Mr Squidy

Really the question is just to simplistic. As a huge generalisation there is a lot more fish life around in summer than winter, especially inside the estuaries and rivers BUT as for which season is better to fish in it totally depends what you are chasing as there is a different answer for every species and Sydney has dozens of common target species in our waters. For example Blackfish off the stones, trevally in the estuaries, hairtail in the hawksbury, snapper fishing off the reefs and Tuna out wide are all some examples which are at their best in the colder months. Cheers, R

Bad luck on the young fella missing the Jew, still i'm sure it will keep him coming back for more. Love the trolley set up!! R

Yeah, guilty as charged. Last time Maritime inspected me I found my flares were 6 month out of date (replaced now), so easy to forget. Cheers, R

Hi Matty, The guys that do well there fish it at night with pilchard baits under casting floats fitted with glow sticks to see the bite and attract attention. See them all the time going past in the boat, especially in summer. Went down just to have a look one night a few years back and one group of guys had a good 6 or 7 solid tailor on the deck so it clearly can produce at times. Seems you need a long rod to really power out a cast a fair distance, ideally out past the starboard marker just to the east of the ledge. Cheers R

Just a point of note don't be too fooled by seabreeze, that little North Westerly will get choppy out there. BOM's swell prediction has it up in the 1.5-2m level. Thought I should stick up for the poor weather forecasters in advance as they have been copping plenty of stick recently haha... Good luck out there anyway mate, hope the Tuna show up in some numbers for you, can't be far off. Cheers, Rich

Yeah, the recently released Marine Rescue app lets you do all this for free and is absolutely brilliant, Also lets you log your trip details via the app and if you turn on the function it will take 30min gps snapshots of your position. Cheers, Rich.

Welcome back Yowie, as always a good catch. The Hacking is certainly cooling down quickly now. R

Thanks for the report doublebarrel. Bad luck missing out but thanks for sharing some really great info there!! Cheers, R

Hi Gus, That sounds awesome mate, as long as we are up above Croc territory i'd love to join in chasing some jungle perch (Crocs scare the bajeezus out me). At work now but i'll shoot you a PM this arvo. Cheers, Rich

Thanks Boattart, just shot you PM. Cheers, R

Yeah, El Nino generally see's the EAC weaken and more cold water. Hopefully good news for the coming Tuna season... R

Thanks Mate, Yeah, will definitely do one day with a guide i think, still tossing up one day with a hire boat also though. Different sort of challenge exploring a new system on you own, certainly makes any capture a lot sweeter when its your own skills that get you the fish. Cheers R

Hi Raiders, Heading up to Cairns in a few weeks with the Girlfriend who has a work conference on the days of the 29th - 31st of May. Planning to make the most of the opportunity to get out for a fish or two up there and wondering if any raiders with some knowledge of the area would have any recommendations as to best target species for that time of year, advice on any good land based locations and advice on any good charter operators (PM only on that one obviously)? Currently from my research i'm considering splashing out for at least one of the days and doing one of the following: 1. Hiring a boat for the day and trying my luck on the Trinity Inlet, or 2. Getting a private charter to chase pelagic's or GT's off the inner reefs, or 3. Booking a day charter trip out to Lake Tinaroo to try my luck at a big barra. Thoughts? Lastly, a long shot but if any raiders will be up that way and would have an interest to split a charter or boat hire on one of those dates then let me know!! Cheers guys, Rich

So much depends on where you are fishing as night time off a wharf is completely different to daytime over shallow weed beds which is completely different to over deeper reefs etc etc. Best way to learn is find the local night time "hotspot" with lights on a wharf with good clean water. These areas attract squid fisherman just as well as they attract squid. Head down and watch what the locals do and copy it the best you can. Most guys are pretty happy to chat techniques in places like that. It will probably take you a few trips to get it mastered but once you do you should be fine. You are much better sticking to one location/style to start until you are comfortable with it, then you can start to expand your skill set to other areas with a bit more confidence in what you are doing. R

That's a big assumption where out fisheries polices are concerned...

Yep, they come in and out of most of the clean water harbors/estuaries at different times of the year. Not like there is a single "spot" to look for them as the shoals move around a fair bit. On the Hacking we often see then at first light or sunset breaking the surface around many of the deeper bays. Off deer park is often one of the better places. Generally they are more common in Summer but this can vary.. If you find them berley with mushed up bread to keep them around the boat and fish for them with a sabiki jig and you can get a lot in a hurry. If you plan to eat them you need to get them straight on ice as they can go off crazy quick. R

"Couple things" on a yak? Too much info Marky haha... R

Yeah mate, they don't adjust the timer for daylight savings down there so it goes off an hour earlier. Used to be 10pm in winter and 11pm in summer which was fantastic. R

Really dont get enough off BOM or bluelink to be able to pick current lines etc. Fishtrack gives you the basic image free and only the more detailed stuff like currents, chlorofyll etc are paid services. Also the cursor gives you Lat/Long coords.. Really awesome for a free service. http://www.fishtrack.com/fishing-charts/new-south-wales_58651 R

Well done. There was zero around the Southern Sydney Fad on Sunday.

Some great sessions there mate, nothing as fun as flicking lures when the fish are on like that. R

Amazing fish, you've certainly got them figured at the moment. Bugger going for a swim out there, even if it is to raid some beer... Rich

Cracking jew mate, thats the way to blood a new reel!!!! Cheers, R

Bloody good deal there, well done. I have three Stradics and just love them to bits. I'd agree with 10lb on the 3000 for bream work. . As for the 5000 i'd be going for at least 30lb. Should still hold over 200m and at the end of the day stopping kings off the stones isn't about playing them out for hundreds of meters, its about stopping them in their tracks as best you can before they reef you. 20lb wont even come close to giving you the ability to use all the drag that thing can put out. Cheers, R

Well done on releasing the flatty, thats gold.... Sorry.... R