nbdshroom

Cheers guys. Cold weather is tough but the fish have to eat sometime (and hopefully when I have lure out!). Looking forward to your future reports Ian, and maybe even a fish with you one day!

Haha, cheers for the vote of confidence Jeff! Plus, that is a very wise, Confucious-like statement! I've put in two reports the last few days haha.

It was a glorious afternoon and I had a spare moment so I popped down to Iron Cove for a quick one before meeting up with Ben (kingfisher84) later on in the day. Decided to start off in the canal, and as I started walking closer, I noticed a man who was flicking lures and he was also pushing a baby in a pram! Talk about addiction He recognised me from the week before and it was good to make a new friend. In between walking to a fro between surface bust ups (he thought they were trevs) and him feeding the baby, the bites were slow. Between us, I was only able to land a small tailor before it was time for him to cart the baby back home. I Bid him farewell and then really concentrated for the next bit. The sun was out and the heat was becoming apparent when I got the slightest of touches. I struck hard and came up tight. A little breambo soon surfaced. I moved along the canal to an area where the water was slack. Twitch twitch pause... I didn't see the take so I was a bit unprepared when I suddenly came up hard with what I thought was a solid bream. It was in fact a wildly thumping blackie. It was hooked in the jaw and it didn't want a bar of it. It peeled drag and them some. It was a good 5-10 min of fight. I didn't want to risk losing it by bringing it in prematurely. I was using 6lb leader so I was quite confident of landing it until I started to lift him out of the water. I noticed the leader was stretching even though a bit of the fish was still supported in the water. I had to lay face down along the ground and reach in to grab the jighead and then hoist it up onto dry land. Success! Got a quick photo courtesy of a passerby and let the luderick swim off back into the canal she came from. She went 43 cm and was taken on a Z'man grubz in motoroil. I was stoked! If I'm not mistaken 43cm, puts her in second place for blackie on lure. That is now my second luderick on lure and yet to get one on weed lol. Cheers Pete

To be broad, a multitude of problems but the main concerns include brain damage and organ failure (kidney, lungs etc.). This depends on the exposure and type (elemental, salt or organic). The mercury interferes with a trace essential element (selenium) which is present in enzymes that help to restore the antioxidant properties (i.e. reduction) of antioxidants (e.g. vit C) that prevent oxidation (i.e. damage) inside cells. Once you take that out, oxidative damage can occur over time without a means of reversal and as oxygen use is the highest in the brain, then basically your brain and its function erodes away over time! There are a number of diseases brought on by increased mercury poisoning which pretty much lump together the symptoms if I am not mistaken.

Thanks Stan, they are not as good looking as you tho.

Haha I really do need to find out where my regular sunnies are. These substitute ones are lolworthy

Been trying to hit up jew lately, mostly with plastics (and also bait lol - at the suggestion of Scratchie) for naught. In the meantime, got stuck into a few good fish over a handful of seshs, solo and also a few with kingfisher84 who's managed to bag a few of them better ones lately (including one in the previous report). Places that were fished were Parra river from Canada Bay up till Iron Cove and several places along Georges River from Chippo, Picnic point and all the way up past the Salt Pan. Times fished were usually from about midday toward the latter part of the afternoons during sunny weather usually. Fish were to be found further downriver after rains, particularly if the water was murky and full of sediment. Some days were very windy but fish could still be had with a slower technique and perseverance, particularly if the wind and cold begins to wear down your patience. Bream sizes were up to low to mid 30s and flathead to low 50s. Lures used include Z-mans in copper penny, watermelon red, bloodworm and motoroil, Madeye paddle prawns in yellow, Atomic 38 crank in Ghost gill brown. The plastics were best served on a light jighead with plenty of flutter down the water column. The hardbody got fish interested when worked about half metre worked with a crank or two and a stab of the rod.

Yes to the above. More and longer pauses and less energetic hops. Pause may or may not be important. For bream, it is almost essential, whilst for tailor probably to the detriment.

Good to know. Hurry up Ben and get your gear in order lol. Are you just waiting for your reel to come in?

Well done champ. For the fish and showing the old man how to fish lol

Great report. Full marks from me!

Thanks Tom. I was genuinely interested in how it was all set up.

Top info, will definitely give this a shot.

Glad to be of help. If fishing deep water like the depth you have suggested. I would think colour plays a less important factor as after several metres, the reds, oranges and yellows from the sunlight are quickly absorbed and cannot penetrate any further. Only the blues, greens and purples prevail at deeper depths.

Blades/vibes are worth it. Their niche is fishing in deep waters where floating/suspending hard bodies cannot reach or where you need to get down deep quickly e.g. against pylons. They are different to HBs because they vibrate in a tight action when lifted up the water column and give off a metallic flash. The vibrations are attractive to fish. Flathead don't seem to mind much lure and colour-wise, but darker colours (e.g. blacks, reds and purples) are preferred by jew.

Good stuff and cracking report Stu. I always wanted to try out worbonora and the nearby bridges for EP. Congrats on upgrading your P B

Thanks, glad to be of (some) help!

Tuna (up to 0.7ppm but usually at about half this) is the better choice over stuff like sharks and swordfish (both at nearly 1ppm). Among tuna, the levels of mercury vary. Bluefins are slower growing than other tuna, and generally the older the fish, the more time mercury has to accumulate in that fish. To answer your question, they generally utilise smaller fast growing tunas in the cans resulting in lower levels.

Well done Fishraider! I wonder if the 20000th member has seen this thread yet!

Well I didn't think it stood out, but generally long-lived fish (including gemfish) that prey on others their whole life accumulate and bioconcentrate their mercury levels e.g. sharks, rays, swordfish, tuna etc.

LOL anyone watching doggies vs dragons? This game is insane.

Good stuff guys. Cracking cartilaginous fish Stan!

Really enjoyed both you and your friend's company when fishing the bridge even though it was only for catties for us. Well done on the soapies, too bad for us they didn't take our squid or my soft plastic!

Good stuff, it won't be long before you get a much bigger carp. The big ones seem to be more common than small ones.

Too many things to say but I'll try to be quick! - Bad luck on the flatty (~90cm), you'll get her next time! - The coffee story went like this: Drove past maccas at thornleigh thinking there was one further up the road because I didn't want to get it to get cold. That was a mistake, as I pulled off the F3 and went to a couple of marinas and that petrol place asking for non-existent coffee. - That salmon was probably 60-61 cm - Really thankful for the company and amenities onboard the mothership. p.s. just quietly, I think Stuey knows what I'm taking about LOL - Heaps of dolphin pods all over the Hawksbury. Just puts you in a relaxed mood. - Hairtail fishing is like very unique, when they find your bait, that is when the game begins. - Scratchie was contemplating a name change to hairtail king. - Hottest bite I ever had and not a boat in the vicinity! Actually had my back get tired from pumping up hairtail all night. Glad to have had Stuey and Reggie join in on that special moment! Didn't get a picture of Stuey unfortunately but he was like a kid in a candy store! - Beware of the piecost... Last but not least, thanks to Jeff for taking me and to the Fishraider crew who made the event possible, Stuey, Donna and co.!