sails

Well done for a good outing Chopper 75. I had lunch to the north of the Roseville bridge during the week and watched from the car as something of good size pushed its bow-wave up and down real close to the edge, passed the pull-over where the garbage bins are. Couldn't make out what species it was but there was some size in the wave so it got me excited.Plenty of bream cruising that area also. Its one place I hope to fish sometime from the yak cheers Sails

Hi Roberta, that is a great report about a fantastic catch, can't wait for the pics to be posted. One has to be in awe of the guys ability and determination to beat such a large fish, especially when he was heading out to sea with no idea of how long the fight would take or where he would end up.!! Sounds as if a Hobie is the way to go! cheers Sails

Hi Roberta, sorry to hear of Noels passing away, please pass on our condolences to his wife and family.Its a nice thought to do a plaque on his favourite rock on the wall. Cam

Hi Marty, great post, well written and a great catch , well done.The thrill of a "yak catch makes it even more exciting doesnt it? Bream are the hot fish at present. good stuff. tight lines Sails

HI Jewgaffer, that is a great idea; lets see what we can put together. Work tomorrow will keep me off the beach during low tide, so I'll hit it up late Saturday morning for some worms. We could try for a session Sat or Sun afternoon, or after work during the week. PM me for contact details. cheers Sails

Hi Peter, what a great catch you have there, well done. It must have been fun pulling them in.!! I must try the chicken breast sometime, it sure does seem to do the trick, and easier to catch than worms! cheers Sails

Hi Roberta, the bream were all 30cm, and as Roosterman said, all were well thick!! Interestingly they were not in the gutter but further out in the deeper water on the other side of the sand bank. The day before, the bream was 35cm and I heard this evening from one of the guys that lots of them are being caught in the upper reaches of Narrabeen lake, 35cm, on prawns. Steve, they were still on the bite, but it was slowing and I didnt have any SPs' with me. I'm still more comfortable with bait for some reason, guess I havent put in enough time to gain confidence yet with the SPs'. Christos, Nextos and Shan777, its always a good day when you get out to do what we all like to do, isnt it; especially when you bring home the goods. cheers and tight lines Sails

Hi Handyman, welcome to Fishraider and well done on the first of many posts. That is a good flathead, and well done on consuming the roe. Its an acquired taste I think.I got used to them in London in the 70,s where they were sold in the shops in the form of round patties, and they were the cheapest thing to buy, and I liked the taste and texture. tight lines Sails

Hi All, I headed out to my current favourite beach again to use the last of the worms that I had caught on Sunday evening. I hit the beach about 1700, and the wind was more on sure than yesterday, meaning the weed was closer in and blocking access to the spot I fished yesterday. I tried at the northern end and as usual with a small rod, I let the bait drift along the beach and just followed it along. It wasnt too long before I felt the first bites and landed the first dart, which was returned. I concentrated on that spot and soon felt the solid bite of something a bit more promising, but the hook failed to set. After missing about 4 fish, I changed hooks and was rewarded with the first of 5 nice bream for the evening. They give a good account of themselves on a small rig. The good thing was that they were happy to take worms that were past their best , and when the bait was finished, so was I. Not often that all you get on the beach is bream, usually it is a mixed bag. tight lines Sails

Hi All, I headed out to my current favourite beach again to use the last of the worms that I had caught on Sunday evening. I hit the beach about 1700, and the wind was more on sure than yesterday, meaning the weed was closer in and blocking access to the spot I fished yesterday. I tried at the northern end and as usual with a small rod, I let the bait drift along the beach and just followed it along. It wasnt too long before I felt the first bites and landed the first dart, which was returned. I concentrated on that spot and soon felt the solid bite of something a bit more promising, but the hook failed to set. After missing about 4 fish, I changed hooks and was rewarded with the first of 5 nice bream for the evening. They give a good account of themselves on a small rig. The good thing was that they were happy to take worms that were past their best , and when the bait was finished, so was I. Not often that all you get on the beach is bream, usually it is a mixed bag. tight lines Sails

Hi Steve, well done on the capture; that sounded like a load of fun. I can picture you down on the gunnel hanging on while the boat keeps heading on its way.!! Good to know that you are getting to use the boat again after the work you did on it. Bet the kids were stoked with Dads big fish!! cheers Sails

Hi all, I wet a line this afternoon after work to use some worms I had pulled late yesterday afternoon at Collaroy. Tried Narrabeen lake near the outlet but no success, so walked the beach from Nth Narra half way to the Pines, letting the rip carry the bait, but not a bite. Headed north to check out a couple of the other beaches, looking for some good gutters and ended up pulling 2 juvenile salmon, one flathead about 5mm short of legal, three dart, two whiting at 35cm, and one bream also at 35cm, so a good session was had. Sorry no pics. tight lines Sails

Hi Roosterman, well done on the bream, and the squid, all good eating. Was that at the spot X ? I hit my local squid spot Tuesday last week for 8 medium size, but only got one big one on Wed. Sails

Hi Rockhoppin, that is a great catch, well done. I see alot of them when I dive my local area at Collaroy and they always head for their favorite rock holes, so to get it to shore would have been a challenge. I've yet to hook into one of those blue beasts, but I'm looking forward to the time I do. cheers Sails

Hi Luderick -angler I think you're right, I have heard of good catches of late from areas such as Cottage Point and around Coal and Candle Creek, both well up the system. Sails

Hi Stylo. never seen a whiting taking air, are you sure it wasn't mullet jumping as that is common on the lake. That stringy weed is good for blackfish, but at present there is good ( better ) weed and cabbage on the ocean rocks and it is working well when there are fish around. I got a handfull of beachworms this afternoon so I'll go and give the lake a try tomorrow. cheers Sails

Hi Stylo, good to know the lake is fishing well, even though you didnt take too much home. I share that same problem with being prepared, there is always something that I need that I have left at home, or I just havent spent the money on yet. I wonder if they would have been more willing if you had been using beach worms? My plan is to get some this afternoon at the low, and see if I can put them to good use. Which part of the lake were you in for the action? cheers Sails

Hi Bobfish, I live in Collaroy, and so I usually put in on Collaroy beach or occasionally around at the end of Florence or Ocean street, which is at the northern end of Fishermans beach. I built a trolley to trundle the yak around with so I just have to get across Pitwater rd and its all good. The action yesterday was frantic, and it was great to boat that fish. Once I had worn him out I realised how unprepared I was, as I had no gaf or net, and he was only held by a small strip of lip flesh. I opened the centre hatch and while rolling the yak to the left slid him straight in to the hatch. It was interesting to hear the noise that the schools were making when they were on the surface. There was something that was charging through the salmon and I was wondering what would happen if I managed to get on to one of those. Next time I'll take a rig especially to put a sambo out as a live one and see what happens. NZ here I come!! Drop me a PM if you want to give this area a try out, as I usually go by myself and it would be good to share the time with another 'raider. cheers Sails

Hi guys, what a great day it was to be on the water!! Had the good fortune to join Roosterman this morning at one of his favorite spots for a blackfish session: Collected fresh weed yesterday from Turrametta, and the place is still carpeted in it, and it looks fantastic. Slept in so didnt arrive until 0600, but it didnt seem to matter as the action was decidely quiet. Around 0730 we had our first downs and soon after I landed the one and only fish for the morning, a nice sized male going 37cm. Thanks to Steve for the netting skills. We had another hook up each , only to have them pull as they headed to the pylons. Finally gave it away around 0900, and wandered home. Had fun this afternoon, spent about 21/2 hours chasing salmon of Longreef from my kayak. The fish were boiling up everywhere, and it was a real challenge to keep up with them as they moved around, thanks to the small wind driven swell I had to punch into most of the way. Finally landed one after a 10 minute fight, and it went 55cm but only about 1.8kg, and lost 3 others. There were 2 boats around the schools and they were well into the fish every boil and it was good to see them fighting hard and also loosing them. Made me feel a little bit better about a lot of effort for a small reward. Bled the fish on the beach when I got in and it bought up lots of big worms, so tomorrow I will be paying them a visit. Isnt it great that spring is here!! tight lines. sails

Hi Roosterman, great post you have started here; love to see a bloke fishing when he's being paid to work!! Were the fish in the salt water or still in the fresh? cheers Sails

Hi Livebait, great to know that you are giving the apprentice all he needs to know about the good old work ethic; "teach a man to work and he earns a dollar, teach a man to fish and he's hooked for life"!! Hope there are many more times you need to show him some of those ""trade skills"" Well done, keep it up. Sails

Hi Moonset. that looks like a great fish; they must be coming on again after being a bit quiet of late. Great story about the old fisherman and his hooks and his special spot. ""Seems like everything old is new again""!! I bet his rod and line wern't at all like what we use these days, but he probably still used to catch just as many if not more that we do. Hope you are able to share many more catches with him. Well done keep them coming cheers Sails

Hi Pete, good to know that it is not just me!!. Tried the favorite spot in Pittwater this morning at 0600 (thanks to Roostermans' sharing of info a few weeks ago ), but drew a blank today. Had a couple of timid downs; missed the first one as I was marvelling at the moon that was still high in the western sky, and when I returned my gaze to the water it was to see my float returning to the surface after a touch, but the fresh weed was still attached. Gave it until 0800 and then headed home to the girls. Fishermen have to be optimists to keep coming back time and time again after a no show, so a little time tummy gazing doesnt go to waste. Pumped some yabbies this afternoon with the intention of seeing what is in the deep off the Narrabeen caravan park, will try tomorrow. Sails

Well done Roberta, that sounded like a great session. great fishing!! Sails

Doc1.docHey Roberta just upped it to 60.03 Sails