pmak

Thanks for the tips Greg. Have not caught bream on HBs yet - will try this weekend ...

Top session there David, with the kids too. The area looks great for kids. Whereabouts is it if you don't mind sharing. Are bass an early morning / late evening only proposition or can I still get them during the day?

Well done mate! Bee off your bonnet eh? Great to hear of you success after so many missed attempts. Your behind cover approach is interesting. What was the SP that did the damage?

I'm newish to SP fishing and only discovered through a bit of time spent chucking these things out that the Gulp worms gets lots of bites and have also found chopper tailor love them too. Whiting also pick at the worms and I suspect nip at the tail more (lots of bites but poor hook-up rate). I'm only now getting more confident using SPs after success with the worm and 2" minnow grub so I'm having a great time using them. If not using Gulps, I will put on a little squidgy wriggler or Berkley or Kokoda grubs. I've also used the 3" power minnow but have not had success catching bream with them. I think if I fish an area with clear water I will probably put the 3" power minnow on. Fishing west of the harbour bridge and upper Georges River I would use the Gulps more for the scent factor. If you really want to cover all bases, then there are always hardbodies ...

Good work on the bream. Hope you had a good feed. You could try 2" gulp grubs in pumpkinseed or half a 6" Gulp worm in Camo. Seems to work well in the area

Great report there Greg. Looks like you have your turf and the surrounding area worked out. As a newbie to HBs, what colour code is the SX40 you were using and what sort of retrieve method works well?

Well done!! I think we should hear more of little rzep's exploits in future ...

IC seems to be producing the goods at the moment. The sandworms and turtlebacks seem to be the choice offering as well in the SPs. Well done on the catch.

I was at Bayview Park on Friday evening - where were you Ronald? Managed 1 small bream on a Gulp Camo worm and 3 small flatties on my el-cheapo HB but did not post it. 1 hour session Followed that with a 6.30-9.00am session on Saturday morning starting at Bayview Park leading on to Massey Park Golf Course. The usual small flatties but managed whiting for the first time - this one at 28cm on a 2" pumpkinseed grub. Were you around the area then rzep?

(post continued ...) I moved to Spot 3 next which was on a beach. The Squidgy wriggler was gone, tail nibbled off by pickers again. I rigged up half a Gulp ragworm in Glow colour. Got this item in the bargain bin at my local tackle store at $3.50 a packet. Hmm, if they're getting rid of them they must not work too well but at that price, what the heck!. The worm is whitish and has a vinegarish smell, quite different to the pumpkinseed and camo smells in the Gulp range. This worm comes out when I get a bit tired of losing stuff to pickers and want to chuck something out that I'm not too worried of losing/wasting. Have not caught anything subtantial with it before but who knows?? Second cast out and I feel some weight at the end of the line. I strike and my drag tells me it's a heavy fish! I start reeling in - pump and wind, maintian tension in the line. I tighten the drag just a little and saw another flathead coming in. Bigger than the other two definitely. My heart started to race as I got it closer to the shore - it looked half decent from a distance under water but as it got closer I realised it was going to be my biggest yet! I was glad I was down at the shore and not up at the earlier rock ledge. The flathead had given up the fight at this stage as I beached it. It gave one last thrash when it was on the sand and my leader was gone! Took it up to the grass for a quick measure and photo. 62cm, a new PB on a rubbish lure! It was 8.30am at this stage. I was feeling quite happy with myself with the new PB and had another half hour to kill before I had to pack up. I went to Spot 4 next and rigged up the other half of the turtleback worm I had cut earlier. The head half that I had remaining is a stiff 2 inch piece of Gulp with the only thing going for it was its strong scent and a miserly fisho who did not want to waste it! I had switched to a 1 gram jighead at this stage again with a #4 hook. I could cast this a fair distance as the half turtleback was in itself quite heavy. Out comes the jiggle retrieve again. Pretty soon I was on again. This this was a fighter. Was not heavy at the end of the line but was a strong swimmer with short bursts beating my reel's drag every time I got it closer. I saw a flash of silver and smiled. I had finally got my target quarry. It looked decent as well and on measurement came to 32cm another PB! How's that for a wasted bit of a lure! I called it quits soon after. Quite a day! As I pack up, people stream past for their morning walk or cycle. As I drive to work, I resolve to post the day on Fishraider and put a bit of detail in it. It's been about 7 months since I started fishing and I owe a lot of my fun today on what I've learnt through Fishraider. Enjoy ...

I've been hitting Port Hacking of late trying to snare Frigate Mackerel since my never repeated success at the end of February. Realised that they were a bit of a hit & miss proposition for me. Dropped by at Como on the way back from the Royal National Park last week and really enjoyed soft plastic and hardbodied lure fishing (see report at http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/inde...howtopic=19915) I had to work this weekend and would have missed out on some fishing time but decided to squeeze in time in the early morning at a location close to work. I told the it was catch and release fishing only as I don't seem to perform well and enjoy myself so much when I'm under pressure to bring home fish for dinner. That plus it was a spot "west of the harbour bridge" As a land based lure fisho, I've found the bays around Sydney Harbour productive and easily accessible and have fished Hen & Chicken Bay and Kissing Point/Kissing Point Bay with some success with SPs. Inspired by Ronald's (crystalliser) and other Raider's reports of the area, I decided to try out Iron Cove - in particular Rodd Point. Arrived ready to start at 6.30am. The sun was just rising, the tide was high, the water still and just the faintest hint of a breeze - perfect! I started at the front of the Dobroyd Aquatic Club building (Spot 1). Had rigged up half a Gulp Camo worm on a 1.5gram #4 hook jighead and cast along the wharf. Been using a jiggle retrive with the worm to give it a sexy wriggle action by letting it drop, waiting a second or two, slow lift off the bottom and then jiggle again for 3-4 seconds while slowly reeling in. My target is bream so my hook and baits are small. On the third cycle of the retrieve, I feel some weight as I started the slow lift and struck. Not long later a 35m flathead is on the deck. Not a bad start to the day! Continued at the area for a little while and kept getting nibbles from chopper Tailor. They seem to like hanging around the wharf and they can't resist the jiggle retrieve and the Camo worm. Moved to the east and round the Point. Lost my Camo worm to pickers and lost a couple of jigheads in the rocks (quite a rocky shoreline). Moved to a high rock ledge on the south side of the Point (Spot 2). Rigged up an old red coloured Squidgy wriggler that I had left in a packet of Gulp 4inch turtleback worms in pumpkinseed to marinade and soak in all the goodness of the Gulp smell/flavour. I had cut a turtleback worm in half and used the tail section earlier. It was picked to bits. Second cast with the squidgy and I was on! Not much weight or fight and a flathead is pulled from the depths and hoisted to the top for a quick photo. I was using 8lb fluorocarbon leader and was confident the 35cm flathead could be hoisted up to the ledge.

Good work on the bream there Sebastian - the one last cast tends to bring the biggest surprise and makes the whole day worthwile doesn't it? I reckon it's your good karma for helping the others out coming good at the end of the day ....

Great report again Ronald. You've inspired me to mix in hardbodies with SPs when I fish and I'm hooked! Must look into those Decoy snaps too. I've caught a Numb ray on a squidgy once except I didn't know it was one. Was trying to remove the jig head with my metal pliers and kept getting jolted! Took me a little while to work out that I was getting a mild electric shock Keep those reports coming in ...

Stumpy, You're quite right - the kids are better fishos. They're able to bait up and cast out on their own. They catch their own stuff! Here's the youngest in action ...

Stopped by at Como (Scylla Bay) on the way home after a fruitless session at Bundeena/Warumbul last Saturday. Had stopped by before to check the place out and looked promising. The tide was high when I got there at 12ish. Had at most 1 hour to try the place out. Worked the bank next to the boat ramp and wharf with Gulp 2" grubs first. Got some bites and had the tail bitten off. Switched to half a Camo worm next and cast mainly into a drainage channel that was slowly filling with water and was rewarded with 2 tiny bream - nothing to brag about but good fun practising and refining my SP techniques. Switched to a small HB next - forgot the brand but is sort of an SX40 clone type. I am new to HB fishing but have read reports here on how successful they can be so I thought I'd give it a go with cheapo ones first. Was not long after I hooked on to a 40cm flattie in what must have been only 30cm of water. It started raining soon after so I had to call it quits. Plenty more shoreline to explore next time. Might try near the baths next time .... Might look into getting more hardbodied lures next time too.

Went south to Lake Burrill before Easter with the family and stayed at The Old Boathouse close to the Lake itself. The place was great and the fishing even better. There are three fishing platforms on the south eastern side of the lake to fish off. We ended up with lots of leatherjackets to keep and lots of throwback bream and tarwhine to keep the kids interested. I was rewarded with a 28cm bream on a 2inch Gulp grub in pumpkinseed. Was lucky with the Gulp grub as subsequent casts resulted in lost grubs - leatheries at work. Switched to hardbodied lures and got my first legal tailor Even caught leatherjacket on the hardbody. We had fresh fish for dinner every night. Trevally showed up on our last day there and my no. 1 son landed a healthy 28cm one within minutes of another party catching a 38cm one on the next fishing platform. Turns out the next party were allergic to fish and gave us their catch, proudly held up by my youngest in the photo. We were surprised at the presence of leatherjacket in a closed lake system - the local bait shop owner reckons they must have entered when the lake was open and then thrived. They had just opened the lake up when we were there - the place used to stink with the still water but was fine when we were there. Lake Burrill - kid's favourite holiday place now.

Pete, I was down with my family the week before Easter and had a different experience - maybe because we did not know what to expect there - ended up having a great time mainly at Lake Burrill. Must try the beaches next time. Heard of reports from locals of monster whiting off the beach on worms and big tailor in Ulladulla harbour in the early morning. Will post a seperate report of my trip down there. Hope you have better luck on our local beaches. Will look out for your report.

IFS, so near yet so far I feel for you man. Hope you had a great holiday.

Great report Kelvin. Really inspiring to read with enough detail for fellow Raiders to follow in your footsteps. Just a quick quistion - you mentioned that you had your braid issue sorted out. What have you done? I recall reading in a few posts that the higher rated braid lines were snapping way below their capacity. Did you change brands?

Glad to hear of your success JD Well done Mate!

Thanks for the tips on your flathead spot - might check it out one day. As for squid in Warumbul, high tide is the best time. Cast over the weeds on both sides of the old wharf but you have to make sure you have a suspending or slow sinking squid jig. Have lost rigs in the weeds! There's squid also to the north of the old wharf. Instead of going right from the carpark to the wharf, go straight to the end. There's a grassy area with sandstone walls. Have seen big squid pulled from here. Best of luck and hope to see your report. Frigates are still around in the early morning.

Will be looking out for your posts in future huntman. Sharing your learning experience will do wonders for others on the site (me included) who might one day do decide to do battle with the almighty king of Sydney Harbour. Just out of curiousity, how light are you going fishing near pylons and stuff? If other forum members can explain the exact method, peeled prawns have worked well too at one stage. I do hope you score a legal kingy. Getting a boat doesn't sound too bad.

Jonny D - tried Warumbul on Sunday early morning. Tide was very high and surface action every few minutes. Not sure what it was until I got a follow on my Zoom SP in Baby Bass colour - they were Frigates! No bites though. Maybe if I had the Arkansas Shiner I might have been lucky. My eldest son was casting small metal slugs but did not get any bites either. My one and only Frigate was taken at this spot using the same slug. A guy came later to check the place out and reported that he had caught frigates (about 9 if I remember correctly) and a Watson's Leaping Bonito off Bundeena wharf and he got the frigates on Berkly BMs watermelon I think. Those frigate are definitely still around in the Hacking. Was trying for squid as well but did not have much success compared to other times. Dropped about 4-5. I decided to try Brighton-Le-Sands after reading your report. Didn't know where though and just tried off the beach to the north of the baths using the same SPs. Did not get anything though. Whereabouts in Brighton do you fish?

So close yet so far ... Still, having fish swim around you in numbers is a good indication the lake is doing well. They must be eating well to refuse bloodworms! I agree that silver biddies do fight well for their size. Have mistaken them for decent bream only to have a little pipsqueak at the end of the line Just for laughs, here's my first fish (silver biddy) caught on a HB.

Great night, very infromative. Getting stainless steel washers dead flat, teflon grease, hooks through garfish and mullet, plaits, bimini twists and thanks to Fishfinder Tony for showing me the sliding snell and giving me your sample tied in 150lb mono!! Also thanks again Tony for the personal delivery of the Zoom SPs. Was good to meet other Raiders in the flesh. Hello to Cruiser, Lunarsea, lil'whiting & Hope we all get to catch more fish after the seminar. As I was mentioning to Mrs Swordfisherman, I never thought I would get involved with an on-line community but Fishraider is special - it's a real community with real people with something to share!! Thanks Mr & Mrs Swordfisherman for organising and to the speakers for sharing their knowledge. I WANT MORE!