# NSW 20/07 - South Coast - Three of a Perfect Pair



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

My last two sessions have been doughnuts. In cricket terminology I'd had a pair. First there was a day where I dropped a dozen fish in my local No 4, the last of which felt like a metre of Flathead (that was a double screamer). The second was a venture with Red and his dad to Tuross, where I dropped one Flathead but otherwise didn't get a touch in five hours. Such is life on the south coast in winter.

There was a frost this morning &#8230; by the sea. Now THAT's cold. Any thought that there may be fish on the chew was a sign of desperate optimism. So it was that I sought to prove my desperation. After fuelling the engine with leftover tortellini, I loaded the Adventure and headed to Local No 4 at slovenly hour (being two hours after gentlemen's hour). I figured that the bright sunshine may take the chill out of the lake and the lockjaw out of the fish.










My sounder told me it was 11oC at 11am. That was with my hull in bright sunshine. Who was I kidding? The wind was blowing about 5 knots from the NW. The northern shoreline would be the go.

I was astonished to see two other kayakers flicking mist as they cast a km away &#8230; in MY local. How dare they. No toll, no submissions in triplicate, not even so much as an 'if it pleases you sire'. I headed straight for them to check if their passports were stamped. The wind changes to SW half way there, the optimum worst wind for the lake. I trolled an sx48 at high speed as I travelled the km or so across to my honey pot, that was already stuffed with twenty sticky fingers.

They turned out to be two locals from Kianga (no visa required). They told me that they fish the lake often. Dave was one, but I missed the name of his mate. Dave peruses AKFF but has never joined. They had had some success tossing cheap blades around the dropoff. Dave had a nice 40cm bream and a few smaller models. He was getting hits at regular intervals. His mate had done somewhat better, closer to the northern bank. After exchanging local information, particularly about snapper reef locations (as if that would be of any use to me) I pedalled off to give he and his quarry some peace.










I settled into drifting and flicking my G5IJSCLICPN at various points of the dropoff. Other than a few tiny touches, I had no action for the first hour. I headed to the shallows of the northern shore, brightly lit by the dazzling winter sun. It was the first time I've seen the bottom in this section. It was peppered with nipper holes and flathead lies, but there wasn't a fish to be seen nor felt. Another hour passed, Dave and his mate departed for a lap of the western shore, but not before a sea eagle showed us the ropes by plucking a fish from the waters no more than 30m from us.










I was left by myself, pondering how little a cloudless sky and a winter sun can warm a South Coast lake. The shallows had by now increased to 12 oC.

It had glassed out. I could see the occasional boil back near the dropoff. The water is devoid of mullet, so bream were the likely culprits. Maybe my snapper plastics were finally scaring them rather than luring them as they should. Maybe it was time to turn to Squidgy wrigglers instead. Nah! After all, I was targeting flathead. If I had thought more carefully then I would have switched to bream lures to give myself a greater chance of a flathead bycatch.

By 1pm, all alone on the glassy surface, a hundred casts down and yet to have a decent touch, I had to accept the inevitable. After a lifetime of having but two doughnuts, I was about to score my third in a row. It serves me right for masquerading briefly as a kayak fisherman in the heady month of May. I munched on some cheese and biscuits while contemplating an early retreat.

But I continued to follow the subtle boils. The dropoff just wasn't working for me. I headed past it into the shallows to the east, fishing 1.5m to a clearly visible bottom. I began to get the tiniest taps, barely perceptible through 20m of taught braid. A set of taps led to barely noticeable weight. I struck.

Whooooshka!

Tight line peeled from the Ci4. The ferocity of the initial run told me flathead. I backed off the drag a couple of clicks to counter the flathead psychosis than ran rife through this lake. A powerful battle led to a boil about 20m away. The colour was difficult to identify, masked by the tannins. The fight was solid and consistent, too consistent for a flathead. Sure enough the second rise confirmed a bream, a typically large specimen. What followed was perhaps the stiffest fight I've yet had from the kayak. It spied the ivory dune hull and went berserk. It headed straight under me, bowing the rod tip into the water and tapping the underwater hull. I was quick enough to raise the Mirage fins, but the rudder remained an obstacle worth fearing. I somehow managed to keep it clear until the Bream changed direction. It surface again and my heart missed a beat.

It was huge.

The bream in this lake have never ceased to amaze me. This one went past amazement to astonishment. It was broad, round and oh so fat. Now spent it was lazily snaking just below the surface, but my 2kg outfit just seemed incapably of lifting it to the net. Surely I wouldn't lose it now. I needed a measure. Finally, I thrutched it into the net.

It was virtually impossible to lift and balance it one handed for the photo. Instead, I laid it across my lap like the snapper it deserved to be. It lay their motionless as if to soak up the thawing rays. I was sure it was the mythical half a metre of bream.










It took me four measures to prove it wasn't. In fact it was no bigger than my previous PB of 47cm. Length really is no substitute for weight. This was a much bigger fish than my PB, just not in the one statistic I could confirm. I managed to hold it one handed without popping a bicep, then released it with gratitude.


















I returned to the shallows from which I'd drifted. A few more subtle taps raised the blood pressure. A couple of flicks and it got smashed on the drop. A more typical fight and another bream was subdued. At a mere 40cm it was a comparative tiddler, less than average for these waters as astonishing as that is.










I spent another 30 minutes or so flicking in the shallows. I dropped another two, and disturbed a bull shark mimicking bream foraging near the surface. A was satisfied. It was time to depart.

I took the chance to gain a bit of fitness. The wind had since swung through NE to SE. I decided to paddle rather than pedal my return diagonally into the wind. My lungs filled with crisp, satisfying sea air. Eagles soared and my mind soared with them. I dared to dream and my dreams dared with me. Like brooding winter bream, doughnuts only come in pairs.


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## badmotorfinger (Mar 15, 2010)

Awesome fish. Dont need finesse baits when there's fish like that around. Looks like you were using Kermit.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

eric said:


> So just the two then?


No, three. Two kg and one kg.


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## bushwoodboy (Oct 5, 2006)

Monster bream Ado well done.

Cheers Mal.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWbmFKZ8AABdfgAAQYCUACDAiEAA/79+gIACCGqeITTamieQh5R5J6hEn6kYQYRoMmEZEMNDbFIUH0xUnOPHXq9OPivFQUe+dIk3YLHlCExVzse6X8zHaixTUyGbcagS02SaBl28BrxDrVlyyBhFh2GPKHg8kB/ny3nmBWNbMcSyMjimL6pvmuiSJGAIApJMQfr4rjfHJIQLi7kinChIXMKUz4A==


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

bushwoodboy said:


> Monster bream Ado well done.
> 
> Cheers Mal.


Inadequate description. Friggin HUGE.

I have never in 60 years seen bream like this. Your bream successes here again drove me to Grant's Guide .... "up to 4 kg." Well the day you hook one of these will be the day you get pulled off the yak.

I remember beach fishing for tailor (4 X 4/0 gang), when we very occasionally hooked large bream (1.4 kg was considered massive). When this happened, the fight was so ferocious, the angler thought he had hooked a massive tailor....instead in comes a bream! Still don't know how they managed to get hooked on 4/0's, and I simply cannot imagine the fight from a 2 kg one.

Thrilling account Adrian.

trev


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## Guest (Jul 20, 2012)

Ado that's another stonker of a bream. Well done.


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## Brez (Mar 2, 2012)

You sure have been on fire with those horse bream Ado . The first is a real fat beast , and the 2nd well I would be happy with that any day ;-)


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## Levi (Nov 24, 2008)

That is MASSIVE!!! Well done.

Amazed at the lure you are using too, but then again, i guess snapper plastics for snapper sized bream?


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

That is a horse Breambo :shock: 
Congratulations mate.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Levi said:


> Amazed at the lure you are using too, but then again, i guess snapper plastics for snapper sized bream?


I am too. I first used it to rustle up some flathead, for which it should be most appropriate. Then I started catching these huge bream, so I can't bring myself to change. I think it's the action more than the size. A very slow roll is enough to impart full action. I should try the 3 inch Crazy Legs, but they are hard to find.


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Wow, what can i say that hasn't already been said. A magnificent looking fish. Well done mate.


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Wow, awesome fish and I had to look twice to make sure I wasn't seeing morwong. How good's that!


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Brisk day on briny. Brace of brawny, bruiser bream on braid. Bravo, bro!

[Brace (noun), meaning: two]


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

sunshiner said:


> Brisk day on briny. Brace of brawny, bruiser bream on braid. Bravo, bro!
> 
> [Brace (noun), meaning: two]


Thanks Kev for that English lesson and the alliteration. Brilliant boy. 

Probably appreciated by Ado, the man with the pen (or is that Penn).

trev


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## Julian (Oct 23, 2009)

Very entertaining report Ado
thats what kayak fishing is all about !!

Cheers Julian 8)


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## southcoastmatty (Jan 21, 2009)

Its not easy being green! Winter bream sort of make up for the sleepy apathetic duskies.
Very nice Mr Ado.
scm


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

southcoastmatty said:


> Its not easy being green! Winter bream sort of make up for the sleepy apathetic duskies.
> Very nice Mr Ado.
> scm


So when are you heading down?


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

indiedog said:


> Well stalked and written Ado. What would be the age of a 47cm bream? 20 years?


According to Red, 87 (see above). Now 87 and 1 day.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Its getting bigger. Should be 55 cm in a year or two.

Now let's see, flights from Canberra to Dalmeny.....
Hmmmm, don't seem to be any.

trev


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

BigGee said:


> kayakone said:
> 
> 
> > Now let's see, flights from Canberra to Dalmeny.....
> ...


The likeness is extraordinary.
Who's the bloke sitting below me?


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## 4weightfanatic (May 19, 2011)

Solid bream there Ado and a great title to go with it ! I must chase up that album I haven't heard it in many a year. Well done Pat.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

At least someone got the reference 4WF. I don't actually care too much for that album. I much prefer the old KC to the newer syncopated version. Great title though.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Great report as always Ado, and a beast of a bream. The fact I decoded


> G5IJSCLICPN


 almost immediately however, gives me reason to suspect I may be spending a little too much time here....


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Monster poo eater Ado, that is a real trophy, even more so as you caught it on the south coast. That is the caliber of fish you expect to see in Gippsland or Tassie. Great to see the crazy legs in action again. Congrats mate


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## pescado (May 17, 2007)

I went and bought some of those crazy legs the other week, thought of you ado 

Another first class bream mate, congratulations. You really have them dialled in at that spot. I wonder if they are feeding on small squid?


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Ado that big bream will be one to recall in the memory bank for years to come, and certainly is a special capture.


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