notoriousTASH

Good evening Raiders, So here I am, sitting in my toasty car after freezing my arse off because the Mrs claimed today was "great fishing weather" - this was yesterday when we had that beautifully hot day, I thought today would be much the same, oh how wrong I was. I was not keen to go out today, wanted to stay in and relax at home, but she really wanted to go and has been having a rough time lately and I don't go back on my word, so I gave in. I was rained on. The wind made my face, nay, my entire body numb. I have a headache. For me, good fishing weather is where I can get a tan at the same time and enjoy the sun. Her idea is the rain, wind and freezing cold. So while sitting here in the car (grumpy as hell because she doesn't want to leave until after 9:30 and there's no point in me going home, only to have to come back and get her) I was wondering - what exactly is good fishing weather, in terms of the forecast, tides, swell, etc..? I'm still very new to fishing and I've been doing my best to research different things on the net, the problem is there's heavy use of jargon that I don't understand. Here are some things I think I get the gist of, feel free to correct more and please do add anything and everything that would answer my question: **Swell: I get that if rock fishing, a small swell is best as you don't want to get swept away, but how do I read that on a weather report? As in, is a small swell 0.5m? 1m? Also, does swell mean much if doing land based fishing, e.g. off a wharf or Pier? **Tides: It seems that the general consensus is that fishing around the tide times is best as fish are more active. Is this true or a bunch of crap? Sometimes I feel like I get more action around the tides, other times there seems to be nothing! One particular question I have is wind speed/direction. What range of knots is good/bad? I have no idea how fast 1 knot is as I've never used the measurement. Does direction make a difference? This is all I can think of so far... Would appreciate any help on the topic. Thanks in advance Raiders and happy fishing!

What the heck is this thing? No positive ID on fishsmart... Measuring approx 30cm with a decent set of teeth. Caught using Paternoster rig with mackerel pieces, trying to catch some yellowtail. I think I'll name him Chompers.

I'll link fishermansteve to this thread, he fished the hawksbury like 2 weeks ago

Forgive me for my naivety... But what is a FAD?

Nice!

I think you'll be fine mate! My Mrs caught a 62cm / 2kg flat on super light line (could be 4lb from memory)

WHEN I SAW '1 REPLY' I KNEW IT WOULD BE YOU STEVE! ? RossyM, Steve is great quality company ?

I'm pretty single minded when it comes to breed mode too.. ?

I'll hit you up next time! I saw a couple flounders get landed while we were there actually, forgot about those guys. How big was your leather jacket?

I was just on the phone with my mum, she just corrected me on something. I said to her that the fish looked as if it may have been taxidermied as it doesn't look like my grandfather is using much strength to hold it up (surely he couldn't have been so strong to hold a fish of that size up with such ease!) and she said he's actually only holding it's head, the rest of the fish had just been cut up. So it indeed was fresh in the photo.

Mum says she's certain it was in W.A.

Hey big Neil thanks for the compliments. Not rude at all about putting the fish on the ground, I agree, but the puffer unhooked himself and then I asked fishermansteve if I could use his lip grips as I didn't want to touch it with my bare hands. When Steve went to grab them, I snapped this pic. He wasn't on the ground very long... But I agree 100% with you.

We had burley going, along with most, if not all anglers literally the entire day... It attracted things but not the things we wanted lol

I was thinking grouper too... But I really want a definitive answer!

Evening raiders, Here to report quite an unsuccessful trip to Clifton Gardens, though it's a report nonetheless. Beautiful, picturesque spot. Unbeknowns to me, I was actually familiar with the spot and recognised it when I got there. There's a gorgeous function centre on the other side of the wharf there where I attended a wedding reception, so thanks for suggesting the spot as it was really a great view to enjoy while fishing. No snags and water was quite clear. Also what was great was the amount of facilities provided there. What was not so great was the parking prices, but I guess you can't have everything! The drive there was horrible with traffic, but we ended up arriving around 8am. Surprisingly there were already quite a few anglers when we got there, but we got a spot. After setting up, nobody had any action there for a few hours. Then a couple of guys turn up and catch a huge trevally. Then... Fisheries Officers rock up. And guess who didn't pay for a recreational fishing fee? Dude and his mate with the big trevally. After a little interrogation, $200 fine each and a seized fish later, they packed up. Take this as a warning to any of you who may not have a recreational licence, fisheries officers are out there, A LOT, I've been checked by them twice now in the last month in two different locations. You will get busted. A $35, 1yr licence is better than a $200 ticket. Anyway, after fisheries left, a couple of guys ended up hooking something huge! It took two of them to reel it in over a span of about 20 minutes. Guy was using a 20lb rod with 80lb braided line, so this thing was going nowhere. Turned out to be, by far, the biggest stingray ive ever seen. It ended up getting away sadly, breaking the hook off. Still no action for my partner, myself and fishermansteve who joined us shortly before the ray was caught, and had no action for a majority of the day until it hit about 3pm. This, my friends, is when I caught my PB and possibly even a FR record. A gargantuan pufferfish ?. Weighing in at 3kg and measuring in at 46cm, from memory. A little further in to the day other people seemed to be having more luck than us. Plenty of trevally and even an itsy bitsy port Jackson - it had to be no longer than 30cm. Day progressed further and I hook something massive again, but it was just pulling, not thrashing around like a regular fish. After seeing what the two guys went through earlier in the day I thought it had to be a ray, for sure. It dragged me to the end of the wharf and ended up breaking off my hook - understandably so, as I was only using very light gear. Happened three times, and was surprisingly fun even though I knew I'd never bring it in lol. Definitely put my new rod to the test and must say I was very impressed. Fishermansteve caught his first baby snapper and my partner caught a baby tarwhine around dusk (she was very annoyed she hadn't caught anything all day). After work hours the wharf was absolutely packed. Plenty of people pulling up heaps of yakkas and baby snapper. Another memorable part of the day was when one of those birds that dive down and eat baitfish ended up having a game of tug 'o' war with a lady reeling in her fish which was absolutely hilarious. So although the day was quite unsuccessful, it was interesting to say the very least. Hopefully others will have more success than us.

Hey raiders, So I'll fill you in on the backstory a little. Started fishing about 3 months ago and have really gotten in to it. Been telling my family about it, who never were into fishing, however, my mum was telling me how her father, my grandpa, really loved fishing. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to meet him, he passed away in his 40's after he slipped and hit his head, falling in to a coma from which he never woke up from. My mum told me she had a photo of him with a huge fish he caught and she was going to try and find it. Today, she sent me the picture after looking through piles of old photos. I'm amazed at the size of this thing! Mum doesn't know too much information about it but it seems it was taxidermied after being caught. This was in the 70's in WA somewhere. Would love to know what this fish is so that hopefully, one day, I can target the same one and catch it, in my grandfather's honour. I know the quality is bad and not the best angle, but I have the utmost confidence that I'll get an answer here TIA guys and happy fishing **UPDATE** - I texted mum asking if she knew the fish was salt or freshwater - she said, "I think salt water, that photo was taken when my dad was working in Dampier WA and I think they were fishing off the coast there"

Evening raiders, Just wanted an ID on this teensy weensy bugger with eyes too big for his stomach! Caught using chicken pieces off the wharf at Clifton Gardens. I want to guess it's some kind of grunter?

Hey raiders, My partner and I would like to join any of you on the water if you intend on taking your boat out. Happy to pitch in for bait + fuel. We have our own equipment, just want to join someone on the boat! Sydney area, this Thursday 19 October 2017. Forecast is looking good that day. Hope to hear from someone!

I don't think the fish are concerned with the price you pay for a lure / the brand... As long as it's attractive to them, they'll bite!

Mate you're better off going to a fish shop and get them fresh and freeze them later, should you wish. Much cheaper option. I go to Faros Bros Seafoods in Sydenham, they sell pillies for roughly $3 per kilo.

Best stop smooching those fish before throwing them back in guys! https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/37453401/uk-fisherman-swallowing-fish-he-kissed-suffers-cardiac-arrest/

It was definitely an interesting experience cleaning it at the station! I had no idea where to start, I'd never done it before, so I watched a quick tutorial by Hook and the Cook and it was easy as! She skin is so bizarre though.

Hey raiders! *Note: Not sure if allowed or in the correct section, admin please rectify or remove if need be* This popped up on my facebook, and I thought I'd share it in here to hopefully reach a wider, relevant audience. DPI are wanting any information about these two species of fish, currently feared to be extinct in NSW. If anyone happens upon one of these on their fishing trips, be sure to pass on the information to DPI. Prizes to be won! http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/species-protection/wanted!-sightings-of-these-fish

Mrs loves leather jacket for eating, the moment I pulled it out of the water the first thing she said was 'Leather Jacket, YUM!' I asked her why she likes it, she says it's tasty and doesn't have a lot of bones.

It is a tough spot to fish with the rocks but glad I gave it a go, rewarding in the end! Spearfishing looks really interesting, I've watched a few vids on YouTube. And I forgot the hat, would you believe! Lol