choad

good report. how are the mackerel on the tooth?

i know bonnies cook well but is it worth filleting a frig for the plate?

if you think a 1.8 jig is too big, consider using a fly. i've seen a guy in the hacking pick up mini squid on fly.... i presume they were custom made with trebbles / some kind of special hook. does anyone here use this technique? (apologies for the post hijack)

roseville looked pretty brown yesterday. i don't think that is too conducive to good squidding... i think they're a visual hunter - just have a look at those massive eyes. palm beach used to be good but the wharf tends to get a pounding by the squidders (myself included in the past). slow retrieves, close to bottom, quality japanese jigs and various colours are essential. i prefer the duel and daiwa jigs. bigger jigs for bigger squid. don't be afraid to go 3.0 or bigger, even small squid will hit them. good luck.

nice fish and even better looking combo. congrats.

i find the occies a major handful. how do you kill it quickly?

as mentioned above, a gimbal mount (fits into your rod holder) is a perfect portable mount. if you get the basic penn downrigger they have a bolted in base plate which you can slide your downrigger on/off at will (takes 5 seconds). clamp on bases as far as i'm aware are really only suitable for the smaller setups (tinnies / kayaks).... correct me if i'm wrong.

thanks.

I heard the penrhyn road boat ramp in port botany would be closed and a new one built on foreshore drive. does anyone know the progress of these changes? can i launch at either location at present?

do you use an electric or petrol motor for trolling? how far back are you setting your lures?

apparently i named an unmentionable shop in my previous post. pm me if your interested in details. apologies to admin. cheers.

at the spots i hit, i find i get mini squid on mini jigs and the nice eating size ones on sizes 3.0 and up. give it a try. i reckon the bigger the jig the more noticeable it is in the water column and mostly the adult squid are brave enough to strike.

for a 100 bucks you can get a penn slammer 360 matched to a penn powerspin 7 foot rod . comes with terminals to boot. try finding a penn slammer anywhere for under 150 - 200 on its own. its a bit of a light setup though, more suited to bream and flatties. hope it helps.

thanks byron, I am about to install a penn dr on my transom. it says i can do either side or straight back mounting. i think i'll go for the side option as you suggested. cheers.

i have done a bit of research about these myself recently and bought a penn fathom master. from what i've read, the brands to pick are scotty cannon or penn. make sure it's ok for saltwater use... i've seen some cheaper versions only fit for saltwater use. on the same topic, gazza, i noticed you don't rate your downrigger setup. what is it about the setup which is frustrating? i'm about to install mine on the transom (fixed base) and am undecided about whether to point it straight back or at 90 degrees out to the side (2 options from penn). what do people think would be better?

interesting, do you think when the yakkas are hard to find inshore it means they have headed outside?

Sadly not much to report. Hit the water at roseville at 0630 after a sleep in (too exhausted for the planned pre dawn bash). Picked up a squid in mh. couldn't score a yakka at my usual grounds... weird, usually it's all i catch. Put the live calamari out and trolled around north head, the spit moorings and seaforth bluff for zip. Spoke to a few other guys with similar success. Tide was low around seven. Swell was reasonable early on but dying later in the morning. Wind from the south less than ten knots. Sun was scorching. Water very clear. Yakkas absent? weird.

it's a weapon all right. fat and black.

check out the last photo: is that a fat flattie in your pants or are you just happy to see us? i love fishing but you must REAALLLY LOVE fishing! top catch btw

where do you launch your yak from?

if you think about it though, there is plenty of other harmful things we do in life without a second thought. eg smoking cigs. Think of a treva as a cigarette. One or two wouldn't make that much difference. The only reason there is a ban at the moment is because the WHO dropped it's threshold for what was considered acceptable levels of dioxin. The problem has been around for at least fifty years and there are generations of us who grew up on harbour caught bream and the like. Great catch by the way. Don't they fight hard? Great fun on light gear. Congrats.

btw, fisheries nsw recommends you don't eat any fish caught west of the sydney harbour bridge. it's to do with cancer inducing dioxins in our famous waterway.

Yeah I wish I was back there right now. Damn cold though. I was in full ski gear and still feeling it. The guide was a freak... only wearing a thin jacket, ripped jeans and thin thermals underneath. He looked at me and laughed. I guess we're pretty spoiled for weather here.

With the weekend almost here I can only dream of hitting that misty morning air at roseville ramp full of hope. Unfortunately I'll be doing "duties" around the house. What are people getting up to? Are the salmon schools still around? Have fun out there. Be sure to take the camera along and post your sessions for chumps like me to feel as though we were out there too.

it makes you wonder how teaming with life more comfortable places in the world used to be like before we "succeeded" as a race.