Mr Squidy

Awesome, was wondering how the footage was going to come out. I'm off to Secret Garden Festival this weekend so might try to pop round and pick it up one night next week. I'll give you a buzz anyway. Cheers R

Top stuff as always Yowie. With a two month let up from your fishing pressures the Hacking should be going off by the time you're back haha. Look forward to some reports from your adventures in WA. Have a great trip!! Cheers, R

Great work on a quick session, shame you didn't manage a few better the day before. Second photo is definitely a Sambo. R

Cheers guys. Yeah, jealous may be a harsh way to put it but it is nice when those days come along when your the one doing the catching rather than the watching. Yeah spot on mate. Not the trip of a lifetime but probably the trip of the summer. Reckon we had drifted maybe 50m past the fad when he took.

With all the talk of Dolphin fish out there in good number's Stewart (Mr Squid) and I (Mr Squidy, confusing I know) had decided to take a change from our usual pursuit of chasing Jewies and head out to the Southern FAD early Saturday in Stew’s boat. This all seemed a great idea until I got the wharf at 6am after more than a few cold ones the night before and 4.5hrs sleep. Still what better way to work off a hangover than a morning on the open sea with a nice little roll coming down from the cyclone up north? Anyway, knowing that there would be plenty of other hopefuls out there sharing the FAD with us the plan was to fill the lively tank first to give ourselves every shot. The livies were a little finicky to start and the itch to get out there was growing by the minute but we stuck to it and thank god we did. Finally after maybe 40min or so had a nice tank full of yakas and we were off punching through the swell toward the FAD. Leaving the Hacking the water was green with the temp was sitting at 21.8 on the sounder and aside from two Dolphins showing off their best aerials there was little signs of life. Thankfully as we started to get within about 5km of the FAD the temp started to climb nicely to around 23.5 and looking over the side the water was that blue that all offshore fishos dream of. Arriving at the FAD we sure enough found about 6 or 7 other boats already fishing the area and a group of spear fishos in the water. We started off trolling skirts wide of the area for a little observing the other boats and from what we could see there was very little action although we noted we couldn't see anyone else using livies. After a short time with no action on the skirts we made the call to set up for a drift past the FAD and send out some livies. Sure enough, not 5min went past before Stew's rod buckled and he was on to a nice little Dollie of 67cm. Another 5 min later and it was my turn with a throw back, then another throw back for Stew. Re-setting our drift and the patterned continued, another keeper for Stew and another throw back for me. Still from the other boats we were seeing very little action, the livies were paying off. Next drift and zzzzzz Stew's rod again buckles this time with a much nicer fish looking to be up around the 1m mark, by now the other boats had to be a little jealous As always with fishing though, just as you start getting cocky it brings you right back down and this fish chewed through the leader just as he was starting to look beat. How quickly the mood changes sometimes in fishing. Anyway, after a moment or two of silence (there really is nothing you can say when someone looses a good fish is there?) we re-set our drift and were back at it. Things had slowed a bit and by now only two or three other boats remained. Just as we were coming to the end of the drift Stews rod whipped down and back up as something grabbed then spat the bait then seconds after my rod buckled in the same manner. Lifting the rod I could feel something toying with the bait so I dropped the tip and gave it some line then felt that lovely feeling as a big fish starts moving off at a steady speed with unstoppable force zzzzzzzz. "Ah, this is big Stew, really big", "Righto Rich", "I really don't think this is a Dollie Stew", "Sure sure", "We'll see it in a sec, its coming up", "ITS A BLOODY MARLIN", "WOOOOHHHOOOO!!!!". There are some moments in fishing that stick with you forever and seeing this black marlin launching clear of the water on its first jumps is definitely one that will for the pair of us. This was the first ever Marlin hook up for either of us. How quickly the mood changes sometimes in fishing. After the first few jumps away from the boat the marlin turned and came charging right back at us. I was winding furiously to take up slack as it made one, two, three jumps whilst I was thinking if it makes a fourth I'm going to need to take some seriously quick evasive action. Instead it turned and headed wide again zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Stew cleared the decks and we started to take stock of the situation. Thankfully I had a TLD 50 set up with 500m of 24kg, the only problem was that I had that rod neatly stored in the torpedo tubes above our heads with the trolling skirt from earlier still attached. In my hands I was holding my 8-15kg Rapala Braid Concept (yes, the ones that have a reputation for exploding under heavy load), with an 8000 stradic spooled with 300m of 30lb braid main and a 40lb fluro leader, a great outfit for jewies but not quite the first choice for tussling with your first ever Marlin. Still, wasn’t it nice hearing that little stradic sing!!! Stew and I quickly agreed that with the 40lb trace I'd be lucky to stay connected much more than a couple of minutes so I may as well just put what hurt on him I could manage with that gear and enjoy the ride. Besides, at least the other boats are jealous Two minutes came and went, the fish was jumping, the adrenaline was flowing, "Hangover, what hangover?!?!". 4min, The fish had dived and I could do little to get line off him but we were still connected. 6min and we had planed him back up but getting down below half spool we then had to back up on him to get some line back 8 min, still connected, a healthier looking spool and we are starting to wonder if maybe this circle hook has done its job and the leader might hold after all? 10min, the arm is starting to really ache now, and "oh yeah, that hangover" 12min still connected and the fish is off jumping again. 15min, his runs are slower now and when he stops I'm making good headway, pumping and winding. 16min, we might just do this!! 17min gone… Winding in we found that of all the things that could fail it came down to a simple pulled hook. The leader was somewhat fraid so there was no guarantee how much longer it would have held but we had survived the worst of the fight and I reckon another 5 to 10min and would have had him. It was a shame not to land him but we would have let him swim anyway. Also, to get our first ever hook up to one of these awesome fish and to then give it a genuine fight on that light gear, we were both thrilled. Half an hour or so earlier we had been rock bottom after losing a nice Dollie, now we had lost a fish ten times the weight of that Dollie but were both grinning like idiots. Funny thing a fishermans emotions… Talking after the fight we both estimated the fish as a black somewhere in the 50-60kg region. Stewart took about 15min of footage on the phone which I am yet to see but hopefully there will be some footage worth showing. After that excitement things quitened right down. Heading back to shore we came across a seal sailing his way along with his flipper in the air. With some livies in the tank we decide to hit Osbournes on the way back to see if there might be some kings about. No luck there but we did watch as another Marlin swum past, tail fin clear of the water. We through a livie his way but he was gone before we could get him interested. Incredible to see one in so close to shore and in the cooler green water, a good sign for any LBG fishos out there i’m sure. So, after all that we ended up back at Yowie ramp, soaked to the bone from the rain squalls that hit through the day and with only two keeper Dollies but still both in total agreement that the experience of the day had already made the summer for us. It was a shame not to land the Marlin just to make the day perfect but now we have had a taste of them, I am sure he wont be our last. Thanks again Stew for a great trip. And lastly, the lesson for those still reading who missed it, put the effort into doing the little things right. Without the 45min spent catching livies this would have been a very different write up. Cheers, Rich

Yep, nothing more annoying than people who cant predict the future correctly In all seriousness though, if you can find a few sites that utilise different forecast models and compare them it often gives a pretty good indication as to how reliable or uncertain the forecast will be. If i'm heading off shore in my small boat I usually check the BOM's meteye as the first port of call but also cross reference Seabreeze and Wunderground. R

Slinky is spot on, once you own a graphite rod you will never look back, the difference in sensitivity is incredible. Only downside is being a brittle material they are much less forgiving if you get them stuck in car doors or the like... What to choose depends on your price range. For a cheap set up one of the big tackle stores that sell fishing camping and boating stuff have a shimano sienna matched with a cheap graphite stick (think its called a sonic pro??) that generally goes on sale for around $60 - 70 for the combo. Whack on some 10 to 15 pound braid and away you go. I have three of these outfits now which i bought for guests on my boat and have fished with them myself on everything from bream to dolphin fish to jew and for a cheap all rounder they are brilliant little setups. R

Great work Yowie, always fantastic days when the fish are busting up like that. R

Great shot mate, perfectly captured one of those moments where you almost dont need a rod in your hand. Almost.... Cheers, R

1# Land a Jewie on my shiny new 2lb outfit 2# Install new seats in the boat 3# Stop finding reasons to buy new rods/reels 4# And the big dream is a first Tuna from my little boat Gonna need some luck for #4 and #3 is probably just a pipe dream... R

Hi Macca, NSW maritime publish boating maps for just about every major NSW water way here: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/using-waterways/maps/boating-maps.html The Burrill Lake one is here: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/maritime/usingwaterways/maps/boating-maps/12a-ulladulla-burill-tabourie-bawley-kioloa.pdf Fantastic resources these. Cheers, R

30kg tuna in your lunch break, thats epic....

Nice one mate, at this rate you'll need to change the pic on your signature over... R

Ouch, I know what you mean on the braid, it really can slice you up when you're casting a decent weight on a big beach rod.

Yeah, I absolutely love this App. I've already got a Lowrance GPS/sounder on the boat which I bought about 5 years back with Navionics charts. I decided to get the app just for a back up and for planning trips with a beer on the couch sort of thing. What blew me away is that the app gives you both the normal Navionics Charts and also a thing called Sonar Charts which I believe is put together from back to base relays from all of their newer sounders on the water. The detail on this chart is just incredible compared to the standard Navionics map with 1m rather than 5m topography intervals. I've already spied out a number of holes, walls and other structures to check out which I'd never known of previously. An example at North Head Normal Map: Sonar Charts: Only negative on the app is that it chews your battery up something fierce when you have the location services on.

Of the current shows definitely You Fish, No pretension to the guys and they clearly know their stuff and fish hard to make the show. My ultimate favorite though was the series "A River Somewhere" that Rob Sitch and Tom Gleisner did back in the late 90's, fly fishing some stunning spots around Australia and internationally. For me they really captured the allure of the sport just perfectly and I know a lot of non-fisho's (including my mum) who really liked the series which says a lot. R

Yeah, straight in a ziplock with the air squeezed out or vacuum sealer. Keep them away from direct contact with ice/freshwater at all costs, i've never found killing them immediately makes any real difference. Like that they will be good in the fridge for up to about 2-3 days, freeze them if its going to be longer before you use them. R

Yeah same, every half a dozen casts or so i'll usually do a couple of almost vertical jigs before then casting back out..All about covering all areas till you see where they are hanging.

Nice flatty, plenty out there would be happy with that fail. Interesting spot if you're chasing blackies off the sand?

Yeah that's special. I love the fact that they go to the effort of strapping the boat to the trailer and then do that...

Bet you're right and its some property owner up the Cox's wanting better fishing for himself so stuff everyone else. Seriously, What a low act Well done for reporting it and doing something about it.

Hmm, deeper body and striped maybe Juvenile blackfish too then?

Possibly Slimy Mackerel in which case they make great livies or butterfly/slab baits. They wont survive as well as yakkas as livies and will swim around a lot more but kingies particularly love them. Do a quick image search and that should confirm if its what you're looking at. R

Great trip boys, plenty of cracking fish there.

I reckon its all about what you're fishing for. Bread and butter stuff, its not necessary to spend the extra money for the top end gear (but still lovely to have if you can afford it). I've got a Shimano outfit with a 2500 sienna and a 3-5lb "sonic pro" graphite composite rod that I originally picked up for $60 thinking i'd just use it for bait jigging. It has blown me away for how good it is for a cheap set up and I now use mine regularly fishing small softies and bait for bream, flatties, tailor, etc. Just know that the cheaper the stuff the sooner you'll be buying another reel to replace it. Fishing for Jew's, kings and other fish where you have the chance at a real trophy model however? Try loosing a fish of a lifetime because the gear wasn't up to the task and then see if you are still asking the same question... R