connolly

Here's my 2 bobs worth on leatheries. I reackon they taste great! I often use them as a "standby" around Sydney ie. if nothing else is biting or not so great eating fish are caught I stop in at a channel marker to pick up some "eating fish" ie leatheries. Cleaning? Make about a 1 to 2cm cut behind the spine and rip head off and guts out in one motion. Skin them as Diver1 says or just get your thumb under the skin and slowly peel it off. I don't worry about filleting them because you can just eat one side then grab the tail and slowly pull the skelleton out hopefully in one go. Oh yeah, If you have to clean very many of them grabbing the skin wears through our skin like sandpaper which can result in red raw hands for a few days. hooks? longshank no. 8, 10 or even 12. Lastly they are a pest to offshore fishos because they get in to big schools and bite through traces, main line and even braid. So maybe if we catch heaps in the etuaries then we might help the offshore fishos. Hope this helps. Reeltired

G'day fish3rm4n There used to be a spot named Devil's Gorge which, I think, is now in a marine park or "out of bounds" or both. The Tubes!! Awsome spot. Inside the Bay but like deep sea fishing without the sea sickness. They even catch marlin there. From the shore!!! Check out Phil atkinsons "marlin from the rocks" video. I would highly recommend, first going there in daylight without fishing gear so that you know where you are going when you go there for a serious fishing trip. Unless you like head butting rocks and/or drowning at 4 am. The bad news is that you can only get in there on weekends and every day for about a month after Christmas. I have also heard a few horror stories about Navy "natzis" taking people out when the gates were open or even "confiscating" fishing gear. To get to the Tubes park in the lighthouse car park and look for a track on the Western side and follow it for about 20 minutes. It will pretty obvious when you find the Tubes. It's a long platform with the rusted remnants of some sort of huge canon/torpedo shaped thing at one end. If you haven't found the tubes you will just come across cliffs and mostly unfishable rocks. Have fun. I haven't been there for a few years now but I am assuming the details should still be the same. Reeltired

Maybe not a great idea in Jerusalem Bay. But hey, we are much much more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the water than get bitten by a shark. Reeltired

Hey Tan I caught a hammerhead in Jerusalem Bay last year. A bit later in the year - about May. Interesting! I wonder if it's just a coincidence or if there is a reason that they go there. Were you in about the middle of the Bay? What a great place for a fish. One of my favourites. Even if the fishing is quiet I just love being there. Doesn't it get crowded on weekends though? I never seem to get any crabs up there, like I do in other parts of Cowan. I wish I knew that the h/heads were good eating. I let my one go. It was only a tiddler of about 60 to 70 maybe 80 cm. Reeltired Sorry peoples. I meant to add this onto Tan the fisherman's report. Reeltired

Hello Fellow Raiders. Couldn't help adding my 2 bobs worth. I have worked in Government departments for decades and quit recently. Here is the way things are done. Some politition comes up with an "idea" for their own political gain. They know it won't be popular with thinking intelligent people. So they propose something that is a blown up version of what they want, the people whinge, the polly "negotiates" and pats themself on the back for being such a good bloke who is so resonable and "listens" to others opinions. A "compromise" is reached, which is something like their original idea. It is implemented, the masses think they have had their say and the polly gets what he wanted in the first place and what appears to be a "consultative" process has taken place. When in fact the polly got what he wanted all along and the masses have been ripped off. My message is don't budge a millimetre unless you are just happy to be a mushroom ie kept in the dark and fed s##t and doesn't know any better. I am not against marine parks as such but I am sick to death of being ripped off and lied to. I also fear that our sport/pastime will soon be gone forever while we have just sat and watched it get taken away. What are we going to tell our Grandchildren? "Oh it was so good but my fishing mates and I were too gutless and nonchalent to do anything and that's why we are not allowed to catch fish anymore. And that's why the fish that we now eat is this crappy fish farm stuff that is fed with chook pellets and tastes like mud!!" I think the the band "The The" got it right when they sang "the beaten generation, the beaten generation. reared on a diet of prejudice and misinformation, the beaten generation, the beaten generation open your eyes, open up up your imagination." Here endeth the sermon. Reeltired

I've caught a few blue swimmers in Rose Bay along the rocky eastern shore and middle harbour a few hundred metres east of the spit bridge on the southern side in water about 7 metres deep. The Rocky shores up around Gladesville near where I grew up have muddies and blue swimmers but it's really a case of eat at your own risk. Hope this is some help. Reeltired.

G'day MrGenius Great pics for a phone. The sunrise, or is it sunset pic looks almost spooky. Nice catch too. I only ever get the "soapy" jews as well. I guess we just have too persist until we get a big one. It would be no fun if they came too easy. reeltired

Hi Roberta I'm glad somebody agrees with the "three hour" theory with regard to when to start prawning. For some reason I always have trouble convincing people about it. I too learnt the hard way ie. waiting and dozing for 3 hours until it looked like the water was actually flowing out. Thanks for your reports. Reeltired

Saving prawns to feed to fish!!!! Stuff the fish!! I'd be eating the prawns myself. I reckon the ones you catch yourself are so much nicer than bought ones it makes me wonder what on earth the shops do to make them taste so ordinary. Seriously, I do keep some for bait if I have a good catch. If I have a really good catch I use the biggest ones to make "fishermans wharf garlic prawns" the medium ones get boiled and the "rest" get used for bait if I don't change my mind and eat them as well. Live prawns ARE a brilliant bait but I resent having to give them up. Thanks for the report. I've been wondering if the prawns were around yet. Reeltired

Hey guys! Great report and photos. I've only tried SPs a few times and have also been astounded at the success. As long as there are no tailor around because then the tails just get bitten off. And it's so much more fun than just sitting and waiting with a normal bait. Went drifting for flathead the other week and one of our rigs had 3 hooks; 1 with prawn, one with pilchard and one with an SP. Guess which "bait" got the best fish? I guess it wriggled and looked a lot more alive than the dead prawn or half pilchard. Reeltired.

It's interesting how trends come and go. I checked out "blades" last week and couldn't help thinking "they're not much different to those Halco things I bought ten years ago", Remember them? Halco made at least 2 types. One was a 10 gram freshwater thing that looked a bit like a wonder wobbler but had the "tow-points" along the back. They were either brown or rainbow trout coloured. The other ones were flat, metal fish shaped things with a big lump of a red head on them and several holes along the back to tow from. I can't remember actually using any of them before thieves got into our garage and took all of my fishing gear and tools. So it sounds like these new blades really work. They are so expensive!! The old Halco ones were about $5 (for the 56 gram model) not #%*# $18. I don't want to miss out on all of the fun though and I ain't getting up at 3 in the morning travelling dozens of kilometres and spending a fortune on fuel only to find I don't have the right gear. so I'll just have to buy one or twenty. Thanks for this website and all the "reporters". It gives me something interesting to look at every day. I might even have a report to put on soon. I'm going fishing on Sunday. Hooray!!! Reeltired

Hello again Wendyb Not so sure about boat fishing but could have an educated guess. I have been boat fishing there once and it was windy and so choppy that we thought the boat would flip over for sure. My guess would be to either drift for flathead (but the cold water might have put them half to sleep) OR to fish near the "drop offs". To fish the "drop offs" just anchor or drift/putt around in the deeper water within casting distance of a place where it suddenly gets shallow again. Cast a fresh, live bait or lure towards the shallower water and work it slowly back towards the boat or even just let it sit there for a while. I went out in my boat sightseeing in Port Hacking yesterday and noticed heaps of mullet milling around in the shallow water. Sooo it could be worth trying for them (assuming they are around up there at the moment too) with a piece of bread suspended under a small float and enough bread to berley to keep them close by but not so much to have them spooked by sea gulls swooping at the floating bread. If you have access to a small bait/fish trap, the really small (poddy) mullet can be caught in the shallow water in the lakes and they are the best bait on the planet for flathead and good for big bream too. Check the state regulations though. I think it's 20 per person under 15cm per day. reeltired Sorry that's 20 poddy mullet under 15cm per person per day not people under 15cm.

Hey jim77 Really enjoyed your report. I don't think I would be laughing if it was my reel but then I wasn't there. Isn't it great getting younger people into fishing? Sometimes it gives me more of a buzz than catching something myself. Reeltired

Not sure what gear you have but here are a few options; * The entrance itself has heaps of fish (mostly undersized) that can be caught when the flow slows down ie. high and low tide which is about 2-3 hours later than the time the tide charts say that it will occur. There are usually plenty of blackfish there too but you usually need specialist gear for them. Get some fresh live bait like worms or yabbies from one of the local bait shops and fish the "slack" water and you're bound to catch something. Even the blackfish love the yabbies. * The north entrance beach is an awsome place to fish. Cast into a deep hole or the edge of one where the flow isn't belting along the beach sideways. Worms and yabbies can get you bream. whiting and flathead. A pilchard or a large piece of one could get you tailor, salmon or flathead. This stretch of beach has everything from tiny whiting to huge (up to 40kg) Mulloway. You could also try throwing lures into the deep holes for tailor, salmon (common at the moment) and flathead. the tailor usually only come in at dawn and dusk. Hope this is some help. Reeltired.

Great pictures. The one of the Cobia had me fooled for a while. Reeltired

Great report and VIDEO!!!! I wish I had have bought a downrigger when I set up my boat afew years ago. Oh well, maybe next season. Reeltired

G'day HOWBZR and other fellow raiders. Glad to hear about your catch of prawns. I wish I could report similar results for my prawning trip last friday at Sussex Inlet. Me and my 9 year old daughter caught 13!!!!! prawns that is, not kilos. However it was Emma's first prawning trip and she started to get the hang of it after a while. Hopefully, next time there will be more prawns and she will remember what to do. Reeltired.

Jet Skis go really well on 24 kilo tackle. They just get upset when you kiss them and throw them back. Just kidding. Really! I can relate to all of the frustration.

Great news about all the flathead. Hope to get down there soon myself. Reeltired

Hello ko76 I was out there at the same time. The boils and birds were amazing. This time last year the salmon were a lot more co-operative though. I guess it varies from day to day as well. I think I can help a bit with your questions. I've caught squid at the reefy area on the north west end of Balmoral and just east of the northern end of middle head. If you read my blurb on this site entitled "north head wednesday" you will read about what was probably a kingfish hookup at northerners reef which is about 2 NM off north head. It may have just been a big "resident" fish since there wasn't much showing up on my sounder. Hope you get some of those Kingies. I'm still a kingfish virgin. I even went to Lord Howe Island, which is like "Kingy heaven", for my honeymoon and they weren't biting that week. Maybe they have an allergy to me and smell me coming and vacate the whole area. reeltired

Yeah! I hate to admit it but I think you're probably right. Even if the fish rubbed or knocked the snap swivel against something and it opened there would at least be a bend or some sort of damage. Thanks for your opinion. It helps me see things a bit more clearly and learn from my m m m m mis take and admit I was wr wr wr ongg! reeltired

Hello fellow raiders. Just a quick run down on my first trip out since May. Left Tunks Park ramp at about 4:45am. Trolled around North Head then up towards Manly. Saw a few Salmon schools but didn't see anyone actually land any. We eventually got one trolling a Mackeral coloured Tilson Barra. My mates first salmon. Pretty quiet after that except for 2 big slimies that didn't even seem to put a bend in the rod. Salmon released and slimies kept for the bait freezer. Decided to head back into the harbour for some "eating" fish near a channel marker. Caught 4 nice leather jackets. Released heaps of well undersized red bream. My mate lands a silver trevally and I give it an accidental release that would make the three stooges look intelligent and sensible. The breeze dropped after a while so we decided to head out to Northerners for some jigging. I didn't feel confident with what I was doing and soon got tired (reeltired) of it so my friend Dave has a try. Says he can't get the hang of it then hooks up! Don't you hate that? Unseen monster heads back for the bottom, drag gets tightened, monster still pulls 50lb braid towards bottom. In the excitement/confusion the line goes limp and I wind it in. Hmmm! No lure but the 70lb snap swivel is still attached but open and in good condition. Not sure what happened but I don't think I'll be using snaps on the end again. Oh well! At least I know that 200g raiders with jig hooks and pink squid attached do the trick. I guess it gave us 2 "the one that got away stories" and some motivation to go out again soon. reeltired

Hello Fellow Raiders Just a quick rundown on my first trip out since May. Left Tunks Park ramp at about 4:45am. Trolled around North Head then up towards Manly. A few Salmon schools but didn't see anyone actually land any. We eventually got one trolling a Mackeral coloured Tilson Barra. My mates first Salmon. Pretty quiet after that except for two big slimy mackeral that didn't even seem to put a bend in the rod. Salmon released, slimies kept for bait. Then came back into the harbour next to a marker buoy for some edible fish. 4 nice leather jackets swarms of small red bream and an trevally given an accidental release that would make the three stooges look intelligent and sensible. The breeze dropped so we decided to try some jigging at northerners. I didn't feel confident with what I was doing and got tired (reel tired) pretty quickly. So my mate Dave has a try, says he can't get the hang of it then hooks up. Don't you hate it!! Something hard to stop dives fore the bottom, Drag gets tightenned more, fish kept diving and taking more 50lb braid. During the fun/panic/confusion the line goes limp then comes back in with snap swivel (rated at 70lb) but no jig. Not quite sure what happenned there but don't think I'' be using snaps for jigging any more. The snap was still in good condition just undone. Hmmm!! One lost 200g raider with extra hooks and pink squid etc gone! But 2 good "one that got away" stories. I'll be back soon after some better preparation. Reeltired

Can anyone give me a few tips on attaching a photo? At the moment I have them stored in "Picasa" which has an "export" facility but getting a photo from there onto this website is the problem. Reeltired.

G'day fellow raiders. Took my daughter and her friend out in the Harbour yesterday. Caught a nice frigate before one of them was starting to feel sick and the other was complaining that it was "too bumpy". Caught a just legal tailor and a few other odds and sodds near Grotto point. Later in the day we managed to convert a chunk of the frigate into a nice blue swimmer. Had to drag them away from fishing at the boat ramp. I think they enjoyed themselves. Overall not a spectacular day but an enjoyable one. Hope I can attach photos successfully. What on earth is a "URL"