CarlRak

Nice fish mate, nice technique to keep using too.

Yep, same one. But have caught fish on the gold colour too. Tasted amazing, Chief Foodie Dave/Dirty Dave is amazing in the kitchen. Thanks for the kind words. Thanks, you don't think about the effort when you're catching fish, hehe. Totally. As i walked over the head and saw it I just giggled to myself.

Raiders, Quick report from a fairly long session/mission/dose-of-silence. After 2 weeks of solid work I was itching for the above (I spend all day every day talking to people), so drove 5 hours up the coast, found a likely looking spot or two and hatched a plan. I flicked plastics for an hour at some seemingly interesting water only to have them shredded by tailor in the middle of the day. Too much sun for the target I think. Then spent a few hours fishing little worm baits for 4 solid whiting and 3 keeper bream. The bite was sustained but most fish were undersized. An hour before dark and close to the low tide change I moved spots and rigged up a heavier rod with a big diving minnow. Changed minnows a couple of times as they were bumping the bottom. Settled on a Killalure Jewie 150 again and told myself to focus for a bit longer. Right on dark some heavy cloud had blackened the sky, the first drops of a shower were coming down and my lure stopped dead in its tracks 15 metres out from the hole. Then the drag started to peel and I started to squeal. Again, not a big fish at 68cm, but I was pleased that my little plan came to fruition. Fished for another hour for no result. Packed my gear up, walked the kilometre back to my car and settled in for a long drive home. All up a 19 hour round trip. Called Chief Foodie Dave the next day and he whipped up some mean curry paste to grill the fish in with some meaner coconut cream based sauce to go over the top. Cheers Nibbles

That's a cracking fish and report. Congrats.

These are excellent. I have two, one for big plastics, and one for small. They never leak from the lid, seal is great. But I have had one break from the underside, plastic cracking, leaking heaps of gulp juice. If you're halfway careful with them they're cheap, easy and quite small. Just don't drop them carelessly onto rocks etc. They look bomb-proof but they're not. If you look around you can get them for $7-8.

You win for consistency. Every time. Seriously got the spot figured out. Well done.

In. Can we not have 4 bonus points for a perfect week like last year?

Whenever you're keen. Will try my hardest but i'm only just starting to figure it out. Baby steps...... Too many lime tigers?

Thanks Hope so, would love something a bit bigger....

Really nice report and some great fish. Thanks for sharing.

glad i'm not amusing just myself sometthing like that

Raiders, Via text on Sunday night with the missus overseas: Miss: Hey there, how are you? Nibbles: #coldwetnakedintaree M: Haha, what on earth? N: I went fishing and forgot a towel. M: So why are you naked? N: It’s a bit wet here, everything got soaked. M: And why are you in Taree? N: I thought the fish might be biting. M: Oh, I heard there was a bit of weather. It’s wet here too, just 3 degrees instead of 22. River fishing or sea fishing? N: Where the two meet. M: Can I see a picture? N: Sweetheart it’s so small you don’t want to see a picture. I’ll send a pic when it’s bigger. M: Of the fish….. N: Oh, the fish, sure…. M: So cute, he’s tiny. But I thought you were chasing bigger fish this year? N: So did I. M: What did he eat? N: A banana prawn jerk shad. M: It looks like one of those plastic things in the pic. Anything else? N: A few flathead. M: And what were they eating? N: Lime tigers. M: Lime tigers? Is chasing a big fish like chasing the dragon? N: I’ve never chased the dragon. But maybe. M: You’re dripping wet, naked in a car hours from home, it’s pouring and pitch black I imagine, and you’re talking fluorescent predators via text with me. Fantasy or reality? N: I get confused too. M: Find some clothes before the cops find you, drive safe, and send me a pic when it’s bigger. N: Really? M: A bigger fish. Cheers Nibbles

Lovely little read, thanks. If there's more of these where you found it post away.

Hehe, soon Dave. Sorry for the slow reply.

Not chasing flatties so much lately, but I should be.

Fantastic fish mate.

"NIBBLES. Kin hell mate. Best report i have seen on here. Like Mrsswordie said smiling all the way. Come on mate wheres your family holiday every new year ? Im guessing fairly north cuz im pretty sure that trevally you got is a golden trev. Nah dont say. Keep it to your self. Thats amazing, surfing and than catchin jewies off the rocks on lure regularly. Champion." "Awesome report! Loved reading it! Cheers scratchie!! " Thanks all, like writing them. (p.s. Admin, my multiquote function just went mad)

Well aware, right place at the right time.

Raiders, Merry New and all that. Hopefully you’ve had a great 2012/13 transition with a few fish thrown in. In short, I’m writing because I need to scream it from the rooftops, or at least broadcast it to an audience that may have some interest, my friends and family are useless when it comes to piscatorial tales…. The last week of 2010 saw me camping up the coast, in a regular spot, surfing, drinking and shit-talking with a bunch of cronies. I kept watching the fishermen dotted over the beaches and rocks at sunset catching dinner or gently amusing the fish. It looked romantic and generally that time of year is a little romantic so I resolved to buy a rod or two and learn how to do it myself. By the time the 2011/12 transition rolled around I was in the same place, with the same friends, with more than a rod or two, and catching a few fish but not bringing dinner back to camp consistently. Fishing isn’t entirely about dinner but I wanted a little more action. During 2012 I fished, I fished as much as I could. I chased little pelagics from the rocks, trout from dams, flatties in the shallows and a few blackfish in the depths of winter. I learnt where to find the fish a bit better and caught plenty but I still hadn’t got anything to really get my heart racing. Camp 2012/13. I was catching fish. Heaps. The other campers were enjoying the fresh produce to supplement the whole chickens, legs of goat and other assorted meaty treats being grilled over a roaring bed of coals at night. There was bream, whiting and a few flathead on the menu most nights. The pan was living in the car a few times we just made a fire on the beach and quickly cooked up the fish with a beer or two. This is why I started and it was more than satisfying to have finally figured it out after 2 years. Apart from the table fish mentioned above I caught two big mullet up the creek on 4lb gear and squidgy wrigglers while chasing flathead. The first one shocked me with its strength and stamina, the second had me wishing I knew how to target them more effectively with lures. Anyone have any ideas? Chief Foodie Dave (from earlier instalments) had become Dirty Dave, but when he screamed over a tidal mudflat about 2km upstream from the creek mouth ‘Carl, Carl I’ve got something serious’ I laughed then watched in amazement as he wrestled a sizable trevally to shore on 6lb gear. Anyone know what kind it is? After NYE our crew started to dwindle, the number of tents reduced, the vibe grew even more relaxed and the remaining soldiers were content doing their own thing. A night before I planned to leave, Psychedelic Simon wandered down to the beach to find me catching dart and a more bream and suggested that we hang around another day and see if we could find some bigger fish. I agreed. We went back to camp, made a fire and felt the first breaths of a gentle southerly rolling through. The next day we surfed, packed most of our gear up and headed out to a likely looking spot at about 5pm. I fished for a few more bream and Simon sat waiting with a big bait for a big fish that didn’t want to show up. The sky grew dark and overcast, the tide changed about 6.30pm the swell started to build and by 7.30 I was sick of the bream and rigged-up a heavier stick with a big lure, chuckled to myself that I was only fooling myself but why not give it a try….. Cast 1 Lure won’t bite the water, retrieve it to find trebles tangled with leader. Cast 2 Retrieve the slack, 3-4 quick cranks to get the lure down, another 3-4 slow cranks and bang something’s hit the lure with gusto. Off goes the drag, rod bent double, I’m screaming and hyperventilating. Guide the fish to the rocks, get her up and she starts shaking her head like mad, tosses the lure, wave comes in, takes the fish and with it Psychedelic Simon. Can see his head torch through the wash. He climbs out of the hole with cut hands but in reasonable shape. Estimated weight 8kg. Lost fish but my adrenalin pumping like crazy. Cast 3 Tell Simon I’ll run back to the car with him and patch him up with a first aid kit but give me one more cast. Out the lure goes. Another 5-6 cranks and bang I’m on again. Smaller fish, 55-60cm. Land it. Simon takes a pic and then runs over the headland to find my first-aid kit. Tells me to keep fishing. Cast 4 I’m on again in no time. Slightly bigger fish. Then she goes around the point and I lose her in the rocks and surge. Lure gone. Dark. Shaking with excitement. Cast 5 After 3 attempts at tying a new leader, due to being so giddy with adrenalin, I’ve finally got a new lure on and sent it out. Crank crank crank, bang, here we go again. Get the fish in. Take a pic or two, send her back. About 65cm. Cast 6 Psychedelic Simon returns after a self-bandaging job and insists we keep fishing. Out the lure goes, in another fish comes. This is getting silly. More (terrible) pics. More high fives. A few more casts and I get nothing, put the rod down and take a breather. Then Simon’s onto one. Using a cocktail of live beach worm and squid strips. The fish runs around the point and he loses it in the rocks. Then he gets a smaller model of about 45-50cm which swam away fine despite losing a few scales. Finally what must have been a much more serious fish strips at least 100m off his reel, turned around the point and with a pitch black sky and building tide and swell we weren’t game to chase it. Couldn’t turn him and the leader was rubbed off on the rocks. A shovel nose spelled game over for the night. All-in-all an unforgettable experience. Two years of learning came together in 2 frantic hours of action. I got my first jewie and on a hardbody lure and got to share the experience with an old friend on my favourite bit of the coast. In total we landed 4 from 8 hook-ups and learnt that next time we might need some heavier gear and a net or gaff. Sorry for the sub-standard iPhone photos and lengthy ramble. May everyone’s 2013 be happy and fishy. Carl

Great fish mate, and on a lure, and with that gear!

Thanks Grant. Forgive me if this sounds silly but just trying to clarify for future. I found the weed in a freshwater stream, running into the salt, but above the high tide line. Can I still store this in salt water, or is fresh better? Cheers Carl

Thanks Roberta, much appreciated. Will do, thanks mate. Hehe.

Raiders, Went for a wander/flick this afternoon and stumbled upon some primo blackfish weed. Won't have a chance to use it before saturday/sunday so was curious as to the best way to keep it? In the fridge? Bagged/unbagged? Any other tips? It's the best stuff I've found so far so don't want to waste it. Thanks Carl

Sorry for the slow reply, much appreciated, will try incorporate that if we take a 'yak next time.

Sounds great, looking forward to it.