Hodgey Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 G'Day all Sunday 20th and a Toyota Cruiser towing a Stacer Proline Angler Sports 399 pulls up in the driveway. After much cajoling and dozens of phone calls, my younger brother Colin (Buddha) and his son Kyle had finally found their way to Tuross. With my littlies at school, that meant 5 days of fishing! The boys had very little experience fishing saltwater, and were keen to try their luck with 'those soft plastics things'. They had a list of things they wanted to accomplish, like catching bream and flathead on plastics, bream on hard bodies, and to see an EP in 'real life'. Rods and reels were organised over a quiet ale, and we were ready to kick off their trip on Monday. Dene and I had had a scout around for some likely places to fish on Sunday morning, and found five good fish, including these two: Monday We woke to some terrific weather. Mild winds, slightly overcast and no other boat traffic on the lake. After spending 30 minutes or so teaching them the techniques involved in working plastics, it was time to investigate some of the spots that had produced recently. 15 minutes later, and Buddha lands his first fish on soft plastics; an undersized flatty. Both the boys were rapt! I managed to stay connected to a very good fish all too briefly, before it managed to find the lease ... and freedom. Moments later, and Kyle lands his first fish on soft plastics: a flathead of 42 cm, and the first one for the esky. This set the tempo for the day, and the boys were thrilled to see so many saltwater species in one day. Flounder, flathead, squire, bream, and blackfish all fell foul of the lures. Tuesday What an abominable day. Very strong winds that were going to get stronger, and scattered showers predicted as well. Buddha was convinced that the day would be a write off, but I took a punt on finding somewhere up the river to fish, so off we set. The wind was marginally better on some of the bends, and we spent the morning throwing hard bodies around the timber. More firsts for the boys, with both catching bream, and Kyle landing the much sought after EP. We managed to salvage a disastrous day and the boys were riding high. Wednesday Strong winds, dust storms ... could it get any tougher? We started off drifting the lake, but strengthening winds and rain saw us diving for the shelter of an estuary. Plastics were worked around the timber this time, which produce a tailor for Buddha and a nice flattie for myself. The wind finally eased, and we spent 90 mins drifting a sheltered bank. Some more nice flatties made their way to the esky, but luck was against Buddha on the day, and a great fish approx 75-80 cm found its freedom just feet from the boat. Three casts later, and another crackin' fish thwarts his efforts to find the landing net. Thursday The weather was pretty much spot on, and expectations were high for a productive morning. Nothing could be further from the truth. We threw numerous plastics of various profiles and colors and only managed four fish in the first three hours. Things were looking grim. Another visit to a popular bank and the fish gods smiled on us again. Everyone is into some good fish. Kyle landed his first bream on plastic, and I added to their growing 'species captured' list with a tarwhine. The boys quickly learnt to target the sand patches amongst the weed-beds, and another day of smiles and high fives for the boys. Friday Once again, there was very strong winds. We struggled to drift across the flats for a pair of flathead 45cm and 56cm, and gave it away to find somewhere out of the wind. Headed up a small estuary, and a skipping prawn had me diving for some surface lures. A crash course for Buddha on how to use them, and away we went. Buddha had a great time! Bream jostling each other for his NW Pencil, near misses, and finally he's in to a nice bream about 35 cm. After a prolonged battle, he drops it at the boat. On closer inspection, there is one solitary hook left on his back treble! Buddha makes some choice observations about the quality of the lure I supplied and continues casting. The day was ruined by the wind, but we both had a bit of fun regardless Now it's time for a quiet rum. The car is packed and the boys are having an early night in readiness for their 11-hour drive home. They are amazed at what they have achieved in the last five days, and I reckon they'll be back again! Considering the tough conditions they had to contend with; I reckon they did pretty well Total fish for the week: 72 flathead 12 bream 1 tailor 1 flounder 1 tarwhine 1 squire 1 EP 1 blackfish Outfits used SicStick Pro/2500 Symetre/4lb crystal and 10 lb flurocarbon TCurve Tournament/1000 Stradic/3lb crystal and 10 lb flurocarbon Daiwa Sol rod/2000 Sol/2 lb platypus braid and 10 lb leader 90% of the fish were taken on 2" Gulp shrimp in Lime Tiger/Nuclear Chicken/New Penny/Banana/Moulting. The balance were caught on Viking, Strike Pro, NW pencils and Attack hard bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tan the fisherman Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Bloody hell!! Now thats a fishing trip Leave some fish for the rest of us, will ya !! Well done boys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Good onya Hodgey , mate a great read it really put me in the picture and made me jealous. Congrats to you and the family for the great range of fish you scored, as well as the family firsts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Just like being there... that's fantastic fishing in tough conditions (or any conditions for that matter). Glad everyone got their 'to do list' ticked off. Although I bet you all smell like polecats now from using those stinky shrimps. Can't wait to see what the fishing is like once the water warms up down there... mind blowing, I'm guessing. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahajo Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 WOW Well done on a top few days of fishing Has the lake opened yet? Im going down there at christmas leave some fish for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Knot Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Goodonya Hodgey - Thats fantastic stuff the smiles tell the story John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a5corray Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Nice catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hodgey! You are the master tutor! 5 daysa dedicated fishing is a blast....well done on converting the bro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 WOW Well done on a top few days of fishing Has the lake opened yet? Im going down there at christmas leave some fish for me GDay mate The entrance is still closed, and the three resident dolphins are still trapped in there However, the good news is that the water temp is rising very quickly and is currently hovering around 16 degrees. There are some very big flatties moving around the shallows and the bream are starting to work the surface. All indications point to a good Summer. Hope to catch up with you when you visit Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfishing Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Great report mate, what a haul!! There's not much better than fresh flatty fillets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Cam Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 What a great haul of fish from team Hodgey in generally tough conditions Those 2' inch Gulp shrimps are champions placcies arn't they Cheers, Cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke K Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Some super fishing there Hodgey, welldone to all those involved. Your family are very lucky to have someone with such experience to give them a great start to this type of fishing and I'm sure they are addicted now. cheers Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickman Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 great read as per usual ian good to see the brother and his son get into the fish did you give him the nickname buda my big brothers nickname is dogs balls cherrs gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Great summary of what sounds like a fun week Hodgey! Good on you for getting the newbies into lure fishing mate. Well done! Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambly99 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Top report hodgey with a good feed of fish! what size hooks and jig heads were you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendong Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Cracking week mate....looks like the three trapped Dolphins aren't making to much of a dent now days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Top report hodgey with a good feed of fish! what size hooks and jig heads were you using? 2gm #1 hooks on the 2" shrimp. When you put them into the shrimp, the hook will come out where the carapace joins the tail. It is a great weight for fishing upto 10', and the hook size allows plenty of exposure to penetrate the flathead' mouth Cracking week mate....looks like the three trapped Dolphins aren't making to much of a dent now days? The dolphins have been feeding very well, and the calf is now the same size as the adults. The fish life (especially in the lake) has been very scarce, and a lot of this was blamed on the dolphins. I reckon the fact that the water temp fell to 8 degrees is a better explanation. The water is starting to heat up now, and good schools of baitfish and a lot of 'lies' in the shallows would suggest that the dolphins haven't had the impact people thought they did. Interestingly...the BIG flathead are hiding amongst the oyster leases Thank you for all your feedback folks! Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishguts Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Awesome stuff hodgey!....well done to the young ones! great report and great fish..keep on!.. ..cheers!..stevo!.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 ............ I reckon they'll be back again! Considering the tough conditions they had to contend with; I reckon they did pretty well Total fish for the week: 72 flathead 12 bream 1 tailor 1 flounder 1 tarwhine 1 squire 1 EP 1 blackfish Outfits used SicStick Pro/2500 Symetre/4lb crystal and 10 lb flurocarbon TCurve Tournament/1000 Stradic/3lb crystal and 10 lb flurocarbon Daiwa Sol rod/2000 Sol/2 lb platypus braid and 10 lb leader 90% of the fish were taken on 2" Gulp shrimp in Lime Tiger/Nuclear Chicken/New Penny/Banana/Moulting. The balance were caught on Viking, Strike Pro, NW pencils and Attack hard bodies. Top session Hodgey and especially catching seventy two flathead.... Just a quick question Ian and I hope it's an easy one...If you could only take one soft plastic with you for the rest of your life and only one hardbody which one would it be Cheers jewgaffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 What a terrific week on the water, Ian! Your brother & kids will be going home with excellent info on how & where to catch bream & flatties (and numerous other species!) Well done! Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Top report Skip! Brilliant read. What a week! Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squizy Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nice one mate Top week; I wish I was there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigslick Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 hey guys, new to soft plastic fishing and wondering what size and type of jig head were you using with the 2 inch gulps. Thanks bigslick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 hey guys, new to soft plastic fishing and wondering what size and type of jig head were you using with the 2 inch gulps. Thanks bigslick 2gm #1 hooks on the 2" shrimp. When you put them into the shrimp, the hook will come out where the carapace joins the tail. It is a great weight for fishing water upto 10' deep, and the hook size allows plenty of exposure to penetrate the flathead' mouth. The weight and hook size were due to the fact that we were chasing flathead, not bream. Hope this helps Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now