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I am keen to try my hand at fishing for reds on plastics (and possibly bait) close in out of Port Hacking. Which reefs out there should I target? Pizza Reef, Red Rooster, Barren's Hut, Osborne Shoal, Middle Grounds? Others? Willing to travel out a couple of kms but not too far. Any tips on lures and/or jighead weights that I might try?

Anyone fished the Shoalhaven River around Braidwood for trout. I dove across it on the Kings Highway today and it looked pretty enticing.

I am looking at replacing the old 27 meg radio on my boat with a VHF one . I only ever venture a couple of km offshore. Looking at these models: Icom IC-M200 VHF - $279 Uniden VHF UM455 - $249 GME GX700B VHF - $249 Will need an aerial and mount at around $85 but installation will be free. Anyone had experience with any of these models and cares to tell me what you think of it? Have also considered this hand held model. ICOM M25 EURO HANDHELD VHF RADIO - $249 Any thoughts on the merits (or otherwise) of a hand held vs fixed VHF radio for inshore communication?

There is a theory going around that they are remnants from the breakout from a fish farm off Port Stephens last year. The local beach netters have now found them. 👎👎😫😫

That is for sure. Put a good bend in the 3-5 kg Shimano Catana rod I was using😀😀

Been camped at Hat Head for a few days. Beach fishing has been very slow. We arrived on the beach at 6.30 am this morning and were greeted by a magnificent sunrise. After driving the length of the beach and about halfway back we had failed to lose a bait ( freshly caught beach worms). Cruising towards home with hungry bellies we chanced upon birds working fish in a gutter. Off come the light spin rods and we begin casting. Three tailor are landed and then my mate hooks something bigger. A 65 cm kingfish is eventually beached. Meanwhile, I have hooked another one it went 70 cm. We eventually beached three more, along with some more good sized tailor and witnessed kingfish almost beaching themselves as they herded small baitfish into the shore break. What seemed like another dud beach session was turned into one to savour by being at the right place at the right time and by being prepared for action🎣🎣

Just wondering if any members care to share their experiences of fishing on the DPI artificial reefs off Cronulla, Sydney Heads and around Botany Bay. Personally I haven't fished them (other than for slimies off Sydney Heads). I would be interested to hear how others have found them for kings, reds etc and the techniques that are best used when fishing them (such as anchoring off them and berleying, drifting over and throwing plastics, jigging etc). Have they had the impact on catches that we had hoped for?

Nice report Gordon. I can vouch for all that you said! It was great to be able to chat to you on the water and compare notes and to have a couple of those healthy lunches together back in town. I managed 5 keeper trout out of 8 fish landed over three afternoons and two mornings on the water. Best was a nice 53 cm brown taken on leadline very early on that windy Monday morning. After catching two nice rainbows within an hour of beginning my first session on Sunday afternoon my hopes were high. Alas, they were the only fish I caught in the afternoons, the others being caught in the mornings and all on leadlines with dark coloured Tassies attached. I did lose a good fish while flat-lining on Monday when it tangled in the second line I had out. It sure was tough going. On Tuesday morning a met a local who lives on a farm that runs down to the lake at Kalkite where I had launched. He fishes 2-3 times each week up there and hadn't caught a fish in four hours of trolling that morning. That made me appreciate the two browns I got that morning a whole lot more! I generally use two Gamakatsu single lure hooks rigged back to back using a split ring and a small solid ring to tie the leader onto. I put a pink or lumo green bead directly behing the Tassie. I start with a 2 metre long leader and retie the hooks after changing lures. When the leader gets down to about 1 metre I replace it. To go with the lack of fish I lost two downrigger bombs simultaneously on the same tree on Monday afternoon. Ouch!! See you up there again sometime. I love my trips to Jindabyne. Fish are a bonus!

I am looking at replacing an old 27 meg radio on my boat. I only ever venture a couple of km offshore. Just wondering if there is a hand held UHF radio that would be suitable rather than having one mounted in the boat. Any ideas?

Thanks Trav. Much appreciated.

Today I dropped in to have a quick look at Carcoar Dam enroute to home after a brief trip inland. Very picturesque, even with the quite low water level. I believe that there is a good population of redfin in there. Can anyone shed some light on the best time/s of year to target them and the most effective method/s to do so? Any other species worth targeting?

Nice work. Paddling on the bay in the wind this morning must have been a good workout! I fished the Towra weeds this morning, bringing home four fish similar in size to the ones you kept.

Fished and crabbed botany bay solo this morning. Only one crab from my regulation four nets and two traps placed around the Towra Point area. at the crack of dawn. Pretty disappointing after getting seven there last week. This summer we have struggled with the crabs in places that we generally do well. What do Raiders regard as the ideal tidal conditions and/or moon phases for blue swimmers in the bay. Does the tidal difference (ie amount of flow) have any impact on results? What about water depth? Keen to hear people's opinions and experiences with the crabs this season. The consolation prize this morning was four nice lizards between 49 and 51 cm. They took a Zmann Minnowz in Goldrush colour on a 1/4 oz jighead towards the end of the runout tide.

Great to catch up with you again Gordon. You obviously had a great week of fishing and learned some new tricks. No point getting older if you don’t get smarter they say!! Always good to learn from a local. Look forward to catching up again up there.

I usually let lizards of that size go but after 4 hrs on the water and no fish I kept HIM (yes a boy fish) for the table. He was greedy bugger eh!. Also a tad unlucky as he had completely swallowed my jig and 3" plastic and avoided my first attempt with the net. As I had a second go he wore through the 10lb leader and my swore as I felt the jig and me part company. However, I managed to get the net in front of him and he obligingly swam in!

Has anyone any idea of what this might be? It was in a 61 cm lizard that I caught yesterday. It measured around 20 cm in length, had two nippers and a rounded tail. Somewhat digested in the photo. I have never seen anything like it.

I am looking to purchase a new VHF radio for my 4.55m Quintrex to replace an old 27 meg one. Required for close inshore work only - up to 3km offshore. Any suggestions as to brands and models I should be looking at (or avoiding!). I note that some have the controls on the face of the unit itself and others (a bit more expensive) have them all on the microphone. Advantages/disadvantages of each? What length aerial will I need?

Great report Gordo. I met you at the ramp in the dark on the Wednesday morning. I stayed until Saturday, fishing early like you each day and again later in the day. Managed 14 trout in total. Best day was on the Friday when I got three rainbows all around 35 cm in the morning up at Kalkite. I returned there in the afternoon with my wife and her sister (who had never caught a fish of any description). She managed to bring a very fat 58cm rainbow to the boat (I estimated it at about 2.5 kg) and my wife boated a 48cm brown then a 35cm rainbow. An evening to remember. Didn't fish on Saturday.

Just wondering if anyone has been fishing the artificial reefs that were installed off Port hacking entrance and what the results have been like so far.

Has anyone been using the new Chasebaits Ultimate Squid soft plastic baits for kings? I reckon they look the goods and have purchased a pack of calamari coloured ones and a pack of crystal ones. I will try them on a light jighead around structure in the harbour and maybe throw them into some washes around the heads. They also look like they could be used on the downrigger with a two hook rig and possibly a small piece if real squid on the rear hook when fresh squid are hard to come by. What do others think?

Murrumbidgee River somewhere near Narrandera I am guessing? How do you rig the cheese/yabbies Neil?

Gabe was a very personable and generous man. I enjoyed dropping into his shop for a chat about all things fishing. i learnt a lot during these times together and on the couple of times I was lucky enough to accompany him on a fishing trip. He loved hearing from his customers about their fishing trips and freely gave advice about where and how to fish for various species. The fishermen and women of Camden/Narellan are going to miss him very much. I've heard that there are some elbow-slapping whiting in heaven - they have just become an endangered species though! Vale Gabe.

Just enquiring about other members experiences with luring flathead in the hotter months. I have experienced tough times luring in relatively shallow water (1-3 metres) in Botany Bay recently with water temperatures above 25 degrees. I am thinking that this is a bit uncomfortable for them and that they may be holding in deeper, cooler water. What do others think? Thankfully the blue swimmers don't mind the hot water!

Flattered (battered??) Donna. ??

A local from Tuross Hd told me he puts them in metho for three minutes while still alive, allows them to dry on a sheet of paper and then puts them in those little round plastic food containers that you can get in supermarkets. He keeps them in a fridge for up to a week or freezes them. He claims that they work as well as fresh worms but I am sceptical. I plan to try his method for myself though.