Scratchie

Have you tried just bread? , burley with some and use a small hook, no weight. Might work! Cheers scratchie!!!

Look good champ! And yes from what I've heard they are very good attracting squid and baitfish. Let me know how they go and I might invest in a set! Cheers scratchie!!!

That's gold!! Love how the bloke out the back just keeps fishing!! Cheers scratchie!!!

Great report young fella, very descriptive! See the lengths us dads go to, too make sure you have a great day! Better luck on the fishing next time boys! Cheers scratchie!!!

I bet you were shocked to see that on your line? Did it put up a fight? Never seen anything like that before. Cheers scratchie!!!

Have the same problem with sweep up at broughton isl. and yes they do eat their own. Interesting about the bream though??? I normally chuck a handful of pellets left and drop line to the right, works for a little while! Cheers scratchie!!!

No wind on the harbour is best. In middle harbour, if the tide is running out, the swell easterly and the wind southerly, it ends up like a washing machine. N/e or n/w ok depending on the areas you fish. But like everyone has said, pick your days until your familiar with the area. Safe boating the best! Cheers scratchie!!!

Are there trout out there? I went chasing them one time recently with two members from this site. We walked over 20kms and threw over 2000 lures. I thought they were just a MYTH. Cheers scratchie!!!

Hi linc, The size of your boat is fine, if as suggested you pick your days and have the right equipment. Also, what size is the motor? It's alot better to have some toe behind you in case the weather does change. Southerly s are a bastard in the harbour! Cheers scratchie!!!

Congrats and welcome to this beautiful state! The fishing can be great all year round depending on what you are targeting. There are obviously more advantages in having a boat but the LB guys on this site seem to do really well. Well done on the fishing with the young fella!!! Cheers scratchie!!!

Congratulations!!! Onwards and upwards to 30,000 I say! Great site, great crew running it and proud to be part of it!!! Cheers scratchie!!!

IMO with relation to posts, the views had on any given post does determine interests, however there seems to be many that just read and not acknowledge. That is fine by me, as these people are interested and want to learn. It doesn't matter if they contribute to the post because I'm sure they still get from it what they were looking for. I did the same for a period of time and now contribute to many posts. However, I'm a much better fisherman now, thanks to all the views I enjoyed on this awesome site! Cheers scratchie!!!

Nice work aero.gard! You always seem to produce great results on the George's! Do you fish any other rivers or places etc??? Cheers scratchie!!!

Did you get any pics? I don't really like to laugh at other people's misfortunes, but it does serve as a reminder! Cheers scratchie!!!

Just go to parsley bay. Cost nothing, closer to JB and that's where the hairtail at! Cheers scratchie!!!

Hey josamill, We worked the headland out the front of barrenjoey last Friday trolling for some really nice sambos. Used 1 bib and 1 skirt. Caught 3 & dropped 3 in 1hr. Great fun! Cheers scratchie!!!

Heaps of salmon out

You certainly smashed them flattys! Had a look at the supermarket today! $45 a kilo! Reckon you got your money worth there! Well done! Cheers scratchie!!!

Happy birthday fishraider!!! I agree stewy, best fishing forum in Australia IMHO. Keep it up team! Cheers scratchie!!!

Looks like the berkleys paid off!!! Nice work on the reds fellas. Cheers scratchie!!!

Great result mate! And I do the same.... Lol Cheers scratchie!!!

Thanks all for your comments. It was certainly a hairtail session of a lifetime. And to share it with 3 other raiders was special. We were all laughing so hard, that we forgot how cold it was! Cheers scratchie!!!

Looks like a great session! How long were you out for? And what sort of depth were you fishing? Cheers scratchie!!!

Great report and nice catch! Love the photo of that rod bending! Cheers scratchie!!!

G'day raiders, WARNING: this is a long post but worth the read, I think. If not just look at the pictures! It was such an awesome trip, it's very hard to know where to start!!! I left port stephens Thursday at 7pm for a solo night practice before the social began on Friday. Dropped the boat in at parsley bay at 930 and zoomed out to JB and moored up for the night with the anticipation of landing a hairtail. I managed a few yakkas, sent one out and a ganged pilly on the other. Not even a bite for 2hrs, so with freezing conditions, it was off to bed!! Just as I fell asleep, the bait runner starts singing, I jump up, set the hook and after a short fight up comes a huge flatty. Whilst trying to grab the net to land this monster solo, rookie mistake- lifted the rod to high, then lost pressure and spat the hook! Oh well, just would have loved a photo! The next morning with gorgeous conditions, it was time to pick up nbdshroom at 7am with the need of a nice hot coffee in mind, it was just a shame that Pete didn't have the same desire as me and bloody forgot to grab one! So quick trip around the corner and got my own! So we headed off to the lighthouse and was greeted by fabulous conditions for trolling! Pete had never trolled before, so after a few quick instructions the lines were out and within 5 mins we're on! And Pete landed his first ever sambo on the troll and a decent one at that going 58cm and a PB. I managed 1 at 55cm and Pete got another at 52cm. We dropped 3 more but a great little hour session and many firsts for Pete. Then with a plan in mind, I thought we'd hit pittwater but the wind was not in our favour do we headed into the hawkesbo to a few spots around but there was no action at all except for a few dolphins splashing about, at first we thought wrong tide but after sitting there anchored up, we noticed 2 trawlers working the whole channel and surrounds, which gave us our answer! It was then time to find the mothership and say hi to mr & mrs swordy and co. We were warmly greeted to a cuppa and a few sandwiches which went down a treat. After some great conversation and signing in, it was time to embark on what we were there for HAIRTAIL!!! We moved into JB to a spot that we had selected earlier thanks to a pm from fellow raider kyngfish!!! Mate your a legend!!! So we started about 330, burlying up lightly and soaking a few baits waiting for hairtailing to begin! I managed a nice trevally that went like the clappers on my 4lb line and was very pleased to see him netted successfully by Pete! Pete is always land based and has never caught a hairtail. I have caught many and have a pretty solid technique and just love everything about targeting them. So after a quick tutorial on rigs and technique the lines went out. Then an hour later the fun began!! And my god were we in for a treat! At about 5pm, I noticed my rod tip bouncing and I said to Pete, here they are! Bounce, bounce pull and whack, I'm on!!! And shortly after was team scratchies first boat hairtail. A short while later, after some rod and line issues, it's Pete's turn! And after a good fight Pete has successfully boated his first ever hairtail. High 5's all round. What proceeded after this can only be described as the "Hottest Bite Ever". For the next 2 hrs, Pete and I were on within seconds of our baits hitting their spot! So much so that we ran out of bait and needed to place a call to stewy on the mothership. Thank god stewy answered and the conversation went something like this..... Me: stewy, got any bait? We run out, we're getting smashed. Stewy: how many you got? Me: about 20??? Stewy: are they still biting? Yep! See you in 2mins! He and Reggie turned up to our aid, tied of to us handed over some bait, and now four rods are out! Now for the next hour and a half, without exaggerating we were all into them, single, double even triple hook ups! The laughter from us all could be heard for miles! I then thought it would be interesting to rig up my 4lb line to see if I could land one. 4lb, single 1/0 on steel trace and fillet of pillie! 2seconds later, yep I'm on! Stewy reckoned I had no chance of landing it and after a 5min fight 3 meters from the boat it's off, stewy says, see I told you. But I'd liked to think it was more of a quick release. Not long after we called it a night and left them there biting. All in all, I hooked 40+ landed 30 and kept 8. Pete hooked 30+ landed 20 and kept 4. Stewy and Reggie can't count but they did well too! Was an absolute magic night on the hairtail and great to share it with my fellow raiders! Here are a few pictures of our trip! Put simply, Donna and stewy, thanks for everything! It was great to meet some fellow raiders. And to nbdshroom, you were a pleasure to fish with mate! It was great to get you a few PB's and firsts. Next time, just make sure you bring me a coffee and I hope you now know what a suckworth is! Thanks for reading and for those of you raiders who missed out or weren't sure whether to go or not, clear your calendar now for next years social. Cheers scratchie!!!