anthman

What type of lures? Based on the rod suggestions above and reel you have, it sounds like a popping rod is probably the extent of your luring. The other popular kingie lure is the slapstix - i dont think think you need a super flexy rod but a bit of softness would help the action of the lure- i think the rods above might be too stiff but I can't say for sure as I don't have them. @DerekD , as an owner of that rod, do you reckon it can impart the right action for a slapstix? And of course metal jigs are your other lure option, depending on the type you can prob get away with the above rods.

Can't help you with how the seas are in those areas, as I havent been out in them. Re: HP - as you might know, there is a recommended HP and a max HP rating for most boats which could be different depending on the design of the boat (heavy, deep v VS a shallow hull) so would be better to hit the max power rating for the hull you land on. Looking at the distance of Montague Island to the nearest shoreline (7-8km) fully exposed, i know I would want as much power at my fingertips and that 5m, to me, feels like one of those "pick your days" kind of boats. 5.6m+ feels about the right kind of starting size. Also, why not pop out of the heads a little bit to see conditions on a good day? (On a bigger boat) that way you can see how a similar sized boat handles on certain conditions.

Thanks yowie and all, will give it a go this weekend and see.

Thats awesome!

Thanks guys, will give clifton gardens / white barrels nearby a go. Any idea of ideal bait? Cheap white bread? Home made dough concoction?

hi guys, keen to try my hand at catching some garfish (to eat and as bait) - i read a post from years back about garfish at the wharf in Clifton Gardens. Are they still about? Are there any locations in middle harbour? I would be fishing by boat, with the following plan: * early morning, after sunrise * anchoring near wharf at Clifton Gardens or other suggested spots. * use berley pot. White bread? Dough? Tuna oil? * using bream setup: braid to leader with float tied about 30cm away from tiny hook. Bread or dough fitted to hook. Is catching garfish in middle harbour or Sydney harbour a pipe dream? Any suggested spots that reliably produce? Any changes to my plan above? Thanks guys!

You might be better off fishing from the rock groynes nearby - lots of posts of successful blackish on fresh local weed from the rock groynes.

So, how do you all secure your rods? There are times where i will bring 8x rods....

They still do, lots in the Asian market. I picked a ryobi "ultrapower" 800 size ultralight reel. Tiny little reel that pulled in a ~60cm kingie.

...lure trolling! Hi FR, I recently watched a video on YouTube about slow trolling bibbed minnows over shallow reef. Looked to be deep divers around 12-14cm. I haven patch of sandy area that has produced flatties and mulloway in the past that id like to try but its in waters about 20-25m deep. My bibbed minnows state a max of 21ft I think from memory so that's only 7m of the depth. Similar size to those in the video I saw. I don't have a downrigger and remember trying a paternost rig with several snapper leads not reaally working and was super heavy to retrieve on my snapper setup (5-8kg rod, 20lb line). Any ideas (like maybe a huge ball sinker in a running rig setup?) to get my lures down there? Don't want to use those huge bibbed minnows rated for deeper depths as they might be too big (though on their own, still wouldn't get to that depth). I think in 25m of water, the target would be almost bottom. Maybe its impossible.... Thanks all and looking forward to hearing ideas and experiences!

Did not know that! Useful to know.

Agreed, keep fishing, keep other fishos in line if they are abusing the place (exercise caution and judgement of course) so that we don't give them a reason!

For me it's the variability and simple fact that you can't control or rush the outcome, completely. With a press of button ("play" aswell as "pay now"), we can have most things fairly easily. What i like about fishing is that you can have all the right gear, be in the right spot, at the right time, doing the right technique and have all karma in the world in your favour and still not catch a fish. Id put it at maybe 50% in your control and the rest out of your control. That constant challenge means for everything you can control, you can spend time and money perfecting it (which in a game of margins, does help!) but at the end of the day it can still go either way! I also like that you don't know what you might encounter - i remember flicking a tiny 40mm shrimp sp on a size 2 hook on what was prob a 3g jighead- using 6lb FC leader on 2LB braid (2-4kg bream rod w/ 500 size reel) and landed an almost legal kingfish! Won't forget that one! (My day job has me inform of the computer all day long, so fishing is a nice contrast).

Great report! Is that a D16 vapor rod I see there? I recently picked up a couple during the sales, not bad rods!

a boating camping and fishing shop sell 2.2kg blocks for $18/$16 from memory - a bit cheaper. (I hope I'm OK mentioning this shop since dinga does not ship bait ) Otherwise checkout the fish shop near chatswood chase that you have to take stairs down from the main road (Victoria ave) - they might sell fresh ones for a cheap price (or not).

Donut as well but only passed by the heads, went to long reef. Came back to the boat ramp and one fisho had a whole bag with about 5-6 good size salmon, said they caught at south head!!!

Good idea, would look like bait that got half eaten suspended in the chaos!

Last time I fished a salmon bustup, all they took were surface walkers ( I had tried metals from 5g to 28g, and minnow style SPs, no luck). I would bring rods prerigged with all three to be safe.

Reckon they'll be there tomorrow morning? I haven't had much experience with bustups outside of summer but past summer has been less eventful for me...

@DerekD is a wealth of knowledge and will get you started in your first fish caught on a SP (probably a flathead!), if you are in the vicinity. At the end of the day pretty much all beginners are likely to catch their first fish on a SP (likely a minnow or curly grub on a 1/8oz to 1/4oz jighead) and it will likely be flathead or bream and it'll likely be with a 7' 2-4kg graphite rod that most fishos are likely to have in their arsenal (or should if they don't already!). There should almost be a forced path for learning SPs modelled on the above to streamline the gear and target selection. I say the above because its probably the most reliably productive way to catch a fish on a plastic and we all know that tipping point once you catch your first fish on a SP, that you become a believer and it pretty much takes a life of its own from there (an expensive one at that). Then you can also expand your horizons - e.g. whiting on surface lures, kingies on slapstix, tailor on metals, finesse presentation of SPs, luderick on weed flies, snapper on 5" minnows etc....

Great post, and great haul! Was this off Bondi?

As others have said, use an FG knot. 15LB braid to 20LB leader should be fairly streamline passing through eyelets, even with a rod that has microguides (e.g. Gomoku jigging rods). In terms of length, I actually like to use about 1-1.5m of fluoro (lets say 15LB to match your braid), down to a swivel, then a light (i.e. less than 15LB) fluorocarbon leader that I want at the hook end. That way if I get snagged I'll likely loose from after the swivel rather than potentially from the FG knot. 1-1.5m of length also means I can switch over to a lure if I want to without having to change leader to a longer length. In terms of sinker, as per all the above, but id also add that putting a bead between the sinker and the swivel will help stop the sinker from the damaging the knot and prevent premature breakage.

So I didn't manage the get to long reef today - I popped out past the heads and it was a bit too bumpy and windy for my liking. When back inside, got some yakkas, landed an 80cm mulloway and 70cm flattie. Big believer in fresh bait - dead or alive!

Thanks for the advice all, I checked out BOM and looks like current is coming from the north on Sunday. Will try NE edge of point C. I usually drop a paternoster and bounce SPs whilst I wait - usually into the berley trail. Just need the weather to hold!

Legend! This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for the detailed guidance I'm not sure if im doing this right, but if I check the swell forecast and the direction- will that be indicative of the current direction? E.g. this Sunday the swell direction is easterly (i.e. heading to the west). Also, how essential is it to get there before sunrise? It's a bit tough to get there before sunrise since I launch from roseville...(bed too early!) Though I could get there maybe by 7am