[Heading to South West Rocks need advice]

Good luck up there.

I'll be keeping an eye in this thread. I'm heading up at Christmas. never been there before either

I hear all sorts of bad stories about the bar crossing. Then I talk to locals and they say "If it's to rough to cross is probably to rough to fish"

So let me know what you think after your trip

Enjoy and good luck

There will be plenty of people but there is also a miles and miles of river to fish as well as offshore there should be dollies at the FAD by then

I live across the highway at Eungai if you let me know when your around and the gods of annual leave come through I'll take you up to the sweetwater for some crackin bass

[Heading to South West Rocks need advice]

First of all the bar is dangerous, especially on the run out tide there is a much safer launch at Scotts head (main beach) boatramp

You could try around fish rock and green island for kingies

there are snapper and pearlies depends on the day whether they are in close or outwide (you will find trag and gummies outwide) also I have heard of bar cod being caught out near the fad in 90+m

if the fish are in close try drifting lightly weighted baits down or suspending them under a piece of foam about 2m off the bottom

I don't fish offshore much so I don't have any marks

The estuary is excellent, you can drift livies from your boat along the breakwall for XOS jewies, cod and jacks

plenty of options for bream spinning around the oyster racks also loads of small to medium sized GT's and big eye trevs around at the moment

Under the roadbridge at Jerseyville is a prime spot for jewies on plastics or livies

The flats are loaded with flathead it has been a bumper run of late on plastics

good luck

look forward to your reports

Dave

[Info about Soft Plastic]

your gear may be a bit light to fish that kind of depth range the jig heads required will probably be to heavy for your gear

you have a perfect setup for chasing flatties on the flats and smaller channels or bream around oyster racks

not sure what your targeting in 15-20m depth but a decent graphite rod around the 6kg range with a 3000-400 sized reel and around 15lb braid would probably suffice

[Winter Fishing Tips]

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

[Jack advice]

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

[Windermere dam land based fishing]

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

[Jack advice]

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

[Soft plastics on Red fin]

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

[Blackwattle Bay - Fishing with Braid (1st time)]

Bait recently, though I want to try with just SPs for my next outing.... I'll aim for lighter lb for this next spool I'm ordering 15lb you reckon or lighter?

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

[South West Rocks]

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

[Thoughts on Scent?]

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

[Recommendation wanted]

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

[Where to go close to Sydney]

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

[Blackwattle Bay - Fishing with Braid (1st time)]

I've just had a read about them as I've never used one before - I'll give it a shot. Thanks Dirv

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

[Live Yakkas off the beach]

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

[What's this? (Juvenile Spangled Emperor)]

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

[Best flathead lures]

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

[Blackwattle Bay - Fishing with Braid (1st time)]

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

[Nambucca River 21/6]

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

[Tackle & Lure Suggestions for Darwin]

this has an article on land based fishing Darwin Harbour

http://issuu.com/hookedupmagazine/docs/hooked_up_31

[Blue swimmer crabs in winter?]

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

[Best bait for catching shrimp]

Really Neil???? Soap???? At least they'll be the cleanest shrimp you'll ever catch. Lol

See, you learn something new everyday! I've never heard of that before. What's the actual method?

Cheers scratchie!!!

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

[New member, chasing mullet]

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

[No maintenance routines]

Any suggestions on recommended oils to use for oiling reels? Rain this weekend, might service my gear.

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

[Conditions - breakwall]

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