SydneyIsSkyBlue
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Posts posted by SydneyIsSkyBlue
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17 hours ago, Keflapod said:
This is the dilemma,
You can target bread'n'butter and risk hooking something worthwhile or target bigger fish and risk getting bored. If the kingie bug needs to be fixed, I can suggest catching a small live red spot whiting that would be common there. It has no size limit (I believe). Use it as live bait and target big flatties, jewies and of course kingies.
Losing a good kingie is like losing LeFondre, DeJong and O'neill...
First of all @Keflapod - that is a brilliant analogy, I love it!
suspect you may be a fan yourself?
I actually caught one of them the other day and threw it back for obvious reasons... If only I'd known.
I've actually never used live fish as bait (only nippers), but have obviously seen people using yakkas through the nose for kingies. Is it a similar concept with any baitfish? Pardon the ignorance but when fishing like that from the beach, is it simply a case of opening the bail and letting the fish swim out into the deeper water? (I assume you're not casting haha) -
1 hour ago, anthman said:
Tough luck mate! What rig were you using?
Hi mate,
It was a very basic sliding sinker rig.
8lb Diawa J-braid with a small ball sinker sliding above a swivel. 20lb flurocarbon leader down to a size 2 long shank hook.
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Thanks fellas!
I hope to bring you a story with a different ending one day :)
I was in even more shock when I saw it knowing that is was hanging of a relatively small size 2 long shank hook!
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Hi Raiders,
It's been a while since I've been on here but it's good to see the community is as strong and vibrant as ever!
Having been a busy few months with work, it's been a while between fishing sessions but I finally got the chance last week to head out to the beaches around Botany Bay to pump some nippers and chase a few whiting/flathead. In the midst of not being able to get out and go fishing, I've spent countless hours after work watching fishing videos on Youtube and trying to hone my skills and knowledge for when I could get back out there as well as trying to work my way through the recipes in the "Australian Fish & Seafood Cookbook" that I received last Christmas. My aim is to try and make as many of the dishes as I can from that book with the fish that I catch.
Anyway, during this time, I have been hanging to make the Kingfish recipe in the book as well as finally landing one of those guys land-based (I've never hooked up to one). Having spoken to a mate, he told me to head out with a fishing guide later this year which will hopefully give us a fair chance. But alas, I digress. Here I am casually fishing off the beaches at Dolls Point: small pinkies, some whiting, a sting ray and flathead make up a mixed bag in the first hour. As it started slowing down, I moved down the beach to some of the deeper water on the incoming tide. On goes the next nipper and off I cast... I wait... and then the rod buckles and I strike. Immediately, I knew this was something different and the line starts peeling off my reel. It sounds awfully familiar to those numerous videos I've watched over the last few months about targeting kingfish. As the fight goes on, I start thinking to myself I must have hooked up on another big sting ray as there wasn't much fight, it was just dragging me around the place. The line is going left, I pause and reel and then it goes right and takes more line. This is a serious fish, but on a size 2 long shank hook? It can't be.
A couple of minutes later in the haste of my excitement and curiosity, I get the fish to about 2-3m to the edge of the beach and low and behold, its a kingfish (I estimate it would have been around 70-75cm). My anxiety levels go up, I can't lose this, I've tried and toiled for some time and here is my moment. As I'm about to land the fish... a sudden twang and then laxity in the line. The leader snaps and there goes my hook and the fish. It's been almost a week now, and I keep replaying the moment and what I could have done differently in that situation.
Anyway, here's hoping I quash this burning desire to tick kingfish off my list and recipe book in the next few weeks!
SSIB
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Hi raiders,
Have been looking into getting myself a fishing kayak over the last few months but the major deterrent is the fact that I've never used one nor had any experience boating, use boat ramps to launch etc. All my fishing experience has predominantly been land based so I'd like to get myself out a little bit further on the kayak.
I've scoured the search bar for information before posting but can't seem to find a thread on essentially 'getting started' and what is required to have a bit of fun, but most importantly to be safe. Last thing I want to do is shell out for a kayak and then not have an idea what the hell I'm doing. Don't necessarily have a budget (happy to spend whatever, but my main priority is safety and ease of use).
Has anyone got any recommendations for getting started and what the essentials are when new to kayaking? Any info would be greatly appreciated on this
Happy fishing!
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8 hours ago, Keflapod said:
Whiting has a very delicate flavour. The way I cook it is fillet it and dry the fillets with a paper towel. In a pan I put some flour, salt and some herbs (master foods lemon/garlic) or similar. Place the fillets in that to lightly coat them. Get a good Teflon frypan and spray some aerosol olive oil onto the pan. When it's hot place the fillets onto the pan skin side down for a couple of minutes until the flesh side up shows signs of cooking through. Serve with lemon juice or (tartare sauce for the kids). I also debone the fillets coz my wife and daughter prefer that. Nice elbow slapper BTW. I love the big sudden runs they do when they see the boat. They are my favourite fish. COOOOME OOON YOOOUU BOOOYS IIIN BLUUUE. Derby mania Saturday. I'll be there!
Ended up doing it lightly pan fried (flour, green Schezuan pepper corns - ground and salt) with some ginger, garlic, chilli and shallots and then drizzled with a squeeze of lime.
HAHAHA love it mate! See you in the away end, it's going to be crazy!
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1 hour ago, Yowie said:
Don't overspice whiting when cooking it, does not need too much strong flavouring.
The Indian recipe I have is for snapper, so this would make a lot of sense. Suggest not doing it then?
Ironically don't tend to cook a lot of fish but this recipe is essentially a masala paste (Kashmiri chilli, onion, garlic, ginger, cloves, peppercorn, cassia bark, cumin seeds, ground tumeric and malt vinegar and salt) and then you score the fish and rub the paste on, quickly pan fry it to seal it and then into the oven with foil on top for 5-10 min. A bit overkill for the humble whiting?
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Hi raiders,
Had the afternoon off work today so thought I'd sneak out for a quick afternoon fish in the Hacking with the main goal of targeting some whiting. Got there at low tide to start pumping some nippers and with a few in the bucket, I was ready to go. The afternoon started quite slow with only a few sporadic nibbles on the incoming tide. Down to my last two nippers so decided to move around the point and saw a little drop off near the edge of the sandbank that I thought may have been worth a try and boy was it. Within a few seconds - WHACK! I was on.
At first I thought I'd caught a smaller model as there wasn't much fight but as soon as it got onto the sandbank, it took right off which lead me to loosen the drag out a little. After a few good little runs, in came a 41cm whiting. Dispatched quickly, bled and straight onto ice. The only decision now is, salt and pepper whiting or if I get it on to the BBQ over coals with some Indian spices (a new recipe I've been wanting to try for some time now).
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3 hours ago, kingie chaser said:
I do it as part of my job as a chef & I also do it at home as well for myself using various ingredients & methods compared to the video.
Im at work at the moment so cant go into detail but I am getting a write up ready for the cooking section as we speak of which curing, dehydrating, cold & hot smoking is a part of it.
Really looking forward to having a read, thanks mate!
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Hi everyone,
I've been experimenting with some fish recipes over the last few months and was told about dry curing fish (essentially to draw some surface moisture out and concentrate the flavours) - has anyone had any experience with this? Thoughts?
Looking forward to hearing your feedback.-
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Great stuff mate!
Have been out about 5 times this month chasing squid and it seems as though they've all gone into hiding (I was catching regularly earlier in the year)... or maybe it's just me! 😅
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23 hours ago, Hateanchors said:
I have used them quite a bit, mainly because they have some colours that no one else has and I liked them. Have caught plenty of squid on them. Strike rate is no different to expensive jigs.
I have found the spikes to be not very sharp and are very difficult to get them sharp yourself. Still, they catch a heap of squid.
Really interesting you say that. I noticed the same thing when I caught my finger on one of the spikes and I didn't jump through the roof like the Yamashita ones tended to do to me.
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23 hours ago, jnrfinatic said:
A couple of months back, me, my dad and my brother used to go squid fishing to the left of the bridge and had success . Lost a coupla squid jigs there, very snaggy place all around the bridge.
Dad used to fish the bridge a lot at night and quite often he had success with squid.
Hope this helps!
Adem
Are you talking to the left of the bridge in the Google satellite image above mate or to the left of the bridge when standing on it facing Bare Island?
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These are the jigs for anyone interested 👍
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I find it REALLY snaggy there. I've lost a number of jigs around the point.
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2 hours ago, Welster said:
Not me but interested to hear how they go. I like Harimitsu jigs but have had plenty of success on $10 and cheaper jigs. But if I'm only using one rod I felt more confident with my fave Harimitsu until I inevitably lost it.
Will keep you posted mate!
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Hey guys,
I've just purchased a few Rui squid jigs online after a mate recommended them to me (he swore by them).
Always happy to try new things but to be honest, a bit sceptical at the price point they came in at ($10.99 each) compared to the standard brands I'm normally using (Yamashita, Shimano etc.) - especially in regards to water dynamics. Willing to give them a try though as they have a nice range of colours and look pretty decent. Has anyone had any experience using these and if so, how do they perform?
Thanks,
SSIB!
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37 minutes ago, Fishn50 said:
Hi,
I've been a chef for 20+ years. The number 1 thing people do wrong with squid is over cook it.
I almost always cut mine at home into finger strips like beef stroganoff as i like to stir fry it for maximum flavor. Keeping it all cut the same size is also very important to keeping tender.
It Never Ever Needs milk, kiwi fruit or anything else to tenderize it, if you don`t overcook it it will always be as soft as butter. The best way i can explain is to think how thin a piece of squid is either in a ring or a strip, it doesn't take much time to cook such a thin piece of seafood.
What you are looking for is the squid to turn from translucent to white. As soon as the squid firms up in shape ( isn't soft and floppy ) its done.
As a guide:
- Squid strips stir fried - 2 mins no longer.
- Rings deep fried at 180c - 1 1/2 to 2mins, no longer.
- Cooking in a tomato based sauce, there is 2 ways:
- First is to have the sauce 90% cooked/reduced to desired thickness then add the squid and cook for 2 mins only.
- Second is once the sauce has started before reduction, add the squid and cook for 45 mins as a minimum up to 1 hour, with the lid on and stirring occasionally. This is the classic way that Italians and Greeks cook their squid which gets spooned over pasta.
Hope this helps you all to get your squid tender!
Legend!
Thank you so much @Fishn50.
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8 hours ago, Keflapod said:
Mate my son chants in the cove at every game right next to the capo. I can hear him in the shower "ole ole ole...." As well as all those other taunting chants we can't repeat.
The arrows are inshore species whereas the Gould's are offshore.
Those elderly people must not have had any experience with ocean rocks. Surprising given they have made it this far in life but also surprising if there was no obvious signs around for them to read.
Love it mate!
what a legend.
My strong guess is that they were tourists and there were definitely signs around warning of the danger (including death).
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1 hour ago, Keflapod said:
Hi sydneyIsSkyBlue(sydneyFC is it?), the tender calamari you are eating at restaurants is likely the Gould's squid. They are very tender but not as tasty as the Southerns. You did really well both in catching a good feed as well as dodging a fine. Funny that. There's nothing fine about a fine. They should have called them turds or something.
Definitely Sydney FC mate
Glad to see someone picked that up!
Are Gould's squid the same as "arrow squid"?It's bizarre, there was one elderly couple who walked onto the rocks and literally crouched down and dipped their hands in the water as the swell was coming through and crashed onto the rock. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and yet, no requirement for a life jacket.
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17 minutes ago, Central Coast Fisherman said:
Great job on the squid. I’ve been catching a heap of them up here on the Central Coast. A couple of weeks ago I caught 5 in 5 casts right on sunset with the biggest going 33cm hood length.
We have 1-2 meals of squid per week. What I do is clean the hoods then butterfly them so they are one big piece of squid. In the morning on the day you intend on eating the squid, I mix up one mashed kiwi fruit with one cup of milk then pour this over the squid in an air tight container and put it back in the fridge for around 10 hours.
Then before you cook it for dinner give the squid a really good wash under fresh water to get all the kiwi fruit and milk off, dry it really well with paper towel, score the squid in a crisscross pattern then cut into strips and cook however you like your squid.
My wife and I had quite a few goes at different tenderising methods and I reckon this way is best.
To cook we prefer flour, egg then crumb and shallow fry. The kids absolutely love it (and dogs when there’s left overs).
We also eat the tentacles and candles.
All the squid I have been catching have been big so I guess you can reduce the tenderising time depending on the size of the squid.
Cheers,
Phil
Lovely - thanks for that Phil.
Doing a bit of research today and it appears as though blended pineapple, papaya or kiwi fruit are the way to go. At the end of the day, I guess it's all about trial and error. Will give the kiwi and milk for a shorter time frame a go next time.
The tried and tested low and slow method was awesome though for the braised squid. Great texture and extremely tender.
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11 minutes ago, 61 crusher said:
Good one, sounds like you had a great morning session at a new location, bloody double standards re life jackets, kiwi fruit probably 1/2 to 2hrs, I once tried milk overnight but the others in the family weren’t overly impressed I didn’t mind it though
Thanks mate. I know it's bizarre! Have a feeling that knick in the side of the calamari's wing came from a follower as I was reeling it in too. They're aggressive buggers when they want to be.
Interesting you say that, I've tried the milk overnight too and didn't think it did much. Still a snap when you bit into it.
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Good afternoon raiders,
Headed out last Friday morning to Botany to chase a few calamari as it's been a while since I've been out. Came across a new land-based area which I thought I'd test out and turned out to be a really fun couple of hours. A word of warning to anyone fishing in Randwick council however, you MUST be wearing life jackets at all times when fishing. In the 3 hours I was there, there were police doing random sweeps and at one point I had one come up to me and thank me for wearing a life jacket (followed by a good chat about his squidding experiences haha), however I saw them dishing out fines to 3 people in my immediate vicinity. What I don't understand though is that there were people (I presume tourists) down by the water with with no life jackets. Apparently they don't need them if not in possession of fishing gear - bizarre!
All in all though, nice to get out again and get onto some calamari. The biggest measured 30cm hood length, then 24cm and 17cm. Called it a day and came home with a feed of - half braised in a Greek tomato sauce to be served over some rice or dipped with bread and the other half crumbed and made into rings. Unfortunately leaving the rings in kiwi fruit over night turned them to mush when cooked - duly noted for next time.
On that, has anyone had any experience with tenderising calamari specifically? I don't mind the "un-tenderized" snap that they naturally have but my partner loved the calamari rings she had the other day from the local seafood place down the road the other day which was super tender but still held structure. I suspect I should be doing it for more like 2 hours as opposed to overnight. Guess I know for next time! 😀
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12 hours ago, 61 crusher said:
Good to see your back catching again, I’ve heard Japans tackle stores are amazing, how do they compare in price, I wouldn’t be surprised if the jig wall is like looking at a lollie shop
I could have spent hours in there mate!
It was a really cool experience. My Japanese is non-existent but walked in and pretty much said two words... "Sumimasen, egi?" (Excuse me, egi?) and the gentleman lead me to a room where he rolled open a whole wall of squid jigs about 5-6m wide and 2m tall (they even provided a ladder to reach the top). On there, every brand, colour and size you could ever wish for.
I would say price wise it's 1:1, it's pretty close! I paid around 1160 yen for a 3.0 yamashita jig which is around $14-15. Maybe a couple of bucks cheaper than here. However it's the variety that gets you. I walked out of one shop in Osaka with about 15 jigs and a new Shimano case to hold them all in (spent an hour in there) and had to force myself to leave at that point as we had a booking to get to.
If you're ever in Japan, it's well worth getting to one of their fishing tackle shops. This particular shop was 3 stories!
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suspect you may be a fan yourself?
Glad to see someone picked that up!
The Ultimate Disappointment
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Love it mate!
Might see you around fishing on the bay or at the stadium
PS: Thanks for the advice!