Docklands

[eddyt]

Just a quick report for today. Fish are still around but none of size. Same lure, same place. Ended up with 3 landed and 1 dropped for the night. Nothing photo worthy though, the big ones are hiding.

[CanuckDownUnder]

Lots of great reports out of the Docks for nighttime Breaming. Sloth that was a RIPPER session great work mate. Eddyt also great sessions!

Eddyt - I've never used blades before but I see a lot of reports on here with success on Bream with blades, like yours! Can you give any tips on retrieve? I believe the best tactic is let it drop to bottom, couple quick jerks to get it up to about 50cm(?) then let it drop again...is that your technique?

Sloth - if you're using blades, very interested for any tips you may have as well.

[eddyt]

basically cast out parallel to the pier and let it sink to the bottom. If it stops sinking, strike.

When it hits the bottom, give it a long lift of the rod. Vary the length of the lift until you get fish. Repeat.

Other method is to just drop it straight down a pylon. When it hits the bottom, give it a lift, let it drop back down. lift. Repeat about 5 times then move to another pylon. I'm lazy so I just sit in one spot and cast, but when I get a fish I'll move.

[sloth]

Pretty much what eddy said. Just bear in mind at the docks the fish are usually there. The trick is not too spook them. Less is more with bream. Don't be too aggressive and don't be afraid to let it sit on the bottom. Pretty much fish it as you'd fish a plastic. I've had plenty take it off the bottom whilst it's just been sat there. Tonight I managed a first and managed to get a bream on blade by hooking it square in the ass. Poor bugger :/ wrong place, wrong time.

It's like a lot of lures they feel impossible to begin with but once it clicks it's fairly straightforward. Not much to blades other than hops and pauses. Just vary it until you find what works and if chasing bream generally no big rips - although that works a treat at times for flatties.

[CanuckDownUnder]

Great tips, thanks guys! Truthfully I've haven't had much success with many types of lures, I guess I've just never got them to 'click' as Sloth mentioned. I have done well with various soft plastics, when I'm using prawn/shrimp shapes I like to do a few quick hops across the bottom, that's what I was thinking to do with blades. I like the comment about not spooking them, I definitely would have spooked em with the technique I was planning on. Thanks again, guys.

[eddyt]

Here come the reds! Guessing it was around 25cm. I'm still after that big one that got away, but for now, these will do. Caught on a metal vibe just on sunset before this massive rain cloud hit.

[Fishn104]

Great job mate!!

[sloth]

Nice

[sloth]

Been a tough 6 – 4 weeks for me. Really hard to get onto any fish despite regular weekly sessions. I’ve tried at the top of the 'Nong and Yarra systems, in the middle and down near the mouth but just nothing. Had a couple of bumps on slow rolled HoP grubs which didn’t hook up and I managed to foul hook a baby bream the size of the palm of my hand in its pectoral fin. Worst thing was lifting it up, it manage to de-hook itself and fell into the gaps of a rock bank. By the time I scrambled down there and peered in the local rats had gotten to it Hate those things – especially the ones the size of scottie dogs that sneak up behind you in the dark.

Anyways I missed my regular Tuesday night fish this week so thought I’d have a look at the docks again this morning. Melbournes been having cold and warm spells and bouts of heavy rain and its made fishing the last month pretty hard (for me) … the water has either been pumping, dirty or both. This morning there was maybe 4 foot visibility so I decided I was just going to stick on the polaroids and have a walk around. I intended to not cast unless I was sight casting. The docks has so much structure the bream can be anywhere, everywhere and nowhere. After fruitless sessions of blind prospecting I decided if I couldn’t see them I wouldn’t try.

As luck would have it – after about 100m I found a little school of half a dozen just nosing around up under the edge of a pontoon. This pontoon is not accessible so I had to cast from height… to not spook them I cast from distance and deliberately cast onto the pontoon itself….. took up slack and then just gently hopped the micro along the concrete… hop, hop, hop…. Plop ….. open the bail …. Feed a handful of line and then I can see the line already twitching ….. Nothing to do but load the rod now. He nearly bricked me on the pylons beneath my feet but at last finally got onto an OK fish. 30 to the fork … nothing amazing but a nice fish to land after such a frustrating period….. now I just hope the dry, warm spell continues and the sight fishing just gets better and better

[JoshW]

Looks like a good fish mate, hard work pays off!