[Saturday 28/2 - am Pittwater]

5" paddle tail zman on 1/8 oz for the jewie (bottom) and some mac tuna mid water. 3" minnow and slugs wacky rigged for all else, plus surface lures and bent minnows.

No probs. We were around stokes point.

Thanks mate

[Saturday 28/2 - am Pittwater]

Well done, sounds like you had a pretty good day.

I was out a few weeks ago and could only manage a few flatty.

If you don't mind me asking, what areas of Pittwater were you fishing?

Cheers Peter

[long reef]

Hi Mate,

I use Tunks Park ramp and it takes me around 40mins to get to Long Reef in reasonable weather.

As some of the others have said, I wouldn't use Long Reef ramp unless you have experience.

Cheers

Peter

[Sydney - Friday arvo solo Longreef snapper.]

Well done mate, some nice fish there.

What depth were you fishing in?

Cheers

Peter

[Quintrex 490 Renegade]

Hi have just purchased a side console one with a yamaha F70 4stroke and has the motorwell upgrade option and bow sprit option and could not be happier with it.very smooth and stable ride. Highly recommend.

Hi Mate,

Thanks for replying.

Do you have an electric motor and twin batteries fitted?

Cheers

Peter

[Quintrex 490 Renegade]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if any of you owned a Quintrex 490 Renegade and what were you thoughts on them.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

Peter

[Shimano Saros FA]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Cheers

Peter

[Shimano Saros FA]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have any feedback on the Shimano Saros FA? I am looking into buying a 2500 and 4000. Just wondering if its worth saving a few bucks or buying Stradic FJ's.

Thanks

Peter

[What a week at Port Stephens! - Jewies, Flatties, Bream and plenty of Whiting!]

Hi Raiders,

Just spent the week up at Hawksnest, Port Stephens. Got A LOT of fishing in, especially from the yak. Be prepared for a fair read as it was an action packed week with plenty of good fish!

Day 1: Headed out on the yak to test the waters of the Myall River, In Tea Gardens. As i'd only ever fished the area landbased, i wasn't sure how I'd go. Decided to keep it simple and fish like i do back here in Sydney. Flicking little plastics under wharves and moored boats. Didn't take long to produce a solid bream. Took the plastic on the drop and went like a train! Measured up at 32cm. Not a bad start at all Continued on picking up 2 more decent bream of similar size over the next hour. Before the rains came an hour later i managed one more just legal bream and a fair few flatties to about 48cm. Nothing big but considering it was my first session here in a few years, was pretty happy!

Day 2: Elected to go for a feed of whiting from a favourite spot at Jimmy's Beach. Had a top early morning session on them using live worms as bait. Landed 20 or so and kept 8 for the table. Not big fish, ranging from 27 - 32. Still a bit of fun on a 1-2kg rod and 3lb braid.

Day 3: Ventured out on the yak again today. This time chasing flatties. Started off by flicking some HB's around the oyster racks. Just one bream of 27cm coming from here. Moved on down the myall towards the mouth. Found a spot that looked the goods for flatties and it certainly was. Managed 6 good flatties to 52cm on a mix of plastics and trolled HB's. It was a fast moving channel with a sandbank on one side, and an undercut bank dropping straight into 2 meters on the other. I found most of the fish to be sitting right in close to the under cut bank. Just before moving on, my little plastic was smashed. Initially i thought i'd got myself a snag. How wrong i was! Felt a couple of big headshakes and immediately pedaled out to the middle of the channel. For the next 10 minutes i fought this fish. Not only was a battling the fish, but also the strong current! Just as the beast reached the surface i pulled the hooks. Absolutely devastated. Got a good look at him and can 100% say that this flattie was over the meter mark! Absolutely devestated The wind picked up which made conditions a little sloppy... Gave the racks another quick go on the way upstream and surprisingly pulled 2 good flatties in 2 casts. Going 45cm and 52cm. They were sitting right under the racks in around a meter of water. The wind was too strong at this point so headed in.

Day 4: The wind was extreme today so skipped the mouth entirely. Started off with a few bream and flatties from the oyster racks. Nothing big but still a bit of fun. Next I Gave the wharves and moored boats a go for bream but no takers today. Unfortunately the bream stayed pretty quiet for the rest of the week! Just as the tide neared the bottom, a sandbank was revealed in the middle of the river, with a nice drop off leading into a channel within casting distance. Immediately had a gut instinct to put in some time here. For the next 3 hours i had some great fun landing at least 40 flatties to 50cm. At one stage i managed 8 in 8 casts! Goes to show how healthy stocks of flathead are up there compared to down our way... Never had a session on flatties close to this good in Sydney. Picked up a few more flatties from under the wharves before the wind became a problem again... Was the curse of my trip for sure!

Day 5: Had planned to give the whiting another go off the beach. However, I was tempted into taking the yak out for the afternoon. Wind was down for once! Headed down to the mouth and had a cracker session on the flatties landing some really nice fish! Had to wait for the current to slow down before i could fish it properly so wasted some time catching a few small flatties on drifted whitebait. Finally the tide slowed enough to fish it from the yak. 2nd cast hooked up. Turned out to be a nice 53cm flattie. Picked up a few more just legal flatties in the next 15 mins before i hooked a good fish. Really tested me out on 1-2kg Rod and 3lb braid/4lb leader. Another 5 or so minutes later i netted a beauty of a flattie! Pedalled into shore for a photo shoot and to brag mat him up. Went 71cm The disadvantage of fishing alone is there's no one to take photos of you and the fish! Ah well, got a few good shots anyway before returning the big girl to the water. Watching here swim away was great to see! Back on the water, next cast and hooked another good fish! After another great fight i netted another really good fish. This time going 63cm . Over the next few hours landed another 30 or so fish with at least 10 of them over 50cm! What a great session. All fish released

Day 6: My final day. Even though i was landed some quality flatties the day before, the metery that got away was haunting me. So, planned to do the same thing. Hit the same spot and hopefully come across that big girl i was after! The wind was terrible today... Made things very difficult. Over a few hours only landed 8 flatties to 45cm. I did drop another 60+ at the side of the yak though. With only half an hours fishing time left, i headed up to a spot i'd found earlier and knew there'd be something special hanging around. It's the deepest part of the river with plenty of structure meaning it's a likely holding point for a few jewfish. After a few casts hooked up to a big fish. Smoked me on 20lb braid/leader! Thinking good jew i was pretty devestated. With only 5 mins of fishing time left, i only had my really light rod rigged up. A 1-2kg Daiwa Black Label, Daiwa Caldia 2000, with 3lb braid and 4lb leader. I knew what i was about to do was most likely suicidal but didn't have a choice. First cast my little Z-man 2.5" Grubz in Watermelon Red got smashed! Straight away i knew it was a jew. Having hooked it hard up against structure, i pedalled my way out of there verY quickly. Somehow the fish didn't get me on the structure and the fight moved into deeper water. 5 mins later up comes what i was hoping for. A jewie Not massive but big enough considering the gear I was on. Anyone who says Jews don't fight well have rocks in their head. If you fish light (not too light!) they're an awesome sport fish! Headed in for a photo shoot. Measured him up to be 58cm. Not massive but enough to bring a very big smile to my face. Any jews a good jew if you ask me! Especially on plastics

What a way to end the trip! Couldn't have asked for anything better

Wish I didn't have to leave the place! Will be up there ASAP to tap into the amazing fishing once again!

Enjoy the pics

Hawksnest 1.png Hawksnest 2.png Hawksnest 3.png

Hawksnest 4.png Hawksnest 5.png Hawksnest 5.png

Cheers, Tom

Looks like you had some pretty good sessions over the week, its always good to bring home enough for a feed. Well done.

Cheers

Peter

[PB Bream from Brooklyn]

Hi guys i got this 2 bream same size 3 months ago fishing for jews on live herring. I cant remember exactly buy they were either 45 or 46cm.

And they both went back to meet another angler one day

Great fish, it's good to see you let them swim another day.

Cheers

Peter

[Front Casting Platform]

Hi Guys,

I am looking into putting a front casting platform with storage into my 370 Explorer. Does anyone have any ideas, advice or know where I can get some Rota moulded boxes for storage?

Cheers

Peter

[Fishing Broken Bay/Hawkesbury Area]

Plenty is happening mate. A few Stonking bream around Juno Point with the odd good jew as well. Flint n Steel has big tailor and jewies according to a mate. West head on dusk with ganged pillies will get some good tailor and the odd salmon. Plenty of yakkas around there too , most of which are big too. Lion Island also has a few fish at the moment. Fished it the other week with a mate and got snapper (to 37cm), flathead (45cm) and a few flounder and trevally. Burley is key. Might be worth dropping down a squid or live bait for the odd big jewie that are found there in winter. Just sound around til you find reef and fish the edges of it. There's also a nice drop off on the northern side that holds jew, flathead and snapper.

Give it a go and post a report when you get out!

Cheers, Tom

Thanks for the reply Tom. I went out today and fished West Head, Flint n Steel and around Broken Bay. Not to much to report, caught 2 Port Jackson Sharks, 1 Bonito and 5 undersize Snapper. Not a bad day on the water though.

Cheers

Peter

[Fishing Broken Bay/Hawkesbury Area]

Guys,

Do you if much is happening in the Broken Bay/Hawkesbury area at the moment? Could you please give me some advice on what areas are worth fishing? I'm not fussed on what I fish for, any fish is a good fish.

Cheers

Peter