Another quick Hawkesbury sesh

[XD351]

G’day Raiders,

I lobbed up to the lower Hawkesbury for a quick arvo sesh arriving at 11.30am and with a high tide around 9.45am it was going to be another run out drift session for flathead . Bait as usual was whole and half pilly on a spikes half pilly rig and cyclops rig . I started off on the southern side of dangar island and drifted all the way down to the mouth of Cowan creek , these were a series of short drifts adjusting to run along any drop offs or to drift through any current or trash lines -this resulted in one bite and a missed hookup on what I feel was a small flathead. A few more drifts around the mouth of Cowan were performed but still nothing 🤬

I could see the trash / current line extending in a long southerly arc towards flint and steel so I decided to try again at a spot just south of middle ground and drift through the current line again . This resulted in a 58cm mulloway which had me fooled into thinking it was a big flathead -I was now excited- until I saw silver ! Not complaining though as it was good fun on light gear and it was released after a quick photo. I then decided to go up river to moony and try a spot which has treated me well over the years but once again I couldn’t lose a bait and there was a fair bit of what I call glass noodle weed ( clear weed that looks like fine noodles ) and every time I have come across this weed fishing in that area has been poor . I decided to try the deeper water along Long Island - first 10m depth then in the main channel which resulted in the loss of my green cyclops rig 🤬🤬 

I decide to give one last spot a try on the way back to the ramp , this is a hole between dangar island and the point next to the rail bridge . A few minutes into the drift my rod went heavy and thinking it was weed I wound it in but I could feel some very faint kicking as I did so - maybe a crab ? Anyhow I felt my leader knot go through the guides and spotted my hook - no crab but I had hooked someone else’s braid so began hauling it in - still feeling these faint kicks . A few seconds later up came rod and reel and not long after that a small mulloway still hooked in the lip ! The fish seemed ok as it swam off so hopefully it survived, the rod and reel (Sedona outfit ) are in great condition and will get a rebuild - the reel is currently soaking in some outboard engine flush to kill the salt off . 
Back at the ramp I pulled up next to another boat to strap my boat on and got talking to the guy who owns it , he had done a two day trip  and caught a few fish. Mostly Mulloway around the same size as mine but also a few 60cm flathead ( he didn’t show any to me so can’t confirm this ) but I did ask him what he caught his fish on - live herring which he apparently caught somewhere in Cowan - I wouldn’t know where to start looking for them , maybe the end of Jerusalem ck?. He reckoned he was using whole dead squid , butterfly yakkas and lives - only the lives got touched . 
So where to now ? Do I go back with lives ? Do I go and try jigs and lead vibes ? Maybe some big paddle tails ! Will live yakkas work ? Or  will live poddies ? I dunno. I have 5 days to decide !
On another's note I spotted on one of my FB feeds a big  hair tail was caught in the Hawkesbury in the last few days  so maybe they are here early ! 

[Larkin]

Beats going to the tackle shop 😂

Poddies should work well, I’ve used yellowtails - but they seem to get hit only by the big girls.

[XD351]

5 hours ago, Larkin said:

Beats going to the tackle shop 😂

Poddies should work well, I’ve used yellowtails - but they seem to get hit only by the big girls.

 

A nice 45cm flattie would have been better 🤣🤣🤣 

Reel has been rebuilt and will find  a new home as a mullet  rod in a mates boat - swapped it for a tub of worms to get my worm farm up and running . 
I might even try some freshwater mullet ( live ) to see how they go , I can catch them more reliably than poddies and do it closer to home . 
The Sedona  sure isn’t anything special in the way of a reel ! 3 bearings , no line roller bearing and pretty flimsy imho - I may have an older model as the big box store says they have 3+1 which is a line roller bearing but still not worth the $150 price tag - $80 maybe but no way $150 !

[kantong]

looked like a good outing there. I've never caught another fishing outfit before, not something I've targetted specifically, but might give it a go. Always wanted a nice Stella!

Load up on the mullet from parra river!

[XD351]

1 hour ago, kantong said:

looked like a good outing there. I've never caught another fishing outfit before, not something I've targetted specifically, but might give it a go. Always wanted a nice Stella!

Load up on the mullet from parra river!

Forgot about the parra ! When I was a kid we used to catch them in the canals at meadowbank and there certainly was no shortage of them at Rydalmere last time I was there - some nice 100mm units would be nice ! 

[James Clain]

Great fish, well done!

 

[whiskey299]

Great report XD. Congrats on catching the new setup!

I caught 2 southern herrings once using a sabiki not far from the beach and managed to convert them into a legal jewfish and a hairtail.

So they do work, but that's just my limited experience fish this area. 

Edited February 27 by whiskey299