dpinta

We made the last minute decision this morning toget out for a bit of a fish as we thought we would get a break in the weather. As it turns out the weather stayed crap and the calamari did not come out to play. We had one in the esky (calamari) and we were about to call it quits when dad spotted a fin in the water about 50m away from us. Now this is where it gets interesting!!!!! I dont remember the last time i went out in the boat and didnt bring one of my bigger outfits BUT this morning i knew my dad would just want to chase calamari so i brought only my 4-8kg bream rod which is loaded with 20 lb braid which i leave over the back while drifting for calamari. We fish with handlines for calamari. ANYWAY....... we slowly motored over to the small fin in the water which turned out to be a small mako 0f about 1 to 1.2m and id say 25-30kg. To cut a long story short, i tied on a wire trace put a squid head on a 8/0 octopus gama ( i chose a smallish fine hook to be easier to set with such a small rod) We were hooked up instantly and for the next 30-40 min we were driving around everywhere chasing this shark around with is screaming long runs and AWESOME jumps and cartwheels across the water. He must have jumped 6 foot clear of the water on at least half a dozen occasions. After about 40mins we had it boatside with the gaff and baseball bat ready about 5m from the boat and as easy as you like the hoof pulled out. To say i was devastated would be an understatement.. . But it was some of the best fun i have EVER had with a rod and reel. I have a couple of photos of the rod loaded up. Could someone send me their e mail so i could send them the photos so they could put them up for me as i am hopeless with computers. Thanks

Fishing in the little bay where the hot water comes out from the power station can be very rewarding at times. be aware though, it is closed for a few months of every year. I think its open at this time of year though. There are some very good bream to be caught in there. The ironic thing is though on the day of the opening trawlers come in and clean the area out. The majority of the fish dissapear but there are a couple left behind.

Thanks for the replies guys. I might give it a go if the weather turns it on this weekend. Crabbing is an awesome way to spend time with the family on the water

I always rig them head first

Just start your motor and zig zag in front of them for a while if they piss you off. Im sure they will love the bumps

Just wondering if anyone has come across any blue swimmers yet. Mainly in Port Hacking and or Botany Bay?

No thats fine no offence taken! I just dont see how i am offshore when i am 20m from a beach inside the Hacking in water that i could almost stand up in. I really have no objection in buying a v sheet but i have been checked many many times before and never had a problem. I have been in other peoples boats on Browns when we have been checked and they didnt ask for a v sheet out there. I think these guys had a chip on their shoulder and maybe they didnt like the name of my boat!

Yeah they went through me as well. Every little detail. They will probably get bored again in a couple of weeks. I have been inspected many times before and never had a problem but this time (fishing in 12 foot of water INSIDE THE HEADS, OFF JIBBON BEACH) they asked me for a V Sheet as the water i was fishing was classified as offshore waters. What a joke!!!!!! To be honest i have never been asked for a V Sheet before and didnt even know i needed one. Do you guys carry a v sheet?

My condolances go out to the family of the deceased and i guess its a reminder to us all to be aware on the water and choose our fishing days wisely.

I went north from Rose Bay today and let me tell you the shoreline along there is not very accessible from shore . I should have gone over the bridge and fished Clifton or middle head.Oh well lesson learnt I ended up back at Rose Bay ramp and fished for an hour or so off the old jetty without a bite. There was a guy who caught half a dozen good blackfish while i was there though

Thanks xtosea if i head over the bridge ill have a look there.

Would i be better off fishing just north of rose bay where the rocks meet the beach or going to clifton gardens. Remembering that squid are my main target and i will have a second rod out for bream? I have seen a few posts in the past of people catching squid at Clifton.

Ill be in Sydney on Monday finishing off a job probably by 9 am or so and i was wondering if anyone could help me with a squid spot on the southern banks of the harbour.I have my usuall spots but they are all by boat and mostly in middle harbour. I have caught them in Rose bay before by boat and was wondering if anyone casts the shore there during the day for squid. Any help would be greatly appretiated. I am not asking for anyones secret spots just a general idea of where to start

Exactly what i do but with bouyweather as well. I find that somewhere in the middle is usually what i find to be true!

the bom site is hopeless. it always gives worst case ond if its calm in the morn and 20kn after lunch it just says 30kn. Yeah we were fishing a couple of holes N of the surf club. Salmon arent the best but ok if fresh so thats why we only kept two. We esually get our best bream on nice pillie fillets. They dont last too long on the hook but when there are bream around they smash them. Salmon alsolove them so you end up eith an awesome couple of fights while waiting for the bream. I might see you up there next time.

Which forecast were you looking at?????? Buoyweather showed an awesome day on Sunday. We fished North Entrance beach on Sunday morning and caught half a dozen good Salmon in a couple of hours.

Is that a big Arrow squid. You dont see that many big arrows

You should be fishing the pille with the top hook through the eye. This will keep it on the hook during the cast as the eye socket will take the majority of the impact when casting and it wont come off. Also when fishing the beach for tailor,salmon,flathead etc you should be slowly retrieving your bait not just sitting it there. You will cover more water this way and the fish will hit it harder. This also helps when crabs are a problem as they dont get a chance to bait you. Also when i am fishing whole pillies off the beach i also set a small rod with a pillie fillet or worm in VERY close on a small ( 3 to 4kg, 9 foot rod ) if the conditions allow. A lot of the times you will get more fish on the small rod, including salmon which often patrol the shore drop off and are often missed by the big baits out wider. Give that a go and i think you will be pleasantly suprised!!!!

Can i ask why you didnt cube where you got the strikes??????

I often drift plastics and they work well. But if you want to set and forget a bait for mainly big fish you cant go past a livie. Mullet and yellowtail are good because they are quite tough and dont require too much work to keep alive

I had another rod at hand once with a small metal lure already rigged up. When a mate brought his livie in and couldnt get it to strike i dropped the lure in and jigged it erattically throught the water and he smashed it. It has worked on several other occasions now so i always keep one ready now. It doesnt always work but i would say it works more often than not. The lures i am talking about are those little white 5g lures that the salmon feed on when they are hard to catch. I rig it with a 1/0 or 2/0 baitholder hook.

I think i heard somewhere that a couple of HUNDRED MILLION people do FORZA ITALIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started fishing Port lately as i am very impressed with the water quality in the system compared to the bay and the harbour and also due to the success we have had of late with some good bream, flathead and whiting. We are planning on fishing friday arvo/night whilst using friday after lunch to catch live bait for the night collecting nippers, yellowtail/slimies and hopefully a couple of squid for bait. My question is ( obviously ) without asking for anyones "secret" spots are just a couple of areas to start looking for spot to fish which will not have me wasting my time and put me in with a chance of snaring a jew maybe whilst possibly keeping busy with a few bream. I realise that sometimes these posts go unanswered but i felt it was worth try and any help would be greatly appretiated.

Nice point comparing the numbers of late with "normal sydney fish numbers" and the way they are competing for whatever you put down thw trail as opposed to looking at every cube without fear of another fin snapping it up first!

Why ont you give Tony a ring from Fishfinder. He does charters and while no one can guarantee fish he will cater to any type of fishing you wish to do. Whether it be floatlining, jigging even bottom bashing but hopefully over more producive grounds. Give him a call and have a word to him! Tell him Dave the carpenter sent you.