nickb111

yeah mate I bought a pack. Very difficult to get onto cup faced lures like roosta poppers, as well as quite difficult to fit onto thick split rings.. other than that they work very well.

This is a great thread!! Clearly that tailor wasn't an isolated incident

Port hacking again? Sounds like you've found spot x! Mind pm-ing me more details on the location?

Bettered my last efforts to catch this tailor in blackwattle. Was about 40-45 cm, not sure if I'd call it a greenback despite its colour! There is a lot of bait in there just after the rain

Hey Joep, Sydney Water released a statement I think four days after the sewage saying it was all clear... 5 million litres sounds like heaps but they said that meant it was a 100000 : 1 dilution ration. ie. 0.001% of the water in the bay was sewage after the incident, and was all dispersed quickly. I've been kitesurfing in there since the incident and didnt get sick!

Well clearly my fish can only get bigger - wouldn't mind consistently catching kings a 5 min walk from home!

Yeah sounds good! And definitely better than a donut.. I'll be back again to improve on that fish Adamski, do you have a tide you prefer, rising or falling?

Based on Adamski's advice I fished the southern shoreline of Blackwattle Bay in Glebe. An hour after low tide I caught the smallest fish I've ever caught on a lure, I barely noticed it as I was bringing the lure in. It was the first time I'd caught a fish west of the harbour bridge, as I haven't really given it a chance before. For reference the metal lure is 65 mm long. I stuck around for an hour after that, and just around sunset, there was a bustup, presumably of tailor. They were far larger than my previous effort, and upon casting into the school, quickly had one take line and break itself off in the seaweed. It was a novice mistake and serves me right for not paying 100% attention, and also for having my drag too low ! Give blackwattle a shot guys, I have seen some bream around there too and wouldn't mind hearing some other reports..

Got a few other photos from the day, all from the first fish. Excuse the hood, it was bitterly cold!

I think its a gamakatsu SL12s in the smallest size they make, size 2 maybe?

may that serve as inspiration 1 last cast.. I haven't tried off the rocks yet but this summer I may give it a go on Old mans hat or south curly

Sydneyfisher12 - I've had most luck on a fly, lure or bait hasnt really worked for me.. 1 last cast a salt fly set up is great so long as you have a boat!

Mate it was a pretty nerve racking ! Could've dusted me on the reef anytime

Mate you're not wrong! And summer is just around the corner so it's only going to get easier from here...... I hope

Hey guys, A few days ago a mate and I headed out to Pittwater to try and get amongst some winter kings. We left the boat ramp, heading north and hugging the eastern shoreline. We motored up to Clareville, where we saw a tight flock of birds hovering over the surface. Under them was a small school of kings, feeding on eyes. Using my 9 weight, I threw in a squid fly, and on the second cast hooked up. After a 5 minute fight I had a 66 cm king in the boat, my first since december last year! It was a good reward for the freezing weather! The kings went down during the fight, so I couldn't have another go at the school. We motored north, heading for Lion Island, where we hoped to find salmon at the last of the lowering tide. No cigar, but immense amounts of bait and mutton birds. We then headed to Barrenjoey Headland, armed with 6 weights and weed flies to catch my first blackfish on fly. After 20 minutes of casting and on the brink of low tide, I hooked up to a blackfish I'd estimate it to be in the mid to high 30s, buy you guys be the judge. On the run home, we found a school of kings, which looked more akin to the hectare sized schools of salmon off north head. All between approximately 60 cm and perhaps 90 cm long, they were feeding off the smallest of bait and after a few tries with the squid fly that had worked in the morning, I downsized to a much smaller surf candy. Due to the size and weight of the calamari fly, I had a heavy and short leader, with a 20 lb tippet. As I didn't want to spook the kingfish, a lighter 12 lb tippet was tied onto the previous tippet giving a longer, lighter leader. The hook of the surf candy was also very small. We chased the school for 30 minutes, but the kings had a serious case of lockjaw. Eventually, I threw in a cast where the fly was headed to the most intense part of the boil, and I knew, before it even landed that it was the one. I hooked up to a king, and bearing in mind the light tackle, had to keep him off the bottom, yet still keep my light leader intact. After a 10 minute fight, up came a 70 cm king, which was also a new pb. It was a great day out and broke a month long drought for me.

Dont see anything wrong with the salmon, yakka or trevs, the other stuff not so much...

What size flick bait were you using ? Did it spit any fish out on the pier? Im just interested to what they're eating at the moment.. Also I'll never go back from the FG - a little bit of practice and it always works

Such light tackle - people would get busted off on braid 10 x heavier !!! Really quite impressive

How are those 6-12 lb samurais for fighting power? Enough for a rat king?

Hey mate I've got a combo along those lines: Daiwa Morethan 3012H Daiwa Battler Shorehunter 86 MH YGK WX4 Grand Pe 2.5 (30lb) 30 cm tailor still put a significant bend in the rod, yet it has grunt further down. To get it within the budget a similar combo: Gen Black Supacaster $150 Daiwa Ballistic 3000H $270 The braid I have on my current real is rubbish, power pro in 10-20 lb will do ! I have used the supacaster before and it is in no way overkill for kings. Most importantly go to a shop and get them to put the reel on the rod, and see how it balances..

The procargo has a lower retrieve rate - also a lot of the new sols are being sold online second hand... It's a bit suspicious

Don't worry about that max drag.. If you're after a high retrieve ratio to rip in metals etc go for the sol 4000 or the blast 4020PE-SH

Hey Adam- I live 200 metres from blackwattle.. Any chance you could let me know where you got those tailor?? Would be a quick fishing fix! Cheers man

The water was really warm, and there wasn't any wind so it was quite a pleasant day. I was fishing 30lb braid and 30lb mono leader, I'm thinking of downsizing to 10-20 lb braid and 20 lb fluoro leader. Krispy have you got any spots you could pm me with deeper access (harbour preferred, maybe pier 2?), would be a great hand! Harold I had a beanie and ski jacket on so I wouldn't blame you for feeling a bit chilly.

Got out to rose bay this morning in the hope of bonito, salmon, kings etc, but not expecting too much considering its already winter. Arrived for sunrise which coincided with first light, and set up gear while I waited for the tide to get moving. I fish near the sea plane base, in surprisingly deep water to which the flats drain. I always go there for the lowering tide because I believe the predatory fish ambush the bait when theyre taken off the flat. Anyway, two hours of flicking metals (poppers, stickbaits and microjigs) for nothing, except a follow by a king/salmon/greenback tailor. I couldn't quite pick it out. Its going to be a tough few months...