A Brief Break In The Weather

Saturday, what an absolute cracker of a day, I'd been watching the forecast at work all week, hoping for a nice day on the water to test out some new toys. I pulled up at the ramp at 6:30 am to find Lake Macquarie blanketed in a thick fog. "You rippa- no howling westerly", I fired up the E-TEC and blasted straight outside to see if we could find any action in the washes off shore. With the water temp hovering just over 14 degrees I knew things would be a little slow, but it sure was nice to be on a flat ocean on such a great morning, a fish or two would be a welcome bonus. The game plan was to do a bit of wash fishing for some salmon and tailor with the new Berkley Diablo 7'2" 2 to 4 kilo spin stick matched with the Abu Soron STX 40 spin reel.

 The new Diablo's split grip design looks fantastic and feels great in your hand thanks to the neat high density EVA grips, matched with STX 40 the rods balance was very nice. The rods action is nicely parabolic, but locks up well through the bottom of the mid section to give you plenty of pulling and lifting power when you need it. But It was the top section of the rod that impressed me the most. I cast a variety of weights on the day ranging from 1/6 up to 3/8 of an ounce with 4 inch Gulp minnows without the Diablo's tip section feeling under or over loaded, either casting or retrieving. This obviously gives it a wide operating window making it a very versatile rod to have in your quiver. 

The new Abu Soron's come with two spools in the box, one for mono and another designed specifically for modern super-lines. This spool features a larger arbor that has two recessed grooves that are fitted with rubber o'rings that help to lock your line onto the spool once it slides into one of the grooves. I used the super-line spool and the system seemed to work very well. On the water the Soron feels very "smooth "indeed, the soft touch handle screws directly into the main gear, this connection is very solid with next to no movent , which is one of my pet hates in any reel. 

 The Diabo's split grip set up (above), the reel winch and grip relationship feels ergonomic and comfortable, it also tightens down on the reel well, there's nothing worse than reel winches that you have to constantly tighten up all day while your fishing.

There's also a rod specifically designed for kayak fishermen in the Diablo line up (DD601SWM) This is a form of fishing that's growing in popularity rapidly across Australia and New Zealand, I came across this bloke and his mate on Saturday casting soft plastics into the washes around a couple of bombies close to shore, they looked like they were enjoying themselves. 

 

The fishing was tough, but we ended up with a few fish, hopefully the water will start to warm up soon with summer just around the corner and things will start to fire.

Stay safe

Captain

 

Super Series Clean Sweep - Chris Britton

I don’t have the words to describe the sound of a pressure valve being released, but that was what happened Saturday afternoon after I had made the shoot-out for the recently completed Gold Coast Super Series, after realising that anyone in the 10 had an automatic qualification into the Grand Final, given 5 of the top 10 had already qualified. This was my goal for the week-end and now with that out of the way, I started to concentrate on taking out the main prize on Sunday without the added doubt of qualification hanging around.

The week-end topped of a topsy turvy month or so after the Tweed after good mates Anthony Wishey and Robert Kwiatkowski had qualified at the Tweed and I had given up a 4^th placing on Sunday to slip out of the top ten on Sunday after a Greg Norman style back 9 choke. I was stoked for my 2 good mates, but obviously disappointed that I was still yet to make it, with only 1 round left at the Gold Coast.

The weeks leading up to the pre-fish ban saw a fair amount of time spent on the water with Wish and I looking around at new ground and looking for a number of plans, and we slipped in a full week-ends fishing as part of some promotional work for local radio station 4BC who were hosting a family fishing event. These sessions were very good and we were able to work out a number of options for the upcoming comp. I was confident that I could get 5 every day, and I was even confident the bags should be of reasonable quality, as I estimated I needed 2.6Kg each day based on historical results to make the 10 and be competitive.

Day 1

The forecast for the day was marginal with a strong northerly predicted, but I decided that nothing was ever achieved without risk, and made the call to fish towards the northern end of the arena, focussing on edges with hard bottoms. The trip up was best described as ordinary, and conditions worsened during the day with a full 25 knots by mid morning.

It didn’t impact the fishing though and whilst it took a little while to fill the limit, as the wind came in, the bite picked up and I would have boated 15 - 20 odd legals for the day with a steady stream of upgrades.

Tackle used for the weekend was:

Reels: Abu Cardinal 802s

Rods: Pro tactics in the 1-5kg model and the lighter cousin 2-4kg.

Line: Main line was Stren microfuse in the3lb class, and trace was 4lb Trilene flourocarbon

Jigs: I used the Nitro finesse range of course in the 1/30 to 1/16 class – size 1s

Plastics: 3 inch minnows, mainly in the more natural colours.

With a bag of fish between 29 – 31cm to the fork on board, I headed back pleased and hopeful of around 3kg. It was obvious the winter festivities had taken it out of the fish, and they were quite light for size, with the bag going 2.73Kg, but had me in the lead.

Day 2

Much deliberation went into day 2 especially with a 30knot strong wind warning out for the day. A study of the “seabreeze” sit e on how it would play out and a very nervous discussion with Wish and Rob had a very wary CB, sitting on the start line looking to do it all over again on day 2.

The drive up once again was ordinary, but thankfully “seabreeze” was right and the wind died down a bit by mid morning, to the point that it almost glassed out for the trip home.

As expected, the bite deteriorated on the 2^nd day and it took a lot longer to fill the limit, and as the wind slowed, the fish shut down.

I left a little early and tried a couple of spots on the way home, which proved fruitful with a couple of upgrades, one of which was 36cm to the fork and anchoring the bag at just under 1 kilo.

The weighmaster revealed 2.97Kg, and I hung onto a slender lead from fast finishing Simon Vaughan, who weighed in the only bag over 3kg on the 2^nd day.

Day 3

With the elation of qualification over, I was becoming worried about the plan for day 3. The weather was fine – probably too good, but it was clear that the tide and fishing pressure of previous days were going to be against me.

I did however have Berkley team-mate Mango in the boat to keep me focussed – thanks Mango, you were great company for the day.

In the end it was a bit of a “run and gun” affair, with much moving around, and the thinking was to scratch out a fish here and there to hopefully put a bag together.

My fears were well founded, as we were well into the session before the livewell needed water, and by mid morning, I only had 3.

I made the call to keep moving, working my way back to the finish line, and was lucky enough to snap up the remaining 2 I needed to complete the limit with about 30 minutes of fishing time left.

Mango shook my hand, and although I knew it was my smallest limit on the comp, I hoped the rest of the field, including Simon had found it as tough as I had on the last day.

As it turns out, the day was a lot tougher for most of the competitors and the bag secured a comfortable win – although I didn’t know that at the time!!!

Apart from the win and the qualification it was great to see Rob and Wish in the top 10, with Rob picking up 2^nd and the coveted AOY for QLD. To top the week-end off, our young protégé, Jason Seaton won the non boater section with a great performance, which backed up his GF qualification at the Tweed round – well done boys.

I would like to thank Rob and Wish for their support and guidance before and during the event – they certainly kept me on the straight and narrow and focussed on what needed to be done – thanks boys.

Britto.

PS,

Chris Britton is one of the Berkley Pro team members and his first place finish in the final Super Series for 2008 made history in the annals of the Australian Bream Tournaments.

Chris's first place garnered the Berkley Pro Team all four Super Series wins, a feat unachieved by any Pro Team in the tournaments history. All at Purefishing/Berkley recognize the achievements of all four anglers who helped take this coveted win for the year.

Thanks to Pro Teamers Mark Mangold, Gippsland round winner, Russell Babakuhl, Taree round winner, Andrew Homan, Clarence River round winner and Chris Britton, Gold Coast round winner. $40k betwen them will ensure the staff at Berkley get a nice xmas present!

Thanks boys, Dinger.

2008 Australian Fishing Tackle Show

The Australian Fishing Trade Association's 2008 Tackle Show was held recently at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Pure Fishing once again used the show to release a swag of hot new toys to the tackle industry. Here's a couple of bits and pieces that caught my eye and are now snugly stashed in the "Captains" tackle bag ready to cop a solid spring workout.

  The  ABU REVO "TORO" is the largest line capacity low profile in the industry. The TORO features, 7 HPCR Bearings (with instant anti- reverse) for corrosion resistance, X- Craftic alloy frame and side plate, Dura gear- brass gears and a powerful carbon matrix drag system. The mackerel don't stand a chance this summer with the TORO 60's 7kg 225 m line capacity.

 The new ABU GARCIA "SORON" spinning reel is available in 5 different sizes to cover all your fresh water, estuary and off shore fishing needs. The SORON line up feature corrosion resistant X-Craftic alloy body's and body covers, 11 HPCR bearings (with instant anti reverse), sealed carbon matrix drags and dual bearing supported spools. 

Team Berkley, AFC  bream tournament gun Scott Towner with one of the new BERKLEY DIABLO IM6 DROPSHOT rod range. These new rods look really nice, the new DROPSHOT series has 7 rods in the line up, all featuring IM6 graphite blanks, Fuji sic guides, deluxe split reel seats and high density EVA grips, "COOL". I'm looking forward to putting the wood on a few big snapper with the 7'0" 5-8 kilo spin model.  

 The entire Pure Fishing team was on deck to show off the new wares

                                      

              "Nige" with his best bream impersonation

This is only a hand full of some of the new stuff, there's still lots more to look at in the way of rods, reels, superlines and lures. So stay tuned as the weather warms up and the Pure Fishing Pro Team bring you all the latest gadgets, tackle, techniques and fishing yarns.

Stay safe

Captain 

The Tweed Experience

My catch cry following the Tweed has to be FINALLY!
After many close calls over 5 years of trying I finally cracked a maiden win on the ABT Bream Circuit. The win was a welcome relief as it seems the more often you get close to a victory without securing the title – the more the sport becomes a mind game.

This year has been good to me. I have managed to find top ten spots in all the comps fished this year and have no issues with riding the form wave while it is available. Tournament fishing like any sport has it’s share of form highs and lows. One of my lessons this year has been to forget about tournament performance when on the water. I have made a habit of trying to forget about other anglers and get back to fishing for the pleasure of catching fish. The change in approach has meant that I invariably start to listen to the voice of instinct. This voice is the one that pops up when you pass a bank – and whispers ‘Nige, that bank looks good – maybe you should fish it?” or “How about trying something completely different like this lure in this colour?”. This voice forms the instinct that typifies your fishing during social hours and can easily be overlooked during the pressures of a fishing tournament. As it is with form – when things are working for you it is often because your instincts are tuned in – so in a away this is a two way street, but listening to the voice has certainly paid dividends for me this year. The opposite of my run of late has to be that of team mate Steve ‘The Wizard” Wilson. Steve is a great angler who is suffering the ill fate of a form slump at present. After the Tweed round he spoke to me and mentioned he doesn’t know what is going on – only that he knows by sticking at it, things will slowly come good again. I sympathise with him and am picking that it won’t be long before you see him back in the placings!
The results of my approach at the Tweed can be found on http://www.bream.com.au/ – so I am not going to rehash too much of that detail here.
Leading up to the Tweed event I had heard the fishing was tough. The pre fish day undertaken in sobering cold, wet and windy conditions confirmed reports. That voice in my head popped up early in the day following several short bites and told me that it might be worth tying on some stinger hooks for competition hours. The prefish day showed fish to be scattered and hard to tempt. The one plastic the fish seemed to be happy to have a go at was the impressive banana prawn coloured gulp shrimp. The press this lure has received lately is well deserved! I found fish in several places on the prefish day but only in one location was I confident that I could get a few legals if allowed to fish the spot on my own. I left the water at lunchtime Friday and headed home to tie up stinger rigs and think about a sound game plan.

I read a book recently that states when fishing – “Care and Attention breed Success”. The night before tournament days I place a lot of stock in preparing gear to precision. Things have to be well organised and each detail needs to be thought through. Every knot is retied and made to count. The boat is organised so I have plenty of easy access to all the hooks and lures I might need. With tough bites being the norm in tournaments these days finesse approaches are required – I have not looked back since opting for lighter line classes and super sharp hooks like those found in the Nitro Finesse range of jigheads.

The Polycraft was ready to go come tournament day 1 and I had a plan to hit my preferred bank straight up. Following the start I arrived to find only Steve Morgan fishing the bank and proceeded to pull three fish from the bank prior to the bite slowing at 7:30am. All fish were taken on the stinger hooks rigged in the tails of 2 inch Gulp shrimp in banana prawn colour. It was very tough to find fish through much of the rest of the day. Retrieving small hard bodied lures around weedbeds near the top of the Terranora Arm produced a few fish that allowed me to fill my bag prior to weigh in. At 1.97 kg’s the bag was far from big but enough to keep me in the top ten. The Tweed has always been a Voodoo arena for me on day 2 and I went into it with no high expectations. I decided to go straight back to my favoured bank and aim to get one maybe two fish from it prior to the bite stopping. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found the bank with no boats on it having arrived. I fished the key parts of the bank very hard and was able to pull one, two and then three fish off the first two drifts. I couldn’t believe my fortune and the fact that no other boats had arrived! At the top of the third drift, another boat pulled up and I made the most of my last drift by landing two legals and filling the limit prior to 7:30am. Another drift produced no fish and I realised the bite was over. Fishing the bite time hard had definitely provided benefits in that many other anglers found it hard to land legals following that early bite. Once again the stinger hooks paid dividends and provided 4 of the 5 fish landed.

I went into the weigh in having only upgraded one fish following the intial flurry of legals. A nerve racking weigh in proceeded and I managed to secure the maiden win by 50 grams with a small 1.94kg bag.
I always drive home from a tournament thinking about what I’ve learnt about my fishing in general. Lessons from the Tweed include trusting my instincts and spending a lot of time painstakingly preparing gear prior to fishing sessions and tying on rigs such as stinger arrangements on to jigheads. The retrieve used included a very slow lift and drop of my soft plastics along bank side drop offs. Any indication of a bite was met with a lift of the rod and in many cases a shy bite resulted in a fish having mouthed the tail of the plastic and ultimately the stinger arrangement. I also thoroughly enjoyed the company of my non boaters Bill and Wayne which made for light hearted and successful fishing.

The next few weeks include a hectic schedule of AFTA Trade show, Gold Coast ABT and Brisbane Boat Show - so should be a fun month. I am looking forward to all the new toys on display at the Trade Show! John Bell assures me the Berkley Stable have some great new product arriving so keep an eye out on tackle store shelves. Until next time..

Happy Fishing,
Nige