Steezy Went Mulleting

Thank goodness that my last shift for Myer was post-Boxing Day sale and I guess I will be resigning soon as they have been giving crap shifts to the casuals. Anyway, came Saturday, when me and Chen were supposed to do a harbour bash in the morning but as you would have guess it again, we slept in! So, we thought to ourselves can't waste the beautiful day since we're on holidays and so decided a flick should be in the cards. Was contemplating what spots to go when it's practically blowing the typical summer winds. I then suggested giving Cooks the go and picked a few northeasterly spots to choose which we eventually decided on Rocky's mullet spot. Told Chen about a nearby bakery joint and we rucked up there to get some old bread and some feed for ourselves. Reached spot to find ourselves surrounded by Habibs as usual for that place. We brought our lure outfits but ended up baiting with bread. Chen was busy burleying up our spot with bread and it didn't take long to see the slow sinking bread pieces got snatched up from our view by unidentified fishes! Rigged up my 4lb Toray with a gama hook that I always used in the Nepean. Put on a small piece of bread and was instantly taken by small breams. We did see the mullets began to slowly appear but not in those big schools that we sometimes saw while luring. Then, the best thing that could happen to an angler's ears happened! We both saw a piece of bread that I had baited up got harrassed by a few fishes but couldn't make out what shape and sizes they were. It wasn't until my line straightened and followed by my short yank of the Loomis that Steezy went completely berserk! It was absolutely the best moment we both were immersing in as the loud ratchety Zzzzz sound that steez could muster out was simply orgasmic to da max. Chen was saying that's gotta be a mad mullet. I was totally agreeing with him. But lo and behold... as soon as I could start gaining momentum and drag, the fish was slowly being coaxed in. It didn't show a long-ish shape fish but a bream instead! WTF??!! Took quite awhile to try and land it as we were fishing in really rocky terrain. Not a very long fish but you should have taken a look at its head, it was so wide that I had trouble trying to open my palms fully to grab it for my 'cradle' shoot, lol..



Measured 39cm but still not my pb at this spot. I still remember my 1st ever big bream on lure actually came from this spot. It was a 40cm fish and a truly memorable capture when I was still using my 1st lure outfit which was a SureCatch combo that if compared with the one I'm using now, definitely weighs a tonne. Released the bugger and thanked it for giving steezy a bloody good workout. And to think I actually told Chen that's how a big mullet runs! Lol.. But to be honest, we have yet to experience how good they can actually fight. Maybe we haven't met those 40+ to 50 ones but the ones we got that day were really unimpressive. We were both very doubtful as in how Rocky was lamenting that those at his spot were giving him good fun. No offence blo... but they really didn't sound like the ones you mentioned. Caught a fair few smallies with an exception of these two...

So right now my pb for mullets stand at 32cm. Chen caught a few breams and mullets as well which was his first. It was actually quite an ok session with plenty of fish caught but guess our expectations were high for big mullets though. We were really burnt by the sun and practically left the place very dehydrated. Not bad considering we only spent $1 for a whole day fun.

Ronald

Tough Xmas Eve

Came xmas eve, when I was supposed to be working my ass off to prepare the boxing day sale for Myer, but instead, I called in sick for a marathon with Chen. I'm so done with working that place, as I know the days of being in Sydney is drawing to a close soon. Ok, I shall not dwell on too much in that area. We were supposed to plan a morning boat trip but as I was too overly buggered for Sunday's shift and so we couldn't make it for the morning call. Instead, we rucked up for a morning flick at Iron Cove. Did the usual stretch which both of us haven't been doing for quite sometime. The start was super slow, with me having a good hit-n-run take but failed the hookup department, sianz... Moved along and was really dull till we decided to hit the small drain. Stopped at my 'little window' and the watermelon bm was taken fairly good with a few short runs from this 29cm bream.

Tried the small drain soon after and Chen's new Daiwa Def Bass fluoro let him down by breaking at the knot when he casted. He was also using his new toy for luring now which is a new Shimano Ultegra Advance, quite a pimped up reel. Time to move back and I suggested one last try at the canal. We then saw that VC scooper still destroying the local shrimp population, which really by this time, had pissed us more! Really on the verge of calling the Fisheries to report him! Anyway, sick of what we saw and then Chen suggested this place called the 'tennis courts' and so we went downstream of the canal and virtually felt like luring in Cooks. This place hold true to its claim by some locals there when Chen landed a good size flattie, which was almost the same size as the one I landed a little later on that 2inch camo worm.

Later on, I scored a small bream also and we thought that's enough for the day as our marathon continues to the fresh! Went back to HQ and as usual, I passed out instantly. Got woken up by Chen when he came back from the city and we rucked up again for the long haul to the Nepean. Chen had bought the rod holders that could be hammered into the soil which was to be used when we were baiting the floaters. Got there and already a few fishos lining up the pockets of available spots near the weir. Luckily our usual spot was ok and we quickly set up camp. First up, the surface bread berley was deployed. Rigged up my unweighted blackhole and had a good take from a bass that peeled good line from the Stradic but lost the fish due to throw hooks. Later on, the fishes wised up and it was difficult to get a decent hookup. Then we did the corn baits and waited. Long story short, it was pathetic... Not a single 'down' for a long time and we were just getting tired on the waiting. Chen did score a small bass on his reliable R2S bubble pop. Then, things got interesting when an old Aussie uncle walked to our spot and talked to us. He was asking if we were Chinese but we told him we were not from China. Well, he then told us his wife's from Tienjin and he brought his brother-in-law to fish. Not much of a friendly guy but that aussie uncle was cool. He gave us a tip on using the buggi pop and pointed me to a nearby spot where he was successful with that lure. So I took his word and gave it a try. First cast, there was nothing. But on the second cast when I gutsily flick the lure which almost could snag onto a nearby structure, that's when the most exciting top water action happened. A big splash ensued and the next thing I know, Stradic went off already. This has got to be my best fight on light gear and what a way to top it off with a spectacular top water action! It still managed to brick me briefly at the nearby weeds but finally I could gain some ground and landed a good size bass on the buggi.

Bugger it, as it didn't beat my previous pb but equals it at 32cm! Tamade, but at least this was caught on lure than on corns! Lol.. As Chen had the intention to keep a baby bass in his aquarium, we took a bucket with us and had a 'not-so' baby bass inside it with the weeds giving the oxygen it needed. I temporarily chucked the bass in the pail and took a pic in amongst the weeds.

But in the end, as a thankful gesture to the uncle, I offered him if he wanted it and he obliged, asking his bro-in-law to collect it. Passed to that PRC guy and he instantly brightened up, DIU lah... that's really an extreme attitude change! Continued luring for nothing else at that top-water spot. Changed to my yozuri aile goby and it has now been classified as a productive lure. A small bass hit the lure pretty hard which had me thinking australian bass are really a pound-for-pound fighting fish!

Technically speaking, it was indeed a really tough xmas eve fishing both at salt and fresh. Chen did however manage the only bait caught fish which was a small size carp. Packed up earlier than usual and headed to the chinese joint at Burwood to grab a feed.

Interestingly, we both gave each other fishing lures as xmas gifts. Got him a LC tango as it has been my signature lure to date whilst he got me this Megabass Pagani Siglett top water cicada lure.

Thanks bro! The both of us did try this lure out and frankly, it does make quite a noisy paddle across the surface. But, nothing seemed to work out on that tough day. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.

Ronald

Solo FW Mission Part Deux

Have been either too busy with bloody irritating Myer or simply not enough time spent coming into the office that I've never blogged for awhile. But honestly, there were a few occasion here and there for the saltwater front but it has been turning out fruitless or simply, nothing substantial worth blogging or bragging about. Weather hasn't been too kind for me this summer and knowingly that I'm about to return back to Singapore, it is not really doing much justice to me. Guess it might be a sign shown to me that it's time to stop farking around with fishing here and go back to reality! Anyway, that's not what I'm supposed to do here by ranting, instead, it's about another FW trip I made to the Nepean on Friday as I wasn't rostered that day. Got off to quite a late start as I was busy preparing my ExxonMobil 'paper' application to be sent to sunny Singapura. Didn't wanna fark around with the application form and so took quite an effort to make sure everything is alright, so now it's just fingers-crossed and hope for the best. Whilst at the post office, made a quick stop to Coles and got 2 cans of corns. Then, being a complete idiot, I left HQ without the can opener! I'd only realised it when I was already on the Parramatta road in Burwood! Didn't wanna do a U-turn back and so made a quick stop at Woolies in Burwood and got another can of woolie's brand of corns which happens to have a self-opening lid, bloody Coles! Made a rush to the M4 and thankfully there wasn't any traffic jam. Took the toll instead of exiting at Silverwater road as I was really pressed for time by then. Got to the Nepean weir at around past 5.30pm and knew I'll only have about 2 hours there. This time round, I had the usual spot to myself. So as always, 1st up was to burley up the surface with bread and the splashes starts happening. Rigged up my blackhole lure rod with a small gama hook and it didn't take long till I had a good decent bass hit the bread with gusto.

As always, the 1st few pieces of bread on hook is easier to catch the fishes but they will soon wise up to the trap that we've placed for them. However, there are still times when you can catch them if you know how to bait up properly and strike at the right time. This herring was actually foul hook and the poor bugger was bleeding.

By the looks of the picture, I am always wondering if it's a mullet or herring. By then, I had already done baiting the other rod with corn and waiting for the 'down'. It was time to stop mucking around with the bread and so popping was in mind. Tried using a new popper I got recently from a tackle shop for ridiculous price. It's the Rebel Pop-R that was featured in the fishing DVD with Uncle Starlo using it to great effect on the whitings (they always managed to). Great effect to foul hook infant herring me thinks... KNNBCCB!!!

It was time to change luring tactics and instead of always trying for top water action, I gutsily clipped on a small sinking lure I got awhile back in eBay for like 6 bucks. It's the Yo-Zuri Aile Goby in white which I bought it for use in night breaming but after trying to mod it, it doesn't float! Anyway, it has been sitting in the tackle box for quite sometime and I thought might as well. Being a really small profile lure (a mere 2cm plus lure) and with only a single treble, it drags through the thick weed with ease (sometimes). Few casts later with it, bang... (fwah, the take by bass on lures is truly amazing!)... no Zzzz leh... Sianz... A small bass easily came in for a photo shoot on my sexy leg... Muahahahaha...

Then, another smaller bass was caught on the same lure. It was turning out to be a good lure for use in the thick Nepean weed beds! Now, the baiting rod hasn't been getting much mention, as there weren't any 'downs' or decisive 'downs' to make it worth mentioning! As last light was fast approaching, so did the 'downs' began to happen. It was with a specific 'down' that I know a fish was on and that the gama must have already well hooked the bugger. Zzzzz off the cheap reel goes and this bastard decided to swim under the weeds and bricked me instantly! Knew straightaway it was a decent carp but no matter how I tried to free it, it didn't budge. No choice but to yank it out but surprisingly I didn't loose the whole float setup, even got my hook back! Shit... lost that fish me heart pain...

Anyway, rigged up again and continue the waiting game. The sky was getting really dark and the 'downs' were getting more rampant. On one not-really decisive 'down', I gave a good strike and the feeling was super dead-weight. I could feel it was something heavy but had no idea what it was, especially with a crap fighting fish like the eel-tail catfish I thought it might not even be that specie. Lo and behold... what I eventually manage to hoist it out was a freshwater turtle!

WTF?! I am catching all sorts of weirdos in freshwater man! Thing is, when I told Chen about it, he was over-the-moon and commented that FW turtles are worth a fortune! He said in pet shops they can go for like 100 bucks for a baby-size! Man... mine certainly wasn't a baby! That bugger was unfortunately deeply hooked and I had to cut the line to free it. Poor bugger had to be flipped over for me to perform the surgery cos' as soon as you let it be on it's belly side, it will try and scurry away! As soon as the line was cut, it did that and went back into the drink, with a gama hook in its mouth, sad man... Hope it survives! Not my fault what... how I know turtles eat corns also! Just before packing up for the ultimate long haul back, an eel-tailed catfish was caught.

Luckily it was barely hooked on the lip and so easy job to release it. Two uncles walked past me and asked how I did, told them about the turtle and they were laughing it off. Told me better luck next time and I then began the 45 minutes drive back.

Got a few new items recently with Chen ordering some nice stuffs from Japan. Got him to help me get a new roll of Fluoro as my 5lb Nitlon DARM was running out. So he got me the 'Toray' Bawo Super Finesse in 4lb and their diameter ratio is a bit on the high side. He gave me a small gift in the form of a Lucky Craft wristband and I was completely stoked with his prez, THANKS HEAPS BRO! Was in Otto's tackle shop in Drummoyne recently and bought new Gulps in the form of 2inch sandworms! Was going $25 for 3 packs and got Chen a pack of the camo and myself as well as another colour in the Motor Oil Redfleck. Then, as mentioned earlier, the Rebel Popper for $16, tamade!!!

Gotta admit, we fishos are real suckers for these stuffs... sad but true...

Ronald

Solo FW Mission

Just as Rocky would have expected, freshwater fishing has gotten into me. Thing was, on Monday, I was supposed to be rostered but as I'm already working Sat, Sun and 12 hours on Tues, I knew that's fuctup and so straight up I cooked up some BS reasons to the manager to take me off that day! Well, came that day and the weather forecast was for total crap. Knew straight up it's BS and told myself I need to make full use of that day since I could be earning some dole. With the tide and impending crap weather being shit, I took the plunge and opted to take the long haul up to the Nepean again! Was deliberating a lot but couldn't care much and loaded up Civic with my blackhole bait rod and instead of my Loomis lure rod, I dusted off my original blackhole lure rod and took out Stradic instead. Rucked up to Coles for a cheap can of corn kernels and stole some leftover wholemeal bread from HQ. Oh, and also took the opportunity to stop by Kmart for a pair of cheapo Jarvis Walker braid scissors. Was damn tempted to get the Owner scissors but then wouldn't wanna spend 15 bucks for it!

Left for the westside and at first it was smooth sailing (kind of) on parramatta road but once I got off at Auburn (thought of dropping by BCF), the traffic was crawling! Fwah, spend like 30 minutes just for a few hundred metres stretch to reach BCF! Bloody traffic lights! And what a stupid decision I made, ended up didn't find what I want in BCF! So quickly drove off and luckily upon re-entering the M4, the journey was back to smooth sailing. Got to the Nepean weir at around 5.30pm which technically left me with less than 3 hours of fishing. Oh well, walked down to the usual spot and what do ya know... 2 yoboic guys was there already, DIU! No choice, set up camp at another spot nearby. Rigged up the baiting rod first and tried with bread. Burleyed the surface with bread and straight up splashes started appearing. My guess were herrings. Whilst popping with my Daiso popper, I foul-hooked a herring fingerling, SO CUTE!

The breaded float at one point had a 'down' but I missed the strike, KAN! Baited up again for nothing else. Time to open the can of corns. Pop'ed with the buggi and watched the float at the same time and to be honest, it was a tough day. The 'downs' were finicky and by the time I could pick it up, the hook either didn't set or I would feel a little weight but went limp straightaway, suggesting 'pulled' hooks. The bites weren't as hot compared to the other day and I was worrying that my long drive was gonna be wasted. After a long wait, finally the float went 'down' decisively and bang! Hook is set! Only thrashing and no line peeling cos' a small carp was on the other end of the line, sianzzz...

Oh well, at least not a donut trip. Based on the photo's time, it was to about an hour plus before I got the first one, such contrast to that great day out. Then another long wait with a few 'downs' here and there. Went for a peek to the usual spot and those yobos had left, sweet! Changed back to usual spot and bait up at usual "4 metre" rule. It was about nearing till 8 when the 'down' became decisively and this time, Zzzz it goes. The best fight for this session came from a decent size carp, ooh yeah...

Did the thumbing thingy and carp's mouths are damn difficult to grip, let along thumbing! Had a hard time taking picture as the camera's battery was farked but luckily got those shots before it went Kaput! Scored another baby carp (about 30+ cm) later but no batt to take pictures. By then, it was already dark and the wind suddenly picked up. Packed up earlier than usual and began the long haul back. No bass this time...

Ronald

Good Workout For Steezy

Wednesday morning saw me out fishing the saltwater after the nepean trip we did on Sunday. As I had to work Monday and Tuesday straight it was so damn tiring and I'm really sick of this Myer thing now. Anyway, even though my feet hurts badly, I still had to go wet a line, don't care! The wind was blowing quite a strong southerly and I thought of bringing my car to my usual Malaysian mechanic at St Peters and so a decision was made to head to the Cooks River. Upon arriving Chen's jewie spot, the whole stretch was littered to unimaginable filth! There were floating debris everywhere and a thick layer of goo on the surface, yuck! I know I won't wanna risk destroying my new Unitika line and so had no choice but to pull the plug and head straight back to Iron Cove. Was too keen to fish the canal and so found the southerly spot all to myself. Rigged up the worm and was destroyed in a matter of seconds. Usually after the rains, the bastard puffers would come out in full force, KNNBCCB!!! The outgoing had already started but the bites weren't coming thick and fast. Put on the 2inch pseed gulp mullet and was duly rewarded with a 29cm bream. With that size, would have thought it'll give a half-decent fight but nah... it was downright disappointing!

With the southerly howling hardout, had no choice but to plug along that small little stretch. Scored a good just legal sized flattie and a group of young boys on their bikes stopped to had a look and we chatted. Nice obedient IC boys and I was busy recommending them to give luring a go, showed them different casting styles and lures. Hope one day I can watch them on AFC! Gave up after there was an absolute quietness.

Chen was keen to do some fishing that night and we were choosing between night boating or the Nepean. But with the unfavourable winds and the long haul to Penrith, we gave up the idea and chose a quick night flick will be in order. Off we went to the local Thai joint for a $5 feed before rucking up at another random spot in Iron Cove which I hadn't really tried seriously before. With a low-level high tide, I thought that spot could be ideal. Arrived to find ourselves standing at least 3 metres above the water level! Anyway, since there already, just try lah! Chen rigged up his usual worm while I chose to use a super duper 'used' gulp 3inch minnow which had been sitting in my recycled bag for don't know how many donkey ages. It was soft and supple from the used Gulp juice, hahaha... The 1g modded head I chose had a big problem of feeling the sea bed as we were too high up! So I suggested to Chen we'll cast diagonally and work near the shoreline. Suddenly there was a take and I thought it was a flattie as the take certainly felt like one. It wasn't until our headtorch shined a different shape till I concluded it was a big whiting. Only did a few short bursts and was rather disappointing for its size. I had to harrowingly lift it up the bloody high ledge.

Measured 39cm, my current stingy pb... kan! Then, due to my stupidity, I accidentally dropped my favourite scissors (Laser brand) into the water when I released the fish. Bloody hell! Must have been due to my eagerness to put the fish back as there was a couple walking towards me. This ang moh girl was so damn young and her partner was old enough to be his daddy! Told Chen he must have been her 'sugar papa'.. Anyway, that pretty much was a lousy night, when I further on snagged 2 rigs to make it an expensive 'pb whiting' night, tamade!!!

When we got back to HQ, I asked Chen to help me with loosening the screw of Steezy's stocked T-knob. Don't understand why Daiwa uses brute force to tighten screws! So, after some tricky moments of trying to figure out how the bearings goes to where, the cork knob was finally put in place of the T.

Pretty pretty no run water lah! So, after zhng'ing the steez, it has to be further christen right? Yeah yeah yeah... wanna go fishing give so much lan jiao excuse... Went to same place again (chiong there too many times liao) and the wind was blowing easterly this time round. Put on a Nitro 1/24 size 4 which was my 2nd last jig when it was swallowed deep by a flattie and cut me off while I tried to lift it out, DIU! Donated 1 dollar like that! Then, one fisho was opposite the canal and he suddenly yelled out "RONALD!". Waved to him and he introduced as Jeff, he saw my posts in Fishraider forum and was known there as 'Plastic Fantastic', chic nickname eh! Anyway, we was very eager to meet me and literally walked all the way across the bridge to meet up with me. Made our acquaintances and began to share tips and memorable captures. Once the tide was starting to race out, Jeff suggested a change in spot and so I told him we'll walk further down towards Le Montage. I rigged on a new 2inch pseed gulp mullet and he was telling how good this colour was. 1st cast I got a small bream and on the 2nd cast, a few twitches was need to get steez to wake up. Zzzzzz steezy gets a good workout and then the fish started swimming sideways and I knew it was a good bream. Zzzzzz a few more long runs and this bugger snagged me on some irritating tree branches near the shore! After some intense moments, the fish came out again when I lowered the rod into the water. Okay, Jeff told me I should loosen the drag since I was in 5lb and so I gladly obliged. Zzzzzz still got stamina and then it went back to the tree branches again! This time, the Nitlon was rubbing and I knew this time die liao! Quickly dunked my arm into the water to lift the bloody branch out. Good guy jeff took off his shoes and got onto the wet pavement to help me break the twig that had entangle my leader. Fwah song ah!!! Big bream on steezy finally!

(Mr Plastic Fantastic seemed like a pro photographer, this pic is my favourite!)


Measured 35cm and was duly resuscitated to let it back into its hidey hole. Thanked Jeff and by then, Chen called me to help bring Brooker to get the Tohatsu motor serviced.

Ronald

Freshwater Great Day Out

It was a day which I could be earning 1.6 times the hourly rate at Myer but I chose to call in sick on Sunday so that I could go fishing with Chen. It was starting to be a wasted call when we were scoring shit on the saltwater front in the morning. Went to try out a new spot I discovered not long ago in Iron Cove as well as hitting Le Montage for super crappy results, even one lurer was doing tough, except for an Asian (Vietcong uncle we reckon), who was exceeding his bucket limits of shrimps that he was scooping up damn hardout. Bloody hell we reckons as it definitely disturbed the food source for the fishes there. To make matters worse, I was telling Chen that he might sell or cook those for XO sauce that we seemed to like so much in Chinese stir fry. So folks, next time you indulge in XO pipis or any other stuffs cooked in XO sauce, you're having an extra dosage of dioxins eh courtesy of dodgy asian scoopers!

Went to grab a feed of Maccas for lunch before we returned to HQ. As soon as I was back, I passed out again, lol. Woke up at 3pm to ruck up with Chen for his virgin trip to the Nepean. I drove Civic for the long haul up to Penrith. We had bread and corn with us as baits. Just as we had hit the M4 motorway, the heavens opened up on us. At one stage we were worried to be stucked in traffic when accidents seemed to pop up on the wet road. Luckily it didn't hamper much as the accident was on the other direction. We thought that the fishing wouldn't be happening as the rain got heavier and longer till it became a passing thing and soon we got out of the gloomy skies to sunlit afternoon. Beautiful day we said to ourselves and soon enough, we got to the Nepean River. Straight up we went to Rocky's spot and luckily no one was there and we quickly set up camp. Chen didn't take much time to start burleying our spot with wholemeal bread and the place instantly fired up with surface frenzy. I rigged up my baiting Daiwa samurai which I've changed to the spare spool holding mono lines and hook up a bread unweighted. Straight up the bread disappears and as soon as the line went taut, strike ah! Woohoo!!! My first bass on a bread!



WTF?! Hahaha... my first bass was so tiny, tamade! Oh well, no longer a bass virgin and it was taken on a piece of bread! They were going crazy at the surface bread, it was an incredible sight. Then, it didn't take long for my second bass to come on land via courtesy of breading as well, which turns out to be a slightly bigger bass, which allowed me to stuff my thumb into its mouth, a very popular way to hold up bass for piccies!

We were still very engrossed with catching those super tiny fishes that were smashing the surface bread. It didn't take long before Chen got the hang of striking the line and he was soon rewarded with another new specie that seemed to go crazy on the surface bread. Yup, he caught a freshwater herring! I too got these buggers but it fell off the hook for a picture! We were discussing how we were gonna use them as live bait next time!

Well, it became apparent that it won't be taking that much longer for Chen to finally get his first australian bass too! He actually got the fish the moment his river2sea bubble pop 35 hits the water surface. Look how infantly small they are on Chen's rugby hands! Bloody hell, we were thinking to ourselves were we ever gonna hook up on a decent sized bass?!

Whilst Chen was still mucking around with the bread baiting, I had rigged up my luring weapon with a river2sea buggi pop and I kept wondering how to do a soft approach landing of the lure. Made a far cast instead of the bank and voila, instant hookup on the touchdown! My first lure caught bass!

Hey hey... just had to show off my steezy eh.. Well, just as my speculation about whether we could score bigger bass soon became a reality when Chen hook up big time when his poppering skills were getting better and nailed a good size bass. It was his first time popping and he really did a good job. But of course credits also goes to his gun lure the river2sea bubble pop.

He was absolutely stoked with his performance. I had to coerced him into daringly putting his thumb into the bass mouth to hold it like a pro, lol. Anyway, quick photo, quick release and back to work. I had changed my baiting blackhole to use a floater instead of unweighted corns as it was easily snagged in the nepean current. Put on a smallish luderick float and watch for any 'downs'. It has been a very, very long while since I've experienced this kind of visual float fishing style. 'Down' it really went and same theory applied to fishing for blackfish and that is wait for a few seconds before striking. But since my rod was 'parked' stationary, all we need was to wait and see that the line went taut. Voila, all plans comes in place and there I was having a fight of a lifetime in freshwater and straight up we saw a good size carp splashing and diving. Zzzzz the daiwa samurai went and I was yelling out to Chen saying "who says carp cannot run, who told me that?!" Hahaha.. Chen was even lamenting that it can be compared to king fight but only in freshwater term... Kings fight is still on our number one spot. Just as we were gonna try and land it, my stupid cheapo Berkley lip grip is hopeless, and my 5lb Nitlon Darm fluoro leader gave way. Argh... told Chen it was too "diao" to use 5lb leader eh.. oops! Anyway, it was a memorable fight, as long as it made my arms sore! Continued with the floater and it didn't take long before I landed my first freshwater catfish!



We're getting quite a few species by now and the bite rate is extremely good as the sun was starting to set. In the beginning, we were worrying about whether we could score sizeable bass but our champion popper Mr Chen pop'ed... and pop'ed... and Zzzzzzz.... oh what a first run! His Loomis was bending quite hardout and the sound of Tierra was awesome. Man, what a good size bass it was, on the R2S bubble pop 35!!!

Now that's what I'm talking about! Chen seemed to have respect for his 30cm bass as he was commenting how they could fight like a bream, lol. Then, the moment I have been waiting for, well... not quite! My corn floater was doing the bouncing dance when just as a normal down, I striked. It was a good pull but it didn't take any line at all, it just went deep that's all. After a few 'highsticking' and skull dragging piece of work, a bass surfaced. Yup, BASS EATS CORN!!!

Was also surprised how well hooked it was on just a size 8 mustad beak hook. Measured 32cm and now considered my pb bass. Bugger it though as I later found out that the legal size limit is 35cm in NSW, damn! The bass in Nepean tends to be skinny for their length unfortunately. Apparently all my action was tending towards the bait rod as I never had a chance to pick up the lure rod to cast, with the float always needing me to attend to. This time round, the float sinked and the fight was of a carp. Not as impressive as the first one but their weight and constant direction changing sure is a hoot to enjoy. Finally, landed me second carp which was even bigger than the first lost fish.



I reckon this is my pb carp as compared to my other encounters of carps in the parramatta river. But of course none compared to Jialiang's ones in the parra which he got. Although the ang mohs said that these are obnoxious pest and should be killed, we chose to release it back since there's no law in NSW for the need to do it but if in Victoria state, it's illegal to put it back. Action still continued to hot up as I landed yet again another carp which was a smaller specimen. If you ever wanted to experience a freshwater fish fight, then carp would be the one to target, just as how Rocky is hooked on them.

The light was beginning to fade away and the hoards of flying foxes were beginning to appear. One of another great phenomenon was when a humongous, (yes... bloody hugh carp estimated to be over the 10 kilo range), was jumping a few times out in front of our burley zone! I was telling Chen if we would to hook that one, that's gonna be a milestone in our fishing career! Oh well, that doesn't seem to gonna happen as me second catfish was landed on the floater... Meow!!! Their body is so slimey and disgusting to even think about holding it for a pose. By now, more and more fishos (and 'yobos') are turning up. When I caught this cattie, one guy was surprised that I could catch catfish on a float. Well, I don't know why but third time round it happened on the next 'down'. Yup, another catfish! Chen was asking me if I wanted a photo but I told him that's it, beginning to feel sick of catching them, lol. This one even engulfed the small size 8 hook which I had to cut the line. Bloody disgusting to open their mouth man! They stink!

By now, it was time to pull out our headtorch as we couldn't see shit anymore. I have been constantly urging Chen to rig up his other rod (well, he got a new toy, the Majorcraft Slicer 622L spin). Passed him a float and taught him how to rig up and explained the length needed for the float to stay upright. His bigger float was easier to see in the dark as the 'marker' was more visible than my half-submerged 'marker'. He missed the 'downs' a few times but soon enough, he hooked up and got his first carp.



Now he is a true tackle junkie, lol. Nowadays everything Japan also good. It was getting harder and harder to see my 'marker' now. I was telling Chen if we had the light sticks we would have fished longer. Anyway, the last fish came in with quite a good size carp which was my third one landed. As usual, all our bait-fishing creatures were caught on the humble Coles brand corn kernels. That kingfish combo which I always used was totally flogged the entire day. The drag is really crappy now but seemed like the thin mono line was quite a star performer as well. By now, it was too dark and even our headtorch couldn't shine the marker. Our insect repellent seemed to have worn off the 4 hour protection limit and we were getting stung by the night-time commando trained mozzies. A call was made to abort operation and we quickly pack up and head towards civic. Along the way back, we were lavishing on how great the day went on the fishing front. By the time we got to Burwood to grab dinner, we were so buggered. Got a good feed of the hokkien fried rice I recommended and drove back the remaining journey to seriously pass out.

Ronald

(diu... took me quite awhile to blog this post, hahaha.. too long-winded I supposed)