Topwater Brute!
Submitted by ca11um on Wed, 2013-02-06 09:44
The alarm hit 5am, that deafening sound piercing my ear drum. I was quick to disengage it, i slumped back down into bed. The cold air and lack of sleep was urging me to stay there, im very glad i didn't though! I rested another 15 minutes or so and then mustered up the determination to get on the water. I scoffed a hot Milo down and started packing the Yak. I quietly slipped it into the water as the gentle breeze made little ripples over the surface. The sun was still dormant and was yet to come up, it was perfect conditions for surface. Start of the rising tide, dawn and jelly prawns all along the walls. I started feeling a bit happier about setting that alarm early!!
I had my first little rat in a number of casts which boofed my topwater down, even though it was about half the size of the lure. Still, a good sign. Not much was happening despite the promising start. I changed lures and still not much action apart from the odd boil here and there. The sun was up and shining brilliantly over the water, the wind slowly picking up. The Bream were probably heading deeper by now but i stuck with the surface alternative and kept plugging away. I came up to this massive boat, there was a mass amount of growth on the bottom of it, surely there had to be bream taking advantage of the low light conditions and feeding on the barnacles and mussels? Cast after cast was made and not even a boil. I was losing confidence, contemplating a change to a crank. A few more casts i thought, as i flicked the lure onto a bank next to a crusty old jetty. Twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch, big boil. I pause the lure, letting it sit there for about 10 seconds, i give it a twitch and then another and then as soon as i stop twitching BANG, water swirls as the fish takes my lure down, drag peels off the reel as he heads towards the old jetty, i manage to turn his head short of his sanctuary and start getting some line back on the reel. By the weight and the first run i could tell it was a good fish. It surfaces next to the yak, only for a second, but its enough to send me into panic mode. I remember the last time i tried to rush a big surface bream into the net, the hooks pulled and i was absolutely devastated! I take my time with this fish as he circles my Kayak, careful not to put to much pressure on the fish. He comes up and i seize my chance for a quick net job, half his body makes it in but i quickly pull the rest back in. I couldn't believe it, this stonking Bream just walloped my surface lure about 2-3m from me and i manage to pull it away from its home and into the net! I was over joyed, this was only my third fish on Surface. I took about a thousand pictures and then a thousand more. The middle treble was demolished, it crunched it and I was pretty lucky to land it in the end!! Even with the thicker Owner treble, it still crunched it flat, such powerful jaws :D
I put him in my net and swam him for a few minutes, he kicked around after a while and was building his strength back up. I pulled the big boy out of their and swam him off, back to terrorise the prawn population. It pulled the tape back to 38cm ttt or 34.5ttf. I will edit up the footage later, filmed the whole thing!
Sunrise + Jelly Prawns + Warm water + the stealthy Yak = big bream on surface, and that = Happy camper!!
Really thick in the head and shoulders, such a powerful fish :cool:
Awesome bronze coloration in the scales.
At this point i could have gone home and been over the moon, but thought i would keep fishing. I changed lures to a Pontoon 21 Crackjack 38 SP DR in colour R60. Flicking it close to the wall and mixing the retrieve up with rips, twitches, pauses and slow rolls. It was driving the fish nuts!! This little dude nailed it right beside a pylon after a big twitch.
I pulled about 5 Bream in quick succession with this fish being the biggest, about 30-32. I was twitching the lure back and letting it suspend in the fish's face when he nailed it mid-retrieve.
Release
First session using the lure, got a heap of fish! The Bream were really smacking it today, not playing around with it but really hitting it hard as you can tell by the bite marks ;)
What a session, fishing my two favourite ways for Bream, it doesnt get any better than that!! Landing that cracker though was something else, such an awesome feeling letting him go to live another day :)
Cheers for reading,
Callum
Jayden20
Posts: 672
Date Joined: 29/08/11
nice one mate...I'm sure
nice one mate...I'm sure that 38 would off gone reall hard my best topwater is about 150 mm hahaha
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
yeah it did mate, couldnt
yeah it did mate, couldnt believe i landed it!!
Sammy the Salmon
Posts: 229
Date Joined: 24/12/11
Well done Callum, I look
Well done Callum, I look forward to seeing the footage of the thumper!
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
hot session!
dont mind the crackjacks.They swim well and cast for miles
"Its a life style job"
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Thanks Sammy :P southcity -
Thanks Sammy :P
southcity - They are awesome lures, the shallows have this amazing action ;) I killed it up north on Dart, Spangos, Whiting and some other stuff on the shallow 38's but im sure the 48mm would go just as good :) Very versatile lures, you can twitch them, roll them, burn them, suspend nicely, fast roll and whatever else you want to do!!
Paul T
Posts: 65
Date Joined: 22/01/13
well done Callum, another
well done Callum, another great report and pictures.
looks like I might have to invest in a kayak, I will watch out for you if you are around near my house in yours and I will have a look at your set up and you can give me some pointers at what to look for.
(Paul from waterside drive)
Cheers
paul
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Yeah mate get one, so many
Yeah mate get one, so many more options become open!! Plus you can easily get lures off snags. I use a Mailbu Mini-X which is awesome for the price, but if you want the best then go a hobie pro angler, or a bit cheaper the hobie revolution/outback
Sammy the Salmon
Posts: 229
Date Joined: 24/12/11
Hobie Sport here, even
Hobie Sport here, even smaller than the revo/outback. Smaller, lighter, easier to manouvere. Perfect for breaming on!
One of the best purchases I even made :)
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Or the sport! does it come
Or the sport! does it come with mirage drive or just paddle power?
Sammy the Salmon
Posts: 229
Date Joined: 24/12/11
Comes with both, awesome
Comes with both, awesome little yak which has been known to take me offshore from time to time as well (before the sharks came along).
Way cheaper than the other 2 from memory. (Also helps that i knew a bloke that worked out Getaway, and I was buying 2 at once)
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
ah alright, i thought they
ah alright, i thought they were just paddle power!
br3nno
Posts: 352
Date Joined: 25/12/12
where is this?
where is this?
BC
EL SYD
Posts: 599
Date Joined: 16/08/10
good stuff, enjoyed the pics
good stuff, enjoyed the pics
chrisp
Posts: 1217
Date Joined: 24/05/08
Good write up an pics there
Good write up an pics there mate.Got me keen for some surface breaming for sure!
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
sometimes you only need one
sometimes you only need one fish to make a it a worthwhile session particularly when you finaly have successs with a particular style of fishing you have been trying
nice fish
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Cheers dudes! chrisp - give
Cheers dudes!
chrisp - give it a go mate, once you crack a pattern theres no stopping!!
bitten - too right mate, its usually those fish that are the best ones ;)
paul83
Posts: 97
Date Joined: 13/12/12
Good catch
Always look forward to reading your reports..Well done mate.
Pick it up, put it down....
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Thanks mate :) If you
Thanks mate :) If you enjoyed that, then watch the vid of it ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3FGlyVw8Rc
Cardinal
Posts: 364
Date Joined: 28/05/12
Solid bream sash there!
Keep em coming Bruv. Nice snaps too as always
Sponsored by Atomic HardZ Lures
ca11um
Posts: 335
Date Joined: 25/12/11
Appreciate it Cardinal,
Appreciate it Cardinal, cheers mate!