rjc123

Thanks mate! Hopefully i can crack my first legal kingie(s)!

Yeah mate, ill try and get out during the week. I know, it gets very very busy at balmoral on weekends. In early october arrived there at 5 am and couldn't get a spot on the wharf at all! Ridiculous..

Hey raiders, i'm after the kingies this summer and the majority say the best bait is a live or fresh squid. I am currently landbased and will be fishing at balmoral. I know squid are regularly caught there and have seen them around before. Should i be able to catch them through the warmer months? Tom

To get the poddies then i would be heading up middle harbour and setting up the little bait traps with a bit of bread and coming back in an hour or so. Yakkas are probably a better option. They are much easier to find. All wharves and structure like the wedding cakes hold them. Just berley up and drop a bait jig down and you'll be good!

Great idea mate! My first catch on a lure was a 46cm leatherjacket. It fell to a 40g raider metal being trolled for bonito and salmon at West Head in Pittwater 2 years ago.

Yeh, i am aware that the chances of an encounter with an animal big enough to knock you out of the yak are very slim however, anything is possible these days. I have seen sharks in upper middle harbour before which is where i will be doing my fishing. I guess you can't shy away from life because there is a small chance of something going wrong.

PM sent matee!

Hey raiders, summer is upon us and it seems the kingies are here! Haven't managed to get out yet but hope to in the next month. I will probably have a crack at pittwater. I do not have a downrigger however, i will be livebaiting still. Mainly with yakkas and slimies. Can anyone give me a few tips and or spots to try. Any other tips on techniques and locations for other species would be welcome too! Tom

yeh, thanks for the tip mate! How exactly does the shark shield work? Does it send out some sort of electrical signal that deters the shark? Tom

Hi raiders, I might be buying a specialised fishing kayak. Probably the Hobie pro angler. I will mainly be using it in middle harbour around the roseville bridge area. I have seen a few bull sharks in these waters and i'm a little concerned. Is it safe fishing up past the bridge on a kayak with them around? Just curious as i read that there was a shark attack past the bridge years ago. The person was killed and they came to the conclusion that the shark was 3m long based on the bite size. Any comments would be great! Thanks

+1 for South West dangar island. It is my neverfail spot. You'll mainly get Bream, Flathead and Whiting around this time of year. Definitely drop a crab pot near here too. There should be a good supply of blue swimmers around. Prawns and unweighted whitebait will do the trick as well as 3-4" squidgees as previously mentioned. The bridge is worth a shot with a jewie outfit. Fish the tide changes with a whole squid or live mullet and i would be surprised if you didn's see any action. There are bream if you drift along the Long island nature reserve with prawns. Road bridge has bream and jewies. Hope this helps a little. Good luck!

Hey raiders, This summer i'm without a boat so probably gonna have to give the kingies a miss. I'm keen to have a go at whiting on small poppers and live worms. I have caught plenty of whiting before up to approximately 31cm. Im hoping for a few sessions targeting them in the harbour, narrabeen lake and maybe pittwater. I have heard about the dredging going on in narrabeen at the moment but if i start fishing in December should i get some decent results there? Any spots in the harour, narrabeen and pittwater would be great! Tom

Your best chance is to get out on an offshore fishing charter. You'll get all your reefies with the added bonus of mahi mahi, spanish mackerel, Longtail Tuna and Wahoo at this time of year. A charter might be a good option in the river if you prefer. Jewies should be around. Flick around 5" - 7" jerk shads around the bridges and deep water off rockwalls. You should be able to get your bream, flatties and whiting from bait fishing in likely looking spots. Jacks might be around too. Good luck!

Hey mate, Noosa is fantastic eh! Im headed up there in January for a week and will be primarily targeting mangrove jacks. Good to see you had a great time.

I heard that they are still a pretty decent real. Even though they have taken some good features away, there must be some positives to the new model. I'm about to get a new baitcaster combo. It needs to fit the shimano mexican fire raider barra maauler 5-8kg. I have narrowed it down to 2 possible options. The Okuma V System and the Curado E series. Can anyone advise me on this one?

Your right. They arent too common down our way at all. There are usually a few reports of them per summer. I caught a meter long Cobia up in Weipa last year. Graet Fun on light gear. Fight easily as well as a king once they get to a bigger size. I think your best chance is in the harbour mixed in with the kingfish and other pelagics. I would have to say either live baiting or flicking sluggos is your best chance. You might not get one but its worth the effort if you get lucky!

Could be possible. Lets hope so atleast.. I heard they only came as far down as Coffs Harbour with the odd fish being caught around sydney. I suppose some areas of the hawkesbury could be the perfect habitat for them.

Yeh, thanks for the replies. Maybe a Shimano Raider Baitcaster would be another option. Are the 1 piece baitcaster rods better than the 2 and 3 piece? Im pretty sure ill go for the baitcaster option at the moment.

Hey raiders, having trouble making my mind up at the moment. Im getting a new outfit but i just don't know which option to take. 1. T Curve T Series 5-8kg baitcaster rod with a Okuma V System Baitcaster matched with 25lb braid = $500 2. Shimano Baitrunner 6500b matched to a silstar crystal blue powertip 8-10kg and 40lb braid = $250 The Baitcaster option is far more expensive as you can see. The baitcaster would be used as a travel rod when i head up to places like darwin, Weipa (Cape york) and noosa to tackle jacks, barra and all the rest. Maybe even useful for some lure fishing down here. The Baitrunner option is primarily for kingfish and jewfish. I do not have access to a boat at the moment so would be landbased and hiring boats. Only will be used maybe 6 times over summer. I need some advice on what to do here. The Baitcaster could be used for both lure and live bait for jacks and so on while the baitrunner will only be good for livebaiting. Any advice would be great!

Hey mate, might be a litttle late but Bennetts Beach (Hawkesnest) is worht a shot fro jewies, Bream and whiting at this time of year. Another option is to trek it up to Dark point north of port stephens (about an hour drive from nelson bay) and fish with metals for the Tuna (Longtail and mack) , Tailor, Salmon and occassional odd capture like mackerel. If there is no surface action then hit the beach for flathead, jewies and more. Each gutter holds fish. Just try these if you have the time.

Hey mate, i know what you mean. Been there, done that.. I fish pittwater a bit and might be able to offer you a few tips on spots to try and tactics. 1. For the moment stick inside the heads until you manage a few fish and then work your way outside. 2. Seeing the kings are around now i think you should fish one yakka on the bottom and one either unweghted or under a float. This will help you cover more ground as kingies, salmon etc are midwater and surface while the big flatties, bream and jewie are on the bottom. 3. My usual routine in pittwater is to gather live baits (maybe a dozen or so) and then head straight to the first spot and anchor up. I fish the two yakkas out the sides and another two rods. One with a prawn or nipper and another with a pilli fillet. Fishing this way will allow you to catch any kingies and salmon that are around on the yakkas and bream, flathead and whiting on the prawns and pilli. 4. Burley is a must. your mix sounds fine. In winter the small snapper can be a problem but at this time of year i would definitely use it religiously. 5. Here are a few spots to try for the moment. * West Head- approximately 60-80m out from shore throw out a few livies and try and pick up a few salmon and kings. * Coasters retreat- Another good livebaiting spot for kingies and salmon with the odd jewie around too. Can be patchy so if no bites after an hour or so then move on. * Towlers Bay- Troll live yakkas and squid around the moorings for the kings. * Clareville- same^ * Stokes point- My Neverfail Spot! Last time i fished stokes point was during winter when things really slow down. Managed a 54cm flattie, just legal and undersized snapper and a 30 cm bream. Lost a BIG salmon too next to the boat when he broke me off.. Best time is the first 3 hours of the run out however, it fishes quite well even at the bottom of the tide. Persist and you will get fish her! Another tip i can give you is fish your livies either both on circle hooks with a locked up drag or 1 circle locked up and on octopus with a baitrunner system or freespool. Good luck!

Mate, i know they origionally come from east of the bridge. The thing is they chase baitfish that quite possibly spend their whole life up that way and feed on them which can potentially make them contaminated. If you really want to eat a kingy from up that way then eat it.... There's just always that risk in the back of your mind.

Not worth the risk mate... stick to the fish on the east side of the bridge.

Trim the yakkas tails so they make bigger vibrations and send out a stronger wave to the bigger fish.