Scratchie

No that’s soldiers Frank. I’m just surprised the council up here are doing anything. KC, yes mate we all have input from many sources that accounted for nothing. On average there would have been 100’s of calls to council to remove sand build up with the past ramp. It still took them a week or two for them to do anything 🤷‍♂️ Guess there’s also greater problems in the area atm. Let’s hope this ramp is good for everyone 👍

Unfortunately, the only upgrades they are doing is to the ramp itself. The car park will remain the same. The ramp will extend out further from its previous position. This should stop it sanding up especially from the westerly winds but I feel it will also make it almost impossible to launch solo. There are no pontoons going in nor any restructuring of anything else. Mainly because this area is surrounded by a sanctuary zone and requires constant approval of work carried out by the DPI. This process has also slowed up the construction of the ramp as they have ran into a few unforeseen structures that needed examination. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ Who knows when it will finish or how effective it will be once complete! Most of us locals up here are curious too! cheers scratchie!!!

Thanks Gordo! My only tip would be to check the weather. Pretty sure your looking at 2.6-2.9m swell 🤔🤔

Cheers Rick! Vac sealed for another day! 👌

Hey Sam, These are certainly trying times for all. So thank you for your post and thinking of others. I’m very lucky to have access to the water and a few boat ramps in my LGA. Although in saying that, I’m keeping my fishing to a minimum as it requires to leave the house for a period of time and I want to remain within the spirit of lockdown. Hopefully every now and then I can put up a post for others to read. Stay safe and well, Cheers scratchie!!!

Cheers for that mate! I was pretty sure there was no size limit. Just didn’t want to waste fishing time searching google 😄 Thanks mate! I need to see some Broughton reds too 😫😫😫 Cheers Rebel. Yes mate, it was a trip I needed to take! Thanks Cheers Thanks. Hopefully your turn will come soon Cheers Yowie. The ones I caught were actually quite decent at around 25-27cm. Will save that for next time 🤙 Be patient, your time will come and you’ll so enjoy it. Hahahaha! Thanks for that. I have a few fish recipes and usually the whiting goes in the deep fryer and they are all gone before I finish cooking! 🤔 Thanks Bob Cheers Zoran! I feel for all that can’t go fishing safely. As I said, it’s be a long time since I dropped a bait in 40m. Definitely a bit of fun but I do prefer my plastics in shallow water. Always good to have options though 👍

👏👏👏👏👏👏 Good stuff Pete. I’ll be tuning in 🙌

G’day raiders, Hope you are all well and keeping safe. Yesterday, conditions looked to good not to head out to catch a feed for the family. I took my son Brandon with me and we were on the water by 5am. The plan for the day was to cast some plastics early and hope for a snapper, then catch some bait and do some deeper dropping for some flathead. As we are limited to our LGA, Broughton is a no go for us (I miss Broughton 🥲) however there are still some good grounds around my local and I have been doing a lot of exploring for future trips! The fishing on soft plastics has been more than hard work, with lots and lots of casts for very little reward. Yesterday was no different but with many changes in plastics and locations we found two decent snapper until about 8am when the sun appeared higher in the sky. We then collected some bait and found a few barracuda sitting under a school of pillies. Kept two for bait and stuck to the plan. I can’t remember the last time I dropped a paternoster rig in 40m of water but with benign conditions it was really the only option. Firstly, we found the nursery with both hooks bringing up tiny flatty but then we stumbled on what we were looking for. A few decent flatty and basically we loaded up onto something on every drop! A bit of fun for an hour or so, then we decided to call it quits and head home! A beautiful day on the water with turtles, dolphins leading the way home and a chance to forget the challenges we all faced once back on land. Tight lines all, cheers scratchie!!! P.s Is there a legal size limit to a red spot whiting? I caught about 8 of them but sent them back. 🤷‍♂️

That’s a better red Yowie! On a handline too, big thumbs up 👍 from me! cheers scratchie!!!

Some pretty envious people looking at this post! Me included 😁 Fantastic report and what a way to spend your time. Thanks for sharing! cheers scratchie!!!

That’s a positive perspective that we can all learn from. Thanks for sharing Zoran 👍 cheers scratchie!!!

Definitely need a game set up! 🤣🤣🤣

Pretty much the first thing I say when I’m meeting people for the first time or go out on someone else’s boat. I actually ask three questions….. Have you put the bungs in? Where is you epirb and flares? Where do you keep your life jackets? Although I usually take my own life jacket regardless. Can never be to safe on the water! cheers scratchie!!!

Outstanding Stewy! I know that you’d be busting at the seams to go test em! Hopefully that time is not far away mate! cheers scratchie!!! p.s. make me some snapper ones to try! 😁

It’s been quiet everywhere Yowie! But those two pannies will make a perfect lunch 😋 cheers scratchie!!!

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade 💪

Thanks Yowie. Always look forward for the chance to redeem myself. Gives me another excuse to go fishing anyway 🤣

100%. That’s exactly why I live where I do. People often move to where they work, to be close to family, for schools etc I chose to be close to the ocean and let the rest sort itself out! 🤙

Hahaha! No they don’t count, neither do rock cod, pike or Sargent bakers which are the usual bycatch of fishing with soft plastics. Three strikes and your out! 🤣🤣

It was definitely a different type of day. It also confirmed to me about snapper and people driving over the drift 🤔 The broken rod was a real low point and was my fault trying too hard! Haha, the beauty of fishing is there’s always next time! 🤙 Yeah Frank, boats definitely feel better when they’re in the water. Still looking forward to next trip Absolutely! I just love being out there. The sound, the smell, the sights. Fish are always a welcome bonus. Thanks Sam. I feel your pain mate. I am fortune to live in the postcode I do and never take it for granted. Cheers BN. I guess most people are used to me placing a report holding a big snapper but not all days go to plan. It wasn’t through a lack of trying that’s for sure but definitely a few things conspired against me yesterday. Grr 😠

G’day raiders, Firstly, I hope everyone is safe and well. It is very tough times at the moment but just stay the course and we’ll get to the other side. Today, after 6 days of lockdown, I managed to get out with son number 2, with conditions looking favourable. We launched at Shoal Bay at 530 and was a bugger with a lowish tide and surge at the ramp. But we managed to head out and soldier on. Got to our first spot and to my surprise there was already 3 boats in the area. Damn! Started casting and wasn’t showing any signs of bait but we still remained optimistic. The wind was blowing a bit harder than predicted so we deployed the shute. It helped our drift but we still weren’t seeing any bait. After a few drifts it was time to move and we get to the next spot and again another 3 boats. Grrrrrr! We start the drift and still no sign of bait but out of nowhere a sudden hit but didn’t stick. Well that was about it for day. One hit, lost 4 jigs, broke a rod, got pulled over by Maritime and the only “fish” we caught was barracuda. We pulled 3 and three strikes your out! And home by 930. Probably one of the worst days I’ve experienced on the water. But to leave it on a positive……. I got to see the sunrise, I spent time with my son, we seen dolphins and whales and we made it back safely! It’s not always about the fish 🐟 cheers scratchie!!! And then went down the road with my wife to watch the sunset..,,,,

Cracking fish mate! That’s a fish of a life time. Great photo too! cheers scratchie!!!

Hey rummers, Kingfish are a funny species to target up here. There is no real place that is a consistent spot they haunt. Certainly the islands out the front will hold them at times. Fingal will hold them too and Broughton island would be the top of the list as frequented more than most. Usually in November we get a run of them around the breakwall smashing small white bait but a slow trolled livie will work too. Slow trolling livies, I generally use two rods. Both with 9/0 live bait hooks. I will troll at 2knots with one on the surface and one with a running sinker to get it down about 3m. Hope that helps. cheers scratchie!!!

Couple of pannies and a fresh tailor! Perfect 👍 cheers scratchie!!!

Great work Tim. That sounds like an awesome session. How much fun is catching snapper on plastics 💪💪💪 Congrats on the PB too 🙌🙌 cheers scratchie!!!