The Meadowbank Express

[Little_Flatty]

Had a couple of micro sessions lately. The fish weren't anything of note, but it was good to see a couple after a protracted quiet period.

The other day, I had grand plans of sneaking in a solid pre-work session for bream this morning, planning to be up at 5am and back home by seven. As is usual for me these days, wishful thinking! 

After a fitful night's sleep thanks to being a bit crook, I slept in and woke up at 6:34am! Thankfully, I am close to water so I raced out to the car and drove down to the water at Meadowbank.

Set the timer for 15 minutes and then started casting around with a 3 inch flickbait on a 1/16th oz jighead in size 4.

The water was very still and clear, especially for the upper Parra. After many casts, there were no hits. Then I felt a tap on the line and the rod loaded up:

Up came cute little flatty. After this happy snap, I put him back into the water and he swam off. Then my alarm sounded. Time to go home!

My records show that I hadn't caught a fish on lures since April! I haven't had the chance to fish much, and the few sessions I managed to fit in resulted in donuts. So while it small, I was happy to see this fish.

Last night, I had twenty minutes to kill in between finishing work and needing to be somewhere else. So I broke out my pre-rigged Shimano Maikuro Telescopic (new toy) and went for a flick. 10 minutes in, I get another little flatty (sorry for the terrible photo, it was dark and I was in a rush):

Nothing else for the rest of the session.

Moral of the story: Seize your opportunities when they present themselves, no matter how small! Sometimes, 15 minutes is all you need to get in your fishing fix 

A good way to start the day.

[NoMoreDonuts]

Nice work. Love your dedication to the cause. Sometimes 15min of pure concentration can be far more productive than 2hrs of zoning in and out of the task at hand.

[big Neil]

Now that's what you call "seizing the moment"...literally. Wouldn't work for me, however, it takes me 15 mins to put my shoes on and 15 mins to remember where I put the car keys. Cheers, bn

[Little_Flatty]

34 minutes ago, big Neil said:

Now that's what you call "seizing the moment"...literally. Wouldn't work for me, however, it takes me 15 mins to put my shoes on and 15 mins to remember where I put the car keys. Cheers, bn

I know what you mean Neil! For that reason, sometimes I'm tempted to sleep with my shoes on and keys in my pocket! 🤣

[Rebel]

Great report.

Nice flattie.

Well done.

[masterfisho7]

Nice work one nice flathead well done 

[Isaac Ct]

Short and sweet, well done.

Nice flatties.

[Volitan]

I always get a kick out of reading your Meadowbank reports. I lived at West Ryde for about 10 years and it never once occurred to me to go down the road and chuck a lure about. I would have been delighted to catch something so close to home - anything at all.

I never saw anyone else fishing there either.

 

[HawkesburyParadise]

Dude the fish probably know you in Meadowbank by now.

"There's Mike with his soft plastics again" - Flatty from Rothesay Ave

[61 crusher]

Well done on the flatties & grabbing the opportunity for a quick flick fix

When I used to live in West Ryde I had to get rid of the rod in my vehicle because it got me in trouble with work & my wife

[Larkin]

Good to get a couple of runs on the board!

[bessell1955]

You do squeeze every last fishing opportunity in.

[Little_Flatty]

22 hours ago, Volitan said:

I always get a kick out of reading your Meadowbank reports. I lived at West Ryde for about 10 years and it never once occurred to me to go down the road and chuck a lure about. I would have been delighted to catch something so close to home - anything at all.

I never saw anyone else fishing there either.

 

I had no idea you were a former West Ryde-ian! The fishing is quite good once you've worked out a few nuances of the area, but the only problem is that you can't keep a feed from these waters, and sleep soundly after your meal. If we could have eaten the fish out of there, I would have kept my family well fed on a diet of fresh fish.

There is only a slight amount of fishing pressure in the area these days. Not uncommon to run into a fellow fisho (for instance, I ran into @nutsaboutfishing yesterday morning), but it's no Clifton Gardens by any means.

18 hours ago, 61 crusher said:

When I used to live in West Ryde I had to get rid of the rod in my vehicle because it got me in trouble with work & my wife

Yep that is a risk I live with as well! 🤣 But if that rod wasn't in the car, I'd have missed out on so many fish it's not funny.

[Pickles]

Way to go @Little_Flatty, 10-15mins is better than not at all - love you dedication.

[leonardgid]

nice catch keep them coming

 

[61 crusher]

18 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

but the only problem is that you can't keep a feed from these waters, and sleep soundly after your meal. If we could have eaten the fish out of there, I would have kept my family well fed on a diet of fresh fish.

From the mid 70’s through to mid 2000 I used to eat & share most of my legal captures east of the Gladesville bridge & Lanecove river & occasionally from as far up as wharf road.

In those days the trawlers dragged the bottom & stripped it of weed & structure & stirred up the bottom, the prawns & fish were sold & eaten from Sydney fish markets, the trawler operator probably ate the prawns & their bycatch maybe 4 to 7 days a week & ended up suffering from dioxin issues.  

Back in the 70’s to late 90’s when no one was aware of the pollution & what the industry’s on the rivers were  dumping in the system it wasn’t uncommon at low tide to have a stench wafting around & if you were in a car full of people crossing one of the bridges the standard comment was who farted 💩

I stopped keeping bream unless they were silver & had just come in from the ocean & always sniffed them as quite often they’d have a turps or metho smell to them. A friend of mine still to this day occasionally eats flatties & the odd jewfish caught just east of the punt.

 When I’ve told people I used to eat the fish, I’d twitch my head & say “but I’m still alright & have been known to glow in the dark “ 😆🤪

Please take this as only my observations & be cautious & safe for you & your loved ones 🙏