DMG

My beach rod and reel cost me $30 from Kmart. I dont care if it only lasts me a year I will just go buy another one for $30. Works fine.

bro float line is the best thing since sliced bread i swear by it for blackfishing. not many tackle shops sell it so you will have to ring around or get it from Japan like i did via ebay. cost me about $15 + postage a spool of about 200m,comes in a few different kgs. The line is yellow. or you can do it old school and use Vaseline but lol goodluck with that,get with the times go for float line. yer its called Sunline something like that.

if your rock fishing for blackfish get it from the rocks where your fishing,i use cabbage type not weed. I would only use fresh off the rocks as you need it,only use what you need to bait up your hook. 1 large leaf hooked up correctly will be irresistible to a blackfish off the rocks in the correct conditions.

If your fishing from the rocks,low tide is best time for Drummer and if you burley regular dont worry they will come,for blackfisherman they are a pest. if you want to target them use a stronger line and tackle maybe 10kg line and a small bobby cork similar set up for ludrick but only heavier swivel,line. Drummer will hit you bang and run ,you will know the difference between a drummer and a blackfish as soon as you hook it. Then they will try and run to any ledge or reef to try to cut you off,be ready for a big fight,even a small drummer will fight like a bull. I have caught them on light set ups for luderick and they will take cabbage but they mainly come after burleying and low tide. You should google what set up to use if you are going to target them. I only say this because sometimes I catch them by accident and they ruin my rig.

I recently upgraded my blackfish rod and reel setup but I am yet to try it out. I tend to go for the cheap versions and they work just as good. I had to order a blackfish rod and reel from Queensland from a Tweed heads tackle shop and get it posted to me all up rod and reel cost me about $120 including shipping. Its only used and made for Blackfish,so is the reel. I say this because I remember one day down the south coast i was only going to fish for surface fish with a spin reel and rod and the conditions were perfect for blackfish so i set up my spin rod and reel for blackfish and it was the best session i had,caught lots of big blackfish on a rod that was not suited for ludrick.

I use no.8 green Mustad hook,1 meter 3kg light line for trace up to a small swivel. then I use a sinker heavy enough just to have the stem of the float and a very small amount of float foam above the water so that it goes down without any resistance,then I use either a stem or small bobby cork type float on a rod made for blackfish,reels i have used all types,egg beaters and side casters but the line i use is very important i use float line,its yellow and floats on the surface of the water so you have direct contact with your float and when you get a down its as easy as just lifting your rod up. oh and i use either aquarium air hose or a bit of wool as my stopper,cut small length of wool tie it to the line where you want your float to stop,make sure its tight and wet,slide it up and down where and when you want works for me. I only use cabbage from where im fishing. kick or scrape a bit of weed in as burley every now and then with your cleats into the water. some tackle shops sell the float line but most dont,you can get it on Ebay and its made it Japan.

life jacket cleats water foreign legion type hat clothes to protect you from the sun in summer light clothing only (in case you go in) dont wear heavy shoes or boots I wear my high vis work shirts mobile phone for emergencies never take your eyes off the sea and never turn your back to the sea,always look for the one wave that will pop out of no-where and come over your ledge. I only take what I need for the fish I am targeting for the day,becomes a pain carrying all your gear for long walks. I basically carry a bucket for my tackle and my rod as well as the above. always tell someone where you are fishing or plan to go even if you live alone write it down on a piece of paper at home leave it on the kitchen bench. sunscreen / zink first sign of lightning or thunder get out of there as quick as you can. fish with a friend or someone. dont get trapped at high tides,some places you can get to only at low tide,at high tide the access to them become limited and even dangerously blocked off leaving you stuck on the rocks. make sure you have a fishing licence $25 a year is better than a $200 dollar fine and yes they do come out to the rocks and tap you on the shoulder in a good swell,happened to me at bear island once. I forgot to mention polarized sunglasses. good luck !

Asian people love to fish,its very popular. More Asian people are fishing in Australia than anyone else,so statistically Asian people will appear to be high up the ladder when it comes to drowning from fishing.

Hi Guys, I came across this topic and although the topic is old 2010 it is still a very current problem. I would like to share a story with you about what happened to me in the 1970s at The Murk. I was about 14 yrs old,it was a nice sunny day,there was a bit of a swell running but it wasnt too big and no wind. My friends and I were fishing at The Murk,the rocks were dry so we didnt have any cleats on as sometimes in the dry cleats can also be a trip hazard. I was fishing the North facing side of The Murk it looks kind of like a gutter just around from the popular high point rock everyone fishes off,anyway i was fishing and a wave just came over the top of the platform where I was, just enough to re-wet the edges of the rock and make the rock slippery again. I turned around to bait up my hook and bang next thing I remember I had slipped and was sliding belly down over the rock platform and over about a 12 foot drop into the sewer. I was 14 and wearing jeans,shoes and a big bulky parker,all the worst things you could have worn in this situation. I popped up and I was in a state of shock,nobody saw me go in,it was that fast. I was heading with the swell as it broke hard on to the rocks,then I saw a guys fishing rod and line pointing out as I drifted past,I grabbed that line and pulled it,I heard that old man who was fishing for Black Fish Yell and swear as he was in shock too because he didnt know what hit his rod. Lucky for me on the day there was about 6 people fishing there who were older than we were. Someone grabbed a gaff and I hung on to that gaff long enough for someone else to run up to grab the bouy that was a fair distance away. My parker filled with air when I fell in and kept me afloat just long enough to grab that guys rod. The rule amonst my friends was if you went into the water there you had to swim out away from the rocks and wait for a rescue,sounds logical ? but when I looked at this option back then at the time and the fact I was 14 and could not swim,it was certain death. I chose to stay where I was and it turned out to be the right decision,I was in the water for about 30 mins until somebody went and got rope from somewhere,the adults tied a loop at one end and told me to put it over my head and around my waist,it was like a slip knot. They all pulled me up the ledge with the help of the swells,at one stage I disappeared under the ledge and under water. I can tell you this,if you fall in at The Murk,THERE IS NO WAY OUT alive except the way I was rescued or by helicopter. Swimming across the boils and the breaking swells out to sea is an option, on the day I chose not to do this but that was the thing you were supposed to do back then if you went in to avoid getting knocked out on the rocks and drowning. I lived at Bondi at the time and I walked home crying my eyes out and never went back there again. I would like to thank very much my rescuers for saving my life that day. Sorry if there is so much detail but this is etched in my mind forever. To this day I still fish from the rocks and some of them are just as bad as The Murk if not worse around Little Bay etc. I respect the water,I wear cleats and I wear a life jacket in the dangerous spots I go to. I also give the rescue helicopters a wave as they fly over doing there routine fly up and down the coast knowing in the back of my mind and theirs that one day they may come to help me or someone else who is in trouble. I always watch my spots before fishing them for atleast 30 min to 1 hour prior to me fishing it,unless its flat and no swell, so I can see whats breaking over it and decide if its too dangerous for me to fish. I have seen guys fishing these spots most of Asian appearance without any cleats or life jackets in jeans etc on days that even I would not chance. You must plan how you are going to get out before you fish so that in the event you do go in atleast you have a planned escape,sometimes the escapes are not there,some spots do not have a way to get out,like The Murk and some of the other spots I know of and have fished. I think the way to go is T.V commercials,education. Fishing is the most dangerous sport in the world with more people killed in this sport than any other. Even though I did not get washed off the rocks,something so simple and easy to do in a dangerous fishing spot,like a slip or a fall and you go in that way can end your life just as quick as any rough conditions can. Please if you fish off the rocks at dangerous spots,always wear cleats and a life jacket that will support your weight,always watch your spot atleast for 30 min prior to fishing it and always try to help people in trouble without risking your own life. BE SAFE, HAVE FUN ! Thanks D.G