Ryder

Great stuff guys. I had lunch at Drummoyne ramp yesterday I saw about 50 cormorants fly together towards the west end of the bay. Heaps of gulls were there too. I drove around to the park and the birds were working hard on baitfish.

Short finned eel?

Thank you, I watched your video on YouTube. Practiced it and used it today.I snagged up again and this knot held, it was my terminal locked half blood knot that gave way. No more mucking around. Cheers Ryder

Try near the lagoon mouth below the nth narrabeen surf club or 400m or so south at the pines.

Mate that's fantastic. You held it, it counts! I hope the next one comes soon. Great report. Pleasure to meet you on SP day Andrew

How rude of me! Replying to someone else, and not introducing myself, attending the SP social..... My name is Andrew I live in East Ryde and have no imagination. So I called myself Ryder. 47yo, fished the harbour from a tinny chasing flathead, salmon,tailor, whatever for years. I also chase Jewie on the beaches when I have the time; now I'm cutting my teeth on plastics. I started fishing with my granddad, a retired cop in Forster; veggie patch out the back, boat out the front. Run my own landscape maintenance company; any questions please ask. I like a laugh, and love to fish. I know I came to the right place.

The south end of Stanwell is a well known producer.

Check out the boat ramps in the boating section Click on sydney then northern beaches. Good advice there

That's fantastic for a first result. There's a great surfing ,fishing community up there. 3 Cheers to Narra

Day off school, playing footy, fishing with Dad, and nailing the flatties. Life doesn't get much sweeter. Thanks for sharing. Little jealous, no seriously jealous.

Great workBad luck on the big one.

I saw it today in the glass case at ottos. That is Aneken turned Darth Vader. Investment value alone.

I'm glad you got the chance to go fishing and get some. Two of your group from the social also produced the goods today. Myself and w4z (saltwater lure and fly section) Cheers

Just got home from a quick session down at the creek. Started with my sugapen but switched over when there were no takers. Satay chicken jerk shad on a 1/16th head. I moved to the mouth and cast towards St Joseph's rowing shed. After a few casts a nice little flattie around 30cm came ashore. Heaps of bites and a few misses later,a good one inhaled my lure. He must have been around 45cm. The plastic was lodged way down his throat, Impossible to remove without causing damage, I snipped the line and let him go. More bites more misses, when I snapped off on a snag I called it a day. It was my double uni that failed, I need to master the Albright Sorry no pics I left the phone in the ute.

Excellent!!! I'm still trying for my first keeper bream. Last Sunday SP social paying off.

Well done. Hang on! and hang in. There's not much like the first keeper

Just as frustrating. I added a reply under the Nice Gutter report

Thumbs up for your perserverance. The fish weren't cooperating last night. Same result at Narrabeen, though I chucked it in a lot earlier. I thought the only other bloke on the beach could I have been you

Mr.e.d It's still there,not as good as it was. I went last night. The big swell has flattened most of the formation along the beach. Not much kelp, there is ribbon weed and other stuff that wraps around your line. Has the texture of cottonwool and its hard to get off, it blocks the guides I kept losing my pillies to pickers or crabs, no solid bites. Ryder

Sorry guys this is what I learned as a novice. Gear up to your budget ,cheap rod cheaper reel will catch fish, upgrade when the time is right. Don't buy cheap braid you haven't heard of off the Internet. Match your backing (if using backing) to your braid. You don't want a big run to ping when your 6 lb braid meets 2lb backing. Keep your spool filled, whether that means a join or a topshot, it's better for casting. 6lb leader 2 rod lengths long, plus 2 wind ons. Set your drag. Tighten your drag. Load it up by pulling the leader towards the reel and loosen it so your rod doesn't look it will break. Use the minimum weight jighead to match the conditions ie water depth and current . Match your plastic to what the fish are feeding on, prawn, poddy etc. Alter your retrieve according to the depth. In the shallow short twitches, deeper water hop, deep water rip or double hop. Keep a bit of resistance on the line on retrieve, it wil stop birds nests. If you line gets twisty, when you are on the water, under way,let it all out with only a swivel attached, wind in under tension, twist gone. Change it up, move, try new things, alter damaged plastics, cut them, melt them and join together. You're not doing anything wrong if you are catching fish. It's all about confidence Ryder

Under the Harbour Bridge I caught kids' shoe with comics on it. Bizarre or ironic.Good to know it happens to you raiders too. Thanks Ryder Ps SquidMarks don't get me started on the Me and my Brother stories.

Don't lose heart. It will happen. I'd say check the tide times and fish the hours around the high tide. I'm no expert. You could always pm your instructor from Sunday I'm sure they would be happy to help.

I'd guess 80 to 85cm, no idea of weight. Good to have that monster out of the gene pool.

In the Solomon Islands I used coconut meat as bait for garfish. Not the kind we think of, it had to come from a spouted coconut .( The the sprout about 60 cm high.) All the water disappears within and the meat sort of expands filling the nut after germination It had the consistency of a dry sponge, it floated and the gars loved it. When in Rome.....

That made me laugh Witha