First Bream

Got up at 6:00 am, and got to Bedlam walls by 6:30. It was a beautiful morning -- cold, clear, and still. The tide was running out, and was reasonably powerful. I was using soft plastics -- a silver minnow 65mm long on a 1/8 oz head. I couldnt cast too far, and was having no luck. I slowly worked along the shore, until I came to a deep bay. Fishing in the bay, I got a hook up from a fish. It was not a flathead -- it didnt have that characteristic head shake. It could have been a bream, small salmon, or sea run trout. There was no more action, so I assumed it was a small sea runner, as bream school and cocky salmon were not in season.

I kept working around the shore until I found a small beach. I saw a follow from a small fish -- but I couldnt see what type it was.

It was getting late, so I started back. I decided to have a few casts where I had hooked up, as I had rested the water for 30 mins. I was about to give in when I twitched and the minnow suddenly ran at full steam in the other direction. I had to adjust the drag. And then I noticed some line incorrectly spooled, and I had to walk backwards and release the line to prevent a tangle. After straighting that out I still had a fish! And a feisty one it was. Eventually I saw colour -- the golden colour of a bream from brackish water. And what colour!!! The bream was massive! I remember in NW river seeing a school -- whith lots of little bream and two or three large solitary fish. This fish was just as large as those in NW river. I can't estimate size, but it was BIG! (1 - 2 kg -- which is big for a bream). I released the fish -- but I can still see it in my hand, with its dorsal fin sticking up to make itself look big. What a fish!!!!