notoriousTASH

Hey guys. Would like an ID on this little guy who popped in to say hello. Caught off the rocks at Bass Point Reserve on a prawn. Was probably around the 15cm mark. Fear not about the chopping board he was placed on for the photo, returned to the sea to live another day.

Evening Raiders, After being hit hard by some really shitty news last week, my Mrs wanted to cheer me up and take me down the coast a little to the lake illawarra area for a day of fishing. After checking out a few spots that weren't suitable (off a breakwall near Windang - too much swell / Lake Illawarra - too much seaweed + snags) we ended up spending most of the day in a spot we found at Bass Point Reserve. Still a bit of swell and snaggy but there were a few other anglers there so figured it was worth a shot. Anyway, after some time, and no action, I put down my rod for a short break. Mrs kept going, playing around with lures again. Some people nearby us managed to catch quite a big Red Rock Cod, which was another good sign that we might see some action. After my break, ended up popping another prawn on my hook and cast it out. Few seconds later, bang, finally on to something. Landed a 26cm Tarwhine. After bleeding it and putting it in a slurry, cast out again and hook yet another fish, this time I had no idea what it was, possibly some kind of cod? (I'll be putting it up in the aquarium shortly for ID). Popped another prawn on and cast, and hooked another fish! This one was putting up a great fight, I thought possibly a travelly. To my surprise, twas my first Leather Jacket, measuring in at 28cm. Unsure of how exactly to kill it and a few unsuccessful google searches later, I just placed it in the slurry to have it fall asleep (not sure if it's the most humane way, but I really didn't want to get stung by its spike) Other than that, landed about 5 blowfish. They seem to be a real pest in the area. All in all nice day, exciting to have all of my catches be fish I've never caught before, particularly the leather jacket. Mrs on the other hand wasn't very successful today, only managing to land a single, squishy blowfish. P.s. they make little 'oink' sounds, it's hilarious.

How do I do that?

You back from China yet? Would love a link to your YouTube video about red rock cod

Well my Mrs who is holding the flattie is a short arse lol she's 165cm from memory

I can't recall exactly how long, but somewhere around the 35min mark. Can guarantee you though that it was perfectly cooked.

Mrs would be stoked if it is indeed a record! And yes, the flattie tasted amazing - after we figured out how to fit it in to the oven ? As an FYI - baked whole in a foil wrap, glazed/basted/whatever term you want to use in olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley for 35-40min at 180 degrees. Very succulent!

Yes well to be honest we were getting a little sceptical about lures, we have been playing around with them everytime we have gone out, trying different retrieves and never got any interest... Until yesterday. Mrs kept trying with that same lure after catching the flattie for the rest of the day and got a few more knocks but nothing caught. The flattie definitely gobbled it up though, the lure was right in the back of it's mouth by his gills.

Hey raiders! It must be becoming apparent that my partner and I really enjoy this spot! Went out today with fishermansteve, (hats ready to go) and my partner. Weather was great, hardly any wind except toward the end of the night and the water was perfectly still. Plenty of bites throughout the day and landed quite a few fish, using pilchards and prawns as bait. All but one were undersized, including many bream and a baby snapper. The notable catch today was my partner's 62cm Flathead! Not only that, it was her first catch using a lure. We bought a Jarvis Walker saltwater lure kit, she picked one out at random and played around with it and managed to catch the flattie. All round fun day out with many more to come.

Hats are from Reject Shop you can find them in the aisle with the cool hats, obviously.

What's wrong with the hats mate?! They're bloody legendary

Our hats are legit the best gear any angler could ask for. An absolute must.

I didnt think that would affect it but alright, I'll give it a go!

Definitely NOT a fighter... Perhaps it's a lover..? Particularly if it is a sea 'squirt' ?

Yes I was using a leader.

Didn't measure it but definitely under. Guesstimate would be 15-20cm. Didn't even realise it was there until we reeled it in lol. He was very blase about the whole hook in the mouth thing.

Also, let's not forget those weird little things we were pulling up all day

Enjoyed your company too Steve!! That starfish still has me giggling ? fingers crossed Monday will go ahead.

Guys. Guys. Guys... Wtf is this thing? It doesn't seem like a plant, it seems like some kind of living creature. Currently at Pier 2, had been pulled up twice now in about an hour on the ends of our hooks. Is it a tentacle? Is it some kind of seaweed? Is it an alien? I dunno. Just bizarre to be pulled up twice in an hour ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks all for the compliments. Thought I'd follow up on this post. We went out there again today, not nearly as much action as yesterday. Was windier and cloudier than yesterday so I guess they're the most likely causes. In saying this, the Mrs managed to pull in a really nice 46cm flattie. On top of that, the people next to us found this guy hanging out on their line and nabbed him. 20cm across the shell

I feel like it was more likely to be a fish rather than a ray, not that I know what rays feel like when hooked... It was swimming around very quick in a sort of back and forth movement from memory. I was in quite a bit of shock TBH as that was definitely the biggest thing I've hooked. Does that sound like what a ray would do? As I said I have no idea! Just wish I knew what it bloody was!!! Didn't even catch a glimpse!

I wasn't far from Gymea yesterday. I agree with you on the wind, made the area I was fishing in very choppy. I'll have to check this spot out next time I go out! Well done on the catches

Hey guys, first fishing report here. Forgive me for lack of information, I'm only very new to fishing (started about a month ago) but thought I'd give you the best info I can about a successful day out today at Sans Souci Park. We were fishing off the wharf closest to Captain Cook bridge. Really enjoyable place to fish, particularly if you're new like myself. Water was perfect, not choppy at all. No snags (praise the Lord!) either. We got there not too long before low tide. Threw the line in with just a simple set up of swivel + heavier sinker (not sure the size) + hook, using a small prawn as bait. 3 minutes later I land a nice 26cm bream. After throwing the line in again, a further 3 minutes pass, another bream! The bites were constant until about an hour after low tide then it quietened down. Then about an hour before high tide, bites starter becoming more and more frequent. My partner ended up landing a 36cm trav, she was using swivel + heavier sinker + two hooks and pilchard as bait. She also hooked a tailor but dropped it back in the water. I thought I'd try a similar set up to hers and once I the the line in, landed a tailor myself. Toward the end of our day, I hooked something bloody massive, my rod bent over like crazy and put up a massive fight. Unfortunately I lost it without so much as a glimpse but what I can tell you is that it took both my hooks and the whole pilchard. I think I'll be wondering what that fish was for the rest of my days. Couple of people next to us almost got an enormous blue swimmer crab that latched on to the bait on their line but sadly it jumped off when it realised what was going on. All in all a great day was had by all on the wharf and I would highly recommend the spot to you guys to check out, particularly newbies. This is by far the easiest spot I've fished since starting out. Plenty of action today. Hope this helps anyone out there and that the information I gave is in line with what's expected! Happy fishing ?

It was my birthday a couple weeks ago. LOVE the T-shirt Absolutely love my cushion covers. May be an overkill but I don't care, I needed all of them!!! The throne was at EB Games Expo last year

This is the fish that got me asking the question! I was going through some older posts on this site and if I understood correctly, the spikes hurt, and they're venomous? However it seems they make for great eating. I've seen people call it the 'poor man's lobster' on here. Tried searching YouTube for videos on how people fillet such a fish, no luck though. There's another potential question for anyone who may know - how have you filleted this fish without hurting yourself, let alone handling it/killing it?