Smitty

Hi Balmainbob, I'm aware its not a fishing report my friend, thats why I've posted it in the "Fishing Chat" section!!! Smitty...

Actually Johnno, I hooked a tree and was getting me bloody lure back.

Hi all, A mate of mine recently caught a Silver Perch in a saltwater section of the upper Georges river!!!! Yes he has caught heaps of silvers in him lifetime, and is absolutely positive it was a silver, its id was confirmed by another fisho also. Hes anyone ever heard of this before??? Must have been an escapee from a pond somewhere I think. Cheers, Smitty...

Of course I love my fishing, but I also have a bit of a thing for birds. I spotted this trio of cute litte Willie Wagtails whilst fishing some sunken timber at Glenbawn last week. The nest was perched on a branch only 4 or 5 feet above the water. They didn't seem to mind us getting within a metre of them to take the photo but mum and dad kicked up a bit of a fuss for a minute or so until we moved along. Aint they cute? Cheers, Smitty...

Nice looking weed Paul!! Glad to hear there are still a few Blackies around too, I might have to give em a tickle soon. Cheers, Smitty...

Good on ya Stephen, lovely feed of flatties there mate. By the way, did Fiona catch anything or did you have all the fun youself? What IS the story with these people who have to pull up right next to ya in large expanses of water?? Glad you showed em how its done!!! Catch ya later, Chris...

G'day Paul, welcome to Fishraider mate!! Glad to see that you've joined this fantastic site. The Fishraider community is a wealth of knowledge and information, I'm sure there are plenty of memeber out there who can offer some great advice on Blackfish spots along the Georges. All that'll be asked in return is your stories and some pics of your exploits. I'll send you a PM (see the New Messages link at the top right of the page). Cheers, Smitty...

Hi all, I'm heading up to Glenbawn in a couple of weeks with a group of FR members.....cant wait!!!! Has anyone been up there lately - if so, hows the lake fishing at the moment? Thanks, Smitty...

You can get em pretty much all year round in the river, but you'll typically get better fish during the cooler months (spawning season apparently). So don't write off the blackies just yet, you can still get into some if you give it a shot. PM me if you want more info..... Smitty...

Hey Zephi, that weed looks great - it will definately work! I've been using fresh water weed for a couple of years now - and the Georges river fish love it. Just squeeze the majority of the water out , wrap it in 5 or 6 sheets of newspaper, pop it in a platsic bag and put it in the bottom of the fridge....should last a couple of weeks. Its not too late for some Blackfish action, check out this post from a trip last weekend. All fish were caught on FW weed in the Easthills / Picnic Point area.....Blackfish post Good luck, Smitty...

Nice work there Mako , some nice fish for the table. Great to see that you're puting that yak to good use!!! Cheers, Smitty...

Well done Rob, you've got yourself a nice feed of flatties there . Geez you're game mate laying that fish across your legs like that - could get painful!!! I was a beautiful morning to be out, wasn't it? Cheers, Chris...

Hi Raiders, Went out this morning to give the Georges river blackfish a rev-up.....I've realy been looking forward to getting out and playing in the rain! I collected some beautiful freshwater weed yesterday arvo and couldn't wait to get some on a hook, its definately the best FW weed I've ever seen . Started the morning by fishing a low tide spot near Easthills and was very very pleased when my float dipped under within 30 seconds of hitting the water. Over the next three hours I caught four nice keepers to 36cm and heeps of undersized fish. As the tide rose I was forced to leave my submerged rock and head for shore. It was about now that the rain started.... Moved down to Lambeth reserve and fished part of the run up from the concrete jetty. Thankfully I'd packed my trusty rain coat - because the rain fell constantly for the next couple of hours. Managed another three keepers before I called it a day........final tally: heeps of undersized fish and seven keepers from 29 to 36cm (of which 3 smallest were released).......I'm very happy with the latest FW weed. Hope everyone had a good day !! Heres a pic of the four I kept for dinner. The 36cm one was a fat fish!! Cheers, Chris...

The fish cook up beautifully JFish . The Georges is only as polluted as any other Sydney waterway!!! A feed every now and then is fine imho, I think you'd have to eat it very regularly for it to pose any problem. I don't glow in the dark - yet ... Thanks for the heads up on Kelso Ben....I got a bit from my local today but I might get a bit from Kelso for variety. Cheers, Smitty...

Good on ya Ben, a nice little return for your efforts . I hope they're still around when I have a go at em this weekend! I'm lookin forward to having a fish in the rain on Sunday . The one female fish that I caught last trip (two weeks ago) was choka block with row....I didnt notice any milt in the males though! Is it still worth collecting weed from Kelso??? Cheers, Chris...

G'day Michael, it was nice to meet you - It's always nice to bump into other Fishraiders when you're wetting a line. Pity you didn't manage to get any fish from the boardwalk , It can be a pretty good spot at times as I'm sure others will attest to. Well done on getting a couple from the jetty though mate! I spent a couple of hours fishing with the bloke (Paul) using the weed flies and I must say I was amazed at how many downs he was getting (at times he was getting more downs with the fly than I was getting with weed ). We where being pestered by small fish but there was the occasional decent one amongst them…..and when the first keeper came in on the fly it was high fives all-round . – might have to get me some of them flies!!! I managed five keepers for the day, three from the jetty and two from another spot further up stream. Better luck next time – hope to bump into you again some time. Cheers, Smitty…

Well done moonset, glad to see that you got into some nice blackies......yum! You must have had a nice sheltered spot to fish. Cheers, Smitty...

Newsflash: It was a bit windy today!!! Earlier in the week, fellow member Scottakasid and I had arranged to go for a fish in the Georges on Saturday morning and although the forecast wasn’t looking promising we decided we had to be in it to win it (actually Scott was so pumped, that we had to go - come hell or high water). :1prop: No hell or high water, just plenty of wind and dust when we left my place this morning but we were on the water ready to fish by 6:30. Don’t know what it was like where you were at 6:30 but it was a little breezy on the water and the grey dust moved along like high fog cover. The tide was still running out and the wind was coming straight downstream with it. According to the Bureau, winds in that area at that time were 13 knots gusting to 29 knots….. the gusts got more regular as the morning went on. At one stage I noticed a person in yak winding his way through the channel, as he got closer I said G’day and realized it was Mako (nice looking piece of kit there Andrew, wont be long till the next Georges River yak caught Jewie post – me thinks!) We tried our hardest to temp a Jewie to eat our plastics for breakfast but it wasn’t to be. So after a bit over 90 minutes in some very trying conditions we dropped plan A and moved on to plan B (find spot out of the wind and have a coffee). We found a “less windy spot”, had a cuppa and formulated plan C (find an even less windy spot and throw some blades around). It wasn’t long before we got some interest on the blades but the interest came from Pike, yes STINKY Pike all the way up past the moons. I’ve never seen them up that far before……….has anyone else? Alas, snags and sharp teeth soon decimated the blade population and the plastics just weren’t doing it. I asked Scott what he wanted to do; his reply was “I don’t care mate I just want to catch fish”. So plan D was formulated (drop anchor somewhere where the wind and tide where going in the same direction and use burley and bait). We anchored on the edge of a sand bank, baited with pilchard filets and dropped little bits of pilchard over for burley and within ten minutes we started to get some interest. A couple of good strong bites raised our spirits then all hell broke loose. Scott strikes at a fish, his little graphite bream rod is pulled flat and the drag starts screaming as it looses line very quickly. The fish quickly took at least 20 metres of 6lb braid off a reasonably tight drag on its first run, then it took some more! At first I was thinking Jewie but it fought high in the water, wide of the boat , then when it got closer it dogged it out under the boat. It took a few minutes before we caught a glimpse of the fish and when it finally hit the net we couldn’t believe it – a 53cm fat salmon??? I know that Scott would have preferred it to be a Jewfish but he still looked pretty happy to me!!! We fished a bit more but the wind soon got the better of us and we headed off about lunchtime. Sorry about the lack of pics but we both left our cameras at home today Grrrrrr First Pike, then Salmon - whats going on in this river? I’ve fished it for years and never seen this before. Has anyone ever seen these fish this far up river before? Cheers, Smitty

Sounds like a top little session mate.......thats a NICE fish , well done. Bass season is here again!!!! Cheers, Smitty...

Another great Fishraider social, congratulations and thank you to the admin and mods team for organising a fantastic social event!! Well done to all those who managed to catch a few fish - especially the juniors, top stuff! I tried in vein to show Blood Knot how well "the Cooks" can fish but it was not to be and we returned empty handed.......oh well, better luck next time. It was nice to meet you John, thanks for the company. See you all at the next social. Thanks heaps!!!!! Smitty...

Nice Fish Stephen, well done mate. Being on the water always beats work - hands down! Cheers, Chris...

Hi dusti, welome to FR. I haven't fished Woy Woy for years, but used to spend a lot of time up there as a young fella. Is the channel you are talking about the one that runs past the war memorial park? If so, get your hands on some squirt worms (you can find them on some of the sandy stretches along the channel). Use enough lead to hold bottom, run a long trace below the sinker (1 metre plus) and use long shanked hooks. This is a great way to catch blackfish, bream and whiting from that channel at times. Good luck, let us know how you go. Smitty...

Geez I cant believe its almost that time of the year again!!! Count me in plz.............all FR socials are fantastic, I cant wait. I'll probably have Marine Boy as my off sider. See y'all there, Smitty...

Thanks for three fantastic reads ASJ, love your work, absolutely awsome stuff!!! Congratulations to you and your mate Cheers, Smitty...

Yes, me too - exactly the same. I refer to it as "the cicadas in my head"...........and it makes me think of Bass season. Smitty...