Pickles

There were 4 over a meter, but sharks not Kingies 😞

I have quite a few Kingie set ups as I take quite a few folks out who “just want to catch a kingie”. The line is 65lb braid to 80lb or 130lb leader (FG knot braid to fluro leader) on a Stella 850, and Stella 5000, 2x Saragossa 1200s and 2x Daiwa BG 8000s, also. Pen slammer IV 850. I have 8 Kingie rods (a bit sad, but I have 117rods & reels) 2x CJ64 Daiwa Demon Bloods, 2 x Shimano Terez, 2 Ugly Sticks, also have a few other “Crystal tips” (can’t remember the make). I use Mustad hoodlum 7/0 or BKK circle in line hooks in 7/0 or 9/0. Only use quality barrel swivels and 3 way Shogun swivels. @DerekD is putting together a “how to” on Kingfish - not sure when he is going to publish it though. Hope this helps.

Christian Buddies Steve and Phil wanted to back up a disappointing trip last Monday with some solid Kingies this Monday. I suggested a trip to 12 Mile reef off shore as the conditions looked far more encouraging than the previous Monday - what a difference a week makes. We loaded up on “kingie candies” (lollie sized Yakkas) at Balmoral, then headed straight to 12 mile. No other boats there 😌😌, but within 5 minutes there we 4 others drifting, (unsuccessfully also), so after 40 minutes we headed for Longie, via the Sydney FAD, where Phil boated a 60cm rat. There were some solid dolphin fish following the baits, but none willing to taste the wares. Very different to an earlier trip this year with @Zoran and @wrxhoon1 when we boated a great bag of solid mahi mahi. But after 20 disappointing minutes at the FAD, with only one Kingie and one (large) slimey makerel, we made the call to head for Longie (after boating 16 rat kings at Long reef on Saturday with @Hads and @HadsJr). There were only 2 other boats drifting the north end of the reef, but we headed for the middle grounds and hit pay dirt. Our first drop resulted in a Kingie each, then double and occasional triple hook ups for the next hour and a half. In total we boated 55 Kingies, with only one legal (which got sharked by a dusky whaler - see photo). There were lots of sharks tormenting our baits and the kingies we hooked, both Bull sharks and Whaler's Overall we had a great day and although we had no legal Kingies to keep, it was such a blessing to have been subject to a “rat attack” and left them biting when we ran out of bait. I reckon if we’d have head straight to Longie, we would have boated over a 100, but we’ll never know.

Thanks for your comprehensive comments on the comp @Bennyg78. That 35cm bream is a beauty - bet it gave you a good fight. All the best for your involvement in the next series.

Well done Albert, it’s great when you spend time targeting a species and bag a good one. The whiting is a beauty, well done and seeking advice from an experienced mentor in @DerekDand putting the advice into practice that produces results, pays dividends, as you have found out.

Great vid and comments @BrassRoots, that’s a nice sized green eye, thanks for sharing - is Gordon’s Bay also called Thompsons Bay at Clovelly.

That’s a really healthy cod Neil and a cracker video clip.

So sorry to hear this news @JayC Fisho. I use this ramp all the time & have found folks leave stuff around and it is still there the next day - mind you it isn’t expensive camera gear). It’s hard to believe that someone would take what is not theirs.🫤 do you know there is a “Roseville boat ramp and swing mooring” face book site. It would be worth posting there also. (I can cut and paste message for you if it helps?).

Great work @bobthelob2341, great work on your first Bass, that’s a pretty good size and healthy fish for city creek. It’s a great feeling when you get that surface hit. If you haven’t tried them feralcat lures in purple and black (or mixture). Also stmpjumpers and Ogee in small size work really well. Looking forward to more of your freshwater reports. There is some great Bass water in the Deerrubbin (Colo / Hawkesbury) and plenty of land based spots. Interestingly, there are plenty of flathead mixed with the Bass - even in fresh water.

Great question Chris and one we’ve all struggled with. Like most of the comments I’ve got dedicated fishing / work gear - super lightweight “camping pants and shirt” these dry fast are light and cool and don’t hold smell like other fabrics. I have 5 pairs of Columbia Silver ridge convertible pants and although expensive at around $70, I wear them dog training, hunting and fishing and around the farm. These I wear every day. like you Chris, I grab kingies inbetween my knees to pacify to dislodge the hook, which means they get slimy and bloody and therefore “odouriforous”. The shirts are the shimano / Anaconda type camping shirts made of the same material, but button up front also with buttons or Velcro on pockets . I find the synthetic long sleeve fishing “pull over” shirts smell and are hot to wear. When I get home I rinse in water and straight into the sink to hand wash or washing machine (don’t leave till next day) with some “DiSan” in liquid washing liquid. I’m out at least a couple of times a week and find no “fishy” smell.

Hey @Dumpling Democratic, keep fishing Balmoral, but upgrade your gear, I’ve hooked some Bull sharks there at night (scares me a bit seeing all the early morning swimmers crossing the headland over the bait grounds there). Also tailor and salmon there at the moment (Dec 2023). Have you tried filets of fresh yellowtail and slimies. I’ve found the Yakkas around Balmoral pretty small, so maybe butterfly one. I also like circle hooks - rarely miss with these, but DONT STRIKE, let the fish take and swim off with the bait and hook themselves. Fishing with circle hooks is very different to other styles of fishing.

Thanks for posting @NewToFishing. I’d love a drone, but hard for me to justify with so many “fishing toys” now 🫤. It’s been a while since I’ve been beach fishing, but like @Larkinsuggested, shovel nose and rays are over sand and snapper are a reef species. I’ve found looking at google maps and finding the weed beds, reefs and gutters a helpful way to “discover” new ground in shallowish water. Most of my fishing is boat based, but the reefs and sand banks are pretty easy to identify. I use this method to find squid grounds (kelp and weed around rocky head lands and reefs) as my target species are usually kingies and snapper and squid and cuttlefish are no1 baits. Look forward to hearing your progress (maybe try some headlands - you could easily get your baits out towards the rocky reefs from the corner of the beach without going off the rocks).

It’s always great to get out on foot and do some prospecting. Thanks for sharing your report @Robbbo. I haven’t done a lot of surface hardbodies lure fishing but so many options around our great harbour and the sand flats in the bays offer some great opportunities. Looking forward to hearing more on your progress.

Brilliant video Jason, thanks so much for sharing. Looks like you and your mate had a cracking session and some nice sized fish, - well done.

Always good to refine technique on artificial’s and @Derekis the man to help.

Indeed he is a top bloke MD - proud to have him a a mate.

No size to the kingies Neil, but there are heaps on the chew at present. Water was 22.5, so warming up.

Great report @Gengar, I’ve got to agree about the small metals, and that’s a nice flattie you bagged. Interestingly, I was out on Saturday and small metals were accounting for salmon and tailor in the harbour.

My buddy @Hads and hads junior (Adrian and Jensen) hadn’t been out for months, so we decided on an early start with a plan to hit the heads for snapper and then Sydney FAD to see if any Dollie’s around. Wearing my new “banana hat” that @Ledge kindly gave me. We loaded up with little Yakkas - perfect Dollie and Kingies sized bait and then headed to the snapper grounds. 1/2 the plan worked, but with predicted winds at 10.30 (spot on this time BOM as the wind picked up by 11 when headed back) we decided to give FAD a miss. In an hour between 9.30-0.30 we had boated 16 Kingies and 2 nice snapper and left them biting. The Kingies were all rats around the 50-60cm mark and no legal fish, but we were getting consistent double and tripple hookups and had a ball (much to the disdain of the boats around us, who kept getting closer and closer and at one stage we had to politely warn off 2 boats that almost collided). There are so many kings out there at present and it’s not about the spot, it’s about technique, so no need to crowd. I’ve boated over 60 kings in past week - all the same way - 30lb fluro to 6/0 Mustad hoodlum or BKK circle hooks tied on with uni knot, no weight and floated back in burley stream. 30lb is pretty light, so instructions included shout out “fish on” if it’s a good fish and we’ll head out to deep water and tow the Kingies with us - works well and rarely get busted off. The biggest snapper went 50cm. On the way back we drifted (unsuccessfully) for big blue spot Fatties. Back at Roseville ramp there were (7) junior fishos fishing off the wharf. I offered them the balance of Yakkas left in the live well, which they were keen to get, I then suggested they pickup their empty plastic bait bags and shopping bags. One of them made some unhelpful remarks and “helped” the rubbish into the water claiming they weren’t theirs. I motored around and picked them up and reminded them that they were illegally fishing off the wharf (not that I minded - we’ve all started our careers wharf fishing) and if they were going to be there, it is a fisherman’s responsibility to look after the environment. God has a way of hold us all accountable for our actions and whilst we were “discussing” the issue of “fisherpersons responsibilities” a NPWS officer walked down the wharf and told them to clear off, which they were unwilling to do. I don’t know what the outcome was, but it really gets up my nose when fishos don’t keep OUR shared environment clean. Anyway, we had a great day out and early return with no waiting to flush the boat - Love this ramp.

Thanks for the report Dave - an interesting and comprehensive report (as always). I’ve never caught an Eastern Cod (not sure I ever will), but that one looks fat and healthy. Good to see Abbi in on the action.

Great the little bloke is catching fish. When I target mullet, Ifish with 6-8lb Mon and no weight. Burley up with bran or pollard to get them interested - works for me.

Nice work Fil, some lovely duckies there👍 would have been more leasant in still water than outside in those winds.

All power to you Dunc, Sunday was looking horrible early, glad you boated some Flatties. Did you catch some slimes to strip bait with or troll for Kingies in close?

Ex student Aidan wanted to have a shot at a legal Jewie this week, so he downed tools and joined me as we headed to Wisemans Ferry. Launching at 5am, with some work commitments at 10 am, we only had a few hours, but with fresh prawns off one of the trawlers from the last trip and a favourable moon and tide (and predicted winds and swell that didn’t look pleasant off shore), things looked pretty good. The water temp was ridiculous - 27 and the water was thick with jelly blubbers, so not encouraging. We did however boat 16 soapies, the biggest going 62cm on 10lb mono, which felt encouraging till we netted it, realising straight away it was undersized (released of course). We also boated a few bream and lots of chopper tailor, but lost a few rigs, till we swapped to no1 double (ganged) hooks. Back home and cleaned up by 9.30am, so still got a days work in (painting the mortgage). Slipped a pic of Lydia, the newest member of the clan whilst I was on baby sitting duty.

Another brilliant result Chris. Hard work and perseverance paid off, must have been great having the grounds to yourself.