Ganguddy Goodoo

Hi SP, I've got a revo 11 which I'm happy with. Mainly fish fresh and so far I've only been out max 800m in the ocean. I chose a small yak as easy manhandle and my kids can also use it. If I was fishing more offshore I would have gone a revo 13. If you have a bad back an Outback would be worth a 2nd look as you can stand up periodically to relieve tension which would make longer sessions way more comfortable. I think the latest generation of Outbacks are meant to be quicker than older models. Good luck. GG

Good read. My daughter was super keen for a couple of years when she was about 7. She is not so interested now but will have a crack when she is at the coast with her friends. She has other outdoor interests and as long as she is outside, being active and having fun dad is happy. I reckon expose them to as many outdoor activities as possible and there is a good chance they will find something they love. If she ever does find her way back to fishing I know she will not be held back by a "girls can't do that" attitude and I'm really proud of her for that.

Hi BH, Never fished it but I have relos nearby so would love to know how you go. You reckon its big enough for a small yak? I'm surprised there is trout in there as I would have thought they would have been knocked around by the big droughts over the last 25 years. Might be a few if they are still stocking it. I think there could be a few redfin and bass around too. Live worms should attract all species in the river. Lures would catch fish but that country looks snaggy as. Good luck. GG

Kinda agree with you ... probably less lives lost over time at some locations but not a silver bullet. Apart from potential for a "false sense of security" resulting in people fishing in less than ideal conditions, being attached to a rope in moving water has its own issues, especially if your rope is longer than a few metres. You might want to attach a rescue knife to your PFD. As for multiple people using the same anchor I'd want to know they had some idea what they were doing and were not unclipping me. Also it is bit of a slippery slope in terms of the number of anchors you could end up with (I'm talking right up and down the coast). Over time you could end up with hundreds of bolts which may not go down well with land managers. You would also end up with installation and maintenance issues ... even stainless may not be good enough. From a rock climbers perspective dynabolts don't do so well in sea cliffs, so I don't think they would be that great on rock platforms either. Alternatives might be a little more expensive and a little more difficult to place. I'm not saying it is not a good idea you would just need to put a bit of thought into where and how they were placed.

A bit off topic but I was a Pogues fan as a teenager back in the eighties. I had a bit of a crush on Kirsty MacColl at the time. Years later I was saddened when i heard she was tragically killed when a speedboat drove over her dive site in Mexico. Every time I see or hear off a motor craft do something dangerous on the water I think of that beautiful, kind woman with that wonderful voice. What a waste.

Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't mean to sound negative. I'd be happy being out there exploring without wetting a line. Also the process of "cracking the code" is one of the best parts of fishing. So I'm a happy little fisho.

Given big Neil and Green Hornet kindly gave me some good advice and ideas for where to have a crack it is probably courteous that I write some sort of trip report. I was mainly fishing out of my yak in which I usually leave my phone safely in a keg ... so no photos ... sorry. My first session was Friday arvo walking the beaches between Dalmeny and Narooma throwing a 30g metal. The surf was reasonable but not huge but a lot of the water was churned up and I struggled to locate clear gutters from the waters edge. The beaches seemed much steeper than usual, possibly damaged by recent big swells. Fished until dark without so much as a touch. Saturday lunchtime I hit Wagonga Inlet. Started in Forsters Bay where I tried some natural coloured soft plastics and a blade with no action in the first hour. Trolled a hardbody around briefly but was picking up to much weed for my likely. Eventually a few gulps got chomped. Tried with some tougher SPs but kept getting pants'd. Maybe small tailor. Moved over to the bridge and drifted some nippers on the last of the outgoing tide. A couple of 10cm fatties and a toad fish made it into the net. Once the tide changed I moved over to Lavender Point and drifted nippers and prawns next to the weedbed next to the channel. Things pick up a bit and I landed about 10 fish over an hour. Mostly flatties around 20cm and bream just under legal. No keepers. Sunday sunrise I went back to spinning metals off the beaches, this time on a slightly smaller lure. I was getting hit every 2nd cast and landed 7 salmon. Most were around 15cm and very cute. Biggest was around 40cm. Lost my rod holder when I failed to push it in deep enough. Noob mistake. The sea giveth, the sea taketh. Not cool to put more plastic in the ocean. Sunday arvo I explored Mummaga Lake. The water had a lot more colour ... seemed more like tannin than actually being dirty. I spent a few hours flicking lures around the Northern Bays. Managed several bream again just under legal. These were a vibrant silver which I assume means they had just come in from the ocean. A gold blade seemed to be the most effective lure. I spend another 2 hours drifting bait for flathead with no luck. Tried nippers, prawns and salmon fillet. Judging by the numerous skeletons floating around the ramp there are some decent fish in there. I suspect is one of those places where local knowledge helps. Overall I enjoyed myself. Definitely worse places to be.

Hi Dave, You might be right as you spend a lot more time on the water than I do. I'd like to think that most people do the right thing and we only notice the few who do not. To me PWC look like a lot of fun but have the potential to do a lot of damage in the wrong hands. Cheers GG

Thanks bN every bit of info helps. I might try and squeeze in a session on Mummuga and Wagonga while I'm down there. Thanks GH I will go and look for some gutters between Dalmeny and Bar Beach. It looks like at the end of this year I'll also be living part time down that way so I will have plenty of time to explore. Cheers guys.

I'm staying down Dalmeny way over Easter. Any suggestions for beach/estuary/rock fishing would be much appreciated. I have a yak and would be prepared to drive a little way if there is a particularly good area nearby (ie quiet and pretty estuary). Not fussed what species ... can fish anything from 6lb to 30lb. Happy flicking lures or drowning bait. Can I still get nippers/pipis this time of year? I'll also be staying with 3 boys aged 9-12 who would be up for a fish for half a day. Is there something that would suit them? I'd even consider a charter for them if there was a reasonable chance of success. Last time I took them out on a friend's boat they had a good time but it was cut short by sea sickness. I've had a reasonable go at the Fishraider search function looking at Narooma/Dalmeny but all the info seems to relate to summer. Cheers GG

Hi bN, Glad you are getting out. That mud looks slick. Do you ever launch and retrieve with a winch or tow rope? I'm hoping to acquire a tinny next year (1st boat). I don't think I'd be confident going anywhere near that ramp with my level of experience. Be keen to hear how others manage such situations.

Nice. Going forward I'll be spending a bit of time down that way. Looking forward to exploring some of the country between the beaches and into the coastal ranges. Bushwalking and maybe chasing bass. Might have to invest in a pan for a bit of prospecting as well.

Beautiful photos. Is that local for you?

That is wonderful. Hope you can sneak in a honeymoon sometime. Best wishes GG

Hoping the rain goes away and that there is not too much damage to your property and in your community

My daughter made this Murray Cod for me at pottery. Felt sorry for me because I wasn't catching any.

Understand your frustration noelm. I'd like to think that the "tossers" are only a very small percentage of the population. Unfortunately they can leave a big mess. I'm not sure you can do much about it. I think deep down they don't like themselves very much and somehow feel empowered by being antisocial. They are not going to change without a lot of therapy and a big change in their luck in life. Where I live there are heaps of fire trails in old forestry areas. There is no longer public vehicle access as the park's guys couldn't keep on top of all of the rubbish that was being dumped. Big loss for everyone.

Nice. I suspect you just caught nearly as many cod in 1 week as I have in my whole life.

Could be a tough week for a lot of people. Fingers crossed this east coast low disappears sooner rather than later. Thinking of all you fishos who live on lower ground close to rivers. Take care.

Magnificent beast. I'm impressed you backed up week in, week out so consistently. I'd imagine that at times that would have been physically hard work on the yak. My question to you @kingfish101 (or is that now @jewfish134) is are you going to go after a barra and a goodoo and make it a 1m quaddie?

I was going to say a Broad Headed Snake (likes rocks and cliffs) but you are too far north. Diamond Python would be my guess too. Beautiful Snake.

No I'm not spending too much at the tackle shop. I just suck at it. Not necessarily asking for help. Just stuck at home with covid. I'm a bit inspired by @DerekD helping other fish raiders with the technical aspects of their lure fishing. Maybe some of the following musings might help a few people. If you find it a load of bollocks ... sorry. I thought the move over to fishing estuary flats with small poppers, sugapens, bent minnows etc would be straight forward. I dabble in a few styles of fishing mainly in the fresh. I've only been out with a fly rod a few times. Like a lot of novices a lot of my attention is on the casting action and getting the right sort of loop going. However the feedback I received from more experienced mates was more about what happens after your presentation hits the water. "Stay in touch with your fly. Are you in touch with your fly". Its now almost like a mantra every time I cast. Maybe that is why I find a spin outfit way easier. Once you make a cast most of the time you are in touch with your lure. You can feel the lure working and quickly learn to feel when you bump a rock, or foul with weed or get a hit. I figured surface fishing with lures would be even easier. After all not only can you feel what is going on you can see it too. So why do I struggle? Maybe partly because there is a difference between fresh and salt. The first few time I used a lure (sp) in an estuary I struggled. In the fresh I've caught enough Golden Perch, Redfin and Trout to be confident that I knew how the different lures worked. 90% of the time I'm using SPs, blades or small diving hardbodies. Maybe some lipless crankbaits and small spinnerbaits on the yellas. A few Tassies for trout. Clearly the problem was I didn't know enough about the saltwater environment. I little bit of research into tides, the different types of structure and fish behaviour reaped dividends. Now when I hit an estuary in my Yak using my freshwater lures I feel I'm a reasonable chance of getting a feed. Not so with the surface lures. So this was a bit of a mystery. Its quite possibly related to inadequate gross and fine motor skills. Thinking about it it might also be something to do with the way I'm working the lures. Locally I often target Golden Perch. In the river its usually about finding a bit of structure, getting the lure as close as possible and fishing slow. In the lakes most fishing is either a slow roll or small hops with lots of pauses and a few twitches. The majority of my lure fishing is passive ... most of the time I'm letting the lure do its thing. I not really working the rod much to impart action. So maybe this is why I'm struggling with surface lures in saltwater. The few times I've been out on the flats with a Sugapen I've lasted about 30 minutes. Getting it to dart around was inconsistent. The confidence took a beating. As soon as i tied on a lightly weighted soft plastic or really shallow diving hardbody I suddenly felt that fish curry was back on the menu. So what is the solution? Obviously more persistence. Maybe going out with someone who knows what they are doing. Also I should really pull my finger out and go down to a local freshwater lake and just play around until I can get the surface lures working the way they are meant to. I probably need a change in mindset ... not just cast and retrieve while daydreaming ... I probably need to actually concentrate on what I am doing. It is probably worthwhile getting skilled "actively" working lures as it might help me in the fresh when things are slow.

@Chhayzor really enjoy reading stuff like this. Improving skills and knowledge is such a big part of fishing for me. @DerekD fantastic that you help so many people. Improves my faith in the human race. I really struggle with surface lures too. Might put a seperate post up about that. I think if I lived in Sydney I'd approach you for some assistance

link above looks stuffed

Maybe DIDYMO. Sounds nasty. http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/didymo