Noodles

Here is a very interesting and informative report from a study performed on NSW Dusky Flathead in 2008. It is well worth reading if you want to be more informed about this species and it's maturation and breeding patterns along with other good facts. This is the type of research that out authorities do in order to set the size and bag limits of fish at levels that are believed to be sustainable. I found it particularly enlightening especially since it was conducted in our local area. Sorry but unable to insert link that works. Must be a restriction on the forum to this document. Just do a google on "Flathead Breeding Cycle" and go to the one by CA Gray titled "Reproduction and growth of dusky flathead in NSW estuaries". It's at %^&*(pdf/WF-2008_Gray-et-al_Dusky-Flathead-Final-Report.pdf Click on link in post below

What he means is that there are professional fish traps out there as well as the DPI FAD. The pro traps with their bubble floats and ropes to the trap act just as well as the purpose made FAD. The Dollies will school up under or around anything and pro traps are well known places to try.

Yes, I was blessed with a childhood with parents and grandparents who fished, took me fishing and we lived where there were always fish to catch and there still are, although definately not as many. But as you have shown they are still around. Anybody of my vintage or older who ever went crabbing in the Kooliwong crab hole will tell you about the croc that lived there and would calmly swim to the surface with your bait in it's mouth and then blow it right at you once you'd grabbed the net. My mother's uncle owned and operated the Woy Woy fish shop and most of the fish through it was locally caught. There were times when legal snapper were not uncommon especially from The Rip and the Bridge. Gosford Rail bridge was a well known spot for big jew and massive bream were taken at the rock reef of Point Frederick. @keflapod - you are correct in saying that this thread is tame at the moment, but what I was pointing out (and hopefully preventing) is that it appears that nearly every time a larger Flatty is posted the usual S*&^fight starts straight up. Out of the first 6 posts responding in this thread 4 people had already made comment about the fact that it was released, presenting the view that it it is either in some way expected or to be rewarded. I am a fish eater but I know people who fish for sport alone. I have caught fish both for the table and for fun and I have released plenty. However, for some reason the humble flatty attracts more emotion and debate than it rightfully deserves, particularly since in this state big flatties are legal to keep or you can release them if you so choose. The same thing applies to large Bream, which we all now know are very old, up to 40 or 50 years in fact and sometimes this species attracts the same argument from differing opinion. The fact is that keeping them is legal and releasing them is not compulsory. It should be left at that. Most people who post these opinionated views are completely uneducated about the breeding cycle and maturation of flathead and go off half-cocked because of something they heard somebody else say. I'll ask a simple question. What does more damage, catching a bag limit of 10 45cm Dusky Flathead or 1 75cm specimin? You don't know, I don't know. Nobody knows, but both are legal catches. End of Story.

Congratulations on a nice big flatty. Woy Woy was famous for big lizards and in my childhood the boat sheds, jetties and telegraph poles were adorned with the dinner plate size heads of the many that were taken. My grandfather's PB was a 14 lb model taken not far from the bridges. That's a great catch at the spot where I spent most of my childhood fishing from the shore. You'd be surprised at the number of different things you can catch right there. Luderick, Bream, Jew, Jackets, obviously flatties and even Cobia have been caught right there. The calm shallow water on either side were the best producing Blue Swimmer spots I have ever found. I once lost a rod and reel to a big silver flash there. A Jarvis Walker Little Jim Deluxe fitted with a 4 inch left-handed Cedar Alvey Sidecast reel which I had won on the chocolate wheel at the old Christams Carnival that used to set up next to the OB pub. I was more upset about losing the fish than the gear though. As I make this next comment I apologise to the mods and inform that my intention is not to incite another locked thread, BUT, I am sick to death of the BS that comes up immediatley every time someone catches a flathead above 60cm and either releases it or keeps it. This has been going on since fishing forums began and it is in no way restricted to this forum. There are 2 locked threads in the last week over this issue and already there are multiple comments right here with biased opinion clearly stated for all to see. This will only generate the rubbish that will eventually have the thread locked and deny the original poster the chance to have his catch duly appreciated. I am not going to give my personal opinion about this here and neither should anybody else. Do the owners of the site have to make it a RULE that larger flathead must be left out of the forum altogether? or perhaps any posting that even hints at a personal opinion on "C&R V's Keep to eat" be removed immediately. Talk about the fish and how it was caught, where, on what bait or lure and using what gear. What was the tide doing? What moon phase was it. Congratulate or bag the angler as is appropriate in fun for friends or with respect if your a stranger but keep your own opinions on what to do with a "legal flathead" to yourselves.

Hey Slink, well done on a great solo effort. Palmy / Barrenjoey is a well known spot for kings and they go right around into Pittwater at times. Can I ask you a question though. Were you dragging the yakkas? Trolling or downrigging them? The reason I ask is that I was told recently that kings will only take yakkas head first because of their spines where they will eat a slimey from the tail. I tried downrigging yakkas up hear at Moon Island down to Caves Reef recently without a touch but as soon as you put a squid on the rats would hammer them. I'm going to try ballooning some yakkas to see if I can entice them. Also I didn't have any luck at the FADs last year until March. The water up here is still under 20 degrees right out to the 100m and green.

Beat me to it. He can catch them from his front yard overlooking The Rip, (or at least within a couple of kms anyway). Duh, I made a mishtake. I fought vey washh mine.

Let them eat their whale reserves and have them stop killing all marine mammals before we send them anything is my comment. OOOOOPPPPSSSS!!!!

My father's mate was the Flint n Steel jewie king. They used to go out and literally brain them time and time again but it was several (20) years ago. They should still be there and it was always October to December that they did the best. I'll tell you what they used to do. They didn't fish on the reef but on the sand slightly up river, not far away but they used to watch others try for nothing while they caught fish. They used long rods, ie; surf rods of 10 to 12 ft and his missus actually used to use a Jarvis Walker Black Queen which is a whippy Blackfish rod. The only bait ever used was large squid and it didn't matter whether it was fresh or bought from Woolies as calamari tubes but it had to be white (not purple or pink) and skinned. The squid was carefully cut into long even strips and fixed to gang hooks, 3 X 4/0's to a gang. They would test the bait over the side to ensure it trailed well without spinning which is a big part of it. If necessary the strips would be shaved with a sharp knife to get it to sit properly in the water. A long trace and obviously a fairly serious piece of lead attached as a running sinker as the current can be quite strong over there. They used to get the majority of their fish around the tide changes and always in daylight hours. There was D H and his missus who owned the boat they used, my dad and another friend. Between the 4 of them the caught so many that my dad was feeding jewfish to his dog. He has a jar full of jewels of all sizes. D also could catch jewfish in the rip better than anybody I knew and as dad used to say, "he could catch one in his bathtub". They are there. Keep trying.

Put some witches hats in around Dora Creek. Blue swimmers are around. I've got 9 healthy crabs in the last 2 days.

Here's one for you. Not long ago (2 or 3 years back) after a pretty good day out from Terrigal my father in law and I returned to the ramp and cleaned our catch of flatties, snapper, mowies etc at the cleaning table as we normally do. Any of you who know the ramp will recall that Gosford Council in it's wisdom turned the water off due to low supply in the Mangrove dam and level 4 restrictions. With the fish all scaled and gutted dry they are pretty messy. I decided to grab all the rubbish out of the boat and take it to the bin as I usually do. While doing this my FIL decides to pick up the whole fish box and walk down to the water to rinse the catch off. Well cleaning fish at this ramp usually attracts a crowd of onlookers and as I turned around after dropping the rubbish I see my FIL standing at the waters edge with the fish box in hand and a confused look on his face and a whole group of people clapping, cheering, laughing and asking each other "did you see that" and "what happened". What happened was as soon as he put the box in the water he was attacked from all sides by the usual brigade of large feathered onlookers. Swimming around just off shore were about a dozen pelicans all happily trying to swallow flathead, snapper and mowies. It's amazing how large a fish a pelican can eat. He did manage to save a few but it was a rather disappointing end to what had been a pretty good day.

Here's a tip from way back although it wont save you if you are a complete non-swimmer (in which case you shouldn't be there in the first place) or are knocked unconsciuous. Put an empty wine cask bladder in your shirt pocket or fold it and tuck it in your waistband. If you do go in, it can be blown up with a few breaths and will provide adequate bouyancy to keep you up for a long time. They are also shiny silver metalic which reflect light and can be spotted in the dark with search lights. Quick, easy, cheap and you get to empty them first. I never fished the rocks without one. Tip number 2 is have a waterproof whistle. The orange plastic kind you find on kids life-jackets.

It is a shame to see another life lost in the pursuit of a fish, but you won't easily stop it and there is no point directing comment towards the posting or not of locations etc. Some people will go out into dangerous situations no matter what. Big seas are deadly, moderate seas are dangerous, small seas you need to be cautious and wary, and calm seas are OK but still dont ever turn your back. As for freak waves, a freak is something rarely seen. Rogue waves may be a term thrown about but I can tell you from the years I've been on the ocean, they are what we call sets. They are not rare at all and happen all the time if the conditions are right. Some geographical formations tend to be more likely to attract dangerous waves when certain conditions prevail and local knowledge is paramount. See Mavericks surf break or look into Frazer Park deaths. Education is the only solution.

There are just some days when the drift will be too fast no matter what you do. If the current and wind are going the same direction a sea anchor will only make you go faster. Some days the current will be raging out wide but non-existant in closer and I've seen it the opposite as well. You can check online for current forecasts and tracking, SE Currents or Sydney Hobart Currents,but it is still a bit of hit and miss in my opinion unless you are prepared to subscribe to a paid service. Why don't you drop an anchor on the days you can't drift. I only drift on the days I can't drop anchor.

Pearly is not really a surf beach although the swell does hit it if it's from the south to south-east. The water drops off quite deep very quickly with no banks to speak of really and there is sometimes a heavy shore break. It is a well known spot for Jew if your lucky and livies or good fresh squid is premium. As already mentioned using pillies will likely attract tailor, flatties and even different species of shark. Hammerhead are known to be pretty thick around the mouth of the river as well as shovel-nose rays etc. You could also use Hawkesbury prawns for bream. The rock ledge at the Western end, out past the old rock pool (the beach faces south), used to be a top spot for schools of yellowtail so throwing one out couldn't hurt. If your down that end you can walk around the point to Flathead beach which is also a good spot for similar species. There used to be nights when you could smell jewfish on the water. Me and the mates used to go over to the fish shop at Patonga and buy his fresh squid straight off the trawler, then go to Pearly or Flathead for the night.

I have to agree that the Scotty is pretty weak on both settings, even with very small load. Thats why I suggest rubber bands around the back end.

I saw a guy do pretty well off the rocks at Putty Beach one time while I was bait fishing for flatties and tailor. Low tide, small sea etc you can get right out to the edge and flick sideways along the rock ledge that faces back toward the beach. It's a bit of a distance to Norah Head though.

Please explain the use of rubber bands and swivel clips instead of proprietary release clips. An illustration or photo would be good. When using a proprietary clip, such as a Scotty, couldn't you just wrap a small rubber band around the clamp end to provide more compressive force which would hold the bigger baits or lures?

There are Flatties galore around the 50m mark which is out around the ships. Snapper and mowies along the reef strips in closer. Oh and don't forget leatherjackets. Taske plenty of gear. There are also tuna about.

There are plenty of yakkas on the bombie but slimeys are scarce. I got more than enough yellowtail in about 15 minutes last week. Some are pretty big though.

The Sgt Baker makes good snapper bait. Skin very tough and stays on the hook well. I've tried eating a big one and the bones are like an eel. Nice flesh but a pain in the bum to eat.

One thing you guys haven't mentioned yet is that this will most likely lead to the same situation as exists already in Qld under Qld Transport. That is that your Maritime licence is an endorsement on your drivers licence, which means if you lose one, you lose both. Presently this is not the case in NSW. So a loss of licence on points for minor traffic infringements means you can't drive a boat or a loss of boat licence for 1 too many beers means you can't drive your car. I'm not condoning drinking on the water but the licences will be linked and treated as one.

I believe the jew is quite partial to a front half luderick but I've not seen it done from the beach. A fellow I knew used to take great care to cut the tail end off blackies and leave the gut intact and try to make the cut look very unknife-like. He had great success in the river with these baits.

Hey Pongrass, how do you tenderise your cuttles or do you just cook them? I did some experiments last night (yesterday arvo) and the results were pleasing . From info I googled I tried soaking one batch in water and small amount of Bicarb Soda and another blend of milk, egg white and pulped kiwifruit. I believe green pawpaw works as well. After three hours I crumbed some of each and battered the rest. The crumbed were shallow pan fried and the battered deep fried. I had criss-crossed them with deep cuts. The taste testers, me included, determined that the kiwifruit/ milk soak was more tender when cooked both ways but the bicard / water did work as well. I've read that you have to leave it in the fridge overnight. As for using them as bait, with two big units there is plenty and they are fantastic bait for snapper. Some people target the drifting dead bodies after they complete their mating (the cuttles that is, not the fishos) for the big reds that feed on them. You can see the carcases lifting up out of the water when the snapper feed on them from below. They also make great bait for flatties and stay on the hook for 3 or 4 fish. You can just tell by looking at the skinned tentacles that they are jew lollies.

You had an interesting day. How big are the boneheads? When a shark gets air you know it's a mako. Great show. We saw three guys drifting near us a while back off Terrigal and this huge Mako leapt full body lengths out of the water right in front of them before they even knew they'd hooked it. Then the line went tight. After the show as we laughed these poor blokes packed up and went straight home. There are stories of them jumping aboard and going nuts.

The Boneheads are thick in the water. We got 6 on Saturday and a couple more on Sunday with some big ones among them. Well done an a nice Jew for your perseverence. Why did you not use salmon as slab baits? I remember watching an episode of Adventure Bound in which they caught big silver beach jews in SA using slabs of Sambo and smaller livies.