Burnsey

Managed to get out for a brief session chasing luderick last weekend. The swell was up so I opted for one of my favourite spots on the north side of the harbour. I caught one first drift but had to go in search of others. I eventually found a school and ended with 1/2 dozen, most around 35cm. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the report Stapo. Nice to see the blackies are back after the rain. Are they getting much at the mouth? Any winter flatties? I'm hoping to get out in the tinny this weekend for some blackies and flatties with my folks if the weather is good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I prepare them as noted above, then squeeze some lemon juice on them. I add a little salt & chilli, then crumb them (flour, egg/milk mixture, & panko bread crumbs with some mixed herbs or spices). I've been eating last weekend's catch all week served on bread with sliced onion & mayo and a side salad - delicious! By the way guys, great catch with some huge fish - well done! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Black drummer. Interesting thread - thx Ash for starting this one. I remember fishing with ribbon weed a few yrs ago, hooking up on what I presumed was a blackfish, that turned out to be a nice flattie.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, it's a great spot to get away and a bonus when you get flatties nibbling your SPs or get "downs" from blackies. I find that I still see imaginary downs when I go to bed - very therapeutic! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had a pleasant couple of days fishing from our tinny at The Entrance last weekend. Sat was one of those great days when the fish decided to play. Caught plenty of flatties, mainly small, in the morning on SPs. We then turned our attention to blackfish. We had to hunt for them but eventually found a school. Sunday was the opposite. We hardly saw a fish caught in the morning. As it was a nice day, we hung around and found some blackfish. As with the flatties, there were lots of small fish with the odd keeper amongst them. The biggest went 37cm and took off like a hare when hooked. All in all, a great way to spend a couple of days with the family and we ended up with a feed. Nice to see the dredge is finally working on the eastern side of the bridge. Hopefully this will bring back a few channels to this side of the bridge before Christmas. It is currently almost silted up in areas where it would normally be 10ft deep.

Well done Camo. I was out there on Sat and saw you guys cruising by. We also caught plenty on Sat (mainly little throwbacks) but they all but disappeared on Sun. You'd love to know what makes them tick! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome session Chewie. Pound for pound they have to be one of the toughest fish in the ocean. They are also sweet to eat - enjoy your tucker! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Go with worm pliers to start with. Not worth contemplating fingers until you have the hang of it. If all else fails try the bait shop at North Narrabeen. They generally carry a good supply of quality beach worms and are a good source of info on local fishing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, very happy parents. They love fishing. Pelicans are amazingly quick for their size & very opportunistic!

Had a nice long weekend fishing with my folks from North Entrance at Tuggerah Lakes. They taught me to fish when I was young. I now return the favour by heading up there and taking them out in our tinny. Over 4 days we boated plenty of blackfish. Most were small but we managed a few in the 35-38cm range. There were a few ocean run fish but not the number you would normally find at this time of year. We found some mullet - they were timid but great fun when they took the bait. Inspired by Stapo's recent report we turned our attention to flatties on Monday and ended up with 10 legal sized fish between us up to 45cm. Fish of the weekend was a 46cm tailor caught on weed with 6lb trace. I've caught one on weed before when I was winding in and the tailor mistook the weed for a baitfish. On this occasion my rod was idle in the water with the float just bobbing around when the tailor took it. Although it didn't fight like a blackie, I hoped I had a massive blackie on and was a bit surprised (& somewhat disappointed!) to see the flash of silver when it got close to the boat. There were a few fishos on the wall at The Entrance but there didn't appear to be many good fish caught. Sorry about the lack of photos. After emptying our net on day 1 for the attached photo I turned away for a minute. When I turned back there was 1 less fish on the table and a very guilty looking pelican beside me. I was more guarded on subsequent days! Keith

Nice catch Stapo. Thanks for your report. I caught some up there a week ago and have been dining out on them since. Very sweet at that size. From my experience it's unusual to catch more than a few at this time of year.

Great haul Andy. Looks like a mix of dark local fish and lighter ocean run fish coming in to spawn. Always good to get one on a fly. I sometimes use one on a 2 hook rig beside the real stuff. It's always funny to see them take the fly when the real thing is right next to it!

Great EP and some big flatties for The Entrance. Hoping to take the tinny out up there with my folks from Nth Entrance in a couple of weeks so I appreciate your report. Sounds like the blackies are still scarce. Any sign of mullet in the channel?

Great haul. Looks like an old faithful rod - i bet that's seen some action over the years. I couldn't get out last weekend so having to enjoy fishing vicariously through Fishraider. I'm hoping to fit in a short blackie & mullet session in the tinny at Narrabeen Lake next weekend , so here's hoping they're starting to move upstream.

Not such an issue up our way Luderick Angler. There's plenty of space and some good fishing areas. That said, some of my favourite spots and the most productive spots are away from the crowds and one requires a 1.5km hike and a short mountain goat descent - well worth the effort!

Well done PlayerOne. I occasionally try that part of the harbour and find the fish tend to be smaller. The bigger fish should start moving in soon. Luderick Angler - I hear you. I guess the fish have more time to grow in places with less fishing pressure. I caught a 46cm monster at The Entrance a few years ago near the mouth of the lake - these are ocean fish that pop in for a quick feeding a rising tide, then head back to sea when the tide runs out.

I fished Fairlight for blackfish late Sat afternoon but had to work hard covering a lot of ground for just 2 fish. From other Fishraider reports it seems like they just weren't hungry in most places on Saturday. Had a further small window of opportunity to fish for a couple of hours before the A League GF on Sun so headed to a favourite local ocean rock platform. Fish were hard to find initially but came on the bite shortly after low tide. Ended with a feed of fish around the 33-34cm mark. Not sure where the eastern suburbs boys get their 40+ cm models as I find they are as rare as hens teeth up our way!

Sorry, accidentally posted same message twice above. We got plagued by small blackies at The Entrance last winter. Hopefully more large ones will start to school and come into the lake soon.

Hi Ryder - great tarwhine! I once managed a flattie on ribbon weed. How were the blackfish at The Entrance?

Hi Ryder - great tarwhine! I once managed a flattie on ribbon weed. How were the blackfish at The Entrance?

Well done Stapo. I was up there a week ago and was amazed how much brown fresh water was in the system. It needed the flush to widen the mouth of the lake. Can't wait for the colder water to arrive as it heralds the blackfish season.

Great work guys - brilliant haul. I've become addicted to blackie fishing and chase them regularly on the northern beaches. Caught several in a short session late Sat in north harbour. Weed has been destroyed on our local rock platforms and I had to work hard to get it last weekend. Fish were hungry, presumably because the weed has disappeared. Did you guys have trouble finding weed?

When he came into the boat & started croaking, dinner was the last thing on my mind! He was put back pretty fast...

Thanks all for your comments. I've checked and it was definitely a frogfish. I'll claim it as a 2nd PB for the day. He croaked like a frog when out of the water and was put back in pretty fast.