wazatherfisherman

Thanks- I know times have changed, but fish habits are pretty much the same as they've always been

When we were worming at Currarong beach the first day we worked out that the worms loved Dave's feet, it was blowing a cold westerly and there was basically no swell.

Years ago, when I first joined a fishing club, regional fishing titles and competitions were decided by using a simple scoring system of 1 point per fish and 10 points per kilo, highest number of points, regardless of sizes or species would be the winner. In those days, although size limits were strictly adhered to, there were no bag limits and as a result, huge catches of fish on competition days were the norm. Looking back now, for some species, it was wholesale slaughter and having no bag limits undoubtedly contributed to the decline in many species. Conservation was simply not a consideration, there would always be more fish- at least that's what was thought. So to be competitive in these competitions, where it was really about numbers, targeted species really came down to the amounts of any fish that could be caught. That meant for Sydney competitions there would usually be only a few genuinely targeted species, the ones available in the numbers needed for victory. For the 'Deep Sea' section that meant Kingfish, Tuna (various types) and to a lesser extent Trevally. For the 'Rock' section, Tailor, Trevally and Rock Blackfish (Black Drummer- "Pigs") For the 'Estuary' section Tailor and Trevally- same again for the 'Beach' titles, it was Tailor and Trevally that made up the bigger numbers. Common denominator = Tailor and Trevally. Tailor were sometimes in 'plague proportions' and could be caught quicker than all other species, so if they were around, they were the main target of virtually all the competitors. For consistency though, Silver Trevally (also known as "Blurters" or "Trevs") would be the secondary target, as the sheer numbers of them around Sydney during the 70's, 80's and 90's meant that catching some was pretty much a "given" albeit not as rapidly as catching the Tailor. The ocean sewerage outfalls (known as "murks") were still operating and they attracted thousands of fish to their "natural" berley trails, with Silver Trevally residing in huge numbers. Bondi murk, Yellow Rock at Malabar, Doughboy at Kurnell, Rosa Gully at Diamond Bay, Turimetta just past Narrabeen and the "Trevally Capital"- Bluefish murk at Manly, all produced big numbers of Trev's on a consistent basis- fishing any of these locations pretty much guaranteed, that if all other species failed, you could always catch a few fish. Of course fishing murks during competition times was strictly outlawed, for good reason, as it wasn't deemed to be a 'good look' for our sport. The visible line of discoloured water that flowed from these 'murks' would extend along the coast, sometimes (in the case of both Bondi and Bluefish) for a couple of kilometers. Trolling along this man-made current line, you could usually catch all manner of surface (or close to surface) feeding fish. Trevally being the most prominent. As the 'soupy opaque' water was only about the top 3 metres of the water column along it's edge, and had a distinct line between the 'clean and dirty' to troll along, on calm days, you could often see the trevally sitting en masse along the edge and they were easily caught with small lures, particularly 3-4 cm long white bucktail jigs or 'Canada jigs'. or simply some white "Firetail" fly-tying nylon bound onto a 3/0 34007 (O'shaunessy pattern) hook. These fish were usually in the 1-1.5 kg range. To catch them from the rocks, the simple technique was to run a size O, 1 or O1 ball sinker between a swivel and hook, size 1, 1/0 or 2/0 (Mustad 92647 or 92247- baitholder with the baitkeeper slices on the shank) Bait would be cast out as far as you could get it with the small lead, let sink so it was down 3-5 metres, the rod tip dropped low and to one side and a slow but continual retrieve started. Using sidecast reels, this was an easy technique and the angler stays 'in-touch' with the bait. When the fish started to 'tap' the bait you just kept slowly winding without striking until the weight of the fish was there and even then when striking, only a short sharp rod movement of about 30-45 cm of a 3 mtr+ rod was necessary to set the hook. The best bait for this technique is peeled green prawns. Pilchard tails would be second pick. Trevally of course will take a variety of other baits such as worms, nippers and small fillet baits, but for the 'winding technique' prawns are best as they stay on the hook better and are eagerly accepted by the fish. In conjunction with a decent burley-trail of crushed and soaked white bread, with some tuna or pilchard oil and the crushed-up front 1/3rd of a pilchard,(keep the back 2/3rds for bait) really large numbers were caught by this technique, particularly after dark, from the deep water ledges along the Sydney coastline, with most fish in the .5-1.5 kg range. Catching them in the estuary the technique is pretty much the same- peeled prawn and small ball on the hook rig. At spots like the Sow and Pigs reef in Sydney Harbour, night time fishing sees large schools of Trevally sitting all around the general reef area and western side. As the current runs fairly strongly on the bigger tides, getting the bait down to the right level can be a bit trickier, with the retrieve method only practical when the tide slows. Anyone who has fished Sow and Pigs at night would be aware of the huge numbers of large Yellowtail that inhabit the reef and they can pose a problem when Trevally fishing, as they like the same (or pretty much any) bait. They are generally a little higher in the water column, with the larger mass of them sitting only 2 to 3 mtr's under the surface of a night time and often taking bait right up on the surface. When berley is flowing from your berley dispenser, there will often be masses of these large Yellowtail within a couple of metres of the back of the boat, luckily, the larger mass stay close to the eddy formed by the back of the boat. To fish for Trevally, get your bait out 10-15 metres behind the boat (this is also where your berley will have sunk to a couple of metres when the current is strong). Personally, I found that using a handline with about 6-10 pieces of sheet lead (2 cm x .3 cm) crimped on about 20 cm apart was the best method. You could simply add or subtract a couple of pieces to match the tide, as you want to get your bait down about 3 metres into the Trevally 'zone' but avoid the surface Yellowtail. I found it easy to throw out the side of the boat , let the bait sink in the current and pay out line to keep it in the take zone, it doesn't take long to successfully work this technique with the handline- you just want the bait down between 2 and 4 meters and staying at that level. That's how we used to do it. They are good fun to catch and aren't too bad in the smoker. Hope this helps you catch a few. Cheers Waza

After I posted the info on Dave's feet I rang him to say g'day and he reckons the worms still pop up no matter what beach he's at. His feet don't seem to smell (nor his shoes!) but the worms really love them. Still really freaks him out at the beach

G'day mate whale oil used to work really well so I don't see why tuna oil wouldn't work. We used to soak a small piece of terry-towelling in the oil, put that in a few bits of stocking and tie it up in one of those old orange bags from the green grocer, then into the keep-bag we used for a stink bag, with whatever else we were using for worm berley. Seemed to last for an hour or so. Found a better berley with a mate's feet! They don't seem to smell, but worms show like mad when he's in the zone! He's been freaked out about it for years! When we were worming at Currarong (before the invertebrate sanctuary was declared there) we just got Dave to stand in the run off zone and worm "V's" came up all around us. Still laugh about it now. I'm not a great wormer as I'm hopeless at catching them without pliers- one thing I did notice was the worms seemed to be better on the north ends of the beach in a southerly and vice versa in a northerly and there always seems to be worms close to any amounts of pipi's. Let us know how you go Cheers Waza

Hi James most of the wharves in the lower harbour will have Kingfish visit them at some point during the day, in season. Cremorne Point Wharf is always worth a look on weekends (too many ferries on weekdays) the wharves at Walsh Bay are among the better spots also but are currently off limits due to construction work. Darling St at Balmain is another good spot, but due to the heavy ferry traffic it's only realistic for the early morning also. As for bait, fresh or live squid and cuttlefish, although a little harder to obtain seem to be producing more consistent results. Main thing I wanted to tell you is if you want to catch a Kingfish from a wharf, just use the ONE rod and hold onto it! They are school fish and a 'multiple strike' from the wharf results in chaos! Also ferries and general boat traffic need to be moved from etc. Just use one rod with your squid/live-bait and you'll have a better chance of success. If you wish to catch Yakkas , soaked and crushed white bread for berley and tiny pieces of pilchard fillet or yakka are as good a bait as any, or learn to 'master' using mince (long been the top Yakka bait)- takes a bit of practice but is cheap and reliable. Good luck! Cheers Waza

G'day Neil have found the 'transition' of moving from Sydney to Murwillumbah a little difficult, mainly due to recurring leg problems associated with the heat/humidity up here- looking forward so much to the cooling-off of autumn! Haven't been fishing up here so far, but looking forward to going to many of the places I've fished up here previously (been coming up a couple of times a year for over 25 years) and have fished all over the area, both for Bass and saltwater species. Mangrove Jack fishing would be my favourite thing up here, followed by both estuary spinning and beach fishing. Nice to go beach fishing with tons of room, plenty of spots and a good variety of species. Catching large Dart on ultra-light tackle produces consistent fun and it's a rare day when you can't catch a few fish of one variety or another! Mate John is a tackle collector also and between us have too much tackle to display (never thought I'd ever say that!)- I still have about 20 x 70 ltr boxes of tackle to sort out- it's a mammoth task! Hoping to get fishing in the next month, while there are still Jacks around. Just learned also that Clarrie Hall Dam where we Bass fish has just been stocked with 3,000 freshwater raised Jacks also- might have to up the anti from 2.5 kg line we Bass fish with to something more realistic! Cheers for the G'day and will let you know when I've got out to wet a line, am going to write a few more things for Fishraider over the next few weeks under the "Reminiscing" heading again, I know times are 'a changing' but fish haven't so if it helps someone catch a few more, well and good. Cheers Waza

Thanks GoingFishing- yes Pottsville is about the fourth beachside suburb north of Byron Bay (about 45 mins drive to Byron) and is the main 'sign-on' point and the only weigh-in area for the comp. There are always heaps of big Tailor weighed in, mainly by beach fisho's. The really big ones are usually caught on 'cut-bait' (Bonito, Mack Tuna, Striped Tuna or good old Mullet fillets) The common rig is large sinker, 30cm wire trace and 2x 5/0 ganged hooks with the above bait. The method commonly used is to try and get out into the deeper water 'beyond the break' and the 'cut bait' being much smaller than say a Garfish or Pilly (the usual Tailor baits) they are easier to cast further out. The wire trace is used because these massive Tailor will swallow the bait deep down and bite-off's the result of no wire. 'Normal' Tailor fishing that I'd done in Sydney, you wouldn't use wire. As there are literally heaps of km's of 'unbroken' beach, (not many headlands and mainly smaller river/creek break-walls) there are usually gutters that go for great distances along the beach, making it ideal for those who love surf fishing. Larger, long beaches like Wooyung (just south of Pottsville) have tarred road running parallel to the beach, with stacks of 'sand-side' parking available, negating the need for a 4wd vehicle to get you to good 'fishy-looking' water. - Well known spot Black Rock (2 rock outcrops just out off the beach) is only a 2 minute walk from a sand-side car park, and as it is the only 'formation' along many km's of beach, attracts all manner of species As I said, well worth a look if you are in the area June 9th.

The "Greenback Tailor" fishing competition mentioned in the 'Big Tailor' post has just announced a move to Pottsville Beach for this year. It's on June 8-9 with checkout at 8am Saturday and fish to be in weigh-in area before 9am Sunday. $35,000 worth of prizes, with the best prize for the largest Tailor weighed in. It's well worth having a look at the weigh-in even if you don't fish in the comp- there are usually plenty of really massive Tailor weighed in each year, as well as plenty of other large fish like Mulloway and Mackerel, most fishing is done from either beach or rocks/walls. The weighed fish are done up in lots and a public auction is held after the weigh-in with all the weighed-in catches being auctioned off. If you're in the area on the Sunday it's well worth a look.

There is a fishing competition held on Queens birthday weekend called The Cabarita Greenback Tailor Comp, it's been running for about 20 odd years (bar one somewhere during this time) The first year I went up from Sydney to fish it, the biggest Tailor was over 6.5kg which won (from memory) about $5000. There would have been more than 50 Tailor weighed over 4kg and as Greenback fishing rules allowed the weighing of only 5 fish of each species, there were undoubtedly plenty more caught that were not weighed in. I saw a guy with 10 that were between 4.5 and 5.5kg who was trying to choose his 5 largest to weigh- he caught his from the beach at Lennox Head and I think he is a Fishraider member. Biggest ones I've seen were in the 7-8kg range and were caught by 2 guys at The Devils Elbow (now in Jervis Bay sanctuary) on consecutive days and they reckoned they regularly got them over 5kg, both there and in St Georges Basin. Plenty of huge Tailor used to be caught around the mouth of Munmorah hot water outlet and also North Entrance beach. Largest land based ones around Sydney that I've seen were caught at "Oyster", which is the rock platform on the southern end of Burning Palms Beach, throwing poppers around the bombie.

Just wanted to add that rabbit pellets are also ok for berley for them and have caught a few at both Pelican Pt and Soldiers Island on squid fishing for other species, as well as plenty of smaller (mostly under a kg) on cabbage while Luderick fishing around the harbour. At different times, their teeth become quite sharp and they will bite through mono, so bite-off's often attributed to 'Jackets can sometimes be Silvers

Hi Volitan as said above, same type of tactics as for Rock Blackfish (Black Drummer) they also respond really well to berleying with both white bread and chicken pellets (as do Black Drummer)- soak pellets until they break down into a 'mud' like consistency- then keep a moderate trail going in the wash and fish either pea size or smaller ball-on-hook rig or bobby cork for them if terrain is bad. Bait is either fresh bread, peeled green prawns or cunje. They also like quartered red crabs and large cabbage baits (too large for Luderick). Best all round hook is 2/0 suicide (octopus pattern). They grow pretty big in some locations (over 15kg) with plenty of smaller ones in Sydney Harbour and unlike their Black namesakes fight reasonably cleanly. No amount of preparation turns them into a decent eating proposition, but they are a great fighting sports fish to catch and release. If you have any other questions, happy to answer. Cheers Waza

G'day Derek you could also film this and put it on facebook as an example of "dangerous casting" with an example of "safe" or "responsible casting"- he may not see it but someone may alert him to the danger he poses- he may be ignorant of the danger regardless of your suggestion to him, or as you have indicated "not the full quid". Perhaps offering a few pointers on safer casting might be in order, but that might not go down too well either. Forget the suggestions we talked about on the phone, they'll only bring you trouble! As others have said you have done the right thing, it's better to educate those around him instead of his unsafe practices

Hi SydneyisSkyBlue Try marinating your squid in mashed kiwifruit for about 2 hours, then remove kiwifruit and cook normally. This tenderizes it and is a quicker method than using milk and garlic which is best left for a few more hours. Also doesn't leave your fridge smelling like garlic! Onion also works as a tenderizer but the kiwifruit are best and never get rubbery calamari again!

From my experiences at prawning you want the run-out tide(I don't think they 'run' on other tide) and the darker the moon the better

G'day mate I haven't fished there for over a year now, but have fished the lagoon every Christmas for many years as a mate comes to Sydney and stays in the same house each year, which backs onto the park running between the 2 bridges. His family catches up for a Christmas fishing day there every year and lots of interesting things get caught. There are some really amazing fish caught in the lagoon every year and from memory the local tackle shop has a photo album of many of the unusual species that reside in the lagoon, Sadly, it's one of Sydney's most polluted locations sediment wise and there have been several fish kills there over the years, as the lagoon's feeder creek runs from Manly Dam via the Golf course and super-phosphates and 'heavy metal' concentrations are present in the mud/sand bottom. The water reaches the ocean via a small viaduct that comes out near Queenscliff rock baths. Fishing wise, there are all sorts of fish in there, including many 'northern' species like Mangrove Jack and various Trevally species. It isn't uncommon to see fish 'bust-up' on baitfish in the late afternoon. From observation they are usually Trevally (Big Eye) and they boil up for a minute or two then reappear 30-40 metres away, so you have to be quick getting a lure into them. The only time the fish seem to be really active is on the larger run-in tides above 1.5 meters, when there is a bit of flow. The best tides are the really big tides around Christmas 1.7+ are ideal and best fished in the night. Best bait is definitely live prawns which can be scooped on the run-out tide on the darker phases of the moon, try on the sand near the drop-off down closer to the ocean bridge for best results on the prawns. These are a clearer coloured prawn than the 'brown-ish' Sydney harbour variety (which we've also done well with), from what I've seen when prawning around Sydney, all the different lagoons have prawns and they are all slightly different in colour, depending on which spot you get them. There are also a few 'rock-prawns'- some with arms and tiny claws that are excellent for bait for larger fish. Best method is to use light line (2-4 kg) size 2 'baitholder' style hook and only a small split shot (don't squeeze it on hard as it needs to be able to move when you half-hitch your prawn on- then slide down to tail) The prawn can move around reasonably freely and the fish will easily find it. When you get a couple of sharp taps, just let the fish swim off a few meters before striking. Some of the largest Whiting give only the slightest bites when using live prawns. Our most successful trips there have been after prawning the run-out tide at night and using the live prawns on the run-in until the wee hours. I've caught Bream, Flathead, Tailor, GT's, Big Eye Trevally, Mullet, Luderick, Estuary Perch, Long Tom's, Mangrove Jack and some of the biggest Whiting you'll see- all in the lagoon, mostly from Hinkler Park and the canal that goes under Pittwater Rd. Others have caught Oxeye Herring, Mulloway and some large mud crabs. Mangrove Jacks are fished for around the Pittwater Rd bridge and behind the skateboard park. I've seen fly fishers get them there also. There is also another spot up the very back of the lagoon called 'The Dog Hole' which is like a small inlet. Mangrove Jack, Trevally and some big Flathead are caught there on live bait. One of the other Raiders told me there are a couple of no fishing signs in different spots, but the only one I've seen was in regard to pollution, but probably a good idea to check with fisheries. Good luck if you go there- it's a unique spot, such a shame about the pollution, you wouldn't know it was as bad just from looking at it. Just catch and release fishing to be safe! Cheers Waza

Hi Zoran I've tried painting them but the paint doesn't stay on long and the penetration is not as smooth as the surface of the hook becomes 'grippy'. Easy way is to take a permanent marker which also aids (albeit slightly) with preventing the points blunting. Better off using as Paddy says Black trebles for same effect. Tried red trebles on Tailor spinners but found the buggers went for the hook as much as the lure resulting in heaps more 'jump-offs', so pretty much a reverse of the point of using them! Have been using tiny size coloured trebles on Bream lures for years but only because I got a big container of them really cheap at a close-out sale and they are dangerously sharp! The bronze and black are definitely worth putting on metals and baitfish profiles. Don't bother doing it with minnows, divers etc. The Owner ones Paddy uses are the go

No salt added! They actually have quite delicate flesh and I'd be surprised if you cooked a couple this way and didn't like them. It's a pretty easy way to cook them, just make sure you drain off the fluid well. I don't think people keep them as the fillet-to-size ratio is small and they have a few nasty spines and also it isn't likely to get many in a session. A lot of folks go by the "if it's ugly, chuck it back" ideal, which is not a bad general rule, but if you get a couple of them try cooking them in the above way, you won't be disappointed

It's pretty easy recipe- scale and fillet them (the heads have nice meat but it's hard to get at it unless you bake them whole) put the fillets in a saucepan in cold milk and bring to the boil on the stove, as soon as the milk comes to the boil turn the stove down and simmer for about a minute and a half then take off the stove but leave the fillets in the milk to cool, then pour into a dish and place in fridge for about 20 mins. Drain all the fluid off and pat dry with a paper towel. The flesh will just fall off the skin. We usually mix it with either a blue swimmer crab or a lobster (if you're rich enough!) and it takes on the flavour- or just have it cold or add to a cooked pasta. Done this way it's called "poor mans lobster"/ Enjoy! For all those who don't keep them you should try this- you won't be chucking them back any more!

Well you are in luck as they are available in summer -the Scorpion or Red Rock Cod are available most of the year but aren't generally a targeted species, more a 'by-catch' and a lot of people don't keep them. Personally I reckon they taste great, but you need decent sized ones to get a decent feed from as they are "a big head and small body". Got a good way of cooking them if you're interested? Mahi Mahi are usually around in numbers after Christmas and are fairly easy to catch offshore

Hi Hateanchors bronze trebles are still often used on freshwater lures and small saltwater lures such as Rebel Crawdads. They have definitely lost popularity over the years with new age corrosion and strength treatments being chosen instead of them, however, they have always produced more and better hook up rates and most older rock spin men know the value of them and would still probably prefer to use them where possible. They don't offer great saltwater/rust resistance nor are they "chemically sharpened" although some are "laser sharpened" and they also are a little harder to find in multiple "extra strength" varieties. Better hook ups are achieved because the fish attack the lure, not the hooks. By this, what I mean is for example if you are spinning with metals or hard baitfish profiles, the most common types are chrome/silver, if the predator species are feeding on say 2 inch long pilchards, then a 2 inch long silvery (main colour anyway) lure would be the one you'd try first. If said lure then has a 1 inch long treble on the back, it then becomes a 3 inch lure due to the silver hook becoming part of the profile as it is same colour, Some species such as Frigate Mackerel, Salmon, Mack Tuna etc can be frustratingly hard to tempt if you haven't got an almost identical match to what they are chasing and you often see heaps of people casting right into the thick of them feeding for no result- this is because although they may have matched the right profile size and colour wise, the trailing silver (usually) hook has then increased the size of their overall lure.. High speed spinning from the rocks, you didn't really need a lot of lures, As Paddy said, 1/2 x 1/4 chrome plated bars in different lengths to copy the baitfish lengths were the mainstay of most, you could add a couple of sizes in hexagonal bar (marketed as "arrows") for better imitating smaller gars or maybe a few coloured lead 'fish' profiles, but in general the reflectivity of the chrome was the most widely used. Bronzed trebles were added because the profile size wise wasn't altered and the fish took the lure more into it's mouth resulting in less pulled hooks. You could also use a bigger size hook as it isn't compromising the integrity of the size, which also adds to better hooking/holding power. In the larger sizes (2/0 upwards) Mustad, Eagle Claw and VMC all make 2x, 3x, 4x strong (and stronger) varieties and also short shank styles as well. Yes they rust but if you wash them as you do most lures after use then they last a lot longer. A quick touch with the stone and they stay sharp and you can 'colour-in' the points with a permanent marker to keep the points sharp when not in use. Easy experiment is next time you come across feeding fish and you're using metals, is to try 2 of same chosen lure profiles, one with silver hooks one with bronze and see the depth of the lure in the fishes mouth- I guarantee you'll find the bronze hooked lure deeper and better hooked up and if the fish are fickle, will be the difference between a strike or a follow. Tailor and Bonito can be exceptions to 'profile size' but they also are hooked better. Give it a try!

Hi Paddy great point about using bronze trebles. I don't reckon a lot of younger fisho's would realise the value of using the bronze trebles as opposed to the common use of silver coloured trebles regardless of the various strength and rust proofing qualities. Better hook-ups and far, far better "matching the hatch" properties

Is there a particular species you are interested in, or looking to target?

You should change your name to good fisho! Well done on a great bag of fish and releasing them also

When I used the diving board I ran it on 30 lb rather than usual 20 lb as it does create a bit of drag. I bought a couple of the Scotty release clips to (use as PaddyT suggested)- keep the bait lower angle to help keep them alive a bit longer but the rubber band around reel handle as he suggested is probably a better and easier option. 1 of those cheaper black clothes peg style Scotty ones would be ideal to use crimped on a paravane/board style rigger. Or use the old Jensen "Dodger" style flasher- the "Krockadile" type were good for getting bait down deeper but you had to "fight" them as well as the fish!