1.10 Meter Kayak Jewfish (Wednesday 16 November '22)

[kingfish101]

I've had several fishing trips during the past month both in the kayak and the boat without much success. During the big tides at the end of October it took me 5 hours to catch a single mullet, and from the boat I've only managed one flathead from 9 hours on the water.

Set off from Berowra Waters boat ramp at first light to give myself time to catch some big mullet for live bait and paddle to the river in time for the low water tide change.

The air temperature down to 9 degrees at the ramp and the weather forecast for a fresh Southerly later in the day meant that I had the waterway pretty much to myself.

I find the falling tide more productive than the flood for catching mullet and I had 4 big specimens in the tank together with 4 smaller models from my trap in less than an hour.

The Southerly began kicking in early and with the wind and current behind me I got to the Hawkesbury in record time.

I usually drift fish with the current from the kayak but the gusty Southerly made that difficult and I eventually resorted to turning into the wind which was far and away the dominant force.

After 3 hours with no action the sky was turning an ominous grey and the first rumblings of thunder made me think I had overstayed my welcome. As I was about to turn for home the big mullet on the end of my line went into panic mode. I was fishing above the drop off in 4 meters of water and just a few meters off a rocky shore. The impression I had was that the jewfish had come out of cover in the rocks for the hit and he just kept on going, away from the land into deep water. That first charge was very exhilarating for 100 meters or so and then he began to run out of steam. The hit was 2 hours into a weak flood and the fight lasted around 15 minutes. The mullet bait he took was a good 30cm long on a double hook rig and for the first time in my experience the jewfish appeared to attack the live bait tail first. The trailing hook was deep inside the jewfish and the leading hook hadn't taken at all.

I usually stop for a rest at Bar Island or the Twin Beaches during my home run but with the Southerly continuing to freshen, the temperature dropping and the rain coming down hard it was prudent to get some distance behind me. Eventually with the speed down to a snails pace I had to take shelter in the small bay opposite Bujwa and wait for the storm to pass.

The second picture is my wife fish pie.

 

 

 

[noelm]

Very nice fish, great eating too, what's the fish pie recipe?

[Yowie]

Another good fish from the big river.

[Larkin]

Well done mate! Another one ☝️ 

that pie looks great! 

[bessell1955]

Do you always use live Mullet for bait?

[Pickles]

Brilliant effort @kingfish101, a truly meritorious catch, well done. The pie looks great (full marks to Mrs ‘101)

Edited November 19, 2022 by Pickles

[mrsswordfisherman]

Wonderful catch and tell mrs kingfish101 to join up and post those recipes in The Kitchen  

[jenno64]

Another cracking metre+ Jew!

it’s hard to imagine you only only returning one fish for 9 hours on the water!

well deserved and you have the plan of attack perfected over your long days of hunting👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[kingfish101]

Hi Noelm and Bessell,

Mrs. kingfish101 says that the seafood pie recipe is taken from the taste.com.au website. She also said that she adds some secret ingredients to her pie but like fishing spots she cannot divulge them!

Yes,

I always use live mullet for bait. They remain lively all day in the bait tank with a Frabilll aerator provided you change the water every hour or two.

Hope that helps

 

[Billy198209]

Beautiful photo with the fish and the fish cake looks amazing. 

[Isaac Ct]

Great report, well done. Lovely looking fish and dinner.

[kyngfish]

Great fish again, you need to change your Fishraider name to Jewfish101.

[Trout TK]

On 11/19/2022 at 4:21 PM, kingfish101 said:

I've had several fishing trips during the past month both in the kayak and the boat without much success. During the big tides at the end of October it took me 5 hours to catch a single mullet, and from the boat I've only managed one flathead from 9 hours on the water.

Set off from Berowra Waters boat ramp at first light to give myself time to catch some big mullet for live bait and paddle to the river in time for the low water tide change.

The air temperature down to 9 degrees at the ramp and the weather forecast for a fresh Southerly later in the day meant that I had the waterway pretty much to myself.

I find the falling tide more productive than the flood for catching mullet and I had 4 big specimens in the tank together with 4 smaller models from my trap in less than an hour.

The Southerly began kicking in early and with the wind and current behind me I got to the Hawkesbury in record time.

I usually drift fish with the current from the kayak but the gusty Southerly made that difficult and I eventually resorted to turning into the wind which was far and away the dominant force.

After 3 hours with no action the sky was turning an ominous grey and the first rumblings of thunder made me think I had overstayed my welcome. As I was about to turn for home the big mullet on the end of my line went into panic mode. I was fishing above the drop off in 4 meters of water and just a few meters off a rocky shore. The impression I had was that the jewfish had come out of cover in the rocks for the hit and he just kept on going, away from the land into deep water. That first charge was very exhilarating for 100 meters or so and then he began to run out of steam. The hit was 2 hours into a weak flood and the fight lasted around 15 minutes. The mullet bait he took was a good 30cm long on a double hook rig and for the first time in my experience the jewfish appeared to attack the live bait tail first. The trailing hook was deep inside the jewfish and the leading hook hadn't taken at all.

I usually stop for a rest at Bar Island or the Twin Beaches during my home run but with the Southerly continuing to freshen, the temperature dropping and the rain coming down hard it was prudent to get some distance behind me. Eventually with the speed down to a snails pace I had to take shelter in the small bay opposite Bujwa and wait for the storm to pass.

The second picture is my wife fish pie.

 

 

 

Nice