joking fish

Yeah it did. I'm still trying to a Adapt to braid. It's a work in progress.

Thanks for the tip Jim, I will try that next time I catch an octopothi

My brother and I met for a fish on Tuesday afternoon. We used whole pilchard and fished the rising tide. The weather was overcast but there wasn't a breath of wind. In the space of a few hours my brother caught 2 sizeable flathead. One was 63 cm the other, 60 cm. Both of them were released. My brother left at 6 pm and I spent the remainder of the afternoon at a different location. Here I caught an octopus. I don't bother with keeping octopus anymore. They always turn out tough and chewy. My grand mother cooked the last one I caught and it was like chewing on a car tyre. So it went back. I also caught a 39 cm Trevally that went like a train. It gave a very good account of itself. On the first run I thought it may have been a rat king fish. Once the sun went down the bites stopped and I called it quits and left for home.

Whole pilchard on gang hooks. Size 2/0 or 3/0 is the go and u must do a half hitch around the tail.

I fished Newport and Palm Beach in Pittwater yesterday on a glorious Spring afternoon. My brother Dean aka "The Prince of Darkness" tagged along, eager to do some fishing on his day off work. He casted spells into the water all afternoon and conjured up an Australian Salmon that went 54cm and a big Shovel Nose Ray. All I could muster was a 31cm Bream. At 5pm he left to teach guitar lesson to the "little dude" in Kilarni Heights. Things went quiet so I fished the rest of the afternoon at Palm Beach by myself. Here I caught a 54cm Flathead and a 34cm Bream. The Bream gave me all kinds of hell and went straight for the pylons. After much anguish I managed to drag him out and land him on the jetty. This Bream was bloated from burley and bait and extremely well conditioned. I thought to myself if he caused me that much grief he deserves to live so like the 31cm model I caught earlier he went back. Live and let live. I kept the Flathead and the Salmon but let all other fish that day go back. It was another day of brilliant land based fishing and my brother enjoyed it too. More often than not the Northern Beaches produce the goods.

I went to the Northern Beaches for a solo session yesterday. A few days earlier my brother came up trumps catching 2 legal Trevally and 4 legal Tailor. While he was catching fish I caught nothing. Armed with Pilchards and a new 4-6 Kilo outfit I fished mid to late afternoon on a perfect Spring day. I caught 2 Salmon that put up a great fight on light gear. One went 52cm and the other 54cm. I bled the Salmon and kept them for Thai fishcakes. I lost a stonker Trevally around the 40cm mark after it spat the hooks. I landed a small Trevally around the 32cm mark but released him back into the drink. All in all it was a top day in Pittwater. As I cleaned the Salmon a resident Pelican came to feed on the scraps. The are highly amusing and cheeky animals. I could watch them for hours. My mother is cooking the fish cakes tonight and I cant wait to eat them. Fresh fish, does it get any better than that?

From dirt to diamonds is the theme of this report. What a difference 2 days can make. Yesterday I fished Palm Beach and Newport in Pittwater and was dropping everything. I lost a big Occy, a sambo leapt out of the water and spat the hooks, 2 more good size fish spat the hooks and to make matters worse I was consistently blasted by the noise of the heavy machinery whilst the Ferry Wharf was being renovated. Annoyed and Irritated I fished the last 45 minutes before darkness at Newport. Here I caught a small snapper that was 2cm short of legal. I lost a good size Blue Swimmer crab just as I was about to net it and to cap off the day from hell my last capture was a 42cm Pike! The skunk of the ocean. Needless to say it went back. Today was a complete turn around. At Newport in Pittwater I caught today a massive PB Trevally that went 49cm. Smashing my old PB by 8cm. It dove straight for structure and I was extremely fortunate to land this bruiser. The rest of the day was just as good. Although the thunder clouds were looming the rain held off for the most part. The afternoon was warm and comfortable until the north westerly kicked in about 5pm. I landed more quality fish. 2 Tailor, 34cm and the other 40cm. After that I was rewarded with a big healthy 60cm Flathead. I realised my I phone was flat so I kindly asked a gentleman at the Marina next door if he could take a photo of the big girl for me. He obliged and after a couple of quick photos the big mama went back to the sea. The photographer kindly sent me the photo of this big healthy fish. To top off a great day as the sunlight had almost totally disappeared I caught another 46cm Flathead. The grand total for the day was 5 quality fish, four of which were kept. Here are some photos for all of you to appreciate. Until next time tight lines.

Good report mate. It's refreshing to see some unusual and exotic species for a change. Keep up the good work.

I already had several fish from 2 days before I caught the Salmon. I can only eat so much fish. I don't like to see quality fish go to waste so it was only logical to return a few to the sea. Besides it just means there will be more for next time.

I have been fishing there for years and I have never had a complaint.

It looks like some kind of emperor, maybe a long nose emperor

Pilchard on size 3/0 gang hooks, it never lets me down!

I caught this mammoth Australian Salmon at Palm Beach yesterday. It went 71cm and beat my old PB by about 12 cm. It put up one hell of a fight and caused me all kinds of grief. It took about 7 minutes to land and I finally learnt from my mistakes and brought a net. Me and my brother also caught about 8 legal Trevally and a Leather Jacket, all of which were released. I can't wait to cook some Thai Fish Cakes with the Salmon fillets. Absolutely cheering!

It wasn't off the beach, it was off the Pittwater side. I was out there again today with my brother, caught a mammoth Salmon, I will do a report on that over the coming days.

I'd rather not say, I'm trying to keep it a secret.

Another trip to Palm Beach provides another feed of fish. I made the trip by myself on a balmy afternoon. It was a warm 23 degree day and the water was still warm. I started fishing around 2.30pm armed with Pilchards and a cheap stick. I was using 5-6 kg mono with a 20lb leader. I lost another good Sambo as I was trying to lift him out of the water. Devastating. The day got better from there. I caught a 33cm Bream, 3 Trevally between 32-37cm and right at the end of the day around 5.30pm I caught a 56cm Flathead. There was plenty of good fish which I lost but I still took home a feed for the dinner table. Next time I will bring a net to hopefully land one of those big Australian Salmon. Still it was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a week day afternoon.

Strangely not as disappointing as you might think...........I was humbled to go one on one with the great one as Jason Kennedy would say. I've caught many Australian Salmon over the years. Also I had no net, and landing a big fish at that wharf is extremely difficult. Given the fact that my line was only about 3-4kg I was expecting the worst and in the end I am glad I got a good look at that magnificent fish.

I usually fish with 2 or 3 very small ball sinkers or 1 slightly bigger sinker. I find that with most jetties you need to cast out into middle ground and it holds the bottom. I use about 5-6kg line with a 20lb leader. I still get smoked by big fish but its great fun trying to stop them.

It was another sublime day to out on the water. I travelled to the Northern Beaches hoping to fish at the Arms. It was to no avail. There was a great big barge parked at the wharf. I decided to go to plan B and drove to Palm Beach. Armed with Pilchards and size 2/0 gang hooks I threw some bait out into the drink around about late afternoon. I lost a massive Australian Salmon as I was trying to pull it out of the water. There was a crowd of people boarding the ferry that gasped when they heard the snap and the splash of the 3 kg fish as it hit the water. It was probably my fault as the mono had been exposed to the sunlight for far too long. I've been told excessive UV exposure causes nylon to fray. It was close to one of the biggest Australian Salmon I have ever hooked. Around the 60-65cm mark. The day got better and better. I scored a nice 36cm Chopper Tailor. The first time I have ever caught a legal Tailor at Palm Beach. I landed a 31cm Trevally and a 31 cm Snapper. It was the first time I ever caught a legal red at this spot. The most exciting part was the fish I lost. Massive head shakes and line peeling action. My guess was there was some much bigger reds out there. Some of these fish were unstoppable and easily dusted me on light gear. Still, 3 fish for the table isn't a bad result and I have plenty of stories to tell about the big mother lovers that got away.

I went to Palm Beach again this afternoon. I bought some bait and some fishing gear with the money from a small bet I won through the tab. Go Swansea you good thing! I lost a few unstoppables aka (noahs). On the bright side I caught a 51 cm flathead and a 33 cm trevally.

It was a perfect day to be out on the water at Palm beach. Not to hot and not to cold. Hardly a breath of wind. The water was like glass, ideal for fishing. I lost a good fish second cast, it wrapped me around the pylon. Heaps of weight possibly a big flathead. The rest of the day was heaps of fun plenty of takes and almost hookups. In an hour and a half I landed a 55 cm flathead and a 40 cm trevally. The trevally was close to a new pb. I also dropped another monster that dragged me across the bottom that severed the main line. I was using 20 pound leader but the spool was only 3 or 4 kg. massive head shakes probably another big flathead. It was another great little sesh at Palm beach. I love palm beach! There I said it! Happy days!

I never would have known. You learn something new everyday.

I never would have known. You learn something new everyday.

I went fishing on the Northern Beaches today with my long time friend Michael Kim. With my new 4kg stick and ganged Pilchards I landed a beastly 42 cm Bream which bettered my old pb by 4cm. I was tempted to let it go as fish of this size are very old. Still, I kept it for the dinner table. I also scored 2 decent Bonitio. Kim caught a Snook which he threw back due to their average eating qualities and lack of flesh. We also threw back some little Red Bream through out the afternoon. It was a glorious evening and rumour has it Kylie Minogue was 100 metres down the road in a café. Life is awesome.

When it popped up onto the jetty I was raving like a lunatic for 5 minutes. I couldn't hide my exasperation nor delight.