Yowie

Thanks guys. The flatties have been around for a while. Knocking the bag limit from 20 down to 10 is a good idea. 10 flatties equals 20 fillets, plenty of feeds to go around. Tiger flatties were in big numbers off Sydney many years ago, but the trawlers just about killed them off. The odd 1 or 2 are still caught, mainly around this time of year when they are in a spawning mood in shallower water, but the blue spots are in bigger numbers now.

Thanks Rick.

Headed out into Bate Bay around sun rise, just in time to see humpbacks cruising south again. One drift and caught all the fish in about an hour, plus a few undersized ones. Only 2 spikies amongst the blue spots. Some small ones there, a few more like the 50cm one would have been nice. Swell from the south, a smaller swell from the north-east, a light west-south-west breeze, but the southerly current pushed me slowly south. Very little bird life, nothing moving on the surface that I could see.

Size looks good for this time of year.

As I said earlier, the fish needs to be filleted to determine if there is any deformity in the bone structure, or if the dorsal bones have been chewed off. The best way to tell. I caught a few tailor many years ago with what appeared to be a deformity of the backbone, and when filleted, the backbone was actually deformed and curved a bit. Bream with those bits missing along the dorsal fins, when filleted actually had the dorsal fins chewed off (obviously from a bite from a larger fish) and the backbone appeared perfect. Have only caught a few bream with a missing section of dorsal fin, and do not remember ever finding the backbone to be deformed. No doubt some fish have imperfections in the bone structure, like humans, caused by other factors apart from mechanical injury (eg. collision with a boat), or bites from bigger fish. Fish swim in polluted waters at times, and there is no escaping toxic water when it spills into the ocean and rivers. I can speak with some experience, as I have caught and filleted fish for something approaching 60 years.

It can be quite difficult to have kingies take a good looking bait or lure at times, yet I have hooked a few on a yakka hand line with small hook and tiny piece of bait (have not always won the fight) As you found out, you need to vary baits and lures, and it paid off.

A few nice eating fish there. People pay good money to see the whales, and sometimes fishos can catch a fish or 2 while watching the whales splashing about.

Remember many years ago at Maroochydore Qld (well, somewhere around there) looking over the edge of a commercial fishing wharf and watching the very large bream eating the cooked prawn heads being fed into the water. Put a hook into a prawn head and it would not be touched, just sink to the bottom. Big bream can be cunning bastards during daytime. They will eat real food if it is there (prawn heads, fish scraps) but not be fooled by any fancy lures.

All Trumpeters. Will be a good feed of fillets.

Nice reds Scratchie, and you drove all the way to that foreign northern country called Qld, when the fish are there in your own back yard.

A fortescue in a prawn net.

The spikes do sting (have been stung a couple of times) You are not a real fisherman unless you have been bitten, stung, spiked by fish, bitten by a cuttlefish (only a small one), nipped by a large yabbie or a crab, stung by a blue bottle, zapped by a numb ray

A species of Sea Squirt (Ascidian). A filter feeder that anchors itself onto the sand and filters the passing water for food.

Around that depth. I never knew what the actual depth was, until I was out there in a mate's boat a couple of weeks ago, and his depth gauge measured it (my tinny does not have such a device, I just look at landmarks, trees, houses, rocks on the shoreline for fishing spots).

Headed south of the Hacking this morning just on sunrise, to see several humpbacks cruising south from the bombie. Not much wind early, but the current is moving south so had a reasonable drift anyway. Swell from the north-east, some swell from the south, and both swells bouncing back off the cliffs made for a bouncy drift. Started drifting down past the bombie, but only spikies, and plenty of them for well over an hour. Was not looking good, then the spikies went a bit quiet and the blue spots started on the bite. The flatties were scattered, nothing of size amongst them. 2 tigers as well, and 2 nice sized flounder as a bonus. When I had my bag limit, I was south of Marley, so it was a bumpy ride back home in the tinny.

Great work, good fish to cap it off.

A good feed of fillets from that lot.

30 to 35 metres. Only because my mate had a depth sounder on board. With my boat, no depth sounder, and it does not worry me, I just look at the marks on shore to line up a spot.

Blue spotted flatties.

You have enough for a feed, good work. It was a little bit bumpy the day I was out. As you said, still some swell about yesterday, so I had a swim at Wanda Beach, Some good waves there, but the water is still cold.

Happy birthday. I use the fillets from the spikeys as bait, a good tough bait that will last a bit of mauling from the flatties before needing to replace it with another fillet (or a half fillet from the bigger ones)

Correct. The flatties are about outside Port Hacking. You could try casting for them. (water is only 30 to 40 metres deep )

Thankyou, the weather should be fairly good on Friday.

Good luck at Wooli. The fishing was a bit slow in places in Qld when I was there for a few months ( only fished from the shore or a jetty or 2) but the locals complained about the excessive wind, a bit worse than normal, and when I had a few swims along the various coastal beaches, the water was several degrees cooler a metre or 2 under the surface.

I learnt as a kid fishing in Lake Illawarra when down there on holidays, that the whiting would be feeding in less than knee deep water on the run-up tide. Wade about in the water, pump squirt worms, and catch a good feed of whiting, while those in the boats would catch a couple. I also fished out of a small rowboat for a good feed as well, but many would motor out past me in their boats, straight over the schools of whiting that were swimming near my feet.