inhlanzi

The way I see it is 1. We live in a country where are allowed to vote. In fact you have to! 2. We can, as the people, change the government of the day. 3. What ever party you choose to vote for do it but DO NOT WASTE YOUR VOTE by not voting! Our duty, as the people, is to keep the balance - as someone once said "Keep the buggers honest!" cheers inhlanzi

Hey Zenman "Do they still commercially fish in the Hawksbury?" They are out there every day 24hrs a day!!! Trawlers (and there are a few new ones too) and netters (nets are 600m long and they lay them across the fish highways ) and cage trappers... But let me say this if the commercial guys are fishing within the law then I fully support them because it it a very hard way to make a living so it is the lawmakers who need to have a good look at things... I went to the Harbour last Saturday with some mates and we watched ( CMG - cant say his name ) a well known sydney guide catch squid on demand and then proceed to catch a nice jew +_ 1m and a 80 something king and real close to the Opera house tooand all this in just a few hrs. I just find the Harbour so so busy with all the yachties and ferries and much prefer the tranquility of the Hbury. The birds in the Hberry have become beggars following the trawlers and living off the leftover bait at the boat ramps. I talk to a lot of Jewfishos and this year has not been good at all. By this time last year I had at least ten fish between 5 and 10 kg. This year I have fished more and harder and have not got one!!! Most of the guys that I fish with had fish over 20 and some over 30 kgs and this year all I know of is two schoolies of around 5kgs!! Also I was getting a lot of large flatties (over 80cm) and only one this year. At the HBury Classic there were a few ( someone got an 18kg cleaned and gilled ) but when you consider there were a thousand anglers out there to win some good prizes the catch was pretty poor. What I fear most for the Hawkesbury is imbalance that could happen when a species becomes dominant. Like at night you can't fish Juno with cut bait because the lice destroy your baits and the fish won't come near them. There were also millions of jellyfish this year up the Cowan and in some places they are sill everywhere. Also the Hailtail this year were very small and only ran for a few weeks. Your livie is more likely to be taken by a squid than a fish. There is minimal bird action these days and you will be hard pressed to find a baitballs on a regular basis. I fish a lot with different blokes - some experts and others beginners and everything in between and with all their tricks, methods and beginners luck I can't say I have much to report from the Hawkesbury this year. Just my observations from this years fishing but from my point of view things are not good. cheers inhlanzi

G'day Taps Yes I usually spend a lot of time getting bait. I use a sibiki six hook rig, a sibiki three hook rig, and also a long shank 12 on its own and then various metal slices and lures. I try catch yakka, tailor, yt pike, slimeys, garies, mullet, biddies (herring) With the sabiki add a little cubes pilchard, squid or other fish flesh. Change sinker to suit the current. There are a couple of "bait stations" in the Hawkesbury but you can pull up in most of the regular spots and catch a few. A bit of fine burley as well as a mushed up loaf of old bread will always attract them as well. Good to hear you got something in the channel. I just had heavy gear on board yesterday there was little chance of the smaller fish being caught. Prawn is excellent for smaller fish in the Hawkesbury. I wanted to catch the fish that eat those smaller fish!!! I really enjoyed the cloudy conditions yesterday. cheer inhlanzi Yea, I would love to know what the ratio of shovel noses, rays, and eels is to jewfish... two weeks ago I got 9 eels in a row!!!

G'day Raiders Managed to spend the whole day out on the river yesterday. I was after big Jewies. A mate got me +_ 10 kg of good quality fish baits. Loaded up my eskie at the boat ramp and off to a run in spot before dawn and set out four rods. I knew I had enough good bait for two good sessions. Usually at this particular spot a cut bait does not last long and invariably you just get a head back after being mauled by peckers. Most times when I retrieved the baits they were untouched! There were 3 other boats lined up with me but sad to say nobody turned a reel all session. The tides are really big at the moment so a good anchor and sea anchors are a must. I then moved to a run out spot and had another three hour session. There were two other boats at the spot with me. One of the blokes got two shovel nose sharks and a small Port Jackson all taken on squid. I got a small stingray. The other boat got a good strong hit and made the reel scream a bit but it turned out to be a big stingray. Several schools of really small tailor were on the chew. They were really getting stuck into some small white bait. Several gulls and a Pelican followed them as the tide took the schools down the river. It looked very fishy! Had heaps of bait left headed to a low tide spot. Got a nice hit there and it turned out to be a decent size shovel nose. All quiet after that so headed back to the run in spot. I got there three and a half hours before the top of the tide. Set 3 lines and lay back on the front of the boat. As I was having a bit of a day dream I see the outside rod slowly buckle and then the reel starts to scream. Leap up and grab the rod. I lost about 50m of line before I could put the brakes on. Ay this point the heart is pumping in anticipation but I realise it is not a jewie as the fish rapidly heads towards the surface. A large dark brown shape appears and reveals itself as very large stingray (tail has been cut off). With some nifty work with the gaff and the pliers carefully get the hook out and set the big fella free. The tide continued and all I got back were untouched baits. One of the boats near us got a really good hit at the top of the tide on a squid skirt the reel screamed for about five seconds but sadly the leader parted near the hook. All in all another different but amazing day out on the river. As summer fast approaches here is a tip for beginner boaters - If you see people fishing at anchor give them a bit of space when you go past. If you want to approach them SLOW DOWN go around to where their anchors are, approach from the bow ( that is the front of their boat ). If you want to really piss off a jew fisherman drive up to him over his baits and into his lines. Consider this - Most jewfishermen I know spend a lot of time and money to get their boat, gear and bait just right for the trip an the tidal sessions. They travel a long way and make big concessions both with work and family to fish at just at the right time. So when you drive up to a group of boats fishing at anchor be aware of where their lines and baits may be. Please try not top drop your anchor on or near their baits. Remember a big Jewie will run for quite a distance before it can be turned and stopped. The Hawkesbury is a fantastic resource and a little bit of common sense and common courtesy would go a long way to help all enjoy the river. In conclusion after yesterday and numerous trips this year I have to worry about the state of the Hawkesbury when in four different spots quality bait comes back mostly without being touched. Is it just me or are there other Hawkesbury fishos who have had the same experience? cheers inhlanzi

Hope to give a Craig a bit of support on Sunday if all goes well

G'day Raiders I don't know if any of you have been following these two very very brave young men, but this is well well worth a look... http://www.crossingtheditch.com.au/index.html Kahunas of steel!!!!!!! The thought of spending the night on one of those past the shelf gives me the shivers... I wish them all the very best and I really hope they make it. cheers inhlanzi PS wonder if they are gonna do any fishing???

G'day Tree Reading that sent a shiver down my spine!! Good to hear you are back in one piece and got most of your gear back. Get some wine bags / noodles / soccer balls etc and fill up those cavities You do realise you are now a member of a very exclusive club - THE STELLA UNDERWATER CLUB I am sure Ceph will welcome you with open arms.. cheers inhlanzi

Another excellent report Mako - well done !

Good stuff zenman good start to the season - nice looking jew. Did you get a weight? cheers inhlanzi

G'day Claxton If you want to know about the Hawkesbury click on "Articles" and there you will find a series of articles written by Ken Alexander about the Hawkesbury. If you follow his advice you will catch and learn heaps. cheers inhlanzi

I bought a tub of them. 8cm minnows ( smelt ) I use them mainly to catch Tailor for bait. The tub leaks if you don't put the lid on perfectly. So I decanted them into another container. I now use the berkely tub to store other hardbody lures and spoons. The thing I like the most is the ability to revive the old ones. I also chuck other lures and spoons in the liquid as well. The finish on some of them does not seem to be as good as the packet ones ie there are some deformed ones amongst them. As to catching more or not. I would say about the same as the normal ones. my 5c worth cheers inhlanzi

Hey Kiwi Dan So my questions are. Why do you put the leader on and whats the benefit? shock absorbtion, visibility, ease of knott tying, makes tackle shops heaps of cash selling short pieces of mono at high prices! How long should I make the leader? 1 to 2 m. I start longer and as you change lures etc it gets shorter. Should I tie it straight to the braid or put a swivel on? I prefer straight to braid with less then 30 lb and swivels on 50 and 80lb. There are many knots you can use but I my favourite is the bimini and double uni. Learn to do a bimini with braid and then a double 4 turn uni. 4 for the double braid and 4 for the leader. Trim the ends neatly and add a dab of superglue if you want to be really finniky. I have used this on King jigging ( a really harsh test of knots ) and it works great. Remember if you are using braid you must put a length of mono on the spool first oherwise the braid wil slip and spin under pressure on the spool. Hope this helps cheers inhlanzi

Hey Jewgaffer Interesting point about the hook placement. Do you mean A or B as per the illustration cheers inhlanzi

G'day Raiders Had a job cancelled at the last moment so got up early and hit the Hawkesbury in search of the ever elusive Jew. I launched ay ATB and ran straight into a very thick fog. I like to think I know the waterway very well but even so at times it was so thick I had no idea where I was. The plan was to track down some livies - tailor, yakka, pike, squid etc and head to one of the spots and have a spread out for the high tide. Whilst driving through the mist it was so thick I had to stop for a bit. I heard some splashing I saw some surface action near by. The gods were smiling on me a school of tailor busting up within 20 m. I like to have a small spin stick at the ready with a 5g halco slice attached. Tailor in the mist! In 15 minutes I had a good supply of nice tailor. I made my way out into the basin and headed for the yakka spot. There were some big showings on the sounder so down with the sabiki and pretty soon had all the yakka I needed. I knew the NE was going to come in the afternoon so I positioned myself so the tide didn't have much affect on where I was sitting. At this point I was well ahead of schedule so I thought what the hell and sent out 4 livies. Nothing much happened for about two hours or so and all lives were swimming quite happily. I was contemplating moving to another spot when I heard the sound all Jewfishermen love to hear... the braid screaming through the eyes of my texie. Its hard not to panic a bit but I have to say I stood and watched as the rod buckled over and the line peeled off. I took the rod out the holder and I was well clear of any obstacles so I took it easy on applying the drag. I could feel the thump thump and this was a good fish. Then as suddenly as it started it stopped. The fish had spat the bait... I left the bait there for a while and nothing. Reeled the bait in and I got my tailor back with a big crushing bite in the side. The Jewie must have grabbed him from the tail and charged off with him and let go after a big run. Sometimes I have a a trailing stinger hook but sadly not today. I caught a big 2m pike eel (live tailor) and a nice fat salmon (live yakka) All in all a good day on the water and anyway just to see the rod buckle and the reel scream made the trip all worth while - bring on the warm weather. cheers inhlanzi

It is A who should take credit for the capture. cheers inhlanzi

Nice one sammy Good brace of gasbottles!!! Good pics and report cheers inhlanzi

Hey Chewy My mates caught his little brother! This one went 50kg and 1,5m These "barbel" or vundu will eat the crock if they get half a chance... Cheers inhlanzi

G'day Ross Thanks for sharing that awsome story with us! I really hope that your book gets out there one day. Wow... images of the perfect storm. I am glad it is you who have given us small boat guys the warning. Coming from you I think it carries a lot more weight. Take heed Raiders this gentleman knows what he is talking about!!! The temptation to chase the fish out wide is there, especially with the advent of the internet, and a lot more anglers being able to tell of their catches and this leads to blokes going where they shouldn't go. Sure you will get away with it most times but when you don't its going to cost you BIG. Ross I never knew you started Marlin Broadbill. You may be pleased to know I have had many a day out there on the big blue in my mates 660 Marlin Broadbill. Thanks for the story and the advice. cheers inhlanzi

Guts and gills out asap and put on ice preferably salt water ice to keep chilled Off to my local butcher who cuts the fish up into steaks Brush steaks top and bottom with olive oil Lightly grill watch for white colour and turn grill other side add a little salt and pepper and serve with a mild lemon garlic butter sauce and salad yumfriggino one of my most favourite seafood dishes cheers inhlanzi

Nice to see hose hump head reds off Sydney Well done guys cheers inhlanzi

Gday Raiders Well here is a quick rundown of the day. I got a call from a good mate who asked if I would like to go and chase some kings out wide. Chances are we will bag out he said - yea right. Greeted by an amazing weather day we headed out out into the deep we got to the area and tossed out the jigs. Down down down they went the braid changing colour as it left the spools of the Saltigas. Then the franic wind and jerk begins - some have the rhythm and some don't - lets just say I have not yet achieved an optimum jigging style. At this point there was a bit of I wanna go first ... then the first hit and the Saltist buckled and the game was on for the young and strong and the old and buggered!!! The next two hours saw numerous passes over the mark and more and more hookups. The Kings ranged from 60 something to over a meter. The Kings were interspersed with nice fat bonnies. The chance to be on the jig rod was now not such an issue and there were "would you like to have a go mate?" followed by "no mate your right!!! The water temp was about 16-17.5 range and the water colour was nice and blue. I saw big strong men put the rod down yesterday to have a breather. There a are a lot of good blisters on the hands of the jiggers this morning. I now know why those Japanese fellows on the TV fishing shows wear gloves. It reached a point where we would "share the jig" you hook him and I will pull them in. At this point the obligatory spew took place. Hanging over the side and eyeballing a mollyhawk him thinking yummo human burley - all part of fishing in the deep!!!. Anyway recovered soon enough with all the action going on. In the end we kept about 18 Kings and four bonnies. I reckon we caught well over 20 for the morning. We then continued with a much less energetic bottom bash for reds. The weater jut got better and better. Got one keeper reddie as well as blue morwong, pike, flattie, sgt bakers, and of course the ^%$@ leatheries. Pulled the pin at 3 and went home. If you have not had a go at jigging Kings make an effort to do so it is a fantastic way of fishing. For obvious reasons I can't divulge the location but I can say this if you know how to use a sounder and you know where good structure is get you jigging gear ready and go and have go. Cheers inhlanzi

I would be interested thanks Donna Day for me on a weekend. Cheers inhlanzi

G'day Fishraiders How about a section for Kiwis called Fushraider? Just kidding How about a how to section on making up rigs. Complete with illustrations and pictures. I know I spend a lot of time finding the right rig for the right species. Kinds of Leader, Knotts , Swivels, Traces, Floats, Sinkers, Lengths etc etc Cheers inhlanzi

Thanks Kamil

G'day Raiders I will add a few pics for Jewgaffer of our trip in the Hawkesbury River yesterday. Pic of jewgaffer with a shovelnose at the rail bridge on the Hawkesbury. Jewgaffer in action with the tiger rods. cheers inhlanzi