Keflapod

Us Greeks, we like to complain about stuff. ..and when there's nothing to complain about, we complain about the fact there's nothing to complain about. And this weekend we just had, well, it was no exception. We complained about stuff. I had worked out my itinerary on Friday afternoon for my assault the next morning. First I was gonna try the water wide off the novotel, then off the third runway. After that I was gonna go to the oil wharf for the first of the runout - see if any trevs or any bream were there. Then to the Towra shallows and Quibray bay areas. I knew the water would be dirty from the recent floods of biblical proportions we just had. So I went to bed early after having prepared everything so I can get up early to catch the last of the run in tide. I figured this would be the cleanest water of the tide cycle and maybe have more fish in it. At about 11:00pm I woke to the muffled sound of my wife watching TV. It woke me after only an hour of sleep. In my half wake-half-sleep state I dreamt I was having an almighty argument with her about it. I woke again at 1:00am uttering the words "What's your fargone problem !" to her. Man I was annoyed with her about the TV noise and my thoughts materialized into a dream. The mind is a funny thing - no instruction book came with it. I also realized I had a headache and had to do Mr Panadol. The things we do for fish. The alarm woke me 5 minutes later at 4:30am (seemed like 5 minutes) and I literally dragged myself out of bed and out the back door. I was supposed to be excited and I was gonna be excited whether I liked it or not ! Then I realized something wasn't quite right. I could hardly see the garage door. What the FOG is going on ? I wasn't dreaming this time. Yes it has been so long since we had the pea soup in the air that I had forgotten about it. It was foggy and I was gobsmacked. I was having second thoughts of driving the boat down the river, crashing into other boats or logs floating on the current lines because it was too dark AND too foggy. But I went to the ramp anyway, even though I know of the dangers I faced. I launched the boat and had a chat with some other guys who also hesitated for the same reason. Net result, I was running late and the fog started to lift with the sunrise. I could see at least 100m and that was enough ! Hammer down, watch the current lines for icebergs dead ahead. I looked at the wake of the boat behind me to see the water quality - more pea soup. The water was so bad I thought it was going to clog my outboard's cooling system. I finally touched down at the Novotel and not a boat in sight. The water looked cleaner there so I was optimistic. Anchor down but was sad to see there was no current. Burley in and with only one undersized bream, I was off to deeper water looking for current in which to burley. Off to the third runway and again no current. Not good, and the wind had swung SW. No fish at all there so off to the oil wharf. The tide had started to fall but again, little current and nothing interesting to be caught. So off to the Towra ultra shallows for the first of the falling tide. Well banjo after banjo came to say hello but no bream or whiting. The water was very silty so I was kind of stumped as to what to do. It was about 10:00am and NO FISH ! Now there was HEAPS to complain about ! I felt so much better! I tried a number of spots wide of Quibray Bay for a "one here, one there" scenario. It was tough going. I was listening to the VHF radio CH21 and some guys were saying there were quite a number of waterspouts happening. I would love to see a photo of one. Then as usually happens, the rod goes off like a speedboat just picked up the line in the prop. This time there was no boat in sight so I was thinking 'Eagle Ray', until it stopped and shook it's head. Now usually this is an eagle ray and I no longer get excited when it happens, but, I felt a headshake. Oh Crap this must be something worthwhile. I forgot how to compose myself and get ready for a long fight. A jewie maybe well I hoped and hoped it was, but only the first run was kind of long - the others were very short so I was puzzled. It wasn't a ray nor a bream / whiting. It was not a big trev. I rarely catch flatties. A big kingie would run forever and a tailor - no - too much weight. After about 10 minutes a flash of silver not huge but worthwhile. The water was brown so I could not identify it until it was virtually in the net. There it is ! Then my heart sank - a salmon ! The line had swapped around it's pectoral fins and was coming in sideways. That explains the resistance and the strange fight Well it provided some fun, so in the box he goes for Thai fish cakes. The next two fish were crackers so I was starting to smile and be happy. Definitely a strange feeling that one. A bream at 39cm gave me a real hard fight because he was only lip-hooked. The fish after that would have won me the first prize in the Pirtek challenge for the whiting. It came in at 44cm and really gave the old elbows a good slap. The surge of power from these fish as they see the boat is something I will never tire of. I have said it before, bonefish are a rich man's whiting. The bait ran out around 1:00pm and by that time I had about a dozen fish all up Very lean catch but if you had asked me at 10:00am I would have said I was gonna go home with a Trung Donut ! With little pink sprinkles on it. Oh well, the donut will have to wait. On a previous trip, I had a whiting bitten clean in half - any speculation ? And of course, the obligatory stingray with the hook embedded in it's sting...

Hey Bmac, I'm no expert, but there are some facts that need to be considered when formulating theories about fish feeding during fresh water influx. 1. Fresh water is less dense than salt water - meaning fresh water floats over the salt water. 2. Currents and eddies can mix the fresh and salt water such that you don't always get the fresh water sitting directly over the salt, but in still water, fresh will float on salt. 3. Different species have a different tolerance to salinity level changes. Mullet can tolerate completely fresh (as can bream, bass, EP's etc) while others not. So the lack of surface action could mean the there is a thick layer of fresh over the salt and the baitfish don't like it, so if any feeding is going on from predators, it may well be under the surface. 4. Other water-bourne particles brought by rains can also affect fish - silt can get into gills and suffocate fish, or other chemicals washed in off roadways can upset fish. So, taking stuff like this into account, you have to decide where the fish are likely to be, upper reaches of river, lower reaches, what level of the water column and would they be feeding or just trying to survive the conditions... Not so obvious is it ? Tony

Cuttlefish is very nice, even at the bigger sizes. It needs to be cooked slowly on a low heat. I strip it up and put it in a pot with water, oil, red wine, vegie stock and a jar of italian pasta sauce. Simmer on a low heat for an hour. It will be tender. If you boil it on a high heat, I find it will toughen up. When it's cooked, strain out the stock and put some in a rice cooker with the right amount of rice and steam it. When the rice is done it will have the flavour of the stock. Put the cuttlefish and remaining bits of vegies on the rice. Just the kind of food to serve during the colder months. Tony

Yes Jimmy - that's why I can't seem to catch any fish - I burley with motor oil, not tuna oil.

Hey Formosan, Are you going to compare rods as well? or are you proposing a naked squid-off ? Lol - you just kill me ! Put THAT on the video with a little pixelization around the loin area to keep it legal. Tony...

Well done Dave, Pink ling is an all-time favourite of mine. No doubt you were actually looking for blue-eye, hapuka and the bluddy big bass groper. Still, the ling are well worth the drop... Tony

Hi Trung, Just looking at that first photo, I thought you had found an oil spill in the bay. Seeing the second photo, I thought that the squid caught in that area of the spill had mutated into something extraterrestrial ! But of course it was a cuttlefish. That thing must have pissed it's pants to release so much ink. Did you show it a frypan as it was coming up? Or maybe it saw the mother of all kings swim by and said far.....KING fish!,,, A couple of nice bonnies there to get you warmed up. But the squid only caught a chocolate coated donut ? With sprinkles ? And you do six in an hour ? When do you have time to fish if you're scoffing donuts ? Oh I get it - you fish IN BETWEEN donut sessions... Wouldn't want to spoil a good doughnut by having a rod go off.... You probably didn't even put a squid onto the hooks when downrigging in case the rod goes off and you have to put the donut down to get the rod.... What a terrible intrusion that would be into a good donut session... Seriously, I'm surprised you didn't turn a reel on a hoodie. You certainly have the knowledge and experience. I wonder what will happen to the fish and squid after all this rain we're now having... It's been a funny season for weather... Tony

Well done Rob, Five fabulous flatties for sure (counting the released fish). A good eating size too. Tony

Hi Dogbox, What sort of fish are we talking ? Bream, whiting, trevally, flathead, jew, tailor, mullet ? Rough numbers and sizes ? Bait or lures ? Thanks for the info though because I can see the upper reaches of rivers are currently fishing better than the bay proper... Tony

Hey Rabb1t, Flathead do not go into pro traps. I did a stint on a pro trapper boat for fun - a few days per week for a couple of months. Very interesting to see what comes up in them traps. Never flathead - they are always trawled. The traps are for reds, bream, trevs, jackets, occasional octopus, and once found a spangled emperor... Tony

Well done Tom, That's a very respectable fish and a highhly meritorious capture around such structure. The only thing I would question is your sanity to get into the shark-infested water with a fish that is emitting major stress signals ! I get goosebumps just thinking about it... Then again, for a fish-eater like me, to let go a cracker jew like that - I just couldn't do it, but kudos to you for letting the fish go and I hope you get a bigger one next time mate. Tony

Hey funny, you're a real freak of nature. I mean that in a good way... A good freak... No wonder you win so many comps. You''re the doctor dolittle of fishing. I swear you must have a lateral line on your back.... or maybe like Kevin Costner in waterworld - part lung, part gill....... I think that catch deserves a fruit basket prize... Tony

Hi iMick, Yes that's Murray as in the guy from the wiggles (the red wiggle). His SURNAME is Cod and he often sings at the opera house. He was on his way there when he was tempted on the surface by a popper.... I just hope the ordeal didn't stifle his singing voice .... Tony

Hey Adam, well done on finding such a good spot. ...and catching a good feed of fish. The tuna were propbably bonito. Did they have teeth ? If so, they are bonito. If not, they might be frigate mackerel. If you are indeed a chef, I'm sure you will find a nice recipe for the fish.... All you need now is to bring the camera... Tony

Dwan, The marlin footage can be put onto Youtube. You need to convert it from your current format into .FLV format. Some cameras have a conversion facility that will do it and then upload. The 500Mb file will shrink down to maybe a quarter of the size..... Then post the youtube link here in your report... Jeez you guys are keen. Go as hard as you can while young coz once you get older, your respective wives may not be as keen as you are... You will need to relive your experience s via video and photos ! But that's a long way off yet...

Niko ! You should not be called fishinnick. It should be catchinnick ! It's been a while since I done the squid-king thing. My missus felt bad for dragging me away on a family weekend last weekend whern I haven't been able to get a nice weather fishing day and last weekend was 2 nice days in a row. She has given me a 2-day fishing pass this weekend. I might have to tee-up a day with you if your missus lets you out again... Anyway, let me know when you're up for a visit. I'll come over and check out the fishing machine.... As we all say, beware of Greeks bearing gifts... It may be a trojan horse.... Well done on the kingies. Some nice fish there. Tony

I know what you mean And I thought MY reports were funny, clever and really witty. It seems I have a lot to learn... He's onto something right there. Next time I'm just gonna write a single sentence....of 300 words.... Maybe not... So we all gotta use the "KISS" principle. Keep it short, stupid... Legs11 is saying BINGO right now..... Good on him... Tony

Hey Dwan8337, Again you have excelled yourself in an awesome report. This is the kind of thing that young blokes with lots of enthusiasm will do. I'm very jealous of youse (gotta throw in a colloquiallism) as I used to do the same sort of things myself in the old days. The arguments with the swimmers divebombing your burley trail, boaties anchoring 10m from the wharf, people knocking your bucket, bait, gear into the water and all of the other fight-starting shenanigans. I don't miss them at all. They can fight it out themselves.... But, sleeping face down on the timber floor - mate the Nepalese monks would be proud of that effort ! Are you sure you didn't stop over for a drink or two ? Falling asleep while petting a guinea pig is classic... Just as well you didn't make it to the bed.... The photo would have been even more embarrassing ! Out on the boat - two guys in a yellow poly, wearing the same outfit ???? Bill and ben the poly-pot men ? At least wear different clothes and don't stand too close to eachother when fishing...... Also, no giggling allowed.... Just kidding guys. Love your stuff. Tony.

Hey Dwan8337, If that kingie did such an awful thing to Adrian's derriere, perhaps you were actually fishing just below long bay jail ? Think about it.... Mate I had a good laugh at the imagery, but maybe you could have said that he got smoked. Great photos and mate you guys must be keen to do the LBG thing these days, especially climbing like that in the darkness.... So have you got any decent kingies in on that spot ? or do you constantly get rap.....er I mean smoked ? Tony

Hey Legz11, Welcome to the site. You must have been really excited to tell us all about your catch. So excited that in fact you left out every detail that would have got us equally excited. How about the where, when and how stuff ? You say you went out with a couple of mates, but I guess you don't mean the pub. You got a heap of bonnies but I guess you mean you didn't buy them. Where you on a boat ? Trolling, jigging or spinning ? Lure or livebaiting? How big where they? Did you try to put one out live under a balloon ? Any pictures of the best fish of the day? Did you notice anything unusual - ie they only hit the lures once they sank a long way, or only hit the blue ones, not the silver ones? I have to admit when I get a good fish, I find that I'm trembling with excitement and often stumble on my words.... Or maybe that's because of the fact the person asking me about the fish I caught is a babe..... Tony

Hey quintrex480, Tide has a bearing on fishing right out to browns mountain and beyond. It's known that baitfish will come close to the surface on the top of a high tide. Marlin fishos know this well. Just ask Ross Hunter... So if the same applies to baitfish in close, then the kingies will be waiting for them to rise in the water column and make them more huntable ? Visible ? Maybe ? I'm just drawing conclusions using the facts we have. Also, the high tide in the morning brings the cleanest clearest water in from the ocean. Maybe something about the last part of the high tide brings some characteristic in the water that tells the kingies that now is the time to feed ? It's all speculation be we love to think about it because it spawns ideas in our heads that we just have to try out and this gets US all excited and looking forward to the next trip..... I would hate to know everything because fishing would be very predictable.... Just on another note of kingie fishing, there was (still is?) a group of commercial fishos on the south coast (Jervis Bay) that spray water onto the surface from pipes all around their boat. the water jets going into the water excites the kingies. I was also told they use some sort of acoustic technique to get them around... These guys are very successful... How did they come up with this stuff ? Ideas and experimenting.... Gotta love the thinking fisho... Tony

Hey Anf, Indeed the shovelnose are very nice to eat. Especially the wings as the strands of meat there a sweeter than the rest of the fish. They do have a bit of an iodine taste like sharks do but their soft sweet flesh is very tasty. Cleaning them is a bit tedious (the skinning bit) but once you get over that bit, the rest is pure bliss ! Tony

Hey Daniel, What depth were you in ? North side or south ? I was out there Sunday, fishiong the south side. I tried 1.0m and various depths to 3.0m and only got 9 bream. I could not find any areas I could say were holding them. I'm gonna have to make them fish last 2 weeks because I can't get back out there until the week after next... Tony

SPONGY !!!! What a great set of culinary photos. I just had a big lunch - couldn't fit another thing in..... ...until now..... That dory is heaven on a plate. You're such a teaser. Well done on a great catch. The kingies provide the sport and the dory provides the spoils. Tony

I would have trouble winning a one-tickit lottery that I bought myself. They would not be able to find the tickit in the barrel ! I just want to have an excuse to fish all-day really, while helping a worthy cause.... It's been a long time since I entered a fishing comp. Last time I did and I won some prizes, I walked away feeling used and abused. The nice prizes spruiked turned out to be fruit hampers, wines, caps and ties ! Then they tried to nick all my big snapper and tailor to raffle off for funds for the club ! I took my fish, left the prizes and never went back... ....bad memories them.... No more comps for me.... except this one.... We get to let our fish go for a change... Tony