Intense Lures Losing Day

Catch Report 13/9/2006

Today I specifically force myself to wake up early so I can go office earlier and write up my Multivariate Statistical Process Control section of my thesis. Yeah right, still ended up being in office quite late. The reason is that I was so keen the days before that I'll like to hit the drains after Sydney had been pissed for 3-4 days consecutively. A quick message to Chen in MSN and we were off for a 'supposedly' short session to fish the high tide at Iron Cove.

The wind was kind when we got there. I used Cultiva and on the 1st cast, I got a hookup. Drag was a bit loose and I was having a little fun from what I knew would be a bream. This fish is something I'll never forget. It struggled and suddenly went to some pointed structures and got stucked there! I was shocked, and tried to gently flick the bugger out. To no avail, I was devastated. Chen suggested an idea by cutting my Fireline and he used a twig to shaft into the ground. Then I tied the mainline onto the twig and we were to come back during low tide to retrieve it! Genius bro! Honestly speaking I wasn't prepared to lose this lure as it always has the '1st cast' magic and the colour is not available readily.

Anyway I wasn't going to be detered. Chen got the next fish up on a cut-down Gulp sandworm. It was quite a good size bream, he was telling me: "Use the gulp bro". He was truly enjoying the constant bites from using this lure.

I tied on a watermelon bm instead and casted near to the drain. A few twitches later I felt a take and I striked. Not a good fight and up came a 30cm bream which took the hook well and truly embedded! Damn, had a hard time taking it out and the hook point was bent.

Tried again at the exact spot I casted and scored another bream but it was only 26cm. By this time, the new bm was almost wasted, ripped pretty badly.

Anyway, the next few casts back it got snagged! By then, Chen suddenly had a hookup and told me a fish took it while he was just simply 'parking' the gulp there. Initially it came in as a dead weight, but it made strong and long dashes near the shore. I knew it was going to be a big flathead! With my lip grip in hand, I prep to help Chen bring up this beast. But alas, my grip didn't want to perform today and kept slipping! Chen in his gusto yank the leader up and he scored his personal best 54cm dusky flathead!!! Congrats bro! You're nearing my record! Arghhh...

Then, we were losing lures intensively. We decided to give the joggers track side a go. While I was freeing a snag, Chen had a hookup on his avocado squidgy. Looks easily a 30 model. He's on fire!

Not long later on his same squidgy, he scored another big flathead! OMG! It was quite a big flathead, easily in the 45+ range! But due to difficulties getting the lip grip in, he opted to lift it by the line. It snapped and the flattie gain its freedom with a squidgy lodged in it mouth. I persisted with my bloodworm bm and casted very near the snaggy drain and scored a 42cm flathead. The fishes are everywhere! There were bites all way round!

However, to say it was a top day, I wouldn't really agree to that. There was indeed both quality and most importantly quantity. But the worst was to think I can lose Cultiva and numerous soft plastic jigs. Chen probably lost 5-6 maybe? While I lost 4 in this session. That bloody drain is indeed very snaggy, but it doesn't seem to always let us down.

Me, Chen and Jeff went there again at low tide during late afternoon to try get back my Cultiva. I brought my rubber boots in case there were nasties while I was wading. The line was still there and I walked down the banks tracing the line. The leader was in fact clipped onto this funny looking crap junk. Luckily the fish was a small bugger, but you gotta pity it as it had been stucked there for hours! I carefully free the line and it was still alive and kicking! Woohoo! I saved cultiva and the bream! But Cultiva was badly scratched in the melee. Still, I was happy to retrieve it back after all these troubles.

Thanks to Jeff for taking those pictures from his Sony Ericsson K800i. Me handsome a not?? Wah lao eh!! Shit, I look like some paddy rice field worker!!

It was a good outing, I felt we were like some school kids having a ball in outdoors. Beats better getting stuck in office, which in matter of speaking, I better continue my MSPC writeup! Stop JUDGING me please!

Ronald