Pickles

Great report @XD351 - I’m heading out on Wednesday, hope things improve a bit😙

Totally agree, I always use an FG knot and reckon I could do it with my eyes closed now. Uni knots are good though and easier to tie on the boat in a choppy swell.

Yep, around the trawlers are working around Spencer - pm me and I can give you some numbers to ring. I got 5kg today - not quite eating size yet, but great bait.

Hey Neil, things have gone backwards around Sydney Harbour and offshore. Occasional good day, followed by several days of very little. The Bass on the other hand has been exceptional - prawns are running and they going nuts. Hoping for some warmer water to come in close again, it was 22 a few weeks back, but dropped back to 19. Let’s hope things improve when you come up

Nice report Frank, fishing has been lean most places lately😒

Nice work @Bluebenbomb, I personally like the Wilson leader, but I suspect you’ll get lots f different opinions, I think you try a few overtime and tick with the brand you have confidence in.

Very nice snapper Chris. Well done Pretty sure Ron is on the money with squid. They usually bite and chew pieces from the back of the head of fish (the spine) to kill them. Next time this happens have a squid spike ready, cut the tail off the slimy (or Yakka or pilchard) and push through the mouth with spikes at the head end and cast it back out. Squid have a “parrot beak” and take bites out of the back of the head - this one looks like you had a squid on for quite a while (surprised you didn’t feel it “pulsing”).

Neil, they look spectacular. Can’t wait.

Top report @Berrero, some healthy looking Flatties, well done.

Gr8 - Put me down for a couple

Hi Neil, I’ll pm you, but your welcome to several of my rods and reels - (the grandkids can keep them as I have 118 now 🤪).

Nice mixed bag Dave 🙂

Haha Derek, maybe we could get one other a Fishraider sticker on it.

Cheers Noel, I’ll give it a go

Haha Rebel - I’ve got a coffee mug on order from Neil, maybe he could organise one for you also. It’s a great idea to get some Fishraider coffee mugs made up though - I’d buy one, maybe Donna could be prompted???

Cheers @Rebel

Hi Noel, either - I’ve never put down a trap for poddies and only ever caught one mullet fishing for herring, so an absolute mug. - Any advice gladly accepted.

Thanks for sharing a great report Jim. I can relate about lean times over past 12 months, I’ve called off more trips than I’ve been on due to weather, (not funerals) hopefully things are changing. (I get out pretty regularly on a Friday also - love to catch-up next outing. If you pm me maybe we can meet up at bait grounds, the ramp or off shore?). Some of those hobbies look very productive - always good to have things to fill in a retirees day).

Way to go @Reel’em, that is one good Jewie - thanks for sharing a great report and great pics - a fish of a lifetime. @dlvbw is certainly a top bloke and excellent fisho always willing to share, he will take great pleasure in your joy.

Got to agree with you Noel - they are sweet and tender and if I wasn’t such an avid Kingie chaser, I’d eat a lot more of my fresh bait and spend more time catching the cephalopods (not all that excited about occurs though).

Fishing heaven - what an amazing trip. A brilliant set of pics (on my bucket list) thanks for sharing @Black CC

I had a recent pm from @Max_fish about squidding in the harbour and although this has come up many times in the past, I thought I’d share a few brief thoughts from my experience. Please - this is NOT exhaustive and only based on my experience and I’m not an expert, just love catching Kingies and the only way I know to consistently get them is with live bait and the best live bait is cuttlefish and squid. "…………., squid (and cuttlefish) are like most species and some days you wonder what all the fuss is about as they are numerous and hungry and other days impossible to catch. I usually use a 1.8 - 2.0 jig for cuttlefish, unless off shore or at South Head - It is illegal at Nth Head as this is in the Aquatic Reserve (SEE MAP) and extends all the way to the very front of Nth Head and a $500 fine if caught squidding there an I’ve seen fisheries taking photos on video cam - I do tagging and fin clipping research for fisheries and know some of the officers and they are no longer lenient and give a warning. If off shore for BIG cuttlefish, I’ll use a 3.5-4.5 jig and sometimes catch the 4-5kg models - real Crackens (see pics). These make the very best baits for kings as you can get 3 baits from each of the 2 candles and then at least 10 baits out of the head and cape. Unlike calamari though cuttlefish guts are NOT a good bait, whereas squid guts are the very best cut/dead bait. Smaller Cuttlefish like the weed beds in the harbour, whereas calamari (green eyes) like the kelp beds. There is kelp on every headland, so it’s just a matter of finding where they are feeding and this changes, however they like clean water, so after rain a run in tide closer to the heads is much more successful in the harbour than a runout after rain, as the clean water lets them see the bait/ lure. A really good “lure” is a squid spike with a 1/2 yakka (cut the tail off 1/2 way along the body) - I’ve caught heaps of squid and cuttlefish on this rig under a float suspended behind the boat, (the spikes at the head end). I try to have this about a foot off the bottom, but of course as the boat moves and drifts, this varies from bumping the bottom to several feet off the bottom. I know colour matters, but probably less than the movement of the jig and here, quality DOES matter and the more expensive jigs have a more lifelike fall (which is when the lure gets hit). Natural colours seem to work better for me and darker lures on an overcast day and lighter lures on brighter day (silhouette is more pronounced on a dark day if the lure is dark). So on overcast days I’ll start with a black or purple lure and on bright days a white or natural colours). I started to get squid and cuttlefish by using Google maps and looking at the aerial shots of the “shaded” areas where the weed is. One outstandingly good weedy area is around the nets of the harbour netted swimming areas and also the bay between Benelong pt (opera House) Lady Macquarie chair. Under the spit bridge is also a top spot at night time and the shore line opposite Dalbora Marina - but also big kings there and I’ve lost jigs, rod and reel over the side when left one in the rod holder unattended. The pics attached show a big variation in the size of squid and cuttlefish, some are in the harbour and some outside, they are common everywhere there is saltwater and reputed to be the largest biomass of “non-fin fish” and more common than even yellowtail, (I wish I could catch as many squid as Yakkas though).

Ha Ha - Always blessings on my boat.

Keep trying @Crabstar, they are out there, the Yakkas have been very tough of late. Be careful at “the shacks” as it’s illegal to squid from Grotto point to North Head and all in Nth Harbour except around fairlight - see map. Fisheries will no longer give a warning and it is $500 fine.

Hey Raiders, can anyone give a “Mullet mug”, some info on where and how to (consistently) catch mullet in and around Berrowra / Hawkesbury please 😕.