sydneyelvis

drummer are the most addictive fish to catch Well done!!!

thanks Rick bloody things are addictive!!!

Hi Mike... I don't fish Sydney harbour but I know they get them around Manly, Dee Why and any of the Eastern suburbs beaches.

Hi Dave Yes mate they are great eating but sometimes when I get one that big and the kids aren't around, I can't justify eating a quarter of a fish and saving the rest for later.

After suffering from severe withdrawals, off I went again looking for that bull of a drummer. Armed with a loaf of white bread, fresh prawns, a tin of cat food and alot of hope, I trudged along the rocks with a gale blowing and wondered if: a) I'm stupid b) I'm drunk, or c) I'm an addict. I went for c) and for the next 90 minutes battled everything including a rogue wave that washed away my prawns. At least I had burleyed the hell out of the water! Not to be defeated, I picked up one cunjee and used the famous words of all addicts... "just one more" Boy was I right! The float disappeared, the line was taut, the rod was bent and my heart was thumping. After what felt like an eternity, up came this fat pig. I didn't measure him but my foot is 30cm so I guess he was A BIT bigger than that. A few quick pics and I sent him back into an adjacent rock pool where he took off without hesitation. So after all the commotion, the walk home wasn't too bad and my mind was spinning about getting a bigger model. So my question to the experienced fishos here is "can you catch them in summer?"

Great pics! Mate I have become completely addicted to Drummer fishing They pull like a train and taste bloody good

Following my last post I was at it again last week on Friday and then a quick session on Sunday. Same system again... burley with white bread and prawn shells. Peeled prawn on a hook below a pea sinker and a bobby cork and hold on. Friday was great fun with 6 drummer between 32 and 40 cm and a cracker bream as a welcome by catch at 35cm. All in just over an hour. Kept the bream for dinner and sent the drummer back for another day. Saturday went out on to the rocks, saw the swell, decided I wanted to stay alive and ran home to a couple of whiskies. Sunday afternoon I went out for under an hour with my left over smelly prawns which I had kept with the left over bread in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wife was definitely not happy! But the burley by now was terrific! Swell had died down a fair bit and there was plenty of wash. First fish was this cracker at 46 cm! I kept him and bled him straight away. Three more smaller models were caught as well with the smallest being 32 cm. They all went back. As the sun set and the temperature dropped I called it a day. A quick fillet and the wife cooked up a basic fish and chips meal that was simply out of this world.

I found using a float does 3 things: 1) less snags 2) the bait moves around naturally in the water 3) it keeps me focussed on the water and incoming waves

So I've been messing around for the last couple of months trying to come up with a way of consistently catching drummer. And finally hours of planning, whilst drinking whisky have started to pay off. I have found that they bite well at any stage of the tide but better when there is cloud cover. For bait Im now using peeled prawns. I peel them at home before I go and keep the shells for burley. For burley, the prawn shells plus old bread and A hand full chucked in every three casts. So yesterday on a dropping tide (almost low) with cloud cover I ventured out. First 15 minutes, no action. For the next 30 minutes... mayhem!!! One drummer at 35cm... one drummer at 43cm (pictured).... busted off by something even bigger twice! These things pull like a train and i reckon the 40cm models pull harder than a 75cm king... maybe im just excited! I quit before dark and just kept the larger model.

CENTRAL COAST

Thanks Basil are they good eating?

With no swell I thought I’d try for some drummers off the rocks. Armed with bread and peeled prawns I was hopeful of some fun. well lots of fun but no drummer!!! i got smashed a couple of times before I pulled up this guy and hit 2 older brothers Great fight on light gear. I was unsure of the species or eating qualities all 3 went back All in all a great morning, beautiful sunrise and some fish! can anyone id this fish?

Hi all I went to baileys marine today to refuel and came across a massive school of mullet ranging in size from 30cm up to 50cm at least. Questions: Are they a decent kingfish bait? How do you catch them? Are they edible?

Dad, if we can use a little trap to catch poddy mullet, why cant we use the same trap to catch yakkas??? I could not come up with an answer that satisfied him!!!! Any suggestions are welcome!

will do! thanks for the tip