FishingCrazy

Hi guys and girls, It has been a while since I headed out chasing jacks, but woke up with the jack itch that needed scratching. The conditions, well, all seemed against having any success, but my stubbornness was stronger than the "should just stay in bed" conditions. We had heavy rain falls the day before right into the night, which meant a lot of cold fresh water flowing into the creek, I have never had any luck with jacks after really heavy rains and thought it was probably because the jacks headed deeper out of the colder fresh ?? Just a theory. Also, the barometer was at 999.9, I have only just started following what the air pressure is doing but have been told it's not a good time to hit the jacks when it's this low. I hit the water as the sun started poking its head over the edge of the ocean, no wind made for perfect kayak conditions and was greeted with the usual early morning chorus of birds, frogs and cicadas. I fished the early hours with a surface lure, mmd splash prawn, with no luck. Started to think I should have stayed in bed and should have actually "listened" to what the conditions were telling me and stop being a stubborn old bastard.......but I'm too old to change my ways now. As the sun started getting higher in the sky, I changed to a Zman paddle tail and after a few casts had a jack follow it from the snags right to the kayak, grabbing it just before I lifted it out of the water. Not a huge fish, but any jack is a good jack. I persisted with the same plastic with only one other follow that swiped at it but changed its mind at the last second. I decided to turn around and head for home as the sun was starting to find its warmth and I had left the sunscreen in the car. I always forget one thing every session, but at least it was my paddle this time lol, that day wasn't much fun trying to paddle with a large palm frond. I tied on the good old gold bomber and chucked it at all the same snags I'd hit on the way up the creek and wasn't too long before a better jack was landed. Both fish were released to fight another day and I headed home happy my stubbornness had paid off. I guess the moral of the story is don't not go fishing if the conditions don't seem quite right, and if one style of lure isn't working try mixing things up a bit. Cheers.

1.9 deaths?????........ that poor person who is only 0.9 dead.

I liked the comment " We waited until about 6 to see if the rain would clear, but it wasn't looking good... So we decided to go fishing anyways" Been there, done that. Now I just go and not wait, because I know I will still end up going anyway. Good report and pics. Catching dart is always a bit of fun and better than not catching anything.

Good job, wet bum fishing over going to work any day of the week.

Yep, no boat ramp and 4x4 access only so keeps the tourists away. Was pretty happy, made me forget about being crook and missing out on fishing for a month, Gee thanks mate, I don't often hear the words "Quality" with anything I do lol. It's usually just a lot of swearing Cheers mate. Yeah my old rotted out bass net wasn't too happy, now has a bend in the handle. Thanks Bretto Your right on the money there, I'm going to head back there and see if I can find any jacks.

Hi guys and gal's, I have been off the water crook since before Xmas so haven't been out on the water for a while. The Coffs coast is packed with tourists holidaying, so it been massively busy up the creeks and rivers with boats, jet skis, swimmers etc. So I went exploring some spots away from the crowds. Went for a float in the kayak down a small shallow creek, fishing light only expecting to be playing around with under sized bream and flatties, which was correct......at first. Then I hooked what I thought was a tree branch and was slowly dragging it in when the branch gave a head shake. Ended up being an 85cm flatty that gave my small net a bit of a workout. I was pretty stoked, after not being able to fish for nearly a month, to catch and release this big girl in such a small non tidal creek on 8-pound leader and light gauge jig head. Hope you all had tight lines over Xmas. Cheers,

Im only new here but reading all the reports and pics/vids on this site the last few months has been awesome. Thanks to all that keep things up and running. I have done a short stint modding on a forum before, it's not an easy task sometimes and can be a thankless task to keep things going. So a big thanks and happy new year to all involved. Hope all have a bend in the rod in 2023.

Yes, agreed. I try and throw plenty of casts a head of where I'm going to be walking, nothing more frustrating than wading across a bank and seeing an 80cm+ flatty take off a few meters in front of you.

Yes, the drags shot but also the anti-reverse, had drag locked up and a jack hit hard, reel made a clunk as handle spun backwards. lol I opened up the reel to find a few small bits of broken metal. It's a 13-year-old reel that's lived a hard life kayak fishing, getting dunked in the salt a lot and little maintenance so can't really complain. Anyway, I ended up going for the Shimano Ultegra 4000, feels nice and solid, and BCF had a special that you get a Shimano Ultegra rod of choice thrown in for free. It's a $120 rod so not a bad deal, rod feels just as good as some of the higher end rods, but time will tell. Now all I need is a bit of time to get on the water and test them out. Thanks for everyone's recommendations.

Awesome trip report. It's good fun walking the flats throwing plastics. Even better when you see the flatty swim over and hit your lure like you did. Some of the biggest flathead I have caught have been in less than knee deep water, the big girls like getting right up into the shallows.

Thanks for the info. How are the hooks and split rings on the RMG's, need to upgrade them?? I have only used the smaller RMG's and a descent cod or big flatty could straighten them. Hoping the larger ones are better.

You might need to take a whipper snipper with you. lol Hope you are not too badly hurt, rest up and I'm sure the lure of the bass will see you charging through the bush again. Nice pics, healthy looking bass. Thanks for sharing, love reading and seeing pics/vids of others adventures and makes me feel a little bit saner knowing that I'm not the only one who injures themselves all the time charging through bush in search of bass.

Awesome, thanks for the info, I'm off to check out Freddy's Online and Davo's Tackle now, never used their sites before, might go hide my credit card somewhere first before it gets a hammering. lol

Thanks, I'll check them out, Stradic FL was on my list but haven't seen the Daiwa BG. Was just looking at the Shimano Ultegra 4000, seems solid, 10-year warranty, seems well sealed from the salt.

Hi all, my reel that I have been using for catching jacks is on its last legs, it is a midrange priced daiwa 4000 size ($250) and from the heavy pressure jacks put on them its stripped and struggling. I am after another egg beater in the 4000 size again that will handle jacks well and also stand up to the harsh life it gets kayak fishing getting salt water splashed on it a lot. Looking at spending up to $250 again, cheaper if posable, but would go a bit over $250 if it will last well getting jack and salt punishment. Thanks.

I guess I could buy her a pair of binoculars for Xmas so she can still see me when I visit.

I head up north into Qld from NSW a bit to visit my mother at Carrara, only a 15min drive to the dam, think I'll throw my kayak on the roof next time I visit and give the dam a go. Not sure my mum will be too happy though when I come to visit........... then go fishing all day.

The gold bomber is a "golden oldie", its not expensive and comes with half descent trebles. Im not good at guessing lengths of fish but would say in the low 50's, maybe 52cm to 54cm?? But could be way off. lol

Had a few hours to spare yesterday morning so went up the local creek in search of Jacks. I hit the water at just after 5am, paddled up the creek in the early morning glass off through the mist. It's a magical time of the day, just before the sun comes over the horizon, that the birds and animals on the banks seem to enjoy also. Lure of choice for the morning was the gold bomber. The jacks were really fired up, wish I could crack the code of why this morning but not the day before? but can't seem to see any difference much in tide/air temp/water temp/barometer reading etc. Managed to land a couple, think I lost more lures than fish caught but that's jack fishing. Expensive morning in lures lost but I'm sure the local manage of BCF won't complain when I come it to restock, I'm sure I have paid to put his kids through college with my fishing gear purchases. Once jacks get over that 50cm length they are so hard to stop from getting back into the snags. It can be all over before you even get a turn on the handle. Anyway, I think the vid will show you the fun better than I can explain it. Enjoy.

Top report, love the vids. Your right, that's one skinny looking shark. No idea what type it is but looks like it needs a good feed.

Nice cod, they are an amazing looking fish. The colour pattern on them is incredible.

I think they call then monkey wrench crabs in the USA.

Thanks mate, much appreciated. Nothing better than getting out into spots like this and exploring.

My most hated thing in life is thieves.

Fishing's on fire in your neck of the woods, nice haul.