choad

thanks. i saw that article but couldn't make out the colours too clearly from the pictures. they look like they have smaller heads with pointier mouths. Anyone have a close up pic of one? also, how do the watson's bonnies rate as bait compared to frigates?

no, not personally, though i imagine you could give it a shot from lp. wouldn't mind keeping the spot a mystery. i'm sure you'd understand . could someone post a pic of a frigate mackerel? please?

does anyone know if you can get tested for dioxin levels in your body?

thanks. i thought so, but not being a local/regular began to doubt myself.

various techniques, metals gang pilly or my favourite: site casting an unweighted pilly cube on 6 pd line. lose more than you catch but serious fun off a wharf.

caught a few of these in port hacking. regulars at the wharf I catch them call them frigate mackerel or bonito depending on who you talk to on the day. looks like a watson's leaping bonito to me. any suggestions?

there's been a bit of talk lately about the dioxin issue. i did a bit of research on the net and thought i'd share it with fellow raiders. some food for thought.... exerpt from ABC online news: Tuesday, January 24, 2006. "...the levels of dioxin in the fish from the tests that I've seen in 1996 and now have not significantly changed," he said. (Primary Industry Minister - Ian Macdonald) "What has changed is the international assessment of the levels of risk of dioxin so it's got a higher bar in recent years than it did in previous years." ie: we've cottoned on to how dangerous these chemicals are. other resources: State government documents have shown that between 1949 and 1976 Homebush Bay was used as a dumping ground for the deadly poison dioxin. Carcinogenic dioxin was produced at a nearby Union Carbide chemical factory and waste was buried in landfills or scattered above ground in drums. The dioxin leeched into the waters of Homebush Bay. Homebush Bay is in the TOP THREE MOST DIOXIN CONTAMINATED PLACES IN THE WORLD. Dioxin levels in fish caught in Homebush Bay are 100 times the WHO levels. Fish downstream (such as the bream caught in Balmoral) are 10 times WHO levels. On surface soil, it may take from 9 to 15 years to degrade half of the dioxin in the top 0.1 centimeters (cm) and 25 to 100 years to degrade half the dioxin in the subsurface soil below 0.1 cm. From the health perspective: In 1997, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) -- part of the World Health Organization -- published their research into dioxins and furans and announced on February 14, 1997, that the most potent dioxin, 2,3,7,8-TCDD, is a now considered a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning a "known human carcinogen." Finally, a 2003 re-analysis of the cancer risk from dioxin reaffirmed that there is no known "safe dose" or "threshold" below which dioxin will not cause cancer. In addition to cancer, exposure to dioxin can also cause severe reproductive and developmental problems (at levels 100 times lower than those associated with its cancer causing effects). Dioxin is well-known for its ability to damage the immune system and interfere with hormonal systems. Dioxin exposure has been linked to birth defects, inability to maintain pregnancy, decreased fertility, reduced sperm counts, endometriosis, diabetes, learning disabilities, immune system suppression, lung problems, skin disorders, lowered testosterone levels and much more. Dioxins stay in human fat 14 years from last exposure. I was born in Sydney in 1976 and have fished the harbour with my dad since i could walk/talk and have eaten bream on a regular basis for almost 30 years! If dumping of dioxins took place in the 50's and 60's, that means I've been accumulating the dioxins in my body my entire life. Pretty concerning don't you think?

weren't the toxic bream caught last year (which triggered the ban in pro fishing in the harbour) at Balmoral? A bream would have to swim past sow and pigs to get to balmoral from homebush, the reported source of all evil. has another study been performed which cleared bream as safe to eat? how do you guys decide where it's safe to take bream for the dinner plate?

in their natural habitat, trout will migrate to saltwter as adults, returning to fresh to breed. you can catch sea run trout at the mouths of fresh water rivers along the new zealand west coast (south is.), or even the derwent river near hobart.

ditto. love reading the trout reports and cheecking out the pics. I love to chase trout though live in Sydney so the drought has been a massive problem in the rivers I used to hit. i love tassie. i will never forget watching a couple of kids fishing from a bridge ten metres above water level with a float and bread. felt sorry for them so gave them one i'd caught and planned to eat that night. Two minutes later, saw the boy pull one out almost twice the size! i couldn't believe it. trout on bread. took off the celta and tied on a hook. took a dry section of bread from the sandwich i'd packed and bait drifted the bread like a dry fly, and within seconds got slammed! so exciting. worked better than the celta. only in tassie...

I've seen guys targeting that species off lillipilli baths with bread many years back. must be alright on the dinner plate.

i'll be reading these forums like an addict. may hit lilli pilli saturday. good luck all.

do any turn up around clifton gardens?

2 spots worth a try are parramatta lake and nepean river (near the wier) but anywhere along the river where you can get shore access is worth a try. I mention the weir because there is a large area you can work if lure casting. i used to fish parramatta lake from the north side (opposite the park/picnic area). have a look at a road map... shouldn't be too hard to figure out. hope this helps. haven't fished for the bass for a while though. I hear you can get a bass or two in lane cove national park but am unsure about your chances of finding good lb access.

raiders. how does curl-curl compare to dee why? i fish dee why mostly and find tailor and salmon at change of light, high tide best, occasional whiting and flatties in the couple of hours before dusk and bream after dark (on prawn). sorry to hear about your dry session kantong. maybe give dee why a go. last i hit it, there was a lot of weed though. made for a frustrating session. also, how long do radiers stick with the one spot on a beach before moving further up or down?

at risk of sounding like a broken record, does everyone own a 4500/6500 because that was the only shimano baitrunner in this class until recently, or are people steering clear of the 6000/8000 because it's shit? (promise i'll lay this topic to rest soon).

thanks heaps. you guys have given me a nice head start. love this site.

thanks for the replies. my okumas too are corroding like rusty hooks on a wharf pilon. does anyone own a 6000/8000?

i have three okuma reels up to five years old. i must confess that i probably don't look after my reels as good as i should with plenty of saltwater fishing use. compared to the shimano, penn and abu garcia reels i have, (treated the same) the okumas seem to have aged a lot more than the others. At first i was a big fan of the okumas for features and great price, but have come to realise that by saving a few bucks at the time of purchase I'll probably be buying two okumas for every shimano, etc. that i buy. not much saving in the end. perhaps things have improved with the okumas. a lifetime warranty sounds impressive. still wary though. want quality

thanks. reliabilty and durability are most important to me.

A store is having a sale on these reels. Noted that the 6000 and 8000 were more reduced than the x500 series of reels. has anyone compared the two? i realise the 6000/8000 reels are newer, therefore probably less word about durability. Thinking of buying an 8000, but would pay extra for the older tried and tested reels if there was a definite difference. opinions?

$1000-2000. screen size not that big a deal to me. i'm more interested in the coverage. Both depth, fine detail, and field of view.

Just wondering what's the best fishfinder on the market these days. I'm about to buy a second hand boat for fishing coastal and want a fishfinder with maximum detail / sensitivity. Not too fussed about complexity as i use an ultrasound machine at work which runs on similar principles to radar (only on a smaller scale). any advice would be much appreciated... even if directed to other threads which may put me on the right track. thanks

Any reports on how four mile creek, orange is looking (levels / access). haven't been there for years.