Howdoweplaythis

I would personally put a 4000 on there

Fishing from Balmoral wharf is allowed. There is a semi circular swimming platform adjacent to the wharf where fishing is prohibited. The fishing area is clearly marked with a fish species sign

No, gang are not completely necessary. I have used double snelled hooks on whole pilchards with success. The problem with a pilchard is that it is a very soft bait (unless salted) so fish can rip them off the hook easily without a hookup if you use a single hook. The advantage of gangs is that the entire length of the pilchard has the potential for a hookup if the fish doesn't engulf the pilchard whole. A single hook may work on a half pilchard. I have only ever fished on the beaches for salmon/tailor during dawk, dusk and night because that's what the fishing guides all say are best but I know that people have certainly caught these species during the day, but I am fairly certain with less success. Maybe some other raiders may provide more clarification. In terms of rigs I have had success with paternoster and running sinker rigs in the surf. I generally go for running sinker because I find paternosters get too tangled up with the surf constantly pounding them.

Bait: Pilchards on ganged hooks, between 3/0-5/0 depending on size of pilchards Tides: High tide. Definitely matters. Gutters can be very shallow during low tide, far too shallow for larger predators like salmon and tailor Times: Night and dusk for both tailor and salmon. Salmon can also be caught on dawn but rarely tailor in my experience Leader: 20lb fluoro is my go-to leader but you will be bitten off by larger tailor. Leave the 6' rod at home in preference for the 12'

Nice to hear some whiting still around. What bait did they take?

Snelled 6/0 circles with 60lb fluoro leader on a running sinker rig

I have hooked onto something that I think was a jewfish in the past (huge run) but this didn't have that. Felt more sharky but will never know.

Hi folks, Did some beach fishing on the Northern Beaches last night. No wind, low swell - beautiful night. Arrived at around 6pm Started by using ganged pilchards (was too lazy to collect livebait tonight). Picked up a small salmon first up followed by a legal tailor - perfect. Threw out slabs of tailor whilst burleying hard with old fish frames and pillies. First fish up was a banjo ray, followed up by a bronze whaler and then a 60cm salmon that had engorged itself on my berley. Last fish of the night was a small bronzie. Also had a bust off by something large. The bite shut down at around 9pm so packed up. Two salmon came home with me because my family likes them and my dog and cats LOVE them but not my cup of tea. Still waiting for my first jewfish but had an awesome night nonetheless Snapped a pic of the larger shark for memories sake

I use the home made bottle traps or the clear cylindrical traps that are commercially made. Bread as bait. My go to location is Narrabeen Lake for catching mullet. Thanks for the responses. I might give poddy mullet a go in the surf. If they die I suppose a butterflied mullet is still a good bait

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried throwing a poddy mullet into the surf for bait and if this will work? Not the really tiny ones but maybe 10-15cm long? Tempted to give it a shot Cheers

Could you please describe the exact rig you were using? I've been frustrated to no end trying to catch mullet

It's a common misconception among fishos that WD40 is based off fish oils. It's definitely a petroleum based product. Keep a jar of fresh water with you and put your hooks and lures straight into it after you finish with them. I find that if i wait until i get home to wash them with fresh water they will start rusting.

I work for the outdoor store that sells rogue braid. Rogue is our own brand. We rebrand generic products with 'Rogue' and sell it as our own. I haven't used the braid specifically but overall Rogue products are average. Not great, not terrible but average. My advice to you would be to spend the extra and go for power pro or fins. When you're hooked onto the fish of your life you want to know every piece of gear connecting you to the fish is quality. You can find it for much cheaper online but don't tell my boss that.

Thanks mate. Balmoral beach during a gloomy overcast day!

Most of the headlands around the N beaches will hold cabbage. I've a fair few blackies caught at Clifton but it gets completely crowded out on weekends

For ~$150 you can get a shimano baitrunner OC or ~$200 a shimano baitrunner D. Ugly stick platinum or gold if you're looking for a fibreglass rod. Only problem is that the reels only come with one spool i believe. If i were you i'd just switch to fully fishing braid though unless it's off the rocks or something.

Hi mate, first off there are the detachable cloth 'soft racks' you can get for kayaks. I work at an outdoor store (site rules won't allow me to say which) and we sell them. I'm a bit dubious of them because a bloke came in a few weeks ago to return his because the stitching burst and his kayaks spewed all over the road. They're a cheap generic product made overseas. If you can find a paid that you think are good quality then go for it but otherwise steer clear. If you go to any of the major roof rack websites there should be a section for finding your car model and they will tell you which racks are required. From there you just need to find a retailer that sells the one you fancy. A lot will fit them for you for a price but they are not hard to do on modern cars such as yours.

My friend found this guy on the beach in Port Stephens. She said it 'didn't have fins' and eventually 'floated out with the waves'. She wasn't sure whether it was alive or dead at the time. Ideas?

Almost any wharf with surrounding weed beds and/or lights at night will hold squid. Heaps of wharves in middle and sydney harbour and pittwater will hold squid. A quick search of this forum will tell you some of the most popular spots but really, where you find the right structure you will almost certainly find squid. Hell I even had a squid swim up to my feet in Narrabeen lake a few months back!

I am happy to report that i had some success today. The first hit I had i struck too early and i pulled in a dead mullet with rasp marks on his tail. Definitely flathead. Second hit was a GOOD flathead. I decided to let it swallow the bait a bit longer. Too long! It took the mullet and buggered off. Third hit i struck just at the right time and pulled in a plate sized flathead. It wasn't huge but it's always satisfying to catch a fish on a new technique especially when you collect your own bait and start from scratch. Rig was a pea-sized sinker and 12lb fluoro with size 1/0 suicide hook on a running sinker rig. Thanks everyone for your help. Next question is has anyone had success rigging a poddy with a circle hook?

Good stuff. You've made me excited to get out and try again. Do you mind if I ask where you were fishing?

That is a very light sinker. Would the mullet be able to lift that off the bottom and create a tangle? I'll up my leader to 12lb I used a clear bottle trap as well. I cut a cross in a 3L cordial bottle and folded the tabs down and loaded it with bread and sand to keep it on the bottom. I put some of the bread 'overhanging' the hole in the bottle so some of it would waft out gradually and act as burley. As others have said I put it in very shallow water (about halfway to my knees). I had two traps out yesterday about 20m apart. The other was an opaque milk carton. I got all mullet in the clear cordial bottle and heaps of toadies in the milk carton and no mullet. With that said i've only done it once so i'm no expert but I still managed to get them.

I decided to try using poddy mullet in narrabeen lake today for flathead. I managed to get lots of them in my trap but wasn't sure what rig to use for them. I took a punt and used a running sinker rig with 2 size 2 ball sinkers and about 50cm of 6lb leader (too light?) with a 1/0 hook. I fished the channel in front of the caravan park and got lots of hits from tailor shredding up the poddies but no flatties. Some guys about 50m down the channel wandered by and told me they got some big flatties on poddies! Can someone shed some light on what leader, sinker and type of rig you would use for poddies for flathead? Cheers

Have tomorrow off and was planning to hit the northern beaches. Does anyone know what's biting at the moment? Have good numbers of whiting shown up yet? Cheers

I find anything over 20lb and the kings won't touch it in the harbour wharves