DaveBM

So the ins and outs of my recent spat with my ex-wife are not a fit topic here, but suffice to say the “net” result (oh, my aching sides!) was that my landing net got summarily thrown away. Imagine then my impotent rage at hooking a PB flattie, by a lot, then being netless on 6lb gear. I was on a pontoon, so right at water level, but the moment I reached out to grap a lip, a big head shake and POP! Actually got a hand around its tail before it slipped away. It was definitely over 70 cm, probably near 80, and took my much-loved Samaki soft vibe in whitebait formation with it. Until I get a new net, it’s 12lb leader for flatties!

How annoying are those salmon? I got a few in May/June - got a bit cocky and started taking orders from family members! So they immediately stopped taking anything. This is after got a nice one on a McGuyvered-up spinner, made of a cute Japanese anime kitten keychain ornament, with a couple of trailing assist hooks. Now nothing is good enough (have tried clear paddle grubs - no dice). Nice bream but!

Sorry, no pic. Crap report really, except to note that even a faulty lure that oscillates wildly because the bib is a degree or 2 out of alignment, and snags you on weed the whole time as a result, can still catch a fish. It went 42cm

Awesome report. My right shoulder is packing it in early (in my view, being 47), and arthritis emphatically sucks. Unfortunately, you are not my husband.

Obviously line maintenance is a huge issue with fine line land based, but I can think of spots it could work

Your hand lining work has me all nostalgic. My PB bream was by hand. In fact I have just now decided to try to handline soft plastics next time it’s dead calm and I’m somewhere suitable. Has anyone done any lure fishing by hand, other than vertical jigging in the deep?

That’s true, but I’m way too old to be relearning such basic stuff. Plus I only have to wait until tomorrow to get more salmon memories...

For the purposes of my upcoming warranty dealings with the almighty Diawa Corporation, let’s keep my idiocy on the down-low, eh everyone? Me and this rod were really developing an understanding.

Hi all! Further to Niall’s informative and timely post, I popped down to the end of my local canal this morning. The water was fairly boiling with salmon until a bit after sunrise, but they had no interest in anything I threw at them. TBH foul-hooking one was a very real possibility, they were that thick, but sadly my only chance. Back down this evening, and they showed up a little after sunset willing to attack absolutely anything. I lost one on a grub, cut off on oysters, then hurriedly tied on a way-too-big-for-my-rod metal slice and immediately lost another in an aerial hook-throw that would have been epic on video. Against the sunset, with onlookers and all, you could clearly see the glittering lure fly out of its mouth on its 3rd or 4th jump. Immediately hooked up again, and played it a little cooler this time. After 5mins or so (now a different bunch of onlookers) I got it to my feet and remembered my net was in my car at home. So I tried for the gentlest sweeping motion I could, and flopped it up on land just as my rod snapped. These thai fish cakes better be pretty good. Moral of the story - don’t forget your net when you are consciously and deliberately targeting big fish on light gear. That would be a really stupid thing to do. Moral #2: get around it while it lasts - big healthy hungry fish

Haha yeah I’ve only ever stumbled on them in picky mode, but they show up everywhere the prawns are. I thought I had one on a vibe last week, but it was a big Trev that must’ve been following them around. No complaints there!

To continue my TMI theme, the ones I was using were old and crappy (not just crabby!). I won’t name the vendor, but should not have been sold at full price. Very stiff material, and all folded up on themselves so they didn’t present very naturally to my eye. I guess in the eyes of the bream they looked and felt like the very embodiment of a deliciously real crustacean, but I honestly wasn’t expecting much.

Super light gear, still conditions or tailwind - you have to keep in touch. But when the bream are going like last night the point is moot - most hookups were on the drop anyway (in like one metre of water!!!).

Probably shouldn’t say this, but as I was the only one fishing the entire area I guess it’s okay: I reckon I arrived late in the bite (basically slack high tide), and could have kept hooking up for hours. Anyone looking for a dead easy landbased spot with nice lighting, plenty of room to shift around once you’ve spooked a spot, and typically a tail wind for casting - do yourself a favour. Got a little tailor on a tiny popper too, just to find out what was splashing.

Thanks Salvatore - those are the guys, and yeah roughly a buck a pop. But as long as you tweak it away and retrieve once a picker arrives, you only lose one leg/claw at a time and can go for a while. The smaller of my fish was still interested enough to go for one with maybe 5 legs and 1 claw remaining. I lost the whiting at the end, not knowing any were around, and realised a few of my prior bites were probably whiting (requiring a faster response to the bite IMHO).

Hi all. Just got back from trying sp as stationary bait for the first time, and it was an unqualified* success! 29cm and 37cm bream. Gulp crabbies in “breen” colour were very popular, and seemingly mostly for decent sized fish. I know the water was lousy with puffers and juvenile bream, but most bites seemed to be serious. 8lb braid, 6lb flouro leader to a long shank baitholder, no weight. Crispy skinned panfried fillets with tomato and cucumber salsa for brunch tomorrow. *okay I also lost a chunky whiting (35+) on the lift due to a chafed leader that I had noticed, but was too lazy to address before casting again. So mea culpa there!

Great story. Would have been a lovely feed too!

This post should have been tagged NSFD (not safe for diners). My mate’s mum got a big hook in the palm of her hand casting a hand line off the beach in the middle of nowhere (Coral Bay WA, in the 80s, long 4wd track to deserted beach). In past the barb, so she gritted her teeth and pushed it on through between the bones, and they dressed it and continued their trip. Tough lady.

Awesome fish and vid. Gave me nightmares though- what would easily be my best flattie (also in Lake Illawarra) was lost due to weed. I had it in 20cm of water, even touched it, then it spooked and took off for another run in the quick running channel. It picked up so much crap on the line that I wasn’t even sure when I lost it. Just couldn’t keep pressure on the business end.

Dumb isn’t it? Must have resulted in lots of crabs getting a poke in the eye for no good reason!

I had a black sole once, but then I discovered Cod.

Top feed! If nobody ever ate their catch, fishing would be rather pointless and cruel wouldn’t it?

There’s nothing ‘ignorant’ about a brazen grifter like this dude. He knew exactly what he was doing - taking advantage of a good man’s goodwill and stealing from him. He probably thinks of KC as a nothing but a sucker, and never gave a moment’s thought to his selfless act except as an opportunity.

More to the point - that is one healthy kingy.

Do it. They go really hard. Top fishing generally off the back of Rotto - there’s a long and super deep trench - all kinds of pelagics skirt the dropoff.

At the going rate at my local fisho, that’s about $50 worth of fish. A halfway decent restaurant could do 6 portions at $30 a plate, easy peasy. Top work, even from a beancounter’s perspective!