From The Salt To The Fresh

[LEELEE]

From the Salt to the Fresh

After several phones calls during the previous week, both myself and Ben ( Co - Owner of Windsor Bait and Tackle ) teamed up to hit the water early on Saturday morning. We had both decided that our plan of attack for the day would be to launch and fish Berowra, do some reconnaissance work down at Spencer, then later hit the racks in Mullet Creek, before a land based session later in the evening for Bass and Estuary Perch. It was looking like being a very big day!

The Salt

So as we launched the boat at 6:40am at Berowra we were met with a steady down pour of rain. Not to be deterred, we broke out the wet weather gear and headed off in search of some Bream. I was keen to test out my new Quantum Energy PTI 10 on my 4-8 lb Heartland Z and was casting at boats and rock walls in search of a Bream It only took 20 minutes and a pearl blue Bass Minnow, till I had the first Bream of the day into the Livewell. He was good sized fish that went 32cms and was very bronze in colour.

Due to the lack of Bream in the area we decided to move up to some of the racks in Berowra. This idea was short lived as the wind had other ideas and made fishing the racks all but impossible.

So we now thought this time was as good as any to move up to Spencer to do some recon work. We decided to hit some pontoons and old boats on the way to Spencer but there was no action so we pulled in the lures and headed upstream to Spencer.

Upon arrival at Spencer we spotted a nice little creek that had a considerable amount of water passing out from it due to the change of tide. So we motored up the mangrove lined creek and began a drift back down the small creek towards Spencer. Due to the water being the best part of 1 – 1.5 metres in depth, the idea of big Flathead lying in wait to ambush prey seemed feasible. Flicking lures into the mangroves, shadows and the middle, revealed that although the creek seemed fishy, none would be taken from the creek by us today.

So once again we moved on to another creek around the Spencer area hoping we might entice some of the legendary Bream and Flathead that Spencer is known for. Many casts later revealed that either there were no fish in the area or they did not like the looks of our lures. So with the lack of action and the recon work done at Spencer, we decided that mullet creek was out next stop off.

As we rounded Bar Point I was surprised to see absolutely no boats anchored in the area fishing. I was beginning to wonder why there was a lack of boats on the water today and why was there no boats at the renowned Bar Point. What did they know that we didn’t? I was hoping that it was the simple fact that the early morning rain had discouraged anglers.

We arrived at the racks in Mullet Creek to find that the water level was very low but the water colour was fantastic. After not to long Ben pulled a stubborn Bream out from under the racks and at 27cms he joined the earlier catch in the livewell. It was a good feeling to have 2 fish on board as it was a very slow day when it came to Breaming. Choppers on the other hand seemed as though they have taken over the entire Hawkesbury system. They were simply either following us around or possibly there numbers have increased dramatically. We had landed at least 20 choppers and had been mauled by at least the same numbers and the time was around 1pm.

We fished the rockwalls of Mullet Creek and had some good hits but no solid hook-ups. Also the choppers were in greater numbers here than in any of the previous places we had fished earlier on in the day. So with some nasty looking clouds rolling in from the south, we packed up and headed back down to a nice bay in Berowra for our final effort for the day.

We fished some very good rockwall structure and it was only a matter of time before we got some hits. Ben landed a nice 32cm fish which I graciously netted and then I fired another cast exactly from where he extracted his Bream from. Whack, another Bream of around 26cms into the livewell. So after getting more choppers and the daylight was starting to fade we took some pictures of the 4 Bream and released them successfully to fight another day. Considering it was a very slow day we put the boat on the trailer and headed off for some fresh water action.

The Fresh

We dropped off the boat and gathered what we needed to have a flick in the fresh water. I took my Heartland Z to have some light weight action, but Ben advised I should take my Sic Stick Pro. Since I was intending on having some fun I stuck with the Heartland Z. We stopped off for a quick dinner, ( Pies and hotdogs ) then we headed down to a favourite spot in search of some Bass and Ep’s. With the reports of some Bass nudging the 40cm mark in this area, our hopes of landing good sized fish increased when we saw that there were only 2 other anglers fishing the same spot.

It didn’t take Ben long to land a nice Bass of around 26cms. The incoming tide was bringing in a horrendous amount of water and it seemed as though the tide would be rather high. I successfully managed to land a Bass. At around 28cms he was a good fish and had engulfed my lure. After receiving a nice spike from the Bass he was returned to the water. With my hand feeling rather sore and numb from the previous spike and busting off several times, I decided to take a break.

Ben on the other hand decided to keep catching fish. He landed 6 fish, a mix of Ep’s and Bass before I started to fish again. It was at this time I wish I had listened to Ben and bought the Sic Stick Pro down. I was suffering due to the Heartland Z being to short and I was not able fish the structure as I would have liked. Many casts later I retired for the evening.

We could see some huge Bass decreasing the local prawn population as they were herding them up to the surface and then smashing them to pieces. Prawns and Bass were jumping across the surface everywhere at times. It was a great sight to behold, to see a prawn fleeing for its life, jumping across the surface with a big Bass chasing and closing in.

Ben pulled another 4 fish taking his total for the fresh to 10. They were all a good mix of EP’s and Bass but most were not over the 30cm mark. Since no monsters were landed we did not take any photos of the captures. With the tide rushing in at a furious pace and seeing that 15 hours had passed since we first left for Berowra earlier on in the day, we decided to pull the pin and head off after a very successful day.

So looking back on the day, it was a quite successful adventure. Fishing both the salt waters of the Hawkesbury during the day and then the fresh waters at night was a great way to relax, explore and spend a day. After a very long and exhaustive day I was looking forward to meeting my pillow and catching up on some much needed sleep.

[Trouble]

Great report and pics Leelee, defiently sounds like a beuat of a day out..would of been a top site seeing Ep's and Bass in a feeding frenzy..top effort fella's

Rob..

[mark-fisho1]

top report guys & great pics that pick of the mangrove creek looks so good cant belive u didnt score a fish there .out of curiosity hat area where u fishing for the bass bring on summer

[Guest Jocool]

Good effort Lee. You did OK considering there wasn't much fish around this weekend!

[Byron]

Awesome stuff Lee,

Good to see that someone is getting out there and catching a few fish.

Love the idea of working the Salt and the Fresh in one outing.

Excellent pics as well, might need to pick your brains as to how you do that montage effect.

Cheers

Byron

[mottyman]

That's a fantastic report and some equally impressive photos.

Love the shot of you standing on the bow fishing that little mangrove creek. Looks magazine worthy!!

Well done!

Cheers,

[cajun]

and a great report!

Cheers

Ken

[lurespinner]

sounds like a great trip

nice fish there too

cheers

tom

[Rick T]

Great report almost a novel and great pics. The hawkesbury has a habit of looking like a sensational fishery but not producing the goods. That is real dedication to fish two different locations in one day and seeing the bass smashing the surface in winter would have been awsome. I would give my right arm to see some action like that over the past few weeks. I was in the fresh today without another angler or boat in sight . Not the numbers of fish you guys got unfortunately but size and fatness made up for it, shame the self timer stuffed up.

[Hooky.]

Great report there LeeLee and great to see a successful outing was had.

Couple of nice ones there too Rick.

[harry.dz]

Great report Leelee .

you guys would have been stuffed after that session.

Just a quick question is the fresh water open to the salt (no weir)

As the tide statement has got me stumpt.

Hazza

[LEELEE]

Great report Leelee .

you guys would have been stuffed after that session.

Just a quick question is the fresh water open to the salt (no weir)

As the tide statement has got me stumpt.

Hazza

63627[/snapback]

Hazza,

Yep no weir at all. Just when the tide comes in it comes in very very quickly.

Very tired and suffered for it the next day, but it was a great experience and will probably do it again soon and get some pics of the fresh action this time!

Cheers

Lee

[Martin]

Thats a big day out, Great report guys