Ryder

In that case you could claim 2nd place in the Fishraider records.

Now that's a big flathead. Great work. And you did the right thing releasing it. A fish to remember. Did you get him on bait or lure

Well done mate. Great catch. Last Thursday there were a suspiciously large number of birds in IronCove

Whitworths are still around. Bias went under.

That's a good bag of squid.. I love the green eyes. Did your dad eat them all before you could use them as bait?

I would say closer to 10 cm

Mate that's a great report.. Apart from the bities, we have stingies and zappers.

I've only been down there once. We stayed on the south side I think it was Lakeside van park, We fished The Step, where the entrance drops off into lake proper. Mullet livies were easy to catch with bread and berley on the flats. Sent down the step for flathead.

Nice catches there mate. You timed your run perfectly. I bet they'll get a hiding over the next few days, as the crowds descend on the place. Well done.

Taylor's bay would be closer to Newport. Make sure you have your tomtom or same. The streets on that side are like a labyrinth. Heaps of dead ends, and loops.

That's a nice catch of flatties. Good you got a couple of jackets too, that will show them line snipping buggers. Good to hear you're feeling better, and fishing is great therapy. Cheers.

Winding while the fish is running isn't going to achieve much. If you are using a threadline reel, you are just twisting the line. If you had your drag up higher, the fish would tire and stop running. That's when the fight starts. Pull up on the rod and wind down to the fish and repeat, Pump and wind. Keep that bend in the rod.

I can't avoid the black cat, he's mine. I didn't walk under any ladders, and I remembered to wipe my bum. Haha

Well done mate, shes a natural. Seems she has expensjve tastes in the gear department.

That's a great fish, it makes those snapper look tiny. Well done. New Zealand is a great fishing destination, Kingfish, snapper, marlin, swordfish, trout, the list goes on. A few years back a mate pulled a similar fish off the beach at Piha, very rare in Oz You made me want to go back, and I'm watching Big Angry Fish whenever I catch it.

I can't explain it, I was using the same rig as Trevor, fixed float, a little sheet lead, swivel, 1and1/2 ft 6lb leader to the hook. Most times the cabbage came back intact, a few times it was chewed or stripped. I was getting that bad feeling, I'm not going to catch a thing. Rather than doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, I changed things. Hook, leader length, bait size and drift. Still nothing. It was when I moved things happened, same rig, same bait.

I know exactly what you mean. Sorry for taking the piss. Sincerely.

Thanks mate, it was a relief. Do I owe a donut for the bag out.

I heard on Hightide the beaches are holding good numbers of tailor. I would try for them, and use them as bait. You are getting your hours up, I reckon your due.

I met up with Trevor this morning in the eastern suburbs to continue my rockfishing education. Conditions were close to perfect, the swell was low and only a light breeze blowing. One other guy was down there and getting into the Blackfish so it looked promising. Trevor pulled the first fish, then the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th. I had matched his depth, followed his drift, but nothing was working. I changed leader length, used different size baits. In all this time I only got one good down, and pulled the hook. FFFFFFF I was staring at a donut, big time, my back was aching and I was getting a headache. Last resort was to move. I went over to the next ledge, got some berley going and snapped my leader on a good fish first drift. Quickly re rigged, next drift, fish on played out and landed. Phew. The aches and pains disappeared and I soon got another. Trevor pulled two more to get his bag limit. It was really coming on, my next good down was hijacked by a cormorant. It stole the fish, busted my line, dropped the fish and got badly tangled in the float. I was still connected and had no option but to land it as gently as possible. It made a mess of the float, biting it, but thankfully it was reasonably calm when we handled it. Snipped all the tangle and it flew off happily. I got one more fish on Trevor's rod before we called it and left them biting.

Nice work, finding legals in good numbers. Persistence paying off. Well done

Another great session guys. You must hate the number 64, haha. I reckon Mike2153 makes a good point, start tagging. It would be interesting to see where they turn up next, and how fast they grow. It will probably be you who recatches them.

Rose Bay, tomorrow, near the ramp.

I was getting worried, It reminded me of Rodger Ramjet, will he..succeed, and who will rescue..... I'm glad you did, putting the pressure on yourself, big call, and great result. I'm liking live reports, who knew?

That's a very good day out. A lot of different species to fill the esky. Patonga does produce big flatties, but I recently heard Pearl Beach is holding more than a few. Bad luck on the biggie, but like you said it was going to be released. As for the mystery fish, it could have been a king, amberjack, big sambo or a tuna. I doubt a shark. Well done. Great report. Ryder