Yowie

Funnily, out of all the Flatties, they were all Eastern blue spot, with no marbled mixed in. I wonder if it’s a seasonal thing? Chewie. Marbled flathead are usually found in deeper water than blue spots, have caught a few blue spots in shallow water off Lilli Pilli in Port Hacking at various times. Has been a few years since I landed the occasional tiger flathead off Cronulla. Has anyone caught any tigers recently? Yowie.

Dropped a jig to the east of Jibbon Bombie at first light, no bites, so moved to the south for a drift along the bottom for a couple of sergeant baker, then snagged and a break off. Moved a bit further south, and several dolphins swam beside the boat. As soon as I slowed down, the dolphins disappeared, so I dropped a line for bugger all bites. Started the motor and moved off and the dolphins re-appeared, followed me and disappeared again when I stopped the motor. They did this several times, until they eventually disappeared for good. At one stage a seal appeared, looked like the black fur seal that has been hanging about for several weeks, and some of the dolphins swam near it and the seal jumped out of the water. Must have thought he was under attack. Drifted for quite a while only landing small spiky flatties and was about to move, when I hit a small patch of blue spots, landing 5 to 42cm. Drifted back over the same patch but no more, so moved several times to land one more blue spot and plenty of spikies. Had a visit from an albatross, so I fed him some cut up pieces of bait while he was swimming next to the boat. No surface action, unlike a couple of weeks ago when many gannets were diving for pilchards over a wide area. Still, good to be out on the water with no-one to annoy me! Yowie.

They can be eaten hot smoked, just watch out for the bones, best way of cooking than other methods. I used a shoe box size smoker, and ate them hot from the smoker. When that's all you catch, they are better eating than carp or kelp fish. (Have not tried either of them though, the smell is enough to put you off) Yowie.

The hairtail with a tail is probably a Ribbon Fish, Trachipterus jacksoniensis. Yowie.

Had a fish in Bate Bay this morning (Tuesday) and not a bite, drift was up with the early morning wind. Caught 2 jackets south of the bommie, but the wind did not help with the drift their either. Plenty of small spiky flatties about, but no slimies. Yowie.

Would not use a GREENY for bait. After a fish ate one of them, the fish would be too toxic to eat. And I definitely would not eat a BROWN-nosed trout from Tasmania. Yowie.

I needed a 6 ounce snapper sinker to hold the bottom with a bit of line out. A couple of times I did not feel any bites, and the baits looked as though some smaller jackets may have been chewing away. I used size 2 long shank hooks on wire traces. The smaller hooks and smaller baits I used for the jackets was probably the reason why I was hooking so many spiky flatties. Normally I use a bigger hook and bigger bait so that I have less chance of hooking the little spikies. Yowie.

Fished Saturday outside the Port for a change. Trolled early morning near Jibbon Point for one large pike, which was returned, but no other bites. Drifted the bottom out past the bommie for a 45cm morwong, but no other decent bites, only small spiky flatties. Then drifted south of the bommie hoping for some blue spot flatties, but only caught 2 around the 42cm mark for 3 hours of drifting. The place was alive with small spiky flatties in places, hooking up as soon as I hit bottom. Also some jackets about, and ended up with 11 of them. Not big ones, up to 37cm but all keepers. Fortunately they were spread out, so it was only one here and one there, if they could beat the spikies to the bait. A bit of current heading south, even when the wind dropped for a while, I kept drifting south. Off Little Marley, I saw the only fish jumping, looked like a large salmon from the distance, cleared the water by about a metre. One visit from a black fur seal, which did not stay very long around the boat, and a couple of penguins squawking near the boat. Not much swell at all. Yowie.

Have used the 15cm worms only on a couple of occasions, (use more bait than lures) found them to be too long to get a hook up, so cut them in half. Still not much good. I have caught a few fish on the smaller worms about 6cm long, these are a lighter colour than the longer versions. Best fish to date on these is a 6.5 pound flattie, not measured, but quickly weighed and returned to the water. Also caught an occie on the smaller worms. Yowie.

A bit cool, probably will stay that way for a while yet.

Fished out from Yowie Bay early this morning. Pulled out a 48cm flattie early on then quiet for a while. As the light increased, so did the bites, and managed 3 keeper reddies from 31 to 34cm, and an over 30cm red gurnard which was sent back. Quite a few smaller reddies about, some were only 6 or 7 cm long, attacking baits bigger than themselves. Salted bonito strips worked the best. A pilchard I had sitting on the bottom was picked up and moved a short distance, then the line stopped moving. No return bite, so I picked up the rod and felt some weight, no movement just a dead weight. Retrieved it almost to the boat, then a head shake and it's gone. Probably a flattie around the 2 to 3 kilo mark, not much damage to the bait. It would have been returned anyway at that size. Still bundles of freshwater weed floating on the surface, plenty of mud colour in the water, and no surface fish to be seen splashing. Yowie.

Barracouta is correct. A bony fish to eat, however, many year ago, I hot-smoked a couple and they were reasonable to eat, except for the bones (I was trying them with a mate to see what they tasted like, he also thought they were of reasonable taste) As for any other way of cooking them, I would not bother. Throw them back, watch out for the sharp teeth. Yowie.

Just read in the Wednesday edition of the Telegraph, that someone bagged out on whiting in North West Arm. Was he lucky, is it a fair dinkum report, or a delayed report? Yowie.

The ones I saw splashing were not sardines, they were bigger than that, probably just legal size tailor.

The sardines do not keep alive too well, and the flesh is a bit soft so the hooks can pull out, however, as a fresh cut bait, or a small one put on whole, a lot of fish will have a go at them. Yowie.

Could be snook, as I've caught them over weed beds before at different times of the year. Yowie.

It felt more jew than flattie, however, the poor bastard has a 3 gang hook and about 20 metres of line attached to his mouth, unless he managed to shake it out. Not good for the fish.

A good catch, much better outside than in the river. Yowie.

Might be that time of year to head outside for a few flatties, if the jackets have kept away.

There were a couple of splashes in Gymea Bay, appeared to be smallish tailor around the legal size, but not biting at baits or lures.

Have been driving through South Australia and Victoria for the last 4 weeks with no fishing, so I headed out to Gymea Bay this morning at first light (cold, but not as cold as Victoria). First cast with a pillie, let it sink to the bottom, and jigged it a couple of times. Felt like I snagged up, then a big head shake and the line parted near the rod tip after 2 seconds. A small fraying of the line. I check my lines every now and then for fraying, but missed this little section. Probably a nice jewfish. Then all quiet. Some time later, the bream rod took off, a nice bream but the hook pulled after a while. Later managed a 35cm trevally, and a trumpeter whiting on a piece of pillie meant for the bream. Pumped a few nippers at Grays point and drifted the flats. Not a bite and not a fish to be seen. The water was cold. Drifted Lilli Pilli flats for a short while, no bites and also Gunnamatta Bay flats on the way home, again no bites and nothing to be seen swimming about. Filleted the 2 fish, and threw the carcases into the water, usually brings in the bream, but none to be seen. Has anyone been catching much in the Port? Yowie.

I hooked a big one years ago, may have just swum into the line. I had 500 yards of 12 pound line on a hand caster, and the thing just kept swimming, did not slow down at all. When I had the last couple of turns on the caster, I just hung on, and the line snapped next to the hook. I could feel those big flippers power him through the water.

Baits, salted mullet was the best. The bigger bream preferred that, but then again, 2 of then reefed me as I was throwing the baits near the rocks.

Might be a species of Gudgeon. Yowie.

Fished Gymea Bay early this morning, near the northern side. Water had a bit of brown colour, plenty of floating sticks, leaves, weed, but no wind for a while. Pulled out 3 bream from 29 to 38cm, a just legal reddie, 2 red gurnard about 36cm and a bonito over 40cm. Lost 2 bream when they reefed me under the rocks, one was bigger than the 38cm model but could not stop him on 6 pound line, he kept going and under a ledge. Had a try in South West Arm for squid, but not a thing at several spots. I did see a turtle's head pop out of the water, take a breath and down he swam. There have been turtles up in the Arm for many years. Yowie.