mystic shad

many thanks jethro

heya Players, Shads almost finished the house reno's, our second son Domiinic is 13 weeks old, My new tinny is 20 weeks old and I'm to christen it on a bucks weekend to mungo brush myall lakes. Ive never fished let alone been to myall lakes. Can anyone givve me the drum of what to expect and areas worth investigating? Mucho appreciado

Please forward me the exact information regarding the richmond river catch. My position as nsw president of the Australian Institute of Horticulture ensures a reply from ministers regardless of the topic. Bet you never thought a clown like me has a serious side Cheers

Permission to board Captain? As I play in a wee boat, space is paramount. I Shadapted the rod holders by screwing it to a piece of ply and rivetted alloy two guides onto the boat. It's a little rough but I find the system very handy. If I am going under low bridges or branches, I jsut slip the board and all rods out of the guides and lie her down. When I get home, I slip the whole rack out of the boat and hang it on the wall. Saves a stack fiddling about

You're right Iain, most methods of farming are hard work, however the rewards are there when good conditions prevail. 3 years is not such a long time to harvest. Take into consideration that you're harvesting each year after your third year of starting with a fresh farm. Whether you farm plants or animals . The ethos about it is crop protection and husbandry. Regardless of what business you are involved in. If you havent done your homework and know your product then you are in a high risk area. QX would not have happened overnight. evidence of diseased stock would have been gradually increasing until critical mass occurs. CSIRO would be busy as we speak driving up and down the coast collecting oysters from each river. documenting every minor difference and peculiarities then turn down the lights, put on some marvin gaye tunes and leave em to their own devices . Its a good lesson for the rest of the industry. If the racks are demolished, maybe cowan might get a few more residents

Nice one player! Congratulations

I am saddended but not surprised at the outbreak of qx disease. Jo cool, Qx only affects Sydney rock oyster. Interesting to note that not all S RO"s are affected. A quick run down on the disease. The Q in qx abbreviates the disease origin. Queensland. It seems that oysters with low qty's of phenyloxidase (chemical responsible for oyster disese resistance) are susceptible to qx. The qx spores infect the digestive system and gradually inhibit the oyster from eating. (maybe jenny craig could employ these tactics ) Now, here's where the fun starts and I get to gloat whilst blowing not 1 trumpet but the whole brass band! It seems that disease resistance is prevalent in wild oyster communities (rocks, wharves etc) Why is this so Shad? I'm glad you asked. Now take notes cos I'll be asking questions later! (sorry for the digression) Wild communities as opposed to farmed communities have one main difference betwen them. GENETIC DIVERSITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I attempted to broach this subject earlier using bream breeding as an example. Wild communities host oysters of all different shapes n sizes, not just big fat creamy plump oysters that farmers exploit. Big n fat oysters come about by two reasons 1, farmers thin the oysters out thus providing 1 oyster room to grow whereas wild oysters are dense and growing on top of each other, hence less room = little oyster. reason 2, GENETIC DIVERSITY. Farmers thin out the smaller & perceived weaker oysters on the racks to develop a consistant crop. Most oyster farms propagate the next generation of oyster from natural "spat" fall.(the immediate offspring from the oysters they harvest = inbreeding) Spats a tiny wee shell less oysters floating around the water looking for a home. Now here is the issue that has come right back and bitten the whinging farmers right on the arse. Sadly, most harvesters of semi wild crops be it oysters, fish etc, can't be arsed to take the time to develop an intimate knowledge of the organism they are exploiting. They are happier to maintain the same practices year after year (90 years in trhe hawkesbury). Then they are surprised when crops fail. The dick heads have been harvesting the same offspring from the previous harvest for 90 years. Consider the situation that they have been thinning the smaller slower growing varieties (that probably have higher phenyloxidase levels or qx resistance) in preference for big fat arsed oysters that get to market quicker with higher cash returns. The big fat arsed oyster for ninety years has undergone "Incest" (the game the whole family can play). 90 years of gradual thinning of the gene pool, resulting in an oyster comparible to pedigree dogs with hip displasure, tasmanians with cleft pallets and extra fingers etc. Of the 7 deadly sins, Greed is close to #1. Greed has dictated they take from their farm without considering the vital issue of giving back to their farm. (ie no consideration for the health of their crop) If they had allowed a percentage of non uniformed oyster to reside in the crop, diversity & thus resistance would prevail). It's akin to sacrificing $$$ each crop to maintain your future earning capabilities. Can you see a parralel with oyster farmers and rural farmers with soil salinity problems? Take take take without any give give give. Will be mankinds downfall. Despite the arguments from my fellow learned fishraiders, Estuary fish species are heading down the same track courtesy of the current legal size regulations and thus once again compromising the gene pool and genetic variabilities. It's really quite simple. the less variety breeding adults of any organism have to breed with, the likliehood of you shagging your cousin becomes greater (inbreeding) Thanks for taking the time to read my rant. I best go cos I am running late for my 10am sermon followed by a stint at the domain.

Sabotage the mower Joe! you know it makes sense

once or twice a week. However I have managed to negiotiate a landmark decision from management (aka bride) Shads has aptly called it the "sick day protocol" If I don't go fishing for a week. The time i didn't use can manifest. I keep two seperate records of the time on and off. There are a few additional rules, but it seems to work well

Am I right to say that the bait that will catch you more crabs than ever is a female crab of the species you are targetting. An old bloke up the road keeps a female blue swimmer in a tank, He tethers the tart to the cage sinks it and waits till the boys come sniffing round.

Yes. the goon had that eery colour of water, Lifeless green

as they say Joe. It's all about being there. Dissapointing result, mind you it was pre ordaned for this shad. Having left home prior to having my mornings consti"pooh"tion. My mind was certainly elsewhere. NOT TIL I GOT HOME Great to meet you. Next time I promise to take you on the punt for that Goondola ride.

Check the university of technologys studies http://www.science.uts.edu.au/des/StaffPag...okvaleCreek.pdf http://www.science.uts.edu.au/des/StaffPag...Macrophytes.pdf http://www.science.uts.edu.au/des/StaffPag...osquitoFish.pdf

Although there are abnormally higher levels of lead copper zinc and iron within the goon. The main contributor to its unhealthy state is eutrophic conditions, in other words excessive nutrients. When you combine this with high water temps, sewerage overflows/leaking pipes and poor waterflow,you get algaelblooms. The fish move closer to the entrance when these conditions happen. Once decent rains come along, the blooms settles down, the sewrage overflows and the system starts winding itself up for another toxic bloom. Thanks to Sydney water and NSW Govt relieving the water company of $30 million a year, this cycle will continue to happen. If NSW govt didn't take the loot ferom Sydney water, they may be able to repair or shut down some of the 29 outfalls within the goon. Homebush bay is an excellent example of what fish can survive in. As the goon has very limited shellfish, the bream you catch there have beautiful teeth. Everything seems to dine on the abundance of poddy mullet. The major fish kill a while ago was due to a spill of anticholinisterase agent. (nerve agent) Most insecticides even the alleged safe pyrethrum is a nerve agent. This kind of stuff is deadly in an aquatic environment. Cholinisterase is the chemical which seperates the synapses in your nerves. Its a bit like insulation tape, when the agent infects the nerve, there is no insulation between synapses, messages pass back and forth to each nerve and result in the organism having a fit or dancing strangely. In summary, It's our pooh and wee that both feeds the goon and kills the goon

Boating is banned due to polluted water. If you happen to be arrested for boating on the goon. The law willprobably schedule you rather than imprison you. A copper mate says. You're not a criminal, you're just plain crazy! Read below for some interesting facts The Manly Lagoon Estuary Management Study (1995) states that The water of the Lagoon is EUTROPHIC and sensitive to further increases in nutrient inputs. Manly Lagoon sediment is CONTAMINATED with HEAVY METALS and, compared with Sydney Harbour and Curl Curl Lagoon, has the highest average levels of copper and lead. The concentrations of heavy metals in the muddy surface sediments of the lagoon appear to have increased significantly over the period l985 to l993. On the available data, concentrations of lead, mercury and zinc exceed overseas sediment standards (Washington, USA) over much of the lagoon. There are 29 Sydney Water sewer overflows in the catchment. An eutrophic lagoon has limited aesthetic appeal due to high turbidity and the potential for periodic blooms of planktonic algae, including in some instances blooms of toxic blue-green algae. "Apart from visual problems, algal blooms could generate other water quality problems such as production of unpleasant odours, deoxygenation and ultimately fish kills" (Cheng, 1993). Aquatic Flora and Fauna There is little habitat for aquatic life because: The natural vegetation of the lagoon has been greatly modified by urban development and the spread of introduced plant species. There are no saltmarshes or mangroves and only very small amounts of seagrass which fringe the shoreline in the lower reaches of the lagoon. Fish species that can be found are: Mullet Bream Flathead Whiting Tropical fish species that have been found in the Lagoon are: Mangrove Jack Giant Herring Big-eyed Trevally Australian Bass A Gondwanan fish in Manly Lagoon Catchment! In the creeks above Manly Dam, there is a Gondwanan fish species called Galaxias Brevipinnis, commonly called the Climbing Galaxias. This Gondwanan fish, which lives in Curl Curl creek is also found in New Zealand, another fragment of the great southern continent Gondwana. This fish is reputed to be the first fish to conquer the New Zealand Glacial lakes because of its phenonmenal climbing ability. It is a threatened species in Manly Dam. Macrobenthic infauna : The diversity and abundance of these is relatively low and particularly poor in the middle and upstream locations of the lagoon. This is indicative of poor bottom water quality and sediment contamination. Frogs The Red-Crowned Toadlet (Pseudophryne australis) is restricted to Hawkebury Sandstone areas in the Manly Dam area. It is also a threatened species.

No problemo. I've got a busy day tomorrow so I'l chew your ear off for an hour or so. If time was my friend,I would have brought the purple punt of passion down and taken you for a "Goondola" ride.AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAA It's hardly Venice but we love it. Then again, we could dress in 1920's gear, I could row and you could sit at the stern with a parasol whilst humming "Day trip to Bangor"

Heya Jo, the Goon's a 3 irons shot from curly, So sure I am up for an hours session. Hi tides 9.45am so I reckon anytime from 7.30 til 11am things should be around. I find that when the tides washing in at the surf bridge end, the predators are hanging round. Once that couple of hours is over, they seem to disperse and go about their business (shopping, golf, bridge etc) I'm still waiting to see the school of tarpon that play monopoly between tides . Maybe one day, What time are you thinking and I'll see you down there

Shads Glad, Shads wife was mad, So when I got home Shad was sad. A quick session from 11pm til midnight. Scored two EP's in 15minutes on the ol faithful Rebel crawdads. Geez they fight well. I got home to find that management had locked the back door. As soon as I went to slide the door open and felt that resistance followed by click, I knew I was in for it. Suffice to say, today the house has never looked cleaner, the laundry backload cleaned folded and put away. then pulled out again cos Things are not supposed to be folded that way. A herald of trumpets was heard all over Curl Curl. Shads back in the good books. Phew Women, can't live with em, can't live with em! If weren't for their magic parts I'm sure we would chuck rocks at em.

After yesterdays disgrace. Shads goin the goon for an hour or so of the hi tide feeding frenzy. Shads gotta redeem himself

heres a weblink to the stuff I make them with. It sticks like shit to a blanket. dust your fingers or gloves with corn flour whenever it starts to stick to you again then your in business. Leave jigs for 2 hours then carve whatever shape you want with a pocket knife. Only use a wee bit at a time as it sets pretty quickly. The fibreglass smell fades away after 24hrs. Colour them in with texters then I coat em with super glue, but I reckon its not that necessary http://www.selleys.com.au/products/live/306/113.asp

Well done on the vines result, Sadly the PT73 has trouble negotiating the journey to hawkesbury. I caught a couple of snapper and a wee lizard. Bloodworm got a couple of 50cm take home lizards to prove his hunting skills to his pregnant bride. It's never a complete failure. We stopped at the Akuna dropoff last thing of the day to guarantee us the lizard reward, whilst the renosky shad was weaving its magic. We watched a just under legal kingfish going through it's deathknells, swimming on it's side and round in circles, I tried several times to net the bugger then tried jagging him, even then I couldn't get a result. It was quite interesting. The resin heads need a wee bit of tweeking. The beauty of the aqua knead it resin is you can sand it down while your on the water if the jig doesn't swim right. Next post i'll attach some pics. Poor Andys eye couldn't get more swollen. I would have loved to witness the puss festival when it finally broke.

Bloodworm Keith and Mystic Shad did it hard on a not so good friday. The legendary jewfish "Bucketmouth" failed to arrive at the agreed time and place for the easter duel between he and The Shad. Shad thinks it's time that Bucketmouth gets himself a new manager. Our strategy was to engage the holes, drop offs and pinnacles of cowan. After the dump of rain during the week. It seemed an appropriate strategy. We WAS Wrong! Nethertheless, we had a great time and I took great pleasure in meeting Swoffa and his poorly mate at akuna boat ramp. Good to meet you and and thanks for the swaps we made on the high seas of Jerusalem Bay. I hope your friends (matt? I think) Stye has improved, the poor lad was in alot of discomfort. Mystic Shad offered him temporary pain relief to his stye with the ancient remedy of rubbing a gold ring on abcess in his eyelid. Unfortunately, due to a bit of swell the ring missed his eye and got him straight in the nose. It turns out that the practice of the gold ring on an eyelid abcess has more to do with the heat within the gold. The stye is best treated with a warm compress every 15minutes. Sometime or another the abcess/boil will burst and release the pressure that it creates. Had a great day regardless. As my grandfather always said "There's alot of fish in Cowan creek. But a lot of water between them" Best of luck in the hawkesbury comp all you players out there.

Gowings have them on special for $55 at hornsby.

I find there are sheltered spots here and there around roseville bridge, the ramp is close by and eliminates the need to brave exposed waters. Its a fair drive from your district though