aidanhoh

Hi mate, If you're around Manly, then you don't have to go far. Most of the land based spots in the Harbour around there will potentially produce squid - from the Old Gasworks around to Manly Cove and across to North Harbour. Try difference spots and move around a bit to find the weed beds. As for techniques, just aim to keep the jig near to the bottom without snagging up, and retrieve either with short sharp jerks with the rod or a slow lift and drop. You will likely lose quite a few jigs at the beginning but as you get a better feel for the drop of the jigs and the depths you are fishing, that should reduce. Good luck.

If you'd still like to tangle with some kingies, the nearby rocks at North Curl Curl are worth a go. Easy access, relatively safe as ledges are quite high. Definitely need rockfishing boots or cleats as there are some very slippery sections. Live bait, poppers or gars skipped on the surface are the go. I haven't managed to get one there myself yet but have seen them hooked and caught. Have caught mack tuna, bonito, salmon and tailor spinning there though. Also caught a few snapper with a big cast (80-100m). Sure there's some drummer there as well, especially from the gutter at the north end of the platform, but haven't fished for them there myself. Aidan

Awesome report. I've fished Lyell and caught a couple of fish but nothing even close to that. Will have to get back up to the mountains again soon.

No idea of depth as I was fishing from the shore. Bait was only 15m from shore so couldn't be much more than 3m in guessing.

Nice catch. Think I caught the same type of shark yesterday morning from the beach. Released mine but would be interested if anyone does know what type of shark it is, and whether it's any good to eat. Noted that mine had smooth grey skin and very fine small teeth in the short time it was out of the water.

Managed to get out for a quick mid week fish in harbour. Had some frozen squid in the freezer so took a bait rod as well as my usual rod for flicking SPs and vibes. And a good thing too as. It was certainly the bait rod producing the goods today. The squid baits produced a good sized bream (c30cm), a big leatherjacket and this 59cm king which gave a great fight on 8lb line. All released except for the leatherjacket. Did also manage a 25cm trevally on a 80mm Wriggler which also went back to grow bigger. A little quiet but good to get out for a quick fish midweek.

To accurately help answer your questions, a bit more info about what your intending on targeting, how you intend to target them, and what your budget is would be useful. I can't comment on baitcasters as I have no experience with them but if I were to buy a versatile mid-upper level outfit based on what you've described, I would for look for a c.10ft rod with a rating of 4-8kg to match a 4000 sized reel. I personally use a Daiwa Seajigger 315 with a 2500 Shimano Sustain FE and 8lb and 10lb braid for anything from light beach fishing for bream & whiting, light rock fishing for bream, luderick & drummer, spinning for bonito, salmon & tailor from the rocks and beaches, and spinning for jewfish in the estuary. The same rod though also matches my 5000 sized Shimano Stradic FJ so would also match the 4000 sized reel you intend on getting. Other rods that are similar include the Shimano T-curve 1062 Spin, or the Daiwa Lateo Pirates 106M. As for the reel, I really like my Shimano Stradic FJ 5000 and have had no problems with it, but I'm sure anything around that price point will get you a very good reel for the purpose. Re line class, for a 4000 sized reel, I would probably spool up with 15lb braid and change leader strength (from 6-20lb) depending on what I'm targeting.

There are lots of different bits of advice out there on spinning reel maintenance so I think there's a lot of personal preference involved. For what it's worth, I use the following routine to maintain my reels: 1. Tighten the drag then run the line under warm water from a tap for about 1 minute. Started doing this after some corrosion problems on the spools of my Sustain, theory being that salt dissolves easier with warm water than cold. 2. Using a spray bottle, lightly spray the whole reel until damp. Then shake off excess water and wipe off the rest with a paper towel or dry cloth. Spin the handle fast a few times as well to fling any water out from the rotor. Also remember to loosen the drag before packing it away. 3. Give the spindle of grip on the handle and the elbow of the handle a light spray of Inox. Then spray some Inox onto a cloth and give the whole reel a wipe down. Don't spray over the whole reel as its a degreaser as well, so you don't want it getting into the reel. 4. I also usually put a drop of oil into the line roller every couple of trips but after say 5-6 trips, I normally take apart the line roller assembly and clean/regrease. Also worth putting a dab of light grease on the reel shaft after about 5-6 trips, As for a major service, that depends on level of exposure it's had to water and sand. If it's gone in the water or sand's worked it's way into the reel, then I would strip the entire reel to clean and regrease (with some if my older, simpler reels), though for my newer reels, they would go back to Shimano for a full service.

Swordie, Sure there are better and more experienced drummer fishraiders than me out there (have only fished for them 3 times and have only caught 3 keepers) but if no one else is forthcoming, more than happy to show you the ledge I fish for them. It's easy to access and pretty safe. Will be certainly be targeting them more regularly as the water cools over the next few months. Aidan

I have the heavy Sensor Surf 13ft. Haven't hooked a big jewie on it but sure it would handle almost anything from the beach. Very solid rod.

A slightly delayed report. Managed to hit the local ledges on the Northern Beaches on Sunday and Monday. Sunday morning saw me again casting at the horizon for pelagics. Quieter than in recent weeks but still some surface activity with a school of pilchard sized baitfish taking flight every now and then trying to evade some unseen predator. Managed to hook 2 bonnies, one of which managed to shake the hooks, whilst the other ended up as sashimi. Yesterday hit the rocks again, this time loaded with about 6 loaves of stale/mouldy bread that had been taking up most of the limited real estate in my freezer. Made burley with about 5 of those loaves, keeping one for bait. Burleyed aggressively to try and get the fish going but only managed to catch kelpies and undersized drummer. After about 2 hours, was down to my last couple of slices of bait. Rerigged about the 5th time after the most recent snag and chucked out the ball of bread that was moulded onto a size 2 baitholder hook. As the bait drifted down the water column to the bottom, the line suddenly sprung tight which started a 5 minute tug of war with the biggest drummer I've ever caught. The landing was certainly touch and go as I was using light gear (Shimano Catana Coastline Light, 8lb Fireline, 14lb trace), but after about 5 attempts, managed to wash the fish up. Measured 45cm and very fat. Didn't weight it but I would guestimate at least 2kg. I would also add that the pan fried fillets from it I had for dinner tonight was up there with the best fish I've ever eaten. Was like blue eye trevella in texture and taste. I'll definitely be chasing these bad boys over the winter! All the best. Aidan

Agree with novice fisherman. Those are all quite big/heavy which might not be ideal for prolonged spinning. What are you targeting and what line class are you intending to fish? My heavy spin reel is a Biomaster 6000 which is probably same as a Daiwa 4500 sized reel, on which I run 30lb braid. I'm confident that I can land most fish I'm likely to encounter spinning on the beach or rocks with it, with the exception of really big kings and longtails, but otherwise, I can't see any fish taking more than 300m at 5kg drag. As for the reels, I haven't any personal experience with them so can't comment.

Didn't measure or weigh them as I wanted to get em back into the water quickly. I'd estimate circa 4kg as they seemed about 4x the weight of the bonnies I got.

Kooks, Using a Sebile 114mm suspending Stick Shadd. As for outfit, a 10 1/2 ft 20-30lb outfit with a 6000 sized reel and 30lb braid. This is my heavy outfit for kings, although probably not heavy enough for the real monsters. I also run a lighter 12-20lb outfit which is a rod of 9 1/2 ft and a 5000 sized reel. 9ft should be okay for most ledges and certain 6-8kg would be enough for most of the fish you'll likely encounter except for the aforementioned big kings. Not sure though the Jewel will cast 60g very well though. My brother has one and he can cast comfortably up to about 45g but from there it struggles a bit. But then, majority of lures I use are up to 45g except for the larger poppers so should handle most of lures for high speed spinning. Aidan Aidan

Just the Northern Beaches. Don't have the luxury of travelling for hours and fishing a whole day anymore.

Had another successful short spin session at my local rock ledge this morning. On sunrise, was working a large jet popper for kings which a bonnie took a liking to. After quickly landing him, switched to a metal baitfish imitation to see if I could score a few more. As the metal made its way back a second time, it got smashed by something that was obviously bigger. Thought it might have been a really big bonnie or rat king but after a 5 minute tussle, washed up my first ever mack tuna (pictured)! Didn't want to keep him so only took a couple of quick snaps on the phone before release. Resharpened the hooks and resumed pinging out the metal towards the horizon. A couple of casts later, it got smashed again but another mack tuna which could have been its twin, which was also quickly released. Unfortunately, let the little metal lure sink a bit too long and lost it to a snag. Switched to my favourite lure, a Sebile Stick Shad, which promptly resulted in another average bonnie. Gotta love the Stick Shad, casts well, gives you a rest from cranking flat out with thr metals, and has caught me just about every pelagic that swims in Sydney - kingies, bonnies, salmon and tailor. Calmed down after that, at about 7.30, and after another 45mins, called it a day. Great spinning from the stones at the moment. Water's warm and plenty of surface action. Saw numerous schools of fish working bait all around the headland and along the beach. Hopefully conditions will allow another dawn session next weekend. Aidan

The Black Hole Magic Eye is awesome but not cheap! You're looking at c.$600. With the heavy popping rods though, they are a lot more powerful, especially if you're fishing heavy braid on a reel that can handle it, which should allow you to turn them and force them up at the rocks (in most cases anyway).

Hi mate, I am in a similar situation to you. I currently use a Daiwa SJ106MH (20-30lb) and Biomaster SW6000 as my heavy spin outfit. I've looked for a heavier10ft+ outfit and have come across the Black Hole Magic Eye 1062S which would definitely handle 50-80lb line, but for specifically targeting big kings with lures, I now think a heavy popping rod in the 8-9ft range would be better. It would work big popper better and be more effective in fighting big kings. Your current outfit should handle kings to 1m (I've landed kings to 97cm on my outfit), just a question of whether you want to specialise in going for the really big ones. Aidan

Oops, accidentally hit reply before I was finished. Was just going to say that I also use Powerpro from 4lb to 30lb and I have had far less problems with wind knots as it is fused and thus stiffer, which I don't mind. Might be an alternative to consider.

Use 20lb Sunline Super PE on my Stradic 5000 and did have wind know issues for the first few sessions I used it, but think that was due to overfilling. Since losing about 30m if braid, haven't had an issue with wind knots since. If you're after an alternative, on all my

Went for a quick flick for flatties in North Harbour on Wednesday during the falling tide. Pretty quiet but managed to score this 43cm model on a 40mm Strikepro vibe. That was after getting no interest on 100mm Squidgie Wrigglers for about an hour. Also landed a smaller version shortly after that which was released. Aidan

That is a huge trevally for Sydney. I think I'd prefer catching a 70cm trev to a 70cm king given how the 40cm ones I've encountered fight. Well done!

Don't have any experience with the reel myself but have been following reviews of the new Penn Spinfisher V as I am a big fan of the SS series and still have an 850SS. This is probably the most comprehensive and unbiased review you'll find about it anywhere and worth reading, especially if you want to know the limitations of the reel. http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/spf.html

jdanger, The SJ96M is actually 9ft6in long. I personally prefer rods from 9ft to 11ft for spinning from the rocks but I know plenty of people who do use shorter rods (down to 7ft). At the other end, you can certainly go up to 12ft (or beyond) but it will likely mean you tire quicker given the repeated casting. The fatigue factor also means a clear preference for graphite for me, although it is more fragile and limits the size of fish you can deadlift out of the water. I would look for something around 10ft as a good starting point. Re reel size, for 15-20lb braid, I think that a 4000 or 5000 sized reel is about right, especially considering it needs to balance a c.10ft rod. A 3000 sized reel might be okay but probably not balance as well. Hope the above helps. Any good tackle store should be able to point you in the right direction. You just need to have a clear idea where you'll likely be fishing, what you're targeting and what lures you'll be using most of the time. Aidan

Hi mate, I was using a Daiwa SJ96M rod and a Shimano Stradic 5000FJ with 20lb Sunline braid. Good little outfit as it can cast as light as 10g (the Wander I was using is only 12g yet I was getting nearly 40m on the cast today, albeit in ideal conditions) and up to 60g. Pretty strong too as I've landed a couple of 75cm kingies from the rocks with it. Aidan