What a great start to the season, with some spectacular captures and several fish of huge proportions that got away and keep getting bigger every time their stories are recounted!

The bass have been keeping plenty of anglers amused and a few bewildered.

A recent noteworthy capture was made off the beach at Windsor by an angler called Dave, who landed a healthy 56cm bass on a spinnerbait and in the process snapped his new rod. The fish was subsequently released to fight another day; the rod, however, remains broken!

As we get further into the season, night expeditions casting big surface lures will be the most reliable way for anglers to chase down that bass of a lifetime. Big walkers and chuggers are the lures for drawing strikes from one of these trophy fish.

For those restricted to daylight sessions, shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits and small surface lures will catch some quality fish. Casting accuracy is a must if you want consistent results.

If the main river is too crowded with weekend warriors, I suggest a good look at a topographical map and a trip to one of the Hawkesbury’s many tributaries.

Some great fish can be caught in the tightest of places, makings for some adrenalin-packed action.

Moving downstream, bream and flathead will in good numbers in the brackish reaches feeding on the prawns and herring schools. Sourcing either of these two species for bait will put anglers in with a good chance of good captures.

Please be mindful if you encounter any large flathead this month because the big girls will be in the lower reaches to spawn and provide us with flatties for the future.

I highly recommend that these fish are handled with great care and released so they can continue to breed.

With the 19th annual Hawkesbury Fishing Classic on November 4 to 6, there will be quite a few anglers trying to score a mighty mulloway this month. Some will succeed and some will fail but that’s all part of fishing for these iconic silver slabs.

Live or fresh-caught bait is a must to fool big mulloway. Sourcing squid, tailor, pike and mullet will be high on anglers’ to-do list before they can drop anchor and settle in for the long haul of staring at rod tips.

Bait preparation and rigging is vital when fishing the Hawkesbury. Selecting suitable hooks for each individual bait is paramount to getting a good hook-set in the hard and leathery mouth of A mulloway.

Location is a much-debated part of finding these fish but anglers will no doubt return to spots that have produced in the past. Juno Point, Eleanor Bluffs, Gunya Point and the road and rail bridges will have their fair share of anchored boats over the comp weekend.

If I don’t see you on the water I will see you at the weigh-in for the presentation of trophies and prizes and I look forward to seeing the lucky entrant’s face when the boat, trailer and motor package is drawn.

If all of the above sounds a bit much, what about a trip to the flats in the lower reaches to throw poppers for bream and whiting in the shallows.

This month around the new moon we should see these species feed vigorously on the school prawns that will be moving in the low light periods over the flats.

Long casts and speedy retrieves can turn on some great action.