Yowie

Fished off Lilli Pilli in the deep again. 1 jewie about 50cm, released, 2 tailor, 38 and 50cm, 2 good fillets off the bigger one, and a just legal trevally. Little reddies about but none over legal size. The water has a bit of colour after the rain, should have been a couple of bigger reddies about, but not today. Had one good hit but the line parted soon after, could not pick what it was. Also had something else on a little while later, then the weight dropped off and I landed a reddie about 25cm. No marks on the reddie, but something grabbed him for a short time. Yowie.

That's a good catch for a weekend, usually too many boats for my liking. I used pilchards, squid, salted trevally strips for not many bites. Found a couple of small garfish in the freezer, nothing looked at them at all. One of those days when nothing is interested. When I drifted about with the plastic minnow, I spooked a couple of flathead as I drifted over them. I have eaten the smaller salmon around 2 to 3 pound. Cook up some rice, add bacon, chopped fried egg, peas, corn, etc, clean and gut the salmon, then stuff the rice mixture into the cavity and bake in the oven. For times when you don't catch anything else and feel like some fish.

Fished early near Lilli Pilli. One salmon at first, about 50cm, thought it was a nice tailor at first, but no, a bloody salmon so back it went. No tailor, only little reddies, no other decent hits. Some baits were disappearing quickly, maybe some small jackets. Drifted the flats with a 3" minnow soft plastic for a 49cm flathead only. Pumped some nippers at Mainbar and drifted around there for 3 small whiting to 31cm, a 41cm flattie, and a long tom less than 50cm, which was returned. A few other long tom about, but no hookups, taking the nippers off the bottom over the flats. Yowie.

Catch the odd one from time to time around Lilli Pilli in Port Hacking, no more than about 45cm long. Never eaten one. Have seen them swimming in small schools at times. Yowie.

I wrote to the Fisheries Dept a few years ago about increasing the bag limit on that species of jacket, no reply received. You actually have to see them in action when they go into a feeding frenzy. I killed a few jackets and threw them overboard when the big schools gathered under the boat. You would not want to fall overboard because they are so vicious!

The biggest reddie I picked up in the last month was 47cm, not big for reddies, but a good size for the Port. Some years back, 2 reddies of 5.5 and 6.5 kgs were reported to have been caught in South West Arm at night. No names, no photos sighted, only a fishing report. An old bloke who died some years ago, who lived next to my fishing mate, stated he caught 20 pound snapper from Gymea Bay in the 1920's, 1930's. Did not land all as the sharks chewed off quite a few. 20 to 30 years ago, the same old bloke pulled out a 55 pound jew on an 8 pound handline, in Gymea Bay.

Can be a bit hard to catch during the day, better on an overcast day on a rising tide. Night is usually better, as the bream will venture into shallow water. When I lived near Yowie Bay wharf, I found the bream on the rising tide would be feeding against the rock walls in a couple of feet of water at night. If you live in an area with boat moorings, rocks, oysters, etc, I use 15lb line at night and a no.2 double strength hook, similar to a 9555B pattern with 2 slices in the shank. Seems a bit heavy, but some of the bigger ones will snag you fairly quickly in that sort of territory. Use lighter line if you fish in a snag free area. During the day, 6lb line is better when you can see what is happening. Sometimes a bigger bait works as the smaller bream can't swallow it straight away, and a bigger one may grab it from the little ones. Other days, nothing works. I generally use a fish bait at night, salted pieces such as yellowtail, tailor, small tuna, something with a bit of oil and odour. Berley will get them feeding. An old fisherman's trick was to buy a skinned rabbit, wrap it in wire mesh and tie it close to the wharf with good rope. The bigger bream and other bities will drag it away if not secured. The bream will hang around the smelly bunny, as will many other pests. Yowie.

Nothing wrong with a feed of garfish. The tailor were only around while still fairly dark. The reddies are dropping off in numbers, the bigger ones were caught one after the other, same piece of squid, then quiet again, must have been swimming together. It's that time of year when the fish start to thin out.

Squid and pilchards.

Had a fish in Port Hacking this morning. As I was getting the boat ready at my mother's place on Gunnamatta Bay, top of the tide, threw in a line just in case. Pulled out a 39 cm bream, back in for another just over 40cm. Released the second one, big and fat with the blue nose. Fished the deep off Lilli Pilli, 4 tailor to 43cm, 2 reddies 39 and 41cm, 2 trevally about 33 and 38cm (both released) and a metre plus shovelnose (released). A kingie followed up a hooked trevally, looked a bit under size, but did not stay long under the boat. Yowie.

Eastern Kelpfish looks good from the side view. Excuse the language, but a sh*t sandwich would probably taste better than easting one of these. Yowie.

Looks similar to a sea carp. A bit hard to tell Adam. Need a side on view next time for a better view of the body. Yowie.

yes.

Fished the deep out from Lilli Pilli. Pulled out 4 reddies (32,33,40,47cm), 2 tailor over 40cm and a 43cm blue spotted flathead (normally catch them outside, however, have caught the odd one in the port) Released the 2 smaller reddies. Used squid and salted tailor. The largest reddie was nearly 1.5 kg. No yellowtail about, but something grabbed the size 10 hook and tiny bait and put up a good fight until right near the boat when the line broke. A silver flash under the boat looked like a small jew. Returned to Gunnamatta Bay to put the boat away, and thought I would try for a squid. Picked up a medium size calamari then nothing. Pulled up the jig to go home and a small school of similar sized squid chased in the jig and sat beside the boat. Schools of these don't hang around long, so I threw the jig back and pulled out 4 more in about 1 minute, until the water turned black and the rest swam off. Inside of the boat was black, and I copped a black hit to the stomach area. Reminds me of an Italian fishing mate many years ago, who had never caught a squid. A big one followed his bait in and stayed under the boat, so I gave him a jig line and told him the jerk the line. The squid grabbed the jig straight away, and before I could say "Don't pull it into the boat just yet", my mate looked over the side of the boat to see what was happening, and copped a direct hit in the face and into his mouth. His face and clothes were jet black. Yowie.

Good work, certainly beats my one and only cobia many years ago, weighed about one pound and was released. Dropped a bigger one around 5 to 6 pound a few years ago, and I saw 2 others caught on the troll around Lilli Pilli about the same size. The deep water up from Lilli Pilli and in South West Arm, can produce just about anything. Yowie

Good work, certainly beats my one and only cobia many years ago, weighed about one pound and was released. Dropped a bigger one around 5 to 6 pound a few years ago, and I saw 2 others caught on the troll around Lilli Pilli about the same size. The deep water up from Lilli Pilli and in South West Arm, can produce just about anything. Yowie

When my grandfather was alive, he told me the jackets were so thick he could hold a piece of fish on the surface and pull them out by hand. It appears the bloody things have not changed their breeding habits since the 1920's. I asked a friend at the Fisheries Dept. was any research being done on the habits/breeding aspects of the chinamen jackets, but she was not aware of anything. A few years ago while fishing off Cronulla, I pulled out 2 jackets about 45cm long. Inside their guts were parts of a small blue spotted ray. It appears the jackets had attacked the ray and eaten it alive as it was so fresh. The tail was chewed but still in one piece, plus other pieces of the wing flaps and a complete eye. I put the pieces together and it was more than half the ray's body. Other times I have killed a jacket and thrown it into the water when the school swims under the boat, and dozens swim in for a feed. If you fell over into the school, they would probably attack like piranhas. Some times, all the jackets have empty stomachs, so they must be swimming about searching for anything they can eat.

I've fished the hacking for over 50 years, and there are still fish to be caught. One thing I remember as a kid was watching a tuna 4 to 5 feet long jumping not far out from the Yowie Bay wharf, hoping that I would catch it. In reality, I would have been water skiing down the bay had it taken my line.

When I landed the tailor, he spat out 2 large pieces of a decent sized garfish, don't know how he managed to keep them in his stomach, and then swallow a decent sized piece of yellowtail fillet. Shortly after that, I pulled out a reddie with a very fresh piece of garfish bill sticking out of his mouth, so he may have been feeding on the scraps under the tailor. Might be a few garfish floating about as well.

Fished the deep off Lilli Pilli this morning. Pulled out a just legal kingie, 3 reddies just over the size with one at 41 cm, and a lot of throwbacks just under the size, 3 bream to 34cm, a just legal jew that went back in, and a 40cm tailor. Baits were yellowtail and squid strips fished on the bottom. The kingie was gut hooked, did not go for any big runs and felt like a big reddie at first. Fished the flats along the main channel with a soft plastic, can't remember the name but it looked like a 3 inch mullet, and pulled out 2 flatties about 40 and 48cm. Both were released. Had a couple of other hits that didn't connect, felt like bream. I store my boat at my mother's place in Gunnamatta Bay. After I cleaned the fish, I threw the bones in to the shallow water and 2 dozen or so bream raced in for a feed. Some looked about 35cm long, so there are plenty of bream about at the moment. Yowie.

Found a couple of old books, 'Australian Sea Fishes, North of 30 degrees South' and 'Australian Sea Fishes, South of 30 degrees South.' (refers to 30 degrees longitude) Written by Neville Coleman, a professional underwater photographer. His photo of the amberjack is the same as yours, showing a faint yellow stripe lengthways along the centre body, and a dark line across the eye to behind the head. His samson photo looks closer to a kingfish, with a much lighter stripe along the body, and a rounder head.

Picked up 3 smaller versions over summer in the Port. Thought they might have been small samsons, however, looking at the Fisheries website pictures, now appear to be amberjacks. I think that is the first time I've been wwwwwrong. Yowie.

Caught a couple of yakkas, so cut them into strips. Also used squid strips. Fishing on the bottom. Took the kingie from the bottom, as sometimes happens.

No pics. Fishing from a boat out of casting range from the baths.

Fished the deep out from Lilli Pilli during the morning. Pulled out a 43cm tailor on the first cast, then the reddies attacked most baits. Managed to catch 2 about 38cm, a 50cm jewie, and a 66cm kingie. The kingie was landed on a 10 pound handline and spent all of its time fighting under the boat, so that I could feel the line scraping along the bottom of the boat. During this, another line took off so I grabbed that and it felt like another kingie, but the hooks pulled after a short time. Moved to Gunnamatta Bay and pulled out 4 good sized squid on a green jig. Yowie.