Brew

Hi All, Had a quick session today at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River drifting from Juno Point. Wind going one way and the tide the other so the drift was very slow. We only had 2 hours and picked up one flattie that went 43cm and a couple of undersized ones. Cracking weather and wished I could of stayed longer. Caught on woolworths prawns mid tide. Sorry no photos. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Clinton

I use a rope tied to the weights used in a diving weight belt. You can add more weights depending on the current. Drop into your local dive shop and see if you can pick up some for a few dollars. They usually have old weights lying around. + they are small and don't take up much room.

Awesome. Well done.

I haven't fished it for awhile but I always drop in to Alpine Angler for an update and advice. Here is their last update which talks about spots. http://www.alpineangler.com.au/index.cfm?PageId=3

It's called Modern Fishing Giant Fishing Map Book. It covers Qld, NSW & VIC. I think they stopped printing them in the late 80s or early 90s.

Hi Howe, I found this today. Shows some crab spots at Woy Woy for you to try.

Hi Raiders, Recently I have thought about dropping a lobster pot when I go fishing off the boat at night. I was a bit confused as when I read the DPI regulations they mention that the traps need escape vents however the ones I have seen in the shops don't have them. I put the question to DPI and this is their response: "Thanks for your email and question about escape gaps/vents in lobster traps. You are correct that the regulations specify the requirement of escape gaps however, as you suggest there is some thought that they are not required. Currently the Department has a temporary suspension on enforcing that part of the regulations so for now, you do not need to have Escape gaps in recreational lobster traps. If the Department changes or revokes this suspension, recreational fishers will be informed and an advisory period (usually about 6 months) will be introduced." I might get myself sorted with a trap for the Hairtail social as I can leave it out for two nights. Hope this info helps. Clinton.

Yes, you can catch them during the day.

Yes, the ferry wharf. Not sure about Woy Woy however there is heaps in that system so they should be there if the terrain is right.

Yes, the SL22. Only had it for a year but loving getting out further. Just now need to find the fish!

Definitely can catch them off the wharf at Empire Bay.

Hi Kennox, I'm sure others will give you tips on Umina and Ettalong but if you have a car go around to Patonga. It's great for kids. Park at the boat ramp and fish anywhere from the ramp to the point where the rocks start. If the kids get bored they can play in the shallows where the creek runs out. If you want to walk a bit you can go around the point to another beach and you will feel like you are miles from anyone and the fishing is pretty good there also. Flathead mostly. Good luck.

I got one at Bobbin Head as a bycatch near the marina if that helps. I'd love to know if anyone else has caught one there as I'd target them if I knew it wasn't just a fluke.

You never know. I was once told of a spot upstream of the Roseville bridge for jewies. Went there and it was 2 metres deep. Was told just use pillies on gang hooks. Sat there for a few hours and nothing touched our pillies not even pickers. When we were about to pack up the reel screamed and we got a decent jewie. I've been up past Bobbin Head on my kayak too and it is very shallow so although unlikely maybe there's a chance.

Hi All, Just a thought from someone who has been a member for a few years but has done bugger all posts. I really only started lurking again when I got my boat last year so hopefully I will get some posts out there soon. How about live posts like you did for the hairtail competition. It seemed to go down really well with the raiders. It would be a good reason to post without going to a whole lot of detail and raiders would be more inclined to post if it was short and sweet. Something like "Very quiet over here at Flint and Steel but did get one stonker bream". Only problem is you would get swarmed with fellow raiders if the fishing is going off so might be a good way to get info when the fishing is quiet. Also would help with raiders who don't post when the fishing is quiet. Maybe admin can trial one for a Friday or Saturday night by starting it off? I'd love to hear raiders posts of catches as they happen.

Top effort. Well done.

No unfortunately, it's in the National Park

Howe, you can take a walking trail down to Flint and Steel but it takes a while. About 40 minutes from memory. Steep walk back up so you don't want too many salmon in the bucket!

+1 for Apple Tree Bay You can get down there from the Asquith entry into the National Park. Park at the boat ramp and take the walking track along the waters edge and find a spot that is open and deep. You can catch bream, flathead and others. My mate even saw a metre plus jewie caught there a few years back. If you're not having any luck you can hire a tinnie from Bobbin Head Marina and then the options are endless. Good luck.

G'day Raiders, I was speaking to a mate of mine this morning and he told me there was a massive school of salmon hanging around the heads of Broken Bay so I thought I would jump in the boat and check it out. I got to just past Flint and Steel at around 12pm and I couldn't believe what I was seeing - they were everywhere. From Flint and Steel all the way to West Head and about three quarters over to Lyon Island. I only had my light rods with me so I used my 2/4 kilo braided outfit (I can't remember if it was 2 or 4 as I have two spools) and just trolled a small metal pilchard lure around. Got hit straight away. The salmon are a pretty good size so most of the time it took about 15 mins to get each one in. After getting 4 (3 returned) I snapped the line on my 5th so I needed to re-rig. The swell was a bit sharp so I motored over to Lion Island to a protected spot to re-rig and have lunch. I cut up the salmon and put a few slabs out while I had lunch and got myself a nice 57cm flathead which was put back for another day. After re-rigging I went back to the salmon and strangely they didn't want to touch my new metal lure. It was a basic metal blade. I guess they were eating something close to my first lure. I tried for a while longer and noticed that the fishfinder was showing masses of bait schools with some interesting larger fish around so I changed tactics and put a Halco Laser Pro out the back on a slightly stronger rod and line. Nothing hit and the rain started which flattened the sea so I headed out around Barrenjoey with the Laser Pro still out the back. Once out there I saw hundreds of birds (mostly sitting) but a few looking around so I headed about 2 km off shore and trolled around them for about another half an hour. The rain was starting to come in really heavy so I thought it was time to call it a day so headed back via Valiant Wreck and past a couple of Fairy Penguins (they were out there for a reason). About 200m before Valiant I got hit and after a bit of a fight had a nice Bonito on board. The bonito spat out loads of small bait fish while on board so that's what they are chasing - just like my first lure. As I didn't have any ice and I wanted the Bonito for sashimi I packed up and headed home in the thumping rain. I hope this helps you get onto something this weekend. It's worth getting out there.