Little_Flatty

G'day ppl, I'm looking to purchase a high end baitcaster rod for light work with SPs for Bream and the like. I currently have a Daiwa Pixy but I'm starting to feel the rod I have for it doesn't quite do it justice. I have looked at the Daiwa Pixy rod which I'm impressed with but I thought seeing as it is a lot of money to spend I want to make sure i know all my options first. Anyone familiar with the Loomis range etc? Btw I'm one of those baitcaster holdout nutcases that uses them for light work even though I know a threadline outfit will cast better...just like the feel of casting them more Thanks

I haven't fished with swivels for years, and have been using braid and have had no real problems with line twist. To be really honest I don't think they make that much of a difference. The only real use I've had for a swivel is to use it as a sinker stopper. But seeing as I don't use sinkers very often (my favourite rig is a hook on the end of the line - nothing else) that use is redundant as well.

what a BEAST! Fantastic stuff mate!

Ah Dan don't fret...at least when you lose a lure you have an excuse to buy some more

Don't go to Clifton Gardens either! Just as a matter of interest, do any of you know how long it might take for fisheries to respond to a call?

Hmm interesting, Never caught a long tom before but I've seen them swimming in the shallows before and have to say it moved like one. I thought the thing looked too green and stumpy but by the sounds of things that's probably what it was! I think I'll go back for another look one of these days Thanks guys

Well done Davy! Sounds like you had a good morning with your dad. Obviously uni is still going easy on you! Make the most of it before sleepless nights and looming deadlines creep up on you!

Hey guys, Took a mate down to the mouth of the Cooks yesterday and promptly got him hooked on SPs after he got smashed twice by big bream on 8lb braid Anyhow apart from that the fishing was nothing to write home about but I noticed something swimming about in the shallows that looked really odd. Was probably about 40cm long, a really bright aqua green colour and swam around too fast and nimbly to be a plastic bag in the current . My first thought is it could be a groper or wrasse. I dunno...quite awed by this strange thing. Wouldn't eat my SPs. What do you think? (Sorry no pics - I was too preoccupied trying to lure the thing up!)

Yeah I'm a pretty big fan of the sandworms. Preferably fish them with no weight, just a couple of size ten hooks - one close to the top and one down the bottom. If I feel dilligent I will sometimes rig them so that the hooks are connected by a length of braid running through the worm (use a long sewing needle to do this). But this is so labour intensive for a lure that will end up getting smashed up by pickers every twenty minutes. So far I have caught more whiting on them than I have on any artificial (not sure if I can really call them a lure!), and also flounder, flathead, bream and tailor (??!!). Davy - 2" gulp grubs I fish them like other grubs, with a jighead bounced along the bottom. I suppose one of the disadvantages of gulps is that because of the flavour and scent, pickers aren't afraid to have a go at all - and if they are out in force they will make short work of them (more so than conventional SPs). But all the same, they are still easier than using the real thing!

Matt I love the olive oil and garlic idea - sure will try that sometime soon! Yeah those gulp grubs are good for bream and flatties. Mind you however I have had a lot of success with the gulp sandworms as well. Rig them up unweighted with a small hook towards the top and a stinger hook down the bottom. Absolute killers on whiting when twitched gently over the flats. When I'm fishing with them I honestly feel like I'm fishing with bait, except for the fact I'm using SP techniques...I feel dirty, I feel dirty!

Sounds like you had a good day. I've been out with Stuart before as well. He's good value. Did he pull the 'no coffee until you have squid' trick on you?

Though I am immune to catching catfish in the Hawkesbury I'm a bit of a Carp King when it comes to freshwater fishing Though to be fair I spend a good amount of time targeting them in the Parramatta river when I'm bored and too lazy to drive out to the harbour. Out there you often see a whole lot of coarse fishermen fishing with their high tech setups with micro weighted floats and half pound breaking strain line but I've done just as well with a simple size ten hook tied to the end of the line. I agree with all the guys here that bread is one of the best baits. Simply knead it over the hook, leaving a little fluffy bit on the end to entice the mudsuckers. Just make sure your bait is kneaded enough so that it sinks...otherwise you might end up catching a duck which is never looked upon well by passers-by! Have fun catching your carp!

aren't the colours on those fish amazing? Well done boys!

Sad to see them killing the shark. But I can handle that to some extent...as annoying as it is to see people doing that. What really irks me about this bloke is that he was quite obviously fishing for sharks in close proximity to a popular swimming area...what else would you use a $20 kingfish as bait for? If he was serious he'd probably have a slick of pilchards and tuna oil stretching for kilometres as well. Very irresponsible of him and give us recreational anglers a bad name.

Try the shoreline in front of the Woolworths carpark next to the bridge. If you can put up with people riding bikes over the top of you, other fishermen casting over your line etc etc then also out the front of the caravan park car park there is a little paved section with some rod holders that you can cast into the channel with. I have seen good fish taken there but it is nowhere near as good as out on the flats! I personally prefer to wade - flats fishing is my favourite form of fishing!

Might tie on a few big jewie plastics and find a nice patch of water for a bit of casting practice

Stick in there Rick, The caravan park is one place that takes a bit of time to crack, fishy as it looks. Was there on sunday with me old man after I turned up to middle harbour without my jewie lures. Just a little wee tip - try one of those Berkeley gulp! worms unweighted rigged with one main hook and a stinger hook. Cast them out over the flats (even the shallows) let it sink, give it a tiny flick, let it settle, wait five seconds, take in the slack and repeat. I have a nifty way of rigging the worms but that's for another day when I have replenished my stock of them. Will post when I get the time!

Looks like the love child of a whale and a garfish

Hey all, Call me lucky, but in all the years I have fished the Hawkesbury, I have never caught a catfish! After hearing fishos complain about it for years, I came to the belief that this was a good thing. Come this year, don't ask me why, but all of a sudden I feel like I've missed out on something! So I've resolved to catch myself just one catfish to see what the complaining I hear is all about. When do people most often come across Catties? Do they get them when going for bream or fishing for jewies? Catfish on SPs? Just something to add to my species-to-catch list for the new year! Mike **sorry mods I've misplaced this post - would you be able to move it to fishing chat?

That's a good idea...but the only thing is that would they have the rights/training to demand ID from irate weekend fishos? Was out at Narrabeen early this morning and found a couple of guys keeping everything they caught (including toads ). Had a chat to them about the fact that some of the fish were too small and the fact that toads were POISONOUS but they told me to bugger off and mind my own business. Annoying thing was that they were getting into some decent bream as well so they didn't need to keep those little ones .

If you can get them feeding on the surface a fun way is to float out a piece of bread in a berley slick. Simply just tie a hook to the end of a line (make sure to put on a mono trace if using GSP), put on a piece of bread crust. To make this rig castable, lower the bread in the water first, immersing it. This will give you a bit of weight so you can (gently) cast the bait into the slick. If this is too hard, try weighting the bait with a bubble float. Just another idea that might let you have a bit o fun

Trouble, Well done. Great to see after hearing all about the dissapointing things that have been happening to Pittwater. Was there myself on the weekend. Lost a pack of gulp sandworms to hungry fish with nothing much to show for it but I wasn't really trying to catch fish - was there with a mate from London who wanted to do some sightseeing.

Looks interesting Not so sure if it's very sporting though, but I spose it'd be fun! Wouldn't do it personally though - I'd probably make a mess of it!

Heyas all, I'm normally not an overtly political fisho but I do have an eye for things that definitely don't make sense! Don't know if you read the article in SMH today titled 'Great leap forward on foreshore footpath' about building a 17km footpath along Sydney Harbour's foreshore, but I found this little gem in the middle of the article: <quote> One concern was the fate of the mangroves that lined the bay, she said. The original plan said all the mangroves should be retained, but after public consultation just one-third will be preserved. "Having the mangroves in a smaller area than originally proposed will make a contribution to the bay … encouraging fish life and bird life," Cr Kemmis said. </quote> Ummm...HUH?! Taking out mangroves will encourage fish and bird life? Which public figures did they consult? Those who live in expensive waterfront developments that hate the mozzies and smells that the nearby mangrove swamps give off? Or are they assuming that fish and birds are starting to go upmarket and also want to live in high rise developments with manicured lawns, swimming pools and gyms? I hope for the mangroves' sake that the above councillor was quoted out of context! Little_Flatty

That's one chunky bream! Things are looking up boys and girls!