Keflapod

Hey Jimmy, It's been a long time since we heard from you. I think it was when you were catching a jewie in the Georges with a squid strip under a float. Unconventional methods ? There ain't no such thing as unconventional methods. Why? Because if we used the term conventional, then the 90% of the people (who catch 10% of the fish) would be the convention. Wouldn't it ? Then that means the 10% of the fishos (that catch 90% of the fish) are the un-convention.... So to speak. Pioneers throw rulebooks out the window and make their own rules. They experiment and find things out that others dont. Hence the un-conventional approach. I have a friend who does things like this. One day, he was on the north peak, trying for kingies. The entire peak was dead. He put down a large octopus tentacle near the bottom. ...and got a 10kg jew. He did it again. ...and got another one. Another time he put out a whole dead bonito on 24kg tackle on the kurnell waverider buoy. ...and got a 20kg dolphinfish... mind you I once fished with him on my boat at the peak. The kingies were on - I bagged out quickly and he couldn't even get one.... Go figure... but the point is you gotta try new strategies when the chips are down. I'm surprised someone of your knowledge and experience on the jew front didn't turn a reel. Bad luck on the jew but well done on a cracker reddie. It won't be long before you're hoisting a metre plus king.... What's after that Jimmy? Tony

Hey Reggie, Were those fish loud and speaking with a funny accent ? Mate I'm the same. Whenever we go somewhere, I have to go to the local ramp or fishin hole and chat up the locals. The wife can always smell fish on me...I swear I should get her a job at the airport sniffing luggage.... Tony

Chris, well done to take the effort to show us this dish in such a professional way. It looks amazing and I will definately be trying it.... Now if I could just dig out my old squid jigs and go looking.....

Well done Rob. Nice brace of flatties there. The good Karma has returned to you after letting the big girl go recently. A little bit of rain and a runout tide gets them on the bite. Now it's your turn to bite them ! Bon apetit.

Hi Fishmaniac, Your point is very interesting about aquacultured fish being supplied to market at a length less than 65cm. I didn't know that, and it got me thinking to see if I can verify the length of a farmed kingfish at harvest time... I did a google search and I found the following link - a news article dated 15th September this year - very recent. The article states that cleanseas, our major supplier, has cut local supply of farmed kingfish due to very lucrative overseas demand. If virtually all farmed kingies are going OS, then why would there be an oversupply here of sub 65cm farmed fish going for $5 a kilo, as Aqua Naut has stated ? I'm not leaning one way or another because I did not personally view nor document any of these events and so to draw conclusions would not be right. But it does make me think.... Tony http://www.clamms.com.au/fresh_seafood_market_news/

I see your son loves fish as much as mine does. Only problem with my son taking off is that he can't reach the accelerator with his foot yet - he's only 10....

Hey Predator, You mean you think about work even after you've gone home for the day? I don't even think about work even when I'm AT work. In any case, I would use any excuse to be getting away for a fish too. At night with mates on a wharf - these days you need a few just in case the 'undesirables' turn up and want to fight. It was so cold your squid dropped off did it ? ...and both your bream shrunk as well ? Man it must have been cold ! When you take your missus out on the harbour for the anniversary, are you gonna take fishing gear as well ? She will wanna be romancin' while you wanna be fishin. ...and whatever you do, leave the mates at home for that fishing trip - er, I mean for that anniversary trip. Tony

Hey Yowie, That's a very worthwhile catch - several species on that smorgas board. You'd be doing well if you ate all those fillets for tea AND a whole bottle or Riesling.... Tony

Hey Trung, You got a 2kg squid ? That thing would cost like $45 at the fish markets. Do you have a photo ? Maybe there should be a new COTM category for cephalopods on FR. Half a dozen flatties on lures in winter is a pretty neat effort as well... Tony

It seems some people are more interested in Lucy than in the fish. While I'm definately in that category, can you imagine how badly that trip would have gone if my every response to Chris's questions was nothing more than salivary babble ? I would have cast my lines out unbaited and driven in circles... Chris would have suspected that I was not the full quid. I had to keep my mind on the job.... It's not that I know the system any better than most people. The spots I fish are no secret. Many boats fish there and drive over these spots all the time. The time of day also has very little effect. Tide and water temp / quality determines whether or not they are there. The difference is in the technique. I have spelt out some of these little hints in a few of my posts in the past. These techniques are used year-round. Do you believe that I saw sand whiting fillets at the fishmarkets a couple of weeks ago for $44 per kilo ? They must be kidding.... Tony

I had owed Chris (Pongrass 18ft) a fishing trip in my boat since July. I had to take him for a run in my neck of the woods to see if I can bore him to death with my meaningless conversation. The deal was that he meets me at my place at 6:00am. I poked my head out my bedroom window at 5:30 to see the weather. This technique is more accurate than the latest satellite imagery and predictions. Chris was parked outside already, staking out my house ! I half expected Detective Chris to be drinking coffee and eating doughnuts like the yankee cops do in their flicks. I ignored this and went about sorting my routine without waking the wife and kids. At 6:00am, I towed the boat to the front of the house and greeted Chris. It has been a long time since I had seen such enthusiasm in someone to go fishing. Good on him – I wish I had that. He was so keen he left his lunch in the car. I was so keen I didn't forget a damn thing. We towed the boat the obligatory 300m to the boat ramp, where we were greeted by a lovely asian girl who was doing her early morning exercises with her parents. She took one look at Chris Clooney and immediately descended upon us (upon Chris). She had all manner of questions to ask of him with fluttering eyelids… She asked a question about MY boat and waited for Chris to answer – she was lost in his deep blue eyes. I might have to start wearing coloured contact lenses so I can compete. It just means I won't be able to tie hooks or bait hooks properly but I WILL have a better chance next time… Chris had his first capture for the day, the heart of a woman, and we hadn't even left the ramp…. She bade us (Chris) farewell and wished us LOTS of luck. I suggested to Chris that maybe she liked his fishing gear but Chris, like a true gentleman (ie afraid of what his wife might say) said that the girl was all eyes for me….Yes Chris but the rest of her was for him ! Fast forward to the first spot in ankle deep water (virtually) and we had the spot to ourselves. With the prop digging up sand we cast out with baited breath – well, baited hooks actually. After I landed my 8th whiting, Chris started to think that I had made some secret pact with the whiting gods. What started out as "Good one Tony – that's a nice fish" – after 8 fish, became "You're on AGAIN ! – What the far Kurnell am I doing wrong ?" I told him that he was wearing his shoes back-to-front. I nearly got him to switch shoes on feet…. Then I said that it was that interaction with a woman just before he stepped onto the boat that gave him the bad ju-ju. He swore he would NEVER talk to ANYONE before getting onto a boat…just in case.. I had a banana in my lunchbox the whole time – if only he knew…. The tide was falling. I realized that at this rate, the outboard leg was going to sink into the sand up to the powerhead so we changed spot into vastly deeper water of 1.5m. There Chris felt renewed that this time he would exact revenge. What he didn't realize is that his luck wasn't gonna change. His shoes were still on the same feet. The fish came thick'n'fast for me but Chris must have been thinking about Lucy Liu that he met this morning… I decided that I would nag him to make some changes to his gear as he was starting to accuse his rods of being lazy. I inflicted some secret knowledge upon him in the hope he would catch something….anything…. As soon as he took some info on board, he began to catch some quality fish, including the biggest bream for the day (33cm) and a couple of nice trevally, with a nice elbow slapper or two thrown in. From that point he began to catch some fish to redeem himself and ended up having a good day. I should have looked at his shoes to see if he really did swap them around… After about 16 whiting from me, I latched onto a better class of fish. The fish gave me a good fight. The bronzed silver flanks of a big whiting glided into view as Chris rolled his eyes and finally grabbed the landing net… As Chris reached out with enormous enthusiasm to net yet another of my fish, the hook flew out of the fishes mouth and the trace wrapped itself around my radio aerials on the roof ! I was dumbfounded. Never in my 7000 whiting has this happened before. I had to micro-analyse the sequence of events. The hook must have been blunt and it didn't get in (like the liquid into Mrs Marsh's chalk). Upon closer inspection, the hook looked weird. It was one of Chris's hooks that he secretly tied onto my line when I wasn't looking ! Well rod-grabbing was the issue last time with Chris – but he has stooped as low as sabotaging my gear ! That hook was far too technologically advanced to actually catch fish. That fang-dangled chronically sharpened hook that they paint with red fluorocarbonic polymer paint to make it look invisible underwater just didn't work. That hook was worth more than 10c which makes it useless as an effective fishing hook. I took that hook off the line faster than you could say rodgrabbing saboteur. Chris insisted that I was fuming about it but I didn't really care – we had enough fish on board ( I was fuming about Lucy Liu though!). Actually, not really – no fuming involved. It was a nice day… we had fun, caught fish, disagreed on everything and still had a laugh at eachothers gear… After lunch (my lunch, Chris forgot his and wouldn't eat any of my obviously poisoned sandwiches), the clouds overhead began to get dark, the wind kicked in over 12 knots and the ocean chat on the VHF fell silent. The drizzle blurred the windscreen as the last bait was being cut up for the day. We both knew that in 15 minutes, the anchor would come up and what was in the box would be the catch for the day. That barometer must have bottomed out because the bite died there and then. With an enormous sense of satisfaction, I upped the anchor and turned that key. The bow was pointed for home as she slid onto the plane. It was a beautiful day, plenty of fish, good company and smiles all round. Chris – you're welcome on my boat anytime, even if you change my hooks on me. Details left out: We caught about 20 sting rays and several banjo sharks. All released. We saw perhaps 3 boats all day a very rare event. This was a key contributing factor to the catch methinks…

Hey Pete, looking at the pic of the boat, it looks like the cabin was built in the factory. I thought the Trojans had a much smaller and different shaped cabin. Yours looks much bigger. Next time you're in my neck of the woods, drop by for a chat. Tony

Pete ! You're at it again ! How lucky are you to be able to fish mid-week - and in such millpond conditions...and in your mate's boat too.... No boats around to drive over your baits then tell you off like it's your fault your line is wrapped around their prop (as is always the case with me). Go the bait fishin ! That's a fat reddy right there. Probably gorging himself on your burley. Surely the COTM this time.... Snapper souvlakis comin up ! Tony

Hey Cobba, I have had similar issues and I found the problem was with loosely wound braid onto the spool. If you are using a light lure, there isn't enough tension on the braid to lay it tightly onto the spool when retrieving. Or even if you have a reasonable size lure but casting into a cross-wind. By the time you retrieve the line belly, it's gone onto the spool too loosely. The ensuing layers of line are wound on tighter and will bite into the loose coils beneath them. Next cast, bird's nest...or even breakoff if the lure is heavier than the braid. You either use a heavier lure to provide the tension on the retrieve, or use your fingers to lay the braid tightly on the spool during retrieval of the line belly (which will surely cut your fingers at some stage). One technique I have seen used is when you attach a float to your line (the hexagonal type with mirrors on the faces) that have some weight, then use a longish leader and tie a large fly as the lure. The float has enough weight to cast / retrieve tangle free AND you can use even tiny flies when the salmon are timid...... The mirror flash also attracts the fish. Not an ideal setup as you have to fight fish with a heavier impediment on the line (ie the float) but you will not get tangles and catch a heap more fish. I hope this helps you out. Tony

Crikey Roscoe, you had me going with Rod... Just as well they didn't meet up at Balls head ! Tony

Mate if the guys are standing there with "hands-on-hips", that's enough for your gay-dar to identify them as a navigational hazard. The fact that they left their daks at home should have made you KEEP WALKING ! No fish is worth your life ! Tony PS, perhaps Basil can change his name from Groper to Gropehim...THEN the only float he would use is the one in the Mardi Gras parade.....

Aha ! So I boil water and then stop boiling it. Then I place the rings into that water. Wait 15 minutes. Then I put flowers on them? Is it decorative ? I'm sure you mean flour... Jeez I had a laugh about that, but with my twisted sister sense of humour, I would be the only one laughing. So, then the egg'n'breadcrumbs. Fry for 20 seconds each side. Did I get it right ? Then eat them before anyone notices the pan is empty. I will then deny all knowledge of just having cooked the calamari... ...and serve floured rubber bands instead.... Great idea ! Tony

Hey chris, Well done on the squid. You know I'm a top calamari chef, people tell me. The last time I cooked squid for some friends, they asked me how was it cooked ? They said is it stuffed ? I said no. They said yes it is. It's totally stuffed ! I just can't get it right. Its always like I'm eating rubber bands.....it stretches ans when it breaks, it whips me in the face ! By the time I'm finished eating dinner, I look like I've gone a round with Mike Tyson..... Tony

...and some days are dungmounds.... Oh well, I better bring my shovel with me this weekend.... Tony

G'day dogbox, I assume you were luring during your catching session. Any size on the keepers ? What about the water clarity. Is it at all storm water affected ? Also, how close to the oil terminal did you get to before the conclusion was drawn that there are no fish? There are fish there close to the structure but the waterways has been very vigilant and taking people's rego numbers, as soon as you get close enough to be in with a chance I'm sure a fine or two has been issued as well. I believe the damage is $100. I would also bet whatever you like that employees on the wharf may well be taking rego numbers down as well. If only they would deploy a few marker buoys to indicate the 100m mark.... Tony

I doubt the paint would taste any good..... Tony

Well done Anthony ! You have successfully managed to remove the iPod and replace it with an i-Rod ! That flattie looks like a big fish next to your son. he will remember that one for a long time, quoting to his teenage mates "I caught a flattie as big as myself only a couppla years ago. They have sure shrunk since then" ! Tony

Hey Andyz, Can I ask, what suburb are you fishing in? The river seabed contours, depths, etc will play a big part depending where you were. Some parts are shallow, some deep and some have deeper holes. Once you know what seabed you're fishing in, you can refine your technique to suit the area. If there isn't too much current, you can burley up and fish lightly weighted baits. if there is a bit of current, you have to throw your burley a fair way upcurrent before it settles into the seabed of your chosen spot. In this scenario wou may need a bigger sinker to hold bottom... If we knew where you were, someone here may be able to pinpoint a seabed structure of interest... Tony

Hey pure spirit, I've only ever had a couple of nice fish taken from me by seals before, but unlike many people, I take the loss very badly. If the seal took one fish and ate it all and left the others alone, then I could live with that but they are territorial. I have fished on a commercial dropliner for kings and have had EVERY fish on the line taken by a seal, a single bite to kill each fish and that was it. They want you out of their spot - that's why they keep taking fish after fish. I would have cried if the seal took a blue eye as I'm not keen on gemfish. If you still like the gemmies, then great - you got a good feed out of it anyway. There are so many makos on the mountain right now, why cant they take the seals? It would solve the problem..... Or perhaps 10 knots of current for a week.... Tony

That's not a Banjo - It's a double Bass ! (or at least a Cello....) You can hide behind it... Well done on the fish, especially on such light string....