wazatherfisherman

Great video, don't take any notice of the guy, they always complain in that spot and they know they have no right to.

Hi Berrero it was the environmental ranger who called us over while we were prawning one night in the bay on the western side of Dobroyd Aquatic club. He asked if we had many prawns and wasn't surprised when we said we hadn't even seen one- there were plenty on the eastern side of the club but it got a bit too windy so we moved to the west side of the point. He explained that there had been a tyre "factory" pretty much where Neild Park now sits and the heavy metal concentration in the sediment was so toxic that even the prawns wouldn't bury there, yet there is a large concentration of cockles adjacent the site. That same night 3 Mercedes turned up about 11 pm and a heap of young people waded out in the pitch dark in groups of 3-4 just armed with a "broom handle" and a sack between each group. They all had black clothing on and they went out about thigh deep and appeared to be "shuffling" in the mud. Soon after 2 mini-buses also turned up and the occupants joined the others in the shuffling. Of course this got our curiosity up and we went over to investigate. Nobody would answer us until my mate pulled out his security company card and showed it to the "leader" who tried to tell us they were collecting them for "research" (this was about 15 years ago and I don't think it was illegal to harvest shellfish then, but "defacing the foreshore" laws applied in the old Drummoyne Municipality) but the collectors, all dressed like ninja's were obviously panicked and they headed for the shore. A call from one of the car drivers who were not involved with the collecting and they all piled back in the vehicles and took off. No doubt, the cockles were headed for a restaurant and the "ninja" collectors probably students without fishing licenses, hence taking off. Over the next couple of months we spotted the same group of vehicles//ninja's a couple more times and rang the police each time. I've often wondered where the cockles ended up and if anyone became crook from eating them, but haven't seen the collecting groups for a long time.

ATTENTION DAVEBM!! Don't eat that cockle if it came out of the bay at Iron Cove!! I have fished the area (catch and release ONLY) for nearly 50 years and can detail the pollution if necessary. It could make you seriously ill or worse! Don't eat it mate especially before hospital. If you doubt my advice, contact the environmental ranger at Canada Bay council

Hi again Phil- from memory, the council removed what was left of the "Block" ladder after a young fisherman fell to his death when the ladder broke. They also removed the pegs and cemented in the holes. This has happened at other rock spots where deaths have occurred also, Jolong platform past the pistol range at Malabar even had the chains etc removed, due to multiple fatalities. You're right about the low platforms being safer and picking the days/times to fish them, we used to fish "Greenie" at the Mattens on the run-out tide on flat nights for Bream and it was really low- it was where the most red crabs were and hence the most Bream. Nobody ever got washed off Greenie to my knowledge. Good "procedural" practices like never turning your back on the sea and learning to call/listen for the call of "WATER" are the most important things for rock fishing- far more important than actual fishing. As for "advanced" technology in rods, I don't think any of the new materials would stand up to the harsh environment like fibreglass does. Butterworth, Snyder, Sportex, Fenwick and Conlon blanks made well over 40 years ago are still going strong- put a scratch or score in most graphite blanks and their structural integrity is compromised resulting in breakage- not always, but often. Ugly Stick rods are the one exception and are pretty much indestructible also. I try to encourage new fishers to stick to Alvey's for general rock work- bar spinning and chasing Marlin and Tuna- the "give-no-give" advantages when washing fish up need no explanation. Bruce Alvey told me that due to the advancements in spinning reel technology, most of the younger fishers seem to have gone the spinning reel path, yet many of the older fishers have stayed with their beloved sidecast's, even after trying spinning reels. For beach fishing, regardless of really good care taken of reels, sand/salt gets into pretty much everything at some point and being able to simply dip your reel in the saltwater to remove sand is a great thing while out fishing- can't do that with an eggbeater. I can fully understand why the changes happened, with far better built reels, capable of dealing with large fish, great drag systems and of course the popularity of braid/gel spun etc, which in my opinion are really suitable for these types of reel and can present problems when used with a sidecast type configuration On a side note also- most of my rock rods bar Luderick (which were 12 ft one piece) were around 9 and a half to 10 and a half feet long, offering better leverage but less casting distance, which isn't an issue when you're only using the small "ball-on-the-hook" rigs that are the staple rig of Sydney rock fishing, for most species.

Hi Phil there wasn't a cable across the narrow bit when I was going there! There also weren't many guys there on weekday mornings, usually just a couple at Green Ledge. Being a Mattens fisher, it just didn't compare as a fishing spot, but plenty of good fish came out of there for the regulars. I only fished the Chapel from a boat- it's a well known spot for catching live bait and I went there a few times to catch Yakka's before going out to the Peak, but never bothered going there from the rocks. If it was too rough to fish the Mattens, it wasn't safe to fish any of the low platforms along the Bondi to South Head stretch. There was still a permanent ladder at the "Block" at Diamond Bay also in those days.

Hi Phil fished Rosa a few times with some of the "non-climbing" guys, always at the main platform where the outflow was. The water was always "opaque" rather then the usual colour of the Murks and I actually caught a couple of small reds there, which was fairly uncommon (from my knowledge) to be caught from the brown water. The rope going up was to access another spot, as far as I know there was no other way up than down the gully and up the ladder- I wasn't a fan of getting on/off the ladder, due to it being cut off square to the top, so I took a short piece of rope to "lasso" one of the pegs at the back. Never fished the "Green Ledge" for Blackies either, but they caught plenty there while I was watching. Used to put rock plates on to walk the narrow ledge up high past the Green Ledge on the way to main platform as the few times I went, it was wet and slippery there. Yes Rosa Gully (known as Vaucluse outfall) is still operating, as are both Diamond Bay outfalls (Oceanview Ave and Kimberley St). They are the last three operating in NSW.

Hi Pickles and thanks! The second time I went to the Ovens there was still a vacant block on Rayner Rd and you went down that way to the high track that goes above South Whale platform. There was a group of four young blokes that had come from somewhere south of the vacant block and one of them had a plaster cast on his leg that went above his knee! I explained that the last bit into the Ovens was about 20 ft down a rope, but he said he was a local and he'd be fine climbing down- I told him he was mad to even attempt it, but he got down. Madness! If by any chance he'd gone in he would have sunk like a stone. All that for nothing more than a heap of those giant Long Toms that swallow your hard earned live Yakka's. Crazy stuff

Hi Jim hope you're well, great to see Vic coming out of lockdown. Nice clear picture, nothing beat a dawn session on the rocks.

Forgot to add yes "Fish Striker" MT6110

As said above 6 wrap 110 inches long T= 2 piece M= medium winch mount for spin reels rated 12-15 lb. Taper is extra fast

Hi Dazamcstaga I have had the same rod in two piece and still have a one piece I built for an Alvey (with low mount) I built mine with a 10 inch wooden butt and use both a 5 inch (50A5E Alvey) or a 6 inch (600A5 Alvey) as they are a good all purpose rod and you can use 3-7 kg line on them, making them pretty versatile. Yours would be ideally suited to a 4-5000 size spinning reel as the production rods were built for spinning reels and they were great for throwing 1 to 2 oz (30-60 gm) lures with 5-6 kg line. Really fast taper blank and great for casting. If you need any more info just ask Regards Waza

Hi again Phil- the Mattens still gets fished, not sure about the lighthouse. Jim Clarke fished the big Gap a fair few times, the spot that you put the rope ladder down through the hole in the ledge up the top. Fished a lot of different spots with Jim, mostly involved a fair climb in to wherever it was. There is an alternative climb at the Mattens but one slip anywhere on it and it's all over, all the regulars knew about it but I went up it one afternoon with the guys and we decided it was an "up" route only. The call of "WATER" was quickly learned and sent everyone running no matter necessary or not. We all called it, no worry if it wasn't a big one- better safe than sorry and as we fished the lowest ledges on flat nights in the dark for Bream whenever we could, it was often called. The night time Bream are a different class of fish completely, in my opinion they are more of a nocturnal feeder when they get over the 1.5 kg mark. A mate down here sold his kayak after a Bull shark incident at the mouth of Hen and Chicken Bay up Parramatta River so I can understand your shark concerns! Anyway, nice chatting and happy fishing. Waza

Hi Phil welcome to the site, glad you enjoyed the stories, formed a great part of my younger life. I only fished the lighthouse twice and helped the spot's creators- Billy Brown and Dave Carter- along with Jim Clarke put in two huge ladders that replaced a chain ladder they'd put in initially (it was the hairiest, scariest thing I ever climbed). All of the climbing gear was left in a pillbox that went right into the cliff about 1/4 of the way down, but it wasn't safety climbing gear, just a few short ropes and a small ladder. I wasn't scared of heights/climbing but that swinging chain ladder we replaced was bloody terrifying! I know about the "car-pulley" incident, there were plenty of calls for disqualification as cars were not permitted onto parkland for that purpose and apparently it broke a known rule, but it was (in my opinion) just jealousy from other competitors who were unable/unwilling to do the cliffs. Sounds like we did similar activities when young as I fished the harbour for Blackies, Dory etc, but "home base" was Taronga Zoo wharf and White Rock along the east side of Bradleys Head. Turned "professional" after making the Mattens home base when I was about 17, it was a great fun life full of adventure and countless fish. Sadly I have chronic cellulitis now and am classified as disabled, so rarely get fishing any more and Raider is my fishing outlet nowadays- great community here with stacks of really great people. Happy to answer any questions related to fishing or the "old days" when life was just a constant fishing adventure! Hope to hear more from you and happy fishing. Regards Waza

Hi Pete Bushman Heavy Duty 40% or 80% DEET even Rid Tropical strength hasn't stopped the sandflies. As said above Aeroguard useless in my opinion also

Well done Jamo! Good to see you catching some different species. Great photo's too

Interesting. Have to wait and see now

That's always been my experience with divers and Luderick also, if they turn up, the fish are gone or at least no longer on the bite

You just flour them and quickly pan fry- they cook in about a minute. Both male and female roe are strong flavoured and an acquired taste I reckon as really "rich" flavour. Just wondered if they had spawned yet

Excellent fish Yon- did the Luderick have any roe?

Welcome little fisho and good work with the Salmon

In all my years of collecting have never seen anything remotely like it- cool looking and unusual. Thanks for posting, like you, never imagined an electric in this form

Nice bag Yowie! Some top eaters

Just as a bit of trivia- there are probably more 6+half inch Alvey's used on the beach (and rocks!) than any other brand of reel

Hi RU4REEL as the boys said above 70's made and will last a lifetime. Great to see you went with the non-drag A5 model- there's nothing like fighting a fish on the plain series with "direct" contact. You learn much from using drag-less reels and positive contact is invaluable when landing large fish. Don't forget if you get any sand in it while fishing, just give it a dunk in the surf and a shake to get the sand out- good to go again straight away! Put any other reel in the water and it's on it's "death-bed"!

Great post GF, really well written and described! This is sure to help many fishers when looking for a spot Cheers Waza