Hawkesbury River 2011
Went with Warren to the Hawkesbury River for 3 days of fishing and camping.
Our boat is now 20 years old and starting to be looking a bit old and tired (I didn’t know aluminium could rust). Before we could go, we had to do a few things including installing a new sounder, filling the holes from the old one and fixing the trailer.
This being the Christmas period, the boat ramp was absolutely packed with people, boats and pelicans.
The first job was to pump saltwater pink nippers from a nearby sandflat.
(photo below from http://www.dreamfish.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57:how-to-catch-nippers-saltwater-yabbies&catid=34:fishing-articles&Itemid=54)
To get to the fishing location you pass by Milsons Passage. Nice place to have a holiday house but a bit inconvenient since you can only get there by boat. At any time, about half of them are for sale.
Around the corner and you are in the middle of nowhere.
Caught a fish for dinner
and then we had to find a camping spot, pitch our tents and get some firewood. Had steaks and pan fried bream for dinner.
Got out early the following morning. For the first few hours we didn’t do very well but then got into some fish. The next hour was one of those times where you catch a fish every cast.
I wish they wouldn’t allow trawlers to fish the Hawkesbury.
For dinner, we had fresh fish and baked potatoes cooked on the coals.
That evening we had a perfectly clear night. Part of the Orion constellation appears near the bottom of the photo.
This was a 1 minute exposure, taken on the beach at our campsite.
Next day was a clear, sunny day. We knew where to go and got straight into more fish. Here is Warren hooked up.
Another fish
Our fishing spot was also the runway for float planes.
By mid-morning we had enough in the keeper net and decided to call it a day.
A crowded boat ramp at Mooney Mooney.
That was the end of a wonderful fishing trip. Only thing left to do was to clean the day’s catch, boat, outboard, rods, reels, cutlery, pots, …
Bream steamed with shallots and ginger.
Here is a video of Warren landing a fish:
