Yowie

Jibbon Bombie is south of Jibbon Point at the mouth of Port Hacking. Waves usually break over the top. In rough weather, do not go anywhere near it, and not on the inside, which is the area between the bombie and the rocks. The flathead are south of the bombie, heading towards Little Marley. Yowie.

Fished for an hour and a half, south of Jibbon Bombie on Sunday, and caught 15 flatties to 45cm and a nice flounder. There were a few about. Not much wind and a slow drift early in the morning. Took my son out (not a young son any more), I caught 5 flatties, and he caught the rest! Yowie.

The pike looks more like a snook, more common in southern waters than Sydney. Yowie.

An old Quintrex. Pumped the nippers near Fishermans Bay until 6.30, then headed to Lilli Pilli.

Fished between 6.30 and 8.30am, so the sun was well and truly shining. There are some patches of squirt worms on the flats, so the bream are feeding on them. A few weeks ago, I saw a couple of the bream feeding. They remained in the one spot and appeared to be blowing water out of their mouths to wash the sand away, and then feeding on the exposed worms tubes. The worms are in their tubes, so they must suck the worms out of their tubes once they have pulled them from the sand, then spit out the empty tubes. Interesting to watch!

Pumped some nippers early, and drifted the Lilli Pilli flats for 2 hours for 8 bream to 35cm and 3 whiting to 32cm. Threw back about the same number of just on or just under legals. Some of the bream were feeding in 30cm of water. Yowie.

If the garfish are big enough, you can fillet them with a long fillet knife. With each fillet, carefully cut out the rib bones. That is why I use a long knife, because it will remove the bones and leave the flesh behind. You will need a few practice runs to perfect the de-boning. Once perfected, you will have a small but bone free fillet. Pan fry in a little olive oil and you have one of the best eating fish there is. My grandfather use to roll them with a milk bottle to break up the back bone, fry them until crispy and crunch them up (minus head and bones of course) Yowie.

It's a wirrah. If you burnt the steak on the BBQ, it would still taste better than the fish! Yowie.

Cannot find it in my fish books. Has a body shape similar to an emperor, but is probably something else. Yowie.

Fished near Yowie Bay earlier in the week for a few undersize reddies and 1 yellowtail. Waste of bloody time, and the wind was swirling about, so I headed home early.

Tried trolling early outside Port Hacking this morning, for nothing. At sunrise, I drifted the bottom south of the Bommie for some blue spotted flatties. A bit quiet at first then I drifted over a patch. Kept 10 to 47cm, and 36cm flounder. I had enough fish by 7.30am, so headed home. The flatties are into their spring breeding right now, so don't keep large numbers of them. Yowie.

The salmon never jumped once, that's why I didn't know what it was. Just a fast powerful run that did not stop.

No photos, because no camera.

Decided to try out from the Lilli Pilli bathes, as have not fished there for a while. Managed a 35 cm reddie and red gurnard in the deep. Some yellowtail about but nothing chasing them. Plenty of little reddies pinching the baits. Pumped a few nippers and drifted the channel, nothing there so tried the flats for a 44cm flattie and 2 bream. Threw back a few just under size bream. Not a whiting to be seen, a couple of weeks ago there were quite a few scooting about. Drifting in a few feet of water over the Lilli Pilli flats, something grabbed one of the nippers and took off in a fast run against the current. Did not appear it was going to stop, so I started the motor with one hand (pull start) while the spool was almost empty. Followed the fish into shallow water, where I had to lift the motor, and it just kept swimming into the main channel a long way from the boat. Had to stop the motor, pick up an oar with one hand and push the boat over a few inches of water over the sand, while the fish just kept swimming into the deeper channel. Had no idea what it was at that time. The fish swam back to the sand bank and back into shallow water and circled the boat a few times before I could net it. It was a 64cm salmon. Weighed just over 2.8 kilos, or a bit over 6 pound. Was using 6 pound line and a whiting hook. If I had not followed the fish, I would have been spooled, because the little reel holds 200 yards of line, and I would have traveled twice that distance. Took about 20 minutes to land. Yowie.

Barracouta, not barracuda. Not a good eating fish, taste a bit better when hot smoked, plenty of bones. Yowie.

It was not me, I was back home by 8am as I had enough fish.

Fishing from first light, with the last bite just after sunrise. After that, only a few little reddies. No movement on the surface to indicate any fish anywhere, the tailor are feeding near the bottom. It's a matter of one fish, then nothing for a while, then another fish, wait again, etc.

Some years are worse than others. Grays Point has a lot at present, as does the western side of Gunnamatta Bay. Other places have very little of this slimy weed. Once it gets onto the bait, nothing will bite. Many years ago in Yowie Bay, the slime was actually suspended in mid water, and an unweighted bait would not sink through it. When the water temperature rises, the slimy weed will vanish.

I was in a boat along the western side.

Fished Gymea Bay early for 6 tailor, reasonable fish from 40 to 45cm, and a 36cm reddie. Released the reddie and 2 tailor, 4 tailor are enough for a feed. A couple of the tailor took the pillies as they were sinking, but the others were feeding off the bottom. No sign of any tailor or baitfish splashing the surface. Yowie.

Certainly cannot get any worse. The fish are moving about, there one day but not the next.

Had a fish this morning, usually prefer the week days to the weekends. Fished Gymea Bay early for a tailor and trevally. Pumped a few nippers and drifted Lilli Pilli for a bream and a whiting, then drifted mainbar for another whiting and a blackfish. Enough for a feed. Yowie

Trolled around the mouth of Port Hacking for tailor at first light, but no bites. Tried a couple of drifts in Bate Bay, where I picked up some flatties a couple of weeks ago. One flattie just under size and one lost hook (probably a jacket), so headed up the Port and a couple of drifts in the main channel. No bites, and with the clear water, nothing to be seen anyway. Pumped a few nippers and fished the flats at Lilli Pilli for 3 legal whiting, with a lot of throwbacks, and one legal flattie. Saw a report in the Telegraph, that mentioned tailor to 2kg in Gymea Bay. Can anyone verify that, or is it another "fishy" fishing report? Yowie.

Wait until you stand on one while pumping nippers or prawning!

Have never seen anything like it in any books, or in my 50 years of fishing. The closest thing would be one of the parrot fish (which are the wrasse family). You might have to take the photos to the Australian Museum. Yowie.