A brace of 32s - topwater fishing

[DerekD]

Hi all,

With all the mentoring lately I've been getting a reputation for someone who talks more than they fish. Having said that I still like to head out for a flick when I have some spare time. I have several bays in the inner west which are in easy driving distance from my home which go well for topwater. They are also conveniently placed on the long way home from work if the tides and wind direction suit me. I've spent a bit of time going there on the super low tides to see what is going on with respect to structure and potential food sources.

On the way down there I had a chat with @Bennyg78 to see how he went in the one day kayak competition. Think we will be seeing that posted soon. We agreed on me hitting the bay where I first started teaching him topwater. Very few strikes to start with but then one of the walkers mentioned he'd seen several big bream further down the bay. Now that was Intel I wanted to hear. I kept switching lures to see what might be of interest to them. I switched between the skinny pop junior in clear, an MMD splash prawn and some bent minnows. The bent minnows are very effective but don't cast as far as the MMD splash prawns, Suganpens or slippery dogs so you often second guess your lure choice. The last really big bream I had on topwater was on an MMD splash prawn on a really long cast so being able to cover range often helps.

Anyway back to today. I after getting down to where we have had successes recently I switched to a golden OSP bent minnow. Working the lure out and back several times I was rewarded with a big surface splash then line started peeling off. There was a really good bend in the rod and it took line several times. It started curving to the right and towards the oyster covered rocks. I kept the rod high to change the angle of the line and hopefully keep it clear of oysters. At one stage I got a brief flash of silver then realised the profile didn't look right. Maybe it was the light but it looked longer and flatter than a bream. Wasn't a whiting, of that I was sure. I'm thinking to myself that no way have I hooked a topwater soapie jewfish. Turns out I was right, it wasn't. Then the fish on the other end of the line swum into an oyster encrusted pipe. DANG!!! There was a $33 plus bent minnow on the end. The line hadn't broken yet so I put a little gentle pressure on it. Lo and behold there was a bit of give. So I tried it again and my leader came into view. Ok.... Stepped down onto the pipe to change the angle and slowly the fish comes out. Turns out the fight had probably winded it because one more run and I was done. Slow circles and then I managed to grab the leader and lift the bream onto the bank. Never had a fight like this before so eagerly grabbed the tape measure to read 32cm. I've had bigger bream with less effort. The fight left me with a big grin and after a quick photo it was released.

Started working my way back to the car with the bent minnow and then this one hit. The fight was a lot shorter and when the tape measure came out it was a matching 32cm.

I'd had a ball but it was getting warm, the tide was dropping so it was time to pack up and go for lunch. Of course I had to tease some fellow Fishraiders with photos to show I can still pull them in.

Thanks for reading.

Derek

Edited January 21 by DerekD

[Little_Flatty]

Great to see you finally getting some fishing in for yourself Derek. Some nice bream and a good Whiting there.

[big Neil]

Nice way to spend a few hours Derek. Quality fish there and all released to fight another day.

bn

[Green Hornet]

Good to hear you getting out of the classroom for a while for a bit of practical pleasure @DerekD, those two fish are a terrific catch. The bream in particular looks very clean and healthy, which may explain it punching above its weight.

[Robbo from Sydney]

Hey  @DerekD having seen you in action, I know you can catch them!  Glad to hear you had some "me time" to enjoy your fishing.

 

[Bennyg78]

Nice little session on a hot day @DerekD

 

[faker]

11 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi all,

With all the mentoring lately I've been getting a reputation for someone who talks more than they fish. Having said that I still like to head out for a flick when I have some spare time. I have several bays in the inner west which are in easy driving distance from my home which go well for topwater. They are also conveniently placed on the long way home from work if the tides and wind direction suit me. I've spent a bit of time going there on the super low tides to see what is going on with respect to structure and potential food sources.

On the way down there I had a chat with @Bennyg78 to see how he went in the one day kayak competition. Think we will be seeing that posted soon. We agreed on me hitting the bay where I first started teaching him topwater. Very few strikes to start with but then one of the walkers mentioned he'd seen several big bream further down the bay. Now that was Intel I wanted to hear. I kept switching lures to see what might be of interest to them. I switched between the skinny pop junior in clear, an MMD splash prawn and some bent minnows. The bent minnows are very effective but don't cast as far as the MMD splash prawns, Suganpens or slippery dogs so you often second guess your lure choice. The last really big bream I had on topwater was on an MMD splash prawn on a really long cast so being able to cover range often helps.

Anyway back to today. I after getting down to where we have had successes recently I switched to a golden OSP bent minnow. Working the lure out and back several times I was rewarded with a big surface splash then line started peeling off. There was a really good bend in the rod and it took line several times. It started curving to the right and towards the oyster covered rocks. I kept the rod high to change the angle of the line and hopefully keep it clear of oysters. At one stage I got a brief flash of silver then realised the profile didn't look right. Maybe it was the light but it looked longer and flatter than a bream. Wasn't a whiting, of that I was sure. I'm thinking to myself that no way have I hooked a topwater soapie jewfish. Turns out I was right, it wasn't. Then the fish on the other end of the line swum into an oyster encrusted pipe. DANG!!! There was a $33 plus bent minnow on the end. The line hadn't broken yet so I put a little gentle pressure on it. Lo and behold there was a bit of give. So I tried it again and my leader came into view. Ok.... Stepped down onto the pipe to change the angle and slowly the fish comes out. Turns out the fight had probably winded it because one more run and I was done. Slow circles and then I managed to grab the leader and lift the bream onto the bank. Never had a fight like this before so eagerly grabbed the tape measure to read 32cm. I've had bigger bream with less effort. The fight left me with a big grin and after a quick photo it was released.

Started working my way back to the car with the bent minnow and then this one hit. The fight was a lot shorter and when the tape measure came out it was a matching 32cm.

I'd had a ball but it was getting warm, the tide was dropping so it was time to pack up and go for lunch. Of course I had to tease some fellow Fishraiders with photos to show I can still pull them in.

Thanks for reading.

Derek

Do you use trebles of assist hooks on the MMD? can't seem to see the trebles

[Bennyg78]

I can see the treble!

38 minutes ago, faker said:

Do you use trebles of assist hooks on the MMD? can't seem to see the trebles

[DerekD]

5 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Good to hear you getting out of the classroom for a while for a bit of practical pleasure @DerekD, those two fish are a terrific catch. The bream in particular looks very clean and healthy, which may explain it punching above its weight.

Hi @Green Hornet I think you are right about the health of the fish. I also hit a lagoon in the afternoon and a father and son team were pulling in bream after bream on bait and made a comment on how silver and shiny all the bream were looking.

[DerekD]

1 hour ago, Bennyg78 said:

I can see the treble!

They are the off the shelf MMD splash prawns in 70mm with the two trebles. I'm not a big fan of switching to the assists in the small sized topwater lures (for example Sugapens) as they have a tendency to catch on the belly hooks and about 1 in every 2 or more likely 3 casts is spend disengaging them. Also the areas I usually use these have tailor too which can destroy the rear assist hooks.

[DerekD]

2 hours ago, Robbo from Sydney said:

Hey  @DerekD having seen you in action, I know you can catch them!  Glad to hear you had some "me time" to enjoy your fishing.

 

Hi @Robbo from Sydney you were showing me up the last time we hit the topwater. I had a better chance this time as I didn't have you to compete with.

Have to get you out soon to continue growing your skill set. What are you up to this Saturday as I'm looking at catching up with a couple of Raiders? The morning session is likely to be topwater and then the second session is planned for the harbour - vibes, slices, soft plastics and squid jigs.

 

[DerekD]

6 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Great to see you finally getting some fishing in for yourself Derek. Some nice bream and a good Whiting there.

Hi @Little_Flatty

I was really happy with the quality. Quantity is fun but there is something about getting less fish if they are much better ones. I think it comes down to the fact that the bigger fish don't get that way by being stupid. To get quality and quantity you have to be pretty good at your game. I also liked that I picked up one each of the topwater fish I was aiming for.

Edited January 22 by DerekD

[DerekD]

6 hours ago, big Neil said:

Nice way to spend a few hours Derek. Quality fish there and all released to fight another day.

bn

Hi @big Neil 

Now we have to get you to Sydney to get into some more of this topwater action and get another of your fishing goals ticked off your list.

[big Neil]

5 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Hi @big Neil 

Now we have to get you to Sydney to get into some more of this topwater action and get another of your fishing goals ticked off your list.

Possibly after Lawn Bowls Pennants finishes. Early April, 2nd week.

bn

[Green Hornet]

4 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @Green Hornet I think you are right about the health of the fish. I also hit a lagoon in the afternoon and a father and son team were pulling in bream after bream on bait and made a comment on how silver and shiny all the bream were looking.

They almost look as though they’ve just moved in from ocean they’re that shiny. Good to see plenty of healthy fish getting around.