adamski

Epic man, congratulations!

No worries. Let me know if you ever want to go fishing down there. haven't been in a while.

Hey mate, Well done for bagging a few, even if the big bream remains elusive. I used to fish Iron Cove a fair bit and you're right- the flatties and tailor can get to be a pain after a while. There are plenty of bream hanging around the western part of the bay, near areas like the UTS rowing house and the two canals that feed into the system. The fish feed on the oyster beds around that part of the bay and can be tricky to tempt. Early morning and late afternoon coinciding with a rising/high tide works best. Try getting yourself a pack of 2" or 2.5" Z-man grubz in a natural colour like bloodworm or motor oil and chuck on a bit of S-factor. I've also had bream take crab profile lures, like Powerbait crabbies and Z-man Crusteaz, around there. 1/16 to 1/8 jighead should be fine, but on calm days with little wind you can go even lighter. Another thing that might be worth looking into is some medium diving lures (you can pick up some cheap ones at the likes of K-mart- I've had a couple of fish on Tsunami Bream Pros and the Berkley Dog series). Good luck, and look forward to reading your next report.

Awesome work off the rocks with such light tackle. Bet the salmon fought hard.

Cheers Neil, fingers crossed!

Hey folks, I've been a bit quiet on fishraider over the last few months, but still out fishing and reading your posts with interest. I was supposed to move back to Europe at the start of the year, but that never materialised. Instead, the missus and I moved to a different part of Sydney, about 10 mins away from the Cooks so I've been out flicking around the river in the hope of the ever-elusive second jewie (more difficult than the first, it would seem), as well as whipping SPs around wharves for a second kingy (smoked several times, but no joy) and getting back into lighter tackle (mixed results). Truth is, there hasn't been a lot to write home about: I got my first EP on the Georges at Como and got smoked down there on an HB by a bream that I reckon was in the 40s. It went straight for a rocky outcrop, which I needed to free spool out of, but when it emerged the 4lb leader was frayed to bits, snapped when I tried to put a bit of hurt on. Elsewhere, I tried Gymea on the Hacking (a looooooong walk from the station), where there were loads of fish milling around, but the best I got was a yakka on an SP. I've also been back around Double Bay several times too, for the usual bread and butter species, but yeah, it's been a very quiet last few months for me. On the plus side, I grew a beard A few pics:

Good report, congrats on your first mulloway!

:puke:

Well done Ryder and that's good news on Cassie Don't want to imagine what a doctor is though...

Hi folks, I'm heading back to the UK in May/June for a fishing trip with my brother and cousin. We'll be hitting a few trout fisheries and lochs in the north of Scotland for about a week and I've been advised to get some practice in beforehand (I haven't fished fly for donkeys and even then I was a complete amateur). I'm thinking of putting together a wet fly outfit for estuary species in Australia and was thinking of spending around $400. Most of my practice would be on the Cooks as I now live about 10 mins walk from the river. Bearing in mind that the weather's probably going to start getting worse in the next few months and the fact I'm land-based, do you reckon it's even worthwhile? I'd welcome any advice from folks out there, Cheers, Adam

Solid fish there Ryder, well done.

Were you up there without a paddle?

Looks like the experiment paid off, well done Seamus.

Smashing it James, well done man.

Great work getting a few so early in the season, congratulations!

Amazing work on the kingies yet again Krispy, I might need to give the squidding another shot: the kingfish have been turning their noses up at just about every lure imaginable round my neck of the woods recently.

Thanks very much for the link Donna, I can't believe I'd never spotted that before.

Hey folks, I know that when I hold a fish for a photo I should use wet hands, place it on a wet surface when measuring and try not to rub off too many scales. I also know I really ought to buy an enviro net... ... But I was wondering: can anyone can point me in the direction of a general guide for handling individual species when caught? I've noticed with some species (e.g. trevs, and kingies), fishermen put their thumb in the fish's soft mouth and bring down the lower lip, but with toothier fish (e.g. bream or jewies) they tend to grab the fish by one gill. Is there a general rule for establishing what is least damaging/traumatic to the fish? I ask because most of the fishing I do these days is C&R and I want to cause the least trauma to the fish as possible whilst still getting the best photo. Cheers, Adam

They sell them in most stores. Just make sure you get an NSW one- first one I bought was for QLD and I didn't realise for a while. The DPI website also has the most up to date info, so probably best to check there as legal sizes can change.

Love how your "quiet" morning still involves getting a good kingy (some of us out there have yet to manage a legal one ya know!) and a nice fat flounder. Cracking work as usual.

Cheers Ian and Krispy! CB, I gather they prefer deeper holes and slack tides, but I'm no expert. There are a few good videos and articles out there, have a look on youtube.

Unlucky on the bigger fish, there are definitely a few about at the moment milling around amongst the rats near the eastern harbour bay wharves. Well done on getting one for the table- that ceviche looks pretty darn tasty.

That's very interesting, I'd be very tempted to get a yak if I knew I could just keep it near the water's edge and it only cost $300 a year (I can't drive). Do sailing/boating clubs tend to have areas where you can store a kayak? There are quite a few around the areas where I fish.

Awesome! Well done Felix, you look like a pro already!

That's epic man, well done on 3 kg line!