharves and moored boats. Didn't take long to produce a solid bream. Took the plastic on the drop and went like a train! Measured up at 32cm. Not a bad start at all Continued on picking up 2 more decent bream of similar size over the next hour. Before the rains came an hour later i managed one more just legal bream and a fair few flatties to about 48cm. Nothing big but considering it was my first session here in a few years, was pretty happy!

Day 2: Elected to go for a feed of whiting from a favourite spot at Jimmy's Beach. Had a top early morning session on them using live worms as bait. Landed 20 or so and kept 8 for the table. Not big fish, ranging from 27 - 32. Still a bit of fun on a 1-2kg rod and 3lb braid.

Day 3: Ventured out on the yak again today. This time chasing flatties. Started off by flicking some HB's around the oyster racks. Just one bream of 27cm coming from here. Moved on down the myall towards the mouth. Found a spot that looked the goods for flatties and it certainly was. Managed 6 good flatties to 52cm on a mix of plastics and trolled HB's. It was a fast moving channel with a sandbank on one side, and an undercut bank dropping straight into 2 meters on the other. I found most of the fish to be sitting right in close to the under cut bank. Just before moving on, my little plastic was smashed. Initially i thought i'd got myself a snag. How wrong i was! Felt a couple of big headshakes and immediately pedaled out to the middle of the channel. For the next 10 minutes i fought this fish. Not only was a battling the fish, but also the strong current! Just as the beast reached the surface i pulled the hooks. Absolutely devastated. Got a good look at him and can 100% say that this flattie was over the meter mark! Absolutely devestated The wind picked up which made conditions a little sloppy... Gave the racks another quick go on the way upstream and surprisingly pulled 2 good flatties in 2 casts. Going 45cm and 52cm. They were sitting right under the racks in around a meter of water. The wind was too strong at this point so headed in.

Day 4: The wind was extreme today so skipped the mouth entirely. Started off with a few bream and flatties from the oyster racks. Nothing big but still a bit of fun. Next I Gave the wharves and moored boats a go for bream but no takers today. Unfortunately the bream stayed pretty quiet for the rest of the week! Just as the tide neared the bottom, a sandbank was revealed in the middle of the river, with a nice drop off leading into a channel within casting distance. Immediately had a gut instinct to put in some time here. For the next 3 hours i had some great fun landing at least 40 flatties to 50cm. At one stage i managed 8 in 8 casts! Goes to show how healthy stocks of flathead are up there compared to down our way... Never had a session on flatties close to this good in Sydney. Picked up a few more flatties from under the wharves before the wind became a problem again... Was the curse of my trip for sure!

Day 5: Had planned to give the whiting another go off the beach. However, I was tempted into taking the yak out for the afternoon. Wind was down for once! Headed down to the mouth and had a cracker session on the flatties landing some really nice fish! Had to wait for the current to slow down before i could fish it properly so wasted some time catching a few small flatties on drifted whitebait. Finally the tide slowed enough to fish it from the yak. 2nd cast hooked up. Turned out to be a nice 53cm flattie. Picked up a few more just legal flatties in the next 15 mins before i hooked a good fish. Really tested me out on 1-2kg Rod and 3lb braid/4lb leader. Another 5 or so minutes later i netted a beauty of a flattie! Pedalled into shore for a photo shoot and to brag mat him up. Went 71cm The disadvantage of fishing alone is there's no one to take photos of you and the fish! Ah well, got a few good shots anyway before returning the big girl to the water. Watching here swim away was great to see! Back on the water, next cast and hooked another good fish! After another great fight i netted another really good fish. This time going 63cm . Over the next few hours landed another 30 or so fish with at least 10 of them over 50cm! What a great session. All fish released

Day 6: My final day. Even though i was landed some quality flatties the day before, the metery that got away was haunting me. So, planned to do the same thing. Hit the same spot and hopefully come across that big girl i was after! The wind was terrible today... Made things very difficult. Over a few hours only landed 8 flatties to 45cm. I did drop another 60+ at the side of the yak though. With only half an hours fishing time left, i headed up to a spot i'd found earlier and knew there'd be something special hanging around. It's the deepest part of the river with plenty of structure meaning it's a likely holding point for a few jewfish. After a few casts hooked up to a big fish. Smoked me on 20lb braid/leader! Thinking good jew i was pretty devestated. With only 5 mins of fishing time left, i only had my really light rod rigged up. A 1-2kg Daiwa Black Label, Daiwa Caldia 2000, with 3lb braid and 4lb leader. I knew what i was about to do was most likely suicidal but didn't have a choice. First cast my little Z-man 2.5" Grubz in Watermelon Red got smashed! Straight away i knew it was a jew. Having hooked it hard up against structure, i pedalled my way out of there verY quickly. Somehow the fish didn't get me on the structure and the fight moved into deeper water. 5 mins later up comes what i was hoping for. A jewie Not massive but big enough considering the gear I was on. Anyone who says Jews don't fight well have rocks in their head. If you fish light (not too light!) they're an awesome sport fish! Headed in for a photo shoot. Measured him up to be 58cm. Not massive but enough to bring a very big smile to my face. Any jews a good jew if you ask me! Especially on plastics

What a way to end the trip! Couldn't have asked for anything better

Wish I didn't have to leave the place! Will be up there ASAP to tap into the amazing fishing once again!

Enjoy the pics

Hawksnest 1.png Hawksnest 2.png Hawksnest 3.png

Hawksnest 4.png Hawksnest 5.png Hawksnest 5.png

Cheers, Tom

Looks like you had some pretty good sessions over the week, its always good to bring home enough for a feed. Well done.

Cheers

Peter

[mr.e.p.d]

Good work Tom I've been waiting to read one of your great reports. You really know how to bag those fish. Hope the waters good up there for inter club ant the end of feb I'm fishing with my club for the first port Stevens experience . Great Jew ill get one before Xmas this year.

[rjc123]

Thanks guys!

Was a great trip. All fish caught on z-man grubz and z-man curly tail streakz! Lovin the zmans!

Cheers, Tom

[rjc123]

Good work Tom I've been waiting to read one of your great reports. You really know how to bag those fish. Hope the waters good up there for inter club ant the end of feb I'm fishing with my club for the first port Stevens experience . Great Jew ill get one before Xmas this year.

You'll get him soon mate. It'll happen when you least expect it! All the hard work fades away once you land one

[brendong]

Fantastic trip mate, sounds like you managed some solid fish.

[jenno64]

Tom, that is one one mouth-watering post with some incredible umbels of fish! Bad luck on the really big flatty....must be hard to take but will keep you getting back there for more!

[rjc123]

Tom, that is one one mouth-watering post with some incredible umbels of fish! Bad luck on the really big flatty....must be hard to take but will keep you getting back there for more!

Still a bit shattered about it. You don't see many flathead of that size these days. I guess the 70 flatty and jewie made up for it a bit!

[matt17]

Nice session Tom! Catching 40 fish in 3 hours is solid mate! And congrats about the jew!

(it's Matt F from facey)

[fisho.sid]

Wow!

Congrats and well done.

Your post in inspiring on both lures and kayak fronts

Well done

[rjc123]

Nice session Tom! Catching 40 fish in 3 hours is solid mate! And congrats about the jew!

(it's Matt F from facey)

Thanks Matt! Just need a bigger jew now. From now until end of May is prime time for rosie jews!

Wow!

Congrats and well done.

Your post in inspiring on both lures and kayak fronts

Well done

Thanks mate

Kayak fishing really is a whole new world! Opens up so many new doors every day.

Would highly recommend it

Cheers, Tom

[Jewhunter]

Top report Tom!

Sounds like you had a great time with plenty of fish caught.

Good to see the new yak getting a real workout.

Thanks for sharing mate.

Cheers,

Grant.

[Robinsoi]

Tremendous work Tom

Sensational report too and great reading as always.

Keep up the nice work buddy and thanks heaps for sharing.

Ian

[bream111]

Tom the locals have a slogan and I'm sure would agree." Just another day in paradise". The good news is the flatly season is a bit late this year. It is just starting. The heavy rain in the last few days has also fired up the bream. The whiting are on the chew. Not to ention Broughton is on our door step and on the beach the salmon are about . Life's tough living here some days it's hard to make a decision on what fish to target for the day. It great to see you have enjoyed your visit.

Great report.

Cheers

[Scratchie]

Tom the locals have a slogan and I'm sure would agree." Just another day in paradise". The good news is the flatly season is a bit late this year. It is just starting. The heavy rain in the last few days has also fired up the bream. The whiting are on the chew. Not to ention Broughton is on our door step and on the beach the salmon are about . Life's tough living here some days it's hard to make a decision on what fish to target for the day. It great to see you have enjoyed your visit.

Great report.

Cheers

I agree!!! I never know what rod to take with me, or what to target!!!! But oh well, what a problem to have!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[rjc123]

Tom the locals have a slogan and I'm sure would agree." Just another day in paradise". The good news is the flatly season is a bit late this year. It is just starting. The heavy rain in the last few days has also fired up the bream. The whiting are on the chew. Not to ention Broughton is on our door step and on the beach the salmon are about . Life's tough living here some days it's hard to make a decision on what fish to target for the day. It great to see you have enjoyed your visit. Great report. Cheers

It certainly is paradise! Practically my 2nd home. Been coming up there a couple of times a year for a long time! Very tempted to come back in April. Hopefully the jewies will be on the chew then! Had planned to head out into the bay chasing bonnies and kings, and maybe even sneak out around the heads and offshore providing the weather was ok, but was too busy in the river to do so!

Looking forward to coming back again

Cheers, Tom