wannabefisho

That would be no contest, and alcohol abuse????

Definitely NO picnic for them, but I was having a field day Had to work hard for them, a lot of listening and watching the current in anticiation of the "turn" then more waiting in freezing cold... at one point I was too scared to turn my back just to grab a smoko and ber from the ledge in fear I'd miss out on the strike, lol Patience and having good eyes and ears is key to ambushing big bream- it seriously is an art- one has to try it its a phenominal feeling really stalking the prey, watching for the movement, then going in for the kill... I never thought I'd ever say that but in fishing its just the best fun, even with dirty, smelly bait Mate, bloody freezing... I pity my mates ut in their Tinnie last night, they had 'clavas on and all rugged up. Was so still I was watchin the fog come in over the water from over Rhodes way and it was really errie, esp after the turn of the tide when the bream were splashin round right in front of me. Thanks Roberta, I noticed last week they didnt have any size to them... maybe since the rain stopped I dunno, but I am sure as happy as a pig in mud ATM- Love it when everything comes together- except for the jew not playing- but I suspect that might have been to do with not having squid. IF Berkley did bring a chicken breast SP- I buy a crate of em- Rivers + structure + chicken + light line = Lotsa BIG BReam + bonus FUN Thanks for the replies everyone- I am just happy the weather held up and I like going solo... but I like it when my mate Nathan comes with me- he's kinda my "good luck mate" Tight lines all Anthony

40cm Breambo is a top effort Pete, and a nice smaller version and a blackie makes for a top arvo of fishin Shame it didnt put up a decent fight for you though- nromally the BNB go pretty hard, esp the ones in the rivers I find go off like fire-crackers when hooked and they like to try and dust you off on any available structure. Tight lines Anthony

I went for a low tide run last night on Parra River in the Gladesville area @ a spot my mates and I call "spot b". I was armed with Mullet, slimeys and chicken breast. Current was running pretty hard but persisted with a heavy outfit and size 6 snapper lead and another with unweighted chicken in close on bream gear. Lost a few baits till I came up on tight with a MONSTER 45cm Blue Nose Bream - Lost a few more baits on the jew gear for no hookups- even had a couple of squealers which I suspect were bigger Bream out wide. After the turn of the tide (about midnight) it hotted up BIG time. I nailed a further 2 Bream going 42 and 36cm respectively, and dropped one I suspect was in the 45-50cm range right at my feet, they came in real close I could drop my line about 2 feet from where I was standing on the ledge and get hits immediately. Unfortunately I ran out of bait, my mate Dave swung by in Ian's tinnie and attempted to throw me some fresh squid caught yesterday but it failed to reach me, so I called it quits and left 2am Another top night solo at a different location. I took a few piccies so I'll add them in separate posts. the bucket is a 35cm extra large bucket so this thing was a cracker! ENJOY! Here is another piccie And the final piccie of the 3 together

Top session slinky! you would have to be stoked with that effort

Hmmm... Broken Bay Taylor and Sharks seems the order for me- rain/hail/shine dont care as long as I get a fix- esp after I sit an exam tomorrow will be well deserved to go dangle a line and sink a 6 pack me thinks Tight lines everyone, hope the fish gods are kind on the weekend Anthony

PM sent...

Hey Datt, I fish with both braid (spiderwire 10lb) and mono (Daiwa Sealine 6 & 8lb) in Lane Cove River & up on the Central Coast for Bream, Whiting and Flatties... I reckon mono is by far the easiest- i dont use leader on my mono just straight through to the hook with a small split-shot crimped about 30cm above the hook- I have had no problems using this rig exept when there are loads of choppers around or a big bream pings me on the oysters. On the other hand the braid is great and very sensetive and you can feel everything- tail slaps and even the lightest of bites- but i DO get more hookups on the mono outfit hands down and I use the same hooks, same split shots and everything is same- even the leader is the same mono as I use on my mono ourfit- so there you have it. I DO like the casting distance of braid but when you are going light (say between 6 and 10lb) there isnt much difference, you might get an extra metre or 3 out of braid. Remember that majority of your light-medium fishing will be in close to structure (wharves, oysters, rocky outcrops) so distance casting may or may not be really required- and the stretch of mono around structure is beneficial if you get a big Bream or Whiting or Flattie you will appreciate what it gives you. Hope this helps in soem small way mate Tight lines Anthony

Im def interested... my only pittfall ATM is I'm studying and go back to classes next Monday and they go till first week in July, then a 3 week break then back for last class @ end of July, I am still free weekends and some week nights though. I'll send ya a PM with my details we can arrange an outing somewhere maybe on Nthn Beaches or elsewhere... I got own transport and gear and yes, I would even swim the bait out on my Mal if needed- but I sure hope I dont get "nabbed" in the process Chat soon brettmann Anthony

Hey Mate- I too am an avid Shark Fisho from the beaches and I go up to Broken Bay for Jewies, Sharks and anything else that will take a large slab and give a good fight, and maybe feed my family. I berley with my left over off cuts and frames and bread and chook pellets (Bread + chook pellets= mullet/Whiting/slimeys/yakkas) and the frames and off cuts are for jewies, I just happened to find that Sharks and likely other bigger predators are by-catch but berley is the key to ANY kind of fishing- who except for the "jiggers" dot berley for bait fish and even to get the predators at the back of the boat??? Anyway if you want to go sharking one night then let me know, I dont shark where there are swimmers and I only shark open beaches (ie. not in the harbour) or immediate vicinity of any crowded areas. I usually go every weekend off the beaches for the predators, and during the week I fish for Bream and Whiting and Flatties on Lane Cove River and Parra River for a feed. Anyway mate flick me a PM if you wanna go soon I got a truckload of Mullet and Slimeys I have to use and what better way than to nail a nice Bronzie or Hammer - and maybe I can learn a few things about sharking as I only seem to catch School Sharks, Port Jacksons and the occasional Wobbegong or seven gill shark, nothing monster but all between 110cm and 180cm and I want a BIG shark to tussle - last time I went I fought a big Noah for 25mins before it severed through doubled 80lb mono from my favourite beach. Chat soon hopefully tight lines Anthony

Great feed mate Bet you were STOKED when the Jew came aboard 72 is a pretty decent jew in anyones language- next thing we will see ya with a 1m+ model Tight lines Anthony

Bad luck Bergo- the rivers seem to have too much fresh water in them ATM I went out on Lane Cove Friday night and although we were busy with quite a few fish- all were undersized except for a monster 2m Eel I caught on 8lb- fought like a Jew for around 10mins before I saw colour and cut him off. I'd say the Beaches and the mouth to Broken Bay should be producing the goods ATM as there is little or no action in the rivers- esp for Jewies ... Although I did hear from a mate Soapies to 75cm have been taken up the Hawkesbury in the last week on SP's but nothing big and they were right upstream. Better luck next time mate Tight lines Anthony

If you wanna go to Terrigal there is a Manta Ray that lives there (or used to...) Dunno if its already been captured though... somehow I recall in the local paper it was a resident and was taken causing an uproar locally... I hooked it once on 15lb and I lasted 15mins before it just took a casual dive and snapped me clean- I was fishing for Flatties off "the haven". I read somewhere there was a record shovel nose ray caught in Botany somewhere a month or 2 ago- they are out there you should use good berley and frames they will come (along with the Sharks). Good luck mate Anthony

I used to fish Nth Avoca off the rocks (where the platform washed in a few years ago) for huge Taylor and Salmon, but now I fish around Broken Bay and Box Head Would be interested to see now Terrigal lagoon is open if there are any jewies or big Noah's hanging out waiting for a feed- I might give it a try Friday am up in Narara in the morning might drop a line in on the way home in the arvo on the dropping tide How is the swell up there??? I was out on Nthn Beaches yesterday and its 6-8foot and like a washing machine- really brown and mad sucky shoreys was hard to cast out to the gutters and hold bottom with a strong Sth current running 4-6 knots, even with snapper leads was hard work I left after an hour got soaked! PS- if anyone is interested in dangling a line up that way I go to CC every weekend and fish aftenoon and nights. Cheers Anthony

How good is that! WOW! thats a feed and a half Pete, and showing another fisho "how its done" you deserve the Mentor badge for sure. Great going chap... top report and some cracking fish to match! Tight lines Anthony

Nice blackies Groper andthe LJ will make a tasty dish. Congrats on another fine session mate. Tight lines Anthony

Am pretty sure its NOT a triggerfish, here is a link to an oceanography site that lists ALL triggers in Australian waters and none look like the ones here... NOTE- the trigger species are listed @ the bottom of the page My link Even though having not seen one like these before I'd certainly check before eating them, lol Tight lines Anthony

Nah, if you salt em correct and use a sealable container there will be little or no smell at all-the salt dries out the flesh and removes the odor most of the time. Mate I but 2kg blocks from my local tacklo, I tried ones from the markets and the are usually soggy in the mid section and they arent much good cause the gut falls out- I am pretty selective how I get my pillies and I make sure I get ones that arent degraded in ANY WAY- so no skin falling off, nothing thats bent or folded in half cause they will fall apart once defrosted. I reckon the best way is to let them defrost- then get them and wipe off the excess moisture with paper towel or a rag, then salt them from there so there is no moisture surrounding the fish when you go to salt them- its an extra 15-20minutes to do this but it keeps em in much better condition when it somes to salting time then when you use them... Any half pillies or ones with degraded skin or blemishes like guts hanging out I just refreeze "as is" and pop them into the berley mix all mushed up- works a treat with some Bread and Chook Pellets and a smidgeon of Tuna Oil, and if I got prawns I mush them up too... top berley mix mate if you dont catch fish with this berley there aint no fish in the area to start with... I use it in the rivers, off the beaches and in my sisters boat never failed me yet! For bigger fish I add in Slimey heads and frames and Mullet heads and frames and dump em in real close to where Im fishin to keep them in the gutter or just off the wharf or rocks... Good luck lads Anthony

I catch and eat fish west from the harbour bridge on a weekly basis, and have done so for the last 6 years without any adverse side effects- my wifes Dad has been eating fish from Lane Cove and Parra Rivers for 25+ years and he's still as strong as an Ox just a bt slower cause he is nearly 70yo. My friends think I am nuts eating from these areas but hey, I love fishng and I love eating fresh fish- I do also fish the beaches regularly and eat from them aswell- I dont see any reason why you cannot eat fish west of the bridge- if you are seriously that worriedthen fish east of the bridge- but you will still have the same "risks"- the choice is up to the individual ... I reckon I'd get cancer from smoking too many ciggies and drinking too much beer faster than soem "supposed dioxin level" will give me and Im OK with that, no questions I will continue to eat fish from my local I reckon they taste better from LCR or Parra River anyway...

Great catch Byron- Some super sized LJ's there too Tight lines Anthony

Thats gold nudge, its great when your kids get into such a great sport... And a nice feed of jewies to boot Congrats on some nice fish mate Cheers Anthony

Hey mate, I am not going to be harsh, there is nuthin wrong with ya setup- but as a suggestion for a 2-4kg rod I'd be using MAX of 12lb mainline and then use a 6-8lb flouro or mono leader. I fish Parra and Lane Cove Rivers with 1-3kg rod and 8lb mono straight through- I regularly nail bream to 40cm and other goodies like Whiting, Flatties and have even hooekd a few jewies on this outfit (but the jewies either dusted me or spat the hooks before I could strike), and even trolling have landed Salmon to 70cm on the same outfit, never changed line, have been bitten off only by taylor and the occasional jewie. Again it depends on what you are casing a more suitable rod for what line and reel you are using would be a 3-5kg or even a 5-8kg with a soft tip (like an ugly stik or similar). ... Still though as slinky said the important thing is you have fun, if you fish light rigs or unweighted in the rivers and estuaries you will consistently get fish, but you might need to drop your leader to 6lb or 8lb to get consistent hookups- sure you might get a dusting every now and then by bigger fish but thats part of fishing - and what give you experience and once you get dusted a few times you learn pretty quickly how to handle bigger fish- and the cool thing with fishing is you never stop learning and refining your techniques and there are always new places to try and different species to target- there is a plethora of info here and also on the internet as a whole so get out there and start doing- you will be rewarded soon eneough! Tight lines mate Anthony

I dont weight them but I reckon he was def close to 3kg and he was a solid fish- some nice fillets right there. Thanks for the replies guys. Anthony

Cover them in rock salt (or pool salt its cheaper!) I layer salt in the bottom of an ice cream container place a layer of pillies, then another layer of salt... keep repeating until you have filled the ice cream bucket- bung the lid on and tip her upside down and give it a bit of a "shake around" this will make sure ALL the pillies are covered. then bung em in the fridge, NOT freezer they will keep for up to 6 months like that.

Went out last night in search of the ol smelly-slab It pissed down multile times and thankfully I had both a raincoat and a brolly with me. Was rewarded with 3 super size greenback Taylor- going 42cm, 55cm and 58cm respectively Alas Mr.Smelly didnt show up so I called it quits about 10pmbefore it bucketed down, I think I made the right decision this time, lol Was top fun even though the biggest one swallowed my 6/0 hooks and demolished my 60lb leader, snapping upon beaching him... ... Was lucky he didnt get away. All were taken on mullet slabs on 2 snelled 6/0 rig with a large size 5 snapper lead and 2.5m 60lb leader. They sure put on a show, the bigger one leaping from the water multiple times made a great spectacle for himself while lightning was flickering in the background. Had a top night solo as usual, I was tempted to come back to my spot on Lane Cove for some Bream but decided not to be too greedy and am STOKED with the results of my efforts. I took a piccie in my laundry tub, sorry about that... The tub is 55cm across incidentally and the hooks sitting in the middle Taylor are 6/0 Big Red Mustad- show how big these guys are really Tight lines everyone Anthony