fragmeister

Well, boys, that didn't go to plan by the sound of it! Both of you are pretty good blokes but wet cold and choppy will sour the occasion even with the best of company. Better luck next trip Is there one of is Neil heading off soon? Cheers Jim

Hi Frank, Thanks for organizing the event. Was great to meet you, Neil, Waza and OJAY in person. How did the Saturday Fishing go? Cheers Jim

Great effort! Some nice reds there - add in the pearlie and what a top feed. Cheers Jim

@ZoranBut maybe I'm just getting older and less patient - do any of us believe that study will ever happen? True enough mate. @zoran Buggers me why that does not match my experience. Maybe I'm fishing in the wrong Australian waters and/or just a lousy fisherman! Both could be true (be kind in your replies guys!) Same for me... judging purely on performance I was a much better fisherman 30 years ago than I am now. Even though am more experienced and I have much better "tools" at my disposal. You and I know ( and all those fishermen who of the same vintage know) that its a decline in fish and not a decline in our skills that is behind the whole thing. Cheers Jim

Hi Niffa, Bad luck about the Gomoku... good excuse to buy another rod though! I have broken a few of those, but never at the grip end. I like using them( and I still do) but I think they are a little dainty for me... actually I am a little too careless for them! I have popped off a few runners ( those single foot guides are easy to knock off against the side of the boat) I have broken a few tips probably again from a knock on the side of the boat. Anyway, good luck with the new rig. Cheers Jim

Yes, Australia and a few others seem to be doing a much job of things. I guess that's a population pressure thing in part but also a public pressure thing. I think in general Australians are aware of environmental and conservation issues - we just want some balance in the argument otherwise it just causes polarisation of opinion and that is completely unconstructive. I tend to play devil's advocate in these things and that gets me labeled sometimes as a greenie and sometimes the opposite ( what is the opposite I wonder?) Cheers Jim

This is where the numbers need to be viewed in perspective as it can be easy to be misled by the "facts" I agree, only a relatively small amount of protein comes from the sea when compared to other sources such a grain and livestock production. However, what needs to be pointed out is that it's not the percentage of the total that is important, its the volume of the individual resource that matters.

Hmm..not sure what went wrong but I got the details.. looking forward to it ( and hoping for a few cod insights from Neil!)

Hi Raiders, WARNING! LONG POST! I have been watching this thread with interest. It is such a difficult task to actually find the truth behind the information in the public domain... so many commercial interests at stake on one side and so much emotion in play on the other. I literally spent hundreds of hours researching this topic a few years ago trying to make some sense of the data while trying to be as dispassionate about it as I could. I could probably argue a solid case for both sides of the argument but in the absence of enough time and limited access to unbiased information, I would tend to play a conservative hand and revert to what would seem to make sense from a different point of reference. So I look back at basic rules in the natural environment for some insight. Presumably, before humans were able to exploit natural resources in the way that technology allows there was a natural order and balance. Populations of any one species would wax and wane depending on availability of food, number of competitors for that food, habitat, and predators. Populations of other dependent species would also wax and wane depending on the success or failure of interdependent species. If the conditions for krill were less than perfect their numbers were diminished and so were the creatures that lived off them so the numbers of both diminished accordingly. This is not really a problem because the Krill bounce back very quickly - that's the way the system works - the species lower down the food chain reproduce in a shorter time and in greater volume. If the recovery rate of the creatures lower down the food chain was slower that the one above the system would fall over. Generally, the further you go up the food chain the longer the reproduction cycle is and the less populous the animal is comparatively. Think whales, Lions etc. It probably goes without saying that if you massively increase the numbers of a top-level predator like a lion, for example, it will have a devastating impact on the grazing animals but eventually, the prey will drop to a such a level that the predators will die off through lack of food and, because of the animals lower in the food chain can reproduce faster the system will revert to a balanced state again in a relatively short time. The system is fairly simple really and it would seem it has been self-regulated for millions of years. Now, however, there is a new top-level predator on the block. One who does not accept that if a food source becomes scarce that it will die off. This new top-level predator simply finds more efficient ways to catch the prey or moves to another prey that is more abundant. That's me and you of course or at least the human race as a whole. What we believe ( or hope) is that we can manage these natural resources so that we do not push them into that "zone of no return" where their population levels will not allow a reasonable recovery rate or worst are forced into extinction. This is what we are all banking on and I suspect its a lot harder to do that all our "experts" think it is. Certainly, the position of any commercial operation is biased. Certainly, the position of any scientific study overtly or secretly funded by commercial interests is biased. Certainly, any environmental group study will be biased. Certainly, when you dig a little deeper, most publications are from one of these sources and as such, I find it difficult to award full credibility to any. I hate sitting on the fence so I would be interested in any purely unbiased information on the subject and if any Fishraider comes across any please let me know. Cheers Jim

Hi Frank, I just sent you a PM for the address. I would love to catch up with BN and any Fishrader who is there on the day. Cheers Jim

Last one taken in 1989! OMG! Shows how old I am but more to the point how disappointing it is. Sorry if mislead anyone... obviously I am a little out of touch with the South Coast LBG scene. Sometimes I forget how blessed we were in what is approaching 4o years ago. We live baited off those rocks huddled up against the cliffs behind The Tubes for long sessions which would of course be much less likely to result in a end in a tuna or marlin than bag one. There were certainly some long waits between fish. Hooking them of course was only part of the problem while getting spooled or pulling a hook was too often the result. Anyway... here a link to the Jervis Bay of the past on Steve Starling's website http://www.starlofishing.com/angling-adventures/paradise-lost-jervis-bay-reflections/ ...and here is Bobby Russo's account ... its an interesting read. Cheers Jim

What he said! Also if you can find any articles by Bobby Russo, a local LBG legend in the 80s. He wrote the occasional article for fishing world. Not sure if you are allowed to fish The Tubes anymore but certainly there were many great Yellowfin and black marlin takes from there. Cheers Jim

Where were you fishing?

Hi Raiders, I came across this article when I was clearing out old computer files. I think its a pretty good explanation of the causes and preventative measures around boat corrosion. Worth a look at particularly the stuff about electrolytic corrosion from your electrical system ( or other boats if your boat is in a marina) as my experience is that the wiring on popular brands can be a bit dodgey ... particularly around optional extras that they have fitted. https://bbsc.org.au/resources/Documents/Marine-Galvanic-Corrosion-Made-Easy-SYC.pdf Cheers Jim

Now there's a good feed! Easy choice to release the tailor when you have a feed of Snapper! Cheers Jim

So, I guess Saturday is not a good day to outside the heads! At least the Swell Period gives you a little rest between the 6.5 meter waves!

Nice haul... and the best excuse I have heard in a while for a coldie! Cheers Jim

You should find yakkas anywhere close enough to the ocean where the water is clear and clean. Look close to the shoreline on rock outcrops with kelp. Like Arc says burley up with soaked bread .. mix with a pilchard to add a little oil and fishing flavour. Don't over burley. I generally use a small long shank and a small piece of pilchard towards from towards the tail end of a pilchard but as soon as I catch a yakka or a slimey I fillet it and cut it up into small baits... I think this works best and the yakka baits in particular are very firm when they are freshly filleted. Cheers Jim

Another great report Neil. As always .. love the pictures! Cheers Jim

Hi Raiders, Haven't been out for a few months due to work commitments but I did find the time to get out today. It was a relaxing day but not that productive. Caught some slimeys and yakkas for live bait and headed out to Long Reef just on dawn. Anchored up along The Wall and set out a burley trail and floated down a pilchard prospecting for a snapper or perhaps a hungry king.. Also had a live slimey out under a balloon. No takers after 2 hours on the live bait and pickers just kept devastating the pilchards. Downrigged a slimey and ran up and down the wall 3 or four times with no takers. There was not much on the sounder. I was contemplating whether to stay there for the change of tide or head off to the Sydney Harbour FAD also for the change of tide (9:53). There was no wind and bugger all swell so I decided to head off to the FAD. The water temp at the FAD was 22.1 . The current was not running particularly fast. There were scattered marks all over the FAD on the sounder and out to about 50 metes so I went in close and drifted past with a livey set down at about 20 meters and also tossed a half pilchard towards the FAD. The pilchard was hit straight away by a juvenile Dollie of about 40 cm. Meanwhile I had drifted about 50 meters from the FAD and the livey was looking a bit nervous. Soon after hooked another Dollie. This time probably around 60 cm. I mentally noted how far from the FAD and at what depth fish were on the sounder and I drifted from in close to the FAD up to about 100 meters away. adjusting the depth of the live bait as I went. I repeated this a few times with the same result until about 11am when the wind came up and headed off to the Artificial Reef . The Artificial looked good on the sounder but it wasn't long before I discovered that it was chockers with Jackets. I jigged for a while, dropped a livey down but I just foul hooked leather jackets so I gave up and headed back inside. I anchored off Sow and Pigs and, typical of this time of the year there were a lot of Trevally about but undersized at the moment. Like I said not particularly productive but I enjoyed getting away from work for the day. Cheers Jim

Lots of reports of Longtail in that system over the last few weeks. Cheers Jim

Yes, I get that but sometimes I think the fish get a little spooked if it doesn't look right... and a bright white a quid may not look quite right. The day purple dye returns the dead squid to approximately the colour of a live squid. I have mentioned this before but I have noticed that kings eating scraps in the burley trail may completely ignore anything you throw at them unless you completely hide the hook. Then they will take the bait which suggests to me that they refuse it because it looks a little odd. On a good day of course you can throw pretty much anything at them and they will inhale it... particularly rats. Cheers Jim

I have caught plenty of fish on quality frozen or food quality fresh squid , Jews and Kings included but, the results are so much better with live or recently dead squid. The fishing guides in the Harbour ( who need to get results) will spend perhaps 3 hours in the morning looking for and catching live squid - that's how important they believe it is. In the US many who target swordfish dye their thawed squid using food colouring. I have seen some guys in Sydney use dyed squid ( Purple food colouring) around the wedding cakes with quite good results. Cheers Jim

As far as I am aware Gamakatsu Live Bait hooks are just a more robust live bait hook designed for tougher fish species that can bend or break a hook. Good for Kings and Tuna. As far as the other hook types you have mentioned I think their Octopus hooks come in all kinds of configuration. Hooks are a very interesting subject. I have read in a commercial fishing study on Snapper that circle hooks out fished all other types of hooks tested in long line fishing. There are many factors in play here of course, long lining effectively means the fish hook themselves . This is bait fishing not live baiting and certainly its a more passive fishing technique than many of us use. My personal experience is that J hooks out fish circle hooks but I don't use them with set baits because of the gut hook problems for catch and release. I think there are some ex-commercial fishermen in the Fishraider community so they may be able to comment on what commercial fisherman use. Thanks for posting the question Spool. Cheers Jim