PaddyT

Scratchie- use your mackeral scraps and go crabbing- heaps up there! You can actually hire a freezer from a mob in Coffs and get them to deliver it to your cabin IMG_0962.MOV

Yep, what Bruce said- be on the FAD at sunup, and dont waste your time on the close FAd at all

Standard Mustad 4202's are fine for off the beach, if you are chasing more serious fish Mustad 7766 Tarpons are the way to go, the 4202's are a bit soft, my young bloke landed a 22 kg Spanish Mackeral on a set of 4202's and they were very nearly destroyed in the fight , it was an unlucky fish to say the least!

yep

They They are dredging it regularily but the issue at that ramp was caused by the design, the "pond" they dug out means the entrance will not silt up as often and it stops the swell reflecting directly onto the ramp- its heaps better than it used to be

Ramp is heaps better than its ever been since they did the mods to it a year or so back. On our first arvo we were in the left over swell from the recent Qld cyclone and there were some big sets rolling through, we went out just after high tide (and it was the dark of the moon so big tides) and had no probs, came back in right on the bottom of the tide , waited for a lull and shot through no probs-probabaly 3 -4 feet of water under us. The surge at the ramp is nowhere as bad as it used to be and its only one wave to cross. Going out is a bit trickier than coming in because you cant see around the rock wall, but either way its easier than any bar crossing.

plenty of herring , not the best area for yakka's (in fact I cant ever remember catching one there)- herring are a better bait up there anyway- most of the channel markers have them in the back eddies. The way I catch them is get in close to the channel marker and the hering will come out under the shadow of your boat, then use a bait jig with the tiniest hooks you can find , very little lead and let it "slide" under the boat, the herring will load up on the jig very quickly

Was up at Coffs a couple of weeks ago, wahoo, spotties, spannies, kings , yellowfin , way too many mack tuna- hooked a small black on a bait jig at the Wide Bait ground on 6lb braid and had an interesting half an hour with him until the inevitable happened. Just a point of caution on the marine park zoning, the downloadable map is not printable in any sort of useful size (I really wonder if the MPA wants us to fish in the right places ?) so make sure your chartplotter is up to date- its a great fishing area . Be careful at Wooli it is a b!@#$^&d of a bar

Good time of the year for them and the occasional exotic, Frigates will turn up Cowan Creek on high tides if their is no rain and clear water- seen them in 2 feet of water past the marina at Bobbin Head on a couple of occasions

Frigate, went out of the harbour yesterday and we struggled to get bait too- lots of jackets on the arti lost 3 sets of bait jigs to the little so and so's. Went up to Longie with 6 yakka's in the tank and converted them to 5 kings (and i blew the 6th)All rats and they all went back as I still have a freezer full of wahoo and spottie macks from a trip north 2 weeks ago. It was reallly quiet yesterday , there was only one other boat on Longie.

Going out with a good charter operator is a way to fast track your learning, but the key is to get involved, and keep your eyes and ears open. I wouldnt generally imagine you will get much out of a "cattle boat" type of operation but a few of the really good sportsfishing charters out of Sydney are worth it. You can sit back on any boat and learn nothing , or you can ask questions , take mental notes and go from there.

Yeah- stop using them, decent king will snap 'em, plus they are offset so the bait will track or spin when trolled. Use hooks like Mustad hoodlums, Gama Live baits (not the offset's) a non offset hook is one where the tip lines up with the shank and eye. You can rig offsets in pairs to stop spin but it gets tricky , simple is best in 99% of circumstances

Ok, dont let the sinker run up the line, run 3-4 m of leader on your braid and tie off to a swivel, put the sinker on , then another swivel and run another 50cm -1m to your hook. The hook needs to be non offset type, the sinker is best if its a barrell or bean- no twist, no tangles Good luck

Schooling up for the spawning run

Its a long way up the system for consistant pelagics-under the right conditions you might pick the odd king or bonito up- this time of the year would be most likely best bet. I caught an amalco jack (high fin amberjack ) off a bust up coming back in from offshore one afternoon a few years ago- and I certainly see plenty of bait early mornings when i leave the ramp- but as a consistant pelagic spot - nah

Let us know how you go, whiting are messy feeders on surface lures and id still be inclined to go with the very sticky little trebles from Owner etc, ive found that changing the lure when they wise up to something with a more subtle action eg an Ecogear stickbait thing (forgotten the model no) keeps the bite going, good luck

getting back to your original question, missed strikes is part of all surface lure fishing, havent tried assist hooks but staying with very fine ultra sharp small trebles is the way to go IMHO, most of the fun is in the bite anyway- check your hooks and replace them if they are blunt- chem hooks dont resharpen real well (mostly)

Good question, never eaten a silver but my understanding is that they are pretty exclusively an algae grazer where as pigs are just that- pigs- they eat cunje,crabs , weed , even caught them on pillies a few times. But sure ,happy to accept that what a fish eats is not the be all and end all to their eating quality and personal taste has a lot to do with it too.

Just buy a new one- and get the GPS model- this will save your life at sea faster than just about anything else if the proverbial hits the fan-and register it to your boat

Yep- very tasty- just not much meat, theyve pretty much got the same diet as whiting

I aint worried, but I will actually get a rated chain for it when my next yearly inspection is due- Ill stir the mechanic up a bit!(he is a mate)

Finally remembered to check my chain for stamping- and guess what- no stamping! I look forward to getting pulled over and booked !

Before you chuck it in the drink simply give everything a spray with Inox and every 3-6 months repeat the excercise- buy a 5 lt bottle of Inox and a cheap spray bottle from Bunnings- actually I think you usually get a spray bottle with the 5lt Inox- most modern trailers seem to have a galvinising that is "just ok" not great. its about $100 for the 5lt Inox and i get about 3 years of sprays out of it- thats cheap.

Most cuddy type boats leak anyway- unless a full hardtop and you still need decent wet weather gear to fish - bib and brace with a quality rain jacket- bib and brace is damn good for winter too- I use the Burke stuff

Good points Fab, BTW catching a marlin isnt that hard!