DaveTheBoy

We ate a one or two up there, even deep froze a couple & shipped back home (note - absolutely not worth the $$ or hassle to pack & ship, this was a special request for our dad). The vast majority were released.

Some pictures of a wonderful trip with my brother up to the territory. I could write pages here, but I won't. Fishing in & around the Finniss River was spectacular, just great scenery/country to be amongst - so much wildlife and beauty in this country, we need to respect it. Caught some great barra which was our aim, along with some other species such as cod, trevally, catfish and mackerel. Despite what TV show may depict, the fish certainly did not just "jump into the boat" up there, we really had to work for our fish, landing probably an average of 4 barra per day. I must say whilst a very special fish to catch, the barra didn't give the sustained fight I had imagined. It was all blistering in the very beginning - but I felt once you turned their head & dealt with any jumping, you had the fish properly 'beaten'. From there it was more just a case of dealing with the weight of the fish & navigating around snags etc. Once I find out how to load video I will try to do so, we have some wonderful film capturing wildlife, scenery & fishing. Most fish were caught slowly trolling - and by far the most productive lures for us were Rapala Xrap and Classic Barra 97 in gold colour, we used them almost exclusively. In addition I think one of the biggest fish pictured was caught on a killalure barra bait, which somebody at the campsite had given to us as they were departing. I'm back in reality (Newcastle) now & will have some small windows of fishing time in the coming weeks. I am keen to get into the winter whiting & salmon that should be around - if anyone has the inside scoop please drop me a line!

Perfect tailor weather this weekend with overcast days & high morning tides. The drizzle kept the crowds away but the fish didn't disappoint with solid schools biting until you chose to stop. A lot of the fish were pushing up around 50cm, and a few bonito in the mix too - though the Bonnies seemed to spook easily once a fish was caught. Had a lot of fun & kept a few fillets for the table. Not sure if he'll ever read this - but special thanks to a friendly fisho named Jeff who shared his block of pillies with me when I ran out during a hot bite off Stockton on Saturday morning - a very nice gesture & much appreciated.

Getting near the rock ledges anywhere from Newcastle to Port Stephens proved tough this last weekend due to dangerous swells. Had a few sessions on a few beaches along that stretch of the coast - pretty hard at sunrise/dusk to miss out on tailor with the odd salmon in the mix too. These fish pictured were spun up on a 40g lure, all in the 45cm-55cm range (biggest fish was landed by my wife while I was bleeding the previous fish!) Pick of the beaches for me were Birubi to the north, Dudley to the South. Got a few salmon also at Blacksmiths. As ever fishing gutters is the key to winning - some frustrated people I came across on the beaches who missed out on fish just were not near gutters. Medium casting lures (40-50g) or 1/2 pilchards quite lightly weighted accounted for all my fish this weekend (high tides brought the fish in close). Dave

Good work mate! I was scouting the area on Friday & Saturday morn - the seas were angry my friend & I couldn't get near the water on any ledges between your place & mine! Great work

That's a mystery shark! Maybe zebra shark? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_shark#/media/File:Stegostoma_fasciatum_ningaloo.jpg

Raising the standard for both catch and photography prowess! Great work mate

Great report mate & well done! That's a great fish for your first, wishing you many more to follow.

Also as a side note - if we were fishing side by side on a wharf, and you'd landed 5 fish to my 0 - I wouldn't be too proud to copy your technique even if it seemed strange to me! Whatever works on the day...

Papa I can 2nd this technique of a float without stopper, though it can be a little confusing until you redefine the role of the float. I use the same technique fishing for kingfish/salmon/tailor from breakwalls with good success at times (when I can't find fish on the surface or the bottom). In this technique, the float serves the purposes of: A - slowing the drift/sink rate of the bait (as you can control/adjust the amount of line below the float by feeding/retracting line at the reel). You can test different depths during the same cast by adjusting the line. B - acting as a reliable indicator of bait location (factor in some variance for any current) Once you find the spot in the water column where the fish are holding, you can replicate it easily & stay close to the fish, where others struggle to maintain a place in the "strike zone". It's a great land-based technique. I have used the same technique to fish paternoster rigs (e.g. bait jig or SPs) in mid-water from breakwalls where fish are holding around structure or over a reefy bottom. Keep your bait/lure in the right place for longer while avoiding the snags. Great work & well done on the catch!

From my understanding, trimethylamine oxide is produced normally in parallel to fish spoilage. You'll commonly recognise its presence as it causes the "rotten fish" (or sometimes ammonia) smell! Reduce it's production, you reduce fish spoilage (hence salting as a preservation method) - the bonus here is that moisture is withdrawn from the fish leaving it a little less likely to break up when using as bait.

That one went 71cm mate, put back to swim another day after a few 'selfies'. Kept a few in the 50's + 60's for eating though.

Mate I salt all of my pilchards & seem to do ok. Definitely helps me as most of my fishing is casting from beach or rock. I get them from the coop & salt them for about 2 days in a bucket before use in pool salt. Also keep the salt (now full of goodness) and mix with sand & bread for burley. They can be frozen once salted too. Others may have different experience, but it seems to work ok for me.

A report from the last two mornings at Dudley & Stockton respectively. Beautiful weather (though angry seas) made it a little tough, however managed a few solid tailor and flathead. The tailor seem to be of better average size now, flathead still have many under/just on size with a few better ones in the mix if you keep working. I also hooked a nice Jewish - but had trouble getting it up on the sand with the unpredictable surf doing me zero favours. A complete rush of blood to the head saw me screw up the drag (against every logical instinct) to try to beach it. Popped the leader almost instantly. Very next cast hooked on again! Not wanting to repeat mistakes, I brought it in good & close, loosened the drag, popped the rod in the holder & ducked in to grab the trace. It was at this point I noticed my first leader & hook still attached to the fish - the same goddamn fish. With a hand on the leader, I was knocked off my feet by a surging wave. Got good & wet, and popped the leader AGAIN! Jewfish 2 - Dave 0. Well played Mr Mulloway, poorly played Dave. Im yet to land a jewie from the beach, though if anyone one happens to catch a Jewish with 2 traces attached to it, PM me & I'll let you know where you can send me a fillet!

That's all good advice thanks, I'll persist a little longer but downsize the baits to cubes with smaller hooks & see how we go.

Yeah getting bites, that's not the issue. Tonight was a good example - I fished with 2 rods same bait. Standard hook caught 5 fish to 1 on the circle despite the rod indicating plenty of bites. Target species are mostly things like tailor, salmon, jewfish & kings from the beach rock wall using unweighted or lightly weighted cut baits - though I seem a fair amount of flathead without really targeting once the baits settle on the bottom.

Hi Raiders - looking for some help (or reassurance)! I used to catch quite regularly on circle hooks, but recently my catch rate has dropped right off. I can't think of anything I've changed. What am I doing wrong? What are you doing right? I usually fish from the beach or breakwall with two rods, with the circle hook on my secondary rod (which is mostly in the holder) while I hold my main line. That way I'm not much tempted to strike early on a bite, even the flatties mostly hook themselves. Any tips appreciated!

Good on you mate love seeing the young ones with smiles on their little faces & bringing in good fish too!

That is absolutely sensational well done!

Just a quick update from the past 24hrs - I have fished a fair few hours on the rock ledges around One Mile & Birubi beach. Not much doing whatsoever, spinning fairly constantly & also floating baits around the washes for a couple of choppers but even they were few & far between. Came back in from the headland & fished the corner of the beach to finish up my baits (crab & pilchard & yakka) to at least bring a few bream home. I haven't notice any sharp change in water temp (I realise sticking your feet in isn't an exact science) but I haven't been doing as well in this past week as I was up until Easter. That's fishing I guess, and still great to be out on the water!

Sensational work Scratchie! Mate I think that's the only kind of seas that could get me out on a boat - unless you need an automatic burley machine hanging over the side! Very nice pal - I'll be lurking about over the weekend hopefully they stay on the chew.

I might compare it to eating black drummer, though the fillets were firmer. I cut them into skinless + boneless "fish cocktails" dusted in four & shallow fried them. I think like any fish if you treat them with respect, keep them on ice & fillet them promptly they can cook up OK. My wife doesn't much like eating fish (other than flathead or whiting fillet usually) & she ate a few pieces of this which means it isn't overly "fishy" or oily. Hope that helps - it's not the first time I've kept one for the table especially if you're having a lean morning & feel like a feed of fish!

Yes mate - i find that filleted & skinned they aren't bad

That is UNREAL! Thank you so much Dave

Awesome first up effort mate! It's a slippery slope (I now own more bits of fancy coloured rubber than I care to count)! Good on you keep it up bud.