Jay88

Nice Tuna! 12KG of drag eh... heard about how strong these giants are! Must have been an awesome experience! well done!

Awesome James! Having a look now!

Nicely done mate! Area looks familiar lol

nice! Calamari pic also! yum!

Well done bud! Happy to see such a successful land based moment!

Thanks for the great feedback guys. After I complete my exam this Sunday, I will contact Fisheries and see if they can advice in the more legal aspects. Oh and btw, I wouldn't be releasing aquarium fish haha... I would be wanting to purchase fry from Fisheries approved breeders or something (I dunno, hence asking) lol. I will follow this up for sure! Thanks again peeps!

I know about the disease issues (hence, I was wondering if there were licensed fisheries people that actually do it, like they did with the Murray Cod, but for more common species). Not trying to make a huge difference (as its financially not possible for me), but never know, a group's effort, have caused movements and awareness

Agreed bro. Figured, ill let you guys (being more experienced) give me some ideas. Im happy to talk to Fisheries

Free The Fish Initiative ? Hi All, Hope you are all well and safe. I was just wondering, if there is any way to release fry (baby fish) into the wild from REGISTERED breeders? Before I am considered silly, would like it if you heard me out. I have been keeping aquariums for 10 years (fresh water, mostly amazonian), I have bred and have had the previldge to have very rare species. A true aquarium hobbyist knows, NEVER to release aquarium fish (native or foreign) into the wild. In saying that, I was wanting to know if I could help the environment in the smallest way I can by buying and releasing for e.g. flathead fry? So what I wanted to eventually do was, for every for e.g. 5 Bream I caught, I would release some fry into the eco system from a REGISTERED breeder or something? I know they have done this with fresh water species such as the Murray Cod. Sorry if I sound stupid. But honestly, anything to help the hobby. PS Dont mind participating with people already doing it. Maybe something we can consider ONE DAY as Raiders... Jay

Thats extremely sad. Another reminder on how we should all be careful and look after one another when we are outdoors in general. Hope he makes a recovery.

Well done mate, good job on the plastics. Are Cooks River fish good to eat?

Great attitude mate! Well done on the catch! I just caught my first legal flatty on SP the other day, 2nd session with SP lol... was at Sydney harbour. Good job on the release

Great thinking mate! Well deserved haul!

Well done man! Great fish! Cant imagine the heart pumpin haha!

Interesting read. Now, to go back to my hand line days where I used to use smaller bait. And all I got was Bream. Smaller fish can pick at big baits, but obviously as their mouths are tiny, its not always possible for them to take the bait. In saying that, bigger baits are usually put on larger hooks, not all fish have a wide enough mouth to get hooked by a big hooks. And in saying that, in most cases, bigger fish (just like us), wants a meal proportionate to their size. Now I have read before, if the bait is live bait, like even a small yakka, predtaory instincts kick in and a Kingfish, Jew would be happy to hit that moving, stressed target, even if it is a small bait fish. I have seen bigger fish get caught on Bream sized bait, but hey, nothing stops us from getting a snack eh? So thats entirely on what the fish feels the time I guess. I used to use BIG bait 90% of my time fishing, I would spend 6 hours getting nibbles (from smaller fish), and no hits unless big fish were in the area. There is a saying I believe, lighter the gear/bait the MORE fish you should catch, but once again, depends what you want for that day/night. I have a few outfits now. One for a big bait to sit in the water, while I use my ligther gear. Would rather catch more fish than none. But thats coming from someone new to the hobby who is land based and limited. I purely got a lighter outfit due to this reason. Didn't want to have one rod, one big bait, sit there and get nothing. Big lures, big bait would attract a bigger mouth

Shimano Finesse Bream Raider 2 - 2-4KG rod purchased! With 2500 FE Sedonna and 5lb Power Pro Braid !! And a few 2.5-3 inch Power bait minnows! Woot! All up $241 xD

We just came out from a really weird and frustrating weather. I don't think the water has warmed up enough yet.

You are absolutely correct. A light outfit should have light weight. I have decided to go with the Raider and Symetre 2500 with 6lb Braid. I think I was close to diverting away again from what I am trying to achieve with this gear. I already have 2 heavier outfits, which I can just cast out with bait and leave them, as I use the lighter rod for luring. Thanks for that wonderful right up and advice. Hi bud, I think your dad was BANG on the dot. As I already have two heavier outfits, I might just use them and leave them out with bait. I will get the light outfit specfically for lure fishing, bream, tailor, flathead , tailor, salmon etc. I will be getting the same line config on your sons rod. And I couldn't agree more with mosing more fish on a heavier rod as setting the hook is a bit more tricky. I have heard a saying from a friend "I would rather consistently catch fish, legal size, big or small, rather than have a 12ft rod out and spend 10 hours waiting for a hit". I am guessing this is true lol. I will be picking up the outfit tomorrow at a local store! I think the rod will cost me $100, Symetre 2500 around $130 and 150yds braid... looking at around $280-$300 if I also get a case for the rod!

But but but! What if a decent Jew or Tailor takes it?! I worry too much eh

Hi All. Thanks for the great feedback! I went out fishing yesterday and was using a mates 2-4KG outfit. It was a Shimano Bream Finesse Raider Series (Mexican Fire I believe). It had 6lb Braid and mono backing. I used the rod for about 7 hours flicking soft plastics, LOVED IT!!! So I think I might go for that option. Now, my question is the reel...Im trying to decide between a 2500 Shimano Stradic ($200) OR a Shimano Symetre for $130. I really don't want to spend a lot...so was eyeing the Symetre... any thoughts?

Good Morning beautiful people! Hope everyone had a great long weekend! So having exams on the 18th, and the office all week, it is getting hard to manage free time to go for a fish. I usually do 7-8 hour sessions once or twice a week as I am trying to learn the techniques and understand structure and build my experience. So, after my gunning of questions regarding lure fishing, Derek was kind enough to invite me and a friend out to a soft plastic training session (I call this a training session, as in reality, I was clueless about lures). I realised how “OFF” I was in my thinking with the plastics!!, the flicks, pauses, drops to the bottom, the casting technique to increase accuracy is SO MUCH different from bait fishing!! (don’t get me wrong, bait fishing is what got me addicted 2 months ago to this Artform). And I will still be throwing out bait, while I lure fish Once he was comfortable with my casting and retrieve, he taught us how to cover spots, where and what not to cast towards … YES..fine… I hooked a boat!!…gee…but it was legal? After an hour, something did hit my lure, and it hit HARD, unfortunately, it broke the tip of the hook off, leaving me with the lure..I did NOT REALISE the hook tip was gone..so YES I also fished with a hook less bait…for 20 minutes LOL. After another couple of hours, something took mine again, was one of those takes where you can feel the FIGHT drag slowly about to let lose any minute now, but I failed to set the hook as the fish probably spat it out fast. Finally, I caught a fish I have always wanted to be able to catch a Dusky Flathead! A small one going at 31cm. I didn’t care how small or big the fish was, I just wanted to know at the end of the day, I did not waste anyone’s time and took in everything to my best extent. And with that fish hitting my lure, I figured my technique was correct and now I need to practice harder to refine it! Lesson Learned on Gear: I now understand my dream for a massive Jew, kingfish etc diverted my attention away from the diversity of fishing. I have a 4-6kg 4000 reel mono and a 8-10KG 8000 reel mono…in saying that, Derek let me use his 2-4KG outfit with 2500 reel and 4lb Braid… and honestly, the DIFFERENCE…and I was worried I couldn’t land anything on a rod that size. So after yesterday’s lesson, when Derek told me “you could land a 10KG Jew on an outfit like that if you played it right”, I knew I need to also have a 2-4kg setup for these amazing Lure conditions. Thanks again Derek, I know it’s not easy not fishing on a beautiful day like Monday and watching others for 7hours. Can’t wait to do it again mate, won’t forget it. Cheers! Jay

Hi all, Currently, I have a 4-6 KG graphite outfit and a 6-8 KG surf rod. Smaller outfit is equipped with a 4000 reel, bigger rod has a 8000 reel, both mono. I want to be getting more into lure fishing over this summer and was wondering if I should consider a 2-4kg outfit such as the ROVEX 601 SOX Spin Rod. I just like how it looks, but any other advice? I will be using Braid Further, if I hit a decent fish, would it be very difficult bringing it in with an outfit of this size? Cheers

Awesome report mate! Well done!

Well done mate! Which wharf was this if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you all for your kind words. I have recently planned the long weekend in advance to continue my passion (hopefully get some reports worth posting )