jdanger

Best. Report. Ever. Can't wait for the vid.

I would try two options. 1. Carolina rig - running sinker down to a swivel, followed by 60cm of leader with your shrimp on an unweighted hook. Will let you cast and get the lure down whilst letting the lure present freely. Problem: the floating shrimp might look funny as it'll just float mid-column above the sinker, probably vertically. 2. Tie your lure using a loop knot, but place a tiny sinker in the loop, UNDER the eye of the hook. Will basically work like a soft plastic with a little extra movement. Should look good when it sits on the bottom as the tail of the prawn will point up, away from the sinker. Let us know how you go.

Seen them caught in the inner west but you wouldn't want to be eating anything that lives in the mud from there.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Only have a tiny bit of tournament experience under my belt. No boat and time constraints make it a bit harder to get into than I'd like. Definitely enjoyed it though and it's always good to see how you stack up against the rest of the angling world. Important to have a partner you get along with too. A tournament can turn up the pressure so you'll wanna be able to work with each other.

Snap/swivel is fine for your Halco twisties. All you're doing is cranking it back as fast as possible - the fish cares about the size, flash and speed so you won't affect the action enough for it to matter. They'll have a lot more time to inspect your soft plastics and hardbodies though, so use caution. Guess it also depends on how fussy the fish is - salmon & tailor aren't as particular as bream or jew, for instance. Would never dream of using a snap on a small estuary lure but you can much more easily get away with it off a beach. Bigger lures will handle the extra terminal tackle better too.

Awesome fish and as others have said, props for the release. Also, welcome.

Mixed feelings about old mate Robson. Definitely the most interesting as far as variety of content goes, also zero product placement. His intense and whiny enthusiasm grinds my gears sometimes though. Will watch any fishing show to be honest. ET is by far the worst.

Agree with what the others have said, you'll find them just about anywhere from the small bays up the Parramatta River in winter, right through the harbour and along every beach and coastline. Apparently heaps in the harbour at the moment but any beach will be worth a go, just look for the gutters.

Cheers lads, glad you liked it. I'd put my last dollar on it being an XOS bream. The fight didn't have that erratic weaving that whiting do and flathead aren't that smart. Felt like it could have been a PB, but I'm trying not to dwell on the tragedy First cast was around 1130, almost 2 hours before high tide. We pulled stumps shortly before 1800, so around a 6 and a half hour session. Nick even hooked a small bream on his third-last cast so we left them biting despite the water level being really low by that point. Also we had overstayed our leave passes... We were both fishing 6lb Daiwa J-Braid and 4lb fluro leader - I was using Sensei. Camera is a Shimano Sports Cam. Good little unit but I don't think they're making them any more. Was hoping they'd come out with a polarised lense but they decided not to go ahead with it. Not sure if I can even turn the fish-eye off, I've played with the settings and flicked between the wide-angle view but all looks much the same to me. Videos edited using Windows Movie Maker, should be standard with most PCs or you can download it free from Microsoft if you're running Windows10.

My good mate and fishing buddy got back from overseas last week so we wasted little time in hitting out local at Bayview Park to flick a few lures. The stiff breeze didn't deter the fish with a hookup on my first cast and the action barely stopping from there. In total we landed 30+ fish between us including a stack of bream to 28cm, whiting to 35cm and flathead to 50cm. The day had a bit of everything including heartbreak during a bust off on what would have been a very good fish . On the bright side, the Z-man he took was the only lure I lost for the day. Silver linings, eh? Some of the action below...

This qualifies for COTM! http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=82129 Should definitely consider submitting. It's a great report and a well played catch considering the circumstances.

There are times when bait will outfish artificials but with the right tools and technique...

Good report. Funny how downsizing your gear can make all the difference. That trevally is a cracker and would've been awesome fun on the light stuff.

If you're fishing places like Watson's or rose Bay, I'd say you'll want to fish lighter than your current set-up. The water's quite clear and the smaller species are switched on. A 2-4kg graphite rod like the veritas will make better use of your smaller lure choices too.

Savit, vibe was a jackall 55mm. Smallest I've come across and good for bream. Haven't fished Canada Bay since but the flatties should be on like donkey Kong.

Late report, but here goes. Spent the afternoon with a mate fishing Canada Bay before he went overseas for a while back in winter & have barely been fishing since. Was an interesting little session. With only one soft vibe between us, we were quickly surrounded by salmon busting up all over the joint, disturbing an otherwise glassed out waterway. We hadn't even finished rigging up when this monstrosity of a bustup began making its way along the wall towards us. Never seen anything quite like it. In a panic, I couldn't decide between the rod and the camera and soon it was gone with neither footage nor fish captured. But we didn't have to wait long for the action. Whilst unresponsive to my hardbody selection, they had no problems pouncing on Nick's Jackall, quickly turning our frustration into fun. I manned the camera and he manned the fish, first dropping one, then landing another in front of a gathering crowd. I continued with the hardbodies in vain, eventually switching to a blade in lieu of a softie. The switch paid dividends, with the skinniest 38cm whiting ever soon falling victim, followed by a feisty almost-legal flathead. Nick capped off the day with another 55cm salmon on the soft vibe when we were about to throw in the towel. Anyway, here's the salmon part of the story:

Very good fish indeed. Reminds me of when I first started fishing and took the Mrs. I'd spent $250 on gear plus terminal tackle, her combo was pink and cost $9. Only one fish was caught that night and it wasn't by me...

Retrieve was a mix of short hops and long pauses. Tried a few more aggressive retrieves but the subtlety seemed to work. Whiting was taking right on the shorebreak so water wouldn't have been more than a ft deep. Any closer and it would've been out of the water. The gutter itself wouldn't have been more than 1m deep. Had a night bait session off south Bondi a few days later for a couple of good bream taken on fresh prawns. The couple next to me bagged half a dozen trevally on pilchards. Best fish taken on the vibes was a 35cm bream taken around a year ago (really should put more time into the beach). The fish are there but the trend for making the vibes work seems to be low swell and daylight - low visibility and rough seas seems to be a waste of time.

Also no expert but I'd call it for an out-of-condition yellowfin. As beginner says you can see a hint of the yellow in the anal fin.

Awesome tips and write-up scomber. Most people tend to simplify lure rigs as much as possible especially when it's quiet, so it's good to see that a few well thought out tackle additions can improve the rig.

Man, how good is Fiji!? Always pays to pack a rod and I'd be very happy with that class of fish, especially while on a leisurely holiday flick.

Nice. Always nervous when the flatties engulf the expensive hardbodies!

Wandered down to Bondi Beach for a quick flick late yesterday arvo armed with my bream stick and a small vibe I picked up in a $1 bargain bin. First cast landed an impossibly small whiting with the third cast bringing in this beautifully light coloured flatty. Dropped what felt like another small flathead a short time later but that was it for the sesh. Nice way to spend the hour before sunset. Swell was very low and it was nice to find a gutter without swimmers in it for a change.

I only use s factor and gotta say it certainly makes a difference. I don't bother with it on hardbodies or gulps but if I don't have it with me I don't feel confident in using other scentless plastics.