Killer1979

Day 3 - more fish!! Hired a little boat from soldiers point marina. Tried for flattties with no luck then went to scratchies "secret" spot near Taylor's beach and got a mixed bag. About 30 tiny snapper, 1 small bream, 11 good size whiting, 1 tailor and a cuttlefish!! All on prawns, the cuttlefish was wierd, thought it was a squid at first but it was definitely a cuttlefish. Great day on the water and the boys have just filled there bellies with whiting. Going to hit shoal bay jetty at the crack of dawn tomorrow! Thanks for all the tips guys!

Awesome, thanks scratchie. Can I get all that at the tackleworld in Nelson Bay or is there a better tackle store to go to?

Day 2. Success at soldiers point jetty! Got on the jetty at 7am and caught about 8 well under size whiting, 4 undersized bream, 4 little puffa fish and the biggest puffa fish I have ever seen. The thing was bigger than a basketball!! So we still don't have any fish to eat but the kids had heaps of fun. Thanks for the tip scratchie, light gear, long shank hooks worked well with prawns. We have booked a little poly boat for tomorrow morning from soldiers point. We will try that spot at Taylor's beach for whiting. Any suggestions to get some flattties?

Will give that a try too ribs. The good wife has other plans for me today so I will miss high tide. I will be allowed out again about 5pm so I am thinking I might give the soldiers point jetty a crack!

Thanks scratchie. I will try that!

Day 1. Nelson bay Marina (inside the marina), Nelson bay break wall and shoal bay beach. 0 fish Terrible, windy conditions and dirty water. Hoping for some improvement tomorrow.

Thanks Scratchie. That doesn't sound great. Typical, the one time I get to fish this amazing place there's no bite. Oh well, I shouldn't complain. The storm could have done a lot worse things than put the fish off! Hopefully it improves over the next few days. ?

About 2 hours away from Port Stephens! Getting excited. How is the water colour? Is it still fishing ok?

I hope all the rain is making the fish hungry! Can't wait!

I used to just put a swivel above the float and nothing between float and jig. It means the jig comes up to the float when you wind it in making it more manageable but the swivel stops the squid from being able to just take off with the jig as it gets the resistance from the float. Only problem with this is a set depth. Off a pier it's fine but drifting in a boat would present some challenges.

Yeah the orange and white ones.

I am no squid expert Craig but when I was younger and fished off the Lorne pier a lot we used to do exactly that. Float about 2 or 3 metres above the jig and just leave the rod while we actively fished for other species. Always caught heaps of squid! I think it depends on the depth of the water, you probably want the jig about 1 metre above the weeds. Cheers Al

I am right handed in everything I do. But I cast with my left hand and wind with my right...

So thanks to all you legends and your fantastic input here is my fishing plan to make sure my kids have a heap of fun fishing saltwater for the first time but we also get a feed of fish! 1. Early morning start at soldiers point jetty chasing some whiting and any other species that may be around. Using long shank hooks and prawns. 2. Late afternoons / evenings flicking soft plastics on shoal bay beach. Will have a surf rod running a big bait in case there are any surprises around. 3. Early morning at shoal bay jetty going for Taylor. 4. Breakwall one day going for bream but have a big rod going in case there is a kingy ( could I use a surf rod for a kingy?) 5. Hire a tinny and drift in scratchies magic spot near Taylor's beach. Between the yellow market and red marker for "guaranteed" whiting haha. 6. Drift jimmys beach with soft plastics. 7. Fish anywhere with 3-5 metres of water. 8. Go prawning? What is the go with prawning? I assume I do it at night with a headlamp and a small net? How deep do I go? Are sharks going to eat me at night? Haha. Thanks everyone. Feel free to add if I have missed anything! Cheers Al

Awesome thanks Jeff.

Thanks Ribs. Appreciate the feedback. Yeah I will do all my land based stuff before 9am or after 7:30pm so hopefully don't tangle up any swimmers haha. What are Taylor like? Are they a big fish? Good to eat? The boat harbour wall is that fish able with young kids? Is it ocean fishing or still in the bay? Sorry for all the questions.

Does the Jetty at Shoal bay fish well at night? Is there lighting on it? If I'm fishing in the evening either from a jetty or a beach is it worth having a bigger rod with a bigger bait going on the side for something bigger? Thanks for all the info so far guys. Going to have plenty of spots to try!

Wow scratchie, if you need a partner in crime to chase these beasts between the 9th and 16th Jan let me know ?

Also we are staying at Shoal Bay right opposite the beach. Is that beach any good in the evening for flicking a soft plastic or doing any fishing at all?

Awesome guys! Thanks so much for the replies! I really appreciate all the advice. The kids are so keen I would hate to go without a fish. The prawning sounds like great fun! Scratchie is that jetty busy all day? When doing land based fishing I will either do it early morning or in the evening to avoid crowds (and I should probably spend the day with the good wife). Although I will obviously hire a small boat during the day. Hoping to also ditch the kids for a few hours at some stage and go for some bigger stuff!! Cheers Al

Haha, hopefully he tells me everything I need to know then!

Good Morning all, I have read just about every thread on this forum and have been extremely impressed! What a great group! I have read a lot from scratchie and just want so say thanks, amazing to read your reports. I am heading to port Stephens for a week on Jan 9 with my wife and three boys. My two older boys (7 and 5) love fishing so we are keen to get into it. We live inland and I have done very little saltwater fishing. We have caught thousands of Redfin but my saltwater knowledge is limited. The boys watch a lot of fishing on TV and can't believe they are going to be able to fish in saltwater!! Anyway I can't fish the breakwall rocks with little kids so am looking for jetties or calm beaches where I can get a flathead or whiting? I am also looking at hiring a little tinnie for a day or two to find some really calm water (5 year old hates waves) and get some flatties or whiting. Scratchie if you get a spare 5 minutes and could give me a couple of tips on getting some flathead and whiting with kids that would be great. Also what pound / type of line should I be putting on our reels before I head up? Thanks in advance guys. Cheers Al