Woolooware Bay Flats

[mako1]

I hit the water at about 6am and headed to the flats at the back of Woolooware bay.

I planned to fish surface lures on the flats with the high tide. The water clarity on the flats was good

considering the amount of rain that has fallen.

As I arrived at the flats I saw a prawn skipping on the surface with a bream in hot pursuit.

I cast in the direction and skipped the lure a couple of times. The lure disappeared in a big splash and I was on to a good fish. It took off across the flats and I chased it down with the kayak. I worked it close to the kayak and got a look at it. It was a nice bream that would be close to the 40cm mark.

It took off again but as it neared the end of its run I felt the trace rubbing on some underwater structure and then it parted and the fish took off with my favourite lure.

I tied on another lure and I worked the rock piles on the flats. I caught a whole bunch of bream which ranged from 23cm up to 27cm and one that was close to 30cm. I also caught six whiting one was legal and the rest were just under.

I was skipping a pencil lure in about 1m of water when a flattie decided to come up off the bottom and take it off the surface. It was a good sight and it was my first flattie on a surface lure.

Strangely I had three large garfish have a go at a popper and I almost hooked one which was surprising as they have such small mouths.

I continued casting away when I was startled by a burst of air next to the kayak. I turned to see that a large turtle had surfaced next to the kayak. I tried to take a picture but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera and it disappeared back under the surface. It was an amazing sight and strange to see it this far up on the flats.

I moved to a shallower section of the flats and picked up a nice 30cm bream on a popper.

I picked up a few smaller bream from this area before I decided to move further up the flats near a set of leases.

I picked up three nice bream from this area. All of them hit the popper really hard and fought really well.

As the tide was getting lower the water became more discoloured so I moved back to the rock piles.

First cast the lure was plucked from the surface with a slurping noise from the bream and hardly any surface displacement.

I struck and set the hooks on a really good fish. It took off on a strong run and there was nothing I could do, I couldn’t even turn its head and in seconds it was all over. The bream found the oyster covered rock pile and another lure was lost.

I tied on another lure and caught a few more just legal bream before the water turned really brown and I decided to head back. I trolled back and picked up a flattie on the way.

I got back just in time as it started to rain when I packed the kayak in the car.

It was a top day on the water. The weather ended up being really good for fishing and the fishing didn't disappoint.

[bastik]

Way to go Andrew once again.

I haven't been having much luck myself lately.

Im blaming it on to much freshwater further up , not the fisherman.

cheers

b

[Penguin]

Great fun by the sounds of it and a great feed to top it off, well done Mako.

cheers

[arpie]

Well done, Mako - a terrific day on the water in your yak chasing breambos (and others) on topwater lures!!

Shame your 2 big ones took off with your lures! I know how you feel - I've lost 3 in the last 2 sessions - about $70 worth all up!

Great pics, too. Bet you can't wait for the next outing!

Cheers

Roberta

[Jewhunter]

Top report Mako & a top bag of fish!

Shame you lost the 2 lures. They sound like some nice, big bream.

Well done mate.

Cheers,

Grant.

[Breambucket]

Great report mate i have been following your reports for a little while and its actually helped me out with trying new places and stuff so cheers

I really want to try some top water fishing around the bay i just never get around to it always too bizzy in other places

Cheers

Pete

[jahajo]

Top report,

I gotta try my luck on topwater lures for bream out of a kayak after all these good bags coming in

Top work

Harry

[jenno64]

Andrew,

You don't miss do you? Bricked by a couple of horses...I think I heard you offer a fewe expletives at that point! I might be up fdor an early Saturday morning fish if you are keen.

[Ray R]

Mate thats a great session, lure smacking fish is always exciting.

Love ya work Andrew..

[Hodgey]

You're on fire Andrew! It's a great time of year for fishing surface lures Congrats on a top session mate

Cheers

Ian

[brendong]

Nice work Mako.....don't ya hate getting smoked....what were you using 4lb briad and 8lb leader or lighter than that?

[mako1]

Thanks for the kind replies.

Way to go Andrew once again.

I haven't been having much luck myself lately.

Im blaming it on to much freshwater further up , not the fisherman.

cheers

b

The fishing further up in the river would be tough with all of the rain water coming in.

You should try near the mouth of the Georges or over on the Towra flats.

Well done, Mako - a terrific day on the water in your yak chasing breambos (and others) on topwater lures!!

Shame your 2 big ones took off with your lures! I know how you feel - I've lost 3 in the last 2 sessions - about $70 worth all up!

Great pics, too. Bet you can't wait for the next outing!

Cheers

Roberta

I've had a good run up until now but it wasn't too bad as I was using Jaz lures so they aren't that expensive to replace.

Great report mate i have been following your reports for a little while and its actually helped me out with trying new places and stuff so cheers

I really want to try some top water fishing around the bay i just never get around to it always too bizzy in other places

Cheers

Pete

Give the surface lures a go. Once you get your first fish on the surface you'll be hooked.

I did a couple of exploration trips on the Towra flats last year and there was some really

good looking whiting and bream water especially up near the mangroves. I'm going to give this

area a go some time in the next few weeks.

Top report,

I gotta try my luck on topwater lures for bream out of a kayak after all these good bags coming in

Top work

Harry

Give it a go. It's a really exciting form of fishing.

Andrew,

You don't miss do you? Bricked by a couple of horses...I think I heard you offer a fewe expletives at that point! I might be up fdor an early Saturday morning fish if you are keen.

There were quite a few expletives especially after the first fish as I was close to landing it.

I'm keen for a Saturday morning fish but I'll let you know on Friday as I might have to work.

On Saturday low tide will be at about 7am so we probably won't be able to get right up onto the flats till about 8 or 9am

but that should be OK as there are a few spots that I have been wanting to try on a low tide.

[mako1]

Nice work Mako.....don't ya hate getting smoked....what were you using 4lb briad and 8lb leader or lighter than that?

I was fishing with 5lb braid and 10lb leader and I still got smoked.

[Dusky]

Great report, great pics - thanks for sharing

[Krispy !]

Thats a nice bag of fish, especially on lure!

WD

[pmak]

Mako,

Just gave this report another read. Also came across your picture on the Jaz lures site.

I picked up a Jaz lure a couple of weeks back at a tackle store because it was attractively priced and looked the goods. Had it rigged up for a try at topwater luring only to have my son grab the setup and start fishing with it It turned out to be a top session for him and the bream absolutely loved that lure. I threw River2Sea Rover and Ecogear PX45 lures but did not get as much action as him. Was back at the tackle store the next week to get another one so I don't miss out on the action the next time!

[sanger]

Nice work on a great session.

I've been starting to get into some topwater stuff for bream but have so far only managed a few big swirls walking the dog with one of those eco gear clear pencils. Soon though.

Also was wondering i have used a 45 bubble pop in clear also but have never managed to raise a swirl with that. what sort of acton are you emparting on your poppers???

[mako1]

Mako,

Just gave this report another read. Also came across your picture on the Jaz lures site.

I picked up a Jaz lure a couple of weeks back at a tackle store because it was attractively priced and looked the goods. Had it rigged up for a try at topwater luring only to have my son grab the setup and start fishing with it It turned out to be a top session for him and the bream absolutely loved that lure. I threw River2Sea Rover and Ecogear PX45 lures but did not get as much action as him. Was back at the tackle store the next week to get another one so I don't miss out on the action the next time!

I have been using the Jaz popper tail and zapper lures for a couple of months with great success so I sent them an email with some pics and feedback on the lures. They were kind enough to send me a couple of lures and put the pics up on their website.

One thing I have noticed is that the hook-ups on the popper tail poppers were a lot more positive then on the other poppers I was using. I think it has to do with the feathers tied on the rear hook. Instead of the bream hitting the lure and getting hooked outside of the mouth when I strike, they are actually attacking the rear hook which I think imitates moving prawn legs in the water. This leads to a better hook-up in the mouth so I have tied short tails on all of the poppers I have and I have even tied tails on the pencils. I'm not sure if it will affect the action of the pencils as I haven't tried them yet but I will hopefully get out this Sunday and give them a go.

Nice work on a great session.

I've been starting to get into some topwater stuff for bream but have so far only managed a few big swirls walking the dog with one of those eco gear clear pencils. Soon though.

Also was wondering i have used a 45 bubble pop in clear also but have never managed to raise a swirl with that. what sort of acton are you emparting on your poppers???

I use two main retrieves.

The first is to do continuous short flicks with the rod tip as I'm winding. I do this for about a meter and then do a quick pause and continue the retrieve till the lure is back at the boat. I do this retrieve with poppers that have a shallower cupped face as they have a less aggressive action. This retrieve is good if there are whiting around as they like a faster moving lure with shorter pauses.

The next retrieve is to do one to three flicks with the rod tip and then do a longer pause and then repeat the retrieve till the popper is back at the boat. This creates a more aggressive blooping action from the popper and most of the hits come on the pause but if the fish are really aggressive they will also hit the popper as you are blooping it across the surface.

This retrieve is best used with the poppers that have larger cupped faces.

If you are getting a swirl that’s a good sign so keep working the area. Use the pencils when it's calm and the poppers when the wind begins to pick up.

[monch]

Nice tips, Mako and wow you might get sponsored by Jaz lures if you keep this up

Also, since i am landbased and don't have access to wolloware bay/towra flats, do you reckon the sand flats on silver beach at Kurnell around the groynes is worth a shot?

[mako1]

Nice tips, Mako and wow you might get sponsored by Jaz lures if you keep this up

Also, since i am landbased and don't have access to wolloware bay/towra flats, do you reckon the sand flats on silver beach at Kurnell around the groynes is worth a shot?

Thanks for the reply monch.

Definitely try Silver beach. I would probably fish either side of the oil wharf as there are more sand patches between the weed that can be worked. It might be a bit difficult to fish this area when the NE wind picks up so I would fish it early in the morning.

Another spot to try would be the sand flats off Riverside drive next to the Captain Cook Bridge. There are some good nipper beds there and quite a few weedbeds which I'm sure would produce some whiting, bream and maybe even a flathead.

There is quite a bit of boat traffic in the channel on the weekends so try to fish the area in the early morning and late afternoon.

You can even continue around into Sandringham Bay near the sailing club. The good thing about these spots is that they can be fished when there is a NE wind blowing and it can help with casting the light lures.

I would start out with the lighter pencils and poppers (zappa, popper tail, rebel pop-r, nw pencil) when it's calm and then move onto the heavier poppers and pencils (stiffy popper, stiffy top dog, Sammy) when the wind picks up.

They are the lures I have tried and caught fish on but there are so many different brands out there that will catch fish.