fragmeister

Thanks Frank,

Thanks Noel... that all makes good sense. I think I achieve getting the baits down closer to the bottom by letting more line out but that just gives me more to reel in and that's not a lot of fun. Cheers Jim

So Frank, with the single hook rig , what style of sinker are you using? ... its hard to imagine anything else but a snapper lead having enough weight to keep it all down on or near the bottom.

Thanks Noel, Are you fishing offshore? I am in between 30 and 40 meters depth. Running sinkers are more of an estuary approach.

I like the idea of the drink bottle and drill

Hi Raiders, Last Friday I used a few different bottom bouncing strategies and tried to monitor the results. I know that there a few Raiders out there who have a lot of success with this style of fishing so I was interested in their comments and suggestions. I was mainly targeting flathead off Rosa Gully on South Head. I use a pretty standard two hook paternoster rig so I guess the variables are. Distance from sinker to the first hook - Mine is about 600 mm Distance to the second hook - Mine is about 450 mm Size of the snapper lead - Varies on the current/ drift Distance behind the boat - obviously you want to be on the bottom but you can be a long way back if you choose. Bait used - I like tough baits like quid strips or some tough fish strips. Here are some observations... I noticed that when the baits were on the bottom but in close it was always the bottom bait that was taken while the top bait was virtually untouched. Does this mean that the top baits (about 1 meter from the bottom ) were out of range of the fish and went unnoticed? I noticed that if I had a lot more line out then bites were more detectable and both baits were taken - This appears to mean that with the line out further the angle was shallower and put the top bait closer to the bottom. I had two lines out and certainly, nearly all the larger specimens were caught on the rig with the heaviest sinker. So.. what do you bottom bouncing experts make of that and do you have any comments, tips or suggestions. Cheers Jim

Yes, that is expensive PE10 Saltiga line - rated at 100lbs Diawa have some excellent lines like the J braid series that are 1/3 of that price. Is it worth paying $200 plus for top of the line braid? I seriously doubt it. Like most anglers, when I lose a quality fish it will almost certainly be because of poor attention to knots, poor decisions in playing the fish (like being too heavy on the drag and pulling a hook not heavy enough and getting reefed) or just plain bad luck. The very slight advantage which the Saltiga line could possibly provide, IMO would not enter into the equation.

Great report - looks like lovely surroundings for a quiet time away without the kids. Perseverance sounds like the theme of the day! Cheers Jim

Hmmm... I think you must be buying your braid from the wrong place! Not sure I understand the 5-10% backing line theory... that doesn't really seem to help reduce the quantity of braid by much and it adds another knot in the equation. and yes... I have turned my undies inside out when I was desperate!

Hi Raiders, I just respooled my main favourite 4 Reels with braid ( various high-quality brands). Shimano Saragosa SW 10,000 with 65lb Colour Depth Braid - which leaves about 10 meters on the 300 meter spool Shimano Stella SW4000 with 20lb Colour Depth Braid - which leaves recon about 100 meters on the 300 meter spool Shimano Stradic 6000FJ with 50 lb Colour Depth Braid - which leaves about 60 meters on the 300 meter spool Shimano Aero C14+ with 20lb Single Color Braid which leaves about 100 meters on the 300meter spool Now we all know that little investment in braid is not going to provide much change from $200 so I was wondering how other raiders manage their braid usage. Here are some of the things I have done in the past. 1) Use backing line on the spool first and only use half of the new braid so you get 2 respools from one purchase. 2) Reverse the old braid before changing it if you haven't lost too much line. Your ideas would be most welcome. Also, if you had 100 meters of 20lb braid what would you do with it? In fact, I have at least 15 partial spools of braid of various diameters sitting in the draw as I write this post. Cheers Jim

Well Done! How were you fishing for the Trag? ... on the bottom? Did the snapper also come from the FAD? Cheers Jim

Actually, one of the kings was legal at 68cm. He went back but the other straighten the hook and got away. I had a steak already planned so fish was never on the menu - would have been way too much to eat anyway so back in the drink she went! Cheers Jim

Nope... just a thin self-inflatable mattress and a fleece sleeping bag. Depending on the temperature I may wear trackies. I get plenty of sleep but I do wake up a little sore ( but that just because I 'aint no spring chicken any more!) Cheers\ Jim

Yes... I figured it could be adjusted like that... that would make it easier to run multiple lines. Cheers Jim

Nice one... sometime you just gotta change tactics. Those flatties look they are having a post mortem discussion.

I gave a 5.9 Quintrex Lazeabout with bimini and front and side clears. To get ready for a nights sleep I lift the passenger seat of its pedestal and prop it over the anchor well so I get a little more space and then just put down a self-inflating mattress. I have a real pillow ( I am getting soft in my old age) and a fleece sleeping bag. There is plenty of space to set it up in advance and keep fishing for a few hours after dusk. Thanks Donna. Yes... was a little uncomfortable for me too but mainly because my compact inflatable mattress is a little thin. I have no idea what put the fish off at Long Reef - I have never seen so little bait around Longy but so much in the harbour. LOL... Some people accuse me of living in the past Frank! I fried up one Mahi fillet this morning for breakfast and I will smoke the other one. BTW, I downrigged along the wall at Long Reef with the bomb you gave me - it seems to track a lot better in turns than my ball shaped bomb. Thanks again for that

Thats reassuring... I was tempted to think I was doing something wrong. I just like the relaxing day out fishing on the first day where I don't really have anything to do. I just cruise about upriver from the Spit in calm water, flicking a few lures and soaking up the sun. Mooring up in Bantry bay , I watch the boats come and go, tend a couple of fishing lines and have a couple of beers and a steak as the light starts to fade. I stay up until about 10 am and watch the stars, listen to the radio and contemplate the next day on the water. The next day it's up a 3am or so giving myself enough time to get some bait and motor out in the dark to Long Reef where I am bounced around in the dark and then later, bounced around while fishing ( you know what its like - always on your feed and bracing against the swell and wind waves while rigging lines and landing fish). It's a lot more hectic and certainly lots of fun but the whole day of serious fishing is pretty full on. Maybe next time I will do it the other way so I can relax after the fishing and not have to go home and clean the boat etc after the long fishing day. OMG... why didn't I think of that before! Thanks Neil Yes Jeff, it was an unplanned mini break from work. I got caught out by the higher than predicted swells -I could have taken a Qwell as a precaution but I didn't. If the fish had have been on at the time I wouldn't have noticed it!

Hi Raiders, I decided I had to get away from work so I did an overnight trip starting Thursday. I packed and left home at about 11:00am on Thursday and headed over to the spit. It was a very leisurely affair as I had no intention of any serious fishing until Friday. I chased a few boils around Sugarloaf Bay which turned out to be small tailor before heading up to Bantry Bay. That was fun and very relaxing. When I got to Bantry Bay I hitched the boat to the last mooring and tossed a few lines in while I set up my tackle for Friday morning which I planned to spend at Long Reef. I also put the clears on the bimini in case it rained overnight and made some room for my bed roll. I had the sounder on and it was a hive of activity. There we a lot of yakkas close to the surface mulling around my burley trail and rat kings spooking them from time to time. I had a couple of unweighted lines with strip baits out and both of them got smashed by small kings which was a lot of fun on bream lines. I think I have a GoPro of this which I will add to the post later. After the action subsided I whipped out the chips and a coldie and just sat and took in the sights. Later I cooked a steak on the portable stove and crashed at about 9:am listening to the radio. I was up at 4am burleying the Yakkas up and catching a dozen or so in record time. I headed down to the Harbour and over to Long Reef and was about an hour before sunrise. It was pitch black on the way - very spooky in a small boat I have to say. I anchored in about 30 meters just off the wall and started burleying heavily hoping for some snapper. This is what the sunrise looked like an hour or so later... Now we all know that you need to commit to the burleying process and not just abandon it if you don't get instant results but after about 2 hours with no bites and not even a mark on the sounder moved in closer to the reef and started again. The swell was supposed to be 1 meter but it felt more and no doubt impacted by the inactivity I started to feel a little off colour. I have never seen Long Reef so devoid of fish... bugger all marks on the sounder and barely a touch on any of the baits. I wasted another 2 hours and eventually gave up and headed to the FAD. Water temp was around 22. When I reached the FAD I took a look in close first and tossed a pichard cube towards it. I could instantly see there were Dollies around it so I dropped down a livey and drifted slowly away ( I usually get the larger ones a little further away from the FAD itself). At about 30 meters from the FAD I got hit by a legal fish which did all kinds of acrobatics although it was pretty quickly on the boat. I was sitting on a doughnut for the day so I kept that one for a feed. I moved back in closer to the FAD and enticed a dozen more fish with SP's, lives and pilchard cubes. Eventually, they seemed to go off the bite so I left for my flathead grounds. I got to my flathead spot at about 11:00 am and after a few hours I half a dozen Blue Spots to add to the haul. (I can't count how many 20cm ones I caught) It was pretty bumpy out there so I wouldn't call it relaxed angling but it was worth it. All in all, it was a great couple of days but I have to say I am shattered and the world hasn't stopped moving yet. Half the time I feel like I am still riding the swell and the other half of the time I am swinging around the anchor in the wind! Here's an upsidedown picture of the catch. Just fed the family deep fried flathead. Going to give the Dolly fillets a go in the smoker tomorrow. Cheers Jim

Well done boys! Coming up with a few cod in less than ideal conditions is a bonus. Cheers Jim

Well done Neil! Glad you got the chance to catch your fist kingie. Just imagine one of those the 1 metre mark ! Cheers Jim

When I lived in the Shire we always referred to the "Lily Pilli Hole" as the deep hole on the edge of the baths. I fished the hacking for 20 years and I have to say that it is a very different proposition today. In those times Kingfish and Jewfish would be regular catches at the hole and many a good fish was lost by inexperienced fishermen unprepared for the size of the fish that would frequent this spot... but even then it was a hit and miss kind of place. There is also a significant drop off ( as mentioned in this thread) just upriver of the baths but this is across the whole of the estuary so it's not what I would call a hole. The Hacking is a great system. But it can be a difficult system to fish I think because it is so clean and visibility is so good that fish are easily spooked. It seems to be very much a dawn and sunset proposition. It also changes all the time particularly around the Deban Spit area where a spectacular flathead spot can change to a very average one in just a single season I think due to the shifting sands. Local knowledge is really important to consistent results and undoubtedly the most consistent fisho would be Yowie. I think what Yowie is saying that the hole is not the only spot in the Hacking and what I would add to that is its a good land-based option but if you have a boat there are many other options and it's a good idea to keep on the move. Cheers Jim

You do it with your thumb on an overhead... and yes , it needs to be practised a lot to make it second nature. Alvey side cast users probably have a head start on this as it is something you also need to do on a side cast except it is underneath the reel generally with a pointer or index finger or both. On a game reel the even placement is not so critical because you are not casting. You can sort of compensation to some degree if it is building up on one side and favour the other side of the spool. There is a tool you can buy to help but its more about saving your finger from line burn with a fish on and under pressure.

Great effort! They are a wonderful species to catch and very responsive to SP's. Cheers Jim

Was that Fisheries or Maritime? The fisheries guys can be tough sometimes. Cheers Jim

Ah ha... so that's the answer to the out of date flare question! Thanks for the information. On the subject of Maritime checks, I seem to get checked every time I go out. Last Friday ( first time out in a few months) the Maritime guy told me my boat was unregistered. He was right of course...seems like I registered the trailer and forgot about the boat. D'oh! Anyway, he was very nice about it...suggested I do it when I get home which I did. Wouldn't happen this way if it was a car! Cheers Jim