meg126

Hi all, Took a mate out for an adventure, just the two of us ladies for an overnight trip. Epic is the only word to describe it. Left Easter Sunday afternoon packing pretty light, if we didn't catch fish, we were eating toast so the pressure was on. Out to my favourite spot off box head and it didn't disappoint, flathead for dinner and an amazing sunset with a beer or two - very cool. Anchored up near the rip bridge but after catching sharks, gave away the fishing in favour of the ukulele. Short ride out to broken bay on Monday morning but felt like we were sitting in a washing machine so back into the Hawkesbury in the hunt for a Jew. No Jew this time but ended up with flathead, a 40cm blue nose bream, hair tail and more flathead. Fun times with a special childhood mate who loves the adventure as much as me. No photos of the fish (alive) this trip.

I'm on the ladies side!! Having a bit of success of late so I think we are in for a good show...

If you can get your hands on some fresh Hawkesbury squid - you'll increase your chances... They love it!

There's a fair few of them in the system - up near the rip bridge is also a good spot for them among the weed beds on the North Eastern side of the rip. I was out on Tuesday (a week ago) - warm and like a pond out past box head, fish schools everywhere. The perfect day that happens once a year I reckon. I love this time of year, the system is surprisingly productive.

Loved reading the report, thanks for posting!!

Hopefully will clear up soon. Still nice to get a feed, even in these conditions. Do you notice any difference in the taste of the fish with so much mud around?

Hey - we had the same issue in brissie waters the other day - just a matter of moving around till you find something that works ah? What do you use as bait and what sort of lures were you using? My biggest hazard was avoiding the cruiser captains who didn't seem to see us till the last second...

That's impressive, sounds like all the planets aligned and Dom had the perfect support team!! Well done.

Not often, at times I do but I guess I'm a bit of a bait purest, quite like being able to put it on and then relax...

Awesome job!!

Hey - box head way, on bait (mullet and pilchard).

Smaller ones don't but you know at that size you've got something decent - nothing like a king though, more shark like - big bursts of power then not much until they see the boat. It's important not to rush it, that's when you loose them. Using fresh local mullet and pilchards (salted) but I think using a fair amount burley is key when anchoring. Good luck, it's just time I think (& remember, hardly anyone puts up about the days that don't go so well).

Hi All, Been a long time between posts but thought I'd share this beauty caught yesterday in Broken Bay. Not much else to report, got out a bit too late for Kings so anchored and started the burley trail... pretty quiet then 2 good size fatties, I mean flatties in quick succession, 1st by my mate, not to be outdone, I pulled up the bigger model 1 minute later. The bigger one went 83cm, equaling my previous PB. Nice to get a day in before the craziness starts...

Red rock cod is my favourite fish to eat... besides NZ blue cod of course! But yes, the filleting is a pain in the butt but worth in IMO. Nice catch and good to know it's firing... will be back out there this week too.

Hey Mike - awesome write up, thank you. Shame on the misses but the lessons learned are invaluable so it isn't a waste at all.

I see guys in kayaks there a bit but when it runs hard, it can be challenging with a motor, you wouldn't have a chance to paddle against it.

Can the police ID the perpetrator? If so, PM me - there is more they can do!

Heaps of boating apps to get GPS but if you want to find the bait fish (especially for kings), you'll need a fish finder.

HiYa - Good reading - you are learning the same way I did, solo which means that the way to learn is to spend a whole lot of time on the water. Squid can be fickle around the area but you are best to keep trying and moving on if you don't get any (personally, I like the Western shoreline better). Another good option is to go out with one of the local guides - I can recommend someone if you PM me, I went out with him around 2 years ago and he is very happy to share his knowledge and when I go out on my boat, I always drive by when I see him to say hi. There are a number of wrecks in both Pittwater that hold kings and reefs close out from Barrenjoey - what size boat do you have? Again, a good start is to simply do a google search for fishing marks. Another good option is to spend an entire day simply driving around and sounding out the bottom, when you see something interesting, mark it. You can't beat experience though, and if you don't know anyone who has it, you can pay for it via a charter or simply spend a lot of time on the water to get it...

Awesome, did you stay in the same spot the whole time? Amazing to see how the movements in tides make such a diff

Sadly, I don't think you can 'call it' for anything as the range of fish are amazing around there and this year, it all sorts from big sambos to cobias included amongst the 'usual' kingfish or if it was simply taking line, the faithful shovel nose are in abundance... Just imagine your dream fish and call it for that!

Nice, do you find that you need to use the bigger gear to stop them? Whats the minimum you'd recommend?

What bait were u using? Flatties seem to be around a fair bit at the moment.

Awesome fish and well done on the release and comp!

It's an awesome app. Just make sure you can charge your phone battery on board as it uses the GPS tracker in the background to keep track of where you are. You'll go through a lot of battery. You can turn it off but kind of defeats the purpose. With reception available so far offshore it's been brilliant for FAD etc runs.