DaveTheBoy

Stiff luck mate, I'm sure we all have days like this though we don't all post them! Good on you for getting out there anyhow.

If the water is very deep & squid holding on the bottom you can always try paternoster rig (weight at the bottom of your line & the jig on a dropper slightly further up) - this will ensure you get depth, but also keep that jig working as it is designed to do.

Try fishing at the top/bottom of a tide when the current is minimal, 5" white flickbait or similar thrown hard against the bridge pylons - though i agree 6lb is seriously under gunned for that type of thing

Sensational bream there mate! Great vid too

Mate I have clearly seen kings & blue groper cruising that part hard against the shoreline at the spit - I have caught kings there on plastics but never tried for the groper. Incidentally there were 2 big blueys rolling around in crystal clear water next to a wharf in port hacking on the weekend, had some people very excited!

That is just a thumping beach jewie mate, can't do any better than that!! We'll done sir

Nice to see the boys doing so well! Nice work mate

That's a nice squid mate, I work in Newcastle one week per month always looking for a fishing buddy, I'll be in touch!

Nice work mate, what was your lure of choice?

We'll done on your PB, a great beach fish!

That's a great session & nice to see a feed & the big girl released!

Great work mate, south coast rocks are firing for kings right now!

It does indeed mate, you could almost be fooled into thinking you've got it "figured out" until a few fishless trips bring you back down to earth!

So this trip started out yesterday afternoon with a quick harbour flick for squid, 5 in the bag in 1/2hr and feeling hopeful of my planned kings session. Fast forward to this morning - I hit the rocks at Wollongong and just had a ball. The first 3 squid landed kings in succession 66cm smallest to 78cm (new pb for me) the largest. The fish were often coming up with 3 or 4 fish following them, it really was a spectacle! I was just fishing unweighted bait, 30lb braid to 30lb flouro leader & 2 x 3/0 snelled hooks casting just behind the wash. Some guys beside me had a pool of live yakkas fishing under floats & they were making my session look boring by comparison! Every cast was a hookup or some kind of action. We had double & triple hookups at times, and helped each other with the landing net which was nice. I then released a rat, and the last bait hooked a salmon (50cm), and as I was bringing him in he was also pursued by a number of kings who tried stealing him from my line! With no more bait I switched to plastic, now that's an exciting way to catch kingfish! I was watching them come up on the lure & strike - busted off one, released 2 rats, then got this one legal to call it a day! It's the first time I've landed kings on plastics. Anyone could have bagged out many times over I think, the fish were just on today. Incidentally the other guys on the ledge only took home 3 fish a piece, I took 4 which will all be eaten tomorrow, it's nice when we all respect the limits - it would have been easy to get carried away (we've all seen that happen at times). The lure was a jerk shad "pearl white" 13cm for anyone interested. Having learnt to slow down & play the fish out a little better has greatly increased my landing rate, I was busted off only once today so getting a little better all the time. With a big family BBQ happening tomorrow I'm set to be a hero with the kingfish steaks! Sorry for the long post I'm probably just a bit excited, but I started out this summer to catch my first king, and though it took me a few months of catching none - the time put in to learning is paying off.

Solid sambo my man well done!

Nice work mate! I've been getting quite a few kings from the stones right where you guys got your bait!

Mate I'd drop the hook size if you're using 4/0, for prawn baits a #4 or #2 would be heaps. No need for a float there either in my view. Take a walk up the reserve (away from the boat ramp) up to where the river bends around to the right & cast out toward the small creek which splits away. I've caught many flathead & trevally there. With your plastics, hit them hard around the bridge pylons, you may lose a few but hard into the structure has some good bream & school Jews at times. Good luck.

Sounds like an enjoyable session, always makes things interesting when there are bodies in the water!

Very nice effort from the shore my friend. Any bream +40cm is admirable & something a lot of us will be jealous of!

Cheers guys - I think we've always called any type of squid 'calamari' for ease in our house so apologies for the wrong description. In this catch there was 1 true calamari (wings are obstructed in the pic) and the rest were indeed arrows. Agree they all make great bait & taste excellent on the BBQ also!

Great work there & excellent to see the kids involved and learning how it's done!

Headed down this morning to a middle harbour wharf for a friendly session & to teach a newbie mate a few of the basics. Probably spent more time untangling line & removing snags than fishing - anyhow managed 15 calamari which made the effort worthwhile. Also floated out one small squid live for the bonito, and kept a couple slimys for bait which were caught by my mate on a handline after his rod/reel privileges were removed for repeated infringements (namely hitting me in the head & hooking my fingers while baiting). Busted off what I thought to be a rat king also on a whole small squid, though it stayed very deep & circled after the first runs. Ended up besting me on the pylons before I got a look at it. Anyhow fun times & calamari for dinner with a few to spare for the bait freezer.

Very impressive we'll done on the PB

Very nice work mate! We've all learnt the tough lesson (me many times) about leaving fish to chase fish- but that's all part of it I guess!

We'll done on the thrill of your first king from the stones. From experience the first one is the hardest, you'll get them now! Good to see you picking up some trash also