Port Stephens / Hawkes Nest

[NAGG]

Hi all
Just got back from a few days R&R in the Port Stephens area & after doing a couple of days boating / swimming with the littlies - It was a chance for me to have a crack at catching a red on plastics
unfortunately I missed the best conditions & by the time I got outside the heads - it was just too rough to fish in close off my hornetAttachment 40352 ....... specially when the back wash combined with the wash from a large game boat almost threw me overboard - so that idea was given the flick
time to acquaint myself with the local bream population ......... & with my love of fishing difficult structure - a couple of locations that were spotted over the previous days boating beckoned ...... The first was a couple of large wrecks that were located over some flats ...... Here I managed 4 or 5 decent breamAttachment 40353.
The next was natural oyster covered rocks that were covered & exposed as the mangroves drained on a falling tide - during a 30 minute period it was a fish a cast proposition - bream , flatheadAttachment 40355 & whiting Attachment 40356.... all falling to my beloved lobby (Grenade & Wasabi)
I also fished some oyster racks ...... which held some pretty big bream but with the added difficulty of boat wash & a raging current ...... more fish were lost than landed.
One of the most exciting moments was when fishing in 3 ft of water in amongst the mangroves ...... I hooked into a huge flatty on an atomic prong. Now - by huge I mean , if it wasn't 1M it was so close - & after two attempts & 20mins to get it into my environet (It didn't fit) the 6lb FC leader was no match - GONE ..... but what a sight!
The final location ..... as seen on TV during the AFC Pt Stephens round - was a rock wall that formed the bypass into the main basinAttachment 40357 ........ well at the right part of the tide ..... huge bream held station ontop of the rockwall & under some mangrove bushes ........ The game was to cast up current & let the plastic drop back over the rockwall on the raging tide - Here you either got snagged in the oysters or got a hit....Attachment 40358.... several landed & lost - but how can I describe one that struck me on the down current side & charged 20M back over the rockwall against the rushing tide ......... shredding 10M of 4lb braid as it went ( I never looked like turning it) ...... how big ??????
So what a place ...... despite the boat traffic (ripping tide & blowy conditions) .... I managed some good fish (Bream 25-35cm , Flathead 40-55cm & some lovely 30cm +whiting) ....... Certainly a place worth visiting ( just watch the Sanctuary Zones )Attachment 40354

Cheers

Chris

[ffejsmada]

Geez Nagg you certainly get around.

You must be an expert at doing the bearings on your trailer with all those miles you do!

Good on ya mate.

Jeff.

[NAGG]

Geez Nagg you certainly get around.

You must be an expert at doing the bearings on your trailer with all those miles you do!

Good on ya mate.

Jeff.

Thanks Jeff

you've just reminded me ....... better do the bearings (again)

2008 saw me tow the hornet over 13,000km ( incl Syd- Gladstone x 2 & Syd - Proserpine ) ....... gee i love this stuff

Chris

[tailorboi99]

Great report mate gotta love those bream. You towed your boat from Sydney to Proserpine o.O, how long did that take you?

Tom

[Pistol_P]

mmmmm....Tomaree hey Nagg.

I Spent some time on those rocks.

Great place....Looks like ya had some fun
.

Pete

[NAGG]

Great report mate gotta love those bream. You towed your boat from Sydney to Proserpine o.O, how long did that take you?

Tom

Hi Tom

Yes mate - syd to prossie ...... but I did it as part of the ABT Barra tour (Nov) ...... so it was done in hops! We did Sydney to Lucinda in Oct 07 ( with a Lake Cania stopover) - All up its around 32 hours

chris

[NAGG]

mmmmm....Tomaree hey Nagg.

I Spent some time on those rocks.

Great place....Looks like ya had some fun
.

Pete

Hi Pete ....... Were you one of the nutters that fish off the old gun emplacement
It is a great place though ....... I was hoping to fish off little island but the 2 times that I poked my nose out there it was shite ...... + I didn't want to face coming back against the runout tide in those conditions ( not in a hornet)
It was a fun trip & the first time i've fished inside the estuary....... every other time its been out of Nelson Bay to fish wide or the islands .

chris