Mike89

Good stuff. It's nice to get these old fellas into a bit of finesse fishing! I would love to take my dad out fishing with plastics some time soon. Excellent photo for the memory and a beauty of a fish. Well done to your oldie.

Thanks for the tip-off on the bite. Things do seem to be warming up for summer! Can't wait to catch a few of the big guys.

Good tips in this thread. Here's another: order some of those silica gel packets (the ones with the little balls in them that come new clothing and the like) and place a couple in your tackle boxes to suck out any moisture. This also helps with the rust. Nothing worse than opening up your tackle box to find that you need to go out and buy new hooks because you have $50 of rusted ones sitting in the box rotting away.

Check the DPI advice on their website. There are recommendations based on the studies they have done on fish taken from Sydney Harbour. Generally I just try to minimise the amount of fish I eat west of the bridge and try not to worry too much east of the bridge. The bridge itself is an arbitrary marker though it is definitely true that there is more pollution the further up the river you go. Certain locations have their own localised pollution issues too, so make sure you know where you're eating from if you do choose to take fish home. For example, bream from certain spots in Middle Harbour have a high count of microplastics in their bodies that are passed on when you consume the meat. Do your research and make your own decision.

Heading out on a mission this Sunday to try and catch my first trout on spin at Thompsons Creek Dam. Using an ultra light 6lb outfit 6'3 with a 1000 reel and 6lb braid. Spoke to Royce the other night who provided a wealth of information on lures and plastics to try as well as general advice on getting there and being prepared. Cheers mate! I've got myself a couple of Daiwa lures in trout patterns in the 60mm and 80mm range as well as a nice green yabby lure and some little grubs. Wondering if anyone has any further tips on lures and tactics or any general advice on fishing this spot in preparation for Sunday? Thanks guys!

Nice weather through the week and then we get slapped with these wild conditions for the weekend. Typical! :/

Which wharf were you fishing off out of interest? I've tried for hairtail recently but have been told I'm too late to the party for this season. Good mixed bag there mate.

Good stuff mate, quite a nice haul once you got going. Big snapper must have given you quite a pull. Well done.

That'll keep him keen for next time! Good day out on the water.

Awesome stuff. Must have been something there holding the fish with all of that action going on. Some days are diamonds!

Awesome stuff Royce, bit of a change from the usual blackies. Nice job!

Just shot a text over to my mate asking if he lost a big grouper at Mona Vale this morning. Sounds like a guy I fish with who frequents that spot at the pool there! He uses garden hose braid and a pretty heavy setup. Could have been him? Tough luck on the blackies, I had a stab this morning around the harbour but with no success either.

Awesome stuff. I love to see how the little fellas get excited about fishing.

Been a bit busy with a few things bud . Shoot me a message and we can have a fish next weekend maybe. Who knows, maybe trevally at Balmoral?

Awesome report. Now we've got another convert hooked for life. That must have made both your days.

Yeah, my experience with the trevs there is that they are pretty consistent in terms of showing up day to day but they will generally run through once or twice in the early morning and again in the afternoon. Then they scoot and disappear to somewhere else.

What sort of rod are you using there Macca? I've been meaning to catch my first drummer for a real long while. Have never actually been out targeting them yet. I've seen some of the videos the ISO guys put up on the Tube and they look to be a great fight.

Hey mate, try around Lane Cove, the Roseville Bridge and up in the lower stretches of the Hawkesbury (Apple Tree Bay). To get started just use prawns, chicken or squid and throw them out on a small hook with a ball sinker in a size 1 or 2. Talk to your local tackle store (I can give you a couple of goods ones around the area if you need) and they should also be able to help you with rigging.

Send me a PM I'll put you on to a couple of local spots.

Trevor was kind enough to gift me one of the Catanas he had won in a competition which I then passed on to a friend new to fishing (thanks Trev!). From the couple of times I had a play with it I can say it's a great rod for it's price point. Good fast action and perfect for your bread and butter species. Derek here has also highly recommended the Raider to me. I've played with his and had a look at some of the newer models and for a little extra dosh you get a slightly nicer rod with a nice cork butt that is fantastic for plastics. Both rods are ideal for breaming, just depends what you like and how much you want to spend.

I am really saddened to hear of this news. I had to double check on Google to make sure no one here was pulling my chain on this one. That really sucks. I guess when the reels are out of production, the rods with the low mount will be soon too. Better get myself a nice beach rod and stock up on a few of the basic reel models before they disappear forever. Currently I have a 6 inch beach reel and the blackfish reel. I have thrashed the blackie reel but haven't had much use out of the beach reel as of yet. Cheers for the info here too guys, always helpful.

Nice work there. I need to get back into the trevs. I was at Balmoral for a couple of hours yesterday evening and saw a few people there had caught trevs during the day. Awesome report, nice picture. Well done!

As others have said there is plenty of action to be had fishing livies at the wharf there. I've caught salmon, kingfish, big flatties and sharks and rays fishing yellowtail there. I've even seen jew and JD caught there on live yakka baits. Especially when it starts to warm up, you will find there is a ready supply of yakkas there. During the early spring and summer there will be plenty of perfect bait-sized yellowtail less than 5 inches. Sometimes it is just a matter of getting your bait past all the sweep and stripeys. Hook your yellowtail in the back and throw it out under a float or attached to a sinker. As far as your rod goes, I think you will need to up it to something a bit heavier in order to get the right casting capability. That said, I have caught salmon there on my 2-5kg rod on little prawn and chicken baits before, so you can definitely still catch them with a lighter rod. If you do want to fish livies though you should use a heavier setup. Remember some days every livey you throw out will get hit; other days you won't get a touch all day. Just persist and you will find success! The most consistent species I've caught PM me if you want any more details. I should just about have a PhD in fishing livies off Balmoral wharf I've spent so much time there...

Thanks guys, I will try get my hands on some beeswax or a similar product. Cheers for the responses.

Hi guys! Hoping someone might be able to give me some advice on protecting the butt and grips of my new baby against chips/scrapes on the cork. I remember someone once mentioning a kind of wax that you could coat the cork in to protect it from damage. Does anyone know about this? Thanks guys!