Sunday 25th - Sydney Harbour / Parra River Ferry Wharf

[jimbu1]

Hi All,

Having finally replaced my old reel that was seizing up (dropped it in the harbour a year or two ago) with a shiny new Japanese import, I was excited to get out there and break it in! I hadn't gotten out for a fish in a while, but in previous months I'd found the harbour ferry wharves quite productive, particularly on Sunday mornings when the ferries have a late start.

I arrived at the reasonable hour of 7am to a beautiful scene and began flicking a plastic around. After an hour with not a single touch, I switched to a small bit of bread on a size 8 blackfish hook, about 2m under a small float. Still no luck, so I decided to abandon the float and switch to a simple rig with a tiny ball sinker to a swivel, with a short leader to the same hook. This time I set the bait much lower, at around 4-5m. The bite suddenly came on, perhaps in part due to the approaching low tide.

First up was a small bream that was swiftly released. Shortly afterward, I felt a few gentle tugs before the rod loaded up and the drag began to sing. It was a heavy fish, but didn't seem in a great hurry, as it slowly took off downward and away from the wharf. I began to wonder what I had hooked, too slow for a kingfish, and the tugs prior to hook-up and sluggishness suggested to me that it was possibly a flathead. However, I then began to feel definitive tail-beats, and now suspected it was a solid silver trevally. As I worked it back towards the wharf, I could feel my heart thumping in my chest... would the tiny blackfish hook hold? Would I even be able to land this beast? Soon I could see colour; monster trevally! Several times, it would try to make a dash under the wharf, and I had to put my hand over the spool and drag it back out. Finally, after several attempts, I managed to get the fish in the net! Just shy of half a meter; not bad!

I decided to keep that one for a feed, and after humanely dispatching and gutting it, another bit of bread was baited up and set down beside the wharf. Another solid hook-up! This one made a few short, strong runs, and then was worked into the net fairly quickly. A beautiful 39cm Bream specimen. After brief swim in my hands, this horse shot back into the depths to fight another day.

Coated some fillets from the trevally with tapioca flour, salt and pepper, and cooked them in the pan with coconut oil. Delicious! I highly recommend you save the wings on these fish (and flathead too), as it's the best part; sweet, juicy and tender.

Thanks for reading!

James

 

 

 

[nutsaboutfishing]

2 hours ago, jimbu1 said:

Hi All,

Having finally replaced my old reel that was seizing up (dropped it in the harbour a year or two ago) with a shiny new Japanese import, I was excited to get out there and break it in! I hadn't gotten out for a fish in a while, but in previous months I'd found the harbour ferry wharves quite productive, particularly on Sunday mornings when the ferries have a late start.

I arrived at the reasonable hour of 7am to a beautiful scene and began flicking a plastic around. After an hour with not a single touch, I switched to a small bit of bread on a size 8 blackfish hook, about 2m under a small float. Still no luck, so I decided to abandon the float and switch to a simple rig with a tiny ball sinker to a swivel, with a short leader to the same hook. This time I set the bait much lower, at around 4-5m. The bite suddenly came on, perhaps in part due to the approaching low tide.

First up was a small bream that was swiftly released. Shortly afterward, I felt a few gentle tugs before the rod loaded up and the drag began to sing. It was a heavy fish, but didn't seem in a great hurry, as it slowly took off downward and away from the wharf. I began to wonder what I had hooked, too slow for a kingfish, and the tugs prior to hook-up and sluggishness suggested to me that it was possibly a flathead. However, I then began to feel definitive tail-beats, and now suspected it was a solid silver trevally. As I worked it back towards the wharf, I could feel my heart thumping in my chest... would the tiny blackfish hook hold? Would I even be able to land this beast? Soon I could see colour; monster trevally! Several times, it would try to make a dash under the wharf, and I had to put my hand over the spool and drag it back out. Finally, after several attempts, I managed to get the fish in the net! Just shy of half a meter; not bad!

I decided to keep that one for a feed, and after humanely dispatching and gutting it, another bit of bread was baited up and set down beside the wharf. Another solid hook-up! This one made a few short, strong runs, and then was worked into the net fairly quickly. A beautiful 39cm Bream specimen. After brief swim in my hands, this horse shot back into the depths to fight another day.

Coated some fillets from the trevally with tapioca flour, salt and pepper, and cooked them in the pan with coconut oil. Delicious! I highly recommend you save the wings on these fish (and flathead too), as it's the best part; sweet, juicy and tender.

Thanks for reading!

James

 

That trev would've been a great fight!! Really well done.

[DerekD]

Nice report and some lovely photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Pickles]

Thanks for the report James, great to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

[TAZ]

Great stuff mate, well done. You just made me hungry! 😀

[Rebel]

Great report and photos.

[big Neil]

Many thanks for sharing your Sunday morning experience with us James. Top story and great pictures too. A couple of very nice fish to christen the new reel...top stuff. Cheers, bn

[JimT]

Love the Kookaburra on the light in the scene shot

[nbdshroom]

Awesome report and great shots. A very solid couple of fish!

[A Master Fishing]

Solid catch, mate, and a good meal too. 

[jimbu1]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone

 

On 8/28/2019 at 9:34 AM, jot said:

Love the Kookaburra on the light in the scene shot

Cheers! They landed there are started singing away, and I had to put the rod down for a quick snap!

[lakelad]

Nice catch mate! I got two legal trev on a bait jig going for slimies the other day, bent one of the sabiki hooks but got them in.

I think you need to shave that beard though, not sure how you can see 😂