Pickles

Thanks 😊

Brilliant result @Mako561, how sweet it is when you hit a honey hole f the target species. Nice work 👏👏

47& 49 are good size Reds - great job.

Terrific report Chris, well done. Please could you post a pic of the soils tar Christmas tree lures?

The start of a great recreational future James - great little boats the Poly’s.

Thought I’d post the regulations re Bass and Estuary Perch as a few private msg suggested I was in contravention of “rules”. This is not the case. As it is is I only ever catch and release Bass and EP’s.

A great report and lovely mixed bag of good eating fish Chris - I much prefer Trag to Jewies. well done.

Great report Ian - bummer of a day (but always good to get out on the water) I’ve been getting a few Butterfly Gurnard lately - a very pretty fish and good eating, but don’t get spiked as they are toxic (similar to red rock cod - very painful).

Cheers Gordo

Had a call from my buddy Craig about a session on E.P.s (never need an excuse to get out fishing). Purely catch and release and lures only (season closed until Aug 31 anyway). It was a cracker of a day a foggy start, no wind, clear skies and a high pressure of 1036hp (never known it higher). Although we didn’t land many fish it was spectacular day. The biggest fish was 42cm which I caught on a small gold coloured blade on a 2-4kg shimano sienna $99 rod / reel combo.

Brilliant effort Jon, that’s a stonker of a trout, must have been a reel buzz landing it. Well done and great to get out with the boys - stuff memories are made of.

Understand why Zoran, we are both blessed men.

Cheers Neil. We were at a trial in Hartley on the weekend and a shared meal (everyone bought something) and a “southerner” bought some Murray Cod - first time I’ve every eaten it and I have to say I was really impressed (maybe a little oily, but sweet and tender).

A great result Zoran, well done and a 10kg for Maria is a top effort.👏👏👏. Thanks for sharing mate - a great read and vid and loved the part where Maria says “And who was right - your wife was right”. I suffer this correction regularly also.

Great report Ian, a pity it wasn’t a more successful day - but that’s fishing. I tried spray painting sinkers with fluro paint, but even when primer and undercoated it chipped off - have you had better success ??

Following Donna’s suggestion, I’m posting some info on my Labrador Retriever “Rosie”. I compete in “simulated hunting trials” that are open to all breeds of gun dogs. These are called Non Slip Retrieving Trials (NSRT) and test a retrievers ability to mark or find game. The”game” used are mostly Pigeons and rabbits (feral, introduced species). These are euthanised and then placed in the bush flung out of a “bird thrower” and fired at with a primer that makes a “bang” similar to a cap gun. If the judge chooses the bird is thrown, the dog must “mark” where the bird / game falls and find it. If it is a “blind” the handler talks to the dog to set its head in the direction of the bird and “sends” it back on a line to the bird. At no time can the handler touch the dog and every command after the initial send will result in lost marks. It sounds easy, but birds are thrown anything upto 200 meters and in heavy cover, dams, flowing water and even to land off the ground (stumps or trees). In the top level (where we are competing now) there are three birds in each leg and there are 3 legs, so 9 birds in total to be found and retrieved and “gently delivered to hand unmarked and fit for the table”. There is lots on YouTube with footage of retrieving trials (mostly American). Trials are held in each state and there can be anything up to 100 or so dogs competing any weekend in winter. All competing dogs must be tested in water and a swim can be 70-100 m (there and then back again). Rosie and I train on average an hour a day, every day irrespective of the weather. It is cold in winter, but Labs will break thin ice on dams to get the bird - it really flicks their switches as they are instinctive hunters and love to please their owners. below are a few picks of Rosie and I. I should add that she also loves to come fishing with me and helps out on the farm - pic of her feeding lambs.

45cm is a really good Bream @Niall, makes the cold start worthwhile

Be good to catch up Neil

Hey @Bennyg78, Peter B is one of my best mates - train with him several times a week send me a PM and I’ll keep in touch. I train every day, so if you’re ever keen, I’m always happy to get together - I’ve got 30 acres, 2 dams, a creek and lots of cover with quail and rabbits). You probably also know John Hodson and John Cauchi - great spaniel guys)

Way to go @nal - it’s great when the sounder lights up like that. Harbour over the new moon of past few days has been very quiet, 2 or 3 days time and they should be firing again.

Hey @fatcat531, I only use bait jigs when outside in deep water (The artificial, Annie Miller etc). I only ever use single hook rig on a handline - 6lb nylon with a woven and no 10 mosquito hook and no lead. I mealy always get more Yakkas than boats around me and never get tangles to waste time with. if I do use jigs I only like 3 hook multiples. I use tiny bits of squid tentacles- just enough to cover the (tiny) hooks. Berley up with soaked chicken pellets in a plastic jar soaked over night and shaken vigorously to make a “soup” and bread in berley pot, plus frames from day before trip (get out several times a week). Hope this helps.

Headed out drifting for Flatties in 60m off South Head. Filled up with Slimies and Yakkas at the artificial reef (lots there and we were getting 4& 5 fish to a string of live bait jigs). As well as a swag of nice sized Flatties, we caught several “Butterfly Gurnard” as well as being an attractive fish - they taste great (equally as good a flathead) and 52cm, so plenty of flesh. They do have a nasty, painful toxin if spiked. Conditions were great and quite different to the predicted strong winds

After a long drought targetting kingfish lasting for several months (been focusing on training my Lab “Rosie” as she’s currently running 5th in Australia in retrieving / hunting trials and we’re off to Western Australia for the National Championships so getting ready). Today 2 of my buddies wanted to get their arms pulled so we hit the offshore reefs and cracked a great day. Bait was easy to get (good sized slimies and Yakkas) and the Kingies came out to play with a tripple hookup and 2 landed. Apologies to admin as I couldn’t resist slipping a pic of the K9 - delete if not acceptable

Mike, it is the western side of the bridge towards Macquaie park. The wharves in the area, although a comfortable place to fish from, are not as productive as the structure along the shoreline.

Well done Rob, calamari for tea? (Some great Kingie baits)