Oscarthebeagle

Yes it was FishFinder Bait and Tackle, I worked there for a year or so in my early 20's, not long after he first took over. I worked at Andrew Short Marine for a while before that. I ran the store a couple of days a week and helped out on busy days. Confused a few of the customers as I had a passing resemblance for Tony and customers assumed i was his son. Tony is a very friendly, incredibly knowledgeable fisherman, and I still have a couple of his (or Pauls) custom rods. I loved working there chatting to the customers, enjoyed the regulars who just liked to drop by for a chat, Bert was an old local fisherman, Trapman of Bermagui's dad loved a chat, Joe and Stan from South Sydney fishing club and my dad regularly found a reason to be passing by. I remember one busy day giving a regular customer a crash course on the cash register and him working for 1/2 hour while i served other customers. Always hated the customers who would pick my brain about fishing gear before going to Kmart down the road buying a rod and bringing back to me to help set up, I always tried to get them for some terminal tackle, bait and new line. I learnt a lot working there and hopefully was able to teach some people as well. I left on good terms when a better job opportunity came up in a different industry, never found another job that was more fun than working a tackle store. Ash

Congrates on the job. I did a couple of years working in a Fishing tackle store at Matraville when i was younger. Loved it, every customer you could either teach something to or learn something from. Enjoy it and try not to buy too much gear. Ash

Some great fish there, well done. You have certainly come along way since I met you at Como. A few years ago in mid winter I swum out and pulled a 7-8kg Jew out of the Como Baths net. This one was still alive and put up a struggle when i got it out of the net. Took a big bit of skin off my fingers where i grabbed it (fingers in gills/thumb in mouth, dumb idea). As I was cold, wet and bleeding I decided to keep it, still tasted as good as a caught one and had a story to go with it. Ash

Don't have the marks with me but I thought the "banks" referred to a spot down the coast off Culburra. Possibly "the hump" out off Stanwell Park is the spot you are after?

Took my two boys (aged 5 and 7) for a fish on Saturday on the Woronora River. Launched from Bonnet Bay about 9:30, overcast conditions and a bit of drizzle must of kept most people at home as there was only 1 trailer at the ramp. Not much current to start with so moved down to Como bridge area to fish the change in tide, no luck there, but saw a steam train crossing the bridge which the boys liked and with the tide starting to run moved back into the Woronora. Tried a few areas before finding some fish. First keeping fish went to the 5 year old with a 36cm bream, followed by a legal flattie to me and a legal bream to the 7 year old. A few throwback bream and whiting kept the boys happy till the next good fish, a 49cm Flathead on 2kg line gave the 5 year old a good run around before finally coming to the net. Our burley trail attracted a heap of bream, mullet and garfish which kept the boys (and me) busy, with every cast getting bites/hookups almost straight away. The better fish came from unweighted baits being cast up and out in front of the boat and drifting back with the current while the smaller fish in the trail kept everyone happy between better fish. By about 1ish our spot was getting a bit shallow and it was time to go home. Finished up with 2 flathead, 3 bream, 2 Garfish and threw back a couple of just legal bream and a heap of little fish. Busy when we got back to the ramp with 3 trailers now!!! boys were happy to show off their fish to the other boat at the ramp and I chatted to another dad (who saw us get the flathead) what our technique was, so hopefully he can get some fish next time with his kids. I have taken my boys out on the Woronora a few times this summer trying to avoid the busyness and stress of Grays Point ramp/Port Hacking and have found it very relaxing. Ramps are quieter, it's all a 8 knot zone or less so no jet ski, speed boats, cruisers making noise and wash and I have been able to find a feed of fish most trips. The trade off is the water is not blue like the hacking and it doesn't have the sandy beaches for swimming, but for an easy fishing trip with young children it is perfect. Thanks for reading Ash

Port Hacking FAD is 21km out in 140m of water. GPS marks are on the NSW fisheries website. I'm in a 5.2m ally cuddy cabin, and need to pick my days to go out there. Ash

After having bad weather or other commitments get in the way of fishing I decided i needed to take a day for myself or it wouldn't happen. Looked at the forecast and decided Thursday was the day to fish so took the day off work, dad @hookerbruce found out i was going and came along for the ride. Launched from Grays Point and with a mixture of smaller live bait from the river and a few bigger Yellowtail from near the Bombie we headed for Port Hacking FAD. Arrived to find 8 boats or so and not much current, started the first drift a bit away from the FAD using the largest livie. Bait was taken by what felt a good fish but the hook pulled on the first run, cursing myself i thought that was the good fish for the day gone. Each drift after that produced 1-2 fish on the small livies, 60-70cm, kept 1/2 dozen and released a few more. Got no hits on lures or pilchards and found the bait had to be fresh and kicking to get a bite, this often happens when there is not much current as they don't seem to feed as aggressively. About 10ish we went off for troll, a few Km south east of the FAD we came across some flotsam and trolled around the area. Managed to raise a Marlin which whacked the lure a few times but did not hook up. After that dad got a striped tuna and a couple more Dolphin fish and a bigger Marlin came up on the lures following and swiping at the lure but not hooking up, very exciting having a lit up Marlin In the spread but just would not hook up. We saw a few free jumping Dollies so had a drift/slow troll through the area with livies, I put out the last big bait and dad a smaller bait. After half hour or so my bait was taken, and a big dollie leapt from the water. It's amazing what you feel when the fish you have waited many years for is on your line. Plenty of big jumps and good runs before a few nervous minutes around the boat trying to get the fish in position for the gaff shot, eventually it swam where we wanted and dad gaffed it into the boat. Plenty of excitement and cheers as we had fished a long time waiting for a big Dollie, not a huge fish but measuring 125cm and 10.1KG it was a big upgrade on my previous best of 5kg. We fished for a bit longer but with time getting away and no more big baits we called it a day and headed home, only stopping on the way home to avoid running over a marlin that was cruising on the surface. We caught a good bag of fish, saw 3 marlin and got to spend a day out fishing instead of at work. We also have a new PB Dolphin Fish for the family to target. Thanks for reading Ash On a side note; I took the boat out again the Friday arvo with my wife and kids for dinner and a swim, the river is definitely quieting down, towed a broken down boat back to the ramp. That makes 4 boats i have towed home in the last 6 months which seems a very high number considering i fish maybe 1/2 times a fortnight.

Yes dad thankyou for teaching me to fish, however this was my trip out wide on my boat you just found out i was going and tagged along. However once i hooked this fish i was very glad you were there to drive the boat and gaff it for me. I will post a separate full report Ash

Good report, congrats on the PB. Keep at it the Marlin will come. Hopefully I will get out later in the week to have a crack. Ash

I was at Grays Point late Sunday arvo for a swim, boat ramp packed looked like an hour or so wait for boats coming or going. Quietened down after 6pm.

I have launched the last two afternoons from Grays Point ramp at around 3ish, plenty of parking in carpark but you can see it has been busy during the day with trailers parked up the hill. No fish caught and have struggled to lose a live nipper. Lovely for an afternoon swim, not so good for fishing. Ash

Hi Bill If you fished the hacking a bit you might more likely recognise this boat. Bruce (dad) has only had the grey boat a for a few weeks. Well done on the Jewfish. Ash

Must be a few drones that get lost to the ocean. Last Friday there was a barnacle encrusted drone on top of the bin at Grays Point ramp when i was taking the boat out. A couple of weeks ago when i was launching at Bonnet bay a guy flying his drone hit a tree branch and crash onto rocks half a metre from the waters edge, he got it back but not sure if it will fly again after a crash. Also during winter I was a Como with the kids, where a guy was flying his high up over the water. We watched it flying when all of a sudden it stopped, flipped and dive bombed into the water, looked like a Ganet diving at fish. The guy just kind of looked at the controller, looked at the water, back at the controller shook his head a slowly walked away. He had to walked past us and i tried to keep the kids quiet but they were far too excited by what they had just seen to not be talking loudly about it, poor bloke. Expensive toy, but they do get some great photos. Ash

Nice bag of fish and a cracker nannygai. Bananas are always allowed on my boat if i have the kids with me. If it comes down to taking on the fishing gods or sharing a boat with 4 cranky hungry young children who can't have their favorite fruit? I'll take on the fishing gods. Ash

Good report, a feed of flatties is always welcome. On the sea sickness, i used to get it as a child but grew out of it, now the only time I feel a bit off is when i fish on a new boat. On my boat never, but on the rare occasion I'll do a charter or fish on a different boat it can get me. Must be something about the way different boats pitch and roll in the waves that gets me. Last time I felt off i was fishing in my dad's boat for the first time in a couple of years, even though I had been out on that boat 100's of times previously. Ash

The line rating on a rod refers to what is recommended breaking strain main line for that rod. You can use 6kg line on a rod that is rated 2-4kg but you will not be able to fish the line to it's full potential. The heavy line will be affect your bait/lure presentation and you won't be getting the strength advantage of heavy line as the rod won't handle it. Fishing above the recommended range is a good way to break a rod. For most of my outfits under 15kg line I have them set up on rods at the lower end of the rating e.g. 2kg line on a 2-4kg rated rod, 4kg line on a 4-6 rated rod etc. these outfits fished at 1/3 breaking strain of the line with the educated use of fingers on the spool at times works for me. A good idea with a new outfit is to get a set of scales and test the drag, easier to do with a second person but can be done with the rod in a rod holder. One person holds the rod, other person hooks the line to the scales and and pulls back on the line taking note of what the scales pull down to, tighten or loosen the drag on the reel and go again until line pulls off the rod at about 1/3 of the line breaking strain. Pull line off at the reel to get a feel for what 1/3 feels like, you can go heavy than that during a fight depending on conditions but 1/3 is a good starting point. Hopefully that made sense. Ash

Go North, it's always nicer to be a bit warmer. I just come back from a week up at South West Rocks. More a family holiday than a fishing trip this time, but it's a great location with plenty of landbased options. I mainly fished for blackfish along the wall but also saw or heard of bream and jewfish being caught each time i was at the wall.

Dolphin fish

Dads still fishing, don't think he has fished inside the Hacking much lately. A couple of trips chasing flathead offshore, took my brothers kids out for a fish catching flathead and reef oglies and has been up at South West Rocks chasing blackfish. He was up there a couple of weeks ago and is up there again now. Yesterday he got 17 legal fish in 2 hours, kept some let most go, did maintenance on the house and will probably do the same again today. Such is the life when you are retired with a holiday house at SWR. No caravaning at the moment due to covid. Ash

Did well to manage a feed. I find the Hacking does get very tough during winter months, the shallows i fish through summer are dead in winter and i move to other area's. I went out Saturday arvo with my two boys (4 & 6 yrs), fished jibbon beach area. Fished light, drifting baits down a burley trail and caught a mixture of trevally, red bream, tailer and yellowtail. Most undersize, kept enough for a feed, bites were constant for an hour or so until the boys got bored of catching a fish almost every cast and we move on to look for a new species. Moved to South West Arm for the last half hour of light but had no more luck. Such is the fun of fishing with kids. Not that you need tips Yowie but someone else reading might get something out of it. Ash

I second Ozzybass's response. The area i fish has resident fish that are much darker in colour and lighter travelling fish. Catching a darker fish straight away doesn't mean alot but catching a lighter coloured fish straight away often means your in for a good session. Ash

Hacking was very quiet. I noticed in the shallows the brown slimey winter weed had started to grow and i never catch much in the shallows when thats in the river. Squid were caught on bright coloured jigs one fluro orange and one fluro pink. Tried brown, blue and green jigs before I had success. It was a different days fishing. We would often be fishing in separate boats but was unusual to keep the two boats so close together for the day. With 60+ years experience i was fairly confident with dads cast, although I was relieved to see that the jig in flight was heading towards the opposite side of the stern to what i was standing. Plus if he landed it in the boat i would have cut the line and kept it. Thanks for reading Ash

With the recent OK given by government and Friday being my RDO (I'm lucky enough to still have a job and be able to work from home) and good weather forecast it seemed a good opportunity to get out for a fish. I knew i could get out and back home without breaking any distancing laws, although i wouldn't be able to fish with my Dad (Hookerbruce) as i often do. Plan for the day was keep it simple and target fish for food, told I dad i was going and invited him to come along, he would just have to bring his boat. Launched just after 630 at Grays Point, did my good deed for the day early when i noticed the boat that launched the same time as me still had his warning flag on their engine they where about to start let them know and than headed out to Jibbon Bombie to target squid. Dad arrived 20 min after me in his boat, things started slowly for the first hour with not much, did a few drifts, dropped one, saw a couple caught by other boats and then got a small one of my own. We had the boats close enough that we could talk and where just starting to discuss moving on when i got another squid on the sleeper rig (squid jig on a paternoster rig sitting in the rod holder) what followed was an almost unbelievable half hour where I caught 12 squid while dad in his boat, just a short cast from my boat, couldn't catch a thing (even the other two boats trying to push into my drift couldn't catch a thing), we even reset our drifts and still i caught squid. Perhaps the most ridiculous capture was the one squid that dad caught from the back of my boat. I was pulling up a good squid on my casting rod when i noticed it had been followed by another squid. Left my squid in the water, called out to dad, told him what was happening and invited him to cast at the back of my boat, to his credit he landed his jig a meter or so from the back of my boat. I got to watch as the other squid saw the jig, followed it and the grabbed it, giving a running commentary to dad as it happened. Left the squid biting and moved out to 40m for a flathead drift, once again drifting the two boats within casting distance of each other. Now i was time for dad to dominate, we both caught our bag of 10 flathead in about 1.5 hrs but his were a much better average size. Most of mine were 35-40 cm with one bigger one at 49cm and alot of throw backs. After that it was time to head back to the ramp with dad taking his boat out and me picking up my two boys to take them out in the boat for a couple of hours break from the house (and give their mum a break from them too). Did my second good deed of the day when we came across a broken down boat as we where heading through the slow zone, luckily only a short tow so didn't lose much time, remarked to the bloke that the boat looked very new and he replied "yep, picked it up on Tuesday" Pumped some nippers and fished around Lilli Pilli sand flat, very quiet, the 4 yr old caught a good 30cm bream and the 6 yr old released a few little bream. After that we stopped on the sand and let the boys run for a bit. Home time after that. Having fishing potentially taken away makes you realize how lucky we are to participate in this past time. Thanks for reading Ash.

You still managed a feed of fish. I was one of those boats heading to the ocean I went past you at your secret spot about 630 and hookerbruce (dad) would have gone past 15 min later. I'll post a report shortly Ash

Hookerbruce was fishing with me on my boat. The dollies made for a good feed with lots given away. It was a good day out and a good chance to fish with dad. Fish were a good size for this early in the season just a shame so many boats didn't want to share the FAD making it awkward to fish at times and meaning light tackle wasn't an option. Will try again next time work, family and weather allow for it. Ash