Brendan Monks

Thanks mate! It's a 2660 Sailfish WAC from memory. 👍

Thanks guys! 🤙

Cheers @kingie chaser Yeah thats it, I only kept a plates worth for my family 👍 Not a real fan of the taste though, and definitely wouldn't go out of my way to keep one on purpose!

Managed to get out a few times over the break – Just need to catch up on reports! 🙄 We had heard a few reports slowly filtering in of early season Marlin coming through earlier in the month, although we held off until we were confident we’d be on. We made a last minute call to fish the Sunday on a mate’s boat as the weather looked like it had slightly improved. 🤞 As we were filling up there was a slight breeze and rain overhead but the conditions out wide were meant to be okay, as we ran across Lake Macquarie for the 6:00am bridge the wind was already pumping from the Southeast. Poking the nose of the ‘Silver Fox’ out past Moon Island we had the worst run out to the FAD line and almost turned around calling it a day. It was over a 2 hour run out in atrocious conditions to the Middle Canyons, this area always seems to hold fish and the plan was to troll a spread of 5 lures north towards the ‘Carpark’. I had guessed the exact number between 1 and 10, so I was on strike for the first 2 hours! Luckily the swell and wind gradually dropped as the skipper was about to come in 30 minutes into trolling. Another mate was on the wheel, and I advised him it would be best to pull the lures wide around a coal ship that was drifting (We have previously hooked Marlin off the back of these). As we approached the ship the shotgun lure went off, it was only a Striped Tuna but at least we know knew we were in the zone! No sooner than we were past the ship, long corner was crashed by a Striped Marlin. Yeewww. We quickly realized there was at least another 2 Marlin trying to take other lures, both hooking up for a few seconds, and another following the witchdoctor teaser, bill-whacking it all the way to the back of the boat (We found out at the end of the day it had in fact cracked the mirrors in some places it was hitting it that aggressive!) We quickly cleared the rest of the spread and focused on the one fish that had stayed connected from the start. The fish played up nicely, jumping quite a lot at the start and we had it boatside after a short 30/35 minute fight. Sadly it had become tail wrapped and could not be revived after trying to swim it for up to 20 minutes. Luckily we had a large fish bag on board and dealt with it humanely – Not to be wasted! Lures were quickly put back into the water and we continued working the general area, not much eventuated until the afternoon when we quickly hooked (And quickly dropped) another Striped Marlin. With another 2 hour run back to Swansea channel to make the bridge opening we decided to call it a day. We ended up going 4-2-1 on Striped Marlin, the one that couldn’t be released estimated around 60kg and shared around to family and friends. Awesome way to start the 20/21 Marlin season and the first time I've witnessed a pack attack! Cheers, Brendo

Nice work!! 👏 I'd happily take a good size jew as by-catch! 😁

Interesting...My mate stayed until Monday night. He fish Sunday arvo session (Until 2:00am LOL) and managed 11 fish by himself! I did have the fly rod packed but fishing was slow! How did you go with the fly? We focused on fishing the edge of the weed line, and that's where we got most of our fish. Cheers, Thank you! 🤙

Thank you Donna! Yes it was hard fishing, but I'll definitely be back out there to crack that 60cm fish. Just out of interest, just wondering what techniques you used? (Can PM) I'll shoot you a PM when we are out there next. 😁

It's a small world Donna! How did you guys go on the fish? We were the other side of the amenities building 🤣

Thank guys!!

Cheers 🤙 Definitely worth the travel and casting!

Thanks Neil! Sorry, that was 400/500 casts each. haha It got windy during the middle of both days, and raining after 1 session, but we stuck it out after most, if not all boats went in. Still got fish during that! I've been to Copeton now 3 times for nothing, keen to chase a river cod sometime. 👍 Cheers, Brendo

21/11: After talking about it with a close mate for a few years now, and always keen to try something different, the opportunity finally arose to chase a Golden Perch! We didn’t have any real plans, and I only finally decided on the Friday morning to head out and meet him at Lake Windamere! He already had the chance to fish it the previous 2 days and had some success! Friday afternoon was a rush buying lures, (Way too many – I ended up only using the one! LOL) packing gear, and booking a site at Cudgegong Waters park. I finally managed to get away and turn the 3 hour 45 min drive from the coast into a 5 hour drive after stopping for food and supplies for only the 2 days. 😆😁 Rolling into camp just after 12:00am, my mate had B & E rolls already cooked and gave me a rundown on how and what to fish, the plan was for an early start to get a crack at these fish before the wind picked up! With the rods already rigged, and froth levels super high we were on the water by 6:30am. The morning was very uneventful for a few hours and we were mainly fishing the edge of the weed lines on the edge of sloping banks. We slowly motored the Minn Kota into a small bay where my mate said he had hooked fish on 2 occasions near a tree but not landed. Within a few casts he was tight! Finally on the board, we had a healthy Windamere Perch at 55cm. 🥳 Feeling a lot more confident we peppered the area for another 30 minutes before moving to slightly deeper water off a bank, it wasn’t long before I felt a bump on the drop! Giving it a bit to allow the assist hooks in his mouth, I struck quickly and felt weight! I couldn’t believe it, after short fight a solid fish at 58cm popped up. Yeewww! High fives all around that I had finally broken the drought, and only 15 minutes before the cut off time we bet $50.00 I wouldn’t get one by! 🤑 With the wind now pumping we quickly head back in for a shower and feed of steak and sausages to get ready for an arvo sesh! Back on the water at 4:00pm, expectation was high to get a quality fish. We fished the same sort of areas before I came tight on 6lb leader. With the wind still blowing steady, and the fish playing up in the weed we finally had it on board! Conditions not getting any better, I quickly hooked another fish. We worked out there was no point hanging around after we pulled one fish from the area. We slowly cruised into another bay, with massive clouds rolling in from the storm that was due that afternoon we wanted at least one more before dark. We marked some fish holding up against a tree…”Watch this” my mates goes, sure enough, first cast in the new zone. Fish on! An absolute cracker slowly came to the surface, going 61cm after a short fight. We run in at dark, getting covered in bugs and watching an amazing lightning storm over the hills, quite a few kms away. Sleep came quick after a quick feed of homemade beef kebabs and a few cold ones, and having been cooked in the 34 degree heat all day. 😴 The plan for the next day was an earlier start, and to move areas after hooking a fish as we were only wasting our time. 22/11: Up at 5:30am we were quickly on the water. We were both confident, and I was hoping to upgrade to a magic 60cm model. I mentioned to my mate that we would be onto a fish in the first 20 casts! We pulled up to a bank we had success on the previous morning (Where I hooked my first fish) watching my mates lures hit weed, I pushed my 5th cast slightly wider. I knew I had to be in the zone, a felt a small nibble and struck quickly. Running only 6lb leader, and with hooks pulling easy, he quickly had me in the weed. After some maneuvering with the electric, and cupping of the spool, I soon had a chunky shouldered 56cm model in the net. My mate hooked another 2 good fish as the wind and rain picked up. We were back into camp around 1:00pm again to back up the gear for the drive home. I only tied on the one vibe all trip (Only changing the assist hooks to a slightly bigger gape) An awesome weekend away while we wait for the Marlin to turn up off the Central Coast! Next time I won’t take as much food as we spent most of the time fishing. We calculated we put in over 400/500 casts each over the 2 days for only 8 fish, with a few missed hookups as well. Still, definitely worth it and can’t wait to be back out there to crack the magic 60cm! Most fish were in the morning/afternoon, although we still hooked up in the middle of the day. 🍻🤙 Cheers, Brendo

I used to have my yak loaded on my old ute across the tub. I made 2 seperate 'cradles' lined with carpet the shape of the hull - 1 was narrow to slip over the headboard, and the bottom one slightly wider to to slip over the tub. It was easy to just lift the nose onto the edge of the tub and push the yak all the way up. The pic may show you easier. 🤙

Nice work Zoran! Looks like glamour conditions out there! We've had the exact same thing happen around this time last year - You can see the fish everywhere but they will not touch a thing - Like legit, not a thing! (Although they'll still come up to suss it out) 🤔 They've had 2 FADs since at least last year, although there are a lot of trap buoys in the vicinity that still hold a lot of fish 🤫😉 Its amazing to have such a rise in temperature across the 2 FADs!, maybe why the big dollies were only on the NE Fad? Looked like a cracker day, and you still got a good feed 🤙 Hope to get out there soon!

Nice work & pictures @TK01! Congratulations on the PB, I also got my PB Bass (52cm) in the Macleay on a mates property a bit further upstream of the Bass Lodge last year. Heard about the fish kill as well (From all the ash apparently) Keen to get back up if they are still around, beautiful part of the country!! 😁🤙

Thanks again for the number Dieter! I gave him a call yesterday arvo and he only uses the bearings I mentioned earlier that you can purchase online! Gonna get them installed by him next week. Bring on the Marlins 😁🤙

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll send them to Shimano 🤙

The place I found them on Fleabay is a company I've seen others on here talk about (Pla*g Bearings) - Not looking to skimp on gamefishing gear at all!, Rebel in fact PMd the actual business through, which was the same seller on Fleabay 😁 I know the guy from there, I'll pop in to check! Cheers, Brendo

Yeah agree, It will be $150 for my reels, plus parts & postage. Money isn't exactly the problem, I figured if any guys on here work at tackle shops etc. or have done them themselves, why not keep it local on the forum! ✌️

Hey Raiders, I have tried searching through the site to see if anyone has replaced the 2 spool bearings in a Tiagra 50W (Part 576), or any size Tiagra for that reason? I have recently had my mate from Freddys Fishing at Erina service 3 of my reels ready for Marlin season, but he doesn't know how / Doesn't want to touch the bearings...I have seen a few posts on here with those purchasing bearings off a certain seller on fleabay. Appreciate any comments or if know anyone who could have a look at these (For cash or beers of course !😁), if not I will send them to Shimano - Which they charge $50 per reel, not including parts and postage. Cheers, Brendo

Welcome to the Coast! 🥳 There is plenty of different options for fishing around here, all within reasonable distance and never too crowded! Do you have any more details on what fish species you specifically want to target, along with what type of fishing you prefer e.g. Rock/Estuary/Beach etc. Are you landbased or do you have a boat? Happy to help and try point you in the right direction, but there are others from around here that have been on Fishraider a lot longer than me and would have more experience. Cheers, Brendo

Nice work! What about the kingies in the pic? 😲😃 I guess you get them on the squid?

Sweet, They are nice boats! - I know 2 different guys that have the same colour Polycrafts on Brisbane Waters 👍 (Probably been yahooing to the wrong guy. LOL) 😅

Awesome work on the upgraded PB in one trip @antonywardle!! 🤙 Was that with Woz? (Recognise the boat). Good to see a lot of Jew around...might be time to try for a night sesh again soon 😁 They seem to go a lot harder in Brissy Waters as the water warms up.

Yeah same experience as @PaddyT but ballooning them off the rocks, either been sharked or massive tangles from everyone else casting over the top. 😆😂 Have you tried the base of The Skillion or Winnie Bay? A lot less crowded and have hooked some unstoppables on 80lb using poppers or live yakka. 🤔