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Busy times on the river
  |  First Published: October 2009



November is a busy month for fishing the Hawkesbury, with all of the sought-after species keen to take lures and baits.

The elusive Hawkesbury mulloway will be at the top of the list for most.

The 17th annual Hawkesbury Fishing Classic will be held on November 6 to 8 by Pitt Town Fishing Club, with lucky door prizes just for entering and being at the weigh-in, plus heaps of prizes from Garmin, Blakes Marine, Windsor Bait and Tackle and many more.

g
rab a few raffle tickets for your chance to win a boat, motor and trailer package. For details call Brett Chain on 0408 464 945 or drop into Blakes Marine or Windsor Bait and Tackle.

Bream have shown up in good numbers throughout the system.

Flicking unweighted live prawns around the rock walls in the sections below Lower Portland is a productive and fun way to secure fish to 1.4kg.

If the water dirties up through boat traffic or spring tides, it’s worth anchoring up and establishing a berley trail of chook pellets, bread and tuna oil.
f
ish lightly-weighted offerings in the berley for bream, flathead and soapy jewfish. Areas to start prospecting are the Skeletons, Upper
h
alf
m
oon, Dads
c
orner, Webbs Creek, Laughtondale, Pumpkin
p
oint and
b
ar
p
oint.

Flathead will start moving upstream as far as Windsor this month, feeding on the plentiful bait such as herring and prawns. Lures that resemble these prey items are a good place to start.

In past seasons the bibless rattlers have stood out from all other lures in the reaches above Wisemans
f
erry.
l
ures from 50mm to 80mm long by Strike
p
ro, Jackall, and
m
egabass are firm favourites and can be cast and retrieved over major drop-offs in these reaches without fear of snagging. Soft plastics in similar styles will account for fish and open up the door for a by-catch of bream, bass and estuary perch, especially if you use prawn imitation plastics.
j
ig heads from 3g to 5g should cover most depths in the upper reaches.
LOW PERCH
The estuary perch were a little slow to move back upstream this year. A few anglers chasing bream around Wisemans
f
erry had the fortune of encountering a hot bite on fish ranging from 30cm to 46cm.

All fish were taken on soft plastics and metal blades and released to fight another day.

The EPs will be found in good numbers above Lower Portland and as far up as North Richmond at the moment, but will become harder to find as the water temperatures rise throughout
s
ummer. If you catch one in an area, cover the place thoroughly – chances are there will be more in the same vicinity. The bass season is in full swing at the moment. The water above Penrith
w
eir may be a little devoid of bass at present due to the upgrade of the fish ladder at the weir. This should be completed late this month or early in December.

There have been ‘no fishing’ signs erected in the area to relieve any excess pressure on the fish stocks as they hit this unpassable barrier. Officials will be policing this so be warned – any illegal practices won’t be tolerated.

Good bass fishing can still be had below the weir in all the creeks and rivers.

If walking into a ‘sneaky’ creek or river, be aware of any back burning or bushfires. A call to the local RFS can help you to avoid a disaster.

I have cancelled two trips into a creek due to back burning in the area and alternative plans were arranged. Better to be safe than sorry.

The weed beds from Windsor to Penrith are starting to thicken up. Anglers should try switching from hardbodies to wire baits such as spinnerbaits and jig spinners to avoid picking the weedy salad off their trebles after every cast.

Surface luring early and late in the day is producing good fish in the mid-40cm range.

Small presentations are quite successful during the day around the low light levels but after dark, try bigger surface lures such as jointed
j
itterbugs, 50mm to 100mm poppers and paddlers.

These can be cast into open water from the bank, boat or canoe and will account for the bigger fish which lose their inhibitions and roam freely under the cover of darkness.

If you would like any further info on what’s happening in the local area drop in and see the guys at Windsor Bait & Tackle.

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