Yowie

The old saying is "3 times proves it". Maybe you needed 50 pound trace.

Good work on the flatties. Mowies are a give away or release fish for me.

Good work Scratchie. Better to be scratching the scales off fish than scratching your a#se instead.

You most likely hooked the bonnie first ( the tail vibrations were the giveaway) then the kingie has spotted the lure in the bonnie's mouth and tried to take it away from him. Have had a few kingies grab the baits from hooked tailor mainly, not all get landed as both hooked fish pull against each other and sometimes one tears the hook out of the mouth of the other.

Wait until February, too many boats until then.

The outside flatties go a bit quiet at this time of year, suspect they move to deeper and cooler water.

Saw a photo of a 26 kg yellowfin pulled out of south west arm ten or so years ago. Then there was the 71 pound yellowfin pulled out of Gymea Bay a few years back. It was a bit sick and had swum up onto the rocky shoreline, before a couple of blokes pulled it on shore.

Tried that style, did not like them, fish kept spitting the lure. Not the style that I used to buy for use as singles on lures.

I tried the single hooks on lures, and the fish were still spitting out the hooks. Used the Gamakatsu singles. The bonito of late have been spitting out the trebles. The singles I used to buy for lures (cannot remember the hook name or style) are hard to locate (a single hook with no Kirby, that is, a straight hook with no bend along the shank)

The flatties are scattered about at this time of year, with plenty of little spikies taking the baits. Try out on the edge of Bate Bay, rather too close in.

Merry Christmas to all and sundry, don't drink too much from the bottle of Bundy. Dave.

Keeping a bag of fish, especially a larger fish, over the side of a boat or kayak, will be a shark attractant in some locations.

Shows you don't need to spend a lot on gear, to pull out a few nice fish.

Did you really need some "help" there Bruce? There were a few fish to entertain the crowd, better than not much at all, and everyone caught something. I will have a "helper" in a couple of years, he will be told he needs to learn how to fish by his father (son-in-law, who also is learning how to fish). I was taught by my father, grand father and great grand father, so I guess I learnt something. Dave.

For the best I.D. a side-on photo is much easier than a head shot. At this stage. it looks like one of the Smurfs without a hat.

There are fish there, just have to find them.

It was a good feed Bruce, filleted, bread crumbed and pan fried. Shared the feed with the family, never complaints about whiting. Dave.

Platycephalus longispinnus. According to different authors of books, "grows to 34cm", "grows to 38cm." The biggest I have pulled up is 32cm, though most are around the 20 to 25cm mark. No legal size for them, have caught them at 20cm with fat roe so obviously breed from a small size. I have eaten a few of the larger ones, and the fillets are rather tasty. This species is very common at times, grabbing large baits meant for the bigger blue spot and tiger flatties. The fillets of the spikies are a great bait for other flatties in the deeper water, the fillets are tough and can hook several fish before needing replacing. The spikes on the side of the head are very long, hence the nickname 'Spikey,' and I have suffered a number of puncture wounds to the fingers. The dorsal fins have a mild poison that affects my fingers when spiked, with a mild pain lasting half and hour or so. In reality, Spikey flatties are a pain in the arse to remove from the hook.

Fished the deep water near Lilli Pilli at first light. First pillie out produced the tailor, but none after that. A just legal reddie, then the pickers for a short while, then everything gone. A live yakka just had swimming practice. Headed to Maianbar, pumped some nippers and waded in knee deep water for the whiting until the tide moved in too much, so hopped into the boat and drifted for nothing else, hardly a bite after that. Some nice whiting fillets will be pan fried tonight, so no complaints there. Merry Christmas to all.

What, boys only and you are eating T-bones? Looks like a great place to visit, plenty of fish to cap it off. Great work.

Nice jew from the beach, The flattie look like a sand flathead.

One feed tonight, another feed in 2 days, and they taste rather nice. They are in the shallower water during winter and spring, but move further out in summer, may be to find the cooler water. Most of those I caught were still in roe.

Around 30 to 35 metres, I'm guessing, as I don't have a depth gauge on my tinny (I just look at markings on the shoreline - trees, headlands, etc)

Thank you all for the comments.

I cook mine the same day of catching, and they will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. 2 days is not a problem to keep them fresh, no need to freeze so long as the fridge is cold.