catch this

Hey Red, Fair enough mate, your right, I'm not a pensioner. I have family members in a similar position to your dad in that they can't eat fish unless they catch it themselves due to the $$$$$$ (which as you pointed out is a joke in itself). My point was more about mass poverty (which we don't have), but you're right its not cut and dry and it is more than a passion or hobby for some people. Cheers Phil

I voted with the majority, but probably for different reasons. I wasn't sure if I should vote as it all seemed quite black and white and in reality its not. We shouldn' delude ourselves into thinking we are the good guys just because we fish. I see plenty of irresponsible behaviour on the water and I wish some of theose performing certain acts were banned for life. But... Is fishing a right or a privilege? Very few of us (probably none) actually need to fish because we have no other means of putting food on a table (which is a right). So I think in this osciety its a privelege and there are people who don't fish who probably think more of the bad than the good. Educating both sides (discussion, not compromise) makes more sense to me. And if more extreme elements on either side can't talk then they should be excluded from the debate. Wow, if only the world lived in my head time for a

Good point, I think I might re-think a little bit I might look at a mix of boat hire and some land based stuff, thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the reply and thanks to mods for moving this to a better place. I don't know much about these areas, is there easy deep water access?

Hi raiders Realise this is probably in the wrong place, had a look around though and couldn't find a forum labelled "dummies questions" so posted here. Me and my missus are going away in October. We're looking at something within 4/5 hours drive from Sydney, north or south. I need somewhere with boathire, safe access to deep water (in a tinnie) and a chance of some decent fish - not looking for secret spots or anything. The deep water thing has to do with my love of Snapper, but any other fun spots should be recommended. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all, apologies for the lateness of this report, I had to wait a while before I could actually register what happened to me on Easter Monday. Went to Barrenjoey with 2 cousins and hired a dinghy to celebrate easter. Had a great day on the water, cruising different spots on the shore opposite the boathire shed. Picked up my PB bream at 36 cm and weighed at just under a kilo and got VERY excited, used 8LB line and a new cheap and light shimano combo. I thought fishing couldnt get any better after I landed that Bream, and thats what I was saying to my sister on the phone when my rod buckled about 10 minutes later. I dropped the phone and felt this run go on for a bit longer. Finally I got a chance to win back some ground, then came the next run. My Rod, again the 8LB line, was bent in half and I had my more experienced fisho cousins screaming at me not to panic. Funnily enough I think they were alot more worried than me I was having the time of my life, laughing as this fish ran, swearing as our lines got crossed, lauging as we untangled (this happened 3 times, no one thought to bring their lines in until 10 minutes into the 15 minute fight). Finally landed my first ever King on half a pilchard. NEVER thought I'd land a king, especially on light gear, and yet here it was in the net, thats by far the most fun I've ever had fishing. Two beautiful fish on a beautiful day. Wasn't a monster, 64cm and a tick over 2.5 KG. Didnt have a camera, but took these pictures when I got home, think my cousin has some pics on his phone and im waiting to see him to bluetooth them. All in all I think I was lucky to get a shot at that fish, but so happy to land it. Cheers and happy fishing to all Phil

Thanks You get over the "missing out thing", at least i have. You turn into scrooge instead

Well, christmas being my bday i figured the fishing gods owed me something special on two counts. I went down with some friends and family to the spit and fished under the bridge. Not much happening on bait so I let the others stick with that and changed to the plastics. After a few casts I landed my first ever fish on any type of lure - a 35 cm flatty. I was esctatic to say the least. The flatty joined an octupus we already had in the bucket. There were some fish jumping in the middle of the channel, near where the bridge opens. Explained to the fellas that the sinkers they were using to get out that far were going to take the bait well below the fish and then saw glinting in the streetlights an unopened box of asorted slices and spoons belonging to a mate who had never used a lure. Tied one on and after a couple of casts managed to land one on a tailor's head. Pulled in 5 or 6 myself, 2 to another guy who was using a slice and 0 fish of any type to the bait guys. Admittedly the bait was frozen so this wasn't a very fair test. 2 of the tailor were just over legal and we took one of them to fill out the meal. Was the first time I successfully used a lure, with firsts on SPs and HBs and my first legal tailor.

Thanks a lot for that offer. Thats awesome mate, can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Will Pm you or call in the next few days thanks again Thanks for the advice guys, I will definitely try to keep my wits switched on next time and am always thinking about gear upgrades. Even looking at boat prices at least a year before ill be able to afford one.

Hey raiders I've been reading the forums for a few months now (and even searching the archives ) and really love the atittude and knowledge base on this site. I haven't had very much to contribute but I need some help getitng over my latest debacle. Went out ona hireboat from barrnjoey. Tried a few different spots for one small flounder for me and 3 baby snapper for my mate. Then I got into something that pulled my rod tip right down to the water. Landed a nice trev. 33 cm. Let me explain a bit about my gear, was using dad's old abu reel with a lever drag that I still havent mastered (I mean OLD) and my rod has the eye of the top guide missing, which makes it a rather jerky feeling out fit. No fish wanted to touch my better set-up Anyway, was happy to land that trev, was playing with the newer rod when off goes the old thing again. This time the trey (I assume) was pulling HARD, and taking me straight under the boat. During the fight I was battling with my drag, trying to filter through the good bits in my mastes "advice" and trying to keep my rod tip low to avoid getitng busted off on the tinnie. Was this the right thing to do or should i have musceeled the fish from the word go, considering I had 4kg line i think i should of locked the drag up a bit more and tried to keep the nose up but again Just had no confidence in my gear! Anyway, ended up getting the hook spat after the fish had wrapped around my other line, still in the water Was very unhapy after that. Got a little unhappier when a similar thing happened 15 minutes later, although smaller fish this time I think I was pysched-out by the second bite. (have I said that). I guess next time if im going to persist with bodgie gear I should expect this, but $$$$ = all in uni stuff atm! My fishing budget went on 150 bucks worth of a filled up tackle box. Thats my rant. At least got my first decent fish of the winter (usually landbased). And there's always an excess of Cheers Phil

Thats a good place mate. Ive had a couple of good days (and the odd poor one) out of there. You can pick up a nice mixed bag in a 4 hour hire if the fish are biting.

Hey Irrr I told you I'd join if you posted it. Glad I could help you champ, or more accurately, glad my bucket could! Was a beautiful fish. I was fishing maybe 10-15 metres away and when I heard that drag go off I dropped my rod and went running. Phil