Converting a Baito

[Beevor]

Not that there's anything wrong with bait-fishing...
It's just that I've been bream fishing with my father-in-law for some years now, and for the last few years we always head out in the boat together. Often he would sit there and drown a nipper or pretty-fish while I would cast around with lures, fly or flog every piece of water around with a plastic. Of course there's a bit of give and take so we would put around while I would cast a few lures here and there. Sure Gazza would always have a go for a little while but could never 'get the hang of it', so would sit down or drive the boat while I caught a few.

We've had a couple of awesome sessions on trevally and salmon with plastics, so he's hooked there. I organized some polaroids for him: sorted. He's got his own little spin stick set up and I've got the lures to loan him, no probs. He was just lacking some ACTION. You know what it's like.... well, it's like going out to a restaurant and having a ripper feed and experience, you're gonna go back aren't ya?

Well I thought it was high time Gazza had a tasty meal, so we headed off yesterday at 4am in search of bream. We rocked up the East Coast with the high tide still just dribbling in. Cool. First two casts yeilded me two fish I suspected this was the day Gaz was gonna get the monkey off his back.


We headed around a few spots and I noted his retrieve. I've told him heaps of times before about action and retrieve, but don't really like telling a fisherman with 50+ years of experience how to catch fish. "Look Gaz, it's like this you need to pause, I know I've told you before but that pause to me, is IMPERATIVE... just give it a go". "Yeah, righto" he grumbled. I caught a couple more and I watched the 'sweep' of his rod slow down and his pauses became purposeful while winding up slack. It looked to me like he was actually 'getting the hang of it'. Just when I was about to slip him a positive comment like 'any minute now'... Whack! Zzzzzzzzzz! "Jesus, they whack it don't they?" said Gaz. After some drag adjustments and a tense landing, the big fella boats his first bream on hardbody.

Like a dog with two dicks


Then all of a sudden, a baito becomes a lure angler. The man was on fire and had the action down pat landing several more in a row. He flicked around with a Presso while I searched about on top with a Zappa. Gazza's best at 37cm to fork. Some of the fish had that real dark tanin-stain too, great colours.


The surface action was going well too, with more than 50% of my fish coming on surface. The best was 40cm to fork which was a new topwater PB


We landed 17 up until midday, when we stuck to original plan of having a bait fish. Gaz launched out the bait rod. It sat there, and sat there. Three times over he pulled up a clump of weed and said "well this is bloody boring isn't it..."

So we went off to get a feed of flatties and he relayed the moments of his awesome breamin' session. Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks afterall.

[Pete62]

Sweet Beev, another one over to the dark side.

A dog with two dicks learning new tricks, only in Tassie

Pete

[Snodger]

Great work Beeve. They all come to the dark side eventualy.....
Steve

[Beevor]

Thanks fellas - I'm just gonna have to keep the lure stash from him!

[BR65]

great colored breamies beev