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What's in My Kit? - Steve Crawley - Rock Hopping Bream

By Steve Crawley

While I mostly fish from a kayak these days, I'm still quite fond of sneaking around a rocky foreshore and casting lures into the wash chasing bream. I have a few of these spots up my sleeve, where I can get away for a quick trip and am a reasonable chance of hooking bream, flathead and a few other species as bycatch. This article is a quick look at what I take with me for these trips.

So, what's in my kit? Like any kit, you could take an endless supply of stuff to cover all options, however I keep this kit very small. These rock hopping trips are usually an hour or two tops and I need to carry everything in a shoulder bag or backpack as I am constantly on the move. The kit needs to be light, compact and efficient, so I keep it to some bare essentials.

Rod, Reel & Line

I use a light spin outfit, favouring a 7' rod and 2000 size reel. My favourite rod for this is my Okuma Cerros CER-S-701L Spin Rod. This rod is rated to 1-3kg and while it may sound a little under gunned for the terrain, it is sensitive enough to help determine a bite from the waves, while having plenty of power in the mid to low section to muscle fish out of the rocks. The 7' rod is perfect for casting the small lures into the wash and small enough to not be cumbersome when mountain goating along a rocky edge.

I have paired the Cerros with an Okuma Helios HSX-30. This spinning reel is light, smooth and reliable. This is an outfit that is light, easy to carry and you can cast it all day.

The Helios is spooled with 8lb braid and my braid of choice is the Platypus P8 Braid. The P8 has great knot strength and the bright orange colour makes it easy to see. I use 4lb Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader but will up it to 6lb if the water is dirty or I am getting busted off. I also carry a spool of each with me so that I can tie new leaders when they get scuffed up on the rocks.

Tools of the Trade

I carry scissors for trimming plastics and line, a ruler for bragging rights and long nose pliers in case I need to get a hook out of a fish... or a shirt... or a finger. One of the handiest tools that I have is the Boomerang Tool Company's 'The Snip'. If you haven't got one of these please check them out. It's a retractable line cutter that cleanly cuts braid and leader. Mine is attached to my shoulder bag so it is always on hand.

Lures

The kit needs to be efficient, so I like to keep this part as simple and small as I can. I don't have room for bulk plastics and time spent pondering what to tie on is time not fishing. While I don't always succeed in this, I try to pack no more than four plastics and a small assortment of jigheads. These ones tend to be my go to lures;

ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ in Motor Oil, Pumpkin, Baby Bass or Mood Ring colours - This bait is one of the best representations of the baitfish that I see around the rocks. They are super tough and will last multiple fish, so generally the only reason I replace them is due to lost lures. I tend to fish these by hopping them between and just over the rocks. It is a much faster retrieve than I normally would fish for bream, however with the waves moving the lure around and the rocks, it's the only way to keep in contact with the lure and (try to) avoid snagging up.

ZMan 2" CrusteaZ in Gudgeon or Motor Oil colours - I like this bait when there is less water movement and I can fish it as a crab imitation. It's a good one to pitch at a vertical face and let it drift down into the wash like a crab that's been washed off the rock.

ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ in Bloodworm colour - This guy usually comes out when I'm targeting flathead in the sand patches around the rocks. Rigged a little heavier and fished with a hopped retrieve through the sand patches and gutters, this bait is a great imitation of the little whiting that forage around the sand in the shallows.

I also tend to have a few small hardbodies with me to change it up. Small minnows and shallow crank baits do get a run from time to time at the top of the tide when there is more water and the wave impact is reduced.

Jigheads

Here again, I like to travel light. I'm taking limited plastics and fishing a specific type of terrain. The wave action that impacts the wash zone and the shallow water mean I can really narrow down my selection to just a few. I use both the TT Lures Tournament Series and Headlockz Finesse jigheads with a preference for the HeadlockZ Finesse. I find that the grub keeper on these holds the plastic firmly in place and prevents the plastic slipping off better than any other jighead and the fine wire hook provides an excellent hook up rate on light line.

For the Slim SwimZ and CrusteaZ I like to use a 1/16oz or a 1/12oz jighead with a #1 or #2 size hook.

The 4" StreakZ gets the bigger jighead with a 1/6oz or 1/4oz jighead with a #2/0 or #3/0 hook, still in a HeadlockZ Finesse. These seem like an overly heavy jighead when fishing 3' of water, however I find that this helps to keep the lure from washing into the rocks too quickly, while the buoyant nature of the ZMan plastics will have that tail up and waving about attracting fish.

Scent

I always take a tube of the gooey stuff with me and more often than not it's Pro-Cure Super Gel Shrimp. This stuff is really sticky so you don't need a lot, and it will last more than a few casts.

So that's what's in my kit when I hit the stones for quick flick. The kit tends to change a little from time to time (I am pretty keen to throw the ZMan 2.75" TRD BugZ in Hot Snakes and The Deal colours on TT NedlockZ jigheads in the wash) but the basics are pretty constant. It's a small, simple kit and it suits this simple style of fishing.

Cheers
Steve

Steve's Kit - Rock Hopping Bream / Flathead

Okuma Cerros Spinning Rods - CER-S-701L 7' 1-3kg
Okuma Helios SX Spin Reels - HSX-30

Platypus P8 Braid - 8lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 4lb - 6lb

Pro-Cure Shrimp Super Gel Scent

ZMan 2" CrusteaZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ

TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse Jigheads

Boomerang Tool Company - The Snip