flea

Look like pike to me - still arguably good to eat - even better as livies.

I have a feeling its around Scotland Island somewhere but not sure. Was that you out there yesterday Jack who dropped a king in front of me? If so tough mate - I always lose them there if I hookup right on the wreck but have better joy if I hook up off the wreck slightly. Anyway if you do find out please PM me and I'll return the favour. Cheers Flea

Does anyone know the general wherabouts of Botham's Reef? I have quite a few wrecks inside Pittwater that my mate and I have stumbled across, but am unsure where Bothams is, or even if it confused with Boulton's!!!. I am willing to divulge one of my own wrecks that I have found Cheers all and tight lines. Flea

70cm model two weeks ago. Went out last week and saw a small school of around 5-6 fish on the sounder - they were 'big' - Guestimate at around 1m long. Couldn't raise them though and they didn't hang about long. Cheers Flea

Find the squid then find the kings. Use your sounder to sound out the markers, wrecks, dropoffs etc. If you find balled up bait then usually the kings aren't far behind. Concentrate your downrigging time around the bait balls and you will have success. Downrigging is a slow process and therefore no point in dragging your hard earned baits where the fish aren't!! Kingy Kid - i agree with you mate - Pittwater is not dead and no rats among them either (yet) but keep it quiet

Thanks for the replies. I have rigged up a few metals with singles no 4's. Unfortunately the fish have moved on. Was hoping they would hole up for a few days but I'll have to find some over the weekend. Any reports on salmon in Pitty/Broken Bay?

Went for a spin session on a local beach yesterday. Hooked 6-7 salmon in the half hour I was there but the hooks pulled every time . Two fish took me right down the beach before spitting the hooks. Very frustrating but at least I know the drag system works well. Got home and inspected the hooks on the little chrome slice - not blunt??? What's going on?? Anyone got any tips for staying connected to these guys? Use single hooks or smaller trebles or sharpen the existing ones to needles? I tried not setting the hook at all to just belting them nothing worked. Any suggestions? Cheers Flea

Look slightly better than schoolies mate - nice brace of fish. When and what system - give us a little tease with a report as well. Sorry - just read the report in a seperate thread. Well done but still look a fair bit bigger than 65cm

thanks fellas - now I know I should hang out a little but I probably wont be able to help myself. This weather is fantastic I just hope it lasts until Friday when I'll take a day off work and hopefully take the young bloke out. I'l keep you posted how I go. Cheer Flea

Thought I'd put it out to the more experienced king fisherman as I've only been at it for around a year. When can we expect the kings to show up in Sydney in numbers and does this revolve around water temp? Any help provided to help maximise the precious on water time vs brownie points at home would be much appreciated. Cheers Flea

I've been getting a few cuttles around the wharfs recently - but no kingy action at all to follow either.

Try this link out for some great flyfishing vids www.hook.tv in particular this one on some great sight fishing for kings http://www.hook.tv/player.php?key=C2E429A2192563E0 Cheers Flea

Good work - I love seeing Dads pass on the knowledge and passion. I'm assuming the skipper was also wearing one them red uniforms!

Went for a fish in Pittwater with a good mate today. we did all the right things - got live squid and yakkas and downrigged these amongst a few wrecks before trying outside around the Joey and a little further south. Could not find any kings or any serious schools of bait. Water was a balmy 17.5 degrees, so we were hoping for some action. Hopefully it won't be too long before the kings show up in numbers. All in all a great day to be on the water - I hope others have more success over the weekend. Water was extremely clear and clean. Cheers Flea

Awesome - reminds me of Ernest Hemmingway's the old man and the sea. AWesome, awesome awesome - you deserve all the accolades you get Well done.

I suspect that a hit from a suid is more devastating behind the head where they can quickly kill the prey. It probably happens more often than we think - just most times we don't see what is happening. Are there any jigs with spikes further up the body in the smaller sizes (1.8)?? Or maybe the cuttlefish has less chance of being jagged due to smaller tentacles?? Cheers Flea

Went for a quick afternoon squid sesh today before the wind picked up in Pittwater saw two smallish cuttles caught for future king baits. No net meant I dropped at least 2 more. They were fairly shy and had to lure them in close and entice them with small 1.8 jigs. If these smaller jigs had head spikes I would've been more successful as they were attacking from the side/head. Scent on the jigs seemed to put them off. Anyway an enjoyable hour sight fishing for inkies after work - sorry no pics Flea

I 'salute' you on a successful mission and the best spin on a post in ages. Cheers Flea

Thanks fellas - looks like I'll pay much more attention to the trailer - drive on sounds like the way to go. I mainly launch at Pittwater where previously I've just driven up onto the sand but there is the option of a pontoon too if needed. Anybody own a 1600 tournament? They are a nice looking boat of around the right size (5m) but I'm not sure how stable they are. Any suggestions? Cheers Flea

thanks for the tips. I have been launching my 4.55m tinnie at the ramp for around 7yrs with no problems on my own, so I am not a newbie to the ramp. I just wanted to get an idea of what size boats people comfortably retrieve on their own. I am looking at the 1600 Mustang tournament which looks like a good boat for the money but with the boat show looming I don't want to get talked into a boat that I can't handle. Thanks for your comments everyone Flea

Looking to upgrade the tinnie to something more family friendly - but still with fishing firmly in mind. Seeing as though I'll be the one using it mostly - I was wondering what size boat is too large when it comes to being able to launch and importantly retrieve on your own? I mostly fish Pittwater/Harbour but would like the option of heading outside when conditions are kind. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

West Head holding heaps of yakkas - squid a bit harder to find. Salmon sipping tiny 'eyes' right next to your holiday home yesterday afternoon. Managed only one on a metal slice but reckon some soft plastics would have been better. Have a good weekend

Maggie is only around 8km from the mainland and as such Barra can be picked up from the mangroves on the mainland side, there are a couple of litle creeks that look very fishy and I have spotted Barra cruising the flats - even hooked and lost one from here. True plenty of trevally and other reefy critters also available - be careful where you fish though - some zoning restrictions apply on the seaward side which knock out some lovely reefs.

Nice Barra Kev. Townsville holds some great fish. Live baiting the breakwall is a great way to spend a relaxing evening. Try also to flick some lures around the rock pool on the southern side on a king tide that coincides with evening. Some very big fish over the metre mark come in from here. Jacks and estuary cod to 50cm are always a nice consolation prize too.

Agree with you Davo. We should be happy that fisheries are making attempts to protect our fishery for the future and not adopting a rape and pillage mentality. Reductions in bag limits are fine by me which allow us to persue our sport whilst still taking home the odd fish for the plate and not stocking the freezer for months. we should only be looking after our immediate needs. The size limits are put in place for very good reasons eg allow fish to mature and contribute to the next generation (by breeding) before being removed from the population. I am surprised that the size limit for kings is only being increased to 65cm and not 75cm as this is generally the size when they mature. We are currently experiencing a great kingfish revival and a success story - of which we should be aiming to protect further- I know I'd like to see Sydney join the ranks of NZ or Lord Howe for their monster kingfish. that said I do believe that the smaller fish taste better than the larger ones - perhaps we could keep one or two between 65-75cm and release all fish over 90-100cm. As some science suggest that larger fish contribute disproportionately to the population perhaps these bigger breeders should all be released!! My 2 cents Cheers Andy