Hastings river

[dirvin21]

Having moved to Port Macquarie not long ago, I'm still getting used to my new home system, it's been a bit of a grind but getting there. With one of my new workmates decided it was time to exore further and we headed upriver in the boat a lot further than I've been before. The upper sections start looking more like what I'm used too and definetly jackish. We started our session with softvibes looking for a jewie with only miniscule flathead as a result. We moved onto small plastics looking for bream, my off sider Ben is fairly new to tye technique, only half a dozen casts in and he's onto a solid fish. Got nerve racking when we spotted a solid flathead on liggt leader, it gave quite the run around before settling into the net

A nice 67cm flattie in top condition as well, a couple of quick pics and she was released.

With spirits raised we kept the casts pumping, using slim swimz in bloodworm colour, after landing a few more small flatties and got chewed off by a couple more, I hooked something different it was a strange fight going allover the place finally a nice whiting was in the net

I haven't caught a whiting for ages so I was pretty happy, found his way into the esky.

We continued our journey upriver hitting some good looking banks putting a couple of flathead in the esky and spotting a barn owl

Switched to a greasy prawn grub and the bream started 

no real monsters but respectable well conditioned fish

we ended up landing quite a lot, didn't count, 

Working some good looking timber had a funny take saw a long silver flash called a tailor and when the fish took off and launched itself like a barra, I was a bit confused, when it surfaced by the boat on the first of countless net evasions I was surprised to see a big bully mullet

these things go so hard wish I could make them bite a plastic consistently. Went 47cm.

We landed a few more smaller fish over the arvo, and I got dusted by a presumed cod, yhe jewies still evade me but a jack from the Hastings is my next conquest

Cheers for reading 

Dave

[BigHorse]

Great report and photos @dirvin21, well done

Looks like your "newish" home has a good amount of quality fish!

Jonathan Merlo

[bluefin]

Mullet hooked not in the mouth but under the Jaw ?  I have caught 2 on sp's like that.  Yes they go hard !!

Howard.

 

[kingie chaser]

Nice result from new grounds.

Hope you enjoyed the whiting 😋

[masterfisho7]

Love your photos and one top report well done

[Rebel]

Super report and Super photos. Well done at your new home.

Cheers.

[Isaac Ct]

Great report mate, super day out.

[dirvin21]

2 hours ago, bluefin said:

Mullet hooked not in the mouth but under the Jaw ?  I have caught 2 on sp's like that.  Yes they go hard !!

Howard.

 

I'm guessing he hit the head end on the drop and when I struck I pinned him in the bottom lip, only the second one for me as well 

[big Neil]

Another great report Dave. Great to see that the exploration of your new environment is being so fruitful. It won't be long before you're completely able to do what you used to do on the Nambucca. Hope your hunt for the MJ has positive outcomes. Hope to see you in the new year. Tight lines, Neil.

[61 crusher]

Another great report & photos, you did well on your new hunting grounds, won’t be long hopefully before you get that jewie or 🤞jack

[Hunkgarian]

What a flattie! WoW! Congrats on the catch.

 

On a different note, that poor Eastern Barn Owl is in a very unsuitable daytime roost there in the mangroves. Most likely it was flushed from a previous roosting site. The mouse plague in the west earlier this year caused a huge irruption of these nocturnal predators and the juveniles tend to disperse a long way from home (over 1,000km have been recorded previously) in search of food and territory, but that was pretty extreme. Doubt you'd have problems with suitable roost, eg. hollows in trees, which they prefer to an open branch. Whereas in Sydney, where I am, it's a tough one to find hollows where everything competes for less and less that are available due to development.

Most birds hate any predatory bird and will mob it relentlessly, in big groups until they drive them away. Many owls like this can end up dead from magpies, currawongs, ravens and butcherbirds attacking them.

I live in NW Sydney and have been a volunteer wildlife rescuer with WIRES for 13 years now and have been rescuing raptors and owls for several years now. I have not seen as many EBOs ever as this year. Between July and September, I alone, had responded to over 30 rescue calls (from Parramatta to St Marys and north from there) and many I had to rescue were flushed out from their unsuitable daytime roosts by diurnal birds. It's a sad world for them, as many don't make it, usually to some pretty serious injuries. But the ones that do still have to survive to adulthood, which again is very challenging for them.

Sorry, I know it's not fishing related, but thought you guys may be interested in some other wildlife info