My journey thus far

[Kirelda]

I would like to start off my report by thanking everyone that has supported, accompanied and helped me to this point and beyond. I honestly wouldn't be here without the support I had been provided with. Special thanks to @DerekD for mentoring me and educating me on the ways of fishing, @AlbertW for accompanying me on several occasions and @frankS for his insight and the lures he gifted me to kickstart my journey. I would also like to thank my mother for allowing me to so freely fish with others and supporting me.

Now where should I start... 

I suppose I'll start with the beginning of my journey. I've been fishing land based since I was little, catching freshwater fish in China and saltwater fish in Australia. I had been bait fishing for as long as I could remember. One day, I decided I didn't want stinky prawn fingers anymore and tried switching to lure fishing. Well to say I underestimated the sport is an understatement.

I met Derek at Drummoyne oval early-mid 2022. It was my first time trying out lures and I was using a medium Strudwick Bluewater rod paired with a Shimano fx4000 reel. It was really just my usual bait fishing setup except I had a large discounted Shimano Squidgie tied onto it. I remember just casting and slow rolling the lure back, expecting something to happen, praying even, as I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. When I was about to pack up and call it a day, I bumped into Derek, and it was all up from there.

After showing off his Crucis elite travel rod for a bit, he decided to invite me for a little session right then and there. Teaching me different techniques, gear and knots to use, he covered most of the basics when it came to getting a fish on lures. He also recommended some gear for me, beginner outfits and his favorite must have lures. He also introduced me to @AlbertW and recommended I follow in his steps and join him for a couple sessions.

Over the next couple months, I fished many different areas and tried many different lures to no avail. However lady luck was still on my side as I managed catch a tiny bream off a crankbait nearing the end of winter of all times back at Drummoyne. I was stoked about catching my fish and in my excitement, I actually managed to completely forget about taking a photo and chucked the lil fella right back into the water. unfortunately I managed to snag my crank bait on the very next cast on what I guessed to be some oyster. The rest of the Winter and early Spring was spent studying for school. 

Timeskip to recent times. Derek invited me, along with @Aussie_fisher and AlbertW for an informative session in Mosman on January 5th. The day was mostly spent going over different techniques for casting, retrieves for different lures and gauging the weather and depths of the area we're fishing. We switched locations to Drummoyne oval nearing the end of the session to try and pull a couple fish but it just wasn't the right day. However, the amount of Information I had gathered that day far exceeds any needs for catching fish. I went home having learnt how to tie the Fg knot the "Derek" way and had gotten my topwater technique to a passable level. Definitely one of my most eventful fishing sessions ever.

The next session I had with others was also in a group, a fairly large one at that. Derek was kind enough to invite me on a full day session he organised with @Bennyg78, @linewetter, AlbertW and @Robbo from Sydney. It was on this day that I actually caught my first fish on topwater Lures. The amazing battle ensued at Drummoyne oval early into the day at around 8-10am. Me and my ultralight outfit rocking the good ol topwater Sugapen versus the 15cm-ish tailor. The battle was hard fought but I came out victorious. Linewetter was kind enough to snap a picture for me and I released the small guy as soon as the picture was taken. Unfortunately I couldn't join the lads for the afternoon session as I had to leave early, but I left happy and more than fulfilled after catching my first topwater fish. 

The next major plot point in my fishing journey was actually just last week. On Friday 2nd of february, we headed out for a full day multi-species session in the harbour. Derek voiced his expectations when he told me that we were going for 5 species that day. We started off in Drummoyne oval at around 8am. It was an overcast day with a little wind, just enough to influence the direction of my line. The tide was just about dry being almost the lowest. Robbo from Sydney joined us for the morning. At first, the day was pretty slow, with me trying on different topwaters and scent to hopefully entice a strike out of a fish. When walking past the boat ramp, we decided to flick alongside the ramp hoping for a strike, and strike the fish did! 

I managed to hook a small tailor on my sugapen and officially had the first fish of the day which immediately set the tone for the rest of the day for me. I knew it was going to be a great day as I already had 1/5 species down. Derek managed to hook a bream about an hour later before we headed to mosman in search for flathead and snapper. It was at Mosman that Derek taught us the basics of squidding with jigs which was really fun. I was really fascinated by a specific squidjig by Shimano. It was at this point that Robbo had to leave us as he had plans for the afternoon. Derek and I figured our stomachs had been complaining enough and went to grab some grub near the next location. By now, the clouds had cleared and the sun started baking me.

Manly, a very popular area for beachgoers and swimmers alike. When we arrived at the spot, I immediately noticed the streaks of silver darting across the water and the strands of whiting sitting along the mellow sand patches. I knew in my gut that It was going to have no problem catching a fish here. We set up and I tied on a tiny Sugapen only for the fish to dodge the lure like baitfish from sharks. Upon Derek's suggestion, I tied on a Slippery dog that managed to earn me a nice little whiting. I was really happy about this catch as this was my first Whiting ever, bait or lures! All this time Derek had tons of swells and hits on the bent Minnow but no takers. I decided to change lures for something I hadn't really ever used before, the Cranka Crab. On the second cast, a small bream, darted for the crab as soon as it landed on the sand, earning me my first fish on the lure. I was starting to think I was going to be the only one catching more than one fish today as Derek had spent all this time talking more than he was really fishing. Gosh if I could swallow my thought then a there.

Derek had been talking a lot, which I didn't mind as I absorbed every bit of information I could get from him. However I didn't really see him catch many fish, but now I understand what had been happening. It was almost like he had been charging, charging his luck, his skill, his mentality. Nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

"Fish ON!", I heard Derek shout.

I scurried over to witness the biggest bream of my life. I watched Derek expertly handle the fish, keeping it from the roots protruding from the sandy ground and guiding the fish to a safe landing spot. A whopping 38.5cm brim, flopping about in Derek's hands. After measuring the fish and snagging a picture, he released the beast back into the water. According to Derek, it was his pb bream on lures which made me happy as the guy to be there to witness it. He also seemed to be pretty giddy about it as he was in a Gleeful mood for the rest of the day. We left that spot after I caught another small whiting. At this point, the tide was starting to drop a little bit. 

The rest of the day was spent mostly at Clontarf, where I enjoyed the view more than the fishing. I had been hit by a wave of nostalgia as this had been my "end of year picnic" spot for my primary school days. I still remember finding a tiny cuttlefish in the swimming nets and the bream gliding along the bottom. Unfortunately, we didn't get any more fish but the day ended an overall success in my eyes. Although we didn't meet the 5 species quota, it was still a greatly enjoyable session as I learned much from seeing Derek work his magic. He was kind enough to drop me off at North Sydney station, ending the fishing trip officially at about 5pm. I returned home looking like ripe tomato and very satisfied.

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for supporting me with nothing but kind words of encouragement. And a special special thanks to Derek for helping me so much on my journey to being a better fisherman. I hope ya'll can enjoy this report/story and looking forward to future fishing endeavors with this community!

Below is Derek looking mighty gleeful with his scaly beast

[Kirelda]

Here is my first fish on topwater, courtesy of Linewetter

[DerekD]

Hi @Kirelda

That was a brilliant report and it put a big smile on my face. I'm looking forward to hearing the reactions of the people as mentioned above and others ( @Jfish and @nutsaboutfishing ) who were there for that Raiders topwater session.

From the first few minutes I met you, you were asking some pretty intelligent questions. While I haven't had the chance to spend as much time with you as I would have liked due to geography and timing, watching your growth has been a pleasure. I've enjoyed each one of the sessions we have had together and I look forward to more over the coming years. I was glad to have you there for my PB bream on topwater lures and I hope to be there for a few of your PBs.

Thanks for a wonderful read and a fun way to start the morning.

Regards,

Derek

[frankS]

Li. Great to see you getting out and catching up with Derek and other members of this fantastic fishing forum.

Derek is (as you know) a terrific bloke and a great teacher and you couldn't do better than to follow his advice and teachings.

I hope that one day I too can join you and fellow Fishraiders on a fishing adventure.

I enjoyed the read and look forward to up coming adventures from you.

Frank

[Bennyg78]

Hi @Kirelda

Great read and report, keep up the sessions!

You have outdone me here, I am yet to crack a bream on the cranka crab- good work.

Looking forward to seeing more reports and maybe catching up again soon

[lhan]

Hi @Kirelda nice work and from the read I can feel the joyfulness of your fishing journey! Keep it up and looking forward to more reports from you. 

[Kirelda]

3 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @Kirelda

That was a brilliant report and it put a big smile on my face. I'm looking forward to hearing the reactions of the people as mentioned above and others ( @Jfish and @nutsaboutfishing ) who were there for that Raiders topwater session.

From the first few minutes I met you, you were asking some pretty intelligent questions. While I haven't had the chance to spend as much time with you as I would have liked due to geography and timing, watching your growth has been a pleasure. I've enjoyed each one of the sessions we have had together and I look forward to more over the coming years. I was glad to have you there for my PB bream on topwater lures and I hope to be there for a few of your PBs.

Thanks for a wonderful read and a fun way to start the morning.

Regards,

Derek

Thank you for your kind words Derek, I definitely wouldn't be here without you. Thank you for teaching me all the things I know and I'm very much looking forward to learning even more.

[Kirelda]

3 hours ago, frankS said:

Li. Great to see you getting out and catching up with Derek and other members of this fantastic fishing forum.

Derek is (as you know) a terrific bloke and a great teacher and you couldn't do better than to follow his advice and teachings.

I hope that one day I too can join you and fellow Fishraiders on a fishing adventure.

I enjoyed the read and look forward to up coming adventures from you.

Frank

Hey Frank! Long time to speak. I'd love to come over and chat about fishing sometime if you'd like. We can head out for a session too if you've got extra time.

[Kirelda]

2 hours ago, Bennyg78 said:

Hi @Kirelda

Great read and report, keep up the sessions!

You have outdone me here, I am yet to crack a bream on the cranka crab- good work.

Looking forward to seeing more reports and maybe catching up again soon

I'd say outdone is a bit far, the lil fella was just barely bigger than my palm. Surprised the Whiting didn't have a go at it but they did surround it for quite a bit. Would love to catch up sometime and do some topwater maybe?

[Kirelda]

1 hour ago, lhan said:

Hi @Kirelda nice work and from the read I can feel the joyfulness of your fishing journey! Keep it up and looking forward to more reports from you. 

I could not be more happy when recounting my experiences thus far. I will not disappoint and will make more reports as I progress.

[Aussie_fisher]

Congrats on everything so far. Great to see your journey, it’s inspiring me to hopefully do the same 

[Robbo from Sydney]

Hi @Kirelda it is a delight to read your report and to have had the joy of experiencing some of it with you. You listen attentively and learn eagerly and clearly enjoy your fishing.

I look forwards to further reports and hopefully the opportunity to fish with you again.