Lure and Fly Fishing Reports

Lure and Fly Fishing Reports Fishraider Lure and Fly Fishing Reports http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php Sat, 12 May 2012 09:47:19 +0000 120 The Last Hurrah http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63199
Well, a significant change in our circumstances sees me and my young family leaving Tuross Head. After a 25 year absence, I am heading back to Victoria ... Viva Mexico! The last two weekends have been terrific, spending time on the water with my nephew Mark, and the wily old bugger; Dene. Mark is a talented young fisherman and a great bloke to spend a day on the water with.We had a couple of great sessions, with the best of my fish going 75cm (released). It wasn't a big fish, but what made it more memorable was the fact that Dene and I were fishing within view of Mark and his son :074:

Today was my final session and it was fittingly spent with the crusty old bugger who has been my mentor, confidante and trusted mate for many years now. It seems the piscatorial Gods smiled down on our little tinny today. Dene opened the count with a great tailor, quickly followed by a spirited salmon. Twenty minutes later, I was grinning like a shot fox after landed this little bloke (55cm)

We spent the next couple of hours suffering through bustoffs, dropped fish and an inundation of undersized flatties. Our luck changed when we snuck up a little creek, with 4 fish making their way into the esky for our families. (56-59cm)

With a wistful last look around the waterways that has provided me with many memorable fish and fishing sessions, it was time to head home. Even the locals were waving 'seeyalater'

The most productive methods for the last couple of weeks have been to target the fish in the deeper water, especially the drop-offs near the rocky banks. Although color didn't seem to be too important, curly-tailed plastics in 100-120mm seemed the most reliable. Now it's time to pack boxes, load up the tinny, and return to the style of fishing that I learned the basics on many years ago. I hope to regale you with stories of wily trout, voracious redfin and tackle-testing cod in the months to come. Take care Raiders, and good luck!

Cheers

Hodgey]]> Sat, 12 May 2012 09:47:19 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63199 Come on Parra http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63159
Went further up the river past Gladesville and caught a big Salmon of all things in the dirty water practically from under a pontoon :wacko:

. Had a quick stop at road bridge but electric was out of juice or playing up and called it a day.
Cheers Dave and go the Eels]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 03:20:43 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63159 <![CDATA[Michelle & I hit Wallis Lake a-huntin' bream!]]> http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63100
As planned, I met up with Mark & Gyro on Saturday for a fish - Mark & Kev, in 'the beast'

and Michelle

I gave Mark a Sammy & basic instructions so that he could try his hand at Topwater Fishing and we all headed off to try & humble some of those pesky bream! It was a bit windy & overcast but, with the wind no your back, you can make some REALLY long casts! Posted Image

First Fish wasn't any thing to get really excited about, even tho it was legal

On the way to the lease that we wanted to fish, top water wasn't really working that morning, so by the time I got to the lease and realised the gate was open Posted Image

...... I had quite a few casts across the racks, then swapped to SPs. On 2 consecutive casts, I was busted off by big bream!! I'd forgotten just how much power these lease bream have!! Next hookup, I managed to manhandle him out of the racks and into my yak! He was a tad under 35cm & was VERY fat - a fair dinkum blue nose. I Dropped a couple more nice bream too.

I continued fishing for lots of smaller bream (some just over legal, so didn't bother taking pics ......) We met up with Mark & Kev again - they'd had a tough day of it - not sure if they got any fish! Posted Image

On the way back to the car, I finally managed a Sammy bream!! Not a thumper, but more than legal, going about 30cm!

Saturday looms gloomy & overcast - we make sure our wet weather gear is handy!! We returned to our new fav lease, only to find that it was locked! Posted Image

The wind was ripping thru the Paddock area & it was very choppy, so we decided to run for cover & shortly after feeling a few drops, our wet weather gear was on!

Michelle had given me a Cranka diver - I'd never even seen one before, so it became my lure of choice for the day! I'd dropped a couple of nice fish earlier on with it, so figured it must be a good 'un. It didn't disappoint!! It was over 30cm. I'd dropped another really good one, when Michelle was right behind me! I had the drag set at MAX & as soon as he struck, I was trying to haul him away from the racks, only for him to dive over the other side for the other rack! I managed to get him back towards the middle of the alley ...... and the hooks pulled! Posted Image

As Michelle said - with that much pressure on, it is not surprising that the hooks pull!

This is what he did to the hooks!! One was curled up completely - the other straightened! No, I don't have the 3rd one in my hand!!

I took a few home for Michelle's Mum's dinner!

Sunday morning, again we head out!! The water was Clear As, the sun was shining & boy! Did it get hot out there!!?? Fishing was very slow & I was blaming the sun, the lack of clouds & the very clear water!! It wasn't MY fault, of course! Posted Image

Finally, I caught a just legal early on & put it back, not photographing it. Then, not long after, I hooked this one just casting gulps across some flats - It was over 30cm & initially I thought it was a flattie then the head shakes confirmed a bream! Posted Image

I wandered around the Paddock, trying to find more fish - I could see them clearly enough, they just didn't want to eat!! Posted Image

I caught up with Michelle - she'd fished a different lease & had kept 2 nice flatties & a bream.

Michelle headed off to try another spot so I started chucking SPs towards some oyster covered poles ........and WHAM! I am on!! Somehow I managed to wrestle him out of the minefield & into the yak! It went 35cm and was VERY FAT

A nice 35cm Blue Nose Bream

Very thick in the chest

Then I heard a "bream kiss" & swiftly (and not too accurately) cast to THAT oyster covered pole ...... over the top of some other oysters ......and within seconds, the fish struck, so did I & it was pulling me towards the structure .... and the braid busted against the oysters! Posted Image

He was as good a fish as the previous one!!

I kept trying for more fish - I'd caught 2 nice ones inside of 10mins ........ but couldn't tempt any more onto the hooks ...... Ah well, that's fishing

Michelle & I had a great few days on the water - I caught on Topwater, divers & SPs, so a mixed number of methods! A cast of thousands, but well worth it!

THanks for reading

Cheerio

Roberta]]> Mon, 07 May 2012 00:48:50 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63100 Its been a while! Tea Bag Bass 50+ http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63051
Its been a while so much to tell but ill keep it short and hopefully make this post a start to some more from now on.

Seeing Hodgey and Dene on the weekend down Tuross gave me back my intergalatic raider typing fingers so here goes my first post in a long time!

I was at one of my favourite fresh water/ salt water meeting points and was flicking for some Breambo using a squidgy bug. Up creek about 50 metres i saw a boil and rushed up there to tea bag my soft plas. Only took at matter of seconds and this ball tearer decided it was brunch. Its skinny water and alot of snaggy trouble you can get into but i rustled him over my clean side of the bank.

I measured him from the top cork to the first runner which is 53cm and his tail was past the runner by two finger width so im confident he was at least 55.

Regardless it was a quick bash with good results. He was happily realeased!

See you all again soon!

Cheers Cam

]]> Sat, 05 May 2012 00:46:57 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=63051 FINALLY, the hooks stick! http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62987
I went out over the weekend for some topwater fishing - Michelle is coming up this weekend, so I needed the practise!! Posted Image

I lost a Bevy Pencil to a sneaky bream in a particularly nasty bit of oyster encrusted water ........ then headed into one lease & chucked a small topwater lure out - only to have the braid wrap around a clump of weed with roots on (bad enough when it is just the blades of grass/weed) and wouldn't you know it - a fish was smacking at the lure as I was trying to shake the weed off - it was up near the rod tip!! That wasn't going to happen, so I had to lay the rod down reel first on the front of the yak (into my Berkley Silicon Net, so it didn't slip off - note, this is a good tip for all kayakers!! Posted Image

) and of course, the movement of the lure in the water made the fish try even HARDER to get the lure ....... so I was trying to retrieve the loose line by hand & WHAM! The fish got the lure & ducked beneath the rack! I applied pressure, then relaxed a bit, hoping it would swim out - NO, it didn't! It had just gone deeper ....... so now, instead of 20lb leader rubbing against the rack, it was now 6lb braid! Ah well, we all know what happened ......... another lure, GORN!! Posted Image

Then the fun began! It started with a 26cm breambo

Then upgraded to a 30cm - this is what happens when you only take the one photo!!! Just as well it wasn't a competition!!

He had a lesion of some sort on his head! - maybe he was the one that got stuck under the lease for a little while on my lost lure, previously?? Posted Image

He had a nice set of fangs & deposited milt into my lap! Posted Image

Then another around the 30cm mark jumped on board

I called these two, Dinner!

I was SO pleased to have broken the hoodoo of missing the hooks - mind you, the same number got off, as well!! Posted Image

A couple of them particularly nice ones!!

At one stage, the water was really choppy & I recall Dan/Bubba saying that he loves top watering when the water was really choppy ........ so I gave it a go - within a yak length, finally a bream 'had a go' 3 times ...... I let it sit there & in the choppy water, I could see this massive bream - without a word of a lie - it would have been over 40cm & 1.5kg+ in weight ........... it was glaring at the lure. I jiggled it & it circled around the lure twice, glaring at it, defying it to move - I moved it again, getting ever closer to me & the yak - but all it could see was the lure ...... at this stage, I could almost have netted it!! Posted Image

Then, he saw the yak & was gone! This was one seriously blue nosed monster bream! Oh, how I wish I had landed it & got a photo!! Posted Image

Ah well, it was interesting whilst I watched!

Can't wait to hit the water later on the weekend & have another go!

The mighty Sammy 65 works it's magic again!

CHeerio

Roberta]]> Tue, 01 May 2012 05:25:17 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62987 PB Salmon on Bream Surface Lures http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62934
Bassboy and I headed out early Saturday morning to fish the Georges River during the run-out tide at dawn. The intent was to fish for bream and flatties with SPs and HB and then work some deep holes with SPs for Jewies. The morning started slowly as we cast our SPs at drop offs and current lines for not even a touch. As the sun rose we noticed that the water was just under 19 degrees and still very dirty. As a consequence we changed our tactics to cast HBs and SPs onto the flats and against structure. This change brought some success with a nice bream of 32cm taken on a Gulp Shrimp.

From the same bank I caught a nice 50cm Flattie with a Cultiva Mira Shad, which is fast becoming my favorite suspending hard body.

We continued to work the structure along the banks for a couple of more small flatties. As the tide went slack we moved to a deep hole to try for Jewies with SP. It looked good with lots of bait deep on the sounder. On Bassboy’s second cast with his SP he hooked a stinkin Pike. We continued to work the hole for no luck until the run-in started. As the tide started to run-in we saw some birds working bait near the mouth of Oatley Bay. We decided to have a look and were we glad we did. It appeared that small schools of large Tailor were attacking bait.

We quickly changed our SPs for small metals and started casting into the fish chopping at the bait. The feeding fish showed little interest in the metals, so we tried small blades, buck jigs and SPs for no luck. On a frustrated whim to try to ‘match the hatch’ I decided to tie on a small bream surface lure, namely a Berkley Pop Dog. A couple practice casts and the sea birds showed interest in the Pop Dog. As we had the school to ourselves and due to the shorter casting distance I had to use the Minn Kota to drive closer to the school. First cast….pop pop and bang I had the very visual experience of watching a large salmon hit the lure as it hurled itself into the air. The fish then ran hard with the current stripping line from my bream gear (2000 Stradic C4I on a Trion 2-4kg rod) and jumping all over the place. 5 minutes of the best fun with bream gear I was able to boat a nice 54cm Salmon……my first ever salmon.

Bassboy immediately changed his metal slice for a bream surface lure (Sebile Splasher). Every time the school surfaced and we got close enough to the feeding fish our surface lures would get either follows or hit. The next fish from the school was a nice tailor hitting Bassboy’s Sebile within a rod length of the boat.

We continued to chase the school around the mouth of Oatley Bay for the next 1 ½ hours, casting surface lures at them when we got close enough. Bassboy caught his first ever Salmon on surface, with the 57.5cm fish completely engulfing the Sebile.

The salmon school continued to appear and disappear as they chased bait to the surface or boats travelling to or from Oatley Bay unknowingly sped over the fish. When the fish appeared out of reach of our surface lures we tried various sizes of metals for no real interest from the salmon. Consequently we persisted casting surface lures, with the Sebile Splasher and the Berkley Top Dog being the only successful lures.

The biggest salmon of the day was a 58cm fish, which we were lucky to boat due to the damage it caused to the trebles on the Sebile Splasher.

We had to leave the fish biting so I could race home to take my daughter to her netball game. It was a outstanding day and all the fish were released for another day.

]]> Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:48:18 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62934 Losing My Tails http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62917
Went out for a flick today under the north side of the Fig Tree Bridge. Got there at 11am and left at 2pm.

I was flicking 3" Minnow Grubs in Camo, Pumpkinseed and Banana Prawn hooked onto a 1/16 jig with 2/0 Hook.

Kept getting the tails bitten off all the way up to the curve on the hook.

Everything else I tried didn't even get noticed.]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:02:46 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62917 LUDERICK ON FLY http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62911

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 06:02:18 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62911 Just bought a new kayak:) http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62864 well a few days ago i bought the cheapest sit-inside kayak from A N A C O N D A at half price for 250 dollars (What a bargain!), i just want a few tips on what i should add to my kayak to keep my stuff secure, and if the stuff i strap on the back is easily accesible while kayaking. I would also appreciate any good ideas on were to place my rod holders, and how i should manouvre the kayak around the bay, like how deep i should go.. for now however i am just thinking about croosing the shallows or maybe trolling a lure. I would also like some information on the possibility of sharks in the area and how i can prevent them or what to do if i encounter one(Although i doubt i ever i will). Can't wait to try my customised fishing yak soon!!!

Cheers guys,

BIlly]]> Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:59:12 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62864 Fishing the dirty water - topwater for bream http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62840
I went out for 5hrs yesterday morning - I am glad to report that the hip behaved very well - I even managed to exit the yak without falling over - tho a little bit of discomfort I think, just from sitting at the angle for so long. Getting better every day - the cortisone shot must be helping, bigtime.

First cast & I get a small bream on top water. The shallow water opposite the Big Tree was just boiling & I had some good hits there & momentary hookups, tho the hooks didn't grab!

Continuing on, i had more hits off poles - I was doing aggressive 'side swipes' with the top water lures & HUGE boil/swipe that missed the hooks again!

I was targetting the poles of a lease and had MORE big hits & misses - very frustrating at this point in time! Posted Image

I went over to where I normally get my weed & really good cabbage & THEY'VE TAKEN IT ALL AWAY!

It was my 'go to' spot for both!! Grrrr Now I'll have to find another spot to find some!! Lots of the leases don't have any trays on them now, so no real action anywhere other than the mullet & probably blackies. Mullet on top of the water EVERYWHERE! Must take the float & bread next time! Fresh mullet is lovely - both fried & smoked.

I went back & tried the same area I had had hits earlier & I got a massive hit as I approached this time at the top of the tide & then I fished between the 2 & missed another really good hit! Posted Image

I reckon from now on, the top water here will be just amazing! I tried that little Squidgies stripey lure that Michelle gave me when fishing with her last time - it got slammed first cast (to a pole) but the hooks didn't grab! Posted Image

On the way back to the car, I was just chucking the lure towards the shore when the water EXPLODED & whatever it was, missed the lure (Story of my life, yesterday! Posted Image

) I could see fish fleeing left, right & centre, so I chucked it towards where I thought the predator was - & WHAM another HUGE EXPLOSION - another hit & miss! Posted Image

I am thinking it was the Giant Herring again that stole one of my lures when I was fishing the area 2 years back! Shane Caulker (photographer for Fishing World) caught one a month or so back & Chris from the caravan park caught a monster 2 years back. THey seem to have established themselves in Wallis Lake. Gee, it would be fun to catch one of those!! They go like the clappers!!

The fish didn't seem to mind the dirty water - mind you, I was fishing the rising tide, so it got cleaner as it went along, but was never totally clean.

I reckon if I change to new hooks on my TW lures - I should start getting hookups! I was sharpening them as I went along!

It was Raining again all yesterday afternoon - so how good was my timing!! I went out after 7am & back at about 1pm, tho it is nicer again today!! I may go out again on Thurs or Fri if the weather holds - looks like it should be good later in the week!

So, if you think dirty water affects the fishing - it DOES!! It makes them more aggressive!!

cheerio

Roberta]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:10:45 +0000 http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=62840