campr

Sent you my phone number.

Thought I'd mention Maritime NSW law change as of 1 July this year. Paper charts are no longer required when opperating more than 2 miles to sea if you have appropriate electronic (GPS) charts on board.

I have used gulp worms as a bait extender due to high cost of blood worms or when running out of bait. I put on some plastic worm and top off with a bit of the real thing to presnt a bigger bait.

Hi. Thought I would explain the difference between club comps. There are a lot of little independant fishing clubs based at pubs, RSL clums etc, but two groups of clubs banded together as fishing organisations. Amature Fishermans Association (AFA) comps are based on total bags of fish, usually so many points per fish and points per KG. Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA) which I belong to was formed by a group of fishos 49 years ago that broke away from AFA due to the way comps were run back then that resulted in a lot of fish wastage. (AFA comps now have limits per species that solves this issue). ANSA comps are not based on bags of fish, but trying to catch the highest scoring single fish in each of 5 divisions. Each species of fish has a fighting factor based on their difficulty to catch. This is multiplied by the weight of the fish and then divided by the breaking strength of the (pre-tested) line. Sounds complicated but it isn't realy. This formula means you need to fish the lightest possible lines for the available fish to have a chance of winning and I use 1KG prtest lines when fish in the estuary division.

It's a long drive through the Royal National Park, but Mainebar on the southern side of Port Hacking has plenty of nippers and the pro bait catchers that supply Sydney bait shops pump them on flats just a little further upstream (boat needed). Needed a few for a whiting session a couple of weeks ago and got about 70 in 20 minutes. PS don,t pay for Park entry as not needed as your destination is a residential village and isn't within the park.

As lecky motors can rotate 360 degrees, starting at an angle shouldn't affect performance. My understanding is that they may be mounted at an angle so that motor sits to side of boat when lifted up and folded down rather than coming streight back and possibly being in the way ?

Here are details of a rig I have used for mullet where you need weight to cast a bit further. I have caught mullet from small poddies to fish over a Kilo using this set up. Cut about 2 inches off a round dowel the size of a broom handle. Paint this white and screw a small eyelet in one end. Tie 2 or 3 short droppers in your line and tie 2 or 3 small size 12 or 10 hooks to these and finally tie white dowel to end. I haven't tried this but you could alternatively try half a sabiki bait jig with dowel on end instead of a sinker. To fish this you burley with bread pieces with squashed bread dough for bait on hooks. The dowel gives casting weight and mullet are attracted to white dowel thinking it's bread and find baited hooks. It is also worthwhile trying chicken for bait as it stays on hook better and some days will outfish bread. Keep line fairly tight to keep baits near surface. Good Luck

I've found the trick with mullet anywhere is to get them feeding. Try burlying with bread and if they start agressively feeding you have a chance. Never tried off the beach, but an old trick when needing to cast some distance is to cut a piece of broomstick size doowej about 4 inches long with a screw in eye on one end and painted white, tie on end of line and have a 2 - 3 short droppers with small hooks tied up close to dowel. Bait with fresh bread compressef into dough and also try small pieces of prawn or chicken as this stays on hook better. This gives casting weight and mullet are attracted to float as they are feeding on white floating bread and you still have direct contact to hooks. Good luck.

Couldn't make out what small fish were, but from my experience any small fish that hasn't a legal minimum size is worth putting out for a live bait. Any preditory fish in the area is probably feeding on them, especially if putting out wounded vibes when put out on a hook. I definately would be putting one out to try

I find the best bait for yakkas is chicken fillet. I just trim less nice bits from fillets before cooking and freeze them for bait as you don't need much. Tougher than prawn and when fishing Yowie Bay at night for bait I get bycatch of mullet when burlying with bread. I only use chook pellets when fishing from my boat. I have made a pellet dispenser from PVC tobe with holes smaller than pellet so only fine mist leaks out when pellets break down.

Metal slugs are the go when you can see them feeding on top, as you can cast further with them. if trolling, I find deap diving Rapala CD9s best for bonnies trolled at a fast walking pace. I have recently retired an old orange and gold CD9 that just can't be patched any more right to swim that I recon must have caught 100 bonnies from Jibbon and Botany Heads over the years.

I have successfully used a float for squid, but found it better when using a squid spike and bait.

Have used plastics and bait mix successfully, especially when losing baits without feeling bites so I still had one hook fishing. For no reason other than that's the way I tried first, I put plastic on top hook of a 2 dropper rig and catch was mostly pretty even between bait and SP.

Hi. I'm pushing 70 and made a concious effort to change to winding with my left hand when about 12 after reading an article in a magazine. Definately an advantage to be able to start winding and close bail as soon as a lure hits the water when chasing bass or pelagics like tuna. I also fish ANSA comps using light lines and also find it's an advantage to be using your strongest hand/arm for a prolonged fight. An old trick for those wanting to switch and having trouble is to put a reel on your rod (bottom half of 2 piecer will do) and just wind reel while watching TV until it becomes more natural. Keep winding with left, it's definately the way to go.

Nice whiting. As for your reel problems you can try modifying the drag, but rear drags can be hard to get at on most reels. I fish 1 kg pretest lines a lot in ANSA comps and always modify drag as follows: Hone metal washers flat using super fine emery paper with a piece of glass as backing and ensure drag washers are clean and oiled. You will be surprised how cupped they can be from being stamped out. I sometimes replace washers with carbontex, especially larger reels such as used for jigging. However I'm beginning to think the old oil soaked felt washers are still the best for light lines 3kg and less. The main problem is the design, as rear drags washers have too small a drag surface and are hard to service. I have about 15 reels and I won't have anything to do with rear drags except as used in baitrunners. Good luck. Sometimes drags will smooth out a little as they bed in.

Caught on live yellowtail.

Started targeting jews for this season in Georges. After 2 failed missions finally cracked a keeper at 1.30am going 1005mm and 8.2kg. Lots of effort catching bait and long nights, but worth it in the end.

Congrats on getting the Cobia. A few cobes come out of the Hacking every year with some a good size. As for how far south they go, I caught a little bloke about 2 kg in Wagonga Inlet at Narooma a few years ago and I have heard of them even further down.

Hi Kurt I am retiring myself in 4 weeks time and although I have a mate retired close by and often prefer fishing alone there may be times I could use a crew during the week. I am 67 yo and live near Engadine. I am fairly competitive fishing ANSA competitions where I do exceptionally well and do a lot of extremely light line sportfishing which may not suit you. I have sent you an email and you can advise your contact details if interested. I have a 5.6 metre Quintrex and intend to do more outside work for kings, tuna, marlin etc

My father-in-law caught heaps from beaches at coast up near Grafton. He would roll them in cool dry sand and keep them in a cool place they will keep for a couple of days. The empasis is on sand being cool, not hot from the sun as this will kill them. Use any broken ones first, as they wont stay alive as long. The method of keeping left-overs by putting them in metho for 30 secs up to a minute toughens them up for freezing. Not as good as fresh but better than none and it can help to add a little tuna/pilchard fish oil before using.

Something must be wrong with lure or your set-up. Try Following to tune your outfit. Check how lure swims my casting out a little way and slowly retrieving with rod tip near water. If lure swims to one side you have found problem and lure needs tuning. Gently bend eye of lure with pliers towards direction it swam and try again. Do this a little at a time until it swims true. Rapala used to have an instruction sheet for this with all their lures. Also, check your knot and swivel etc are all in line. Some snaps pull sliightly off centre. Try discarding swivel/clip and tie straight to lure with a loop knot. RonC

I specialise in big flathead on 1kg for ANSA competitions. What you learn in regards to perfectionism with your knots, gear and rigs carries through to all your fishing stylles. It also naturally teaches you patience and how to be extremely smooth with how you play your fish. Using parabolic action rods and fine tuning your drag also helps as well. I have no doubt that fishing lighter in overfished waters realy helps as well, as you have to get the hook-ups first to have any chance.

I fished the Sydney ANSA Convention last weekend and managed to beat my own NSW State Lineclass record for 1kg line. Caught in Hacking River she went 97CM and weighed 5.66KG, taking out the largest flathead and the Estuary Division of the Comp. Not caught on braid this time, but 1kg Platapus Pretest mono with shock trace and 8kg flurocarbon leader. As usual she was kept in tank alive and released after weighing. Also got second with one 3.19kg on 1kg line. I'm sure I lost a bigger one next morning after a long fight when of all things, the swivel failed and came apart. Also had a few bust-offs caused by Kingfish some sighted around 80+cm but only landed a 64cm (released) model. Not much chance using 1kg line. Pic attached but you have to open 5 66kg 7-4-13.pdf

I use about 8kg fluro carbon between sinker and hook as a bit of insurance against their teeth for what is usually a long fight, however it's rarely needed as I use big mouth hooks that work like circles as they usually pull out until they sit-up and lip hook the fish. Ron

dhype Both fish were short for weight but extremely good condition. 4.46kg was 76mm and 5.64 was 87mm TASKSTA Flathead are the same everywhere. Find the drop-offs, find the bait and you will find the fish. GAZA I was fishing a Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA) comp. Pretested line must be used and formula used where the lighter the line the more points it scores. So the aim is to catch the biggest fish on lightest line, not kill a lot of fish like some comps. Example 3kg flatty on 2kg line= 150 points. 2kg flatty on 1kg line = 200 points and smaller fish wins. I specialise in catching flathead on 1kg line in these comps and have a 1200mm long special live tank made so I can keep fish alive to release after weighing, as don't like killing these big breeders. Breaking record was a bonus, I held the record for years and glad to have it back. Next goal is try for National record. Ron