# NSW Botany Bay equestrian delight



## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

I was out this arvo practicing my paddling using my revo in anticipation of taking delivery of a stealth profisha 575 in October. I've lost 2kg since ordering her but still need to jettison a bit more ballast before I feel worthy of donning the rashie.

Conditions were terrible.










My unco paddling style is improving slowly. It was last light after a gorgeous warm sunset and an occasional swirl in the glassed off bay signalled bite time was on. I was positively clipping along at 4.5km/hr in my barge, fishtailing mightily with my completely sexy new wing-blade paddle over some sand flats which were freshly covered by the start of the flood tide when I started veering excessively to the left. This was not extraordinary per se as I really am an unco paddler but when I noticed my speed had also dropped to 1km/hr I turned to look at my left hand 8lb braid/15lb fluorocarbon outfit and noticed the lure had stopped vibrating. There was a decent bend in the rod too so I thought I'd picked up some weed again. It quickly became apparent that this was really heavy weed man and when I was winding it in to unfoul the lure my revo was actually being pulled up-current. When I felt the slightest head shake I thought there must be a tiny fish on which had buried itself in the the mother of all weed snags. This too was not extraordinary per se as it is in keeping with my usual form to find the only bloody snag on a featureless sand flat. Then what I thought was a small shark materialised in the gloom and my surprise quickly turned to absolute delight when a few more winds revealed a HORSE of a flathead going a bit over 80cm (she was longer than my folding fish ruler) with a head span of 20cm.










Luckily I remembered to back the drag right off before she started her head shakes upon spying my woefully small folding net and it all ended in smiles with her succesfully released after a quick and crappy photo session using my iPhone through its waterproof case. The other photos I took are just too blurry and I'm a bit disappointed not to have a better record of her, the tail especially was awesome with electric blue highlights and she had the shoulders of Atlas on her. In the end she was just too special to keep out of the wet stuff too long and I swear she blew me a kiss before disappearing into the depths with a wink and a waggle.

I went back to the peddles for some bridge work but without any bait on the sounder I called it a night after 4 or 5 laps and left any jewies to grow a bit bigger before my next trip down to invite them to dinner.

So fellas I'm finding this paddling fishing business a bit different to my usual peddling fishing business. On the one hand I felt like chucking the paddle overboard in the heat of trying to land a decent fish and on the other hand the serenity and rhythm of paddling is just so spiritually therapeutic isn't it?


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Great report and even better fish Wrassmagnet. You'll be skiing in the Stealth behind fish like that. I'm surprised she faught so fair. The only leviathon Flathead that I've hooked (and lost) went berkas when hooked and then some after gaining some line.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Even when its not ideal you just have to go in less than ideal conditions.

In the old days we used to estimate weight on released fish by the width of the head at 1" being about 1lb, so that 20cms wide head would make the fish better than 8-9lb minimum probably.

Great capture an nice to hear she will continue to be a mother after the C&R.


Wrassemagnet said:


> Conditions were terrible...................
> 
> snag on a featureless sand flat. Then what I thought was a small shark materialised in the gloom and my surprise quickly turned to absolute delight when a few more winds revealed a HORSE of a flathead going a bit over 80cm (she was longer than my folding fish ruler) with a head span of 20cm.


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Top fish mate and nothing beats paddling for the simple pleasure it gives.


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Indeed. I find pedalling is great for fishing, but paddling does not need fishing to make it enjoyable.
Awesome flatty too, I hope one day I'll break the 70cm mark myself.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Another great fish Jim
About time you entered something in the fishing comp !


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Thanks for the comments fellas,

Ado she started bucking alright but not until she saw the net and demonstrated her repertoire of very powerful headshakes but she had no hope of coming off. The lure had wedged in her mouth sideways with the belly single through one jaw hinge and the tail single through the other. I've pimped the lure to carry a G-stinger on the belly and a single on a swivel at the back. The stinger on the belly makes it very very "sticky" (which is great for jewies) and the swivel on the tail makes it tailor proof. This is the lure I used: 








I note the span between the hooks is about 12-13cm so this approximates the width of her mouth.

Dodge that's a very useful rule of thumb and I felt every pound when I lifted her onto my lap that's for sure.

Scott my eldest son was the one who actually opened my eyes. Four of my kids and I were all out kayak fishing last year and he was in my revo. He suddenly announced that he loved the paddling and that he'd be off trolling for an hour while the rest of us kept fishing. He came back fishless 2 hours later and super keen on paddling. I think he's more excited about the 575 than I am.

Gee I'm a Gemini and full of contradictions, one more just makes life even more interesting! And did you mention "carbon"? ;-)

Jungle too right and another reason it actually makes blending plastic and (ahem) glass sensible to me. As for the 70cm flathead mark it'll come for sure. It's a bit embarrassing to admit that I'm actually still waiting for my first legal kingfish from the yak and when that happens you'll hear my hollering in Qld.

Kerry I dunno I find it uncomfortable entering competitions, rather just love the moment and the sharing although all respect to those who do compete and I take nothing away from the awesome fishing I see entered in the comp every month.

Bertros that memory will be with me until Alzheimers does us part.


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Great fishing, and a hilarious read (as usual), Jim.

I know the only reason you don't enter anything in the comp - you're crap at taking pics :lol:


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## Squidley (May 8, 2010)

That's an amazing flattie, thanks for releasing it. Your lure is interesting, how does the rear hook setup help you with tailor?


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Squidley I found that if I used a g-stinger at the back as well as the belly the tailor that I try and troll up for jewie lollies would destroy the stinger braid ( or is it Kevlar?) so I now use the metal swivel and 2 split rings on the back. Because the two hooks are so mobile now I find that once pinned fish stay pinned much much better than with traditional singles. The lure swims differently too with more action in the tail. On the negative side I find if I troll too fast ie above 6kph it can start to skip along the surface.

Tom I was just so frustrated with the flash-through-plastic fail mate! I tried a photo with the flash off but it was hopelessly dark as the only alternative light was from my headlamp and the iphone shadow simply eclipsed the fish. Clock was ticking for the old girl so I chose not to waste time pulling the phone from its bloody case in the end.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

MrX said:


> Great fishing, and a hilarious read (as usual), Jim.
> 
> I know the only reason you don't enter anything in the comp - you're crap at taking pics :lol:


Tom, you're probably the last person who should be berating Jim for his photography skills. A certain 78cm fish in a town on the mid north coast, in a recent snapper comp which was disqualified because of the photo comes to mind!


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Haha - you're right Bunsen. And Jim's fish was longer, covered in spikes, and in the dark :lol:


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Sorry Jim, forgot to actually say "cracking flattie" in my last message! Now it's starting to look like spring around the corner, let's hope there are a few of these beasts around and on the chew.


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