mottyman

Righto.... there you go then hey LOLOLOLOL So, my Bass PB remains at 38cm. My EP PB is 50cm. I said to my mate Chris one of the fish he caught early in the day was an EP but I didn't think they went into the fresh, I thought they stayed in salt. You live and learn. Thanks guys.

Thanks guys. Its something I'll never forget. Certainly a trophy fish for me. Still stoked :-)

Howdy Raiders, Well it took many years to happen but I've finally cracked the magical 50cm mark for a bass. Put the yak in and headed off into the fog - couldn't see a thing. My mate Chris and I caught the regulation fish of 25cm and smaller early in the fog and then later in the morning I sounded some fish holding on structure in a hole near the bank. I was fishing an el-cheapo lure from a well known online store LOL. It was a sinking Bass jellybean (fat crank) so I let it sink down in the hole for a good couple of minutes. I gave it a couple of cranks up off the bottom and the lure stopped dead. Thought I caught the structure then all hell broke lose and I was being towed up the river. After a long fish on 4lb leader, 4lb main line and a 1-3 kg rod I landed the fish of a lifetime for me. The fish measured exactly 50cm to the tip of the tail and was fat and round like a football. It had a mouth like a bucket!!! After some snaps the fish swam away very strongly and I lined up the same spot and put in another cast. Sat... waited, waited, waited, two cranks bang. On again. This time a 35cm model. Awesome day and something I'll truly treasure for the rest of my life. Below are some pics.

Sensational - I'm still trying to get a Jew (any Jew) on plastics after all these years... one day. Fantastic session - love the pics. Dave.

Hi Folks, Hit Chipping Norton Lakes again today but much different result. Fished all the same areas with same techniques and lures and got one nice bream very late in the session. Got another very small one to the side of the yak earlier and that was it. Plenty of small hits all day but nothing hooked up. Did see a very large green back slash up the surface chasing bait right between our yaks when fishing together which was exciting but it didn't stick around. I'm thinking a salmon. It was a long session for just one fish but that's the way it goes I guess. A quick pic below, check out the choppers on him :-) Cheers David.

Congratulations! That's a massive effort on that gear. It shows great skills and patience. This is why angling is an art :-)

Let the lure hit the bottom and then work it very slowly. If you think you're going slow, slow it down again. Just a very gentle lift of the bottom (not very high) and then let it sink down again. Most strikes today came just as the lure hit the bottom which was great and set the hook well, especially with the flatties, all hooked right in the front of the top jaw so no bite offs.

Hey Flathead. The mono I use is bright orange so I can see it. It holds its color really well and hasn't faded (new on reels at the start of last year's Bass season). I really like to be able to see the line very clearly so I can tell when the lure has hit the bottom. Its just something I like and I'm used to fishing that way. You're right tho, strait through fluro would be a good idea and cut out leader knots, I just like to be able to see the main line.

Thanks guys. Fishseeker, I cut them in half and use them on a very small ball head jig. I've got no idea about weights of jig heads, I just use what feels about right for the conditions. Just enough to hold the bottom.

Thanks mate. Sorry, I should clarify. I use braid on heavier outfits but I find light mono these days is just as good as braid when fishing very light and I don't get casting knots at all or tip wrapped as much using the mono. Joining leaders is easier as I just use a double blood knot. I really like the light mono, I'm using Berkley trilene. Anything heavier than 4lb in that line doesn't really work however. Cheers David.

More pics

Hi everyone, Since the Bass have moved on my mate Chris and I decided to head to Chipping Norton Lake to give the bream a go. Today didn't disappoint with some nice fish coming on board the Yak - largest was 32cm. Biggest Flattie went 48cm. All fish were taken on Berkley Sandworms in Camo and Halco Scorpion 45mm hardbody in Pink/Yellow. I didn't get another lure out all day - when something works, stick with it I reckon. I fished very light - 1-3kg rods with 4lb mono main line (I don't use braid anymore) to a 4lb Vanish leader. All the bream made a really good account of themselves and I had some fun listening to the drag scream as they headed off and circled the yak. Here's some pics from a great day. Cheers David.

Very nice and well done on a couple of Bass. Devlins by the look of the scenery? Excellent stuff.

Lovely look'n Yak and as everyone has said, good work on the rocket launchers. Hopefully run into you on the Nepean one day, I fish it quite a bit. Cheers

Ok, videos. Please excuse my appalling commentary. I do enjoy my fishing so get extremely carried away :-)

Howdy guys and girls, Headed off from Richmond this morning in heavy overcast conditions with the rain holding off. Fished from before first light untill about 8.45am when I had enough of getting soaked when the rain turned up. Had a great morning getting some nice Bass in the short time I fished. All fish taken on a River2Sea Cicada (brown colour). Caught 8 fish but missed a lot of little hits. That's the price you pay for fishing with a larger lure but the fish I boated were a reasonable size. No really nice fish today tho. I've also got some footage just from my digicam mounted on my head. I'll get it loaded up at some point hopefully. I didn't realise I commentated myself when I was fishing so much... It's a bit embarrassing but there's no doubt I was enjoying myself LOL Two guys fishing off the wharf where I launched caught a carp as big as my car. Into the keeper net so I'm guessing it was going to be eaten :-( Yuk. Also, got passed as I was fishing the trees by two swimmers heading towards Winsor. Very keen I reckon but very good swimmers. The continued till out of sight so I'm guessing they were heading there. Anyway, couple of pics and hopefully a couple of videos at some point. Cheers David.

Ahhhh giddyup, I had a smile on my face just watching your footage. That is awesome stuff and how good is that skinny water you're fishing - love it. I loved the second hookup when you lobbed the lure over that snag in front of you and the surface strike was immediate... I love that, pays to get that bail arm over quickly on every cast :-) You looked like you're loving which is great - keep it up and savor every moment. Cheers David.

I have cast every lure, surface, diving, spinner at those horrible things and never had one take a lure... I've always been certain they must (and this proves it) but I'm yet to land a carp on a lure. I've seen them jumping, feeding and milling around in shallows and deeper water but have never been able to tempt one... One day horrible carp....... one day!

Hi Stewy, sorry you had a torrid time. I fish in the Yak from Hanna Park at Nth Richmond. Its a bit of a drag down to the water from the car park but I have wheels that I padlock up to a tree or steel post - works OK and they've still been there each time I return so far :-). Was out yesterday and didn't see a boat till 11am and then only tinnies putting up the river - nothing crazy - hardly saw another soul - just two blokes fishing in Yaks as well and one bloke just out for a paddle. I'm sure it might get silly there at some stages too but nothing like Windsor. The boats are crazy. Kind of like Tench Reserve at Penrith on a hot weekend - ski boats, huge trailer boats that should be at sea, wake boats, jet skis..... one small two lane ramp.... terrifying on a Sunday afternoon. The fish in the pics are nice tho.... All the fish I've got recently I've got on River2Sea Buggi Pops and betts spins. Small black twichy divers with white/yellow bellies also working well. Using smaller lures I'm getting a lot of smaller fish but the takes of the surface are still great fun and the occasional bigger fish thrown in keeps it very interesting.

G'day mate, keep the Yak LOL :-) That lure hanging out of the gob of the Bass in your last pic is one of my all time favorites - River2Sea Buggi Pop. That green and amber color is my fav color and on my last trip used it exclusively and got fish up till midday off the surface. Very addictive casting into the shadows and getting it smacked off the surface :-) 42 is a great fish. I've been trying to crack 40 all season but 36 is my best so far.

Head out to Windsor. Head in any direction, up stream or down and fish every overhanging tree you can find LOLOLOLOLOL I wish I knew the secret to finding the bigger fish. There are just millions in the 15-25cm range and they're just nuts hitting lures the second they hit the water. I'm sure the bigger fish are there, my best is 36cm this season, but I can't get them consistently. Still, I can't complain... I've had an awesome time since the season opened... Its been the best in many years for me. I fished again today and scored one fish at 35cm and the rest in that smaller range. Honestly the small fish are like flies... LOLOL

Thanks guys, yes Stewy, its definitely worth bringing your boat out and having crack. We were still catching fish at midday on surface lures and not right in tight under trees either, just long the edge of the trees or even out a bit... fish are very aggressive. I think the overcast day helped but they were on all day. I also got a nepean herring on a spinner bait - that's a first, they follow lures heaps but never hook up. Pretty little fish.

That's great. Gotta give the Siglett a go given I lost my favorite surface lure today :-) Nice.

Oh my that's lovely stuff Stewy. I must get the Yak in there and have a crack at that. Only ever caught one EP and loved it. One like that big fat one would be a dream run for me :-) Cheers David.

Hi guys, Today was one of those magical days when everything just went right. Perfect casts produced fish, average casts produced fish and crap casts in the middle of nowhere near nothing... caught fish. We left at first light from Richmond and paddled down towards Windsor fishing under the trees. The fish came thick and fast and although they were mostly small the takes on the surface were still awesome and had us both yahooing like idiots. They were very keen hitting at the lure all the way back to yak. I managed one fish over 30, many many being small but some others that averaged between 20 - 30cm. We found a little hole that went crazy at one stage. I was fishing a small green and gold buggi pop and was doing great on it until it got smashed off the surface and the fish headed straight for structure. In no time at all it had me wrapped up and busted the 8lb flouro leader off. The leader was a mess when I got it back. It all happened in about 5 seconds and was surely a very big fish, the drag was screaming and I was now down my fav surface lure. At the same spot Chris also got smashed on fly by a big fish which also busted him off. We just couldn't stop them. I quickly re-rigged with a black floating diver and you wouldn't believe it. I tossed the lure over the side of the yak to wind up the slack line and a nice fish flew up right beside me, smashed it and took off. Drag singing again but smaller fish this time and got him to the yak for a pic and off. They certainly were aggressive. We fished the same spot for a long while and boated many fish off all various sizes carrying on like little kids the whole time. The surface takes were very fast and hard which made for great fun. Many of the fish we boated spewed up cicadas with some of the holding food in their mouths. The cicadas were all black with yellow/orange bellies so my lure colour selection was correct before I got done by the big one :-) So in all it was an amazing day, overcast humid conditions and very hungry fish. Here's some pics. Cheers David.