Yowie

Fished the Port this morning. Usually do not fish on weekends, but due to rain, wind, other reasons, did not get out during the week, so had to go this morning. Tried the deep water early at Lilli Pilli for 1 tailor a bit over the size limit, 1 jewie under the size limit and a couple of small reddies. Waste of time. Water still very murky. Pumped some nippers and drifted the Lilli Pilli flats for 8 legal whiting and a couple of throwbacks, also a trevally that was released. The biggest of the whiting was 44cm, a bit bigger than the jewie. The fish were scattered, but 8 is enough for a couple of feeds. Did take a mobile phone photo of the fish but cannot upload it due to incompatible connections with the computer. Yowie.

Good work Bruce, shows there are some about.

Turtles have been swimming about Port Hacking for many years, from small ones to shells about a metre across the back. On a calm day, you will hear a turtle take a breath, see it's head out of the water, then it will disappear underwater for a while.

The whiting are there, but the ones that were around Lilli Pilli have gone quiet in the last few weeks. I have caught them at Mainbar flats and Gunnamatta flats recently, and I would assume they are still around Grays Point, though I have not fished that area since last winter.

I pumped some nippers last week and saw 2 blokes in a small off-white tinny (no rego on boat) pumping as well. I headed off to fish and on passing them about 2 hours later, they were still pumping in water almost up to their waists. They packed up and headed up Fishermans Bay at high speed. The only face I saw of those 2 was a scruffy looking bastard with a beard.

Well Chris, I have been having trouble pulling out a lot of fish as well. Fished another spot off Lilli Pilli early this morning, for 1 just over size and 1 just under reddies, on salted tailor baits, and 2 large yellowtail. Cut up strips from a yellowtail, and they only attracted a few pickers. A fresh squid strip did not attract any bites at all as did a pilchard. Both baits on the hook for over an hour. F***ing hopeless. Pumped some nippers for 1 flattie and 1 whiting for about 2.5 hours work. Spoke to another fisho who landed 2 flatties to 55cm drifting the main channel for a few hours. His mates were fishing outside off Cronulla and landed little spiky flatties when he phoned them. Nothing worth keeping. Dave.

They have been inside Port Hacking for years, probably the same with the Harbour but you were never lucky to catch one before!

Not too bad, you managed a few fish. Mainbar has some larger nippers, but there are plenty of small one there as well. Shows that they are breeding well. A couple of years ago, one of the greenie dropkicks at Sutherland Shire Council proposed an idea that the taking of nippers be banned at Mainbar, as is the case in Gunnamatta Bay. Fortunately the idea has been dropped so far. Where else can you find them in such large numbers? I've pumped them out of there for many years, and the numbers are still high. You only need 30 or 40 nippers to catch a feed of fish. Yowie.

The sand mullet are over the flats early in the morning on the low tide, and the bullies are jumping in different places. A live one might do better, and hope that a big jew does not grab it first!

A story on Channel 9 News tonight (Thursday) of a Bull Shark caught in Port Hacking, but the report was delayed in being notified to the public by the Fisheries Dept. (for fear of scaring the public) Most of us that fish the Port would know of the Bull Sharks cruising about most of the time. Recently fishing in the deeper water after the rain periods (with subsequent dirty water) has resulted in not too many fish biting. A few times I have had a few small reddies biting at baits, then everything just stops for 10 or 15 minutes, before returning again. Could be cruising sharks scaring the fish away. Have noticed mullet schools swimming around Lilli Pilli lately, plus frigates and bonito, favourite food of the sharks. Might be time to try for the toothy critters with the big gear. Yowie.

Were they of legal size? I was at a mate's house early on Saturday night looking towards that area and I saw what looked like tailor splashing about. A boat was fishing near them then a f*#*wit on a jetski motored straight through them and that was the end. While I was drifting the Lilli Pilli flats today, a water skier was towed past the baths and into the 8 knot zone, at high speed, and someone in the boat threw something at the fishermen on the wharf. Not close enough to see the rego.

Have not heard of any squid.

Fished Lilli Pilli deep water this morning for 1 tailor of 35cm and a couple of little reddies nowhere near legal size. The tailor took a salted tailor strip. The fresh yellowtail strips, squid strips and pillies did not produce any decent bites. Waste of time really. The water had plenty of colour in it from last weekend's rain, and at this time of year should be producing some fish, but not where I was. Plenty of fish on the surface, frigates or bonito, plus a few bigger splashes along the main channel which I think were salmon. Lures did not get a hit, and I saw others spinning into the schools without any luck. Pumped some nippers and drifted the Lilli Pilli flats for a 44cm trevally. Nothing else, did not even see any whiting swimming about. Headed back to the flats near Mainbar and pulled out 4 whiting, biggest was 36cm, but the bites were some time apart. Yowie.

One nice flattie is better than nothing at all.

The bloke in the bait shop said the fisherman who caught the one last summer was targeting them. An occasional one takes a light line, and it is all over in a few seconds, as the normal tackle is not built for that sort of fast fish, and the fisherman is left wondering "what the f#*k was that?"

I did not see the photo, but he said 26kg, so I said 'how big', and he again said 26kg. I cannot tell you any more than that. It sounds like a fishy story, but he said the fisherman is an honest bloke and he saw the fish in a photo. When I was a kid, and I am talking about the 1960's, I saw a tuna jumping in the middle of Yowie Bay out from the public wharf, and it was a minimum of 4 foot long, probably closer to 5. Anything is possible, as in the 1920's and 30's, 20 pound snapper were being caught in Gymea Bay.

One of the blokes at the bait shop at Sylvania Heights told me of a yellowfin tuna caught in South West Arm last summer, he saw a photo of it.

Also try squid and yellowtail strips. Anywhere from the baths up to Yowie Bay and Gymea Bay, also South West Arm. Fish the deeper water where it drops off the slope out from the bank to the flatter bottom sections. In saying that, at night time sometimes the jewies will be feeding on the surface like tailor, if there are bait fish cruising in the shallower water near the surface.

I have fished Port Hacking for over 50 years, and it can be difficult at times, a good feed one day and not much the next.

Have been spiked a couple of times by them, it's not too bad, you big girls :074: Wait till you get spiked by a fortesque, then you will have something to complain about. Yowie.

No photo. I have a fairly new mobile phone, and the connectors are not compatible with my computer sockets, so I don't bother with photos because I cannot download anything. Not a big jewie at 3.6 kg, but bigger than some of the small ones scooting around lately, and the larger reddie was a bit under a kilo.

Just a couple of chopped up pillies. At times it brings around a lot of small reddies. Quite a few today were just under size. The jewie had a small whiting in it's stomach.

I had the yellow sou-wester rain gear on, including the hat, but the big rain drops still managed to get in underneath. I was actually getting enough in my mouth to have a drink, and I was travelling at half my normal speed. That's the problem with an open tinny. At least it was not a "wet arse and no fish" outing.

Headed out early this morning, dropped the boat in at my mother's place in Gunnamatta Bay, started the motor and the rain pissed down, stinging my face as I motored up to Lilli Pilli. Rained for a while. Fished the deeper water with pillies at first light, not a tailor to be seen. Put the rod down for a couple of seconds and it took off, I grabbed it just before it disappeared over the side. It was a fat 73cm jewie, fought very hard for it's size. Plenty of reddies stealing the yellowtail strip baits, but managed 2 legals at 31 and 41cm. When the reddies disappeared, a crab grabbed one of the baits, 20cm wide on the body and over 700 grams. Small tuna types, probably bonito, busting the surface but no hits on a lure. Headed to Mainbar, pumped some nippers and pulled out 5 whiting to 32cm, then headed home. Yowie.