[How Not To Launch A Boat]

Oh dear!!!

Check THIS out

[Whats Happening After All The Rain?]

You can cross off Narra Lake at the moment. It's strong coffee coloured and floating weed everywhere.

I hit the lake this morning wading the flats and weed beds and wondered why I had the entire lake to myself.

Only fish were one bream and one tailor, then a whopper stinking Long Tom which went like a cut cat

until I got him close, then he went for my wedding tackle again

Those buggers sure are aggressive when hooked.

All fish on live poddies again. I ran out of time as I wanted to try a bushy popper with rattles, so that's for another day.

Just too much fresh in there at the moment and will probably fire back up again after a few tide flushes.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Excellent Aerial Views]

I've only got a major conflict here it looks like it's not as clear as a bell to be able to find anything, what do you click on to begin with to be able to click on private user button to start off with and then where do you find water?

Cheers

jewgaffer

G'day Byron,

You only need to click the private user button the first time you log on to the site by the looks of it.(it must put a cookie on your machine I presume)

As I posted earlier, not all areas are in high resolution and may appear blurry. The high res areas

are very clear and you can zoom in very close, even on water areas where it's hi res.

Take a look at the "help" button as it explains quite a lot about what's new etc. and there's also a forum if you need it to get more help.

While it's not perfect, it's a better site in my opinion as their aerial pix are updated regularly and it also has a function to see changes from older pix to the latest pix and you can see the difference.

It also seems very slow to load on occasions..maybe they have a crappy server.

Hope this helps in some way.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Narra Flattie Fun]

I went down to the same spot at the same time this morning and could hardly lose a poddy.

One undersize flatty was all.

And yep..the barometer was down to 1007

Had a lot to do with it I'm positive.

As to the fishing getup..I look like the monster from the black lagoon..and smell worse

[Narra Flattie Fun]

Nice work Pete!

I am heading out tonight on the lake in search of a few flatties.

Were you using Poddies off the beach?

Good on ya mate.

No mate,fresh prawns and whitebait.

Couldn't rustle up any poddies earlier on.

Found heaps when the sun came up.

[Narra Flattie Fun]

Went for a beach fish this morning for a big donut.

Nothing on the high tide at all at Nth Narra.

Decided to hit the back of the lake to chase some flatties on poddies again.

Found a nest of 'em and managed to land 5 of 'em in 20 mins and busted off twice by a couple of crocs.

Here's the biggest this morning at 60cm

She was almost jet black from living in the weedbeds.

All fish returned today.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Alvey Reel And Braid]

G'day mate.

Have a look at THIS thread.

I fixed my line twist problem altogether using my Alvey.

Google them and you can find them.

Cheers,

Pete

[Gulp Packets]

It may be a good idea to let the distributors of Gulp (Pure Fishing Aust.)

of bags that have leaks (we've all had it happen) , know of the problem.

Pure Fishing Australia Pty Ltd

* PO Box 5199 Chittaway Bay, NSW 2261

* Phone 61-2- 4351 7740

* Facsimile 61-2- 4351 7741

* info@purefishing.com.au

Let them know of the problem and maybe they'll fix it if enough people complain.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Filleting Bream]

caught a nice 35cm bream yesterday and thought i would give filleting it ago for the first time. i got two nice fillets off but still got some bones is that normal. i dont really know what im doin would someone be able to post up a pic and just explain the best way to skin and fillet the fish cheers Bergo

Try

method Bergo.

[North Narrabeen]

Try and trap some poddy mullet and use them as livies.

Mr Flattie's favourite tucker.

Use a rig of, mainline to a small swivel, then your leader with the smallest ball sinker

you have in your tackle bag, running to a #5 wide gap hook.

Pin the livie carefully thru the back just behind the dorsal fin, making sure

you don't go too far near the spine or it'll kill 'em.

Toss him out whereever you see weedbeds with sandy patches nearby, or dropoffs and cast into where

the meet. Keep in contact with your bait and you'll notice him getting real agitated on your line..

that's usually a predator (Mr Flatty) about to snaffle him.

Wait for the "thump" on the line as they usually just inhale it whole without

swimming away. Gently lift your rod and feel if there is any weight on the line..if so..strike

to ensure the hook is embedded well..usually in the corner of the mouth with wide gaps.

And hopefully you're on!!

You'll also find the bigger bream will attack live mullet as well and not so many small stuff.

One thing to beware of though is Long Toms are about atm and they also love poddies.

Just take care when unhooking them as they will have a go at you if they get a chance.

One earlier this week latched onto my nether regions as I was bringing him in to release.

Luckily I was wearing waders so the wedding tackle is still in one piece.

Nasty bastards..seriously! and big suckers, some over a metre. with teeth like crocodiles.

Try the above and I'll just about guarantee you'll score a flatty.

(sorry..no refunds)

Cheers,

Pete.

[Best Nipper Pump Make]

I've got a Force 10

Couldnt afford an Alvey

So far, its worked OK so not complaining...

Wait for the welded top to break away

from the barrel like mine has..or the second one

where the handle failed!

Not to mention the crappy washers they use.

[Best Nipper Pump Make]

Thanks for the input guys.

Looks like I'll purchase the Alvey then.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Best Nipper Pump Make]

I'm sure most Raiders have got a nipper pump at home.

I've got three which have all packed it in, even bastardising

them to make one good one.

It's time to buy a new one and I would like everyone's opinion

on which pump is the best.

There are quite a few on the market with brands like:

Berkley

Wilson

Alvey

Force ten (crap)

and more that I can't remember.

I know there's one that has a rubber grommet where the bushing

is on the top, but can't find the brand.

Anyone have a favourite??

Cheers,

Pete.

[4 Quickfire Flatties]

Was at home watching the rain come down most of the day...then it stopped at 3:30pm.

I didn't need too much prompting to grab my gear and head down to the lake

to see if the rain had affected the fishing..It didn't

Gathered some poddies in short order and hopped into the waders

and out I went.

First cast and the poddie hadn't even hit the bottom when WHAM! Flattie #1

swallows the livie whole and took off on a nice run. Landed him and rebaited

and same thing again..It was like they were waiting with their mouths open.

Second one in the net..then a third and a fourth..all about the same size..must have

been a flattie family outing!

One nice bream after that and then it all went quiet.

Kept the flatties for a mate who wanted a feed and Mr. Breambo went back.

Nice hot bite while it lasted.

Tide was outgoing and LOTS of water in the lake with these big tides.

Barometer was 1016 (so much for my 1020 theory)

Love those last minute sessions.

Cheers,

Pete

[Excellent Aerial Views]

I think I see the problem Roberta.

It looks like it's just the capital cities that are in hi res.

and everywhere else is lo res.(most probably from satellite images)

If you zoom out to a wide shot of the east coast..you see Sydney had a "grey" overlay over

it..I think this is the hi res. stuff and all around that is lo res.

It can take an eternity to load the hi res. ones sometimes but worth the effort

in the long run.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Last Yak Outing For The Year!]

Another ripper effort Roberta.

I've gotta give those pencil poppers you showed me a run in the lake soon.

I reckon those whiting will go crazy over them.

Cheers and Happy New Year.

Pete.

[Cracker Session For The Last Day Of The Year]

was It windy there this morning?

ENE at 7 knots at 7am, so not at all windy Nathan..just enough to ripple the surface.

It looks like the updates for Narrabeen are giving you more incentive to go out fishing.... Keep up the good work Peter and I wish you all the best for 2010 and especially whenever you get the ur

Yes Byron...that weather site you hooked me up to is perfect for Narra.

Happy New Year to you too and all Raiders. .

Cheers,

Pete.

[Excellent Aerial Views]

Take a look at this site called NearMap which is similar to Google Earth

but better resolution and updated regularly.

Being aerial photographs, rather than satellite pics..it's just way better resolution.

You can see dropoffs and weedbeds really well and also has a terrain button that shows the bottom

in Sydney fishing areas really well.

Worth bookmarking for sure.

Just click on the Private user button to begin with.

Enjoy.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Cracker Session For The Last Day Of The Year]

Well..I'm convinced!! The barometer is the ONLY thing I will

rely on from now on.

Hit the lake this morning at half six and the bar. was 1020.

The last 2 sessions this week have both been fishless and the bar. was well under the 1020 mark.

Anyway..with the barometer @ 1020 (fish-a-plenty) I met a mate of mine for a session using live poddies again..One problem though..no bloody poddies anywhere on the flats for the last week...bugger!

Mike luckily had his nipper pump in the car, so we collected enough in short order and launched them unweighted into the weedbeds and sandy patches..SMASH! CRASH! SPLASH! .they went ballistic!

For me, 2 just legal bream off the bat, then 2 flatties which inhaled the nipper and hook.

Mike hooked a pinkie and 2 bream.

Then on to the flats to see if the whiting wanted to play and they didn't disappoint either.

Five in a row..mostly small ones with the occasional goodun.

Ran out of nippers pretty quick, so back to pumping for a few more...more whiting and lots of bream on the flats and gave it away at 0930 , still biting their heads off.

Drizzly rain was constant, but no dramas.

Score in the end..

Me:

2 flatties

7 bream

6 whiting

Mike:

1 pinkie

5 bream

3 whiting.

All fish released..hence no pics as we were out wading and my camera aint waterproof.

What a cracker way to end the year!!

Happy New Year to all Raiders.

[Raiders- How Much Rain Has There Been In Your Area?]

Lots of rain on the Northern Beaches too.

I think the rain has put off the fish too.

I just had two sessions for bugger all fish..just a few small bream and

zero flatties.

I went yesterday morning at 7am to Narra Lake and was joined by Vu (VietGod on Fishraider)

for very few takes. The lack of poddies had a lot to do with it as they were few & far between

and even then..too small for livies.

The sand flats were devoid of fish which is unusual too.

This arvo, after the rain had eased..I went down again and same result..no poddies and no fish

apart from 2 just under legal bream.

Went home with a wet bum and no fish.

Oh well..at least I tried.

[Fishing Narrabeen Lake With Mallacoota Pete]

It was great to finally meet face to face Roberta.

Yes, the old poddies are just the "ants pants" as far as flatties go at the moment.

After you left, I stayed another half hour and managed another nice lizard about 45cm (released) and then the wind picked up and shut everything down.

So, glad I was able to teach you something new (now there's a first) and thanks for the demo of the pencils..have to give those a shot on the whiting I reckon.

Looks like this wind is going to continue all week, so may have to put my feet up until it settles down.

Hope you can get the poddie method to work up your way.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Narrabeen Lake Flatty Hunting 05/12/09]

G'day Golem.

I pin them just behind the dorsal. Make sure you don't put the hook too

far near the spine or it'll die.

Sometimes I pin 'em by the tail if they are larger livies and trim one side of the tail

as this makes them really swim hard to escape predators.

I went again this morning for another 6 flatties in quick succession, biggest 50cm...all on poddies.

Met a couple of Raiders too and gave them my catch & poddies as I had to leave.

Good to meet you fellas.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Narrabeen Lake Flatty Hunting 05/12/09]

Pete, what size hooks were you using as I couldn't hook anything but the flatty's with a 2/0 circle?

I'm using Mustad size 6 wide gapes at present and every fish today was hooked in

the corner of the mouth.

They work a treat on the flatties.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Narrabeen Lake Flatty Hunting 05/12/09]

The Narra Lagoon flatties are on the chew alright with live poddies..

I went down this morning at 6:30. Dead low tide but still a lot of

water in the lake due to the bigger tides at present.

I managed 5 nice lizards..biggest 46cm..smallest 40cm. in 2 1/2 hours.

The Long Toms were the biggest pest today..8 all up including one almost a metre

that decided he'd slice open my finger as I was releasing him..ungrateful bastard!

Blood everywhere.

Seems like dead low is the go at present as every outing lately at mid or high results in donuts.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Marinated Bbq Flattie Fillets]

I was just noodling around in the kitchen trying to decide how to cook

the two flatties I caught this morning. Getting a bit sick of beer battered ff.

Here's what I did and I have to tell you..it is THE BEST tasting flattie dish

you will ever try.

Ingredients:

4 Skinned and boned flattie fillets

4 tbs virgin olive oil.

Half cup of lemon juice.

4 tbs finely chopped onion.

1 crushed garlic clove.

4 tbs finely chopped flatleaf parsley.

1 tbs freshly grated ginger.

Half teaspoon of tumeric (sweet hungarian)

1 tbs soy sauce.

splash of fish sauce.

Half teaspoon of cajun spices.

1 tbs plain flour.(for dusting/dredging)

One lemon.(at end)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and place fillets in mixture and turn well

to coat.

Cover with gladwrap and place in fridge for half an hour to marinate.

On a dry plate..spread plain flour and season well.

Make sure the BBQ hotplate is hot, but not too hot that they will burn.

Lightly dredge each fillet in the flour..not too much..just a dusting.

BBQ for one minute either side, then when they are nice and hot..squeeze a whole lemon over them

and they will sizzle and steam..let them sizzle for 20 seconds and they are done.

Serve with a green salad and enjoy. I know I did.