humesy

G'day, Not much to report from yesterday (thurs) from myself or anyone else I chatted to at the boat ramp. Set the alarm for 4.15 and as I always seem to do, I woke up an hour earlier. That gave me an hour for squidding in the dark but left me with a sore head from sleep deprivation. Anyway, long story short, caught 1 squid in the dark, 2 greeneyes after sun up, 4 slimies and a tank full of yakkas. Now a fisherman worth his salt would have converted that supply of goodies into a feed of kings but alas. Tried my hand out at the colours but was battling sea sickness in the bumpy swell from the word go. Tried downrigging around the harbour for nada and finally settled on a mooring in Middle Harbour with baits down deep in the hope of a jew. Had a slimie bitten in half and a live squid smashed by a 55cm amberjack. Had a snooze and downrigged upstream back towards the ramp with a stop off towards Bantry Bay. I finally managed a rat king on my light spin rod which bought some excitement to an otherwise slow day. For those believers in barometric forces, the BOM showed a drop of 6 points through the first half of the day. There was no queue at the cleaning table. Cheers

Anything from the bottom of the freezer! Mashed up left over fish bits seem to work for me. Chuck in a spine and fins if you have butterflied or filleted a fish. Anything will do. Funny thing can happen, especially towards autumn when the kings have been given a flogging all summer. They can find a burley trail, hoover the tiny chunks of fish and ignore any type of offering with a hook in it- all the way down to the tiniest slither on the smallest hook. They get wise.

G'day, I was under orders to clean out the chest freezer and upon inspection, she had a point. Even I was surprised at what came out of there. Several packets of burley, an old sweep intended for flathead bait and the carcass of a salmon. How to get rid of it? Take the boat out and dump it overboard as burley of course. Picked up a mate at 5.30 with weather looking very unlike the forecast. So-called moderate winds were howling and skies were grey. Picked up livies at reliable recent spot in Middle Harbour and set off for squid. Managed three from new location and then headed over to Lady Jane for one last squid session. Looked over to see whitebait leaping in terror so started casting my favourite metal and hooked up to a nice wee bonito on the light spin rod. Good start but the following hours were barron. Downrigging was very hard going in the windy and choppy harbour so we tried anchoring back towards the Spit. Totally dead apart from the squid in the depths who were killing off the livies at will. Couldn't coax the buggers onto a jig jig though. Dropped off my mate (deadset fishing jinx) and headed to the final sport for the day. It was quiet for a while until I remembered the mountain of miscellaneous fish flesh in the esky. Into the bucket it went and I began mashing for all I was worth. First to arrive were the sweep then swarms of yakkas with pickers below. Chucked around a jerk shad and it was slammed as I ripped it in to start a new cast. The hook pulled after a 5 second burst and before I had time to cast again, my rod with the live yakka was bent to the water. This chunky 70cm king came to the top with a mate following him. Kept casting the jerk shad and had chasers so obviously a good school had moved in with a taste for yakkas. Landed a rat and dropped another king. 5 minutes of excitement made up for the hard yards of the morning. So there you go. If things get slow, try filling the water with mashed up fish. Oh, and do as your Mrs. tells you! PS Steve, Roosterman; I concur with your observation of broad shouldered, hard fighting breed of kingies this year. PPS Geoff, I hope you like seeing your handiwork adorned with a nice fish. PPPS Byron, I am sure you will remember the king landed landed from the burley trail last year. Its a winning formula.

I have little sympathy for the Sea Shepherd mob. I know they mean well and I don't agree with harvesting whales under the guise of scientific research but they have actively rammed Japanese boats in the past. They glorify this fact by painting Japanese flags as trophies. And now they cry foul when they wreck their boat in a colision that would appear to be equally their own fault? I don't think the head on footage shows the boat heading towards the Japanese boat. If you are going to protest there are ways; granted they are often ineffective but you can't operate outside the law (ramming boats, jumping aboard, throwing acid bombs) and then expect governments to act on your behalf. The media have jumped all over it as if it were the greatest travesty of all time. I don't get it.

That's the stuff Byron. Must have been great to get your boat out on the water and to haul them in again.

Good stuff Mike Good to see the old tub being put to good use.

G'day Anthony? (sorry, I hope I got that right). That rod is a weapon. Put a Saltist 50 on it spooled with 65lb braid. Cheers mate

It was a rather dusty start to 2010. By 5.00 in the arvo, I'd had enough moping and decided to hook up the trailer on the spur of the moment. Spoke to Kingslayer Dave and followed a good tip for some quick livies, including 1 slimie. Arrived at a deserted and beautifully calm North Head at about 7.00 and let Mr.Slimie down to the depths behind the downrigger bomb. Had a good feeling he wouldn't be around for long and sure enough the rod tip was bent to the water after 5 minutes. He gave a few good runs and was boated reasonably smoothly for a single-handed effort. Went 80cm. My next effort was less competent and another keeper sized kingy was lost on the downrigger wire. Boated another rat shortly afterwards. Another boat or two came by and we swapped broad grins at being out in being out in such great conditions with the fish on the chew. I wish I'd had my camera as there was also one of the best sunsets over the city I've ever seen. Came in after dark and tried for a jewie with no luck. Anyway, it was very satisfying to have pulled a nice fish, having put a lot of thought, effort and not to mention $$$$ into a set-up. I particularly enjoyed bending the 10-15kg live fibre stick for the first time on a kingie, tightening the drag and dictating the terms. I know it could take plenty more than this fish gave it so bring on a hoodlum. Happy days

G'day folks and happy new years, Hit the harbour with fishraider Geoff, following some upgrades to my new boat. I have had the good fortune to get to know Geoff and he has helped out with my upgrades. Geoff was keen to see his handywork in action and I was only too happy to show him. We began at 6.30 at Roseville and headed downstream to catch some livies. This took a while but they finally came. Geoff pulled the first fish of the day, i nice little flounder. Schools of chopper tailor were pinching the fresh squid so we headed off to the main harbour and into the fresh southerly with the plan of downrigging. This plan was promptly dismissed when it was discovered that the downrigger wasn't in the boat. Anchored up at spot X and deployed livies and squid strips. Geoff's vintage Penn Senator was the first reel to sing for the day but twas only a rat. I had a nice hit on one of the yakkas but what felt like a good fish found its freedom after a 5 second burst. The next hit came instantly on the same rod seconds after the next yakka was thrown into the fray. Managed to boat it but alas, it was 2cm short of keeper status. The unmentionable and top secret Spot X and the kingy. The action slowed and we tried the yellow marker after hearing excited reports from a passing boatie. Action was slow but Geoff scored a nice eater sized flattie as by-catch. Definitely not the slowest day on the water but geez I'm due for a keeper kingie. I reckon my last 15 kings have been rats. The photo shows some of the improvements. I am particularly happy with the baitboard/live bait tank, with accompanying deckwash. Thanks again Geoff and you are always welcome aboard. Cheers

G'day, I recently bought the 620 and am very happy with it apart from one problem. The triducer is transom mounted and is not staying in position as soon as I am on the plane. It pushes upwards and I lose readings of the bottom. The mounting bracket does not seem to provide any mechanism for adjusting the tightness. I have tried tying cable ties between the sensor and the bracket retaining cover but the cover does not lock into place strongly enough to hold the sensor in place. Other solutions I have thought of include drilling a small hole from the side of the cover, next to the pivot and inserting a pin through the hole. The other potential is to fill area around the pivot with silicone. Both solutions are far from ideal. Has anyone encountered this problem and can anyone offer a solution. Many thanks

Took a couple of mates out last night to chase kings at dusk and jew by night. Didn't have a firm plan but had a few harbour spots in mind. Started at the bait gathering location with a hefty wind blowing. Picked up a few yakkas and a pilchard. Had an old squid head down which came up with two new squids attached. They were lured onto jigs and put onto hooks. Despite a lack of beer due to a misunderstanding, we were happy to sit around playing the waiting game. When fishing for jewies, it is a fine line between being patient and idiot fishing. I thought we had a case of the latter but we were hit about 2hrs after starting and again about 30 minutes later. Not biggies but nice baking size. Had a few more hits later in the night but no hookups. Interesting weather. Wind died very suddenly at about dusk and pressure was v. low. This didn't seem to effect the jewie bite but the bait fish seemed to shut down after dark. Cheers

Good work Mike, May you catch the monster jew and hoodlum that eluded me. See you out there

Hi Garry and Huey, Thanks for the reply. Sounds like a plan to come and see you Garry. The boat is second hand so I will be organising the extras. I have found a QLD supplier of bait boards but not much else in Sydney. I wouldn't think they were that rare. Garry, can you fabricate an aluminium board for me according to my dimensions? If i can find the right one and buy it, I would happily bring it to you to have the hole cut and the tank placed. I would also perhaps have the plumbing installed if you can help with that sort of thing. Huey, if you can supply something that normally fits a Stacer but would go on a Bluefin, I would consider that. The boat is pretty new so I am hoping all the work to have the customised look, rather than the DIY look I would probably give it. Cheers

G'day again, I am close to buying a new boat and would need to add some extras including a live bait tank. The plan is to add one mounted at the transom similar to this picture. Then I would have a bait board similar to this mounted next to the bait tank (in the middle of the transom) I have searched google and come up empty. Can anyone recommend a boat builder or welder who can install either or both items. Maybe Huett, you can point me in the right direction or talk me into bringing my boat to you. Cheers

Good on ya, I just married a fine, down to earth Kiwi lass. You cant go wrong. Can't go wrong around the Bay of Islands too. God's country. I looked into a charter in a little town called Oakura. It is 30km south of Paihia but a beatiful little spot. I can't vouch for the fishing (except for the pictures in his brochure which were very impressive) but the guy was a real character and seemed to know his stuff. Boat and gear all looked good and he had us in for tea and bickies and a long chat. Its a tiny place so you will find him if you go looking. Its a nice drive along the way too. Best of luck

Shh, don't tell the I have spotted a boat. A 2007 Blue Fin 4.75 weekender. They are not a particularly well known brand but the only review I could find said they are affordable and of a reasonable quality. Any experiences or expert advice? I would particularly like to know how they ride in the chop as that is one of the main attractions for my upgrade (my 420 estuary angler is pretty punishing in the summer chop). The hull plates are 3mm on the bottom and 2mm on the sides. Cheers

Good on you Jim, Making the most of the holidays. Better than being back at work like me. Bring on December.

Big day Saturday, Despite there being a list of jobs two miles long, my beloved gave me the green light for a day on the water on Tuesday. I took to Pittwater in perfect spring conditions in search of squid. Cast along virtually the whole western shoreline for nothing but one follow. I then tried a spot which seems reliable and managed to drop a nice sized green-eye. I managed one solitary yakka at West Head so I chucked him on the end of my new combo (10-15kg live fibre overhead, Daiwa Saltist 40, for you gear minded types) and dowrigged him along the highway. He survived the trip without a scare so I ended up anchoring at known king locale. Burleyed up a bunch of angel fish, sweep and yakkas and filled the bait tank. A few rat kings came up to sniff the burley trail but no takers. Plan B was to head into the Hawkesbury to fish the high tide for a jewie. Anchored up at known jewie locale and had the place to myself. Put a spread of baits out but the action was slow. Had a little kip and woke to find my new combo bouncing slightly. Seemed like a flatty at first glance and felt like one too when I picked up the rod. Wrong. So-called flatty got angry and turned out to be 6 foot bronze whaler. The first half of his performance had me excited as I thought my jewie dreams were coming true. But he broke the surface and lashed the water with a huge splash then wound his way around two of my other lines. I threw in the towel at the start of his next run towards the ocean and let him have his freedom. New combo worked a treat though. The tide turned, the sun set and I headed home empty handed. Married bliss awaits Cheers

Nice job Jack. I had a bash near there today. Load of sweep, angel fish and yakkas and the odd flash of a rat king. No takers though. See you out there some time

Thanks guys, How good is that, question answered in 5 minutes! I can't quite picture how to lay it out with my thumb yet but it doesn't sound too hard. A bit of trial and error and I am sure it will become obvious. Cheers again

G'day readers, I have just bought a Saltist reel and am unsure as to how the line is distributed evenly on the spool. On other overhead reels I have owned there has always been a device that goes from side to side as you wind, to lay the line out evenly. Not on the saltist. Any ideas? Thanks in advance if you can help. Cheers

Many thanks guys, A nice personal touch. They say 40 is the new 30 but it feels a bit the new 60 after recent celebrations and a wake. Now I have only to survive my bucks weekend this saturday/sunday.

Mighty good effort living in Rouse Hill and hitting the beach before work too!

G'day, I can vouch for that live fibre rod. I bought the 10-15kg overhead off the guy selling it. The rod is in great nick and he is a friendly and helpful raider. The rod should go great and you will still have $100 left to spool up you new reel with braid. Good luck

I'd say (as some others) it depends mostly on where you are fishing. Very tough if you are near a point or reef or moorings. You won't be able to do much other than chase the fish. The trouble with getting smoked by a large jew is that it is just so frustrating. If you are anything other than a guru, it can just take so many hours to hook up to that biggun. To lose it it when you kinda knew you would is much like shooting yourself in the foot in my books. Maybe beef it up to 15lb braid and 20lb leader. good luck either way