J Hooked

Hey Dave. I’m the same. I caught one only with a 2/0 circle hook hanging on a wire trace, very light ball sinker down to the trace, and a float with a light stick in it. Tried something different, as the normal didn’t achieve any results. The bait it took was a fillet of mullet. When I did land it I saw that it wasn’t hooked. It actually let the bait go on the land. That was the strangest catch I’ve ever had. My mate looked at me in disbelief. That night this time last year, out of 15-20 people fishing in the space of 6 or more hours I was the only one to catch a hair tail. I haven’t tried this year but I haven’t been able to catch another one since then. I've seen a you tube clip on how they eat and swim. It was quite strange as they were swimming vertical. Maybe that’s why we are not getting hook ups. The angle of their mouth to line is in a way that we are pulling the hooks out of their mouths? Love too hear from others as well. Jim I found this article by Ken Alexander, if you haven't already read it. http://www.fishraider.com.au/fishing-articles/how-to-catch-hairtail.php

Yeah me too! I've got my two nights off work and it's raining again! Great catch Sammy. The fish almost look camouflaged on your deck. LOL

Fish stealing sharks! A great catch though. Top effort.

I had the tide change in between catches. As for the other you may end up as a permanent light fixture glowing a strange green. LOL.

Due to the rain you must have taken the wrong turn and ended up in the Hawkesbury? Great catch mate and great effort for braving the rain. A couple of those bream you caught look huge. I've been meaning to go up myself as I haven't been for ages. Is Appletree in Bobbin Head National park? J

Top effort mate. That's sometimes the case. You can be waiting for ages then your reel starts screaming with excitement! Last week there were 6 hours between the two jewies I caught.

As mack attack said. Pin the hook through the bottom jaw and out the top. As for filleting, practice makes perfect!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Not going there!

Thanks mate I't seems that quite a few raiders are using them and having good results. I've always past them by in the past but now I grab a pack every time I go out as well.

Awesome catch! Unlucky on the one that got away but it makes you more determined to do it again!

Great catch guys! Those haitail are awesome creatures, very tasty as well.

That's amazing! I've never had luck with whiting in the colder months. Top effort. I agree with not anchoring the bait. A nice glass of white to go with that too please

What a stonker! Well done mate. I bet you'll be remembering that for some time.

Classic!

Fantastic catch! Hooked for life? For sure.

Top catch mate. I thought they would have been gone. It seems that there's a few still hanging around.

Hey mack attack Yes, fresh tailor is great. I always try and catch a legal and fillet or butterfly it. Those California squid are not that bad. Fresh is always best, but they are not a bad alternative if your desperate for bait.

Idiots to say the least!

Thanks mate. Last year was a disaster and not many fish caught. I still haven't caught my first kingy. I'm optimistic for this year! They were California squid. I was a bit lazy and bought them. They seem kind of fresh and have worked well in the past. They are a nice fish. They have a distinctive smell to them haven't they! The water was a cold 14.5 degree. It made it difficult to raise the anchor. I reckon. Everything seemed to get in the way. It was either a niece or nephews birthday, work, or rain. I was starting to think there was a conspiracy to prevent me from fishing LOL. I even got a call to come into work! Like that was going to happen. We got there in the end though!.

I think it took me 13 attempts to land my first. I remember reading in a magazine recently about fishing for jewies off the rocks. I can't remember the edition. I'll have another look and let you know. It was a good read.

Great catch. Those California squid work well.

Hey Raiders After 7 weeks of not wetting the line, insanity started to set in and the only cure was to fish in the cold. So I went out Sunday night Monday morning for the jewie. Armed with frozen squid and a thermos of hot tea, I headed over to my usual not so secret spot in the Georges River. I fished the usual run in tide with a single 5/0 circle on 30lb fluro-carbon leader and the second rod was with a sliding Snell again with 5/0 circles on 30lb fluro-carbon leader. The baits that worked were whole Squid and tailor fillets. Around 9:00pm I see a couple of taps while rigging a rod for flathead. “Those pesky pickers,” I thought. Tap tap again. Dam Pickers! I attended to the rod and to my surprise when I lifted the rod tip the reel let out line and the fight was on! It pulled hard! It couldn’t be a little picker? I laughed at the thought. After a few minutes of fighting, the lovely silver shine of a 74cm jewie came to the surface. Happy days are back again I thought until I remembered the net was on the other side of the boat! This is becoming a bad habit! I managed to grab the net but the fish revived itself and ran again. Ahh No!!! I thought of my last mishap when I didn’t have my net ready and the 40lb leader broke when the fish was at the boat. I slowly immersed the net into the water and the fish avoided and dove into the depths. Panic was on the rise. I dropped the net in the boat and brought the fish back up to the surface. I tried again to net it. The fish was still not ready and down it went again but this time it was showing signs of tiredness. The third and last time I netted the beast and landed it into the boat. You beauty! It took the whole squid and was hooked nicely in the corner of its mouth. I re-rigged and cast another whole squid back in then poured myself a cuppa. I waited, then repositioned the boat after the tide change, then waited, and waited. 6hours and 4 cups of tea later with 8 cookies, line started to strip off the other reel. The circles were set. It was a brief fight and up came another jewie about 68cm. The net was at the ready this time and the fish was netted first attempt. Persistence patience and a thermos of hot brew paid off. I stayed for another hour with nothing but small tailor eating the baits so I called it quits and headed back. Can't wait for next time. J

Good catch mate. Curiosity may have got the cat but it also got the shark too!

Dam those jackets!

Forget about the leatherjackets. I'm thinking of, Fishfinder, new rod and reel, 6-7 meter new fishing boat! Yeah! X-MAS TREE