[Great day on the MacDonald River]

1 hour ago, Hill373737 said:

Thanks Dave, I've had a laser focus on cod this year and its starting to come together. We'll have to catch up for another fish next season, I've got access to some very good water on the Peel through one of the land owners that i think you'd enjoy.

Definitely mate

[Great day on the MacDonald River]

Nice cod grind Steve, you're doing better than me this winter

[Quick sunset cruise]

1 hour ago, Hoods said:

Thanks for the report Dave. Congrats on the mixed bag. How is the Boat Ramp following the floods?? And can you get down river past the bridge yet or is it still closed to boating?

No need to fish further north now you can get em all up the Hastings.

Hoods

It's all good now mate, ramp at Wauchope is all fixed and you can boat under bridge finally

[Quick sunset cruise]

We've been trying to fish a lot lately aiming to get fish for the table without much success. Waking up from night shift we had an opportunity to head put for a quick late arvo session I told Amy we were doing a "sunset cruise". We decided to take a gamble and launch at Wauchope in the brackish.

The fish have been few and far between I was shocked to land a bream on my second cast. It didn't take Amy long to break the doughnut either with a decent bream

Fish for the esky, the fishing wasn't red hot but we were atleast getting hit and catching small bream, then I load up on a solid fish it played strange running into the deep  was very excited to see a solid bass

A beautiful 41cm fish which also adds bass to our einter species challenge, fish was quickly released 

Amy answered with a nice bream

And a few flathead a couple of which found their way to the filleting table.

We finished off the arvo with me making Amy a cocktail (minimal alcohol we're responsible boaters)

And enjoying a beautiful arvo on the water

Cheers for reading 

Dave

[Shimano Nasci 3000hg]

I bought a 3000 Nasci a few weeks back, definitely an alloy spool, I've got it loaded with braid

[Lure recommendations for baitcaster]

It's about what the rod can handle, good setup for harbodies, slow rolling bigger soft plastics and vertical jigging vibes

Be a good setup for murrsy cod or bigger bass lures, would be ideal for barra and jacks

Some deep divers may pull to heavy on the rod but you can only really know by trying

[A day of multiple firsts]

That's absolutely awesome Mike

[Good brands for split rings and trebles]

7 hours ago, faker said:

What size though for double clutch. Packaging does not say 

I go into a tackle shop and have a look

I think trebles are size 8 from memory but not positive 

[Good brands for split rings and trebles]

Split rings, owner decoys are good quality and light for the strength

BKK spears trebles for a double clutch 

[Definition of "Line Fishing' on DPI websites]

"Line fishing" refers to any fishing with a fishing line

Areas that specify line fishing only generally mean you can't spearfish there

You can always email fisheries or go into one of the offices, in my experience they're very helpful and much happier to provide education over enforcement 

[First Catch on the New Boat (Hawkesbury Jewfish)]

I burn with jealousy 😉

[metal lures vs main line and leaders]

Use the rod's casting weight to guide your lure weight, if you're using the correct line class for the rod it should all be fine

In saying that It's better to go a little heavier on the line with metals, nothing worse than making a perfect super long cast and realising your lure isn't attached to the line😐

[First session n Estury Perch - a cracker day]

That's great fish Bob

[Cod ?]

11 hours ago, rickmarlin62 said:

River or dam dave

Both, fished a bit at Pindari and we did a 15km into a remote part of the upper Severn, looked the goods water temps were just a bit low 

[Cod ?]

We were uo there last week, water looks great unfortunately cod were real quiet

[Midwinter Surface Surprise]

That's a cracker

[How to trigger reaction bite]

That's one of the most frustrating parts of fishing, the follow, when they follow try different colours  and lures, sometimes speeding the retrieve can make them commit

A "reaction bite" is when a fish will hit a lure merely because it's there, flashy or noisy lures often get reaction bites

[Just to prove I can still catch fish]

6 hours ago, big Neil said:

Always enjoy your combined posts, Dave and Amy, they are (usually) filled with such optimism and reports of success. Naturally, Winter is a slower time on the fishing front for most species, and setting targets helps to maintain the impetus to get out there and succeed. Keep the posts coming.

I have an early plan to head up your way in the Cod closed season. May even consider bringing the tinny if there is a suitable motel that can accommodate a boat and trailer. I'll keep you posted on that front. You can provide me some info on where and how to enjoy a bit of fishing therapy like we shared in the Nambucca River.

.bn

Always welcome mate

[A short break away in QLD]

Was nice to meet you both in person, we didn't learn our lesson at Copeton 🥶 next week we're likely heading to pindari❄️

[Fishing room and pond for house reno]

To maintain a small saltwater pond for fish to survive is unlikely to be feasible, at bare minimum they require regular water exchange to maintain appropriate salinity 

[Just to prove I can still catch fish]

Just sharing a few photos from the last couple of weeks, Amy and I have set ourselves a winter species challenge, basically tick off as many species as possible over the 3 months of winter. We spent 4 days at Copeton which went terribly but the salt has produced a few fish

A few nice bream from the kayak flicking plastics around the oyster racks

Even managed a silver biddy on a soft vibe, and yes I removed the rubbish (and a tonne more)

I've also managed to hit the ocean for tte first time in ages and scored my first lure caught snapper on soft vibes

They're not big but still chuffed with them

And the other first was jigging, tried for kings without success but got a few bonnies

A small nannigai and much to my disgust the biggest wirrah I've ever seen 

We've knocked a few species off, hopefully the next 2 months will be a bit more productive 

Dave

 

[Potential lockout at Mona Vale]

4 hours ago, Rebel said:

The Northern Beaches Council will be over ruled by the DPI.

From what I uderstand this has been going on for a while..

Cheers.

I'm pretty sure Rebel is right local council has no jurisdiction to do it

[So what's your favourite type of fishing...why?]

I have fished for as long as I can remember, started out with my old man drifting yabbies on handlines then got myself into lure fishing. I've been lucky enough to fish some amazing destinations in Australia and my dream trip to the Amazon, but.... my absolute favourite fishing is kayak fishing for Murray cod, it's not only about the beautiful green fish but the destination where we commonly see platypus, emus and loads of other wildlife it's also the place Amy and I got engaged.

[A freezing day on the river, but some success...]

Couple of great fish Neil, we're jealous, just back from a Copeton doughnut in freezing temps

[Heavy Structure Bream]

Big Bream are a tough opponent, if anything is off they'll generally refuse your lure.

The main thing is making your lure look natural, it needs to land right up against the structure and sink on slack line keep the bail arm closed and have a belly in the line

Personally I use zman grubz 2.5 ans slim swimz 2.5, and occasionally cranka crabs, scent can also make a difference

With bream you usually only get 1 shot and they spook