Faux Sydney Harbour trip.

Well we almost made it to Sydney (Middle) Harbour! A late venue change due to the ramp at Roseville being closed meant we ended up at Patonga for a cool and breezy 6.30am start. What a versatile lot we are!

With David, Mac, Murray, Gary, Richard and myself, with boats, Pete, Jimmy, Mal, Steve, John Roberts, Scott and Steve Tizard were shared around and Scott, Jimmy and I hit the briney in search of our finned friends. It was decided a quick trip over to Pittwater was in order to search out some surface action and protection from the lazy south wester.

With both difficult to procure we picked a fishy looking spot (based on the scientific analysis that we all agreed if we were fish we would reside there), deployed the electric to keep me on the lee ward side of Scott and Jimmy ( my casting still sucks) and we started blind casting in around 1.5 m of water over a broken bottom of weed and sand.

Jimmy started with a bait fish pattern with Scott and I both rigging Clousers, a solid 20 minutes had the arm back into the swing of things and hooked up to a nice fish, just as the request for the net was issued Scotty let out a yell and he was on too, a double hook up after 20 mins, this is good.

Jimmy did the honors with the net and with a Pike for Scott and a Trevally for myself, a quick photo and release had us off to a successful start to the day.

After a distance release was effected on an unknown quarry by myself a Pike decided it liked the look of my Chris Bannerman-tied Clouser and attached itself to my line, a quick photo and release had us back casting again and hoping the sun would appear soon to stir up some surface action.

It was not to be however and another half hour of casting drew a blank. Time to regroup, a quick coffee and a short motor to the nearest channel marker had Jim throwing a squid pattern fly that was so eloquently described by James as feeling like throwing around a dead rat!

A rat king would do, anything would do at the moment, nothing after an hour, still the birds sit and paddle on the surface, still the sun hides as if scared to show it's face in full, still the breeze is not! (sorry Yoda).

That’s it, time to chase some bream! We head up into Careel bay and rigging crazy Charlie's start to survey the moored craft for neglected daggy bottomed vessels, with two of us fishing and taking turns steering the boat we covered vessel and jetty with no success apart from the odd mooring rope or pontoon bollard!

Apart from the lack of fish it was a great little session, chatting to the locals, searching for fish, casting and just generally relaxing made my first bream session on fly one to remember, all I need now is to catch a bream!

With 11.30 am approaching we head back towards Patonga and fish the mouth of the inlet from just outside the waves for a while for nil result apart from more casting practice.

Did someone mention BBQ, well that signalled the end of a pleasant but quiet day on the fish front and it seemed a common theme, although most caught a fish or two including Mac tuna, Frigate mackerel, Trevally, Tailor and Pike no one species dominated the day.

With boats back on trailers and the BBQ underway we compared notes and polished off the snag sandwiches, a quick clean up and some more note comparing bought an end to my third club outing. Thanks to the club and those involved for lunch and thanks to Jimmy and Scott for such good company, you would think we had known each other for years.