R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I picked up a new 1000 Vanford this morning to pair with the Expride trout rod, and I was keen to hear the drag hum. With limited time in the afternoon for a fish, the trout streams were not an option, and a combination of grey rainy skies and successful fishraider topwater reports led me in the direction of the harbour. On reaching Iron Cove, I realised I hadnt thought about the tides, and it turns out it was right on low tide and the water clarity left a bit to be desired! I didn't have high hopes but decided to give it a crack anyway. A couple of casts in, I had a gentle hit from a small bream on the bent minnow with no hookup. Promising signs! A few more minutes passed with more hits and swirls. Finally a big splash near my lure and I was on. Big headshakes and a couple of runs (ooh the sounds of the Vanfords drag 🫠) and I netted a nice 35cm bream. While unhooking the fish an assist hook lodged in the knuckle of my index finger which resulted in some words. 2 or 3 casts after releasing the bream, I get another hit and run. This time it's a flatty approx 30cm. Only my second ever flatty on topwater so I was pretty happy with that! Fished for another 30mins with a couple more swirls, until I got a call that a local brewery was giving out free beers to celebrate winning an award, so I promptly called it and headed in the direction of home for a cold one. Loved the new reel, and spooled with PE0.6 the combo casts unbelievably well, especially considering the rod is 5'9. 30m casts with the bent minnow were no problem. I've also been experimenting with my bent minnow setup, and have found that a thicker gauge treble on the rear weighs the back end of the lure down when on the surface, in my opinion helping the hookup as the hooks are more in the fishes face. Slightly more weight also means the lure rises more slowly, but the action on the twitch doesn't seem to be affected. All in all and enjoyable hour and a half on the water. I don't do this type of fishing enough. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Dang it @R E G I C Y C L E you were less than 2km from the rest of us. Congratulations on an awesome result with the topwater lures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 7 minutes ago, DerekD said: Dang it @R E G I C Y C L E you were less than 2km from the rest of us. Congratulations on an awesome result with the topwater lures. Haha great minds think alike? Looks like your gathering had some great results too! Out of interest, do you find that tides make much difference to topwater fishing in this area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) 7 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: Out of interest, do you find that tides make much difference to topwater fishing in this area? Yes and no. To take this further this was the video which got me into topwater more frequently in a year when the kings were a pain: If you follow the advice in the video you fish parallel and within 1 - 2m of the shoreline. Ok sounds good..... or does it? I stopped and really thought about the why and that changed the way I fish and that will lead into my response. The gentleman in the video is fishing canals which have boats of different depths passing through and can be affected by tidal movements. This implies that the depth in the centre of the canal could be 3 or more meters deep. Not conducive to getting bream or whiting as they are more likely to be found near structure and not aimlessly in the middle of the water column. Ahhhhhhh.... So in the canals the sweet spot is along the canal walls as structure, food and the lures are in easy visual distance. At the canal walls the depth is likely to be up 1m or thereabouts. Click!! The sweet spot I like to fish is depths of between 20cm and 1.2m. This also happens to include a lot of sandflats. Long flat stretches of sand on which there may be yabbies, crabs, worms and baitfish. This is why I have spent the time setting up some outfits for super long casts. So I can cover a lot of ground and find the fish interested in the lures. I've hit each of these bays on the super low tides to check out the depths of water and the structure. As the tide moves in and out I shift around to fish the areas which falls within this sweet spot. There are some tolerances but it has been a good guideline to fish to. I've gotten some really good fish on some really long casts. Due to the shape of the bays I find tidal flow has negligible impact on the fishing. Wind is a bigger issue so I have multiple locations sorted out based on wind direction. Edited January 27 by DerekD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 17 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: Haha great minds think alike? Looks like your gathering had some great results too! It was a fantastic day with some great company and relaxed conversations. While we didn't land any bream on lures I think everyone got something out of it and they are all at the point where I have confidence they will catch bream or whiting on topwater using what they've learned if they put some more sessions in and the fish are playing. We had several swirls and pulled hooks but that is part of the game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 8 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: until I got a call that a local brewery was giving out free beers to celebrate winning an award, so I promptly called it and headed in the direction of home for a cold one. Valid excuse, but still a bit early for a frothy one no? I was on the water near you for the low and it was 6am🤣 That said, on that 20cm to 1.2m Derek has quoted, it’s made me think that maybe it isn’t a waste of time to fish certain spots on the low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 9 hours ago, DerekD said: Click!! The sweet spot I like to fish is depths of between 20cm and 1.2m. This also happens to include a lot of sandflats. Long flat stretches of sand on which there may be yabbies, crabs, worms and baitfish. This is why I have spent the time setting up some outfits for super long casts. So I can cover a lot of ground and find the fish interested in the lures. I think this is the key point... the bays also seem to be shallow for a good way out, which means the sweet spot could be the full length of a 30m retrieve! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said: Valid excuse, but still a bit early for a frothy one no? I was on the water near you for the low and it was 6am🤣 Haha this was the afternoon low, around 4pm... so well time for a frothy! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) 23 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: I think this is the key point... the bays also seem to be shallow for a good way out, which means the sweet spot could be the full length of a 30m retrieve! YEP!! You've just reached the same conclusion I came to a while back and it was a game changer for me. I follow the video's guidelines of using 10m casts when fishing along the wall but I also go for maximum casts on those shallow gradient sandflats. Edited January 27 by DerekD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 HAHA "resulted in some words"...what a crack up. Glad the new gear got put to good use and with success. Hope the knuckle wound doesn't prevent you fishing and you're soon back into using the new gear again. bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg78 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Well done @R E G I C Y C L E The topwater flattie hits are impressive to watch !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Nice @R E G I C Y C L E great to see you’re happy with the Vanford and good tip about the rear treble on the bent. I know some guys run a couple of assists on the rear, but your idea sounds better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 2 hours ago, big Neil said: HAHA "resulted in some words"...what a crack up. Glad the new gear got put to good use and with success. Hope the knuckle wound doesn't prevent you fishing and you're soon back into using the new gear again. bn Luckily it was a fine gauge hook so came out easily... slightly tender but the frothys numbed the pain 😆 55 minutes ago, Bennyg78 said: Well done @R E G I C Y C L E The topwater flattie hits are impressive to watch !! Thanks! Yes they certainly know how to hit the surface... the initial boof and run had me thinking it was something substantially bigger. 26 minutes ago, Green Hornet said: Nice @R E G I C Y C L E great to see you’re happy with the Vanford and good tip about the rear treble on the bent. I know some guys run a couple of assists on the rear, but your idea sounds better. I actually run assists on the middle hook point as it seems to help with the little bream that tend to 'slurp' the lure from directly underneath. It also gives a good chance of a secondary hook set during the fight if the fish is pinned only on the rear treble. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 3 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: Haha this was the afternoon low, around 4pm... so well time for a frothy! Gladesville? Or elsewhere? Part of me thinks that a low tide might be good for surface luring for certain spots. It certainly worked fine for you. I'd be interested to see how you go at the same spot on the high. @DerekD what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 2 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said: Gladesville? Or elsewhere? Part of me thinks that a low tide might be good for surface luring for certain spots. It certainly worked fine for you. I'd be interested to see how you go at the same spot on the high. @DerekD what do you think? I fished from where Iron Cove creek enters the bay, up to the rowers club... only a stretch of around 600m. The first approx 2m of water was pretty murky because the edge of the water was lapping on the silty bottom, and there was a fair bit of wind chop on the water... luckily no one told the fish the conditions were not great! I'll definitely be back on a higher tide so I can report back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 9 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: I fished from where Iron Cove creek enters the bay, up to the rowers club... only a stretch of around 600m. The first approx 2m of water was pretty murky because the edge of the water was lapping on the silty bottom, and there was a fair bit of wind chop on the water... luckily no one told the fish the conditions were not great! I'll definitely be back on a higher tide so I can report back. Thanks for the secret spot, but I meant where was the brewery? 🤣 I should have asked my question better Still interested in how you go on a higher tide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sydney Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 14 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: I fished from where Iron Cove creek enters the bay, up to the rowers club... only a stretch of around 600m. The first approx 2m of water was pretty murky because the edge of the water was lapping on the silty bottom, and there was a fair bit of wind chop on the water... luckily no one told the fish the conditions were not great! I'll definitely be back on a higher tide so I can report back. That’s a great stretch to fish, and I can only imagine it’s better on a high tide for surface as it gets very shallow indeed. On very low tides you can walk under the UTS building itself it gets that shallow. In the evenings it has a lot of functions on and with the light spilling and the occasional cocktail sausage going over the side, it’s a fine time to get big bream, though my topwater efforts have always resulted in tailor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 11 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said: Thanks for the secret spot, but I meant where was the brewery? 🤣 I should have asked my question better Still interested in how you go on a higher tide. Aha!! That's ok, no secrets there... 750 runners/walkers could have told you where I was fishing 😅 Mountain Culture, Emu Plains... their beer is honestly some of the nicest I've tried. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg78 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Yeah love mountain culture beer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Some great action on the top and it looks like you've invested in some nice gear! Good to see the bent minnows getting results! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 10 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said: Aha!! That's ok, no secrets there... 750 runners/walkers could have told you where I was fishing 😅 Mountain Culture, Emu Plains... their beer is honestly some of the nicest I've tried. Ah yes, forgot you were up that way. Quite a drive from iron cove! If it was the brewery in Gladesville I would’ve packed in the fishing and hightailed it for the brewery too! Even if they were biting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said: Ah yes, forgot you were up that way. Quite a drive from iron cove! If it was the brewery in Gladesville I would’ve packed in the fishing and hightailed it for the brewery too! Even if they were biting! Iron Cove is just next door considering that my trout expeditions are 2 hours each way 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfish Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 @R E G I C Y C L E Well done! Love it when the drag sings. FYI there is a brewery very near where you were fishing. It’s called Akasha Brewing Company. I don’t know what their beer taste like. @Little_Flatty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 good result mate, well done on christening the new outfit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 12 hours ago, Jfish said: @R E G I C Y C L E Well done! Love it when the drag sings. FYI there is a brewery very near where you were fishing. It’s called Akasha Brewing Company. I don’t know what their beer taste like. @Little_Flatty Thanks! I'll have to add Akasha to the hit list. 11 hours ago, kantong said: good result mate, well done on christening the new outfit! Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now