Hawksbury area Saturday 6th of August. New PB

[essjay]

took my nephew out in the boat on the weekend , after many delays of us getting together. He is 12 and wants me to teach him how to fish properly. I helped him get his first fish 2 years ago up the north coast and he was instantly hooked.

Trouble is the kid thinks I know everything but i really don't so over the past 8 months I have gone hard into learning to fish for bread and butter so i can teach him properly and not look the uncle fool.

One boat, 8 rods, 100s of hours of youtube, forum reading , endless trips learning to cast lures, know the tides, the moon, the spots, the currents, how to tie lines, how to tie f'n fg's. I went in deep because why not!

Anyways, I have been having good success this past 4 or 5 months, getting as many as 7 or 8 fish on a trip out but nothing over 30cm for bream and biggest flatty was 56cm . Lots of fun of course and learning heaps. Always lures, never bait. All catch and release because I wont take them unless i intend to eat them.

To cut a long story short, we did get out saturday and he was fishing bait and I was fishing plastics on the river and I took him to one of my spots and landed this donkey. 

When i asked the little man if we should let it go or bbq it, he voted for the bbq so later on I showed him how to dispatch the fish, scale it , gut it and fillet it then cook it. We served him up with salad. I feel a bit bad for the fish as I didnt want to eat him as he was so beautiful but the little man wanted bbq so Mr Breams fate was sealed on the words of a 12 year old.

Later on in the session I actually tripped over and my favourite rod went over board ( Samurai rod with Certate 2500XH wah!). I was glad i wasnt hurt and was laughing, I quickly marked the spot on the sounder thinking i would need to come back with a snorkle and mask to retrieve my baby but my little ripper of a nephew fished it out using his rod I got him for Christmas last year. He kept casting in the direction the rod went in until he snagged the line. What a champion he is. God i love him so much. 

To date this is the biggest bream I have landed. Had me running around the boat, took lots of line and tried everything he could to get away but i was patient and showed my little nephew how to land a decent fish on a light setup ( 1-3kg rod, 10lb braid, 8lb leader, 2.5inch grub...motor oil of course). Fished it out from under a fallen tree on the bank. 

 

 

 

 

[Isaac Ct]

That is a horse of a Bream, no shame in keeping it. Do what you want, it is only shameful for the people that criticize people's choices. 

Well done, I'm sure the young fella loved it.

[Yowie]

That is a really nice bream. Any over the 40cm mark is worth the effort, like that one.

Catch a legal fish. Eat it if you want to, release it if you don't want to eat it. Nothing wrong with keeping it, the young bloke gets to eat it, and maybe next time a good one will be released.

[essjay]

8 minutes ago, Yowie said:

That is a really nice bream. Any over the 40cm mark is worth the effort, like that one.

Catch a legal fish. Eat it if you want to, release it if you don't want to eat it. Nothing wrong with keeping it, the young bloke gets to eat it, and maybe next time a good one will be released.

I am not against eating what I catch, my rule is simply do not take it if I am not going to eat it. I love the ocean, its very precious to me. Catching that fish with my nephew made it a very special occasion for me. Still smiling as I type this reply. I love lure fishing, its so very rewarding plus i get to poke fun at people who use bait 😜

[masterfisho7]

Thats one top bream well done 

[Bluebenbomb]

Awesome report + top photos. Amazing bream. Reminded me of a time when I left a rod on the side of the wharf. Somehow the rod managed to make its way down, but luckily we snagged it (although removed all of its line, as the drag was set low).

[Restyle]

what a horse of a bream! good job!

[Pickles]

A Great bream @essjay

[Little_Flatty]

Good to see you getting out @essjay! That's a horse of a bream. But it sounds like the catch of the day was your  lost Samurai/Certate combo! If it wasn't a Certate, you might have been taking home a piece of scrap metal!

It's part of the experience for the young ones to both catch and release, and also learn how to catch, dispatch and prepare a fish for eating. Worthwhile lessons to be learned either way.

[Green Hornet]

Great report and fish.

Any bream over 40cm is a trophy.

[Squidless]

Awesome report and bream. That's a memory that's going to be burned into your nephew for when he grows up. 

[Yowie]

12 hours ago, essjay said:

I love lure fishing, its so very rewarding plus i get to poke fun at people who use bait 😜

Nothing like the smell of smelly bait: on the hands, in the boat and in the freezer at home. 🤣

[bessell1955]

It appears not only have you taught the Nephew how to catch but also how to catch fishing rods! 

[Fab1]

2 hours ago, Yowie said:

Nothing like the smell of smelly bait: on the hands, in the boat and in the freezer at home. 🤣

Or feeding all your bait to the fish.I wonder who that idiot is?🤔I make the mrs sandwiches after handling Pilly’s.

[Fab1]

15 hours ago, essjay said:

took my nephew out in the boat on the weekend , after many delays of us getting together. He is 12 and wants me to teach him how to fish properly. I helped him get his first fish 2 years ago up the north coast and he was instantly hooked.

Trouble is the kid thinks I know everything but i really don't so over the past 8 months I have gone hard into learning to fish for bread and butter so i can teach him properly and not look the uncle fool.

One boat, 8 rods, 100s of hours of youtube, forum reading , endless trips learning to cast lures, know the tides, the moon, the spots, the currents, how to tie lines, how to tie f'n fg's. I went in deep because why not!

Anyways, I have been having good success this past 4 or 5 months, getting as many as 7 or 8 fish on a trip out but nothing over 30cm for bream and biggest flatty was 56cm . Lots of fun of course and learning heaps. Always lures, never bait. All catch and release because I wont take them unless i intend to eat them.

To cut a long story short, we did get out saturday and he was fishing bait and I was fishing plastics on the river and I took him to one of my spots and landed this donkey. 

When i asked the little man if we should let it go or bbq it, he voted for the bbq so later on I showed him how to dispatch the fish, scale it , gut it and fillet it then cook it. We served him up with salad. I feel a bit bad for the fish as I didnt want to eat him as he was so beautiful but the little man wanted bbq so Mr Breams fate was sealed on the words of a 12 year old.

Later on in the session I actually tripped over and my favourite rod went over board ( Samurai rod with Certate 2500XH wah!). I was glad i wasnt hurt and was laughing, I quickly marked the spot on the sounder thinking i would need to come back with a snorkle and mask to retrieve my baby but my little ripper of a nephew fished it out using his rod I got him for Christmas last year. He kept casting in the direction the rod went in until he snagged the line. What a champion he is. God i love him so much. 

To date this is the biggest bream I have landed. Had me running around the boat, took lots of line and tried everything he could to get away but i was patient and showed my little nephew how to land a decent fish on a light setup ( 1-3kg rod, 10lb braid, 8lb leader, 2.5inch grub...motor oil of course). Fished it out from under a fallen tree on the bank. 

 

 

 

 

Great read.Well done to the two of you.

[Rebel]

Super report.

Nice bream.

Well done.

[essjay]

22 hours ago, masterfisho7 said:

Thats one top bream well done 

Thank you

22 hours ago, Bluebenbomb said:

Awesome report + top photos. Amazing bream. Reminded me of a time when I left a rod on the side of the wharf. Somehow the rod managed to make its way down, but luckily we snagged it (although removed all of its line, as the drag was set low).

Even though i was laughing at the time,I felt a bit sick as its by far my favourite rod/reel combo. All my biggest catches have been on that setup. Its very sentimental to me.

21 hours ago, Restyle said:

what a horse of a bream! good job!

Totally ! thanks for the kind words.

13 hours ago, Pickles said:

A Great bream @essjay

Thanks Pickles, if anyone would know what a great bream looked like I am pretty sure it would be you. I hope to go fishing with you lads one of these days.

12 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Good to see you getting out @essjay! That's a horse of a bream. But it sounds like the catch of the day was your  lost Samurai/Certate combo! If it wasn't a Certate, you might have been taking home a piece of scrap metal!

It's part of the experience for the young ones to both catch and release, and also learn how to catch, dispatch and prepare a fish for eating. Worthwhile lessons to be learned either way.

I am trying to be a great uncle to him and teach him all the skills i wish I had been tough as a kid. Its really hard for me not to spoil him with gifts and have the means to now days. However I have adopted the approach of teaching him everything I wish I had been taught instead of giving him things I wish i had as a kid. I think this is a far wiser approach to being a good uncle and role model. His parents are doing it the other way and I do not approve of it but what would I know. They are doing their best and it takes a village to raise a child. This I better understand now I am much older and wiser.

12 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Great report and fish.

Any bream over 40cm is a trophy.

Thank you GH, he was a beast for sure. its actually the first fish I felt worthy enough to share on here with you lads. 

11 hours ago, Squidless said:

Awesome report and bream. That's a memory that's going to be burned into your nephew for when he grows up. 

Thank you Squidless, its totally going to be a cherished memory for me and hopefully him as well. Catching the fish alone is a big deal for me but sharing the moment with my nephew is priceless. Then losing and finding my rod, hah, you cant make this sort of story up. So good!  i love fishing so much!

8 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

It appears not only have you taught the Nephew how to catch but also how to catch fishing rods! 

He is a natural angler, there can be no doubt there ! 

8 hours ago, Fab1 said:

Great read.Well done to the two of you.

Thanks Fab

8 hours ago, Rebel said:

Super report.

Nice bream.

Well done.

Cheers Rebel

[Bennyg78]

Solid fish well done!!!

 

[LuckyFil]

22 hours ago, essjay said:

I am trying to be a great uncle to him and teach him all the skills i wish I had been tough as a kid. Its really hard for me not to spoil him with gifts and have the means to now days. However I have adopted the approach of teaching him everything I wish I had been taught instead of giving him things I wish i had as a kid. I think this is a far wiser approach to being a good uncle and role model. His parents are doing it the other way and I do not approve of it but what would I know. They are doing their best and it takes a village to raise a child. This I better understand now I am much older and wiser.

Well said