Kracka

G'day all. Felt like i should share a report rather than always mooching information from here. Had the alarm set on Monday morning at 4am...woke up chirpy and ready for action by 3.45am. Zipped on over to brave the chilly ocean water to collect 3 types of weed: stringy, cabbage and ribbon weed from a low platform at Manly. Burleyed up and started fishing at Woolwich by 520am. Even though it was still relatively dark i had my first down within 10 seconds on the first drift on cabbage bait. After a bit of hit and miss with the striking i landed my first blackie of the day. Absolute stonker went about 40cm and pulled like no tomorrow. Rebaited up and the cabbage was never touched again... Swapped over to stringy weed and the float steadily dives down. Waiting the longest 8 seconds of my life before striking...bam! onto him. Even bigger than the last. After a few rounds i thought he was ready to be netted then he took one last dive and the line clipped off at the trace!! Reckon 6lb Rovex FC doesnt do too well with half hitches... Rerigged and back on in the first drift. Landed my second for the day. Followed by another the next cast making that 3 in the keeper bag. Kept on fishing the next few hours with a few lost fish, 2 released and some tentative downs. Home by 10am. All in all a very happy chap. Still a lot to learn. Keen to test out a few other blackie spots. Might head down to Bradleys Head or Cremorne this coming weekend. Rig: mainline 10lb braid with sliding quill float and ballasted barrel sinker to swivel, 60-70cm FC leader to #6 hook with half hotched weed. Burley: Moist sand, stale bread, 3 x weed chopped finely. Used every 10 to 15mins. P.s. Thank you to Royce (Luderick Angler) for his tips. Legend!

Mate, nice haul. Great catch! 2 big pigs like those are great for a feed and god do they pull like a train! They're really slow growing and so it's always best to just fish for fun/catch n release after you get a feeds-worth. My 2c as I do a lot of drummer fishing off the Northern beaches. I've found they bite like mad after a big southerly pushes through OR if you can find yourself a sheltered area during a southerly can be even better. Milky washy water is the best. If wash is limited they will definitely be there still however, you will have to either 1) cast right up against the ledge, 2) look for an eddy, or 3) fish low light periods. Burleying, as with most styles of bait fishing works wonders. Burley with moist sand mixed with some stale bread or whatever bait you're using (cungie, prawn, bread, weed etc). This will switch them on even if they're not really on the chew. I'd Scrap the FC leader - no need for it and it's pricey stuff too - better to save it for luderick or bream rigs. Drummer aren't fussy 99% of the time. I've even used, as a last resort at the time, 30lb bright yellow mono straight to a hook and they didn't seem to mind at all. I guess that's why they're called pigs! Oh, that and bring a nose peg when you gut them. I like to fish 20lb mono right to a size 1/0 hook unweighted (a tiny ball sinker if the swell/current is up). Unweighted will see a lot less by catch such as wirrah and cale. I'd up to 30lb mono if using cungie, whole prawns or crabs as you will get smoked by the odd groper or 4kg+ pig that jumps onto your bait. 20lb is more than enough for a 2-4kg drummer. A nice long whippy tip and sturdy butt rod is versatile for other fishing styles, will help play the fish a bit better and take pressure off your line. Even though you can catch heaps year round, they fire up a bit more during winter. Hope that helps a bit. Tight lines - K.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Flatheadluke - I'll see if I can train up my Mrs (she usually out fishes me anyway lol) KB - I've been wishing for a day like that as I am testing out all the tides and weather conditions that produce the best results at Longie. Unfortunately each outing I've managed to get out for a fish it has been 15 knot plus Eastern-bound winds and easterly direction cross swells...gets hairy out front but pussyfooting has been a fun and productive experience for a few solid bream and baby pigs all on weed and bread during a rising tide. I'll have to try the blackies on the falling tide around the butterbox next. Got a good take from a big blue grouper too on urchin out front but got reefed. I tried the split shot and no float tactic for a few casts but no takes unfortunately. Maybe it was just sitting too deep in the weed. Still have lots to learn. And like you said, some days they're just not on the chew. With that in mind it keeps the spirits up a little at least ? Mainframe & BurleyGuts - thanks give the clear bubble and quill floats a go next.

Thanks Rick and blaxland. I'll give it a crack next time, it's a good idea. I was getting worried that I'm getting worse at blackfishing rather than better ? good to know they're normally shy in clear water. Thanks again

G'day Raiders, I was hoping to get some tips towards my blackfish fishing. I've read tonnes of articles and forums, watched a stack of videos and I also manage a few luderick when I'm up at The Enterance and Long Reef (thanks again KB for your help). So today I fished at the south western end of the Spit (between the marina and the bridge) targetting blackies at both sides of the high tide. Unfortunately, the water was crystal clear and only managed a few downs (no hook ups-and that's after numerous bait depth adjustments, using cabbage and string weed AND trying different bait presentations, using various rigs including leader colour - clear and olive 6lb mono). It is extremely frustrating when you can see a kilo fish eying your bait for a moment or two then knicking off. The blackies were actively feeding in the weed bed (rolling around on their sides and chasing other fish around) in about 2-4m of water maximum I would say. They seemed more interested in the bait when I swapped to smaller floats but even then no downs. I have had this same issue at Forty Baskets in Balgowlah too (there's some seriously sized blackies there - water is again very clear most of the time both at high and low tide). My rig is just your run of the mill luderick rig - smallish float and adjustable stopper, barrel sinker, then a tiny size 12/14 swivel, about 40-50cm of 6lb .22mm mono down to a size 8 mustad green hook. Split shots added as needed. I was burleying every 10 mins with wet sand and finely chopped weed (cabbage and string) and bait (string and cabbage) was collected fresh from curly. I have heard Clarkes Point is worth a shot but blackies seem to be abundant in the harbour especially where there's structure and kelp and weed beds. So naturally I am questioning my understanding of blackfishing and attributing most of my previous catches to luck. Hopefully some fellow raiders can give some insight and tips. *aplologies for the essay, figured as much info as possible will help*

Mate, solid catch on a fly outfit. I have the EXACT same flies I use em when the weed collection is a bit tough - they work a treat when the blackies are fired up. Drummer love em too off the stones. Good on ya for showing that bather asking if you're going to give up Edit: forgot to add - bread flies work well too off the rocks. Have never fly fished with them but use them sometimes with a traditional luderick float rig.

A phone can easily be replaced however, a man's rod is irreplaceable. Sounds like a solid session and yet another interesting story for the books. Nicely done. Even though the rice trick does work, it usually corrodes the wiring, as kingie chaser has mentioned. Like rickmarlin62 suggested, best to keep it in a little sandwich zip lock bag (I double up, in case) - saved my butt many a times - just avoid leaving it in a heated area i.e. direct sun - the moisture builds up.

Solid haul there Cos. Well done. What reel is that by the way? I always flip a coin before I fish...heads is an eggbeater, tails is the good ol alvey. Can never decide

I'm still a real rookie when it comes to jewfish but I'll share my experience with u, might help who knows. I've had the luxury of nailing a few on a little berkely gulp shrimp. Only soapies but a great bycatch to flatties n bream! Was up at Coffs Harbour. My guess was there were a few holes along the weed beds there or they were actively feeding...middle of the day...who knew it. Down in Sydney I've had a few landed (again mostly soapies around 5-7kg) a few from Lane Cove river and the hawkesbury. Same method for both areas...live mullet or yakkas suspended under a balloon allowed to drift on the outgoing tide (live squid never gets touched when I use it ?). Usually around Eddie's formed at a bridge pylon or rock wall adjacent to deep water or a creek entrance. Usual by catch will be noahs (you'll get bitten off right at the end). I only ever seem to catch jewies on the first half hour of the run out tide usually on sunset. As far as dead baits go, eels and big rays seem to be a pain in the butt so I never bother with dead baits anymore, live bait all the way. Tailor are good...especially off the beach - sambos too. Hope it helps your hunt for the elusive jewfish ?

Thanks CJay. I'll give it a go using your method ?

Hey CJay. Haha sure. Wow never would have thought. I've only ever caught them on live Nippers up at Tuggerah lakes. I will give the prawns a go and see if it makes a difference. Drummer love a good prawn too. I'm surprised you haven't been busted off by them on amongst the luderick. Seems you're cursed (and blessed) too ? where you fish is there a lot of wash (I.e. that milky colouration to the water when the waves break against the ledge). Starting to think the luderick like a little more safety than the drummer. I have had people tell me otherwise. So Seems we are both a little stuck in a rutt. You should give long reef or the ledges off south Avalon beach a go. Tonnes of big drummer around. I'd probably load up on 20lb line. Managed a few around the 3.5kg mark in the past.

G'day raiders. New comer to the forums, long time fisherman. I've got a little dilemma I was hoping somebody may shed some light on. Just started getting back into some rock fishing of late and the last 3 trips nothing but rock blackfish. Don't get me wrong, these fellas are a fantastic fight and it's great to keep one or two for the plate. BUT...I set out to catch luderick and the 3 trips down to long reef (the eastern-most point)...nothing but drummer maddness. Initially started using cabbage weed (collected elsewhere of course as it's a no collection sanctuary) at all outings (a little finely torn weed as burley) and was getting slammed on my 8lb float set up time and time again. Upped the tackle to unweighted 15lb mono and kept the #6 hook...drummer...one after the other. Ended up swapping to bread as I gave up on the luderick. Had a ripper of a time though. Caught an average of 6 in an hour per outing, kept one for dinner the first outing (scales tipped at 1.4kg) and released the other pigs to fight another day. Was fishing the rising tide on the first trip and the falling for the other 2 trips. The last trip I moved to the lower lying ledges on the north side of long reef. Using my luderick set up...yup...more drummer (it's great to see they're up in numbers btw). Productivity was slightly better on the rising tide. Here's the question though...where on Earth did the ludrick go? Starting to wonder if I've lost my touch for the dark arts as I have no problem catching them around Manly. Have tried 2 types of weed and bread. Only drummer. Or perhaps even move to another location? Thing is I know that it's prime luderick territory. Perhaps I am just cursed and blessed at the same time. Hoping somebody can shed some light to the luderick. Thank you in advance.