2 Pbs in 1 day at Parramatta!

[ireallylovefishies22]

Headed down to the freshwater reaches of the Parra for the first time today with @44jeff once again, using worms and bread for bait. We arrived around 9, and we could already see schools of baby mullet and bubbles rising from around the lily pads. Within the first 5 minutes, Jeff's rod went off, and he was onto a carp! The fish went up and down the bank, and after a few minutes of coaxing the fish away from the lily pads, Jeff had caught his first carp! Guessing around the mid to high fifties mark, but very fat.

 
 

After the excitement of a fist within the first few minutes, we really looking forward to the session. However, the mullet had moved in, and were picking apart the bread before it sank to the bottom, and not a fish was caught over the next two hours. We decided to move around 50m upriver, where I saw some carp on the surface. After around half an hour, Jeff's float went down and he was onto a carp once again, however this time the carp managed to get the better of him by snagging him in the lily pads. We persisted, hooking a few more carp but losing them all to lily pads. We even managed a double hookup for both the fish to spit the hooks. We then met some nice guys that fished next to us for a while, and I gave them a few worms so he could catch some mullet. While this was happening, saw some line from my own rod slowly creep out. I gave some time for the fish to consume the bait (worms), then I set the hook. I initially thought this fish was a carp, but after realising the fish was nowhere as strong or heavy as one I began to wonder what it was. Turns out it was a big bass, and the people next to us helped me land it. Coming at 38.5cm, it crushed my previous pb of around 10cm. I couldn't be more happy with this catch! 🥳

 

After catching the nice bass, things became quiet once again. We continued to move upriver, this time stopping at Lennox Bridge. After throwing some bread crusts into the water, we saw some big boofs and splashes on the surface, and the carp began halfheartedly feeding. There would be around a splash every 30 seconds, so the carp certainly weren't in a frenzy. We even saw a big koi at our feet, but he wouldn't touch our bread baits. We decided to continue to around Marsden Street weir, but after passing the other side of a bridge I saw a monster 70cm+ koi feeding near the surface. I rushed over and dropped my bait in, and carp came over and nosed it...before casually swimming away! Over the next 15 minutes, we keptgetting teased by this massive fish and a few other carp, none of which would actually take the baits. Realising we wouldn't be able to tempt these fish, we continued moving until we reached Marsden Street Weir. The wind had picked up slightly, so I tied a small ball sinker onto my slightly heavier 12 pound rod. Not 10 seconds after the bait hit the water, the reel exploded in my hands and I almost dropped the rod in shock. I loosened the drag slightly as I thought the fish was on the edge of snapping the line. After a fun but stressful fight, Jeff managed to grab the carp and haul it up the bank. Having not caught a carp in over 10 years, I had forgotten how hard they could go! The fish went 66cm, and it is one of if not the largest fish I have ever caught.

 

Overall, we only landed 3 fish in the day, but all were PB's for both me and Jeff. Very fun day out, and I look forward to the next time I get to go down!

 

 

[bessell1955]

What a cracker days fishing.

[linewetter]

I've been meaning to try the freshwater section of the Parra River for carp!  A bit far of a drive from me though, so I usually beat down the idea in my head thinking I could spend more time fishing if I skip the long drive... I have not caught one yet but damn the ones you got look massive.  How are you guys rigging the bread on your hooks?  Always curious to see the how others do it because I would like to try other methods too. 

I just smoosh mine onto the hook, kind of thin and leave the curved part of the hook uncovered - unsure if this is the usual way, but I found this is what worked for me after lots of trial and error.  Kind of looks like a baitfish in a way if I squint just right...

[ireallylovefishies22]

11 minutes ago, linewetter said:

I've been meaning to try the freshwater section of the Parra River for carp!  A bit far of a drive from me though, so I usually beat down the idea in my head thinking I could spend more time fishing if I skip the long drive... I have not caught one yet but damn the ones you got look massive.  How are you guys rigging the bread on your hooks?  Always curious to see the how others do it because I would like to try other methods too. 

I just smoosh mine onto the hook, kind of thin and leave the curved part of the hook uncovered - unsure if this is the usual way, but I found this is what worked for me after lots of trial and error.  Kind of looks like a baitfish in a way if I squint just right...

Freshwater Parramatta can be very productive at times, lost of bass and carp there. I was using relatively large pieces of bread, around 4cm X 4cm. I like to hook the bread though once, and smoosh only a small part around the hook, that way it fluffs up in the  water. U can also just thread the hook thought the bread for a floating bait, which can be very effective at times. Always leave a small bit of hook exposed 👍

[Yowie]

Nice work. Surprising how hard the larger mud mullet fight. 

A bonus good sized bass to top it off.

[big Neil]

Great report of your record-breaking day fishing the freshwater. Top class photos to accompany the story too. Carp certainly give a very good account of themselves when the hook is set. 

Bet you can't wait to get back down there for some more of the action. Good to get a very healthy looking Bass too.

bn

[faker]

I do bass fishing but only with soft plastics buy not that great with bass

[kantong]

Parra producing the goods! well done on a fantastic session!

[Pickles]

That’s a great looking Bass @ireallylovefishies22 - it’s  great when the preparation and planning pays off and you have the right gear and tackle to do the job. A great report, thanks for sharing.