Yowie

I fished Yowie Bay wharf as a kid, but that was a LONG time ago. Lucky to see a trailer boat a day launch there. There is the Gunnamatta Bay baths, and along the sand banks south of the baths around the low tide.

When drifting over the flats, I use a light rod with 6 pound mono line on the reel. Have never used braid, though a lot of fishos use it these days. I use a 00 ball sinker running onto the hook, no swivel or trace, being a size 2 longshank in the high carbon design (the red coloured ones, the bronzed hooks in the brown colour are normally a softer steel and can bend on a bigger fish. Have caught flathead and salmon over 6 pound, and trevally over 4 pound, on these hooks). Drift along and throw the bait out as far as you can either end of the boat, not over the area the boat has already drifted as it is usually shallow water and the boat will scare the fish away for a short distance. Don't have much trouble with weed snagging, unless you find a section with pieces of ribbon weed broken off the bunches and laying on the bottom, or after a big storm at sea which causes the bloody kelp to break off and roll along the bottom. The rig is light and bounces along the bottom, unless you throw out onto the weed patches. After the last lot of coloured water from the heavy rain in March, the whiting were biting in water from 30 to 60cm deep, including the big ones. I learnt as a kid fishing in Lake Illawarra that a lot of whiting could be caught in knee deep water without having to put the boat in, and I have caught a couple of whiting at Mainbar on the run-up tide when they were swimming in water so shallow that their backs were out of the water. Dave.

A bit hard to see anything early due to the surface shop from the breeze, around the WSW to SW. Tomorrow should be a big kick from the South.

Yes, but usually not too often.

Was planning on having a fish Tuesday, after the rabble were back at work, but the forecast southerly should hit with a bang overnight and into Tuesday morning, so gave it a go today. Fished the deep early for a tailor about 35cm, a trevally a bit bigger which was released, and a bream. Pumped some nippers and drifted Lilli Pilli flats for 3 whiting and another trevally, again released. Dropped 5 fish, mostly whiting, when the hook pulled out. Not happy. Drifted Gunnamatta flats for another whiting, the biggest one of the day at 35cm, and another trevally, again released it. While cleaning the fish, threw out a bait amongst the fish scraps and pulled out a bream about 36cm. Fillets of bream, whiting and the tailor, enough for a good feed. Should be windy for a couple of days, and punch up the swell again. Yowie.

Well Daniel, You just have to check your nuts and bolts before you drop them out. You managed a feed, and that is the main thing. Yowie.

3 nice bream is not too bad.

That's what I like to see, some fish being caught. Would have given you some fun, and a feed if you kept them. Probably won't be fishing myself until the weekend has gone. Too many lunatics about.

Have hooked large black rays in the deeper sections, 5 or 6 foot across. There are also eagle rays, the biggest was measured at 6 foot across. The big eagle rays can run like a big kingie, just as fast and just as hard to stop. Yowie.

Probably does not have a coffee table small enough. The 4 fish would look like tiddlers on his big table. There are a few nice sized tailor inside the Port at present, so might be more up river than around the bombie.

A shame about the green toads turning up. Have not seen them for a while, even caught them off Lilli Pilli some years ago. The bastards can swim surprisingly fast after a bait or a lure.

I was talking about the areas where I catch a few fish. The hole off Lilli Pilli was measured at 26 metres in the 1980 survey map that I have. I don't always fish at the bottom of the deep water, quite often finding the fish in water about half that depth along the edge of the drop-offs.

When I had my hand in the water just after I anchored, it was warmer than the air temperature. Looking at the Weather Bureau website, there is stream of warmer water off the coast, around the 24,25 degree mark heading south, and a larger stream out past the shelf. When having a swim at Wanda Beach a week or 2 ago, the water was cool, however, in the last couple of days the temperature has risen a bit.

And your fingers too. Have seen a bloke cry when bitten by one only about 35cm long. The tailor would not let go and sunk it's teeth into his finger up to it's gums while wiggling like crazy.

Boat. There are a number of wharves in the Port, though they are usually full of fisherman day and night. Different areas fish better at different tides, though I find low light times (in the early morning or late afternoon into the night) as being needed to be considered more than the tide.

12 pound and 15 pound. Sometimes I use 10 pound line. Have had a few take the 6 pound yellowtail line with a little hook, but they just keep going until you run out of line.

West from Lilli Pilli baths is deep water, including Yowie Bay, Gymea Bay, Big Turriell Bay, and also other areas such as Burraneer Bay, Gunnamatta Bay and South West Arm. Shallow water is the areas over the sand banks and along the main channel east of Lilli Pilli to the entrance. Fish in the deep water areas along the edges of the bank where the bank drops down and meets the flat bottom, which could be 15 metres (have never measured the depths, though the deepest place is west of the baths. never caught anything decent there because it is just a flat featureless section of mud) Fish can also be caught in the shallow sections over the banks and along the channel. I have caught fish in water less than knee deep (Port Hacking as well as other locations) so it is a matter or persevering until you find the fish. Early morning or late afternoon into the night are usually better times than the middle of the day.

Fished the deep off Lilli Pilli this morning, one of those days where nothing stayed on the hook at first, the hooks kept missing or pulling out after a couple of seconds. Eventually pulled out 3 tailor from 42 to 48cm long, plus a stack of reddies but not one over the size limit. They were biting on any bait used. No yellowtail about either. As I was packing up, I was winding in a handline and a kingie grabbed it, but only about 60cm long. No bait left on the hook, so I threw it out and another kingie grabbed the bare hook but busted off. Managed another 2 kingies on handlines, probably a fraction smaller, but plenty of finger burning action. All returned. Most of my bait was gone by this time, so I threw a handfull of mushy bread over, and watched half a dozen kingies swimming through the bread trail, with the occasional one eating a bit of bread. Headed for home after that. Yowie.

Cannot find anything in my publications. Try the Fisheries or Australian Museum.

Jewies will hit the surface, especially at night time. Have heard them in Port Hacking at night time hitting the schools of mullet, and quite often will hear a big tail slap as they come up under the mullet swimming on the surface. Yowie.

What are the longer fish? They look like teraglin.

If you are talking about the area where the channel meets the lake, I drifted along there (never anchored) as a teenager (a long time ago) with live prawns I caught the night before, and caught plenty of flathead along that stretch, plus a few whiting and bream, and leatherjackets along the edge of the weed beds.

Good catch Chris. Had a fish myself this morning early off Lilli Pilli. 3 tailor to 42cm, 2 reddies to 38cm and dropped another at the side of the boat, and released a trevally about 35cm. Over the sand flats are large schools of sand mullet. Caught a couple under 30cm, but there are some bigger ones about. Plenty of surface activity, but appear to be frigates which were not interested in lures. Dave.

Good work. The thing about catching jewies is that some don't fight too much, and others fight really hard. Have had a couple fight to the death on light line ( actually dead when landed ) In my younger days, I fished with 3lb line for something different, but the jewies took too long to catch. 6lb line should have given you a bit of fun as you stated.

Photo 3 is not a bonito. Can see a couple of spots under the body, and looks like a mackerel tuna.