OneLastCast

Bad luck about the trip. This wind is a big pain Sounds like you had some exciting moments though

Well done again Kelvin. Hope your little 'un gets well soon.

to the site beachwormer! Yeah it is hard to get out with little 'uns. But fun for them and great memories. Kings'n'town (my bro-in-law) and I each have 3 under 5 Taking the older (ie over 2 years) kids out give the wives a break and means we can go about twice as much as we otherwise could

So for all those who havn't yet caught a king, plan to take some leave in January, save the money that you were going to spend on an expensive downrigger and buy a few quality jigs and learn how to use them Then I think you break your king drought in a .BIG. way

Kelvin, I reckon with your strike rate on kings Mondo oughta get 5 kings for one whiting

Brilliant work on the kings. Good size to them. When do the hoards of rat kings usually arrive? No harold - I am a weekday wage slave too. Oh well, some of us have to keep the economy ticking over

Kelvin thanks for all the tips. If I ever see you on the water and you are short on squid, you will be very welcome to some of mine if I have any. Cheers Derryn (aka OLC)

Hi Davo, yep would love to have a look at your DR set up. Mine is an old beach rod cut in half with an old (antique?) centrepin reel with about 50 metres of braided cord (the stuff you use on blinds) then a couple of metres of stainless trace at the bottom with the bomb on the end of that. I use a jockey strap around the handle of the centre pin reel to stop it spinning. Used it for the first time on Sat (but I made it about 5 years ago...) and it worked ok. If the bomb got snagged though I think the rod will snap or the reel will get ripped off the rod or both. Would be funny to see if it happened though. Does yours have some kind of a clutch that releases if the bomb gets snagged? No idea about weight - don't have scales. Just checked Weigh your fish with a ruler and a 60cm Jew is supposed to be 2.3 kg Didn't hear of any Kings landed. Spoke to a few people that were trying but with no success.

Thanks for the tips Kelvin. I run a 25hp 2 stroke. Not exactly the quietest of motors. On a slow day do you think this could put the Kings off? I also have an electric but havn't used it for a while. I was picking up the bomb on the sounder when trolling really slow and it was under the boat. I saw it go through at the same depth of about 10 distinct large fish arches a number of times - lovely king candy sized live squid untouched! was running it about 2 meters behind the bomb (with flashing, twirling trout cowbells attached!). Am guessing I should ditch the cowbells, extend bait drop back from bomb to 10 meters and dust off the old electric trolling motor...

I think there are a lot of Raiders getting out and trying downrigging on the back of great reports (and tips) from the likes of Kelvin and Netic. Those fellas do make it look easy! But heck it gives us something to aim for Keep the tips coming guys! I also saw some interesting readings from time to time on the sounder while downrigging in MH on Sat. Even saw what looked to be a bunch of kings with individual fish showing up around 7 m deep. trolled through them half a dozen times at the right depth with live squid for nothing. Oh well next time. One thing I think I may have done wrong is attaching trout trolling 'cowbells' to the back of the bomb as an attractor. It may have had the opposite effect putting the kings off - thoughts?

Thanks Kelvin. The Jew actually took a squid strip rigged on my bro in law Kings'n'town's "poor mans downrigger" - heavy snapper sinker (or in this case it was actually a heavy knife jig) attached a few meters ahead of the hook then tow it all behind the boat. The jew hit near the bottom (after free spooling it down in the middle of the main spit channel with lots of boat traffic) while I was stuffing around with my down rigger after tangling the prop

Hi Raiders, Headed out to Middle Harbour after kings with Kings'n'town and 4 of our kids (2 of his girls, my 2 boys). All kids under 5 Despite the limited fishing time and difficulty feeding, amusing and at times consoling the crazy kids we managed to jig 3 live squid and tried downrigging for kings for the first time with my dodgy home made downrigger (will have to post some pics of it later). Didn't get any kings but did manage one 60cm Jew. Cheers, OLC

Great catch there Netic. The Middle Harbour kings must have freaked out when they found out you and Kelvin were out after them on the same day!

We'll have them Kings'n'town. One each

What a great day Flattieman! Congrats on the catch.

They are great Jews Red. Can I ask what bait you got them on? Any hint as to the location? I know this might be pushing it ... so anything general would be appreciated - eg do you fish a dropoff into a deep hole? an eddey forming around a point? Cheers

James - I should have asked if any of you were Raiders! Will know for next time. My bro in law got some squid on Tuesday. He scented his jigs with prawn oil - it may have made a difference? Cain - My kids are pretty special. They have grown up playing with lures, playing in the boat, watching fishing videos etc... With fishing they are pretty patient. But to make thing enjoyable and fairly stress free I do some things that help... let them play with the bait, give them scissors to chop up pillies for burley keep little fish or squid or other critters in the live bait tank (mini aquarium) and they have a little net so they can catch them and look at them give them jobs and get them involved as much as I can get the older one to net the fish and reel in fish when they are not too big bring plenty of snacks to keep them happy make sure they wear hats and long sleeves and sunscreen alway stop off at a beach somewhere for half an hour or so - they can run around and play and catch critters like crabs etc... Oh and I give each of them quarter of a kwell when heading out on the harbour as it gets a bit bumpy at time and I really don't want sea sick kids! (and I take the other half just in case) Kingies till i die - Salmon off north head for kings I tried a bunch of markers from wedding cake to shark island and tried around the moorings in middle harbour. But if you don't have live or fresh squid I think going for kings may be a waste of time.

Hi Raiders, Headed out today with my dad and my 2 boys - 2.5 and nearly 5yrs. Target was salmon and early season Kings. Got one but not the other. 3 Salmon landed - 52, 62 and 71 cm. Tried for squid for 2.5 hours. One hooked but lost near the boat! Fished for kings with lures only - as no squid - didnt turn a reel. One of the highlights was seeing a pod of about 50 dlphins near north haead. Amazing - the kids loved it - even threw a few pillies over for them. Oh and by the way, I am sure you will agree that I have a great . She did indeed mow and edge and fertilise the front AND BACK lawns as you can see in the pic - and all this after having a baby a month ago! Cheers

Ilhanzi - top jew and top report. Thanks heaps for sharing it with us mate.

Thanks all for the congrats. Not a concert pianist Mike - I am in IT so I need my fingers to type but was all good for my return to work two days ago. Not wrong Lasty! I have been considering replacing the front lawn (umm make that weed patch) with concrete or pebbles. not too keen on that so she has taken over care of it - all the fertilising, mowing, edging etc. Gee she is a good woman.

And here is another keeper - latest addition to the family... Annelise born on Sep 15th. I reckon she will be out fishing her older brothers by the end of the year...

Hi Raiders, Belated report from last Wednesday. Salmon were flighty and weather quite rough so we had no success on them. Did get trevally and a nice flatty on the soft plastics near Quarantine. Hoards of jackets moved in demolishing the softies so switched to wire trace and managed to land 29 of the suckers. Gee they are tasty! One took a liking to the tip of my finger - took a chunk out of it to my horror. Oh well I got my own back when I put him in the pan... A good day out with a mate and the kids. Cheers

Sounds like a great session Kelvin. Your boy has done very well landing a 70cm king. They give the old fellas like us a bit of curry at times so to land one at the tender age of 6 is absolutely fantastic!

Great catch gafmo. Minumurra is a great little inlet. I fondly remember a solo overnighter there in my canoe about 10 years ago... ahh the memories.

Thanks for the replies. It was a fun day out. AO7474 - the salmon taste good (I won't say great) if you bleed them on capture and put them on ice soon after (I put them in an esky with drink bottles filled with ice). Then I fillet them and skin the fillets. They need to be eaten fresh (never frozen - I think most pelagic species are good eaten fresh but turn to mush when frozen) There was a lot there - my friend took some, I gave some to my parents and the in-laws too. I cut mine into smaller pieces then dusted in cornflour, dip in beaten egg and coat with seasoned breadcrumbs. Shallow fry for a few minutes then serve - with mayonnaise for mrs and kids, bit of vinegar for me. I have also on another occasion coated them in turmeric and salt as saqa suggested. Tasty. I will post pics later if I remember. Cheers, OLC