inhlanzi

G'day Raiders Went early yesterday to fish for Kings in the Harbour. My mate had had a good day a few days ago and asked if I wanted to come along. SURE!! Having read read a lot of reports of the raiders doing well in the Harbour I was keen to see how good it is. He had a plan and stuck to it 100%. Hats of to the skipper. Went straight to catch the livies then tried for squid and then went to the famous spot x. There were a lot of boats around us and was amased at what happened next. I tried to make a cup of coffee twice and was not able to do so - single, double and treble hookups. The whole morning the texies did a lot of bowing to the horizon and the old baitrunners moaned and groaned. We did not loose a single fish all session and with 3 fish on at a time it was fun and games. Here is the skipper with two keepers We kept five fish for the table and gave up counting how many we released. The fish were all between 60 and 80cm. We were hoping for the hoodie but he didn't show up. Well you blokes who fish the harbour have a damm fine system there. There is a BIG difference between the Harbour and Hawkesbury. cheers inhlanzi

G'day Raiders Another late report... Got a call from a mate in the afternoon asking if I want to go for an evening Jewie session. Begged the better half and she let me go! Zoomed down to Brooklyn and went out to the bait grounds. Not in all my time fishing the Hawkesbury I have never seen yakka so hard to catch. We had a great burley trail going and I thought we would fill the livie well in half an hour. The buggers would not touch the jigs baited or unbaited. We changed to single hooks and hand line and still bugger all. You coud see hundreds of them all the time. On the bottom we were catching small trags and jewies at least 20 or more but only a pitiful few yakka. 3 Hours later we had enough for the evening tide. We set the lines as the moon came up and waited. If you have not fished for jewies at night and seen the moon come up over Lion Is give it a go - it is quite special. I was lucky enough to be fishing with a real expert and to watch him go about setting and baiting the lines and go about his business was inspiring. Sadly all that was interested was a shovelnose. However the blokes next to us were luckier and bagged a nice 13kg fish. Well done to George and his mate. George PM me and I can send you the photos. Back to the ramp for a jabber and a few photos. cheers inhlanzi

Kings and Big jewies have severely damaged the plastic bottom plates of my Scotty rod holders which are mounted on a ss rail. I am hoping to get new bottom plates or I will have to replace the lot with ss holders. Cheers inhlanzi

G'day Raiders Post is a bit late but here goes Went for a fish with Humesy last week. Our objective was to get some bait and then try for a Big Jewie. Bait was a bit difficult to find but after a while we had a few yalkka and slimey or two. I decided to put out a live as a "speculator" while we were catchng bait. Out goes the livie uner a small piece of poly and after a few mins gets hit by something. Ah well have another go. This time it got hit by what we think was a small hammer. So loaded up again but this time no poly. After a few mins the texie takes a bow and after a good struggle up come a nice little king. Not bad for a bait session. We moved on to the run in and nothing much happened (pretty usual for Jewfishing) then moved to a run out and again nothing (except eels ) On the way home we ran into pip an he had just caught himself his PB flattie! Pip PM me and I can let you have the rest of the photos. Cheers inhlanzi

G'day little Hooker If its a hoodlum and your drag is too tight or if line loops around an eye....say goodbye to your beloved rod and reel. Better get a lanyard son - a real good one... cheers inhlanzi

Great beach Jewie My guess around the 13kg mark Were you using mono or braid? Well done Jfish and Dad cheers inhlanzi

Good stuff yarraone Glad you came all the way and got some fish. Looking forward to the pics. were you using mono or braid? cheers inhlanzi

G'day Sharkbait As far as my records show this summer has been better for me than last summer. I think the "season" has started at least two months late. Fish only started to fire towards the end of November. There have been a lot of southerlies to contend with this season as well. I agree with the braid theory especially for the schoolies and saopies. I can prove this because by big rods all have braid and the small rods have mono. Often the mono has taken the fish over the braid. Same leaders were used. I use the braid for visibility and durability. Baits this year seem to be very important. Some days it is squid some days its yakka and others mullet , tailor etc. I have caught some Jewies on "Kingie Rigs " this year whilst trying for kings and this leads me to wonder if the average Hawkesbury Jew is getting smarter. There are a lot of people who target them now and the encounters with fishermen must be on the increase. I am beginning to believe that fish recognise fishing line and baited hooks as danger. Let me explain. We were catching bait the other day and there were hundreds of yakka and a few slimies in the burley and they would not touch the jigs at all. ( A week before in the same spot you could get one or more fish on every down). So we changed to handlines and the same not interested at all. They were there for two hours and it was a very frustrating situation. This led me to think that if they are so smart at that early age and know know that a line and hook are danger then an old river Jew is going to be twice as smart. There are hundreds of soapies and Trag about at the moment to the point when fishing for bait they are a nuisance. I think this vear is a different season to what we normally get but the fish are there. I think they are smarter and you have to work harder for your fish. Anyway just my observations and opinions cheers inhlanzi

This is a great topic Here is my contribution - Golden Sunrise - Looking East to Flint and Steel and Lion Island at the entrance to the Hawkesbury cheers inhlanzi

jjbrandy that is a very good lizard Well done If the lip grip is a Berkley then I would say the fish is about 85 to 90 cm. My guess 87cm Good to hear she has gone back to breed wear her new sunnies. cheers inhlnzi

Good stuff Delta looks like you had a great session cheers inhlanzi

G'day Humesy Great fish off the beach there. Hoping you would make it a double and get another in the river. We had no luck yesterday got fed up with dodging all the crap in the water. How did you go in the river? cheers inhlanzi

G'day Raiders A mate of mine has been wanting to take his Dad fishing for quite a while. Eventually he got to go out with him and the River Gods have smiled upon them. The old fella has fished the River for 40 years and today just after dawn a 32kg beast took the bait on his rod! A good tussle ensued and the biggun came aboard. Well done to the both of you. An experience to treasure! Just to show relative size - The eskie (inside measurement) is +-145 cm long Cheers inhlanzi

Hey Tobyb My questions are: What are the advantages of tying doubles on your rig apart from added strength? Lets you attach a swivel with a catspaw knot Lets you have better control of the fish near the boat When you run the sinker swivel down to the terminal swivel you have double strength ( ie sinker swivel will do some damage to the main line thus better to double up ) Lets you pre rig your rods and if you bump the rod tip against something the line is much stronger When should they be used? Trolling Sinker Knot Cut baiting Spoons Poppers Jigs any time you feel the knot will not hold up as it should. It's like fishing insurance How long should the ”double/Loop” be? 6 inches to 2m depends on the circumstance How long should the leader be on the end the double be? 50cm to 2 m again depending on many factors And what is a recommended knot to use to attach? To a swivel - catspaw To mono - allbright or uni Where should a swivel be if needed and knot type? At the end of the double - catspaw Braid: Are there certain knots that are better for braid/ or not be used? Yes Learn the Bimini it is a fantastic knot. Oh, and my Final question: Why is it impossible to go to a tackle store and only buy what you went there for???? My last trip for some sinkers cost me $$160 !!!!! Don't worry go there to buy nothing and still spend heaps - cheers inhlanzi

Get Big Mac to change his name to Freespool!

Thanks Snag good info and site cheers inhlanzi

achjimmy The secret to a good knife is how it feels in your hand and the sharpener and honer you have. I have a couple of Frost Filleting knives and an old wooden handle cheapie for chopping and carving, also a meat cleaver and a rubber mallet for cutlets. I use the Lansky Standard Knife Sharpening system. I put mine in a vice grip and you can get a really good edge on a blade in a few minutes. For fishing I use the 25 degree angle. I then hone the edge to get it really sharp. A sharp knife is essential for good cut baits. Cut on a wood or poly cutting board. cheers inhlanzi

kevlacat I am fast approaching 700hrs on mine and has been the best motor I have owned. ( F100AET ) Motor saved our necks in some big swell a few weeks back. I see you have the binnacle control as well - did it cost extra? If you flush and have scheduled services will last you a long time. enjoy it cheers inhlanzi

Nice mixed bag there slinky Yep spot X is a real good jewie spot!!!! cheers inhlanzi

Poly thats a stonker!!! Well done to you all 160 Blue yahoooo cheers inhlanzi

Great fish guys That is a fine looking Jewie looks closer to 30 than to 20!!!! There must be a good story about this one!! cumon tell us please. Us Jewie addicts live for this stuff... Fishergirl did you get a measurement for the fish? Also if you don't mind me asking what kind of bait and tackle did the boys use? cheers inhlanzi

Have to agree with the leaking problem. You will get the sh1ts with then when they leak all over your tackle bag I decanted them into another container and use the bucket to keep hard body lures and slices in! The "sauce" works great to revive the used ones cheers inhlanzi

mushtaka I feel for you mate. Its hard to swallow a terminal tackle failure especially if you are going for jewies and especially off the beach. See if these tips help you My fisrt and biggest lesson in jewfishing was the tackle to be used. A mate of mine took one look at my rods, reels, line, leaders, swivels, hooks and proclaimed "get that S%&9! off your boat" I was quite shocked and tried to protest but he said if you want to even think of catching big jewies on a regular basis get the right gear. You may be lucky once or twice with smaller stuff but when the monster comes one day you want your tackle to be the last worry. So I changed everything and since then (touch wood) I have not lost a fish because of tackle failure. Other mates have had rods break, reels seize, rodholders break, leaders pop and one or two have been just plain spooled. Now I will be the first to admit not all the culprits are jewies but with the wrong gear you will never know! I got a big one recently and I was convinced it was a big ray for the first 10 mins!! The point being I had the gear to find out. As for leaders - get good quality leader ( I use Jinkai - soft and makes good knots) and retie your leaders for EVERY session! Sounds a bit extreme but I saw may mate who told me about the gear loose two fish in two days on damaged leaders! He had every thing else right except the leaders. I make up a whole lot of leaders before I go and if there is the slightest nick or scratch I get rid of it and stick on a new one. Use good quality swivels. Wash them properly and oil them in fish oil. Make sure there are no burrs on them from wear and tear. The slightest mark on them will rip into a leader when the force is applied. Test your knots! You will be shocked at how easily some of them break. On the end of knots I always burn a little knob to give that extra bit of holding power. There is a knack to this and be very careful not to damage the main line when doing this. I promise you when you do catch the big one it will be all that more special. Don't give up - the next one may be the big one! cheers inhlanzi

Great Photos there nudge. cheers inhlanzi

Brag on Uncle Johnno with a lizard that BIG why not!!! cheers inhlanzi