reeling

Our day started off very slowly yesterday when we went to the Darling Point ferry wharf. Unfortunately, we didn't start until around 2:30pm. Nothing much was happening, and another fisherman was going home due to lack of action. We decided to hang around because it was a beautiful day and while it wasn't as exciting as it could ahve been, my friend managed to pop his fishing cherry with an octopus! There were also a few small snapper and bream around. There were some boys fishing with handreels for big leatherjackets with their grandad, and one of them caught a large crab, but it dropped off just before landing. Anyways, as the sun started to hang low, we decided to move to another spot because we had so much bait left (plus I hadn't caught anything yet). After getting some coffee and sitting in the warm car for a little bit, we went to Birkenhead Point around 7pm. The tide was very low but rising, and we caught a few very small snapper. When I got sick of catching nothing much, I swapped to a shad lure dipped into tuna oil. About 5-10 minutes later something grabbed it and immediately tangled my line into my friend's! We had to reel in at the same time, and boy it must have swum loops around his line because it was pretty knotted up! I was already elated that I had for the first time ever caught something on a plastic lure, and pretty stoked that I had caught my first flathead, FINALLY! What's more, the flathead was legal size, and I even have pics to prove it! He was released promptly after the photoshoot.

Those frozen shelled prawns, only small pieces on the hook, at the start of the session. Frozen worms seem to attract more whiting. Having said that, I've never had the chance to use fresh bait...

Hi guys, I need to replace my old reel and am thinking of spending a bit more, but don't know what's good value. Is something like this worth getting? http://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/products/Okuma-Avenger-30-Fishing-Reel-with-dohhh-SSS19822-Fishing-Rod.html Currently I fish off the shore, whiting and bream, and need a 2 piece rod. If you guys don't think it's worth splashing out then I'll just probably get a $50 combo from *****.. What do you folks reckon? Is it worth the extra dosh?

Was this the real "last cast" or just one in the inevitable series? Great report, and awesome fish! Good luck on the home stretch of the PhD!

Beautiful fish - and land based too! Well done!

Um.... unless you want to start a physical altercation with the offenders or can do it without being seen, that might not be a great idea... Not too long ago, I fished at Birkenhead point and there was a guy there keeping undesized bream in a plastic bag in the bushes 5m behind him. I told him many times that he should throw them back but he just laughed and said that smaller fish are tastier. Obviously I'm not going to push my case against a guy who probably weighs double what I do, and who has no problem with breaking the law...but the saddest bit is that there were TWO other men fishing there, who saw it all, and did not once pipe up and put any sort of opinion in there that the guy should put the fish back *cough* cowards *cough*. One even made a taunt about me not letting up about the undersize fish - wtf is wrong with people?! That upset me so much that I left after about 2 minutes after this. I resolved to call up and complain as soon as I got home, but the fisheries are closed after 4pm or so. Fat lot of help there. I tend to pick up crap every time when I'm at a spot just because I like a clean area and it costs me absolutely nothing to do it... but there is no way to report offenders even if you do see who did it! Maybe there should be some gov't ad campaign raising awareness about these issues...?

Hello hello, Just wondering whether anyone here has any nice stories of connecting with people over fishing. Have you ever made a deeper connection with a parent or grandparent, sibling, child, friend, neighbour....or even a stranger you only just met at the fishing spot?

Hello Folks! Did about 90 minutes at Pyrmont Point today, on the running-out tide in overcast weather and very rippled water just using frozen prawns. We caught some undersize snapper, whiting, and finally a decent sized bream - around 28cm and VERY fat. It was hooked only on the outside skin of the lip , and my hook actually came off the line about 3 seconds after I had it on the wharf! I'm actually incredibly lucky that I landed this fish because I also had no landing net, and it was a ~150cm hoist up from the water! Was lots of fun and had a couple of strong runs, and is the biggest fish I've caught in a loong while . However, I think that my reel is carking it 'cause it keeps getting stuck whilst I'm trying to wind in , which gets temporarily fixed if I wind backwards and then immediately forward.. anyone have any ideas what may be wrong with it or how to fix it?? a a few weeks ago it got submerged in salt water, and then a week after that it was winding very roughly, so i washed it out with tap water... and didn't use it for 2 weeks or so... I'm using the Improved Clinch for all of my knots, and monofilament.. would anyone recommend any other knots to avoid them unwinding like this?

Thanks guys for the replies... And yes, I know it seems to defeat the purpose if the fish are in a dam or something. I guess I was wondering about this because so many marinas and jetties seem to be closed to fishing. I was wondering if there are any private jetties or marina-like places that know they're attracting fish, and will allow fishers on for one form of bribe or another. I'm pretty new to all this, and I only do land based. I guess if one is on a boat, one can fish close to marinas etc..

Just been reading some reports that mention this. Does anyone know if there are any places where you can pay to fish at a good location? I'm thinking of private jetties, fishing havens...

Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out, guys! I haven't really gone out targeting anything in particular, and in the past have caught bream, snapper, trevally, pike, leatherjacket, yellowtail and flounder around Sydney Harbour. In the Georges river I've caught whiting and bream, along with a weird diamond shaped fish which I think is called a silver moony (?) yet lately I've only been around Iron Cove at high tide, and only getting really small bream, tiny snapper and school whiting. Trevally was really exciting to catch so I'd like to target them, and I guess it'd be cool to catch my first flathead too.. I often go fishing in the day or afternoon and usually what I do is I use a small hook on around 30cm of leader with a running ball sinker above it, and cast out as far as I can,then if nothing happens I reel it in a little bit and wait again. I've been told in the past to just cast out and wait patiently, and also told to reel in very slowly to drag the bait along the floor. I figured that the smaller the hook the more likely I am to catch anything at all, but I'm wondering whether a small hook can catch bigger fish too? Quite often I get a nibble, then a yank on the bait and then somehow I end up bringing up a clump of seaweed. I just use a cheap spinning 2-piece rod and reel combo, with the drag setting quite loose. Constructive criticism is encouraged, especially if it helps me catch the more feisty fish! Okay, so I shouldn't just camp in one spot like I have been.. I will give them another go probably around Iron Cove again. Thanks! Yep, gotcha. Will definitely swap the thicker nylon for the mono!

Hello there peoples! New member here, from Sydney's inner west. I've been fishing on and off very casually for a while (previously used to tag along with a friend who used to work everything out for me), and fish land-based catch & release only . I have a bunch of (probably very elementary) questions that I'm hoping you guys can shed some light on.. Are the terms leader and trace synonymous? (it looks like it when I google search..) Is braided line used for the main line, and then something else for the leader? Or is it the other way around? Or is it simply a matter of preference? ..I've been using a rod with some thick-ish nylon line, and another rod with monofilament line... but I've been considering replacing one (or both) but don't really know where to start, and don't want to spend $20 just to find out I'm doing it wrong.. The bright red beads that you see .... are they used to attract fish, or do they perform some other function in the rig? How difficult is it to learn to use soft plastics and other lures? So far I've only ever caught anything using chicken, prawns and worms..I've bought and tried plastic lures but no luck = boring = go back to bait. Does anyone know of a good source of beginner info on this topic? I've tried copying the youtube/AFC blokes' tips, and nothing! The only ones who find the plastic lures appetising are toadfish! Sorry about these basic questions, but in spite of the masses of fishing stuff online, I haven't been able to find any site that goes through a systematic explanation of items and functions... many sites simply advertise products and make the assumption that you know how and why you would buy it.. Also, does anyone know of any available video footage of wild fish taking baited hooks? I think it would be really useful to be able to actually see how certain species behave and respond to baits/lures. I vaguely recall the Easter Show having a tank with fish that could be cast into, and would love to see something like it on video ... perhaps there's a field of study which documents this sort of thing.. fish behaviourists? So far, fishing is a mysterious experience, combining luck and superstition. I give up! Because I've received so much conflicting advice and heard differing opinions, I am increasingly suspecting that half the blokes don't *really* know what they're talking about, so I'm coming to you guys!

Nice report, and great pics! Did you guys actually sleep whilst waiting for bites? LOL