The Meadowbank Challenge and the FTT Popper

[Little_Flatty]

So @big Neil recently commented on how quiet it’s been up here, so I thought I’d pipe up to share my adventures with you all.

The reality is that for me, the fishing’s been quiet, and I believe I'm not the only one (thank goodness for more successful reports like @Larkin's amazing Jetski Marlin).

 

My humble results have not been for lack of trying though, and not for a lack of excitement either; two major milestones have been broken over the past week! The first is that I finally cracked the Meadowbank challenge of getting a topwater bream on a lure, and the second was that I got my first ever fish on a homemade lure. So here goes...

 

CHAPTER ONE: THE MEADOWBANK CHALLENGE

 

Last Thursday I had a big sleep in, so I couldn’t go far from home. So Meadowbank it was. Started out with a sinking stickbait in search of a flathead, but there were none to be found. So it was time to muck around and tie on a topwater lure. I had low expectations because I’d never caught anything on this stretch with a surface lure.

 

Cast around a bit for nothing, so moved to the scouts pontoon. There was someone fishing off the pontoon so I stayed casting at the mangroves in the shallows. Miraculously a fish came up and splashed the lure. Another twitch, another splash and I’m on! Meadowbank topwater duck broken!

 

 

That was it for that session, but that wasn’t the last of it. Next morning I was fishing over the flats and second cast, I was on again! Still not a big fish, but notable because it was my second in the area.

 

 

Then disaster struck. A wayward cast put my slippery dog in the mangroves. That was the end of my session. I knew that water well, so I planned to come back on the low tide to retrieve it.

 

That afternoon, I delayed my lunch break until the bottom of the tide, so I could retrieve my lure. Trudged out to the edge of the mangrove stand and started looking for the lure. Turns out it's very hard to find a lure in a mangrove tree! So I came up with the clever idea of shaking branches, in hope of hearing the rattle. Shake shake, nothing. Try another branch, shake shake, nothing. Move on. I was shaking a large branch when I heard a big buzz and the feeling of a WASP stinging me in the neck, and then the arm! I run for my life to get away from the tree before assessing the damage. Geez that hurt! Abort mission...the wasp can keep its slippery dog!

 

High tail it back home and take antihistamines and apply stingose. Thankfully it settled down entirely within one hour, but it has since started itching. Not my first wasp sting, so I know it will get better eventually.

 

CHAPTER TWO: HOW THE MEADOWBANK CHALLENGE WAS OVERCOME

 

I know that I have long banged on here that it was impossible to catch bream on topwater at Meadowbank, and this was backed up by two bona fide topwater addicts in @DerekD and @Bennyg78. So why did I witness success on two separate mornings?

 

The first reason, I suspect, is that I'm simply fishing topwater lures with a lot more confidence, now that I've had some success. I suspect that is 80% of the equation.

 

The other 20%, I put down to environmental factors. For one, this year, I have struggled to catch flathead in my usual spots using my normal methods, whilst last year (flathead wise) I could do no wrong! I'm not sure what is causing this, but the difficulty I've had with my usual methods is uncanny, to the point where I've started fishing with different methods (including topwater).

 

The other main change has been the completion of major stormwater engineering works in Shepherds bay at Meadowbank. Since this work has completed, I can't help but think something has changed about this bay. Both bream I caught where from this bay, and I am starting to think that this is not a coincidence. Time will tell and I will most certainly keep you updated. If the bream topwater fishing in the upper Parra becomes a regular thing, I certainly won't complain.

 

CHAPTER THREE: THE FTT POPPER

 

The loss of both my slippery dogs stung more than just by a wasp sting; my kids had made Lenten promises at school to give up various things they liked and insisted on me making one too. I had opted to not buy anything for fishing for the whole of Lent and donate the usual fishing budget to charity. So some innovation - and a little fun - was called for.

 

Tying my own flies and being able to customise and change the design has led me to think that I could also make my own lures. I have templates for balsa stickbaits and poppers from the wonderful Greg Vinall, but I wasn't quite ready to embark on wooden lure making just yet as I have a number of projects that I still needed to finish*** (more below). So something ridiculously quick was called for.

 

I have long known about 'Thong Things' that people were using long before the inception of Sugapens and Slippery dogs. There's even some raiders who have had success on these lures, and I was curious to give them a go. I didn't have any thongs that I could condemn to getting eaten by bream, and I wasn't allowed to buy any more (see previously made Lenten promise), so instead I used some foam tiling that I had lying around. Hence, the Foam Tile Thing (FTT Popper) was born:

 

 

A bit rough, but my theory with all lures is that finish doesn't matter so much, but profile and action does. It took me quite a while to get the weight positioned so that the lure sat and swam just right. Soon it was time to get onto the water.

 

On another note, it has been more than a year since @Mike Sydney and I have been able to meet up for a fish. With ideal fishing windows at opposite ends of the day (myself in the morning and Mike at night) and juggling work and parenting, it has been difficult to line up a session. But this morning, the opportunity arose and we grabbed it with both hands.

 

We met at Tarban Creek in the early morning darkness and got casting. Expectations were low, but this session was more about catching up rather than catching fish. We saw very little action until sunup, after which we started getting follows and hits on our lures.

 

We had cycled through a couple of different lures each, but eventually Mike settled on an MMD Splash Prawn and me an FTT Popper. Moving over the shallow flats, Mike hooked onto a chopper tailor. On the board at last!

 

Then, after a good cast over the flats, I had a hit, and the fish found the assists. Up came a little bream, my first ever on a home made lure!

 

Though it was only a small bream, it just made my day. It is just so satisfying to craft something yourself and catch a fish on it. No amount of money could buy that level of satisfaction and fulfilment; it must be earned.

 

After a few more casts in the mangroves, it was time for Mike and I to part ways and head back to our families. Good session Mike, and we will need to do it again soon!

 

Anyhow I've rambled on for long enough about the catch and release of three measly undersized fish, so it's time to sign off.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Mike

 

ps. ***You heard it here first: I'm working on compiling an article (book!) on handline fishing by @wazatherfisherman, with contributions from @DerekD and @Yowie. I have long thought that there was a real lack of good online information on fishing with handlines in Sydney. And as a fisho who started out with handlines, that's a real shame; they are a extremely low cost and effective method of starting fishing! As a result, some handline fishing reports will soon appear in the coming weeks, as I write my own contribution to this compilation and take some photos to accompany the words. Watch this space, there are some epic secrets shared in this article by some gun anglers.

[Mike Sydney]

Was fantastic catching up with you again @Little_Flatty and folks this homemade thong popper he has - you have to see the action to believe it, it’s really superb and sits so well in the water. Really, really nice to watch.

Was a beautiful spot too - the joy of fishing the creek by both moonlight and sunrise !

[big Neil]

A very detailed and enjoyable post LF and some beautiful photos in your post Mike Sydney. I fully understand your excitement regarding your " FTT Popper". What better buzz than to make your own unlikely looking lure and have it catch fish. Very well done LF.

I will look forward to seeing how things develop in the future.

Cheers, bn

[wazatherfisherman]

Hi Mike great post! Making your own lures is both fun and satisfying, making them out of cheap or recyclable stuff even more so. Love the 'internal balance system' (very clever!) and ripple-effect texture too!

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, Mike Sydney said:

Was fantastic catching up with you again @Little_Flatty and folks this homemade thong popper he has - you have to see the action to believe it, it’s really superb and sits so well in the water. Really, really nice to watch.

Was a beautiful spot too - the joy of fishing the creek by both moonlight and sunrise !

Thanks Mike, some great photos there! Was glad you could join me for a session.

1 hour ago, big Neil said:

A very detailed and enjoyable post LF and some beautiful photos in your post Mike Sydney. I fully understand your excitement regarding your " FTT Popper". What better buzz than to make your own unlikely looking lure and have it catch fish. Very well done LF.

I will look forward to seeing how things develop in the future.

Cheers, bn

Thanks Neil,  I’m thinking we might need to make up some bigger foam gurglers for cod one day!🤔🤣

25 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Mike great post! Making your own lures is both fun and satisfying, making them out of cheap or recyclable stuff even more so. Love the 'internal balance system' (very clever!) and ripple-effect texture too!

Thanks Waza, it sure is fun making your own stuff!

[Yowie]

Nice work there Mike. couple of breambo's, and one on a home made lure of sorts. 🤣 Well, it worked.

[ireallylovefishies22]

Can't wait for the handlining reports! Never had much luck with it myself 

[Larkin]

Hahaha!

I feel for ya Mike! Rattling the branches lol 

Those little buggers don’t stop at one sting do they

[Green Hornet]

Nice going Mike, great to see you have success with the FFT popper, but if bream will take one of those Saikoro Dice, they’ll take anything haha. Seriously though, bream are like cats and when all else fails, often curiosity is their downfall.

Bugger about the wasps, though it could’ve been worse. It reminded me of a story about a guy that was shaking a tree to get his bass lure back, when he was “crash tackled” from above by a diamond python and fell out of the boat.

[faker]

if my recent success if shore jigging and chasing perlagics hasn;t been so addictive. i would be happy be chasing bream again. But the squeal of the fishing reel is too addictive on larger fish

[Aussie_fisher]

Haha fish on a homemade lure that’s quite an achievement. Perhaps I might have a better chance crafting my own lure as the ones from the shops don’t seem to work for me 🤣 shame about the wasp hopefully wasn’t too bad

[Little_Flatty]

18 hours ago, Yowie said:

Nice work there Mike. couple of breambo's, and one on a home made lure of sorts. 🤣 Well, it worked.

Thanks Dave, the lure may be ugly, but it works😎 

18 hours ago, ireallylovefishies22 said:

Can't wait for the handlining reports! Never had much luck with it myself 

Yes you’re in for a treat. Most of the basics with fishing bait on rod and reel applies to handlining too. It’s not nearly as cumbersome as you’d believe and a handline’s sensitivity will rival the best rod and braid out there!

17 hours ago, Larkin said:

Hahaha!

I feel for ya Mike! Rattling the branches lol 

Those little buggers don’t stop at one sting do they

Yes Chris, they certainly don’t! If I ended up needing a visit to the doctor, that would easily have cost more than a slippery dog! Will think twice next time I get snagged!

40 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

Nice going Mike, great to see you have success with the FFT popper, but if bream will take one of those Saikoro Dice, they’ll take anything haha. Seriously though, bream are like cats and when all else fails, often curiosity is their downfall.

Bugger about the wasps, though it could’ve been worse. It reminded me of a story about a guy that was shaking a tree to get his bass lure back, when he was “crash tackled” from above by a diamond python and fell out of the boat.

Yeah I agree, fish are often not nearly as picky as one would think, provided you get a few crucial parameters right. I’ve been listening to a podcast by a fly tyer questioning whether they see a shrimp fly as a shrimp or something else entirely. It’s probably more likely that they think ‘that’s the right size and profile, has tasty looking wriggly bits and it hasn’t seen me yet, so I might eat it’. Bit like how we might try exotic looking food when travelling, even if we might not want to know what it is!🤣

I remember sending a picture of a particularly nice breambo to a mate in north qld a few years ago and all I got was a one liner reply: ‘nice rat with fins’🤣

I’m not sure I’d have been able to go back to work if I was crashed tackled by a diamond python, not without a few coldies to calm me back down first! Imagine explaining that one to the boss!🤣

1 hour ago, faker said:

if my recent success if shore jigging and chasing perlagics hasn;t been so addictive. i would be happy be chasing bream again. But the squeal of the fishing reel is too addictive on larger fish

Have fun with it!

15 minutes ago, Aussie_fisher said:

Haha fish on a homemade lure that’s quite an achievement. Perhaps I might have a better chance crafting my own lure as the ones from the shops don’t seem to work for me 🤣 shame about the wasp hopefully wasn’t too bad

It takes either a bit of confidence or extremely low expectations to fish with a lure looking like my one! Stick to the store bought ones unless you’re very bored, or in a bind with a limited budget. That said, even with store bought ones, you’d be surprised how often lures with a basic finish will outfish those with holographic and Uv colours. It’s mostly about size/shape, the way it sits in the water and it’s action.

[linewetter]

I am amazed you caught such a nice fish on the homemade lure.  Really proving it's all about technique and presentation that matters, not the lure itself!  

I'm also looking forward to your book on handline fishing 🙂 I've been considering buying a small one just to keep in the car or backpack in case I ever am in a situation where I want to fish but don't have a rod...Bread can be found anywhere and with a handline, it's fishing time!  

[jenno64]

Entertaining post Mike

Those topwater lures were almost bigger than some of the bream!! Love the home made popper, just goes to show!

[Little_Flatty]

38 minutes ago, linewetter said:

I am amazed you caught such a nice fish on the homemade lure.  Really proving it's all about technique and presentation that matters, not the lure itself!  

I'm also looking forward to your book on handline fishing 🙂 I've been considering buying a small one just to keep in the car or backpack in case I ever am in a situation where I want to fish but don't have a rod...Bread can be found anywhere and with a handline, it's fishing time!  

Some great sport to be had with a handline and a load of bread! It’s mostly Waza’s book, I just thought of the idea  

31 minutes ago, jenno64 said:

Entertaining post Mike

Those topwater lures were almost bigger than some of the bream!! Love the home made popper, just goes to show!

Cheers Rob, they don’t have to be big when there’s a fun way of catching them  That said I won’t say no to a 45cm thumper 😎