Yowie

Headed out early to the Hacking, in the deep a bit out from Lilli Pilli. Fishing started off slow, then the flattie grabbed a fish bait on a handline. Put up a good fight. It had swallowed a pair of ganged hooks (not stainless hooks, but the easy rust type), so I cut the line and placed the fish into the esky with a bit of water. Placed it in upside down and it turned over very quickly. If a flattie is going to kick up it's toes, it will stay upside down. If it is healthy, it will flip over, which this one did. It swam inside the esky, so I picked it up for a photo, placed it into the water and it swam off strongly from my hands. Yakkas were not about, but I did catch 5 fat pillies that I cut in half for 10 baits. These baits and squid strips were the go. The salted pillies only caught little reddies. Pulled out 2 just legal reddies and a bream. Also caught and released a jewie and kingie, both around the 60 cm mark, and a salmon about 45cm. All on the handlines for finger burning fun. Something grabbed a half pillie on the rod, and when I loaded up, there was some weight and power on the other end. Could not gain any line. It did feel more like a big ray than a fish. Took about 100 metres of line into the deeper water, stayed down near the bottom, but I felt some rubbing on the line from a rock and it was gone. It was now bottom of the tide, so I moved to near the ballast heap and waded the flats with soft plastics. Not a flattie to be seen for an hour's wading. Plenty of whiting about, some maybe just over legal size, so headed for home.

Bought a 16 foot Manta Ray single axle in 2014. Now own an 18 foot dual axle Oz Classic, a nice van with most of the mod cons.

One of them I think is Abraham (don't ask me which one) and the second photo is Liam. Did not know they are Raiders. I am now onto my second New Age van, purchased earlier this year, and know a couple of people in the company. A great company and great vans.

Keep going out there and you will become use to it. I do not eat before heading out (either up river or outside) I have something to eat after the fishing slows down a bit. Concentrate on the fishing, not your stomach. I assume on the charter boat you stand up most of the time while fishing. You need to have your legs bending a bit at the knees with the swaying of the boat, while your upper body stays fairly upright and does not move too much.

I fish mono as well, using Sufix brand, but it is a bit hard to find in the shops.

I have 3 younger brothers, and during school age, being the eldest, I was always given the job of mowing the lawn. The other bastardo's laughed as they were never asked to mow the law. Soon fixed that, I mowed down everything in the back yard, including the old man's good plants, and was not asked to mow the lawn again.

Another successful day, a few for a feed and the release of a big girl.

Fab, 'The early bird catches the worm', same applies to fish. I have been rising early to go fishing, since early high school days, though now past the 60 mark, it is not as easy. Dave.

Good work on the jew. Memo to self - 'always use the net for a large flattie' - so many are lost on the final lift out of the water.

Have had a number of the eagle rays do that over the years. They can jump out 4 to 5 feet, as they ramp up a lot of speed when heading to the surface.

Thanks Scratchie. The eagle rays go hard on a handline. If you have to chase after a flattie, it would be a record size.

Headed up river for a change, out from Lilli Pilli. Took my son along as he had a day off work (he did not like the 3.30am wake up time though) The water temp is still a bit cool and clear. My son pulled out the tailor, then he dropped a legal sized reddie as he was lifting it out, it was lip hooked only and the lip split once out of the water. I pulled up the flounder, and a short while later thought I had hooked a nice jew. The rod was bending nicely, it was running different angles, until it swam near the surface. A long tailed brown stingray about 2 and a half foot across, fought nothing like a normal stinger. A few little reddies, then the handline started moving, so I picked up and it was the flattie. Put up a good fight for a deep water flattie (some times the flatties don't fight as much in the deeper water) It had swallowed the ganged hooks right down, I did not know how it would go upon release, so I kept it (normally release them over 60 cm). The handline started moving again a short while later, picked up and it felt like another ray. I could not gain any line (12 pound) and it was powering away down below for some time. Could not pull it up but I could feel it's wings flapping away. Then it headed for the surface under the boat at such a rate of knots that I still have the burn marks in my fingers. It jumped out of the water, an eagle ray about 4 foot across the wings, so I busted off. The sun came up and the bites stopped, so headed home. As I was cleaning up, I saw a few ducks eating floating bread crusts just out from the boatshed (the kids a few house away were feeding them), with a few big hits on the bread from underneath, so my son hooked up a few bread crusts and flicked them out. One was eventually taken, and he pulled out a 30cm bream, but that spooked the others bream in the shallow water.

Sounds like some fun time when you did find a fish or 3. Nice reddies.

Did you stand on or near a numb ray that was buried in the sand?

Wrong view, not good. You need to go fishing more often.

Thank you Fab. Have been able to find a few lately, not big ones, but they do taste good.

Just before sun-up as I was heading out.

Headed out this morning, dropping the first bait down just as the sun was popping over the horizon a few minutes after 6am, and hooked up almost straight away. Very light winds from the south, current heading to the south, and not much swell, so not too much drift. Had my bag limit of 10, a few minutes after 7am, so headed back home. Took longer to clean the fish and put the boat away than it did to catch them. Only a couple of spikies in the mix. Some slimy mackerel buzzing around, hooked up one and then they disappeared. A few humpbacks again cruising south just on sunrise. Heard a fisho on the radio that he was in 20 knot winds out from Port Kembla, but it was only a passing storm front. The wind picked up from the south as I was heading in, and stopped a little while later. Not too many other boats out there.

A few fillets in that lot. The red rock cod are good eating. Have eaten the moari's before, they are reasonable quality, the flatties are better.

Good work Krispy. Both good fish, and both fight hard but in different styles.

A good reddie like that should just about make up for the bouncy seas.

The ocean flatties are good eating. Saw boneless flattie fillets in 2 Sutherland Shire fish shops over the last 2 weeks. $50- and $53- per kilo. FFS. I paid that for red emperor fillets a couple of months ago in Qld. Now they are good eating.

Nice reddie. Darker colouring along the back and head.

Certainly is. The fillets will be on the BBQ today to feed a few people.