Yowie

Always fish with handlines in the deeper waters of the Hacking. Have done so since I was a kid (now a big kid ) It does make for interesting fishing with a decent fish on, especially if I hook a large eagle ray. Some fish have been unstoppable.

Fished near the mouth of Yowie Bay early this morning. Only 2 decent bites, but managed to land both of them. This jewie took a squid strip from the bottom, just a slow run until I grabbed the line and set the hook. Then it was off like a rocket, easily 100 metres in a dead straight run. 15 pound handline and my fingers were burning from the speed of the fish. Had to dunk both hands in the water to cool them off. From the speed of the run, thought it was a ray at first, but after the initial run, the jew was a bit quiet and swam back to the boat without too much resistance. The second jew took a pillie on a rod and set the reel screaming, but not such a long run. Was released, as was a little jew not much over 30cm. Had out a live yakka, no hits though. A few rat kingies swimming about, followed up the hooked reddies (none near legal size) and the occasional splashing from the kingies but not interested in any bait with a hook in it. As I was heading home in Gunnamatta Bay, I saw a couple of gulls flying about and a few bait fish jumping amongst the moored boats, so I threw out a metal lure and pulled out the 2 bonnies. Also dropped 2 others that did not stay hooked for very long, then they were gone. Nice white meat in the bonnies, but they will be salted for bait.

Won't catch a boatload, just a few. Lilli Pilli flats have been quiet for whiting, they are there but difficult to get to bite. Better at Maianbar flats. A nice feed anyway Bruce.

Jim, the new paint will scare the fish away. My last boat was never painted from new, 42 years old until it fell apart from over use. Dave.

Nice fish.

As a kid, I found the river leading up to the lake fished very well during the day, night time was not very productive (except for the prawns) Anchored up across the channel for the prawns, hook up a small prawn, drop it out the back of the boat and you would occasionally score a big whiting. Night time under the bridge would produce a tailor at times - so long as some numb nuts did not drop his line into your boat.

Nothing wrong with whiting at all.

We had some fillets last night, very tasty, and some more for another night. Not what I was originally heading out to catch, but no complaints about catching whiting.

Headed out early up from Lilli Pilli, to a spot where I pulled out a few fish 2 weeks ago. Well, someone must have told the fish to disappear, as they were not about today. Only 1 decent fish, that put up a performance for a while, coming up under the boat as it was giving up, then gone. The ganged hooks gone, no fray marks on the mono but a clean cut angled across the line. Felt like a legal sized jew, just a bit strange with the cut to the line. Apart from 2 rat sized kingies swimming up after hooked little reddies, nothing else. Live yakkas not touched. Just a dud day. The tide hit bottom, so I pumped a few nippers and drifted about for a legal whiting, a little sand flattie, and nothing else. A few whiting to be seen, but if you can see the whiting, they can see you and will not bite. Headed to Maianbar flats, pumped a few more nippers and found a few whiting, and a just legal bream that was sent back to grow bigger. Water less then knee deep. A few thrown backs amongst them, but some keepers as well. A long day but something to take home. Do not like going home with no fish.

Yes, a bit of variety, and crab entrée coming up tonight.

Good feed of fish. Though small, the red spots are good eating. Easy to scale and fillet. The bones can easily be removed (with a bit of practice)

Thank you all. Though small fillets, the garfish tasted rather nice in breadcrumbs and pan fried with the whiting fillets.

Headed out this morning and fished the deeper water near Lilli Pilli. Pulled out the tailor and flounder on fish baits. Flounder not too big, the smaller one was hooked in the gills so would not have survived. Released another small one. Both flounder had chew marks on their tail fins. Pulled out a few yakkas, and the garfish were swimming amongst the yakkas. Sent out a live yakka that swam about for some time, and when it swam near the bottom, the crab grabbed it. Nothing else was interested in it. Pumped some nippers at Maianbar flats, and drifted about for the whiting, some small ones in places and no bites at other places. The blackfish took one of the nippers.

A good feed of nice sized flatties.

The weather boffins call it an "Inversion".

Some morays can be poisonous to eat.

Twice a week. I still like a good steak as well.

That time of year when the nor/easters start picking up during the day.

Nice red, would not want to head-butt it.

I prefer to eat the blue spots and tigers a bit more than the duskies, though nothing wrong with the duskies. The bigger duskies can be a bit tougher, so with them I usually cut off the fillets, then cut slices across the fillets, like a boneless cutlet, about 1.5 cms wide and cook it that way. Many years ago as I was motoring past the mouth of Burraneer Bay in the Hacking, I saw a fish tearing into a school of whitebait on the surface. Water depth about 20 feet. I stopped near the fish and saw it was a duskie about 60cm long. It was swimming around the school of whitebait, then it would charge into the school and grab a couple of fish, then swim back under the school and herd them to the surface again for another charge into the school. I watched for around 1 minute before I left. The flattie was having a great feed, and I did not want to try and catch it. A couple of times I have thrown a nipper into clear water a couple of metres deep, and watched a flattie flash out of the sand and grab the sinking nipper, so I imagine flatties, with their eyes looking upwards, would see some food item above them and be willing to race up and grab it. When a flattie sniffs out a prawn in the sand, quite often the prawn will head to the surface and jump along the surface to escape, with the flattie in hot pursuit underneath. I've been fishing for nearly 60 years, so have had plenty of time to observe fish and their feeding habits.

Thanks Krispy.

I use a paternoster rig, 2 hooks around 50 cm apart, a snapper lead about 50cm below the bottom hook. Use bait, though a soft plastic may work - when you hit a patch of flatties, the soft plastic will be chewed up fairly quickly. Tougher baits last longer. I use 2/0 stainless long shank hooks, though can use around 5/0. 4 ounce snapper leads for drifting, 6 ounce if the wind is up a bit. I use 20 pound toughened mono on the dropper below a swivel - it is tougher than normal mono so can take a bit of the flatties teeth chewing on it. If you keep a tight line, they will rarely swallow the hook. Flatties spend their time lying on the bottom, but if there is food about, they will swim quite some distance off the bottom to eat it. Some times the flatties will follow up a hooked fish and grab the other bait, 5 or even 10 metres off the bottom. Many times I have been winding up a small flattie, then there is a big hit as another flattie grabs the other bait. On 2 occasions I can remember, I have watched a flattie swim up from 30 metres deep, following hooked fish, then dropped a bait in front of it, hook up and into the boat before it realises what has happened.