Howdoweplaythis

Never failed me yet

We all learn new things every day. I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty or anything! Animals are just something im quite passionate about so I'll sing on about it for ages if you let me

Good legal size? What bait did you get them on?

Hi Mike, I'm current a veterinary student. My advice is as follows- If you hook a bird externally e.g. by its beak, try your best to crimp down the barbs and take the hook out and release the bird. Cut the hook with a pair of strong pliers if you have to. Do all reasonable means to take the hook out. Remember that hooks are cheap! And i'm happy to sacrifice a hook in exchange for good welfare. Birds are easy to restrain if you wrap their body with a towel or cloth so you don't have wings flapping everywhere. This is normally a two person job. The person holding the bird should NOT squeeze tightly over the 'chest' or breast area of the bird. Birds have a slightly different kind of respiratory system to ours and compression of the chest will completely disallow the bird to breathe because they do not have a diaphragm like us. If a bird is hooked externally over the flesh, it is a good idea to take it to a vet. Removing the hook may 'rip' a portion of flesh out due to the barb. This option, or leaving the hook in may mean the wound will become infected which may or may not kill the bird. Remember that a bird will NOT 'shed' the hook the same way a fish will because it is the constant exposure to sea water to corrodes hooks and causes them to fall out. It will probably take significantly longer for the hook to corrode out of the bird, assuming the bird does not shake it out all the while infection is setting in. If a bird has swallowed a hook, it will likely NOT survive. Birds have an anatomy that is more similar to mammals than to fish. The rules that apply to fish do not apply to birds. Put yourself in a situation where your dog or cat have a hook stuck in their oesophagus or gastrointestinal tract. It will cause serious medical complications and will most likely kill the animal if not treated. DO NOT cut the line and release the bird with a swallowed hook. Birds are what we call 'illness maskers'. This means that from an evolutionary point of view, they have evolved to 'mask' signs of illness for as long as possible because a bird that shows early progression of illness will most likely get eaten. What this means is that a bird that is showing signs of illness has probably reached an end stage of that illness i.e. it is very seriously sick! This might give birds the impression that they are quite tough because they seem to be quite unphased for a long time after you release them. However, in due time their health will decline rapidly as they reach the end stage of illness and they will probably die. Breaking a bird's neck is an ethically approved method of dispatching birds. However, it takes a little bit of practice to get it done right. Do it wrong and you may 'stun' the bird, but not kill it. My advice is that if a bird has swallowed a hook, or if you are ever at all unsure, bring the bird into a vet! A veterinary clinic WILL take in wildlife. We get wildlife in at work all the time. Everything from lizards, birds, bandicoots, possums and frogs etc. Vets are bound by law (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act) to treat sick animals, be it pain relief or euthanasia. Leave the bird at the vet and a vet will inspect the animal and one of two things will happen - the vet will dehook the bird and a wildlife carer will be found, who will care for it until it can be released OR if the vet deems the injury to be too substantial, will euthanase the bird. Vet clinics will NOT charge you for dropping in injured wildlife. To transport a bird, wrap the bird in a towel or cloth and put it into a nice dark place such as a cardboard box. I hope everyone found this informative! If ever at all unsure, bring the bird to a vet! If anyone has any questions about this issue- shoot. I'm all for giving out helpful advice in the name of animal welfare.

Was just wondering whether it's late enough into spring to start fishing with worms off the beach or whether i should wait a few more weeks? Also are flathead starting to fire up? Cheers

A nice passing surfer told me he'd seen a big school of salmon at the back break but they'd moved on by the time i put a line in. Things are looking good

I was out at Dee Why tonight for a solid aussie salmon about 55cm. there were 2 others on the beach and that was the only fish caught between us. summer can't come too soon

thanks for the report. I'll probably be out on the beaches tomorrow. fingers crossed

good catch mate. I thought there'd be too much fresh in the system after the big rain. Can i ask if you were boat or land based?

Eastern striped trumpeter to be exact. Give them a gentle shake and they'll croak, hence the name trumpeter

Will I have a better chance of catching fish if the yakkas are suspended from the top of the water column on a float rather than keeping them on the bottom? Also what size hook should I use? I have been using 6/0s

Hey mate thanks for the link. That was helpful for how to hook the yakka. I'm looking for a bit of advice on the rig above the bait though. What rig would you use for a float? And unweighted seems easiest but if others are around the yakka tends to tangle up the lines. Are there any other options beside this?

Hi everyone, I'm new to the scene of live baiting and i've searched the forum but I haven't found any concrete posts about rigging live yellowtail. I've just been fishing them off a wharf, rigging them on a running sinker rig with a heavy ball sinker but haven't caught anything. Target species is well, anything that will eat a yakka really! What are some of the accepted rigs for a live yakka? Cheers Justin

I can't believe others would have so little empathy and curse at someone who's been struck by misfortune. Horrible. Good on you for helping

I'm too lazy to wake up to fish early mornings. Normally late arvos for me. I look forward to reading more reports from you. I havent been beach fishing long and my hit rate so far is pretty low. Already found some good hints in your reports! Cheers

Hey mate, a 7 foot rod will give you more casting distance, which i think is important on land. Im using a 2-4kg 7ft and it is fairly stiff. I chuck all sorts of lures around no problems. I think how 'wobbly' the rod is is based on how it's manufactured more than the length. My friend's graphite 6"6' is much more wobbly than my 7 ft. A 6"6' rod will do as good a job as a 7", you'll just lose some casting distance but you may get some more control over the lure with a 6"6'. It won't be too much of a loss with either choice. It really depends on which one you're more comfortable with. My friend has a 2-4kg 7" catana matched with a sienna2500 he got for about $130 last year. It feels alright on the hand. Rod is stiff but bends well. Reel is smooth and is made well enough so it doesnt feel light or 'cheap'. Remember the fish doesn't care how much your rod and reel was worth! If you're happy to spend $200, then that's cool but the catana+sienna combo is great value for money, i feel. 10-15lb leader will work fine with 6lb braid for stuff like flathead. Go lighter for bream. I use 6lb for both bream and flathead for 2 reasons. 1. I'm lazy and 2. I'm a poor uni student

Hey mate, i just checked out your FB page. Some really good info on there, especially for a beginner beach fisho like myself. My favourite beaches is dee why and narra. I'll see you out on the sand one day

Sorry to hijack your thread, but where is a good place to use surface lures in general? I've tried poppers and stickbaits and Roseville and Narrabeen in areas where I know there are whiting and bream but can't for the life of me get one.

Keep in mind that fishing is really not that easy, especially if you're self taught. Even the pros will have their really bad days. Remember that when you see a fishing report of a guy catching a billion big fish, you're not seeing all his donut days! Best of luck. You seem really persistent - a must have quality for a fisho!

still a bit early i reckon. maybe give it a fortnight or so and theyll start to wake up

cheers thanks. I find that's the part that rusts most too and will eventually just snap on cheap pliers. Gotta agree with tasksta though. You can get a dozen cheap pliers for the price of a nice 'stainless' steel one. I've found the cheap pliers are fine for estuary stuff and when the edge goes blunt or the rust gets too bad i just chuck them in the recycle and get a new pair. Maybe that's just cause i'm a poor uni student though!

anybody tried spraying their gear with wd40 or something similar to stop it rusting? sick of buying new pliers...

I've gotten salmon 2 out of 3 trips at Dee Why. High tide on sunset - you should do okay

keep in mind that winter is an inherently difficult time to fish. as the weather warms, so should your chances of finding a fish. i went through the entire uni summer holidays - 3 months - and managed to catch 2 legal fish in that entire time when i first started but i was completely over the moon. fishing is challenging. that's what keeps us coming back. you'll get into fish sooner or later

top fish - just a question, did you get them on store bought frozen squid or fresh?