Pickles

Was about 7m

Reverse paternoster- jig on end 1.5 m leader with a dropper not & small snapper lead near swivel attached to dropper knot. This way sinker hit bottom & jig swing around

Hey @whiskey299, happy to take you out and show you, but can pm you also, but a looong paddle - let me know

Been off the grid for several weeks (trialing my Lab in Victoria - showing them how a keen retriever works (bit of interstate rivalry). As it was, the seas have been too big to get outside and wind strong enough to blow a dog off its chain, so I decided to squid around middle harbour. I’m glad I did as the arrow squid were around in numbers. we got 20 in about 2 hours. My standard “squid rig” is a paternoster with 2 jigs, a 2.0 and a 3.0 of different colours and if no luck, I swap the colours until I find something they like. My buddy Steve tried his favourite rig which is a standard jig on the end of the leader and a small snapper lead fixed with a loop knot a meter from the jig and no swivel. After he had 3:1, I swapped to his set up and the score evened out. (This is my new “go to” rig now). The technique was - find bait fish on the sounder, drift until we hooked up, then MinKota down and catch a few more, then drifted again. The spots we tried were around the boat moorings and wharfs / pontoons in Middle harbour. I hadn’t ever fished her before, but will be trying it again. We then put the squid down for Kingies and bagged 15 kings (only 1 over 65) before 11 am - gotta love live squid for tackling the Kings.

Flick some live baits (out on the surface (Yakkas and slimies not too hard to burley up), floats or ballon’s and wait for the action. Lots of Bonito, salmon around and the odd king and tailor.

Great report @lhan, certainly a good feeling landing a target species on light gear. Well done.

Well done @Robbo from Sydney, Kingies certainly punch above their weight and not having landed one, you probably though you had a monster - even the little rats give a good account of themselves. Very often you have to fish light to get them to bite and if you take your time and no structure / moorings nearby, you’ve got a chance of getting it to the boat. The harder you go, the harder they go - take it easy as you’ve discovered and you’ll score. 👏👏

Well done @Tarik, you did well to get out, the conditions have been so crook that there have been few opportunities. 👏👏

Couldn’t see the image @Renegade460 😧

Nice one Dave. A mixed seafood platter - well done.

So much fun.

It’s usually not like that, usually the squid (or cuttlefish) are the gun bait, but I always fish with burley and today the burley was fish frames and I guess this turned them on to the yakka filets, which I put out (successfully) for snapper.

Newbie Ty, wanted to catch a Bass on a lure. Because the seas and swell have been so crook lately, it was “freshwater or no water”. I promised him 12 fish before 11am. As it was, we boated 22 Bass, by 9 am and finished up with 34 Bass and 2 flathead by 10am and dropped at least a dozen more, many were double hookups. Once the sun came up the fishing slowed up and I didn’t want the young bloke to think fishing is always a “success” (last trip we boated 30 Jewies and 7 flathead). God was good, the moon was right, there was no wind and the tide was perfect.

Another great report @Hill373737, very healthy looking cod and great pics (as always 👍). Those spinnerbaits work so well on so many different species. I I often wonder what will be the next big thing in artificial baits.

A great fish, wonderful when you can beat your pb (by such a great margin). Well done @Aussiefisherman

Great account of your day. Some great pics - Bass are sooo much fun on light gear and that carp must have given a good account of itself. Thanks for sharing.

A very comprehensive report @linewetter, please keep posting, it’s great to hear young blokes getting into fishing and thumbs up to @DerekD for his selfless and generous investment enriching the lives of others.

Great report (Mike. A Bassday sugarpen?). I could be wrong but middle pic looks like a Tarwhine not a bream, not that it matters, they both fight hard.

What a top effort for the boys - a solid Kingie - such fun to hear “ The scream of the reel”. That Lud, was an absolute cracker Rob, well done.👏👏

Robbo - all caught on Yakkas, even though we had fresh caught squid.

Let’s make a date Bill - are you interested in a Bass session, if you haven’t fished freshwater it’s a real buzz?

Great you blokes could share some ‘Raider camaraderie. The fishing in Sydney has been very similar due to strong winds and big seas - very hard to find a window to get out. That little articulated lure seems to work Neil - I’ve used in freshwater since we last spoke and the Bass and EP’s love it.

Hit the harbour rather late (6am) and caught up with @blaxland. We discussed the conditions and the fact that I had a cold and a less than favourable forecast, but my buddy was keen (super keen) to get out on kingies after a long break due to work commitments. So I relented against my better judgement and we headed through the heads with the knowledge that the swell and wind would build from the SW about 10-11 am. at 8.30 when we reached the Sydney FAD, the current was raging, the wind picking up and the swell was a solid 11/2 -2m, so I turned around and we headed back inside to seek shelter. We trolled inside the heads to Manly (sheltered from southerlies) and picked up a few Bonito and also saw @blaxland again, who also caught some Bonnie’s. We landed 4 Kingies and a solid salmon as well as a few solid bream, before deciding to head further into Middle harbour, where we caught a few more Kings and several pan sized snapper. Whilst Nick took a picture of one of the Kings, the rod in the background went off and we landed a 45cm Salmon. Although a bit of a washout weather wise, we got a good feed and some legal kings.

A cracker trip with “da boyz”. Great to see you landed some cracker fish - well done.

Yep, but Jewies fight clean and if you don’t over play them and have plenty of line, there is no problem landing (with a net) on light line.