GordoRetired

All the reports that I read of Hairtail are from fishing in the Hawkesbury, Jerusalem bay etc. Does anyone know if they are also in Sydney Harbour in the bays??

Hey Whisky, Sorry for the delay in replying, been overseas for a few weeks. I was going down most afternoons, just back from my trip yesterday so probably start doing the same again next week. Usually after lunch some time and leave when I either get bored, run out of bread or it gets dark. :-)

Fishing off Noosa a few years back on a charter boat and the crew kept these for bait. Caught some good fish on them.

I find that some Garlic mash goes really well with Flathead. All you need to do is finely chop a clove or 2 of Garlic then add that along with some butter and a splash of milk to the well boiled potatoes when you mash them. Really easy and very tasty :-).

I find that the best way to despatch a Flathead is a sharp hit with a suitable heavy object, even a small rock works and finishes them quickly. With the Salmon a mate of mine reckons that cut into small 'fish bites' and shallow fried in batter makes for a tasty snack. Personally I throw them back.

Well done on catching fish on plastics, it is something that I have tried and tried but all to no avail. I watch most of the fishing shows and keep trying to imitate their techniques but have been a complete failure.... Never mind, one day I am sure that it will happen.. :-)

I have tried and tried and tried with soft plastics and Nothing. I guess that one day my luck will change :-)

They varied from 20 to 40+ The bigger ones were fun to catch on light gear.

Babbage Rd side, in the small park. Good luck :-)I should add that during the day I have not seen much, they seem to come on later in the day.

I was using a light rod with 6lb braid, snap swivel on the end of the line. 3 foot trace of 6lb mono to a small, size 6, log shank hook with a split shot around 6 inches up from the hook. Had a swivel on the end of the trace that went onto the snap swivel. Hung a small float, little red & white plastic thing that they give away with kids rods, off the snap swivel. Bait was white bread which I squished up around the hook being sure to leave the hook tip exposed. Before heading out I also turned a few slices into breadcrumbs using the wife's blender and threw handfuls of that out for berley. Make sure that the bread is fresh otherwise you can not make it doughy enough to stay on the hook. Late afternoon yesterday that set up caught 10 good size Mullet in around 1 1/2 hours with the bigger ones being quite fun to catch on the real light set up. Good luck :-)

Something to try when cooking Flathead, fillet and skin as usual, then add a decent amount of Cajun Spice to the flour that you roll them in before frying. Then fry as usual. The Cajun Spice adds a nice flavour.

Decided that it was time to catch my own bait so have been trying all week to get some Mullet. That is tried for an hour or more 4 days this week. I had seen some big Mullet cruising around close in under the Roseville Bridge so 1st session I used floating bread crust on a small longshank. Nothing. 2nd session started the same then changed to squished up bread that sank. Nothing. 3rd session, squished up bread on a small longshank around 18 inches down under a small float fished close to shore. Nothing. 4th session, squished up bread on a small longshank around 3 foot down under a small float fished 25 - 20 feet out from shore.... Finally Success. I now have 3 good size mullet in the freezer to use as bait on my next off shore trip. Might even pop down again this afternoon if the rain stops to see if I can get a few more. :-) Update: Went down again this afternoon, now have enough bait for my next trip out the heads :-)

That sounds like a real days fishing, great Jewie and the rest sounded like a lot of fun.

@Swordfisherman, Thought that's what I did in a positive manner.

This site needs a "Like" Button for posts like that. Sounds like a great week, fishing with both your Dad and your Kids. Perfect.

Nice catch. I was out last Wednesday and caught a few a mile or so off Whale Beach. One of the fish looked like that one looked like the one front left in your catch picture. Next to a Snapper and under the Bonito. As we did not know what it was we threw it back, even though it was a decent size. What is it and are they good eating? Cheers Gordo