mrmoshe

Good luck tomorrow...I don't think I can get a leave pass tomm. as has things planned for me. Looking at Seabreeze..It's going to be a SE breeze, so Pipeclay and surrounds will be out of the wind hopefully. Best of luck and look forward to reading your report. Cheers, Pete.

Good on you for geting out there Ali. Wimbledon Ave. used to be one of my favourite spots...almost always picked up a flattie or two and always lots of bream. Gets a little crowded on weekends though. The Wakehurst Pkwy side of the island was always more productive for me at that tiny beach by the kids playground. Be careful of overhanging branches though..You'll see heaps of rigs in the trees there. Cheers, Pete.

Just got back from Pipeclay Point to give the whole arsenal of placcies a run. First off..parked at Jamieson Park and saw loads of poddies in the shallows and walking along...flatties scurrying out of their "coffins"...Ooooh...here's a good spot I thinks to myself. On with the first SP, the so far, ever faithful 2" shrimp in pearl white and immediately a little flattie nails it right on the dropoff at the boatramp. Released him. Things are looking up. The tide was dead low, which wasn't ideal but it's the only time I could make it down there today. The wind was also picking up and made it tough to cast very far...Nothing else interested, so switched lures about 5 times, trying all sorts of colours, shapes and brands. Got very windy, so headed around the track to Pipeclay Point proper and waded out...waaaay waaay out...I was standing right in the middle of the lake in the end. Geez it's shallow out there. Tried a few different SPs for zippo. Did manage a few nibbles on Gulp sandworm pumpkinseed, but I suspect they were smallish bream. After 2 1/2 hours..it was time I made my way home and the wind was building anyway. Not a very productive session but I won't be discouraged...There's always another day. The track around the lake is so nice now with the birds a twittering and the sun streaming through the trees.. It's such a nice walk now. Cheers, Pete.

Brilliant!!!! Great analologies there Roberta. It's funny..the older you get...the more that all makes sense. Cheers, Pete.

Thanks Roberta..I must try all those different (and larger)lures as I'm just taking baby steps until I get more confident with them. I have some squidgees in the tackle box, so may give them a shot up the back of the lake where those monster flatties lurk. The small poppers sound like they will be the go I agree. They just turned up their noses at the gulp bloodworms like it was tripe!! One thing that amazed me was the distance you can cast with just a 1/8 jighead...I have just purchased a new spinning rod and it works so much better than any of my other rods. I may get a session in again today as long as I can get a leave pass from Cheers, Pete.

In the words of Richie Benaud...... MARVELOUS!! To Roosterboy...Hope you enjoy the forums. Cheers, Pete

Well done on the kingy mate .. I take it, it wasn't in the lake as I've never heard of any reports of kingies in Narra Lake at all. I fished Pipeclay a week or so ago..wading and scored a bid fat donut...but that was before the penny dropped as to the best method of using SPs...Almost trod on a whopping big stingray in the process. Can't wait to hit the back of the lake and do some serious flicking for flatties up there. I agree..it's very addictive and I don't miss re-baiting every 2 minutes after the pickers demolish fresh baits. Cheers, Pete.

Lower Hawkesbury...Here's the page from the Boat Ramp section of the forums. Appletree Bay Ramp Hope this helps. Cheers, Pete.

You've gotta be happy with that result. The humble prawn strikes again! Very productive session in anyone's book. Well done guys. Cheers, Pete.

Thanks for the encouragement guys..It really is an eye opener once you get the hang of it. It's truly amazing to get a flattie right at your feet. I was wearing polaroids and could see way deep in the water but couldn't see the flattie that hit the gulp..must have been buried in the sand and attacked.... Those gulp bucket lids are the new, improved ones and no longer leak. Hope to get amongst those fickle whiting soon too. Cheers, Pete.

Well done on your first bass rzepbro. Hopefully they will get bigger every outing. Hope you can latch onto a thumper kingy at the social..as do we all. to the site as well mate. Cheers. Pete.

Looked outside this morning after trawling the forums and thought..Geez..I need to hit the lake again to give the SPs another run..Just to convince myself that they actually bloody work!! Drove past the bait shop and smiled as the car usually stops all on it's own to get my bait fix. Went down to the flats to see if any whiting would take the Gulp Alive Bloodworms. They were there alright..i could see 'em all over the flats, but do you reckon they were interested?? Not on your life. My heart sank a little as I had high expectations of them jumping all over them. The only thing interested in them were bloody toads...millions of 'em. Not to be discouraged, I went back to the car and got out the arsenal of G.A. Swimming Mullet in Chartreuse and the one that did the damage a few days back..the G.A. 2 inch Shrimp in Pearl White. Grabbed a few of the new 1/8 Nitro jigheads and tied one on and went for a wade opposite the caravan park boat ramp. Not a lot happenning for a while as the outgoing tide was just easing off. Then the turn, so put on the shrimp and doing the old cast..wait 10 seconds..2 twitches and one or two winds and WHAMMO...Right at my feet a flattie snaffles it and goes like the clappers for deeper water into the channel. The 4lb line was singing off the Stradic like there was no tomorrow! Turned him and got him in the net. I let out a yell of delight as I was starting to doubt myself (and the SPs) but glad I persevered. Kept him alive in the keeper net to get a pic when I got back to the car, then released him to grow some more. He only went 40cm but fought well above his weight. Nothing much else after that and I had to be home to get Susie's lunch anyhow. So I am finally coming around to placcies and slowly weaning myself off bait. Funny thing...Susie didn't believe I went for a fish as I came home NOT smelling of stinky bait and with no fish to show her. Go figure!! Saw heaps of good sized whiting in the shallows and some absolutely thumper mullet swimming by. I was sorry I didn't have any bread and tiny hooks to give them a go...Maybe next time. Fun day all the same. Cheers, Pete.

Trout declared an "alien species" TROUT could be banned from Victorian waters under a plan to eliminate the state's rivers of foreign fish. The popular game fish has been declared an alien species and put on a hit-list for eradication in a move that has outraged anglers. Trout would be culled from major Victorian rivers such as the Murray, Goulburn and Yarra, despite the Brumby Government pouring about 400,000 trout into our waterways each year. Industry experts warn any ban could cost the Victorian economy up to $300 million a year and threaten small towns, which rely on tourism. The Murray Darling Basin Commission is pressing ahead with the investigation. It has advertised for tenders for "native fish recovery following the removal of alien species". The commission will launch a study next month into the impact of reducing numbers of trout, redfin, carp and oriental weatherloach in Victorian waters. It will also analyse the cost and impact of removing the fish. Goulburn Valley fishing guide David Pickering said the move was "extreme and stupid" and anglers around Victoria would fight it. "We need trout because they drive a huge tourist dollar and could drive an even bigger tourist dollar," he said. Commission chief Wendy Craik conceded the removal of trout was a sensitive issue. "I can understand that fishing people might be upset about this but we need to look at what is best for our rivers and native fish," she said. Australian Trout Foundation president Geoff Hall said Victoria's fishing industry was worth $1.3 billion a year. Rainbow and brown trout alone were worth about $288 million. "This will devastate local and regional communities," Mr Hall said. "And it's absurd because trout have been in Victorian waters since 1870 and they're beneficial - unlike carp, which are a pest."

Raiders. It must be strange waking up on your birthday with a ready made hangover Have a great day guys. Cheers, Pete

Good stuff Brett Mate..We'll get together some time soon as I know how keen you are as a fisho and I could learn a lot from you...and with the Swordies knowledge on board..even better. I'm really keen to give the HBs a shot too now...got a few in the kit but never had much success with them... Whoever said you are never too old to learn new tricks was right on the money...I thought I was a bait man 'till the day I die...so much so...I've been called a Master Baiter but now all that's changing...wonderful stuff. Catch up soon mate. Cheers, Pete.

Nice feed there Drummo..Hard to beat blackies and flattie fillets. Yummo. Cheers, Pete.

Congratulations Glenn to both you and your wife. Another little Raider in the making. It will be a special New Years this year for you. Great news. Cheers, Pete.

Mate..that's a classic! The old Foldolus Furniturias It could have been worse if there was still a big fat butt attached to it I suppose. I agree...why the hell would't the idiot take it home with them or dispose of it thoughtfully. There's some fair dinkum dills out there. Better luck next outing... Cheers, Pete.

Well done on the PB Stylo That's the blackest dusky I've seen in ages. Tasty just the same. I'm tucking into the second flattie I got yesterday as I type and let me tell you...deeeeelicious!! Enjoy. Cheers, Pete.

Funny...I actually left my jigheads at home by mistake, so threw the SP onto a regular long shank I was using for the whitebait. Still worked a treat on the flattie..he gulped it way down deep and I had a battle retrieving it. Next time...the jigheads go in the kit first. Cheers, Pete (gonna mail Stumpy my old rusty safety pin just the annoy him )

Nice session Swordies and Brett. That second bass must have had a good Xmas...fat as a fool. Good on ya Brett nailing your first on a HB...I'm not even close to that yet...baby steps on placcies first..then lookout!! Love the new glove Stewy. Cheers, Pete

Now THAT'S a kingy to behold. Well done mate on a fine capture. Must have been a hellava tussle. Is the Kingy social going to be good or what guys? Cheers and congrats. Pete. By the way..HERE is the tutorial on resizing pics.

G'day Drummo and a big to the forums. I'm no outside expert by any means but pretty much all fish are affected by the tides to some extent and being deep water, I'd say yes, they still may go off the bite after tide changes. Some of the other members who regularly target fish outside may have better info than me. Enjoy the forums and look forward to reading your reports. Cheers, Pete

Great White's amazing 3000km swim A great white shark's record-breaking swim between New Zealand and Australia could be far more impressive than previously thought. The 4.4m shark, nicknamed Kerri, started its journey at Stewart Island in March. An electronic tag attached to its dorsal fin came off 3000km away, near the Great Barrier Reef, two weeks ago. The journey is the longest ever recorded by a shark from New Zealand. But Department of Conservation scientist Clinton Duffy said it could have been thousands of kilometres longer. "I would say it's unlikely it would have been a direct route with her being at large for nine months. She could have been all over the place." Duffy said sharks were known to travel up to 1000km a week. After being tagged, he said Kerri could have gone to the Chatham Islands or the Auckland Islands. She could have travelled up the east coast of New Zealand and up to New Caledonian waters in search of food, or she could have swum across to Australia and then up and down the coast before the tag detached from her fin. Advertisement Advertisement "A shark can go for one-and-a-half months on a 30kg piece of blubber," said Duffy. "On one good meal she could go anywhere in the south-west Pacific." Great whites are protected in Australia and New Zealand, and scientists are keen to learn more about their migratory habits to identify the risks they face - mostly from fishing fleets. Duffy said there was a "reasonable population" of mostly juvenile great whites in the seas around Auckland, particularly in the Manukau and Kaipara harbours. He said the work being carried out would increase knowledge of what was a "very, very poorly known animal". He plans to keep an eye out for Kerri in Stewart Island in March, when he hoped she might return as part of a breeding and feeding cycle. "She has some distinctive scars, including an old hook mark and big slashes down her back. She should be fairly recognisable."

Fishy theory to be tested on teenage recruits SCIENTISTS believe the mood of teenagers could be determined by the food they eat - and are about to put their theory to the test. A group of Australian scientists believe too few omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and seafood, and too many omega-6 fatty acids, found in processed oils and nuts, raises the risk of depression in adolescents. Up to 1000 Sydneysiders aged 14 to 17 will be recruited for the biggest study of its kind on whether adolescents truly are what they eat. Lower seafood consumption has been linked to higher rates of depression in adults. The study will attempt to prove it affects teenagers in the same way. The How Food Affects Mood study, by the Australasian Research Institute at Sydney Adventist Hospital and the University of NSW, will use DNA testing from cheek swabs and dietary surveys. Researchers want to know if an imbalance in levels of omega-3 and omega-6 - due to increases in processed foods - heightens the probability of depression. Humans evolved with a diet equal in both essential fatty acids but current Western diets have up to 15 times more omega-6 than omega-3. Omega-3 fatty acids are critical to brain development and function, but because our bodies cannot effectively make them we rely on dietary sources. However, most Australians consume less than a quarter of the optimal recommended intake because it is only found in a few foods, including oily fish such as salmon and sardines. Previous NSW research showed children need to eat five times more fish and seafood than they do. The study will be the first to measure which variant a teenager has of the serotonin transporter gene, which is responsible for our uptake of "feel-good" serotonin and mood control. In 2006 Australian research found people who carry a "short" version of the gene tend to be more susceptible to depression, while those with the "long" version are more resilient against negative life events. The institute's Dr Ross Grant said the results would be used to give teenagers positive messages about healthy eating. "Often kids who are physically unhealthy are emotionally unhealthy as well," he said. Co-researcher Margaret Morris said dietary intervention could ultimately be used to prevent and treat mood disorders. "If there is a causal link between omega-3, serotonin transporter genotype and depression, we can develop better strategies to deal with it," she said. Beaumont Hills parents Tracy and Martin McCoy say it's a challenge to get their three daughters to eat enough seafood. While Courtney, 13, doesn't mind prawns, Emilly, 16, and Amy, 9, won't go near fish. "I don't like the fishy taste, and it stinks," Emilly said. Amy added: "I'll have the chips." American research suggests fish oil capsules and fatty fish do an equally good job of enriching the blood and other body tissues with omega-3 fatty acids. Researcher Dr Williams Harris, of the University of South Dakota,said: "We went into the project assuming that fish would be better, based on some previous literature [but] it doesn't make any difference whether you get your omega-3 fatty acids from a concentrate in a capsule or in fish - they have the same effect on enriching the tissues with omega-3." Nevertheless, Dr Harris said he would encourage people to eat fish. "Fish of course brings with it proteins and minerals and other factors that are good for our health that the capsules don't bring, but we weren't able to measure any of those things," he said. lhall@sunherald.com.au Fatty Acid Facts ■ Omega-3s: cannot be made by the body. They are obtained from oily fish, cod liver oil and egg. Emerging evidence shows links between low levels of omega-3 and mood, behaviour, learning and neurological disorders. ■ Omega-6s: come from industrial oils used in takeaways, ready meals, chips, biscuits and ice-cream. ■ Western diets have up to 15 times more omega-6 than omega-3.