adamski

Smashing it Gianni, well done mate and great job getting your friend onto a jew on the first attempt- that's absolutely awesome work!

Pearl Jam on the soundtrack? Have a like

Cheers folks, yeah I was stoked Jim, though possibly a bit too excited- I put up a post on a FB jewfish group page and then got a few messages from people telling me I'd given their spot away. Taken it down now, but I guess I'll be a bit more careful in the future. Thanks for the advice Scratchie! Yeah, I was just going over that in my head again this evening. Went back to the same spot for nothing and was trying to work out what was different about the situation. I think I'm starting staaaaarting to build up a slightly bigger picture based on what I've read and folk have told me. Be interesting to compare experiences with other who've fished around that area.

Well done Stapo! Hope you managed to keep those flatties away from all the lingering pelicans

Great report and tasty rewards as usual Krispy, congrats on finishing the last exam too!

Helluva tasty feed you have yourself there. Great work!

Thank you very much peeps, it means a lot being able to share such a special experience with people who've taught me so much. When I started fishing about a year and a half or so ago, catching a fish of that calibre was just completely unimaginable It was just an amazing moment- now I know what everyone means by the headshakes and so on, they're like a very heavy aggressive flattie who suddenly decides they want to test your mettle. Fortunately this one chose to head upstream and gave me plenty of space to fight it: If it had gone downstream it would have been a completely different story. I managed to net it myself, which felt really rewarding after having to get someone else to net my last couple of decent-sized fish, I don't want to sound egotistical, but it was nice to get a fish that I hooked, fought and landed unaided. Cheers to everyone again for their encouragement, Adam

Thanks folks. Taken down the pic of me with the fish, apologies to people out there who think I'm giving a spot away.

Hey folks, It's taken a few months of trying, with plenty of lost tackle around bridges, stupidly-early wake up times for nothing, and heaps of flatties as by catch, but eventually I caught up with the cool kids and bagged a jewie. The fish measured 73 cm on the new lie detector (bought because it has the legal sizes of the species- I couldn't remember what the size was for a flounder a couple of weeks back), taken land-based on the Cooks with a powerbait jerkshad and a 1/4 oz TT headlockz jig head. Rod was my Shimano 3Zero and reel the ever-dependable Stradic ci4 with 10lb PowerPro and 14 lb samurai leader. The fish was released unscathed. Big shout-outs to Ben, Gianni and Seamus for the encouragement and inspiration, and Stewie for the advice on lures and tackle. Cheers! Adam

And one that needs to go on a diet by the looks of it...

Just based on what I've experienced/witnessed and been told: you can go as low as 6-8 lb leader with 6-10 lb braid (not saying it's advisable, but it can be done). The trick isn't using heavier line, it's about making sure your knots are tied correctly and learning the structure where you are, as well as the best positions to stand/ways of angling the rod to keep the fish away from anything they can bust you off on. It's also about playing the fish in open water, letting it tire itself before you give it the stick, rather than automatically trying to skull-drag it in. Best advice I can offer is always take a net and go fishing with a mate who can help out on awkward netting duties (often difficult at wharves- might mean going down ladders): I've lost a fish or two by trying to lift kings that seemed knackered, only for them to kick at the death and come off the hook or bust the leader. Whichever way you go, good luck. Look forward to a report.

Cheers gents, hopefully next time round I'll get him onto something.

Hiya folks, Bit of context: during the week I work at an English language school. One of the students in my class was a keen fisherman back in Japan, but he gave it up a few years back. Anyway at our school's Halloween party we got chatting over a beer or two (me dressed as a zombie William Wallace in my kilt and him with some sort of weird burned-looking face from a Japanese urban legend) and I persuaded him he needed to take up the sport again in Australia. We met up this morning in the hope of just doing a wee bit bottom-bashing at Double Bay and I figured we could use any catch for the class barbecue next week. I arrived early while it was still dark and it took a while before the bite started: a little flattie first up. Afterwards Tsuyoshi arrived and I could tell he'd fished before- really whipping the rod, accurate single-handed casts. he told me he used to lure fish in Japan for black bass before they changed some of the laws about them. He'd never fished plastics, but soon got used to the technique. We fished for about 3 hours or so as the tide ran out. A school of rats turned up with a few legals mixed in among them, but we couldn't tempt them with any of the lures in my box (they were hoovering up bait just a little smaller than the plastics we were using) We tried whip baits and poppers for them too, but no joy. We got back to bottom bashing and I managed a legal flounder- a bit of a novelty for me- and another handful of flatties, including two keepers for the class barbie, but unfortunately I just couldn't get Tsuyoshi onto a fish. I felt a bit bad as it was his first time fishing down under plus he had to get up at 4 to come, but he seemed to enjoy it and we're going to try to get out again. Thanks for reading, Adam

You sure you don't mean a luminous radioactive green?

And bloody expensive!!! Well done mate, that's a great effort. Nothing better than that feeling of a fish smashing your lure.

Gotta admit, my braid still looks pretty grubby even after running the line under a trickle of water for a few minutes. I wonder if it's just the yellow colour that makes the dirt more visible? On longer casts I can see the cleaner line below. The braid has yet to snap on me, it's held pretty well again a few decent trevs recently, but I'm dreading the day I hook a jew or bigger king and it decides to give out!

It's a quick few turns of the reel handle (burn) and then a pause (kill). It's supposed to imitate fast-fleeing bait and can excite more timid fish, like bream, into striking.

+1 Although kings have been caught just opposite the fish markets in Blackwattle Bay. .

Well done gents, nice fish all round- congrats on the PBs!

Hey mate, I use this technique for the FG: Usually make about 1.5- 2 cm worth of turns, then tighten up. Works fine on line down to about 4-6 lb. It's yet to bust on a fish for me. Cheers, Adam

Good work Neil. I've never eaten freshwater species from Australia before. Are the yellowbellies any good?

Nice job Gianni, didn't take you long to crack the jewfish code. I'm still trying for the first one!

I don't have a boat I'm afraid. Could possibly do Thursday evening for a couple of hours depending on where you guys are headed.

Hey gents, welcome to the forum. I'm from the UK too (Scotland- feel free not to mention the rugby yesterday), and I fish around the Inner West a lot, particularly Iron Cove, Rozelle and Blackwattle Bay. Let me know if you guys ever fancy a flick.

I wanted to ask the same question, fantastic work once again Krispy!