Winter blog 2011

Hi Everyone

As I tap away on the keyboards me old office which is a caravan parked in back yard (and doubles as a bird watching hutch) is rockin away with gusts of over 40knts outside. I went down to the boat ramp earlier on and was lucky to prize the door open on the car. It had to happen. It's been wonderfully calm and serene here now for weeks and we need a good bit of weather to stir the mix and bring the fish back on the chew in some murky water.

June and July is a pretty interesting time in this part of the world. The pace is a lot slower and I get to enjoy time with the family along with some long lunches and afternoon siesta's by the fire. It's a great time to recharge the batteries and do some fishing I normally wouldn't do with clients like chasing blackfish and drummer off the rocks. Speaking of which, check out nex weekend's (July 17) episode of Ifish on ch10 and One-hd where your's truly turns blackfish expert for the day and catches a few luderick for the dinner table.


 Luderick from the stones with Ifish's Paul Worstling.


Speaking of all things tv. If you have pay tv then check out "Hooked on Tackleworld" with Dave Buttfield on the Aurora channel on Tuesdays I think it is. We recently had a great bream session on the new artificial reefs in the Basin. The show should be re-run at least 20 times this year :).


Basin bream for "Hooked on Tackleworld" with Dave Buttfield.


Down in the Sussex River we've been doing the odd luderick session off the boat on spin gear which has been great fun. At this time of year the lower reaches of the estuaries are teeming with "luds" (luderick) and they taste great to boot. It's also been great to bring some simplicity back to my fishing and re-connect with fishing off the "stones" again.Also on the "lud" subject, I recently assisted the JBMPA staff in a luderick  acoustic tagging program which is a combined effort by the JBMPA and Booderee National Park. Fish were tagged in the bay and I'll keep you up to date with any progress. It will be interesting to see how far the fish travel?

 Surgically implanting an accoustic tag into a Jervis Bay Luderick.

 "Luds" on spin gear is great fun with light fast tapered rods.

Regarding the rumours of 6 ton of fish being taken by fisheries in the Basin. Wrong.I  recently participated in a trawl survey one evening in the Basin. Each trawl was 5 mins long using a 3m by 90cm long net. No more than a dozen fish or prawns per shot were collected, measured and then returned to the water. This method has been utilised for the past few years and valuable data about Recreational Fishing Havens all over NSW has been collected. Large amounts of fish are not being taken and if you do witness such an event you should be encouraged to record boat rego’s etc and call the illegal fishing hotline on 1800 043 536

Basin trawl count. 6 tonnes? yeah right.


PFIGA AGM
What the hell is the PFIGA. It's the Professional Fishing Instructor and Guides Association. Google it. I recently cruised down to Narooma for the weekend for the annual AGM and get together. The PFIGA is now in it's 20th year and whilst it originally had it's roots in the trout side of things, the membership base has now increased to reflect the saltwater side of the equation. The PFIGA accreditation is a stamp of approval of the guide or business having met strict qualifications and guidelines so that you as the client know that you are dealing with a professional operation not some back yard blow in or shonky operator who is neither insured or focused on the clients needs. Looking into the not too distant future, anyone who wishes to operate as a guide or charter operator will need this accreditation. Fishing tourism is worth  hundreds of millions of dollars to the Australian economy and it's important that we have industry professionals offering the service, not dodgy brothers inc.Following on from the meeting  we did what all good guides do and we went fishing. It was really great to spend the morning with Stuie Hinson from Aussie Fish Estuary Adventures and Jack Dart from Sunset Fishing Adventures on Stuie's boat on Wagonga Inlet. We managed some great estuary salmon, bream, trevally, flathead and tailor, and I have to say that Jack's thinly sliced beer battered salmon on the barbie was some of the best fish I have ever eaten. You better believe it!


Jack Dart and his famous beer battered salmon. Fast growing high yield fish that tasted delicious.

 BIG REDS AND SALMON
July is also snapper time. Apologies to the few of you who had trips planned for the bay that had to be canceled due to the earlier batch of weather. The way the pattern works here is a batch of weather then calm conditions for extended periods. The calm in the few days following the weather is the time to be Johnny on the spot, particularly if that corresponds with high tides at dawn or dusk. The big reds are in real close for a few weeks to chew on the cuttlefish who are dying off after they mate, and big fish are a real proposition.As the water clears after the first week the fishing becomes tougher unless you want to chase salmon.

When I got the call from Nick Carpenter from Sussex Inlet that he wanted a lesson on chasing reds on plastics I immediately had a good feeling. I get really excited by the shallow water options that occur for a few weeks at this time of year, and as we set out in the pre-dawn light from Huskisson anticipation was high.Less than ten casts in, and enough time for him not to be concentrating on his line the rod buckles over and beautiful sound of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ and line pouring off the real was a real wake up call. Thank fully the fish swam away from the reef, and after a few more solid bursts and a mexican stand off where we thought it was snagged on the reef, all 85cm of shallow water red appeared and was promptly netted.


 Nick Carpenter's caught and released 85cm Jervis Bay Snapper.It's all down hill from here mate lol.

This red smashed the boat and his personal PB and the biggest buzz of all was actually releasing the fish after a few pics and watching it swim off. Words can't express the intense exhilaration  you feel knowing the amount of preparation that is required to hunt these fish. These big reds are prime brood stock which will suffer no effects of barotrauma and should be released. It's a moral issue, but in my humble opinion more anglers need to develop a custodial view of the resource like the traditional landowners had, and only take a few smaller fish for a feed. You'd have to be a mug to kill one of these big one's. Glad to get that off my chest! We also ended up catching legal kings, salmon, bream and an absolute horse of a silver drummer on a plastic on that morning before hitting the Basin in the afternoon for not much.

You can see my latest article titled "Nick's Big Red Bream" in the next edition of ET's new E-mag.Go to www.escapewithet.com and take a few minutes to register. The mag is definately worth a read and it's free.




 Gulp 5" jerkshad's in nuclear chicken. Guess what they catch?
The one below is a 6" Sebile worm which accounted for this small red second cast.

 Now that's what I call a silver drummer.


Speaking of salmon earlier on, as most of you know I love love catching salmon, and in this part of the world they are a year round proposition. I've recently purchased a 6wt fly rod primarily for this species, along with mullet, bream, flathead, bass and carp, yes carp!, and I can't wait to tangle with some 3kg plus fish at Target beach. Speaking of Target, I had a social session there with Andy McGovern from Sport Fishing Australia Magazine last week. The beach was literally stacked with fat fish in less than 5m of crystal clear Jervis Bay water and they were willing to eat almost anything you threw at them. The guy's at Lox Rods had sent me a few rods to "play" with, and so the SP 7527 and the SP7225  were paired with a small 30 size Pfluger Arbour reel with some 6lb braid and look out! The stand out lure for the day was by far the 90mm sinking Sebile Stik Shad in green with blood red oil centre & retro fitted with a single at the rear.. This is the lure Patrick Sebile introduced to us when he was here recently, and the one which the IGFA record claim was caught on. I'm sorry Patrick but we are going to smash that record. Anyway the Lox rod performed beautifully. They are sooth as silk and casting is a joy. Mind you the 4-8kg Berkeley Dropshot's which we use on the boat with the same reel combo is pretty hard to beat in terms of value and you'll be amazed at their pulling power, we've only been using them this summer but they have accounted for some amazing fish and are a good all round combo for flatties, snapper,salmon and small kings.As I have said to many people who are new to using light tackle spin gear for bream etc Get your 1-3kg set up with 3lb braid and target some salom. You'll be amazed at how much power these finesse set ups really have.



Andy McGovern with a Target sambo.

BASIN
The fishing in the Basin has been challenging if you're targeting bream.Phil Holme's 41cm black being the standout for the month. The yellowfin bream are there but haven't been on the chew of late. We won't mention the result of team "Big E and the bandit" in the annual Sussex Bream comp because the big fella and myself were basically reduced to spectators on the second day watching everyone else around us wack fish left right and centre! That's fishing. On the final day we entered Cockrow Ck at 1pm with nothing in the live well and by 1.50pm we had our bag but had left our run too late to get back to Sussex without being penalised.We must therefore apologies for our unsportsman like behaviour and not fronting up to the weigh in on the final day, but it was pretty hard to leave the black bream biting lightly weighted plastics drifted down the side of sunken logs and travel back to Sussex.Compared to the monotony of blading in the deep you can give me structure any day. For those of you who are regular clients think about dedicating a day to exploring the "timber" on your next tour.


Start line for the Sussex Bream Comp.



 Phil Holmes with a PB 41cm Black Bream on a green Maria Crankbait. These are a must have lure when chasing bream.



KAYAK TOURS

Over the next few months Darryl and I will be commissioning a new  "fully sick mate" purpose built off road trailer to transport the kayaks to the upper Shoalhaven River and Tallowa Dam for our Bass, Bream and Carp tours. Now don't you laugh about carp! we're not going to knock back the opportunity to target 5kg plus fish because they're a noxious pest! Dazza promises me 100 plus bass sessions in the height of summer so let's see if he can deliver the goods. In the mean time it's closed season for bass and ep's which are spawning in the river but some high 40's bass have been caught and released well down the river in the past few weeks for those in the know.The trailer will be able to carry up to 6 yaks with all the gear and you won't miss us on the highway with a full wrap over the whole unit. I also can't thank Steve Fields from Hobie Australasia enough for his support in helping us get this off the ground. The yaks will also be available to hire for tournaments from Mallacoota to Forster with airport transfers available for anyone travelling from interstate. We're really looking forward to making some new mates and going fishing!, so give me a call today on 0413 610 832, or email info@bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au


 Have trailer will travel. Come bass fishing with us this summer.

FISHING REPORTS ON THE RADIO

Tune in on the weekends now for the latest fishing reports from this part of the world. On Saturday's I'll be broadcasting live on ABC Southeast with Jen on 103.5 at around 7am and then on Sunday's on "Hi Tide" with Keiren and Packo on 2SM in Sydney.

See you on the water some time.
 
Greg Reid

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au

From the land of the big bream.

It's been a while I know but the fishing has been top notch most days, and with the weather being pretty kind to us so I have been on the water most days the past few months. As I write this it's now May and it's freezing outside thanks to a cold snap. The Basin will now see some patchy days now but the good news is big tailor are present and they love the cooler water.I've now got tailor rigs at the ready which consist of 6lb braid with 80lb flourocarbon leader, and small minnow style spinners.The bay has continued to be productive although the past month has been a bream fest on the Basin so I've left the bay alone with the southerlies. The bream returned in massive numbers post spawn around the weekend of the Squidgey Southern Bream Series and went on the chew for 3-4 weeks solid. Every fish coming to the boat was shitting cockles and nippers and in really good condition to boot. In fact the bream were so prolific that was all we could catch for nearly two weeks. During this period I managed my first kids tour where we didn't use bait so that says it all. I love when you drift past a few boats dangling bait and catching nothing and the kids are whacking them left right and centre. I recently filmed a segment with Dave Buttfield which will be aired on pay TV in the next few weeks. You guessed it, bream. The segment was filmed on the new artificial reef which was layed down before xmas, check the screen saver shot!

 The screen shot you want to see. Wall to wall bream.
 

 Luke Jakovic with a cracking c&r 46cm Basin Bream on a camo Gulp craw.

 



Speaking of all thing TV and promotional. The "Big E" weaved his Basin magic with Paul Worstling from Ifish recently. They managed a 92cm "Croc" which took 20mins to get to the boat and had them calling it for a jewie or a big red. It will be amazing to see the footage. Yours truly turned blackfish expert for the day and Paul, myself, and good mate Dave "layback" Johnson managed a few luderick from the stones which was a nice distraction from the boat for a day. I used to do a lot from the stones and I plan to do a bit more over winter chasing blackfish and pigs.


I also had the privelege of guiding the enigmatic french lure designer Patrick Sebile recently. Mr Sebile has had a career as a guide, fishing lodge owner, lure designer having sold in excess of 4 million lures world wide which he has personally caught  over 664 species world wide. The guy has fished in 54 lodges around the globe and we managed to get him a world record Australian Salmon. We'll let it sit for a bit before we smash that one, but seriously, it was an inspirational day to say the least.



 Patrick Sebile with his record 60cm salmon. In 5 trips to Australia this was his first one! We're stoked.



The BCF presentations went down well and it was great to meet some Sydney siders who are now more tuned in to catching fish, particularly on lures. Check out this testimonial. This is why I enjoy guiding so much.

 

"Hi Greg,

I was at the talk at BCF Auburn you did with Garry Brown. I was Very unsure on the how where and why of blade lures but from some using the feed back was good. So on that night  I brought 2 blades to try both around 6 grams. I had talked to my mate about a lure only day and thought this a good enough reason to have a go. He told me they were getting some fish at Long Reef so to Long Reef we go. After finding a good looking spot on the sounder we tried the soft plastics and with many touches we only managed some small Snapper. Not setting the world on fire but showing promise. We decided to move and I changed lures to the little Strike Pro in an olive holograph finish. First cast I let the lure sink ant then gave the rod the lift to feel the vibration I let the lure sink and gave the rod a second lift, BANG! A fright train had just taken possession of my lure. Line was absolutely screaming off the reel. We were fishing  over rubble in about 30' of water  I was praying not to get bricked by this fish. I was using 10lb fire line with a 12lb trace to achieve the more natural presentation you stressed. So the battle was on what would give in first line, leader, hooks, or the fish.  I would get line back the fish would take it, I'd get it close enough to see shape but no colour. This fish was taking me all round to boat. Finally after a fight of between 5 and 7 minutes a nice Sampson fish of around 3kg was boated. To say I was excited was an understatement my fishing partner just stood there looking at the fish laughing. It had been hooked with both sets of trebels but had straightened one set out and nearly done the same to the second set. My fishing partner said I was lucky to not have lost the fish because the lure I was using was for use on bream and bass not these brutes.

I reformed the hooks on my lure and my mate changed to a blade. After a couple of small Snapper and having fun with a school of Bonito the wind got up and we left. We didn't get any more Sampsons but I know I'll be giving the Blades another go. That is after first upgrading the hooks.

So thanks for your input and advise It is appreciated.

Thanks"

Iain Mckay

Don't forget that winter in my humble opinion is one of the best times to be on the water. There's very minimal boat traffic and it was July last year that got me the cover shot for NSW Fishing Monthly with a 72cm snapper from very shallow water in the bay. Check out my monthly reports in NSW FM as Greg Finney has decided to call it a day and Tony Zahn has roped me in to report on matters piscatorial for the Illawarra. Happy days.

 Canberra Fisherman's Club secretary Chris Head with a thumping Basin Tailor

 Gary Brown came to town and put a smile on his dial!
 

Khaled Ajaj with the prize. C&R 43cm bream from half a metre of water in the middle of the day.
 

 Eleanor Gibson (13) proved that fishing isn't just for blokes.

 I'm lovin these new shads from "Storm". You need them in your bag of tricks!

  

 

See you on the water some time

Greg Reid

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au

Autumn is here.

Where did summer go?

Whilst the northern half of the country suffered under the deluge of flood and cyclones we've been very very fortunate in this part of the world to not only have missed the whole natural disaster thing, but experience some of the best fishing in years.

The Basin has showed why it is one of NSW premier fisheries with some cracking sessions but just like any estuary it can and does shut down, particularly with lure fishing. Compared to previous dry summers the summer surface bite hasn't lasted as long, and the whiting in particular were down right slow by comparison in the Basin itself. The Sussex River has been the go this summer for whiting. Having said that we set a new record of 20+ black bream on surface in one session over the past month, and the bait fishing sessions are still going strong. Happy days.

 New kayak fishing guide Darryl Head with his PB 90cm Basin tailor on a Rapala Shad Rap.

A brace of Basin blacks. You didn't need to go to Mallacoota boy's.

JERVIS BAY

The bay and offshore have fired! It was great to part of the team from Hobie and Fishing Australia with Rob Paxevanos, and to witness Rob's amazing effort in capturing an 80kg black marlin with Paul Leary from a Hobie tandem Mirage Is kayak at the "Banks" in February. See the Hobie website for more details.

http://www.hobiefishing.com.au/2011/02/hot-currents-equals-hot-fishing/#more-1136

A truly amazing day at the office!

In the bay the kingfish have been going off! I got my pb metre king to 12kg in February. We've been getting some great kings to 92cm with sessions of regular 74-83cm fish. I tend to think that this is a direct result of the banning of the fish traps over a decade ago. Also, a wet winter. The nutrient (food) which was part of the fish kill in January is more than likely contributing to the high recruitment of juveniles from many species this month. This has led to a feeding frenzy by yellowtail, slimey mackeral and bonito, which in tern attracts the larger predators. Underneath all this feeding on the surface the reddies have been cleaning up the scraps and we have caught reds to 4.5kg in the middle of the day. Blink and you'll miss it. The down side to this is that reefs in the bay have resembled a car park on the weekends whilst the people with day jobs jostle and drive too close to each other for comfort. Book a midweek tour to avoid the congestion.

Note: All the large kings pictured were released to fight another day. Only take what you need for a feed and put the bigger fish back if you can. The red came from 30m of water and couldn't be released. It ended up on the dinner table after being prepared at the local Thai restaurant in Huskisson.

 Feb has seen a few flat days and a bend in a rod.

 The girls had a great day out with this fish in the middle of the day on a Berkely Gulp.

PB's all round!

A nice little stripie on 6lb for a bit of surface lure fun.

NEW KAYAK FISHING TOURS AND GIVEAWAYS.

On the kayak fishing side of things I'm really pleased to announce that we have finally got the I's dotted and the T's crossed from the relevant authorities and we will be launching our NEW kayak fishing tours in the very near future. The first 50 people to book onto a guided tour will receive a "Hobie pack", containing a shirt, hat and accessories. This is really exciting for both myself and new kayak guide Darryl Head. Darryl is an extremely experience canoe and kayak guide and has been operating tours on the upper Shoalhaven River for more than a decade. All kayak tours will be conducted on the calm waters of St George's Basin and the upper Shoalhaven River for bass, in fact we have access to private property on the river. Stay tuned for more.

Check out the pic of Darryl and his pb 90cm Basin tailor whilst filming with Rob Paxevanos recently.




FISHING WORLD MAGAZINE

Just in case you weren't aware of Fisho's extensive online material, check out the link below and take the time to really have a good look at the website. It's a wealth of essential info, and the regular weekly newsletter will keep you up to date and informed as to what happening in the "fishing world" pardon the pun.

http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/estuary-reds-the-usual-suspects

BCF INSTORE APPEARANCES

I'm booked to do another instore talk with Gary Brown at BCF Auburn on the 6th of April. This follows on from the successful BCF Club Member night at Campbletown recently. Gary and myself will be waffling on about how to catch all the inshore species like flathead, bream, snapper and jewfish on both bait and lures. Put that one in your diary if you live in Sydney and pop in and say g'day.


ET'S E-MAG

Check out my latest article on ET's new E-mag. It only takes a minute or two to register and you have access to some great fishing and lifestyle articles from the best in the business.
check out www.escapewithet.com

Tight lines and good times

Greg Reid

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au