adkel53

Thanks Big Neil. Any idea how old that article is? I looked on the DPI website and it seems that at least 35,000 brown and 60,000 rainbow fingerlings have been stocked into Pejar between 2005/06 and 2012/13. No data for the intervening three years. Also about 8,00 bass stocked from 2010/11. I would guess that many of those trout would now be of reasonable size so may have to head down there to find out!

Flying from Wagga to Sydney yesterday we flew over Crookwell and I had a good view of Pejar Dam. Anyone fished it in recent years? I believe the big drought early this century decimated the trout population and am wondering if stocking since then has resulted in restoring it to a viable fishery.

Plastics (and other lures) allow you to cast into little nooks and crannies where it is difficult to hold a bait while waiting for a fish to find it. I first used them nearly 40 years ago to catch flathead. We used ones called Vibrotails in those days and my best fish on one weighed 12.5 lbs (back when I was young and stupid and kept it!). It would have given the magic metre a nudge but in those days (1979) one weighed them rather than measured them. I caught that fish land-based on 6lb mono straight through to the jighead! I hooked and lost a similar fish the very next day.That was in Lake Wonboyn on the far south coast. The plastic the Vibrotails were made from was much stiffer than in today's models and the jigheads pretty flimsy in comparison to those available today. The current range of plastics is mind boggling. In my experience they will take many different ones on any given day. The secret is to find where the fish are holding and keep casting. Vary you retrieve until you find the one they like that day! Drift around likely looking areas and don't be afraid to fish in quite shallow water, especially around weedbeds. Plastics rule!! Kel

1. Dust in plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper then shallow fry until just cooked. I like rice bran oil to cook them in. 2. Add some turmeric to the flour and proceed as above. 3. Add some Moroccan spice mix to the flour (about 1/4 of the total) and proceed as above. 4. Flour as above, dip in beaten eggs then panko breadcrumbs and shallow fry. Aoli or sweet chilli sauce mixed with lemon or lime juice make great accompaniments to any of these.

Mid September is when I usually begin targeting Botany Bay's lizards so I took heed of a good weather forecast to have a crack at them this morning. Things were petty slow for the first couple of hours as the tide ran in and throwing various plastics around in the shallower water only resulted in two fish boated and a few hits and misses. A move to a new location resulted in more of the same so a decision was made to try some trolling in order to cover more territory. A good decision it was too - 6 nice fish from 42-47 cm were boated in the next couple of hours, along with a 58cm model. A 43 cm silver trevally also took a liking to my Lively Lures Micro Mullet in the pink/silver colour. These are deadly little lizard lures. You can only purchase them directly from the manufacturers online these days. They are suited to water from 1-3 metres in depth. I ended up bagging out and kept a few for the table. It took me 6 hours of concerted effort but hey, who's counting. I didn't have a plane to catch!!

I am looking to purchase (or have custom made) a new rod for blackfishing from the rocks and river breakwalls. My custom made Snyder Glas HHGT (which I had owned for about twenty years and doubled as a great light weight beach rod) recently came to an untimely end when I drove under a low branch with it strapped to the roof racks. I was a sad day indeed!! Can any one point me in the right direction for a replacement? Off the shelf or a suitable blank to have made up. Low or mid mount suggestions both welcomed. The HHGT blanks are still available but not sure if they have the same specs as my original. Best price I have seen for them is $180 so up there in price. Thanks in anticipation. Kel

A simpler alternative to your hook set up is to simply use the same hooks but put them back to back on a split ring. I was shown this method by the proprietor of a tackle shop in Jindabyne for use when using Tassie Devils for trout. Throw away the wire insert and thread your leader through the Tassie before putting a bead on the line in front of the ring. Works a treat. Also good for trolling with small plastic squids for bonito and so on. Just use more beads so the hooks sit just behind the skirt of the lure. Just be careful when unhooking fish. I had one hook in my finger and the other in a rat king while fishing alone a while back. Not good I can tell you!!

I was out there near you too I think. A bit north of Marley Beach? I caught my limit too but all 40-48 cm. Was putting 40s back to upgrade after the first drift! Seals, dolphins, whales - lots to see out there. Got my fish on frozen self caught squid tentacles and fresh slimy mackerel pieces attached to a 3 hook snapper rig with pink nylon material attached.

I found some nice 45-48 cm bluespots south of the Hacking entrance today. In deeper water though - around 40 metres. Using a 3-hook snapper catcher and a two hook hand -tied paternoster rig (both baited with frozen squid or fresh slimy mackerel) I brought up five fish on the first drops!! Water temperature is an incredibly warm 20 degrees. Most of the fish were males and full of milt. An acrobatic whale not far away was a bonus!

Headed out from Port Botany ramp early today intent on trolling the southern cliffs for bonito and then some reef fishing for squid. The bonnies were scarce but i did manage a really good one of almost 2 kg that almost got me down to the backing line on the ABU 6000 I was using. Making up for the lack of bonnies were the frigate mackerel and an odd small mackerel tuna. All great fun on light gear and some destined to be upsized into a marlin or tuna. All caught on small plastic squids trolled at 5-6 knots. The squid were also co-operative on a reef down that way and 15 came over the gunwales before I left them biting and headed for home feeling satisfied that my plans for the day came to fruition. Sorry - no pics as I left the camera at home.

I just found out about this today. http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Supertrawlers I sat down and wrote my ten cents worth to the enquiry (while watching the cricket on TV). It took me about half an hour and I based my objection to these monstrosities on: 1. The impact of removing baitfish from coastal waters on recreational game fishing and the economies of the coastal communities that are the hubs of this fishing. 2. The poor track record of these ships in other waters around the world. 3. The relatively small number of jobs created by these vessels in Australia. 4. The relatively small economic returns to Australia. 5. The death of marine mammals in the nets of these ships. I urge Raiders who are concerned about the operation of these ships to make a submission to the enquiry. it doesn't need to be long. Just voice your opinions about them. Pm me if you would like a copy of my submission to work from (but please don't just copy it verbatim). You will need to hurry though. submissions close this Friday, January 22nd.

To avoid losing fish to those head shakes try swimming the fish alongside the boat (ie parallel to it) without letting it get its head out of the water and swim it into your net. This stops them thrashing around on the top and risking cutting your leader with the sharp gill plates or teeth, especially if the hook is well down the fish's throat. Much safer than lifting them in, especially those 66 cm models. Your girls will soon get the hang of it once you show them how and teach them to remain calm(ish) when the fish materialises from the depths. I did a lot of live baiting with poddy mullet with my kids when they were young and we lost very few fish at the boat by learning to do this. They were great times in our lives. Taking two grandkids visiting from Tasmania (4 and 6) out tomorrow to see if I can hook them up to a legal fish or two in Botany Bay.

I wouldn't be happy either. A mate had a downrigger stolen from his boat under similar circumstances at Drumoyne a few years back. It is a sad state of affairs when one has to worry about leaving the boat unattended while retrieving the trailer or parking it when heading out.

I attended a very informative presentation from Swordie at my local tackle shop last week where he was extolling the virtues of soft vibes. Thought I'd open up a discussion as to which ones other Raiders like to use, especially for (but not restricted to) flathead and jewies. Please include your experiences with regard to brands, sizes and colours. I've not used them much but have caught a couple of nice lizards on a Berkley MF50 which were a greyish colour with a green sheen on them. Over to you!

Definitely outlawed now and doing it is not only unethical by would create a bad image of fishers if seen by others. Best not to do it IMHO. Enjoy the sport of catching them on bread/ dough/flies etc. Treated properly, they are fine to eat.

I am in the market for a fishing kayak that I can carry on top of the car (Nissan X Trail atm) or camper trailer and use in rivers, lakes, estuaries as we travel the country. Looking for a sit on type, paddle only, set up with rod holders, minimum 3 metres long and weighing no more than 25kg. I am 185 cm and about 95 kg. Budget would extend to around $700. Any suggestions and/or experiences with particular models would be most welcome.

Happy to share Jimbo, but won't mention the store name in case I infringe the rules. I think it is safe to say that it is in Narellan though!!

Thanks Scratchie. I had heard that some of the locals have their own rock on the wall!! I sent a text to a mate back home about the session and his reply was "did you have to push an old fella in the water to get a spot?"

I'm staying at Williamtown for a couple of days with my son so threw in the blackfish gear (after consulting Scratchie for a bit of local knowledge) and picked up some good Georges River weed from my local tackle shop. Went for a reconnoitre along the Nelson Bay breakwall on Sunday evening and saw two pairs of young fellas with a bucket of blackies each - one pair on the channel side and one inside the harbour. Back about 1.45 pm today full of anticipation. Fished the channel side between a couple of locals. Slow going as the tide reached the top, with only 1 (very good) fish, despite seeing lots of them twisting and turning in the clear water at my feet The "neighbours" didn't get any, although another fellow about 25 metres to the east was getting a few. A storm was approaching from the west so sanity prevailed and we all left the wall just as the rain started. I decided to wait in the car for it to pass, which it dutifully did, and then headed back out . On the way I met one of the young locals from yesterday's reconnoitre and we exchanged pleasantries before he suggested I fish with him inside the harbour. Good decision as he gave me a few pointers and I landed 4 more nice fish, using his net to land them! He out-fished me but hey, who cares? I caught a couple of tasty meals of blackfish, learned a thing or two from a helpful young man and had some fun along the way. I'll be back!!

I did some drifting for lizards south of the Hacking this morning in the 40-50 metre depth range. Used fresh squid tentacles on "snapper rigs". Couldn't keep the bait on the hooks for more than 5 minutes due to, I assume, a plague of leatherjackets. Had one rig bitten off well above the trace knot. Saw masses of what appeared to be pilchards playing on the surface along a distinct current line, Nothing appeared to be harassing them but in time I'm sure something will find them!

I tried the "Cronulla flathead drift" that is out from the Osborn Shoal this morning. Landed a legal blue spot and a legal sand flathead and about a dozen or so undersized ones. Used pink and fluoro green "snapper catcher" jigs baited with fresh squid strips and pieces of fresh pike. Fished in water around 33 metres deep. Sounds like I should have tried in closer! Also saw penguins but no whales today. Huge amounts of bait in the water in places. They surfaced a few times but didn't look like anything chasing it and no takes on a small Halco slice retrieved through them. Hundreds on smallish grey birds sitting on the surface and feeding around me. Anyone know what they would be?

I caught a maori wrasse off the rocks many moons ago. Didn't know what it was so asked another bloke who was fishing nearby. His reply was - 'it's a butchers mate - a butchers pr..k". Confirmed here: http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/260

No - white Quintrex Coast Runner 455.

I have had two trips chasing lizards on lures in Botany Bay recently. Before the rain I managed 5 in a four hour session, dropping at least that many again in the process. Biggest was 48 cm (x2). Yesterday I ventured out again, starting very early and fishing some shallow areas on the last of the run-up and first of the runout before going a bit deeper. I landed 11 fish but worked hard for them, persisting until 12.30pm. Most were on the small side (36-42). I kept 6 for a few feeds. I routinely release any under 40cm, but there was a 48, a 53 and a 59 among them. The water has cleared well after the big rains but had dropped from 21.5 degrees to 18.5 over the ten day time interval between trips. Seems like a slow start to the lizard luring season. Anyone else been chasing them? Kel

It couldn't make it taste any worse.