Oyster Lovin Bream

[NAGG]

Hi all .....
With what was looking like a fairly good day ..... I decided to leave Ausfish alone this morning & go have a fish
A quick phone call to my mate Paul to see if he was interested ..... DONE! ..... had us on the water around 10.30am
Rather than fishing the productive radioactive waste dump ( Cooks River), I decided on looking for some Oyster crunching numbers Off to my favorite racks in Woolooware bay ( home of my PB). With a making tide , I was feeling pretty confident ....... however after an hour or so without a touch , I'm scratching my head .... What to do , What to do ?
Woolooware bay is littered with abandoned racks , rails & posts ( makes places like Monduran look like a cow paddock) ...... Its very shallow in most parts <1M & is fringed with mangroves & oyster encrusted boulders ........ With the tide up , we agreed that a little exploring was called for
maneuvering through the old post & rails on the leccyAttachment 27527 ... had us in the fringing mangroves & casting into some pretty hairy country ( oyster covered mangrove roots & rocks) ...... It wasn't too long before I landed a nice bream on a 3" Atomic prongAttachment 27528 ..... & then another , both pulled out of the mangrove roots ...... Not bad I'm thinking! ........ Pauls casting away using various gulp minnows , but not even getting a touch ! ........ we get a bit of a sunshower & everything goes calm! ...... hmmm, me thinking time to play Russian roulette ( I've decided to break out the long wand) ..... Its been while so I make a few practice casts before I pick my target (a gap between a snag & a mangrove tree) ...... 2 or 6 false casts .... & I'm there! ...... The Olive wooly bugger slowly sinks into about 2 foot of water & its smashed ........ The 4 wt Sage loads up with the fish running to open waterAttachment 27529 ,,,,, what a lucky break! ....... not too long & a nice bream is netted ( my first on fly) ....... I'm doing the jump for joy! ..... Some pics & a measureAttachment 27531 , my day has been made! ...... Paul persists!!!!
About 5 mins later ..... I'm on again ! ..... This time the fish runs for the cover of the mangroves , but I managed to turn it before it shredded the 10lb FC tippet ...... Yippee No 2Attachment 27532 ...... & Paul persists!
With the tide starting to fall we decide to move to a little bay around the corner ....... I have never seen so many flatones do the bolt ( 3 feet of water & quite clear) ........ Nothing was really happening though .... & besides nearly stranding the Hornet in mud .... we headed over to the entrance area to what looked like big rocks that are just covered with Oysters ( Actually they are leases) ...... As we move into this shallow rock strewn area , we notice big bow waves scattering over what looks like about 1 foot of water they were huge bream We tried poppers as everything else would snag up ...... but we couldn't get within 30M of them .. As we moved around ( nearly crashing into some old rails) we managed to get a nice natural drift along what seems to be a man made rock wall that is around 1 foot below the surface. Its here that we see several very very big bream ..... BIG BLUE NOSE jobs that were well into the 45cm + zone! ..... We had some casts but they were too spooky
We continued to move around this area ..... & I manage a couple more 30cm bream & several flatones ( 40-45cm) ... on an SX40 ...... & Paul persists!
With the tide getting pretty low ..... it was getting difficult fish effectively .. but I was attracted to these natural oyster covered rock shoals that were exposed & surrounded by only 1-2 feet of water ....... As we drift along , I pick up another couple of flatones (30-35cm) on a prong ....... drifting along avoiding old posts that seemed to be everywhere I make a backhanded cast towards a rock shoal ..... between a gap in another rock shoal ........ TAP TAP , pause TAP TAP ...... I hit it! a couple winds & I'm thinking a better flatone (no dramas) , then it explodes "HOLY CRAP!" ... Paul yells! This thing has its back out of the water ..... It's ripping line from the Certate as if its in free spool ..... & runs straight under the only standing rail in the immediate area ...... SHITE! the line breaks ( 10 M of braid is stuffed) ........ I wont guess the size but it certainly may have been the biggest bream I have seen ......... & It certainly made me look second rate!
With that out of the way ...... & I couldn't be bothered with tying on a new leader ..... It was coffee & quits time!
WHAT A PLACE ....... It was hard work on the leccy , but I cant wait to get back there on a bigger tide ( maybe anchor , so as not to spook the fish) & pepper the area with SPs & HBs ........ There were some crackers in that last 1 Hectare area around the shoals
Gotta love those Oyster munchin bluenose bream

Cheers

Nagg

[imnotoriginal]

Great report Nagg. I'd love to target bream around the leases, heart in your mouth stuff. It's the one bigger fish that keeps you coming back...
Joel

[Why-ting]

Good report Nagg. I love the way you described the territory. Love fishing country like that, just dont get to do it that often.
Thats a nice bream for your first on fly, well done

Cheers Whytey

[NAGG]

Great report Nagg. I'd love to target bream around the leases, heart in your mouth stuff. It's the one bigger fish that keeps you coming back...
Joel

Joel ..... you just never know in the leases! ........ The ones I fish , consistently produce above average bream! ( I've been smashed monumentally ..... too)
However the beasts I saw today ....... I doubt I could land them in that environment But it will be fun trying

Nagg

[NAGG]

Good report Nagg. I love the way you described the territory. Love fishing country like that, just dont get to do it that often.
Thats a nice bream for your first on fly, well done

Cheers Whytey

Thanks Whytey

Its amazing country ..... specially the rock shoals! ( I would have taken some photos but the batteries died ..... before we got there) ....... I will on my next visit
I've seen these shoals in the distance previously ....... but getting there ( through the old posts & rails) stopped me! ( water is usually much dirtier)
I now know I can get through via another way ( side door)!

Cheers

Chris

[Mark-P]

Great report Chris, your a talented man in many ways but i'm feeling a bit sorry for your mate though ! Poor bugger fancy having to put up with that......

Mark

[Keechie]

awesome stuff nagg and nice report. unlucky about the one that got away but thats a few nice bream on fly.

regards,
keechie

[mossyback08]

nice fish wish we had some oyster racks up here at noosa

[breamnut]

hha great report, gotta love oyster rack fishin though up here u can pull anything from bream to jack outa them

[NAGG]

Great report Chris, your a talented man in many ways but i'm feeling a bit sorry for your mate though ! Poor bugger fancy having to put up with that......

Mark

Thanks Mark ........ Talent Nah , but I love a challenge

Paul .... never turned a reel ( I'm not sure if he'll tag along again)

Chris

[NAGG]

hha great report, gotta love oyster rack fishin though up here u can pull anything from bream to jack outa them

Unfortunately , We dont get Jacks this far south ...... but hey who needs them when you cant even stop the local bluenose

Chris

[NAGG]

awesome stuff nagg and nice report. unlucky about the one that got away but thats a few nice bream on fly.

regards,
keechie

Unlucky ..... Dont know! .... Unprepared & complacent ( more likely ) ..... 4 & 6lb Braid & 10lb FC in that country ..... I just asking for trouble! & I GOT IT!

Yeh Keech ...... bream on fly ,,,, Great fun but hard work on the leccy

Cheers

Chris

[imnotoriginal]

Joel ..... you just never know in the leases! ........ The ones I fish , consistently produce above average bream! ( I've been smashed monumentally ..... too)
However the beasts I saw today ....... I doubt I could land them in that environment But it will be fun trying

Nagg

Just keep trying, you'll eventually get the dunce of the bream school that runs toward open water!
Joel

[nuggstar]

love ya work nagg

[breamnut]

Unfortunately , We dont get Jacks this far south ...... but hey who needs them when you cant even stop the local bluenose

Chris

there ya go and some of those big blue nose fight just as hard as jack when they get going! dont feel bad though some of those fish are unstoppable!