Five Dock Bay - Morning Topwater

[Little_Flatty]

Hi all,

Not much to report, but a couple of modest catches so thought I'd write something.

Head heard from both @DerekD and @linewetter about meagre results from Five Dock bay of late and coupled with my own donut on Friday, I decided to go to Tarban Ck this morning.  Unfortunately however my usual entry point was closed for two weeks and after a bit of mucking around to find new entry point to the reserve, I decided to cut my losses and go back to Five Dock bay.

Tie on a slippery dog and get casting. About 20 mins in, I hook up to a fish and it is a little whiting:

Not a legal, but happy with that as I haven't caught a heap of whiting on lures. Get it back to the water after this snap. All of the whiting I've caught on the slippery dog have hit the assist hooks, which was interesting. I'd always been skeptical of assists, but maybe there's something to them.

Cast all the way round the bridge side of the bay for nought, then on my way back, switched to an original OSP Bent Minnow which I purchased nearby after a donut session. First cast, I didn't even get to touch the reel handle before it was walloped by a chopper:

This guy had swallowed all three points of the belly treble and was quite difficult to unhook, but I got there eventually and off he swam. Reminder to self to crush barbs on all trebles shortly. I think I might leave the assists alone.

Apart from that, no other fish. There were a few convincing bloops at my lures, but they didn't connect.

Anyhow, will be more topwater/blades/vibes/hardbody reports this year, as I have banished all soft plastics from my tackle bag! Sometimes you have to force yourself to do something new.

Thanks for reading!

[Green Hornet]

Banishing all soft plastics sounds like a could get expensive Mike.

Small fish are better than no fish and still a great way to let off some steam.

That’s a cool little brag mat you have there, looks retractable.

[Little_Flatty]

22 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

Banishing all soft plastics sounds like a could get expensive Mike.

Small fish are better than no fish and still a great way to let off some steam.

That’s a cool little brag mat you have there, looks retractable.

It could get expensive, but I’ve been purchasing hard bodies and blades all along and barely using them! So I have enough to use and lose😎

The brag mat is a daiwa fish measure R, available from an ISO shop. It is retractable. I thought it looked nifty so I had to snaffle it up!

[kantong]

a short and productive session. I also like that brag mat and need a new one! You have given me purpose to visit the tackle shop!

[mrsswordfisherman]

2 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

It could get expensive, but I’ve been purchasing hard bodies and blades all along and barely using them! So I have enough to use and lose😎

The brag mat is a daiwa fish measure R, available from an ISO shop. It is retractable. I thought it looked nifty so I had to snaffle it up!

Catching anything is worthwhile Mike!

I like the way you try all sorts of methods and tackle. Very scientific! 

That’s a bewdy, that brag mat.

Would be great to have FISHRAIDER along it as you open it out  

Our old ones were called “the measure of success” 

[Yowie]

Something is better than nothing Mike.

Don't banish anything, you may need it sometime in the future. 🤣 Just put them in 'hibernation' for a little while.

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Iron cove is firing for topwater FYI. Got another bream there on the weekend on the bent, and my mate got 4 on a crankbait.

[Little_Flatty]

10 hours ago, kantong said:

a short and productive session. I also like that brag mat and need a new one! You have given me purpose to visit the tackle shop!

Thanks Kantong, I think you and I fish very similarly! I’m happy with the brag mat. Not heaps cheap, but worth it.

9 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Catching anything is worthwhile Mike!

I like the way you try all sorts of methods and tackle. Very scientific! 

That’s a bewdy, that brag mat.

Would be great to have FISHRAIDER along it as you open it out  

Our old ones were called “the measure of success” 

Cheers Donna, wouldn’t that be grand having an FR brag mat like that?

8 hours ago, Yowie said:

Something is better than nothing Mike.

Don't banish anything, you may need it sometime in the future. 🤣 Just put them in 'hibernation' for a little while.

Yep, they’re just hibernating in my garage. Like my hardbodies were a while ago.

1 hour ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Iron cove is firing for topwater FYI. Got another bream there on the weekend on the bent, and my mate got 4 on a crankbait.

Thanks for the tip. I’m going to be in the vicinity on the weekend, might well have a look!

[Larkin]

Nice little session Mike!

[kantong]

12 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Thanks Kantong, I think you and I fish very similarly! I’m happy with the brag mat. Not heaps cheap, but worth it.

Yes I think we do fish quite similarly, cheeky little sessions here and there. Fishing for mental health, fun and for the thrill of fishing! 

[XD351]

Great report Mike ! That mat ( or should I say ultra wide tape measure !)certainly looks the biz ! As soon as you take all the plastics out the situation where you desperately need one will arise - nothing surer !  BTW what are you currently using as a bag ? I was using a Daiwa sling bag but after my last outing where I started out lure fishing off the beach then moved to a river I found it is too small and a little cumbersome to use . It would probably be awesome as a bag for wading where I would only have a small selection of lures , a pair of pliers, scissors , tube of scent and some trace material but trying to use it to cover everything from the beach to stream  was asking a bit of it . 

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, XD351 said:

Great report Mike ! That mat ( or should I say ultra wide tape measure !)certainly looks the biz ! As soon as you take all the plastics out the situation where you desperately need one will arise - nothing surer !  BTW what are you currently using as a bag ? I was using a Daiwa sling bag but after my last outing where I started out lure fishing off the beach then moved to a river I found it is too small and a little cumbersome to use . It would probably be awesome as a bag for wading where I would only have a small selection of lures , a pair of pliers, scissors , tube of scent and some trace material but trying to use it to cover everything from the beach to stream  was asking a bit of it . 

Hey Ian, I have a few bags for various forms of fishing, including fishing with kids!

For my luring I use a rapala hip pack. It’s actually quite big and holds quite a lot, but for me it’s never full.

[XD351]

3 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Hey Ian, I have a few bags for various forms of fishing, including fishing with kids!

For my luring I use a rapala hip pack. It’s actually quite big and holds quite a lot, but for me it’s never full.

Thanks Mike ! I spent a lot of time yesterday sorting everything out - now I just grab the appropriate bag and rod and go !

 

[jenno64]

Nice work Mike, I've got so many one off surface lures I have procured over the years....always good to get fish on a HB:)