davegroves68

wow, good onya mate. i have had my boat moored at Taylors Pt. for a few years,. I no longer fish Pittwater but just head of to West Head, get yakkas and go offshore. I have caught a few small kings inside but with all the pro fishers, i just dont bother anymore. I love the Pitt, but the fishing is poor. I'm on the waiting list for a mooring in Middle Harbour. But ...Good work!! Welsh Dave

Me and a mate tried to set up an online store a couple of years ago,selling quality gear but the big players( Shimano etc) refused to supply us,unless we had a retail outlet. We found it was about protecting their brand, which, to a certain degree is fair enough. I will say, that you can get a lot of good cheap gear online, or even at ****** stores, but i have found that if you look hard enough, you can get just as good value at your local tackle store. But the advice and help you get at your local tackle shop will never be surpassed! Can you put a price on that? Dave

There are a few, but they don't fire all the time. Good luck with getting people to give up the marks. Its all about hard work and time....... And trust me, I am still trying. My best tip is to become best mates with Greg L and Wako All the other Raiders will know what i mean.

Hahaha. I did too. Looked good until i saw Robson "XTREME FISHING" Green had been there. He is about extreme as my 2 year old daughter. .....(well, annoying as,when it comes to whining, anyway).

Did you have any luck Simon? How far out did you go? Was your boat the one with outriggers on? you left 10mins after we arrived on the Bertie?

Went out from Pittwater this morning at about 6am.Headed to West head to pick up a few livies. Plenty of yakkas there We were planning to chase Kings but the swell was quite big at first so we stayed close in near Lion Island. W then decide to go and do some flatty drifts around the 28m mark.Got a couple then noticed a strange formation in the clouds. It looked real spooky, like the eye of a storm but the wind and swell were dropping off. Very weird. We then went on to West reef where i got a few small snapper on pillies and then on a livie proceeded to get bust off by something big. It felt like a Jewy, but i will never know. What i do know is later we went back to flatty drifts and got a few more and then on one drop i got a solid take quickly got bit off, then all of a sudden, 10metres from the boat, a Mako of about 6 ft lauched itself into the air . Both of us onboard saw it and agreed what it was .We were only 4kms from the Joey, so I was quite surprised. Chucked in another yakka but new we would never land it. Not a bad day in all. Few fish, weird skies and a flying Mako Headed in about 1pm for a few cold ones Dave

Thanks for the replies and invites guys. I learned to flyfish with my grandfather on Lake Vyrnwy, near Llanfyllin many years ago (early 70s) in Wales. He started me off with a worm on an unwaited hook when I was 6 then we progressed to fly later with weeks of practice casting in his back garden.My first one was a 3 lb Brown Trout caught on the River Vyrnwy,(i wish i still had the photo).I think I fell in that day too. He died before i was 10 but Jack Edwards installed all the joys of fishing in me from an early age,. And the Anglers ethics. My uncle would later introduce me to sea fishing off the coast of North Wales when I was about 15, which i loved.Then watching TV shows about Australia and the fishing here inspired me to move to this place after my mum and dad passed away. Sadly , all are gone now. But I showed that pic of me and the trout to my sister back in Wales, and her first reaction was "sh#t Dave! that looks so much like the photo of Grandad we all have of him holding that Rainbow trout outside the Vyrnwy Hotel!". That brought a little moisture to my eye. I hope he would be proud. I have caught many fish over the years, many much bigger, but i think this one means more.. the more i think about it. Tight lines all, Dave

Read the report!!! 11 people fishing on the Charter. And read the site rules while your at it. Good Snapper by the way.

Thats good going for there. Nice to see the Trawlers have left us a few.

Hi Raiders, Happy New Year. I spent xmas and new year visiting my wife's family in Dunedin NZ and had a camping holiday in Central Otago. While there i had the opportunity to fish some of the local dams stocked with Rainbow Trout. Now, I was brought up in North Wales and could fly fish by the age of 8 but my 15 yr old guide, (Callum,my wife's cousin) only had spin gear.I am a purist normally but I haven't fished for Trout in 20 years, so I couldn't pass the chance up. We had one unsuccessful trip then on New years day, with a huge hangover, off we went to a dam near Ranfurly. 2 hours without a thing then finally i got one It put up quite a fight on light gear, and measured 51cms. Its not a metre plus Kingy, but it was a pretty cool catch for a Welshman like me. And VERY tasty on the BBQ that night too. Welsh Dave

Its a sad state of affairs(considering my boat is moored in Pittwater)but its up for sale and i can't wait to get a new 14 ft centre console on a trailer and choose where i fish. I would choose the harbour EVERY time. Unless you know every nook and cranny of Pittwater, its a desert. I go from Taylors Pt. to offshore and 9/10 times, i see zero on sounder. Them pros rape the place. You only have to see how well the harbour has been getting better since pros were banned. Year after year it gets better. Last year .. heaps of 80 to 90cm Kings. This year .... well just read Wacko's reports. 1.3m kings. And not just one. They are back, and that is GREAT . And it is down to pro fishing/ trawling being banned. People think it may be bad for the economy?... people travel from all over the world to fish Sydney Harbour, (me included), and they spend heaps of coin. Lets hope Pittwater can recover in years to come . Rant over! Dave

No fish. Too many Pros. Too many sail boats. Get outside the heads! thats where i will be.

Hi Raiders, just came across these, and a few more shots via the web and the IFISH guy PW. Some amazing shots of a 1200 lb plus Marlin, apparently caught off California, not sure when. Worthy of sharing with Fishraider i thought. I can put up some more shots if wanted. Dave

Long Reef has a ramp not the best, but its as close as you can get. Its down at Fishermans beach, just drive passed the golf club.

Fantastic tho i hate catching Rock cod... got spicked a few times painful. regards Dave

I was on a Bertram 25 flybridge, due east of Barrenjoey not as far as the 40m. I didn''t see the whales jump, they just cruised right past us, blowing a bit and showing their fins. It was only after that, that the fish started biting.

I was at the 28 metre mark off Barrenjoey on saturday, drifting from 8am til midday and got heaps of small flatties along with 7 keepers and a flounder . Not a bad day as we also had a visit by 2 Whales. Dave

I was drifting for a few flathead in 30m of water off Barrenjoey head yesterday morning when 2 whales came within 50m of us. Not sure if they were Humpbacks or not but they hung around for 10mins. Very cool.

I was 2km off Barrenjoey yesterday , drirting for a few flathead when we had 2 whales come within 50m of boat.Very cool.

Getting all excited again. Lets hope we beat the cheese eaters!!! GO WALES!!! Dave

You can hope for a hundred years "Boyo" and you still wont win the world cup..Go England. Hahahaha. Might not win it but we lasted longer than the English. What a weekend. Bring on the French.

Round Bar, Steyne Hotel Manly 2mrw.(I'll be wearing red, just ask Ash). Sure to be a good afternoon. After a quick fish in narrabeen lake in the morning ofcourse! Always keen to meet other fishos. Welsh Dave

Hi all, As an avid fan and ex player back in Old North Wales and now living here in New south Wales, i was wondering what your thoughts were on the Rugby World Cup? Living in Brookie(next to oval) its plain to see this is league territory. And make no mistake, I'm a Manly fan. It seems union over here is a bit elitist, much like England? (Private school bods).Whereas in Wales and New Zealand , it is defiantly the working mans game. I am married to a Kiwi from Dunedin, so you can imagine our place at the moment is a bit tense. We have Aussie, Kiwi, Irish friends, and i have to admit it, one or two English friends. Things seem to be hoting up now the pool stages are done. Irish and Welsh are in good form, England, France and Australia , not so good, but that can change quickly. Will The All Blacks cope without Dan Carter? My wife was in tears last weekend!!! They are Class though!. All i can say is , this is the best Welsh team for many a year, a great professional attitude .I can but hope. Dreaming of the Trophy, Cymri am Byth WELSH DAVE

I agree. I always have my EPIRB strapped onto my arm when i am alone onboard. I want them to find ME before the boat.

Generally released.