fishtime

Hopefully you'll have better luck next time. I was out on Sunday being my first time out in a few months and pulled up a nice flatty around Lion Island, right on the turn of the low tide before midday using SP. Other than that, a pinkie on the drift inside towards Middle Head else quiet on the fish front. A great day out though !

What a great day out on the water with a mate and our boys. No fish landed to speak of, however fun none the less. The Fishraider Team have pulled off another great social. Despite a bit of wind and swell about, the rain stayed away for the morning, and a great feed of bacon and eggs sent us off on our way. We drifted around Wooloware Bay and in between Captn Cook and Tom Ugly's bridges, but no takers. After loading the boat back onto the trailer, we drove around to the weigh-in to see the winners get their prizes. Well done guys ! Another quick feed of sausage on a roll was just the ticket. A special thanks to Donna and Stewy and the rest of the people responsible for organising and making the day a successful get-together. My son and I look forward to the next one. Cheers, fishtime.

Nooice Fish. Veeery Nooice ! fishtime

I think fishing with the young kids is just GOLD, CnR. I look forward to those days, and will remember these good times for a looong while. Great work there, and some good flatties too. Cheers, fishtime

Earlier last week I suggested to my son we'd go fishing on Saturday morning. He was keen, and the weather looked to line up well although the reported swell up to 2m was not ideal. On the drive up, I said to him we are not going to use bait today - let's try soft plastics again. "Sounds like a good idea . . ." We passed a few boats at Juno, and the water was surprisingly flat - so I pointed to West Head and said "that's where we are going". As we headed passed Patonga he said to me why do we go in there. Sensing he was anxious to get the lines wet, we pulled into the mouth of the creek, and started throwing SPs at the drop-off. A few knocks were felt, but no hook-ups, however it was enough to keep the interest in using the SPs. After a while, Tom turns to me and announces "I got one!". A few lifts and winds and he's landed his first flatty on SP. "Too easy" he said, boating the first fish for the day. He was a bit small, and I said we'd put him back and surely get a photo of him with a bigger one. Another little while, he's hooked into a seocond one - all of 20cm; and now he was 2 for 0. All smiles, we put him back in and I was feeling a little out-played having only had a small run but none to the boat yet. A few more casts, and I had a good hit and managed to connect to a feisty trevally. Having not seen one of these before, Tom wanted to keep him and he was the first fish boated of decent size. Shortly after, Tom's on again, and this time brings up a great little keeper flatty. "We won't have room for any more fish in the bucket Dad", he says and we go back around for another drift. Not long after, he's hooked in again bringing in his fourth flatty for the day, and slightly larger than the previous one. He could hardly keep the smile off his dial, so I suggested he ring mum to tell her the good news . . . While he was giving the updates, I had another hit, and in came the third keeper flatty. What a fantastic day; the first 2 keeper fish on SP for Tom, beaut weather and a great way to spend time with my son. "Can we go fishing again next Saturday, Dad?" How can I refuse ? All caught using 3" pumpkin seed minnow, and 4" bloodworm. Cheers fishtime

Grant, just heard back from a mate and his son who are also very interested. Can they please be adeded as well? fishtime

After the SP Day, can't keep me away. Please add me in + son. Thanks, fishtime

Have a good holiday Jase, and good luck on the fishing. I look forward to seeing a photo or two of you holding up your catch. fishtime

G'day Kingky, great day to be out on the water, even with a few miss-haps. I took the boat off Bobbin Head into various bays flicking SPs, hardbodies, and blades around - not even one hit . I did see some rather large whiting working the shallows but could not raise their interest. A great day out none-the-less. Shame about losing the rod-n-reel - hope you have a better session next time. Cheers, fishtime

That's a beautiful lizard morgs . Congrats on the PB. That destroyed jighead goes to show what a tough battle it must have been . cheers, fishtime

Hey Jewdreamer, I would have been a definite starter, however stuff planned with Saturday sports and then at the kids' school after that . Perhaps another time ? I'm keen to get on the water with SPs after the social day last weekend. Hope you find a fellow fisher and have a good day out. cheers fishtime.

Good onya Slinky cheers, fishtime.

Hey Nathan, that's a great job, and now the trailer looks as good as new Well done, mate. Now to get into the fishing Bring on the good weather ! Cheers, fishtime

What a cracker day ! Thanks to Admin Team for organising such an excellent sesion. It was great to meet up with fellow raiders. A big thanks also to Slinkymalinky for sharing some of his knowledge. After the session I went for a run in my boat with Big_Muskellunge and his mate, trying some of the techniques and new tackle. I managed a 33cm flatty on SP, and also a small chopper on the little hardbody I bought earlier in the week from Mark at Global Tackle. Unfortunately that was all that was pulled in that afternoon, but we had a good time, and it was great to fish and to chat with some new mates. BTW - that's a beaut whiting there pete. Cheers, fishtime

G'day Spoz. I'm no brilliant fisher by any means, however in my recent trips I have decided to not take any bait and that way I can concentrate on improving the SP technique. I still don't catch that many fish (although bait did not serve me any better in that department ), however I work on the basis that the ones I do catch have been due to my skills - not just a lucky hook-up. I find that for me this is more satisfying . cheers mate, fishtime

Well done on your PB fisher doi - great read too ! fishtime

On Saturday afternoon I thought it time to take the father-in-law out for a fish again. Sunday weather looked to be fine from the forecast. Set off early from Brooklyn to run out and up to the heads. Jeez there was a bt of a swell running. After a drift around Juno for a few bites but nothing solid, we pushed through to West Head. Tough time with the wind and could not get a decent drift, so we pulled back into the river near Patonga for a another drift. The wind was continuing to blow, maybe a little harder now, and after an hour or so we thought time to head back in. As for the fish - pretty quite this time. I lost a few SP tails from some good runs, and managed only a 30cm flatty. The in-law managed a nice little keeper (43cm)on frozen prawn. Better than mowing the lawn . . . Cheers fishtime.

G'day Feedomsport, you can take your rig to a public weighbridge and get an accurate weight. There are a few around Sydney, and I think when I did mine (at Auburn) it only cost about $20 or $25. It's worthwhile to get a proper measure with all you normal fishing gear, eskies, and fuel load, etc. Cheers, fishtime

That's a cracker croc. Well done. fishtime

I've been for a fish this morning on Pittwater. A few flattys and Aust Salmon. Home by 12:30, cleaned and ready for dinner tonight fishtime

With the last few weekends weather being pretty ordinary, I was looking forward to getting on the water this weekend. I headed out early this morning, leaving Parley Bay at 6:00am to catch the low tide at the mouth of the Hawksbury. A number of people had the same idea, as the ramp was pretty busy. A quiet start, using some leftover frozen prawns, and also working a 3" SP minnow. After only small interest from little snapper inside West head, I gave the prawns a miss, and tried the SPs a little harder. Drifting into Pittwater, I felt up some weight and after a short and rather uneventful fight (true Flathead style), I was looking a quite a large fish , the sort of stuff I have read about here but never really experienced before . I was by myself, fumbling with the net as the big girl swam quietly under the boat. This was not good ! I attempted to steer her around, but darn it, she lifted her head, gave a little shake, and was goooone straight through the 6lb floro leader Desperately frustrated at losing her, I was also bouyed by the fact that I hooked up in the first place. I estimated her at about 75cm, with a head like a spade. I figured, if caught once, maybe I can catch her again. A bit further on the drift, and I hook into another flatty. At 40cm I put this one back knowing there are likely to be a few bigger ones about. Next on was a little Frigate (I think thats what it is - see below - size is just under 40cm) caught on a fast retrieve and released - Geez these little guys pull hard on light gear . Another few flattys, ranging from 15cm to 45cm (the larger being invited home for dinner), a 32cm bream (also coming home for dinner)and a 29cm flounder pulled in on the drift back up Hawksbury (also released), and the great day was coming to an end. I also dropped a few flattys which spat out the hook well before getting boat side - not sure what was going on there ! Not wanting to get too much grief from the for being gone most of the day, I headed back to the ramp, grabbed a sausage sanga from the local rescue boys at the ramp, and was home by 2:30pm. What a great day ! Caught another feed of flatty and bream from the new rod & reel - very happy Cheers folks - fishtime.

Thanks for the feedback folks . Garlic and Chilli Calamari was excellent with BBQ flathead - I can almost taste it now again. Yes, the squid were on smaller hooks. Is this an unusual way to get them ? I do have a squid-jig in the fishing box, however have never had too much luck using it - go figure ! With my new found excitement, I am looking forward to getting into the Hawksbury / Cowan system to chase a few more - perhaps get the jig doing it's thing. Cheers, fishtime.

A longer post than my previous few - actually something worth reporting about - woohoo ! Hope you enjoy. After spending a voucher left-over from Christmas to buy a new graphite rod with reel on Saturday, the opportunity came to try it out on Sunday. We had been staying with some friends in the Shire, and whilst the girls went shopping, the boys went out for a fish around the PM turning tide. The pressure was on. My mate and his son are new to fishing and boating, and there was high expectation that I deliver some fish for the families for dinner. I did try to explain that I have very poor record, and just to be on the safe side we need to keep the take-away flyers close at hand . . . We took my boat to launch off Hawkesbury Reserve (a nice set up there) and headed into the river. Moments after setting up the first drift between Capt Cook and Tom Ugly's Bridge, one of the boys was onto a squid. I have never caught one of these before, however remembered from reading this site that you want to get them to ink in the water before they make a mess of your boat. After some unsuccessful attempt to make the squid angry, I grabbed it a shoved in the bucket. It then inked ! The next few drifts and each of the boys and my mate scored a couple more squid however I had yet to make any contribution and was really feeling the pressure . In between baiting up the boys, I was trying out the new rod & reel. A few twitches, and then suddenly I feel the weight come on. A quick check that I was not snagged on the bottom, and I feel the pull of a fish ! A pretty good one too. With excitment at having hooked into something I begin a short but satisfying tussle and bring up a 47cm flatty. What a relief - catching a decent fish, using plastics, on my new purpose gear. A few more drifts - and I managed to hook into what looked a bit like either a biggish tailor or very small king (est 45-50cm) - again on plastic. It was swimming fairly fast and came up past the boat, however spat the hook before getting to the net. Made a mess of the 3" minnow. That was the end the session, we cleaned up a bit and headed back in. One of my most successful fishing trips ever - and in the end I did provide a bit of the entree and dinner (coupled with some chips from around the corner) accompanied by . I can't wait to get back out to give my new rod another go. Tally for the afternoon: 4 x squid (each on prawn) 1 x flatty (3" minnow pumpkin seed)

Thanks for that Framedtrash. I'm sure paying an little extra fee is well worth it vs a fine. Cheers, fishtime

Fellow Raiders, looking to get onto Pittwater this weekend however I have a question to which hopefully you may share your knowledge. Are the fees payable to park at Bayview using coins only, or can I charge onto plastic (afterall, it has already copped a beating with Christmas shopping, etc. ) I also assume you estimate your return time, ie pay for 36 hours if planning for an overnight ? Thanks in anticipation of your responses. Cheers, fishtime