iMick

Nah mate... plenly of $1 and $2 coins. The best thing I've found is a Sterling Silver kids ring.

Has anyone ever tried metal detecting? It's my other favourite past time (after fishing). It's not typical of a guy my age (27) to be walking around beach or park with a metal detector, kinda of a geeky thing to do, but I love it! It's very much like fishing. Finding a $1 or $2 coin is very common kinda like catching a keeper sized Bream or Flathead and finding a diamond ring is the holy grail, just like a 30kg Jew. Another similarity is that some spots start to fire in Summer, due to people out on the beach or running around the park more often. Of course you get your throw backs like ring pulls or bottle tops (I collect these and bin them), again very similar to fishing. With a good detector and the knowledge of how to use it you can discriminate what types of metals you don't want to target. My detector cost me about $1800 but I reckon I've collected about $300 so far in coins, i've used it about 20 times. You'll be shocked to know that most undetected parks hold between $10-$30, I don't do it for the money... it's just fun. If there's metal in a spot, my detector will find it. Mick

Tried it yesterday mate and worked perfectly, I'll never scale a flathead again Cheers Mick

Hey mate, The Hawkesbury can break your heart, on Monday I had something on my 7" Jerk Shad so heavy that at first I thought I was snagged... then it shook it's head... no fight just a few large bumps and thuds but due to my lack of strike action it spat the hook. It upset me so much that I'm not going back there for a while... turning my back on a Jew spot that is finally starting to work for me. Time for me to start fresh in the Georges I think. Mick

Thanks everyone, some good advise from all. I have caught heaps of Soapie and School Jews on bait up to about 90cms, but I've always fished heavy. Only 4 on lures including this junior today. Fishing light is so much more exciting than heavy gear. I guess what I was looking to take from this topic is someone to put there hand up and say "I landed a huge jew on 6-10lb bream gear, hell of a fight but managed with minimal fuss" There is no doubt flickin around with a 1/2 ounce Jighead and a 7" lure on a 2-4kg rod just doesn't feel right, there is just too much weight in the jig head, maybe a 7" unweighted Slug-Go could work, but that's another topic for an other day. I think what Musty said is very important to note a 15kg Jew doesn't run like a 15kg King (not that I can say from personal experience but it is common knowledge). I've got 150m of braid plus backing, so it would have to be one serious bruiser Jew to spool me, surely it would run out of steam running against the drag pressure plus the mechanical advantage of the rod. I think getting bricked is more of a concern or having mainline or leader rub up against structure. Just think about how hard it is to pull up a stubborn stag.... in other words 10lb braid is extremely hard to snap. I think I need to face the facts and buy a 4-6kg rod and maybe 4000 Twin Power (if they are still made in Japan) or some other decent reel, there is no worse feeling than not being able to stop a monster, it happened to me a Stanwell Park Beach, got a feeling it was a 3-4 metre sting ray, totally unstoppable on my 15lb mono. One day I'll land a monster..... one day..... Mick

Fingers crossed, I sometimes flick around 5" lures for jews on my 1-3kg bream stick, 6lb mainline 5lb leader. That's just being silly but I think I need to be taught the hard way. Mick

Thanks for the vote of confidence Musty. I've only ever caught 3 on lures, 2 tackled the lure front on but one swallowed the 5" jerk shad whole in quite an aggressive way, so leader wear could have been a problem if it had some size and the fight went on for a bit. I know what you mean, strike on the very first touch (an inspection, perfect timed strike and you're on) Thanks for the advise! Mick

What you have said has a lot of merit, having a cool head and good drag system should allow me to land anything (within reason) It may just take some time to get to the boat! I hope you're wrong, 'cause Ill be flinkin 7" lures with the above outfit on Monday.... I shouldn't get too ahead of myself, I've got to hook on first.

Thanks for your input. I think I'm up for the challenge, and yes I've got an bow mount so I'll chase it around if needs be..... just gota hope I don't get bricked. There is no doubt a big lure on my 2-4kg rod is unbalanced but it can be done. Thanks again

My current Jew flick stick is a Pflueger 7' 2-4kg President Series matched with a Jap made Shimano Twin Power 2500 loaded with 10lb Sunline PE Braid and I usually have a rod length of 15lb FC. I'm just thinking if a 15+kg jew nails my 7" jerk shad or other big lure, could I get smoked? I'm curious as I've noticed in other posts, people using much heavier gear. I'd rather stay lighter and have some fun but am I just being stupid? I have caught proper jews off the rocks before with a 12' foot rod and 8500ss with heavy mono and handled them with minimal fuss. Jews on lures is new to me and I'll cry like a baby if I lose a monster at the side of the boat. Any thoughts?

Mate, they're my "go to" lure right now for jews! For Jew give the lure lots of action close to the bottom and for Flatties in Winter slow retrieve with the occasional twitch. One important thing to remember is to make sure when you put the jighead on, is to ensure it doesn't spin in the water, test it first and redo it if required. Hope this helps. Mick

I'll be giving those spots a try sometime in the near future. I've got a little system going on the Hawkesbury: Early morning Jew flick, then for Bream, then for Flatties and to finish off explore new spots. Thanks for the tips jewgaffer!

I hope for the pelicans sake you trained it to swallow fish head first.

Many years back a wise jewie fisho told me to look for circling debris (leaves and rubbish) on the water when looking for an eddy. The sounder showed depth of 20-40 feet within 5 metres, a loverly drop off in anyones book. There was some action near the bottom of the water column and some excellent reef like structure. I'd fished this spot before but had always concentrate my efforts in the deepest part of the hole, but i now know that they sit at around 30 foot, almost as if they are coming out of the structure and hitting my lure. With a combo of a solid eddy with leaves on the water, early morning high tide, a deep hole with good structure and also the full moon (not sure if Moon fazes make any difference) i knew the spot was going to fire. A mate told me that he's been having a lot of luck with yellow lures in the Hawkesbury (Banana Prawn, Curried Chicken, Moldy Cheese Jigging Grubs etc) for the Jews. He wasn't wrong! Next time I'm trying a 7" Jerk Shad to see if i can entice something more plate worthy Mate, the conditions were fantastic yesterday, little wind a few boat around, gota love a mid week fish

Hey all, Nice day on the Hawkesbury today, finally got some Jews on plastic, only small ones but at least I've got the monkey off my back. There were plenty there, I pulled the hooks out of at least 5, one felt like a decent fish too but that's fishing, at least I finally found a top Jew hole. Moved on to the place where I got that big Blackie on Plastic last week and what do you know... Same Watermelon grub, same spot. The Flattie fishing is very slow in my usual spots but I did find one At the cleaning table, just as I dug into my Esky to pull out my knife, a Pelican stole my Flattie and swallowed it whole. Am I the only idiot that trusted they wouldn't grab it? I was just happy to get some use out of my new Brag Mat. Cheers Mick

Hi, I just bought a some and going to try waking up the Winter Flathead with them. They're killer on Bass, should work on Flattie... or not?

Hi Driftwood, I fish the Brooklyn area about once a week, and used to fish Berowra all the time. I was in Berowra Creek about a month ago and had very little luck, only an small EP and a few undersize Bream... seems to be one the first spots to shut down in Winter. I used to get 2 or 3 juvenile Jewfish every time we anchored up at the mouth of Joe Craft creek, the biggest going to my mate at 55cm, it was a great breeding ground for the jewies, the spot's called Gunio Point Hole (i think). I did take a big Black Bream there to 48.5cm. There are flatties in the creek but not as many as there are in the lower reaches. As for the Brooklyn area, there are some really good spots to try for Flatties. North East of Danger Island there is an oyster lease area that holds plenty but they're not as active as they were say 2-3 months back. Also between the rail and road bridge, the shoreline opposite Spectacle Island is a great spot to have a flick. Some current favourite SP's are: 2" and 3" Gulp Minnow Grub in Watermelon, Pumkinseed and Camo, the 5" Gulp Jerk Shads in Nuclear Chicken, Curry Chicken and Squidgy Pro Wriggler (about 5 inch) in Yakka Colour. Try and have a selection of jigheads from 1/32 for really skinny water upto maybe 1/4 or 3/8 for the deeper or faster moving waters, select hook size to suit the plastic you're using. Also consider, if the budget allows, buying some Fluorocarbon leader, sinks well and is supposed to be invisible in water. Mate buying a boat would have to be (imo) one of the best moves a serious fisho can make, exposes you to so many areas to fish.... next thing for your shopping list is an electic motor, that's when the fun will start! Good luck mate and look forward to reading your reports.

See that's how little I knew about them! I thought they strictly ate weed and cabbage only. This fish had some legs, two or three big runs straight down before being landed. Made my day so much that I'm rearranging my work schedule and going back there Wednesday, doubt I'll nail another but I'll be there trying. Mick

This has to be the fluke of the week, maybe the year! Headed to a good Bream spot. Worked my 2 inch Watermelon Grub along the rocky shore, as ya do. I feel a suck, then some weight, I strike.... and I'm on. It doesn't appear to be anything special, almost as if the fish is co-operating with me. Then it sees the boat, zzzzzzzzzz, my rod tips in the water, my drag set to perfection, my freshly oiled 1000 Sustain is up to the challenge. My net's between my legs (fishing solo) waiting for it to surface, I'm thinking there is no way this a Bream, this is going to be a Jew for sure but it wasn't, it was my first Blackfish and an absolute cracker at exactly 47cms. It never occurred to me a try a dark green lure in Winter for blackfish, I just like dark natural colours in shady spots. Cheers Mick

What a cracker, i've been getting the odd EP at little wobby shoreline amongst the houses but nothing even close to that. Well done mate!

Thanks mate, and go you Roosters!

Indeed it was big but no.. I'm no great squid fisho, just have mates that know the bait grounds (they would kill me if i even hinted as to where they are), i just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. We were in a top yakka ground and I seen it go past, i thought we didn't have any jigs so my first reaction was to tie a large fillet of yakka to a popper and see if it took it, didn't really work. Then it happened, my mate found in his tackle box, something i've never seen before, a really thin squid jig that looked like one off those squid spikes that holds a pillie. So i cut a nice slab of yakka and hitched it parallel to this jig... 2 minutes later i was on. I would take 1 metre it would take 2, it eventually wore out and there ya go! It's public knowledge that under and around the spit bridge holds squid at night, last time i chased squid there was about 5 years ago and they were everywhere. These days I mainly fish with lures, for a change we thought we'd give "the jews on bait" method a go cos I can't catch a jew on plastic to save my life. Tough night on the water, one massive squid and a box of Krispy Kremes. One more thing, in the past i've only ever fished with cheapo squid jigs, people swear by expensive Japanese jigs and probably for good reason, they probably out fish the cheapos, but cheap jigs do work! Try orange and pink!

That squid was caught in your average harbour squid spot, not that deep really, a spot not as well known as most. I have to say it was not chewy at all, no rings of teeth in it's suckerpads either, none that i noticed anyway.

For me they taste the same, mmmmmm dunked in batter then bread crumbs, then deep fried and served with an assortment of tartare, homemade seafood sauce (mayo, tomato sauce and Whistishire sauce) and fresh lemon wedges.... mate! That big one wasn't chewy at all, no chewier than any other i've tried.

Inside, try spot x, y and z. Mate, c'mon, trying to find the bait is half the fun. Quality spots will get smashed if people find out where they are, so my lips are sealed. Try lit up areas and kelp beds. Good luck