new south wales Local River Sessions Volume 2

[Brodie_S]

Today me and my dad decided to take the 12 foot tinny out we got to the river about 11am we drove across the river and drifted along some mangroves after a few cast with the daiwa bait junkie 2.5 minnow I hooked my first fish a just legal flattie the cast after that I hooked another flathead a bit bigger then after that I hooked a small flathead after that we moved because the fishing was a bit slow in that area we moved a few times until we found another decent mangrove line we kept getting heaps of good hits and pulled hooks then I got a nice legal bream then me and my dad got a few small flathead in that area to .once we caught all the small fish in that mangrove line we moved once again same thing heaps of hits and bites and pulled hooks but no landed fish this time we then moved back to the original mangrove line and we both hooked a bunch of small flathead I got another decent one for a feed and me and my dad hooked 2 big sized flathead both of which pulled the hooks after that we drifted a bit more then called it a day at 2:00PM

overall we landed a dozen fish together 

weather .cloudyovercast/sunny .low winds. 7 days before full moon .last hour of the run out tide to first 2 hours of the run in ride 

tackle setup 1 shimano sienna FG 2500 with 13lb gliss connected to 6lb ASSO fluorocarbon matched with a daiwa aird X 2-4kg rod . Setup 2 shimano stradic FL 1000 with 6lb J braid connected to 6lb pryml mono matched with atomic arrows bream surface 2PC rod 

lures . Daiwa baitjunkie 2.5 minnows in opening night and midnight oil matched with 1/8 jigheads in size 1 . Note I’m still getting used to using daiwa’s plastics they don’t actually have the same colour names as zman they just look the same as those zman colours . I’m pretty sure they are called whitebait and oil flash with daiwa .

 

And yes it really happened I’ll add the photos later sometime tonight im not as good as Hamish when it comes to the photos

 

overall success rate %90 it was a good 3 hour session we caught a lot of fish just a lot of small ones and 4 legals/keepers

 

[ellicat]

Sounds like there was plenty happening to keep you busy. Nice feed of flatty for dinner ?

Do you hit up that spot often ?

[Brodie_S]

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

Sounds like there was plenty happening to keep you busy. Nice feed of flatty for dinner ?

Do you hit up that spot often ?

No it’s not far from my local spot it’s the same river system just a few KM’s down the river closer to the ocean but still to fresh to catch whiting I sometimes fish there landbased and I’ve caught quite a few decent fish off the jettie there but to get to the mangrove lines and creeks you need a boat it’s sort of like North Queensland with the Barra jacks and crocs but instead it’s bream flathead and bull sharks and I don’t hit that spot up often as the boat only gets used a few times in the summertime . EDIT I actually did catch a whiting there on a 70m sugerpen but it’s extremely rare to catch or even see whiting there 

[GregOug]

7 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

Today me and my dad decided to take the 12 foot tinny out we got to the river about 11am we drove across the river and drifted along some mangroves after a few cast with the daiwa bait junkie 2.5 minnow I hooked my first fish a just legal flattie the cast after that I hooked another flathead a bit bigger then after that I hooked a small flathead after that we moved because the fishing was a bit slow in that area we moved a few times until we found another decent mangrove line we kept getting heaps of good hits and pulled hooks then I got a nice legal bream then me and my dad got a few small flathead in that area to .once we caught all the small fish in that mangrove line we moved once again same thing heaps of hits and bites and pulled hooks but no landed fish this time we then moved back to the original mangrove line and we both hooked a bunch of small flathead I got another decent one for a feed and me and my dad hooked 2 big sized flathead both of which pulled the hooks after that we drifted a bit more then called it a day at 2:00PM

overall we landed a dozen fish together 

weather .cloudyovercast/sunny .low winds. 7 days before full moon .last hour of the run out tide to first 2 hours of the run in ride 

tackle setup 1 shimano sienna FG 2500 with 13lb gliss connected to 6lb ASSO fluorocarbon matched with a daiwa aird X 2-4kg rod . Setup 2 shimano stradic FL 1000 with 6lb J braid connected to 6lb pryml mono matched with atomic arrows bream surface 2PC rod 

lures . Daiwa baitjunkie 2.5 minnows in opening night and midnight oil matched with 1/8 jigheads in size 1 . Note I’m still getting used to using daiwa’s plastics they don’t actually have the same colour names as zman they just look the same as those zman colours . I’m pretty sure they are called whitebait and oil flash with daiwa .

 

And yes it really happened I’ll add the photos later sometime tonight im not as good as Hamish when it comes to the photos

 

overall success rate %90 it was a good 3 hour session we caught a lot of fish just a lot of small ones and 4 legals/keepers

 

How do you hook them through the bag?

[Kat]

Sounds like an exciting day.  I have only landed on legal flattie so far - by mistake and three tiny wee baby's by mistake too.  One of these days I might decide to chase them.  Great that you got a bit of a feed.  How many in your family - three?

[Brodie_S]

2 minutes ago, Kat said:

Sounds like an exciting day.  I have only landed on legal flattie so far - by mistake and three tiny wee baby's by mistake too.  One of these days I might decide to chase them.  Great that you got a bit of a feed.  How many in your family - three?

I have 2 brother so 5. And yeah flathead will eat a lot of different baits and lures so they are quite common by catch I’ve even caught a legal flathead on 50m bream hardbodie

[Kat]

Just now, Breaming with bro said:

I have 2 brother so 5. And yeah flathead will eat a lot of different baits and lures so they are quite common by catch I’ve even caught a legal flathead on 50m bream hardbodie

So it was an entree then .  Yeah I am not very good at catching anything I target to be honest.  Still a beginner so not giving up yet.

[Brodie_S]

39 minutes ago, Kat said:

So it was an entree then .  Yeah I am not very good at catching anything I target to be honest.  Still a beginner so not giving up yet.

Don’t give up flathead are probably one of the easiest fish to target especially on lures. There is plenty of info on YouTube about catching flathead on lures a 2-4kg graphite rod and a light reel with light braid and leader is all you need to learn to catch flathead also a couple of packets of plastics and jig heads i recommend daiwa baitjunkie but zman and savage gear work great to I’ve just found the baitjunkies are a lot tougher and have a better action and are a lot easier to rig. some 1/8 jig heads in size 1 and 1/6 jigheads in size 2/0 and plastics ranging from 2.5 inch to 3 inch work best for flathead leaders can be anywhere from 4-20lb but I recommend atleast 6-8lb I find last 2 hours of the run out tide work best. retrieves to use for plastic can be just a straight retrieve with pause or a few flicks then a pause both work great but I mainly use the straight retrieve with pauses 

[Junky]

Every flathead I've ever caught has been on a plastic. 

 

About a 3g to 5g jig head. Depending on current. I like TT's.

The head needs to be heavy enough not to float around in current like when bream fishing etc. It needs to sink but not torpedo. 

 

Berkley powerbait. Pearl watermelon. 3 inch minnows were hot.  

Slider grubs had a good 3 inch paddle tail years ago that was great for flathead.

 

Cast out let sink to bottom, lift rod tip about 1m and lower. Wind in slack as you lower. Repeat. Youll go to raise that rod tip one time and boof, youre on.

 

Don't be afraid to mix up your techniques. Wiggle the rod tip in a pause. Even a lift in a different direction ie. if you tend to lift up and to the right, go left instead. All these little adjustments will benefit you. 

Do this along all those little beachy areas in the Nerang river, broadwater and its tributeries and you'll definitely catch one. You can't not catch them.

Even off the bridges. There's 40 million of them down there. They all hold fish. Some hold really good fish. 

 

[Old Scaley]

@Kat, there is some great advice above about targeting flathead. As @Junky said, there are millions of them around your area. The only thing I would add is to try different parts of the tide and time of day. Different spots will fire at different times and can be completely non-productive the rest of the time. If you can crack that code in your fishing spots you will reap the rewards.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good sesh Breaming with bro - some solid fish in that haul!

It's pretty good how you have the little tinny for river fishing  

Cheers Hamish

[Kat]

Thanks everyone.  I have had soft plastics for ages - right from when I started.  Actually not ages - about 7 months.  Anyway, Doug Burt, of Doug Burt's tackle world (just giving him a plug cause he is a fantastic bloke) showed me how to rig them up straight and did a couple of mine to demonstrate. 

I just used one of them the other day on the Nerang and in the Coombabah Creek.  The Nerang I was targeting anything that would bite - first time I fished there.  I was using my new outfit with the Nasci and 20lb braid and I think 15lb leader. 

On about my 6th cast and retrieve with jigs pauses and retrieves I suddenly hooked something that went for a big fast run.  Not sure if it was heavy, was too panicked about whether my drag was tight, whether it was heading for the rocks etc.  Anywày, I tightened the drag a bit and made  sure it was properly hooked and it went for another long fast run and I think I panicked cause I thought it was heading for the rocks and can't remember what I did or didn't do but got busted off.  I had to apologise to the lady standing next to me for my foul language. 

So after that (my first hookup on a soft plastic)  I thought I would try for flathead a day or so later at the Coombabah Creek on the sand banks near a drain - I think it was about an hour after the start of the run in - I will try an hour before the end of the run out next time.  No action at all except for what I think we're some baby whiting following it in to the bank a couple of times.

I have also been told to take notice of the solunar theory and download the tides4fishing app.  I will do that too.

Maybe someone at the Christmas thing can tell me what I am doing right/wrong in my retrieve and give me a refresher course on rigging softplastics!

Cheers Kat

[GregOug]

7 minutes ago, Kat said:

Maybe someone at the Christmas thing can tell me what I am doing right/wrong in my retrieve and give me a refresher course on rigging softplastics!

Cheers Kat

Never fear Kat. I’ll be there. I’ve learnt and forgot more than you’ve ever known. Unfortunately though I’ve forgotten it all. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

2 minutes ago, GregOug said:

Never fear Kat. I’ll be there. I’ve learnt and forgot more than you’ve ever known. Unfortunately though I’ve forgotten it all. 

And how many red wines have been consumed tonight Greg? 

[GregOug]

1 minute ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

And how many red wines have been consumed tonight Greg? 

It’s still in the single figures. I think. But then there were the beers before that.

[GregOug]

2 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

And how many red wines have been consumed tonight Greg? 

And let this be a lesson to you, young man. Beware the evils of drink.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 minute ago, GregOug said:

It’s still in the single figures. I think. But then there were the beers before that.

What about the spirits and champagne?

[Kat]

Sorry @Breaming with bro hijacked your thread!

[Kat]

11 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

Don’t give up flathead are probably one of the easiest fish to target especially on lures. There is plenty of info on YouTube about catching flathead on lures a 2-4kg graphite rod and a light reel with light braid and leader is all you need to learn to catch flathead also a couple of packets of plastics and jig heads i recommend daiwa baitjunkie but zman and savage gear work great to I’ve just found the baitjunkies are a lot tougher and have a better action and are a lot easier to rig. some 1/8 jig heads in size 1 and 1/6 jigheads in size 2/0 and plastics ranging from 2.5 inch to 3 inch work best for flathead leaders can be anywhere from 4-20lb but I recommend atleast 6-8lb I find last 2 hours of the run out tide work best. retrieves to use for plastic can be just a straight retrieve with pause or a few flicks then a pause both work great but I mainly use the straight retrieve with pauses 

Do you use braid and do you ever just tie the plastic direct to the braid?  If not why not?

[GregOug]

2 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

What about the spirits and champagne?

Nah. You get drunk on champagne.

[Brodie_S]

3 minutes ago, Kat said:

Do you use braid and do you ever just tie the plastic direct to the braid?  If not why not?

1 because most of the time if a fish sees the lure attached to a brightly coloured line that stands out it will stear away the fish or put them off most of the time 

2 6lb braid isn’t as abrasive resistance as 6lb mono or FC 

So basically it will reduce how many fish you catch and also isn’t very abrasion resistant that’s why

[Brodie_S]

9 minutes ago, Kat said:

Sorry @Breaming with bro hijacked your thread!

All good It doesn’t bother me 

[Kat]

2 minutes ago, Breaming with bro said:

1 because most of the time if a fish sees the lure attached to a brightly coloured line that stands out it will stear away the fish or put them off most of the time 

2 6lb braid isn’t as abrasive resistance as 6lb mono or FC 

So basically it will reduce how many fish you catch and also isn’t very abrasion resistant that’s why

Cool thanks.  Just wasn't sure if the fish would actually be looking at the line when you are retrieving.  Thought they would be focused on the plastic.  Didn't know about the resistance thing with braid/mono.

So if you are using a reel with mono would you bother using a leader - would you use fluro for leader or not bother at all?

[Brodie_S]

12 minutes ago, Kat said:

Cool thanks.  Just wasn't sure if the fish would actually be looking at the line when you are retrieving.  Thought they would be focused on the plastic.  Didn't know about the resistance thing with braid/mono.

So if you are using a reel with mono would you bother using a leader - would you use fluro for leader or not bother at all?

If you wanted to use just mono for soft plastics you would’t bother tying a leader I highly would’t recommend using straight mono if you’re using plastics . I highly recommend using braid with a FC leader sometimes a mono leader will work but most of the time I use braid with a FC leader when fishing with plastics . I’ve been using Gliss for like a month now it says it’s like a mono braid hybrid but really it’s just like braid it has No stretch and is super sensitive to me it just feels like normal braid but thinner and extra casting distance I might stop using braid and just use gliss for now on it’s just great line to use and I’ve only got 1 wind knot in it so far it’s awesome stuff FYI I use a leader with this stuff to as it’s bright and pretty much the same as braid but thinner it’s also a lot cheaper then standard braid . So far it’s better then any braid I’ve ever used 

[Drop Bear]

Nice mate. Some good looking dinners ahead. Well done.