PB bream after learning session with Derek

[lhan]

Hi all,

After the last session with @DerekD at Mosman covering SP/metals/VIB/squid jigs, I had a feeling of fishing knowledge overflow where I really need to take them out and throw some into the water . As tricky as my usual fishing schedule was, I was standing under the bridge at Meadowbank with a half finished banh mi (highly recommend the bakery at Meadowbank plaza) seeking for a quick win.

Convinced by @Little_Flatty last time we met, Texas rig is a good fit in the upper Parra system and it has no issue with hook set. I rigged one freshly arrived Gulp crabby and began to practice what I called `Derek-special-flick-not-lift-move` (I call it because I had some muscle memory from my previous technique doing bad lifts). Bites are not many but definitely plenty enough that I had to rig a new one on. The tide is very low but with the new flick method Derek taught me, easy peasy I can have my desired movement in whatever depth by simply adjusting my rod angle - this can be really handy as I found at different places I usually fish bream tend to hang on different water columns. Not long after, rod bent with line running quite harsh - fish on! It's not very far from my feet but man that's a powerful move and literally running away. To be honest I didn't expect a big bream this close to the shore when it's low tide. Stick up the rod, pull it in, reel it in, ease the rod a bit and repeat - easy peasy again. A 30cm bream easily scored and no sweat but this one is my trophy bream catch.

 

Happy with the result and I just went back to the rat race.

As I don't have much time fishing I tend to review all my fishing time again and again - looking back I have to say the way @DerekD taught me fishing is just so detailed yet efficient. It's so detailed that I really can't take all of them on site while on the other hand it's so effective as he put a lot of dots down beforehand for my fishing journey to help me explore. The more I fish, the more dots I connect, the better I have understanding of the whole picture - from outfit to lure choices, it all makes sense when you throw out a light lure metres further; from retrieve techniques to fish fighting, it's such a natural transition when you hooked a decent fish and reel it in with ease. It's still myself fishing and practicing but the joy is there so I can reach.

Hopefully this is a good read and the weather could be good again. Enjoy!

Tight lines,

Henry

Edited February 20 by lhan

[big Neil]

Well what a great post Henry. The fact that Derek knows his stuff and can teach it effectively is emphasised in your report. You have listened, learned, and put it into practice... and a great result. I hope that you manage to get out fishing more often and you can learn even more technique as you go. The journey of the angler is never finished, there is always something else to learn, to practice and to perfect. Good luck, I will look forward to reading about your adventures.    bn

[Little_Flatty]

Well done @lhan! There are a lot of bream in that area but getting them to take a lure (even gulp!) is not always straightforward. So that is a good catch.

The Texas rig will help you a lot with the snags around Meadowbank and save you heaps of rerigging time. I’ve found a lot of the territory around Meadowbank is basically unfishable without snag proofing your lure in one way or another.

[lhan]

59 minutes ago, big Neil said:

Well what a great post Henry. The fact that Derek knows his stuff and can teach it effectively is emphasised in your report. You have listened, learned, and put it into practice... and a great result. I hope that you manage to get out fishing more often and you can learn even more technique as you go. The journey of the angler is never finished, there is always something else to learn, to practice and to perfect. Good luck, I will look forward to reading about your adventures.    bn

Thanks for the encouragement @big Neil! I'd happily out for fishing all day if I could!

38 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Well done @lhan! There are a lot of bream in that area but getting them to take a lure (even gulp!) is not always straightforward. So that is a good catch.

The Texas rig will help you a lot with the snags around Meadowbank and save you heaps of rerigging time. I’ve found a lot of the territory around Meadowbank is basically unfishable without snag proofing your lure in one way or another.

@Little_Flatty really appreciate for showing me texas rig - it really saves me a lot of lure and time (which is precious for us sneaky fishos). Wish we could fish together soon. Only a short session with you improved my Parra fishing experience so much!

[jenno64]

Nice work Henry

It's great to see you put your learnings into a good result, thank your mentors and keep the PBs coming:)

[Little_Flatty]

12 hours ago, lhan said:

@Little_Flatty really appreciate for showing me texas rig - it really saves me a lot of lure and time (which is precious for us sneaky fishos). Wish we could fish together soon. Only a short session with you improved my Parra fishing experience so much!

Glad to help. The Texas rig and EWG hooks are not often used in Sydney, and it's a shame.

I think people have this hangup that the hidden hook point won't hook fish, but it will. Put it this way, you won't catch as many undersized whiting and tailor and I don't see that as a bad thing, although I have caught many of both on EWGs. But you'll miss many of those same fish on regular jigheads as well.

Plenty of the tournament bream anglers use EWGs, and they wouldn't bother if they struggled to hook up. Just google the Ecogear Aqua Prawns and you'll see.

[lhan]

12 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Glad to help. The Texas rig and EWG hooks are not often used in Sydney, and it's a shame.

I think people have this hangup that the hidden hook point won't hook fish, but it will. Put it this way, you won't catch as many undersized whiting and tailor and I don't see that as a bad thing, although I have caught many of both on EWGs. But you'll miss many of those same fish on regular jigheads as well.

Plenty of the tournament bream anglers use EWGs, and they wouldn't bother if they struggled to hook up. Just google the Ecogear Aqua Prawns and you'll see.

yeah weird looking bream prawn is prob the only thing I saw people consistently use EWG with. I really wanna give it a try but I do have a jar of gulp alive to go lol