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Nice jewie. So pretty. What plastics are working for you?

No I let them go because they are so beautiful. I dont really like killing fish and really only target sport fish which arent usually that good for eating. I think the the water being so muddy there would give them a muddy taste too. I have caught a lot of flattys there but never been tempted to try them. Its not up in the toxic part of the river so Im not worried about chemical pollution. Keep trying,(there is no other way), you will eventually get one. I miss out a lot more than I get lucky, but you can say that about a lot of fishing.

Yes you are correct with that comment. I hate seeing fish hung that way myself. I normally never hang them off the grips but I wanted 1 photo before release and I was by myself so I got the phone ready and snuck a quick 1 off. I took a friend the next day to help me get a better shot of me holding the fish horizontally and supported with my other hand but couldnt catch one. Anyway thanks for pointing that out.

On Tuesday I though I would have a go at a jewie in the Georges at my ususal spot. I arrived at 3pm to a perfect high tide with a slow moving eddy and started casting a 5inch clear flickbait. I soaked it in Gulp juice and smeared it with S Factor so it STANK. After only 20 min I came tight on a solid jewie and had the Branzino screaming. This fish was a real goer, pulling drag in strong bursts and it took me about 10 minutes before I got the better of it and slid it into the net. Very happy with myself, I took a couple of quick shots (by myself again) and released a very healthy 75cm ghost back into the river. I then continued for another 2 hours without a bite. If that wasnt enough I also spent 2 hours there on Wednesday and again another 2 hours of casting on Thursday. I can only say that there is nothing easy about catching these addictive little buggers.

Wow thats a ripper of a trev. That would have pulled like a beast. Good on you for letting it go.

Wow....great fish. Now I guess Im going to have to go out in this wind and cold to get one myself. I would be so happy with that fish !

Thanks guys. Yes I am pretty happy with myself. The gear is super light, and I have told myself not to use it again after a couple of smashings in the past. I fish the spot regularly and it is far from reliable. Usually just a 200 cast boredom marathon in dirty water. I got the fish yesterday at midday so there is no need to freeze yourself at dawn, more just a case of fishing the turn in the tide. I will be back when these westerlies die down. They are such a beautiful fish and I will always make sure to release them with a big kiss and a whoop that all the residents can hear !

Pic attached this time

With the wind getting up I chose to fish the Georges today to try for the mythical jewfish. Went to the spot that has sucked up at least 6 hours of my life in the last week for no bites even. Was going to drive past it to try somewhere new but had a last minute change of mind to give it one quick blast. Decided to fish my little 2 kilo outfit with 8lb leader and a 5 inch pink shiner gulp jerkshad. 2nd cast of the day I see the bump in the line as it sinks and wound up the slack and sunk it home. Immediately the little 1000 was singing and I lost 50m in one big surge. Was thinking It would ledge me on something for sure but could not believe it when it stopped and allowed me to get a couple of turns on. I was by myself so I couldnt chase after it with the anchor out so had to creep it back to the boat bit by bit. After 20 minutes of nerve jangling back and forth I got a glimpse of this cracker. It looked like a 90 but ended up going 83cm on the tape. The most awesome purple and silver athlete. Got some shots of it on the deck and put her on the grips for a healthy release. Would have loved some holding shots but was alone and wanted to get her back in quick. Was so pumped. On a 1000 Shimano and a Heartland 1-3 kilo rod !

Congrats...nice story and good on you for the release. Pity is now that you will now be obsessed and addicted and will waste countless hours chasing them. I caught one on SP very first time i tried and after thousands of casts since I realise what an achievement it is so enjoy it.

3 hours on standup 37KG...my new hero. You can have that ! But good effort and bad luck.

Cracker Jewie! Good work

He was obviously somewhere else then. I prefer skip-baiting or switch baiting. At least you get the visual of the bite and the tease. Livebaiting is just so BORING, but it works I know.

Fished the carpark on board Noel Roberts Bertram 47 Sea Warrior on Monday and Tuesday. The fishing was pretty slow on Monday with fairly greenish cold water of around 20 deg. We managed a nice black marlin of around 90 kg on a lure and saw 1 other free jumper going stupid around us. Out of all the boats there we only saw 1 other fish being fought. On Tuesday it was even worse with the water almost khaki and cold. We hung around the pack until 2.30pm without seeing anyone turn a reel then headed for home to beat the blow. Pretty quiet, but it will pick up.

It took a pilchard. We were in 20m of water. I always associated them with the flats too but other skippers have told me of catching them in the same sort of area. The one that got halved on us was a cracker and would have been bigger than any I have seen in photos from anywhere in the world.

Recently while up in Cairns after a day of marlin fishing we anchored inside Opal Reef and the charter wanted to do a bit of bottom fishing. Im not a fan of bottom fishing but it keeps the punters happy if the billfishing has been slow. On this particular day the first bait down gets grabbed and this thing pulled hard drag. We called it for a big GT or something of that size. Imagine our suprise when this little guy came up. My first thought was a radioactive whiting, then it dawned that it was a bonefish. Just trying to hold the thing still for a photo was a struggle. I have never encountered such a strong fish for its size. I explained to the guys what a unique catch it was and we were all happy to release it unharmed. Caught another one about 5 kilos but the sharks found it before it could be beaten and we only got the head back. I had no idea we got them on the reef, but we do.

WOW I am seriously impressed. 2 beautiful girls enjoyed and released unharmed...perfect.

Thats a pretty girl. Nice supporting of her big fat body too.

Congrats on a beautiful croc. Everyone thanks you for the release. Just a superb fish, bet you're happy !

Your mates are right....that is a blue. Good on ya. What a top day!

Hi Steve, Good to see you and Franky getting out there again. Look at you go now, tangling with Makos ! They are a piece of work sometimes. I went out myself last weekend looking for the Blues but we pulled a big fat zero.........you get that. It was another beautiful calm day though. I saw a report after the day I did with you that a boat pulled a black off that bait school we tried to jig just off the heads. Just goes to show, it was only 500m off the heads. Keep up the good work mate and I'll be seeing you in Cairns.

Congrats young man, that is a ripper of a fish ! And how good are you for letting that beauty swim off... Good job, hope you get lots more

Congrats, that sounds HOT on the billfish. Are the longtail thick enough to cast lures at or do you have to livebait them ? I love those things but chasing them can be soooo frustrating..

Congratulations, even small they are a pretty fish. You have convinced me to bombard that spot with some plastics over the next few days. Will post if I find some.

Good work. I think that was a Watsons Leaping Bonito if Im not mistaken. Never caught one myself but its a pretty little thing.