RexSenior Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) Hi Raiders Just returned from a great weekend fishing the hawkesbury after hiring a house in the Dangar Island area. Despite many reports of no quality fish due to the cooler water, rain up-stream and plentiful catfish and pike eels we managed 30+ keepers for the weekend (some were released) all off the one small jetty. Bait - Cooked prawns done most of the damage, closely followed by Hawkesbury prawns (fresh) and live hardy head. We had some fresh beach worms caught in Newcastle with no luck and also bummed out on squid, pilchards, chicken and strip baits. Tides - Without a doubt that 1 hour either side of high undone most of the flatties and the larger bream, with the odd fish caught in between. Tackle - We experimented with different rigs and techniques, in short - basically the lighter the gear the more hookups we had. 1m of 6-8lb trace with a 1/0 Mustad Baitholder hook loaded with a cooked prawn was the winner, with just enough lead to cast (smaller than a pea). We found that the catfish were less likely to take an unweighted bait for some reason, even though the bottom dwelling flathead did. Even with the light leader not that many fish were lost due to teeth - poorly tied knots (thanks bourben) and chafed line (thanks oysters) were the main reason fish were lost. Challenges - CATFISH!!!!!! we must have caught at least 60 over the weekend. The first night saw around 15 pike eels however they calmed down after that. The run-out tide was also difficult as it was hard to get the baits down fast enough off the jetty, we found that as soon as we loaded up on lead the fish weren't interested. Also managed a few crabs, we were unsure if crab pots are legal in the hawkesbury so we steered clear however still managed some on a line. Cheers, James Edited June 1, 2015 by RexSenior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Some nice fish there, including a good sized bream. Was that one weighed at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeb870 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Sounds like a great weekend. And wow to that bream, haven't seen many that size myself. Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambrose607 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 That would've been an awesome couple of days. Well done a good variety of fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papafish Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Great report guys! Where u fishing land base or boat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexSenior Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks Yowie - We did not have anything to weigh it unfortunately. It was caught on a small Hawkesbury prawn, about 60-80cm of 6lb leader and a sinker roughly the size of a pea. Papafish - All land based as we do not own a boat, all off the one jetty. We burleyed in the shallows all weekend I think that definately helped! Cheers James. Edited June 1, 2015 by RexSenior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Sounds like a great weekend was had by all. Some great fish there and that bream is a cracker! Always nice when a plan comes together. Thanks for sharing James! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasponge Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Wow great weekend! When your bream is longer than your flathead you know it's a good one! I was hoping to get out yesterday to fish around Dangar Island but unfortunately didn't make it out. I was still grumbling about that when I got online and saw your report. Great effort. And just so you know for next time, crab nets are ok to use in the hawkesbury. At least you got a good few on the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexSenior Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks Scratchie and Seasponge. There must be an abundance of crabs there, we lost a few also so definately bringing a couple of crab pots next time. I'm in the process of negotiating with the boss (my wife) to make this a bi-annual event, been home for a day and I miss the place!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papafish Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks Yowie - We did not have anything to weigh it unfortunately. It was caught on a small Hawkesbury prawn, about 60-80cm of 6lb leader and a sinker roughly the size of a pea. Papafish - All land based as we do not own a boat, all off the one jetty. We burleyed in the shallows all weekend I think that definately helped! Cheers James. haha big invertment on the burley always pays off rexy^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papafish Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 rexy where exactly where u guys staying? the mrs n kids would loved a location like that:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papafish Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 where you guys staying at the watermark^^? i google it and found some info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexSenior Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 I'll send you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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