meg126

Hi, Thought I'd hit Texas yesterday to try my hand at jigging... I learnt a few things. 1. Jigging is bloody hard work 2. Catching kings 100m down is also hard 3. Its a really really long ride out to Texas from Woy Woy boat ramp - and costs a lot of money 4. Don't get close to licensed fishing vessels or you get told off. Was out there for nearly an hour or so due to the fact that my first mate was calling for Bert after 40mins... Managed to get a keeper king and watched all of the boats around us pull up a whole heap of kings, madly trying to avoid the local seal who looked pretty fat. I can understand the reports of people catching 100+ kings out there in a day, they are thick if you get the right drift but all rats. We were, not so politely, told to keep 200m from 2 licensed fishing vessels who were also jigging for kings, not a net in sight. I wasn't aware that was the law - I knew you had to keep a safe distance from vessels trawling for obvious safety reasons, but 200m from a commercial vessel with no nets, can anyone shed some light? The fisheries website only mentions to keep a safe distance from trawlers. Sorry, no picks.

Amazing - any idea what the water temp was? Was there anything attracting them, structure etc?

Dottie - my husband won't fish... how do I teach him????

So good to see the little ones getting into it. Just wondering if you use the clip on off swivels for your plastics in order to change them quickly or stick with the traditional loop knot etc? Meg

Im a lady (well, female anyway), I have a bar catch on my boat and it allows me to do solo launch retrieve very easily - I used to do it solo in my previous boat (6m Quintrex) which was also pretty straight forward, however, very cold and wet. Hardest part is getting off the boat after it's been driven up on the trailer and I'll probably get a ladder to hang over to make it a bit safer, but I can highly recommend them.

Found this - http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=4523 Would be good to know what your insurance company thinks though... If something does of wrong, that's when they'll have an opinion for sure. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dropped in from Woy Woy yesterday to chase the Mahi in the hopes they were still around. Tried for yakkas but they were really hard going today - funny how they are like that some days. Spoke to 2 other boats and they also had the same issues with them. Headed off with 3 yakkas and plastics/ bait. Hooked up the first livie on a live bait hook and 20secs later, a nice sized Mahi is jumping out of the water doing cool acrobatics. Im using some light gear - 8lb braid, 12lb leader (uni to uni) with a Shimano Aernos 2500 reel. Im having a blast until I notice the yellow braid is pretty much goooonnnnneee and there is a whole lot of red spool showing, gulp. Knowing the livies are in very short supply, I didn't want to stuff this up so we start chasing this thing all around the joint - not too much later, we have a lovely 88cm model on board.... my record. An expensive fish cause the other 2 livies were hit but didn't hook up (used circle hooks so Im blaming them, the normal live bait hooked worked no worries).

Hey Andrew, We were the other boat that was hooked up when you got out there... nice to hear your report as your experience was near identical to ours.... only difference was the 1 little yakka we caught as a livie hooked up - but that was all. Meg

And.... $24 kilo for a packet of hawkesbury prawns Vs $9 kilo Chicken

HI All, Thinking that I may head out to BB fad Friday. Before investing in a ridiculous amount of fuel - has anyone been there of late and are there still any dollies around? Also - may hit up the flattie ground on the way back in, again, anyone have any luck of late? Thanks All Meg

Well done, Ive recently got into Mahi, Kingfish etc but I still get totally excited about the humble flathead. I caught an 83cm model and it fought like I couldn't believe! Many people say they are the easiest thing to catch cause they are so dumb - maybe Im not doing it right, but personally, I've never found them "easy". Hope you enjoy the feed!

Take some plastics with you - when we went out they were happily taking the plastics (on someone else's boat, we had livies). Will be a good option if you run out of livies or don't want to spend the time getting them. We are heading out Friday so will let you know how it goes and if they are (hopefully) still around. (BB)

Incredible when a 25kg kingfish turns into a live bait.... swim anyone?

Nice sizes! How long do they usually stay for? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you want to spend most of your time offshore, go bigger - that way you are not as limited. As Paikea said, it's really about the ride too - not necessarily the size. You are always going to have to watch the swell/ sea but if offshore is what you are doing - get the boat that suits the job and provide safety. I ended up upgrading within 2yrs by not going big enough and not getting the right boat to meet my needs first time around.

Very nice fish!

I've pulled up little reds from there (maybe 40cm). Caught at west reef - lots of bakers. Used prawns to get them. Only fished it twice. That would've been a year ago or so.

Can anyone tell me how far up the Hawkesbury they have caught Kingfish? I have heard of flint'n'steel but any further up?

Brian - Yup, that's the boat! I'm stoked with it! Did u get those yakkas near the beach (river side?). I'd be keen to test the theory about bigger bait... Ginko - We caught the fish between 11-12ish Sunday. Can't remember the tide. Have been following the post about floating ropes - boat right next to us lost their anchor, got to take a pick for sure and take care around the area.

Christened the new boat today! Dropped in from Woy Woy and cruised across to Pittwater to get some squid. Saw lots of squid go for the lures but just not take it. Went to next bay and BANG - 3 nice squid in 15mins or so. Tried a bit longer but with the day slipping away, thought we would get some yakkas - thought being the operative word. Lots of sweep and pesky stripey little annoying things but only 2 yakkas. So, off we went off Barenjoey. Put on the yakka and before it'd even hit the bottom BANG - off goes the line. Quickly flicked the bail over and the rod bends - Wowsers!! A few good runs and up it came - 70cm model! First legal kingie (2nd ever kingie). Boats around us were all the same, down and up, down and up kingie after kingie- mostly around the 60cms mark. We got a couple more rats (live squid didnt get touched but it was pretty big). Cut up squid didnt make it to the bottom either. My mate got sick with the swell, so back in the Hawkesbury picked up a nice flattie as I cleaned the kingie and squid. Cooked it up with a lemon butter sauce on garlic mash with beans... spectacular start to the new boat which ran beyond any expectation that I had of it. Just a magic day out!

So, this topic has made me feel a bit better... Its now unusual for me not to bring home a feed, not a huge feed but enough for 2. However, it took many many outings to learn where/ when/ bait etc and a whole lot of persistence - and that is simply to get some flatties and the odd bream and that means going out 2x per week usually. Im just starting to turn my attention to Kingfish and that'll take me a few years to get consistent, Im sure, then it maybe jew... or back to flattie or even a marlin... who knows. The best part about fishing is that there is ALWAYS a challenge of some sort - if it were easy every time, I reckon it'd loose a lot of it's appeal.

What lures where you using? New boat arrives Thurs so thought I may just get out on the weekend...

Cheeky, will look at them.

You make it sound so easy... Im so keen to get out soon!!

Thanks for that, what kind of electric downrigger does your mate have and would you recommend that it? How many inches should I be looking at 24/ 30 or 60? My boat is 6m long and Ill mount them nearer the Stern. I was thinking of the Scotty 1101 with swivel mount... but having very limited experience, Im not sure what I should be looking for here