dirvin21

during winter the afternoon and early evening/night are the best times to fish when the water is at its warmest

thanks guys went back again tonight and actually tempted about a 20cm into having a go hooks didn't stick but I'm getting closer I'm gonna give the scent a go I do believe that may make the difference I worked out the fish are really flighty (even worse than bream) and so I'm all but hiding while casting victory will be sweet when I land one of the suckers cheers Dave

work the edges around the weed beds should be yellas, silver perch and catfish especially if its warmed up enough for the shrimps to appear

I've been casting under a bridge on the way to work, the baitfish have been schooled up under the lights, the bream and flathead have been smashing the bait on the surface (watched a approx. 70cm flattie actively chase a mullet around the surface was quite a spectacle) I had several small to medium mangrove jacks come in and go for the lure (a bream sized 40mm tango shad) they savagely chased to the edge where I paused and then they sat there all but kissing the rear treble before swimming away, is this common behavior I have never targeted jacks on lures, with bream I pause until they pick up the lure but with jacks should I keep it moving? frustrating stuff but that's what makes it fun Dave

I've found during winter redfin will school up in deep water presumably to spawn, its just a matter of finding them with a sounder and dropping a lure to them during warmer months they disperse around the edges, we caught dozens at copeton casting bream style hardbodies and plastics in particular areas where boats and skiers stir up the water just a simple slow roll retrieve generally does the damage

go lighter, 8lb is a good all round line, my main rod is spooled with 8 lb braid and 8lb fluorocarbon leader, I've caught everything from trout, bream and bass, to kingfish and flatties on 8lb

Managed to get some fishing in over the weekend started on Friday waking up after night shift at midday with 3 1/2 hours before kids getting home headed out for a quick fish started off fairly slow fishing around the boat ramps casting a tango shad only managing a very small big eye trevally and a wrasse, then decided to call it quits on the way home stopped at a fallen tree in the creek on the side of the road after a couple of casts came up solid with a bream on the sx40 not big but at least a semi decent fish The next morning headed out with the kids to chase some flatties, a work mate told me to hit a small creek in town, the creek has been closed to the ocean for a long while and the water looks filthy but is actually just tea tree stained, got a lot of strange looks heading towards it with a fishing rod. over the next 1 1/2 hours we landed approx. 25 flathead with 4 over 60cm (the biggest going 64cm) and another 10 over 50cm, we kept 1 50cm fish for the table and let the rest go. there were some nervous moments when larger flatties swallowed the $20 worth of sx40 on 8lb leader but with a bit of light drag work and not rushing the fish you can get them in without busting off its just a matter of holding your nerve by the time this fish was landed the leader was like cobweb finished off the weekend with a couple of tailor off the rocks on Sunday arvo all in all a cracker of a weekend thanks for reading Dave

if I'm using soft plastics (very rarely) I use Berkley gulps as they already stink, I generally fish with hardbodies and catch plenty of fish in quite heavily fished areas without the aid of scents

shimano catana/cazna combo in either 2-4kg or 3-5kg depending on what you intend to target

worms are definitely worth a try, live bait is illegal in freshwater, I had success some years ago in lake Lyell using Halco wobblers good luck Dave

I use an Albright knot but the FG is apparently just as good for connecting braid to leader

I would save your effort, I think a live yakka on the beach would be a long shot at best, if your really keen on a beach livie a mullet or tailor maybe a better option, yakkas are certainly worth a crack around breakwalls and headlands where they are a major food source of course if you do try it and have great success I'll eat my words and go straight out and try it Dave

I would be more inclined to think "grassy sweetlip" Lethrinus laticaudis the blue markings between the eyes and catch location

For shallow flats I use a "Black Magic" BMAX (60mm) but just about anything will work flathead are far from fussy,

I would suggest losing the swivel that way you can run a long wind-on leader I generally go about 3 metres

finally got a chance to have a fish this morning, so with some new sx40's I hit the breakwall and surrounds. After about an hour of half hearted follows and not much else, i relocated to a small reefy flat and straight away a small cod atleast it was a fish spent some more time casting the area with only a 10cm moses perch decided to call it quits and head for home I had one more spot to try on the way home. Pulled up at said spot which is an old fallen tree its the only decent piece of structure in about a 200m stretch. After a couple of casts I felt a small tap on the pause and some legal bream followed the lure to the edge and immediately spooked, things were looking bleak. Decided to cast for a cod (there are lots here) slow rolling the lure right against the snag .... BANG.. and the drag was screaming immediately thought cod and was surprised to see a cracker of a bream tearing off amongst the sticks after a very nervous tussle out he came, 38cm a new pb and a big fish for this system Then the GT's arrived at one point a fish a cast all around 30cm, a fun way to finish off what was looking to be a lost cause earlier in the morning cheers for reading Dave

this has an article on land based fishing Darwin Harbour http://issuu.com/hookedupmagazine/docs/hooked_up_31

I've heard the whole "only months with an R" many times, I think this was more related to mud crabs this being the time when most crabs borrow and moult there shell leaving them with no flesh, you will still catch them but they are a very bright green colour and have no meat when you cook them, I have found this doesn't seem to apply to blue swimmers when I was younger I used to hand catch them in winter with a mask and snorkel

the shrimp are attracted by the fat in the soap, use unscented soap and place your trap amongst the weed, it may be getting a bit cold as they tend to shut down over winter

run in tide early in the morning berley find the feeding schools and berley with bread, no. 8-10 hook and small float when they take it wind rather than strike and hang on they dont give up easily

my shimano was grinding so last night I brought it to work while night shift and oiled the bearings with "Lanotec" oil and its now good as new

big swells on the high tide as bait takes shelter in the river flat days I prefer run out tide as the dirty water gives the fish a bit more confidence

the last week has been tough the fish have a serious case of lock jaw, as my usual haunts haven't been producing I've tried some new spots with some success the bream on the cranka crab was caught from a very well used public pathway casting against a bridge pylon I got some very surprised looks when the fish came out of the water.

Tie the jig head with a "leftys loop" the turtleback worms hop them off the bottom with a couple of twitches and let them sink pause for a few seconds and repeat you tend to get a lot of hits without hooking up because the fish grab the body and not the hook they are a killer lure for whiting and flatties good luck Dave

I've added some pics from the last couple of months. I've had to make the most of my fishing time the last few months with mostly short sessions, still have managed some good catches including bream, estuary cod, bass, kingies (on bream gear) and many other species.