livo

My mates and I used to often smell that Jewie smell when fishing Pearl Beach and Flathead Beach at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. It is unmistakeable, so no you are not crazy.

The guys that got the Cuttly were in one. He went straight into the middle of the pack. I think he made boat number 7 at that point. We had Yakkas sworming under the boat. Had I wanted to go to the FAD I wouldn't have been able to find them. We went everywhere at full throttle. Amazing, Ive had rougher days in closed waters. The 50 m water had lots of small schools of what I think were Sauries. Long thin baitfish which looked brilliant blue with black markings as they hit the air. Does anyone know how to catch them as I know they'd be good bait?

You can fish from those rocks and even from the next little beach over the headland (Bullima or something it's called). You can walk up over the Timber Steps on the end of Putty. The marine sanctuary starts just past the little beach. Many fish have been caught from the rocks at the end of Putty and you are relatively safe unless the sea is really treacherous. But always take care and spend some time watching before you go onto the rocks.

Well done on the Stripies. Wasn't the water great on the weekend. Leather Jackets you say. I took a mate out on Sunday and the water was slick for hours. Tried East reef for rubbish then decided to head out to the nearest Coal Ship (not quite right on it but pretty close) in 50 metres of purple 22 C water and it was 3 jackets and lots of lost gear within 10 minutes or so. If there was anything else down there they didn't have a chance. The jackets were picking up the bait about 5 meters up from the bottom on the way down. Packed up and moved to Boultons Reef and pulled up with the other 5 boats already there to find Yakkas, Yakkas and more Yakkas. Saw one guy boat a decent size Cuttlefish. Time was getting away so we went back out to 50 metres at no particular spot and swapped over to handlines for Jackets to at least get a feed and didn't have to try too hard to get another 15. All up 18 jackets to feed 2 families, which was plenty as they weren't a bad size. Due to all the recent posts about the FADS being missing I didn't bother to waste the fuel. Shame though because the water was amazingly flat and smooth. Did any one go the the Sydney North (Broken Bay) FAD over the weekend and actually find it? Got home just as the rain started.

Nothing wrong with a 48 cm Tailor. Shame there weren't more of them. I think at this time of year 7.00 pm is a bit late. I'd say you should have been there about an hour earlier. I've always found that unless Tailer are really going off the best times are the first hour of daylight in the morning or right on dusk ( sun off the water) and about a half hour to an hour into the dark. Full moons they last a bit longer and they can go for quite a while but not as thick. These were my main target species from the beach for a long time and I love catching and eating them. Sadly they are not there as much these days although I have been trying hard covering a stretch of coast from Killcare in the south to Catherine Hill Bay in the north. I use a Ball Sinker (size depending on surf condition) running down to an 8" to 12" wire trace with a gang of 3 or 4 hooks of size 3/0 or 4/0 depending on the size of my pilchards. When a strong side current exists I sometimes swap leads to one of the Star shaped Pyramid sinkers that holds bottom. Keep trying and let us know how you go. I don't eat Salmon so I cant say too much other than they fight well.

I agree, the currents have not been so severe as to see all of these FADS disappear in such a short space in time. Something FISHY about the whole show. To the poor bloke who's been out twice maybe you weren't wrong in your GPS time settings or datum. You can't have that many people unable to find them.

refer to threads by "idiots" in Reports. No sizes given so can't say too much but knowing the fish being caught in the area I'd say there are others who do the same as I used to for my entire fishing life up till about 3 months ago. Fisheries DPI Saltwater guide is very unclear about this. All it says is the fish must be returned to the water immediately. Does not mention having the hook removed. Have a look.

I have been informed through this forum that using under legal size Tailor as bait (live or dead) is against the Fisheries laws. It would appear that I wasn't the only one ignorant of this fact.

I've got one that will fit your 3 yr old and it should give you a couple of years. All 3 of mine have outgrown it now. It is a good jacket that has had little use really and was not kept on the boat so it's not damaged. It is a little faded though as it's now about 12 years old. It has the strap that goes right through between the legs and the full vest with a strong loop at the back to allow you to lift the child out of the water if needs be. I'll ask the what she wants for it. Won't be much I'm sure.

Hairies sure have sharp teeth but do they come right in to Hardys Bay? I know they are caught at Iron Ladders and up the River but I've never known of any caught inside Little Box or Half Tide Rocks. By the way I didn't get out this arvo. Car overheating problem for the bringing 3 horses home from a Pony Club interclub day on the F3 right on dark. Not much fun at all but we're now all home safe and sound. Bloody car was only repaired on Thursday.

Check todays posts. There were people fishing the Sydney North FAD which I think is the same one I call the Broken Bay FAD. They found it and caught fish. Were you GPS time and Datum correct. If they are then the buoy must have been completely submerged by strong currents. If thats the case how unkucky are you to strike it that way twice? Let us know what you discover. I just checked my Garmin Bluechart Mapsource coordinates and I have the FAD plotted at S33 35.554 E151 34.607 And like I said I would have crashed into the day I went.

My guess would be big tailor. Same thing has happened to me not far away from where you were fishing and also down towards Blackwall Boat Ramp. The time it was happening at Blackwall we had some wire and managed to boat 6 good fish. Up near Hardy's Bay I just kept getting these big hit and runs followed by bite offs. Second fish could have been a jew as tailor aren't known for their timid bites. Sounds promising though so I might have to head out this arvo late with some pillies.

That was me. I was there only about two weeks before your last trip and the Broken Bay Coords I had in my GPS would have crashed me into the thing. My FIL and his other SIL hit the Terrigal FAD only a couple of weeks ago and went straight to it. Something must be not right. Without trying to be a Smart A have you got the time settings on your GPS correct without daylight savings. Should be + 10 hours I think from memory but I'd have to check mine to make sure. This probably isn't the problem if there were 5 other boats all in the same spot and 1 hour out either way would see you way off the chart I suppose. Other possibility is using the correct datum. You probably already checked all this out but just suggestions. Livo

You guys need a hobby. Have you ever played Trivial pursuit or do you have a Playstation? Did you C&R or eat the results of the nights activity?

Contrary to popular belief research is showing that Dusky Flathead do not change sex as they grow. Japanese research suggests that some species of flathead do but sex analysis of commercial catches in NSW show that the smaller fish range can be male or female but large males are rare. Look here It appears that not a real lot is known about this favourite tucker species. I can clearly remember the hundreds of huge decapitated trophies (Heads) nailed to Telegraph poles and Boat shed walls along the waterfronts of Woy Woy when I was a kid. Jewies as well. Not surprising there aren't as many around today.

Bronzies and Gummies don't look alike when you look inside the business end. I once caught a little one from the sand in the dark and assumed it to be a Gummy. Decided to eat it so dispatched it quickly, but when I took it to a cleaning table at a boat ramp close to home I cut my fingers open on what were definately NOT gums or blunt teeth. Very sharp little pointy triangular weapons. I wont do that again without looking first. Tasted OK, though I wouldn't rave about it. A question for those in the know. Is it true that immediately cutting off the tail of a shark destined for the table improves the flavour? I've been told that if you don't the shark pollutes it's own flesh with a Urea type chemical which makes the flesh bitter. Just intereseted to know what you think.

I see your point but this is how I read that post. I think I understand what njsconst was saying but he'll have to confirm if I'm right. He is referring to our LOCAL pros down here in one statement about competing with the fish available in our supermarkets and stores being mainly import stuff. The local fish stocks are down, as we all know, and pro licences have been bought up and those still working are struggling. The other statement is a quote given to him by the fish munger in QLD who was explaining that fish caught here in Australia has high demand in the export market and so it is sent OS and we buy back in Rubbish to sell here. As he said "Go figure????" You can't deny that there is way too much Nile Perch (Africa), Bassa (Vietnam) and other mixed species from who knows where in our shops and little sign of fresh local caught bream, whiting, snapper or kingy. Jewy fillets or cutlets are rare. Flathead sells for $30.00 plus per kilo fresh. I know a couple of blokes who used to work Offshore commercial boats in North Qld and the Gulf and none of their catch made it to Australian consumers. Giant Banana Prawns, Bugs, Crayfish etc were all sent directly OS. Of course its different if you can get to the Newcastle Coop or the Sydney Fish Markets.

How recently was that and where abouts? To be able to catch Coral Trout like that and eat them may well be a memory unless stocks can recover from over fishing. Over the last few years many Qld fisheries have been closed to both Commercial and Recreational fisherman. Especially the areas where Corals congregate to spawn. Many closures where specifically related to this species if I'm not mistaken. Unfortunately a massive number of the "Alpha fish" were caught in their spawning gatherings and sent offshore which has depleted numbers to near a catastrophic situation. About 3 years ago I watched an ABC TV program / debate between the Qld government, Commercial Fishos, Recreational fishos and their equivalent of DPI Fisheries Dep't and it was quite shocking to see what could be done to nearly wipe out a species in no time at all. I think it was on Statewide or 4 Corners or similar. My father bought a Tackle store / Bait Shop / Boat Hire Business on Hervey Bay to keep himself occupied in retirement 5 years ago and he had to get out after only 2 years due to severe new regulation. I nearly quit my job to go up with him. Glad I didn't.

They're good salmon. Bet they fought well. I've never fished there but I did surf it a bit when I lived in Campbelltown. Beautiful spot. You must have loved it down there on Saturday. It was a great morning and to produce fish like that must have been a blast. Well done.

At least you had a go. It's a long way to go out there for green water and no fish but we've nearly all done it and done it again. Isn't it good when it works out though and how you quickly forget or accept those dud trips. It would be cheaper to buy your fish at the supermarket or costly fish munger but who wants to eat Bassa fillets from some river in Vietnam or some other imported rubbish?

"fully sik bro" actually translates to "thats real good" I think. Ahh, now having looked back and read Stewy's post I see what is going on. Didn't click at first. Couple of coldies already slipped inn. Not necessary when all your doing is sharing a good fishing trip. Well done on the kings mate.

Broken Bay FAD is currently situated about 22 kms due east of Box Head. The Terrigal FAD is about 8 kms north of that. There are also other fish holding markers out there but wider. When I was at the BB FAD a month ago there were also two fish traps real close. The Fisheries coordinates took me straight to the Broken Bay FAD within 20 meters.

You beauty on the Poddys. At least you got that part of it worked out. Take note of the tide when you got them. What was it doing? What time of day? etc etc. As with any fishing, certain conditions work best in different spots. and catching bait is no different. Bad luck about nothing eating them though.

I agree with everything you have said here, especially about using quality cable and sealing everything up. I am also a firm believer in soldering and heat shrinking all marine wiring. I never rely on crimped fittings.

The ones we were using on gangs were about 5 cm long and still alive but we didn't actually use the gang hooks as you normally would. We were simply putting one whitebait on each of a couple of the hooks (2 or 3) as we picked them up off the sand at the waters edge. The Tailor were chasing them onto the sand. It was just so we didn't have to re rig and the fish ate them like that so it worked that way on the day. Very unorthodox method of baiting I know. I think the other post was suggesting small hooks ganged. You can gang up any hooks you want by opening the eyes and then closing them back up on each other. Special tools / pliers exist to do this.