Joco

NICE catch, thats a nice croc... Good on you for letting her go... Well done...

Nice work fellas... As usual the Cooks never fails to produce....

VERY TRUE, the last time i used those jointed lures, i managed to score plenty of flathed, bream and even a mullet... Good to see that they work both in fresh and salt water....

THANKS Hodgey and robeebee.... Stewy, lol, i had to send you a photo... I was jelous from your last session at the Cooks... Im sure you will get even....

Hit the Jindabyne Lake with family and friends for 3 days 2 nights. Boys weeked away. Amongst the relaxation, movies, food and drinking, we managed to squeeze a few fishing sessions. First morning, the weather was perfect, water temp 18 degrees, minimal wind, overcast, patches of rain here and there. Upon arrival i was shocked to see the level of water, which was so high, the usual fishing spots (land based) that were known to me were under water. My dad threw a couple of lines with power bait, and managed to score x2 Rainbows on Power bait. I threw on a Rapala Jointed 7cm Lure on a 6lb fireline, 4lb mono line and started working the banks. Fifth cast i got smacked and it shook the Rapala of while jumping in the air. I persisted and managed to crack a BEAUTY, got smacked by a 51cm Rainbow Trout (new PB for a rainbow), it was a whopper, and the action was on. The fish was on speed and jumped half a dozen times out of the water, my heart sank as i had to avoid submerged trees in the water, shrubs, sticks and branches, and the thick green gooey weed. With luck, managed to avoid all the objects and the fish hit the bank. WOOOT WOOT..... Smoked some trout for lunch then hit the water again. That night we went trolling on my mates boat. Never went trolling for trout. They wacked on Tassy Devils from one of their 1000 unit collections and i had to be different so i wacked on a Rapala Jointed Shad Rap 5cm Deep Diver. Not even 10 minutes within the troll my line got smacked (which was a surprise) and it was a solid Rainbow around the 45cm mark. Short time later landed a small Brown which i gave my dad to reel in. What surprised me was the amount of flies, grasshopper, insects, bugs and what ever you can imagine, WAS ON THE SURFACE of the water. The trout had a buffet of creepy crawlies to choose from. The following day was too sunny but my dad managed to land x3 trout land based using power bait, while my friend trolled again and landed x2 more trout. I failed to land x2 trout while casting, didn't hook up properly yet again. Third day was sunny again, trolled for a couple of hours and came back empty handed.

I HATE YOU

NICE work, those blue swimmers look tasty..... WELL done... PS - I love fishing at night...

NICE report, thank you for sharing.... SOME nice healthy Bream you fellas caught.... WELL done... The little ones must be cheering....

THANKS fellas... YEAH the Jewies are in Chippo, BUT catching then on soft plastics is a mission.... DONT worry STEWY, there will be plenty MORE photos being sent to your mobile phone in the early hours of the morning...

WWHHHHAAAAATTTTTT, hehehhe, now thats an experience to remember.... I knew there were BULL SHARKS in Chippo BUT, by the way you described it, it was a whale.... Being that big what does it feed on, such a long way up the river???? I guess kayakers Like many have said, time to buy some steaks, cow hearts, livers and go BULL SHARK hunting... BTW, congrats on the BASS slaughter...

Afternoon lads, Keeping an eye out on the weather it finally started becoming overcast, i thought i might try my luck and head to the local Chipping Norton Lake for a flick targeting jew fish... Havent been there in a while... Woke up at 5am, got minimal gear and was on the water by 6am.... I was running Solo since the boys slept in.... No wind, still stinky, hot and humid the short walk made me sweat like a pig.... Upon arrival the water clarity was very good and there was plenty of activity on the surface of the water.... Mullet jumping, bait fish everywhere, i thought to myself i may have luck today.... Using a 4kg rod, 6lb fireline, 8lb mono leader and a 1000 reel, i wacked on a nice 14gram (1/2 ounce) jig head and a 80mm Squidgy paddle tail. The run out tide was pretty strong and i needed something heavy to reach the 5m-6m bottom... Started casting and within a few minutes my drag goes off and after a short burst, it spat the splastic out.. DOESN'T matter persistency is the key.... After a good hour of fishing when the tide started slowing down, i got a good smack and this time my Shimano reel started screaming... I tightened the drag to 90% AND when i thought it was about to slow down, it started to scream even more.... OOOOOHHHHHHH yeah baby ( A good way to break in the NEW Shimano Stella reel).... Fighting the fish for a good 5-10 minutes, which seemed forever, my hand started showing signs of fatigue (due to the Jigging session on Friday - see Game Fishing thread My link)... I was in pain.... The rod was flexing to its max and once i thought the fish had enough, there she goes AGAIN screaming.... Taking a lot of line out, it took me a while to gain the line back each run, in total i had a good x6 runs, if my memory serves me correct.... I had to swap hands and rest for a bit i was becoming soft.... I questioned myself "How the hell am i going to pull this beast out, i am alone, no net, no hook, no nothing"... Eventually i brought the fish to a good 2-3 meters away from the shore and it dove down to the bottom... Trying to pull the fish from the bottom was IMPOSSIBLE, it was a solid unit and my 4 kg rod was no match..... I waited for a bit, started to come up and after a few more head shakes it got offff.... F@@@@!#^*** NNNNOOOOOOO Foul language echoed throughout the whole area.... ANYWAY i continued and got a baby Jewie compared to the one i lost.... THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.... It measured just under 60cm.... PUT up a good fight as well.... I will return tonight, this time prepared with a net, an extra person, BUT knowing my luck and catching the BIGer fish only happens when i am least prepared...

YUMMMMM look at those fresh fish cutlets.... CONGRATS, hope you catch a bigger one next time... THANKS for the detailed report...

Excellent...... I'm in folks See you then and there...

THANKS champ, yeah ive been reading report, papers, forums etc that the wahoo, dollies, spanish mackarel have all moved in closer to the shore, so we decided to try our luck.. BUT FAILED!!!!!! NNNoooooo, should of came to say hallo, BUT with the current at the time, it was pretty bad..... YOU lucky bugger, we didnt have time in the morning to catch livies as the skipper was running late.... LOL YEAH the person "working hard with ONLY undersized kingies and bonnies" was ME... NOT easy.... We were thinking of skipping a dead/live bonnie on the surface for a Marlin but one of our friends was way too sick (first time on the boat, threw up 10-15 times), so we decided to pack up....

Hello raiders, Went today outside Botany Bay heads trolling for whatever we can get. Been hearing that there is plenty of game fish about. So decided to try our luck. First of all our skipper slept in and as a result, had to wait an extra 1.5hrs at the boat ramp. He got stuck in the M5 morning traffic, not happy Jan. Heading out at around 7:30am, it was pretty hot and humid, no cloud in sight, water was warm at around 24 degrees, water clarity was excellent and there was minimal wind. Went to the two FAD points and there was nothing around. After trolling for 2-3 hours, changing numerous lures, we decided to change fishing tactics, so i made the call to head to The Peak and start jigging for some King fish. Upon arrival, we only spotted one boat and imediatelly started searching for fish balls. Found some nice fish activity at around 40-50metere depth from a total of 70-75meters. The current was crazy trying to follow the fish. Started dropping the 250g Knife Jigs and after the third drop i was on. I was hoping it was a nice Kingy but ended up being a Bonito. Chasing the fish balls we managed to catch one Bonito after another. In a matter of an hour and a half we score x9 Bonitos, the biggest of them being between 59- 60cm which put up a good fight, even though i was using 50lb braid, 60lb mono leader, 7000 reel. Also hooked up on a small Kingy, which when brough up to the surface, unhooked himself and made our job easier. Managed to lose a couple of Knife Jigs due to these bad boys chopping at everything that moved. Couple of more boats came to The Peak, the wind picked up and we decided to pack up and go home. Overall a good and painfull day, working the rod up and down repetatively for so long. HOPE to do it all again soon, and catch some nice game fish, and that big Kingy i am still searching for. Anyone need a deck hand plase let me know.

WELL done fellas..... YET another great report....

GAME fishing tomorrow, going to BROWNS Mountain to troll, then throw some surface poppers, and if that doesnt work then start jigging from the bottom (half way down) with 400g knife jigs..... See how we go.....

Count me in fellas, i was lead to believe that the next Social will be at The Entrance.... Lets do it...

SOUNDS like a great day.... CARP on a lure, dammmmnnn, that must have been exciting... If you can upload a photo of that magic lure that would be much appreciated... WELL done and congrats with your new PB...

WELL done fellas, great report.... Must have been a ripper of a fishing trip.... After seeing all these report on BASS fishing, i might have to dedicate a few days myself to catch that 50cm + bass.... Small fish, but great fighters... Well done...

NICE report, i wish i was there to witness you get smoked ALL those times in the Cooks..... Like you said before, you should have brought the shot gun if you wanna crack that magic 100cm Jewie.... Thats one of my main goals this year, to crack that 100cm mark, with your knowledge maybee a double hook up....

NICE work and thanks for the detailed report... WELL done and congrats with the catch..... Must have been a great fight on light gear... Keep at it...

THANKS fellas, Stewy is a top bloke and a master fisherman.... NOW its time to christen my NEW Stella 1000 reel, that i received as a present for my BDAY.... Couldnt ask for much more.... Might go and target that 100cm Jewie Lets go again Stewy

THANKS fellas..... BILL, i think everyone goes throught that stage of buying excess gear, BUT you will eventually use it sooner or later..... Maybee i will have to come over for a visit so we can utalise that gear of yours.... PMAK, it was a great holiday. In relation to the Rapala Double Jointed lures doing the damage, i found that a bit strange myself, BUT if something works i guess you better stick with it.... Too bad that its not as effective in our local waters....

Stewy once again a BIG THANK YOU for the opportunity. I had a ball. The only NEGATIVE experience i had, was that flatty going nutts in the boat, that landed a few of those nasty spikes in my foot. STILL A BIT tender. HOPE to do it all again soon. Cheers, Joey