mehmoh

Hey Guys, This is my first report. So Friday went fishing at around 5pm with my dad (his first time). Weather looked a bit dull but there was a bit of sun. We were at a wharf just west of the bridge. Threw the handline in for a couple of bait fish and got a couple of yakkas. I used a bit of the fillet on my main fishing rod and threw it into the water. Sneaky bird stole my bait fish as I was doing this. Then on the horizon I saw a boat headed towards us, it was a ferry off to unload some people. I thought I had a couple of minutes before they reached us however they got near us within 30 secs. Quickly grabbed my line and started reeling it as fast as I could, didnt want the ferry to cut my line. I was on light tackle and i thought my line was stuck on rocks or something because it wouldnt budge. The ferry is now a couple of meters from my line and Im thinking "oh crap!" but then the line gets lose and I start reeling. For a sec I think Im pulling up a log or something thats floating in the water....was very embarrassed as a boat load of people were watching me. But then one of the crew on the boat screams out "oh thats a massive crab!". I was completely shocked, didnt know you could get those around this area. I had no net but was able to lift it onto the wharf. It was hooked on the mouth and there was no way I was going to remove the hook so I cut the line. The blue swimmer measured 13cm from the back to the front, was male, length of body was bout 20cm and including the claws it would have been about 60 cms. I don't think Ive even seen ones this big in the shops. Hopefully the picture loads fine... Straight after it rained and we went home... not bad for 1/2 hr fishing, my dads now looking at buying some gear and going again real soon.

Thanks for the link Jason , the information there is pretty good. Sucks that you can only eat one bream, tailor and about 8 yakkas. I've never caught anything else but would definitely look into targeting other species from now on. If anyone knows any good landbased areas to get leathers that would be tops and what kind of bait do you need for them?

Thanks for all the replies guys, guess i wont be eating too many from around that area. Im only asking concerning that area because its the easiest for me to get to.. and that still takes around 50 mins drive.. Also concerning the leather jackets id definitely would target those but have no idea where to get them or what bait to use. I like catching yakkas because i can bring some kids along, give them some handlines and they have heaps of fun..

Lol good advice musty, It actually makes sense ... Im not gonna be eating it everyday. Cheers for the info kiwineil, i checked the fisheries website but cant seem to find anything on eating guidelines except for shellfish. Maybe it was a couple of years ago the toxins were high..

Hey Guys, Im quite a newb at fishing but I was wondering if its okay to eat fish from west of the Harbour Bridge, more specifically around Longueville Park area? I remember hearing something about bad toxins or something in parra river.(is it parra river?) A friend of mine took me one night to a wharf on Stuart St, we managed to catch a couple of yakkas and a small bream that went back. We used mince and breadcrumbs. Im just wondering if the yakkas are okay to eat because he said they were good for sushi and i might plan on going back to get more.(definitely cheaper than buying salmon from the shops) Also are there any other wharfs that one can fish around that area, specifically for yakkas, I've searched whereis but I'm not sure which wharfs would be private or public. Many Thanks.