joking fish

Once the water gets up to around 20 degrees and higher the fishing should be off the hook. Bring on the heat.

I tried to find a spot that a mate told me about on the Pittwater side of Barenjoey Light-House. It turned out to be a wild goose chase. So this moring I drove back to the ferry wharf at Palm Beach and began my usual habit of fishing with ganged Pilchards on 3 size 2/0 hooks. It began slow but all of sudden the rod bent over big time. After a dirty fight, I netted this mamoth 38cm Bream which is a new PB for me. I've been telling people I'm yet to catch a big Bream or Flathead. Now I can tick one of those off the list. The big Flatty still alludues me but i'm sure i'll get one before the cold returns next year. This Palm Beach spot has produced for me a PB Salmon of 58cm, a massive PB Fan Belly Leather Jacket and now a PB Bream 38cm. On top of all this I lost another big Salmon and a Bream that was around the same size, maybe even bigger! Not bad for 1.5 hours of fishing. The Northern Beaches is a location that keeps on giving. It's well worth the trip and as Summer approaches the fishing will only get better.

It was a great day to be out on the water so I headed to Palm Beach in an attempt to catch some squid on the weed beds. There was no squid around so I went to plan B. I put a squid strip on 3 gang hooks and cast into the blue. I saw some bait fish busting up on the surface and eventually I hooked up to a sambo that was on the chew. It would have been nearly impossible to land this fish by myself, to my relief when I turned around there was an Irish back-packing couple standing behind me. I asked them if they could help me net the fish and male counter-part obliged. After a long and difficult fight we managed to net the salmon which measured 58cm, a new pb for myself. If anyone has fished off the ferry wharf at Palm Beach they will know how difficult it is to net big fish with all the pylons and rails in the way. I have no squid and if anyone can give me advice and information on where to catch squid it would be much appreciated. Still very happy with today's Australian Salmon.

After a few unusual outings without catching a legal fish I had lower than usual expectations of catching anything at Newport on the 9/10/2012. I rocked up with pillies and gang hooks and when my $35 rod's line broke after hooking a salmon I thought it was going to be another duck egg for the crafty veteran. After returning from the car with an alternate rod and rig I dropped a nice blue swimmer crab. It would have made a nice chilli crab salad I thought to myself. The tide was running out and dead low was at 6.30pm so I persisted hoping the fishing would get better. It did. I landed a 32cm Tailor around late afternoon and there were plenty more on the chew. I was more than happy to have finally broken the fishless drought. With about 5 pillies left and darkness encroaching I hooked a mighty 52 cm Salmon. After a spirited fight I landed him by myself with a rod in one hand and the net in the other. I was more than happy to call it a night and left Newport with a Salmon and a Tailor to show for my toil. Will try to upload a photo and i'll be back out there this arvo for another session.

All sorts, Kingfish, Jew Fish, Aussie Salmon, Trevally, Flathead, Bream, Tailor, Snapper, Flounder, Leather Jacket etc.

Reason being is I hate to keep secrets, and besides raiders deserve to know where abouts the fish are biting. My only fear is I drive 40 minutes to Newport to find 7-8 people that make the wharf unfishable, I hope you can see where i'm coming from.

It's near the Arms Hotel. Please try to keep it low key. The wharf is small and I don't want every Tom, Dic and Harry turing up everytime I want to fish.

There are a few wharfs at Newport, this one you can fish off and I rarely come home empty handed whenever I fish here.

I ventured to Newport once again to try my luck solo. There was one other angler at the jetty who landed many Red Bream between 5-15cm. The pickers were out there! He left shortly after I arrived. I persisted with my usual method of light gear and ganged pilchards. I thought it was going to be a fruitless day. With about 9 pilchards left and sea gulls attempting to devour my remaing bait I hooked up. The fish wrapped me around the pylon but after some cunning genius I managed to get the fish out of the water (partially). The only problem was it was dangling from the pylon precariously and still caught on the barnacles. (O crap I thought). Even worse the pylon was 1.5 meters from the base of the steps at the foot of the jetty. (Double crap). In the end a cool head prevailed and I mananged with some octopus like stretching to reach over and land the fish in the net. For all my toil and labor I managed a plump 27 cm Bream. It was the only fish I caught all day. I will be back on Saturday for more fishing mayhem.

I fished Newport Arms, as far as I know its not a ferry wharf. I see people fishing here all the time although I think there may be a no fishing sign.............

Another majestic day on the water has produced an amazing haul of sea life. I can't stress how good this gem of a spot in Newport really is. Armed with pilchards and gang hooks, my mate and I arrived at our destination at 1.45 pm on a rising tide. Fishing was slow at first and I thought we were in for a barren day. The wind was gusty which made fishing with light gear extremely difficult, however we persisted, and eventually I landed our first fish, a 25cm Bream. Shortly after I felt some dead weight and I said to my brother "I think I have a crab here." Sure enough we landed a healthy Blue Swimmer. After a short break I landed another healthy Blue Swimmer. This one was even bigger and both of them were males. After this I landed a 32cm Tailor. It was turning out to be a special day. About 5pm the wind died down and the seas turned calm. The conditions were ideal for a climactic finish. I cast a pilchard into the water and I hooked a monster. Line started peeling of and then I saw the beast jump out of the water. It was a 53cm Sambo. After an epic battle my mate got it in the net. I was ecstatic. It was now truely nightime and the last rays of sunlight were diminishing over the horizon. As I was bleeding the salmon my mate finally hooked up. Got it in the net and my mate says it's a Tailor. I saw the glistening pearl like stripe down its body and I corrected him. Its a jewfish which went 45cm. He was over the moon. His first Jewfish. Theres no telling what would have happened in the next couple of hours if we stayed longer but we decided to call it a day. For both of us who have fished Apple Tree Bay throughout our childhood and teenage years and hardly caught a thing, jetty fishing doesn't get any better than this. We left for home about 6.15pm wrapped with the days fishing that had transpired.

Nice catch. Tis a decent size flatty off a beach.

haha, lovin it! maybe it'll be "The salmon strikes back," or "return of the salmon."

Thanks for the wrap. It's funny how art imitates life. I cant begin to imagine what will happen next.

thanks mate, it's good to get the monkey off my back.

After the one that got away a couple of days ago I decided to give Newport another try. This time my brother Dean tagged along armed with a rod, bucket, net and pilchards. The extra preparation payed off. With an expert netter, I finally landed my nememis and bogey fish the Australian Salmon. This one was 50 cm and about 7 inches shorter than the brute I missed a couple of days ago. It must have been his baby brother. Conditions were average at best, the wind was howling by the end of the day but with a nice salmon and a 39cm Tailor which my brother caught, we left Newport feeling like champions. The salmon was bled immediately upon capture and will make a nice fish stew or else grilled with some herbs. Newport is a location which keeps on giving bounties from the sea and It's hard to believe just how blessed the northern beach people are in terms of fishing spots that continue to produce the goods. I Will be keen to return sometime in the next few weeks with high hopes and an elated sense of anticipation. To all the raiders out there tight lines.

The line broke, I was using very light gear.

It is a secret spot but i'll give you a clue, u can use an extra arm at this spot. As for fighting like a girl it makes for interesting reading and is just for sh#$s and giggles. Don't take that bit too seriously.

12 minutes is a rough estimation but I was using very light gear

This post is about the one that got away. I hate using cliches and adages but it feels like history has repeated itself. I lost a healthy 55-65cm Salmon at the jetty. (Again). Same time, same place, same species, same size fish. The exact same thing happened in the same period last year. Unfortunately when you put on a girls blouse and fight like a girl, most of the time you lose. The better contender won and the fish got away. At least I enjoyed the 12 minute fight. By the end I had a case of the wobbly knees due to the immense pulling power of the fish. I left the wharf dehydrated, annoyed, infuriated and grouchy but I suppose I should be grateful for the two bream and nice tailor I managed to catch earlier. Without Ranting and raving too much more it was a gusty and windy afternoon and an ok day that could have been sensational.

sweet video and an epic song

I went down to Dee Why Beach on Friday the 4/5/2012 on a cool and sunny autumn day. With 600 gram of pilchards, I walked half way down the beach and fished on a rising tide. My pilchards were constanlty being shredded by crabs and small fish, however, I persisted. There was only one decent sized fish that rattled my rod in 3 hours. I thought this was not going to be my day. High tide was a 6.40pm so I keep fishing into the late afternoon. at about 4.45pm I landed my first fish. It was a solid tailor about 35cm. A PB for me. Soon after I landed a second roughly the same size. I must confess I had a lot of fun catching these fish. They remind me of mini whales. They go for a few runs, swim towards the shore, then beach themselves. All I had to do was tighten the drag and walk backwards up the beach. Soon after the second tailor I ran out of bait. I left the fish biting and with the sun going down I decided to retreat back to carpark and return home stinking of sardines, but with two solid tailor. All in all a very satisfying experience.

I caught one of these on the central coast. The locals call it an Old Maid. I have been spiked by it too and the barbs may be poisonous. They don't taste great and yield very little flesh but they are edible.

Aboard the Mystery Bay charter vessel myself and 13 other fishermen headed out toward the deep blue waters off Sydney. The weather was almost perfect because we were greeted by flat seas, warm temperatures and hardly a breath of wind. For the five hours I was fishing I landed 4 Morwong between 30 and 48cm and a thumping a Sweep towards the end of the day. There were plenty of Morwong landed by the rest of the deck as well as some decent Pinkies and Leather Jackets. The highlight of the day occurred when a farther and his son decided to troll a lure out the back and landed a 70cm Striped Tuna. With out a doubt the fish of the day. The experience was enjoyed by all and everyone left the boat with something to show for their labor. There were whale sightings and bids galore which capped of a magical day of fishing and relaxation. So to all you raiders out there if you get a fine day, head out to the offshore reefs. If my Sunday morning endeavor with Mystery Bay is an indication of what to expect you won't be disappointed!