Mr T Rout

Well done Coyote! It's a bit of a shame about your fellow Fishraiders technique with the gaff. It can happen to the best of us.

Well done mate. Its a great time of the year to sneak down the coast. Its great that you get out there so often.

Looks like another amazing day ahead. I was enjoying a nice coffee on the veranda just meters from the waters edge watching the last of the run up. The water has cleared up nicely after the last rains and there is still some good quality weed in parts of the river. The bureau has predicted strong gusty winds but down here in the upper Woni valley it just passes right over. You can hear the wind in the trees and see them getting hammered on the hills but where I am the water is still as. The river is chocker’s with blackfish but they are spread all over the place feeding mainly on ribbon weed and the odd worm. A good bit of burley using sand, finely chopped weed and bread crumbs puts you in with a good chance. When the fish are on almost any weed presentation will catch you fish, but when they are a bit shy and blackies are renown for shyness a long thin presentation will put them in your keeper net. I managed to bag 16 good sized fish in two hours when the tide was half down. They were all healthy fat fish. You have just gotta love this country. Until next time, T Rout.

Picked it up on a 2" baby shrimp natural. Cheers

A winter’s day on the Woni It’s amazing how easy it is to get out of bed when you have the day off and the water is only ten meters from your boat moored at the front of the house on the Woronora River. Decisions, decisions, should I go for blackfish? Or do a plastics run for those bruising black bream haunting the winter hideouts? First things first, I made a cuppa for the good woman, propped her up in bed – and grabbed the gear before she was fully conscious. Heading down the river in my tinny squinting through a light mist I pulled up a spot to pick up some green weed that I noticed a few days earlier growing on a patch of sand and gravel among some mangrove shoots. After taking just enough for some berley and bait for the last two hours of the run-out I was on my way. Arrived a couple of minutes later at one of my favourite spots knowing that I usually do better for the black fish earlier in the year in this part of the river. Anchored up and tossed in some berley and after fifteen minutes without a single down I headed a little further down river and managed to bag a few decent fish before the tide shut it all down. A few minuted later I was at home enjoying a coffee just itching to get out there again, so around midday I grabbed a little Nitro and a couple of plastics, launched the kayak and headed up river on what looked like a sheet of glass. The water is the clearest this time of the year with less boats stirring up the silt and you can easily see the large schools of mullet cruising below. Sometimes it is just as enjoyable to just watch the fish and see how close you can glide up to them before they spook. If you don’t make any sudden movements and I mean any movement, those big bream will often just sit right under you hovering just centre meters off the bottom. I was using 4lb mono-fluro leader on the end of a thin braid with just enough weight for a natural sink. Just as I glided over a submerged log I spotted another nice bream looking for an easy feed slowly moving under my kayak and heading behind me. I just had to have a crack at this one. So I waited for him to move far enough away as not to spook him with the movement of my cast. A quick backward cast over my shoulder, a few seconds for a natural slow sink, one twitch and smash! As I set the hook he really woke up and headed out for the open flats. It’s amazing how much a stud fish like this one can pull your kayak around. After a formidable fight he slowly came to my side and with a tickle under the tummy and a gentle comfort lift, I had both wet hands under this stud fish. The advanced plan is to release all of my big bream but I was under strict orders to bring one home for dinner. My son snapped the photo just before he hit the pan. I was very thankful for another enjoyable day on our amazing waterways. Until next time, T Rout.