aidanhoh

Hi Raiders, Had a quick spin for bonnies my local ocean ledge this morning. Perfect conditions with a small 1m swell and light westerlies helping with the casting distance. Sunrise saw some surface activity only a few metres from the ledge but frustratingly they weren't biting on the small white metal baitfish I was chucking at them. Switched to a 58mm silver Waxwing which I had success with in the harbour last week but despite numerous retrieves through the surface boils. didn't get a single strike. Changed lures again, this time to a 80mm whitebait pattern Wander, and on it's second cast, there was a sudden halt to my retrieve as a 39cm bonnie (pictured) smashed into it. After a short fight, it was hauled up onto the ledge and dispatched. A couple of casts later, another bonnie ate the little Wander on the drop. Unfortunately the hooks pulled just as it got to the edge of the platform. A few casts after that, another hook up but again the hooks pulled at my feet. Wasn't till I got home before I realised one of the trebles had straightened. The little Wander now sporting some extra strong Owners. One fish more than enough for my needs, so happy with the result given the short session to 8am. The bonnies were definitely feeding in close this morning, but only on small, translucent baitfish given the other offerings they passed up on. Aidan

Re rig, I use a 5oz (140g) snapper lead running on the main line down to a red bead, then a short piece (c.3cm) of red tubing before a knot to a swivel. Then a short 30cm trace to a single 3/0-5/0 hook. The tubing is there to minimise twisting of the trace around the main line on the cast. Trace and shock leader s strength should be at least 40lb as that also helps prevent the trace twisting on the cast, plus it will hold up to the stress of casting the 5oz sinker. I use a threadline and run 30lb Powerpro on it and then tie a 40lb shock trace. You can get away with lighter gear at spots where you don't need to cast too far, but where I fish, I need to put in casts of at least 80m to avoid a definite snag.

As the previous post said, bread or prawn baits work well, especially with bread burley. Also, you should use a larger hook as their mouth is quite strong and can easily crush/bend small/light hooks. I'd use at least size 6 and normally size 2s or even larger.

With the seas and the wind back down, decided to hit the stones again for another long-range rockfishing session. This time, finally managed to bag a couple of legal (32-33cm) reds after half a dozen failed attempts. Have caught plenty of red rock cod, green eels, and just undersized snapper in the past few months, but different story today. Only had a fillet of salted slimy for bait and only had two hook-ups, but both were from the specimens pictured below. Just need to upsize the bag now...

Up to 20lb braid, I normally use a slim beauty with about 13 turns (6-7 up, 6-7 back). If really light braid onto light leader (eg 4lb onto 4lb, I normally just use a double uni as it gets a bit too hard sometimes to thread the braid through the little mono figure 8). For 30lb (and sometimes 20lb if I have the time) I will use the FG knot (awesome knot when tied properly, just takes a bit more time and you need a lighter on you to melt the mono/flouro to create the stopper).

Bonito are great eating. I either have them raw as sashimi or carpaccio, in fish curries or stews, and in fish tacos (either grilled or fried). Once cooked, actually similar in texture to chicken.

Whiting? That's amazing. What size & colour did you catch them on?

I was using the 58mm (12g) version in silver. Have tried the larger ones but haven't had any success on them. The smaller ones seem to be working at the moment though, probably because they match the little baitfish schooling around the harbour. They are expensive vs the usual metals that you chuck around the rocks, but they make a good change, as they cast almost as well, don't require an all out retrieve, and swim just under the surface where most of the action takes place. The last point also means they are unlikely to snag, as you don't need to let them sink before beginning the retrieve and they skim over the snags as you get close to shore, especially with double hooks rather than trebles. Only one I've lost is from the leader breaking due to a wind knot on a cast.

After 2 days of studying and with 2 days of workshops ahead, decided last minute that I had to get out for a quick spin this morning. Ended up on one the rocky points in Manly Harbour with my ever versatileShimano Catana Light and old Daiwa PR1600H outfit. A few casts in, a school of baitfish started jumping out of the water in front of me, and at that moment the little Waxwing I was retrieving got smashed by a little Watsons Leaping Bonito. Tried to put up a fight, and had its mate encouraging it all the way in, but didn't stand a chance on 8lb line. Continued casting the little Waxwing and did get another hit but no hook up this time, and unfortunately that was all the action for the short session. Good sign though that the water is clearing and warming up again with Leaping Bonito in the harbour.

Don't have a Saros but have played with them recently in my local tackle shop when I was looking for a 2500 sized reel. Got to compared it to the Symmetre, Stradic FJ, Stradic Ci4 and Sustain FG. In terms of smoothness it was difficult to pick them apart. Think the main difference though between the Saros and the Stradic is the body material which is this new XGT7 graphite (vs aluminium for the Stradic FJ although the rotor and the sideplate are graphite as well) and the Saros drag is not waterproof. The Saros was also a little heavier (about 20g in the 2500 size) so it depends how important that is to you. Personally, I would prefer the Stradic FJ as I got one of the 5000 size when they first came out and it's been faultless and probably the smoothest reel I've ever owned (and still as smooth today 18mths on). Further, although not critical, I will always prefer to have a lighter reel if possible, for the same level of performance. Question is whether those minor differences are worth the extra money to you, as I'm pretty sure fishing performance wise, there is very little difference between them. For what it's worth, the sales person at the tackle store did say he recently bought the Saros himself instead of a Stradic Ci4 (which he was initially going to buy) because he felt it was better value given the minor differences.

I fished Narrawallee beach (near the island in the middle of the beach) back in January and managed 5 good sized keeper bream and a couple of just undersized whiting. Beach worms are the gun bait according to the locals I spoke to there but I couldn't catch any. However I had good success with live nippers pumped from the inlet. Those baits might be worth a try.

Good work. Always good to get that first one on a lure to build some confidence in them.

Although I don't fish it much anymore, Clifton Gardens tended to be very hit and miss in my experience, with more misses than hits. If there are baitfish or squid about, then there's usually a bit more activity from the kingies and salmon/tailor in the area. Otherwise, try to generate some activity with lots of burley, which should attract any trevally or bream around, and might fire up the luderick (if you're using bread burley/bait) that hang around there. Your best bet though is probably the resident population of leatherjackets which can be caught on small prawn baits on small long shank hooks dropped next to the pylons.

Likewise, I have a few of the red head glow Berkley jigs in size 2, 2.5 and 3, and they have all caught squid in Sydney Harbour recently for me.

If you're looking for an outfit to start spinning from the rocks for bonnies, salmon, etc.., you should be looking for a rod at least 9ft in length, casting range of 20-60g, and 6-10kg line. I use a Daiwa Shore Jigging 9ft6in rod but cheaper options might be their Crosscast or Seabass range, or Catana or Starlo Classix range from Shimano. As for reels, you want something that will hold at least 200m of your chosen line class with a retrieve ratio c.6x preferably. I use a Stradic 5000FJ and 20lb braid, but you could look at the Symetre 4000 or something similar from Daiwa. Much depends from how much you want to spend. I find that high speed spinning though tends to be pretty hard on the rod and reel because you're generally casting as far as possible and retrieving as quickly as possible, so it pays to get gear as good as you can justify. Aidan

No worries. Hope you get a few on lures. Good luck!

Metals (Halco Slices, Spanyid Raiders, Surecatch Knights, or any of the many baitfish profiles) probably best for distance and Pelagics. Also had success with poppers (Halco Roosters) and stick baits (Sebile Stick Shads, Daiwa Sliders) which don't require fast retrieves but don't cast as far. And if you're specifically targeting kingies from the rocks and have the wind to your back, then big plastic stick baits work well (9in Sluggos especially). You can also cast the larger paddle tail soft plastics (Storm Shads for example) and get flatties and jewies from the beach. As for bream/trevally, have heard that you can get them from the rocks with little wriggler type soft plastics but haven't tried it myself. Almost any lure can probably work on their day and if the fish are about but being land based, choice is normally limited by casting distance. Aidan

I would go for the Stradic FJ. I don't have a 3000 size but the 5000 I have has been brilliant.

That is a dream outfit for spinning from the shore! Good luck.

Stradic FJ below $300. Sustain FG if you can stretch above it.

Hi mate, I get down there once or twice a year and usually manage a few fish from the beach. Have caught bream, whiting, salmon and jewfish from Narrawallee Beach. As for bait, you can get beach worms and pippis from the beach if you know how, and you can pump nippers from the flats in the inlet. There's also plenty of mullet in the inlet as well which you can catch with bread baits. Obviously look for a good gutter to fish, or fish around the bommie/reef in the middle of beach, and at the north end of the beach towards the headland. As usual, I find most of the action around dawn/dusk and after dark. Good luck.

If its a surf popper, it works best at the top of a paternoster rig with half/whole pilchard below. You can also add a strip of squid or fish bait to increase the attractiveness of the popper, but I've caught salmon and bonito on them without bait on the popper. Think fish are attracted by the pilchard bait below but will often take the popper first, especially if they are feeding in a school. Haven't fished them without the bait below so can't say how they would work on their own. Will probably catch fish but will depend more on passing fish rather than fish that are drawn in by the bait. Haven't used snapper snatchers/catchers so can't comment.

I've got a Stradic FJ and would definitely recommend them. I've got the 5000 and run 20lb braid off it (get about 230m of powerpro on it), so I'd probably look at the 6000 at least, though preferably the 8000 (same size body, just a deeper spool and thus more line capacity). Think there's little between the Stradic FJs amd the Sustain FG's. Sustains just a little more refined with a few more ball bearings, so would say it's up to personal styling preferences and how much you want to spend.

Hi mate, I'm also land based and some of your recent struggles are probably due to the cold/clear water the past couple of months. You should find things improving from here on but I'm happy to meet up for a fish sometime to help out (PM me). I've also struggled of late with lures so certainly can't guarantee fish, but during the warmer months, I tend to pick up a fish or two (mostly flattys) most trips. Aidan

That would depend on how thick the leader is, and how different the diameters are between the braid and leader. If you're using similar diameter lines, then something as simple as a 5 turn surgeons knot would do the trick being both strong and slim profile. If there's a big difference between the braid and leader diameters and you're using thick leader (ie. 40lbs+), I think the best are the PR or FG knots which are both very strong and slim profile. Downside is they both take a bit of time to tie and so I only tie them at home before going out. On the water though, if I needed to tie on another leader, I would then use the slim beauty or the improved Albright knot, although I'm tending to favour the Albright the more I've used both knots. Sure there's plenty of other knots out there but these are the ones I've had experience with.