Captain Spanner

I dont know if this post belongs in The Kitchen but ive posted it here so its with similar information already discussed in this thread. I'm no expert on this but lately have done bonito, striped tuna, kingies and silver trevally on seperate occasions. If you cut the fish into finer, smaller slithers it is less daunting, especially the texture, for people new to sashimi. i've been experimenting with different techniques and this is what has been more popular amongst my friends. 1. I bleed and brain spike the fish (just with a knife vertically thru the top of the head. You'll feel the fish go limp in your hands if it works) immediately and place into the esky in and under the ice. I try not letting the fish soak in the water at the bottom especially if the fish has been cleaned and the stomach cavity/flesh can be exposed and tainted. (I'm too lazy to have salt water ice and tend not to do the saltwater slurry trick too often as the fish might be caught saturday morning and may remain in the esky (with the ice and ice bricks being refreshed as required) saturday day, saturday night, sunday day for a sunday night barbie or party.) 2. I fillet and skin the fish also removing the dark red blood lines in the middle of the fillets (especially on bloodier fish like kings and tuna and bonito). leaving mostly just the white flesh. This often leaves a top and bottom section of each fillet. 3. I cut these sections finely into what are like tiny steaks (little cross sections of the long half-fillet). You can mix up the thickness from transpently thin to a few mm thick depending on how you like it. i then cut these mini steaks into the little portions that will be served. (remember if you have people that are a bit sceptical or new to sashimi the finer and smaller the better) 4. Now EITHER arrange the slithers on a plate, glad wrap it and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour to set and chill. OR 4a. Take a sheet of the dried seaweed i think its called "Noori" used for sushi and run it under water quickly (both sides) to make it damp. Lay the seaweed out on a plate and lay each portion on the seaweed. Now either roll the seaweed up so all the pieces have contact with the seaweed on both sides or lay another sheet of wet seaweed over the top like a blanket. Cover the plate with glad wrap and put it in the fridge to set and chill for at least an hour. if you leave it for 4 hours or more then the flavour will develop much better. This seaweed trick gives the fish a sort of smoky flavour and sort of cures the texture a little bit. (They cover this method in the cooking segment of the xxxxxxxxxxx Kingfish DVD) 5. Unwrap and serve on a plate (a cold plate is better) with wasabi & soy. I find that the tuna and bonito go better with step 4a and the others depend on your taste preferences so why not try both methods with all fish to give people options. When i do squid i find that if it is chewed too long (possibly pieces too big or too thick) it can end up with a claggy texture. I've noticed in restraunts if it is served on rice as sushi it does not have such an issue because you swallow it before it gets to this state. Does anyone know any tricks or should i just chew it less and swallow it faster and stop asking questions. I would also appreciate any ideas on preparing lobster for sashimi if anyone knows any. Thanks (Sorry this post ended up an essay)

Here's a link with the marks. so if you punch it into your GPS it will give you an idea. It's a long way so make sure crew and boat are experienced and capable. http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=22536

Thanks A.dawg, that's the type of information i was after.

I just found this, It was updated november 08 http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/sbh/safetyequipment.html Hope it helps.

Appreciate the time taken to reply, but does anyone have information or experience on the teeth and nature of the blind shark in the photo is sirko's 1st post on this thread?

Does anyone know what sort of teeth they have? Any sharp gripping/cutting or just crushing. i know they feed on mostly invertebrates but am very keen to find out about the teeth and if they ever get aggressive. i cant find info on that anywhere. Have any of you guys that have caught them checked it out?

Myself and a mate fish suffix 20lb braid from 4000 stradics. mine is on a 6-10kg xcel weapon and his is on a 6-10kg starlo stick i think. great for casting, no real problems with wind knots or know strength. Like most softer braids it doesn't have outstanding abrasion resistance. I have 30lb fireline on 6500 baitrunners which is pretty tough stuff but doesn't cast light weights (unweighetd 6 inch stick baits) very well (Big baits aren't as bad). i think the cross section of the fireline is a funny shape but as it doesn't lie on your spool as neatly as some other brands, thus decreasing line capacity. just my experience.

If all you want to do is look at it can you set it in clear resin? a margerine or chinese take away container would probably work for a mould for 1 or 2. try painting one with a layer of nail polish and see if it rots. If you need to do different experiments with them over time you may need to see if anyone here knows anything about freezing them in seawater or use IQF Pillies and thaw them out as you need them. Or as previously mentioned keep buying them fresh. Maybe if you give us a few more details, we can give you a few more ideas. Good luck

I've got a pair of spotters with the CR-39 lens i think and love them. The CR-39 lens's are around $180 and my eyes couldn't give my wallet a good enough reason to pay the extra for the glass. I also have a pair of polarised arnettes which i like, but IMO the spotters are much better for fishing.

I'm no expert on this but i've had the same problem with the same two line weights before and gave up. now i tie a double in the braid and just connect the double to the leader with a double uni. haven't had any strength or holding troubles doing this except the knot is probably alot bulkier than an albright and not very tip or runner friendly.

i tie a swivel to the snapper lead with light line and connect the other end of the swivel to the ezy rig (sinker clip). This way when you get snagged you only lose your sinker and not your whole rig (in theory). the ezy rig helps minimise the line twisting around itself at the sinker, but you can just thread the end of the swivel on to the line like a running sinker if you dont like or have the clips.

Unless you know what you're doing you're fingers can get a little toasted if you stick them in a jewies gills due to the gill rakes. if you get your fingers in between the gill plate and the gills you can be safe but this can be harder than it looks with a cranky fish. It might sound silly but maybe practice where your fingers go on a dead one first. Another one to watch out for is the seemingly harmless looking Nanygai (the little red guys). These cute little fellas have really sharp gill plates and even around the head and eye sockets can give you some band aid practice. If im worried i use an old rag or for bigger cranky fish with trebles in them i sometimes use a glove. With most fish you are intending on releasing i would probably try to avoid it as im sure it's not too good for them. Good luck

From looking at SeaBreeze it appears that your day will be dictated by weather unfortunately and not necessarily where all the fish might be. The bay will probably be a bit ugly and maybe dangerous in a shallow small boat if that southerly comes through. That predicted swell would probably get in there as well. There are parts of the Georges (between Tom Uglys and Oatley Park) and the Hacking (Jibbon, Bundeena, up and around south west arm and down towards Deer Park) that you can get out of trouble. I know these areas are pretty vague but you will probably have to pick your spot on the day depending on if the wind has more south or more west in it. Im not at all familiar with The Harbour or Hawkesbury sorry. If you're desperate to go and the weather is ugly or gets really ugly you can always get out a map or the street directory and look for potentially sheltered spots. Obviously the bigger/steeper the hill, the more protected it will be. Good Luck, Hope this helps.

At the moment i tend to stick by the rule "only take what you MIGHT need". So if im fishing the bay for bream and of course there is always the possibility that ANYTHING could happen this will include: bream bait and sp rods, squidding rods and jigs, rod for catching livies, kingfish rods (both for live bait and sp), jigs and sluggos, jewie rods, on the chance we might go outside- bottom bashing rods and bag of skirts, leader and crimping gear. Big net, small net and gaff tackle box, tackle bag and sp bag and just in case the conditions are ok you need cray diving gear That's not excessive for a quick bream session is it? Sure it gets difficult keeping the box trailer afloat behind the boat and trying to untangle lines when your livey swims around one of the tyres, but it's still less painfull than deciding what gear to leave at home.

I've had similar problems. I keep my small sinkers in a tray in my plano 7771 with a couple of bigger ball sinkers in there up to about size 6. Just make sure sinkers of significant size difference are seperated by rows and not removable dividers. I keep larger sinkers and a handfull of snapper leads in a cliplock box similar to the ones you get nails in from the hardware store (this stays in the boat). If i'm landbased and taking a backpack i put my heavy sinkers in an old calico bank bag. All my spare snapper leads are strung on a piece of coat hanger wire that stays in the boat. i just make sure i have however many snapper leads i think i'll need for my session in the cliplock box for easy access and have the coat hanger stored in case i run out. I don't know if this has addressed your problem of the sinkers being disorganised but that is what i do. Good luck