Mike89

Excellent report! You must have pleased the fishing gods somehow to have your fish wash back up for you after having your leader chafed off. Great work, beautiful fish you've landed there. Well done.

Mate you can get all the fish you want (except maybe reef species) land-based, you just have to work harder for them! Well done on the blackfish. I'm stinging to get out there for a blackie session. I haven't fished for them since early February and every luderick report that comes in fires me up!

Yep, it is amazing how versatile the plastics can be. Great fun and very easy to just jump out of your car and start fishing. Will be investing in a new setup and get more into it over the next couple of months! Cheers all!

Met up with fellow raider and plastics extraordinaire Derek early on Saturday morning for a short session on plastics. So far I've had a few days out with Derek and he has been an absolutely stellar tutor in helping me learn the art of fishing with plastics. Unfortunately though none of our sessions thus far have resulted in any fish for me! Our session on Saturday would have that changed. After flicking around a couple of spots we worked a little shallow sandy patch off some oyster-covered rocks in the bay with only my light 6'6 rod between the two of us. Derek had me refining my technique and paying extra attention to the drop, the depth I was fishing and getting smooth twitches in. After a bit of flicking it didn't take long to feel the thudding headshakes of a baby flathead. Not long after I had another, this one much bigger and of legal size. While I've caught plenty of flathead, these two are just my fourth and fifth on plastics. I really love the way you can target this species so effectively using SPs. I mentioned to Derek that it is just like learning to fish all over again with that rush of excitement any time you have a fish on the end of the line, no matter what size. Also managed a smallish snapper on a tiny grub and 1/8 jig head and (almost) a leatherjacket of around the same size. Derek also had a pretty solid - albeit short-lived - run towards the end of our session. We were thinking perhaps a tailor or even a salmon? Cheers again D, great to get out with you. Do it again soon!

It's always a bit of a struggle trying to net the fish for yourself, but certainly possible! Once you've mastered it you'll never need a blackfishing buddy again! Nice few fish you've managed there. The one on the right looks nice and plump. Awesome report. Good luck finding the some better quality weed. The kind you use for blackfishing, I mean .

Beautiful fish and a great photo for the memory too. Well done!

Now that is a handsome fish. Well done Royce, would love to have a go on the fly at some point this year!

Great to hear that you're on the improvement and feeling better. Sure looks like a world of difference cooped up in hospital with wires and tubes sticking out of you versus having a nice relaxing day on the water as in your last photo. Nice bag of fish too, nothing like the love of the luderick to soothe the soul. Good luck with the smokes. I'm a few weeks into quitting now myself. Hard part is over, just gotta maintain it!

Yeah, I guess it has been pretty gross everywhere as of late. Water in Cockle Bay has been coffee coloured for the past couple of weeks it seems! Did manage one nice cali at Watson's Bay, so all was not lost. Cheers!

Taking the girlfriend out to catch her first squid tonight and want to know if the squid have been around anywhere between Pyrmont east up to Watson's Bay in the last few days. The plan was to check Rose Bay first and perhaps move on to Watson's Bay. If nothing there then try closer to home at Pier 2. If anyone knows somewhere that is likely to be reliable tonight that would be a great help! Cheers all!

Well done mate, certainly a nice looking bag of fish. Now you've got me itching for a blackie session. Good stuff!

Nice catch there, a real beast. Stay safe in the rough conditions!

I would agree that you were doing the right thing at the wrong time. In my experience blackfishing is often like this. If there is no school hanging around the area, you're unlikely to get consistent downs. I've had some advice from some very experienced blackie fishos here on getting my depth and burley right to achieve more consistency. One thing is to pay attention to where your burley is moving to in the current and fish that zone. Another is to try fishing deeper and further out where the fish might be holding better. As far as the downs you are getting: if it is quick rapid downs that quickly come up again, it is probably small fish. As exciting as it is to see the float go down, you are probably looking at fish under 25cm that you wouldn't be keeping anyhow. It may also be the way the fish are biting on the day. This is also true for the solid downs that never seem to result in a hookup. Some days you may just need to wait a bit longer for the strike. Experiment and see what works on the day. I'm definitely no expert but only speaking from my own experience of frustrated days chasing the blacks!

Very interesting topic. I'd always wanted to get a better casting distance but figured the solution to this must be using heavier leads. Do we need to be using very long (13-15 ft) rods to be achieving these distances?

A few fish is better than no fish. Shame about OMH. Good stuff on pulling something to go home with.

As others have said, you'll either need to use a net or scope out a good spot to land them. I used to fish all the time without a thought as to how I'd actually land a big (or just big enough that lifting isn't an option) fish. Nearly killed myself a couple of times scrambling down ledges. Now when I get to a spot I'll always have a game plan before throwing a line in.

Nice report! I guess sometimes the blackies just aren't around. Get out there again and I'm sure you'll find them eventually. Cheers for the tip Royce! Saw a few blackies hanging around the surface near the aquarium today. Guess they are about!

Good stuff mate. Big specimen there in the first photo. Well done! Nice report.

I'd agree with others in that it is difficult to compare the fight of a blackfish to that of little tunas and bonitos. While the luddies pull very hard and lunge downward, little tunas and frigates just take off like a rocket. They'll go hard, pause and change direction sometimes. Apples and oranges maybe?

Good stuff, nice to see you catch a sizey bonito. Glad to hear that the pelagics are finally making their way in.

Would love to see the video but cannot see it! Is it up on the tube? Cheers!

Great work on that jewie especially on light gear. Looks like a beautiful spot. Great stuff!

Great catch there. You really did hit the goldmine with those tarwhine. Interesting that you managed a morwong. Haven't heard of too many of those caught land-based.

Some great info here. I'm also starting out on metals and other lures so this thread is a bit of a goldmine for me. Should have checked it out before my last couple of sessions! @flatheadluke - cheers for sharing the photos and the results of your swimming pool test. Very helpful!

Thanks a lot for the advice there Paddy, much appreciated! I would agree with your assessment there. Looking at the trebles on these lures I really just can't imagine how you could get enough hook in them to keep the fish on firm save for lip-hooking them. When payday comes around I'll get over to the toy store and pick up some new hooks. And replacements for all the lures I lost yesterday. @big Neil Cheers for the kind words mate! Haha! When fishing I do normally dress like a dag (when bait-fishing especially)! Thanks to others for the advice on hooks and landing the fish. Always helpful and appreciated!