SquibblyDibbly

100% noelm I have seen people nearly drown in mild conditions thanks to panic and getting washed up and down the rocks in spots you'd never get out.

Hey Raiders, Sad news today that 3 men have drowned after being washed off rocks whilst fishing at Port Kembla. I was just watching the police give a press conference and the information they shared ticked me off a bit. They blamed a "rogue" wave and gave zero helpful information to help others avoid this happening. We are seeing big swells with long swell periods in the area, great for surfers but perilous conditions to be on the rocks. I love fishing the rocks, done safely it's hard to beat. What I do before going is; Check the swell forecast, size, direction and swell period; - You don't want to fish the rocks if the swell is hitting your fishing spot head on. In a southerly swell try and find rocks facing north. - Look out for long swell periods, the longer the swell period the more power the waves have and the more the sets are spaced out. Even small swell at a 10+ second period could easily be dangerous. With spaced out sets an area may look safe for a considerable amount of time and then a set comes through and what you thought was safe is life threatening. Check the tide times and height; - Its handy to know if the tide is coming in our out while you'll be fishing. Some headland spots you might get trapped out there at a high tide. - Rocks where you are fishing into shallower water can become dangerous at low tide as the waves start breaking into the rocks. Other spots might become unsafe in a big high tide. Take the time to observe the conditions when arriving and before you start fishing; - How are the waves coming in, how is a set coming in. Are you going to get a little wet or washed off. Look at what areas of the rocks are wet. - If you were to fall in, where would you get out? Would the swell conditions let you get out? - Do you have an escape? I do not fish those spots where if a bigger wave came rolling in youd struggle to scamper away to safe ground. Take the right gear; - Footwear, Cleats or wetsuit style booties with a grippy sole is a smart choice. Look out for slippery weed or slime. I'm sure plenty of us have experienced that black slime that is essentially like ice to walk on. - Life jacket, I don't do this but I'm being an idiot. Take a life jacket, particularly if you are not confident swimming in the ocean. - Burley pot and rope, it will greatly improve your rock fishing and doubles as a way to retrieve someone who has fallen in. - Take your phone so you can call for help, go with mates, bare minimum tell someone where you are going. Does anyone else have any handy tips for the rocks?

I've caught good Tailor on fresh salmon for bait. I also reckon their blood is valuable burley, I drizzle it on my baits when bleeding the salmon.

Thank you Noel! That's all I needed to know. Electric would be good but no way you can feasibly get 12 hours run time out of them, yet.

It is totally repairable but the costs of keeping it going are getting well on the way to buying a new motor and doing what we do any breakdowns are a huuuge pain in the backside.

Yep I'm fully aware I cant get another 2 stroke like the old one. The newer 4 strokes in that HP range are all single cylinder, I just worry they wont be happy and run smooth idling around all day.

Hey Raiders, Thanks in advance for the advice. We run a few boats at work and we are due for a new motor on the little tinny. It currently has a 15 year old 2-stroke 6hp Yamaha which is nearing the end of its life. We pretty well spend the entire day idling, surveying at the slowest possible speed. Fouling plugs is a bit of an issue with the 2 stroke Yamahas but they have been quite happy to run smoothly at idle. Does anyone have any suggestions for a new replacement 6hp outboard considering how we use them? Is there a better option than a new 4 stroke Yamaha F6SMHA? Appreciate your input. Cheers!

Hey Frank, Would you sell it with the mercury mate?

QLD department of ag and fisheries have an ap called "QLD fishing 2.0" that will ID fish, or atleast try to.

There really are too many humans.

I've been really happy with Burkey X9 braid. Thin for the weight, casts a mile. I have seen people complaining about tangles but I haven't had any of those problems.

That is exactly what I thought but so far I've caught diddly around the bridge.

Either would be fine but the river is close to home and so far I haven't had much luck 😕

Hey Raiders, Does anyone know any land based spots to try for squid in the Shoalhaven? I have been trying but so far no luck. Thanks!

Hey again Will, my experience with whiting on surface lures is that the follows are a sign your action is not quite right for them, they are curious but not convinced. I have the most success with smaller surface poppers, usually in a sand or clear colour. High tide, sand flats, no wading out and dont be afraid to fish the shallows. I try to imitate a prawn skipping across the surface running away from a fish, 3 quickish pops with a pause. I find the best results when you pop the lure in a dead straight line, any irratic sideways movements and I get mostly follows and no hookups. No loop knots or clips, tying straight to the lure helps keep things straight. Stick with it, when you find that sweet spot in your action they can be surprisingly aggressive.. and tasty.

Great underwater shot. Gopro on a stick?

I hope he was providing burley overboard at least.

You will get both worms and pipis the length of the beach but the best spot for pipis is down the southern end in front a small lake that is closed to the ocean. Like Renegade said that beach is 30 mins north of batemans, not south as I first said. Good luck mate.

Murramarang beach at bawley point is 30 mins south of batemans bay. Great for worms and pipis.

Hey mate, I was down at bermagui a few months back. We caught good flatties in Bermagui river out of the boat. 3 weekends ago, an hour north of bermi we were getting blue spot flatties in 30m of water and they were ravenous. Last weekend good snapper were still being caught from land a couple hours north of Bermi. Hopefully this weather clears up and you have a nice trip.

Yeh you will get crabs in lake illawarra. Not as many as once upon a time though.

I'll PM you a few top spots if you tell anyone who asks that the fishing was terrible.

I'd agree there is something with whiting and the coloured tackled. I reckon one of those bright coloured beads just above your hook results in more whiting as well. If you want to avoid the weed and if they're on the chew I've had some great days with small yellow/clear/sand coloured poppers catching whiting. I've found 3 quick pops followed by a short pause does really well, popping in a straight line and tying directly to the popper (no loop knots) also increases the hook ups.

Congrats on the Kingie. How far south? Lake Illawarra and the Shoalhaven will both produce.

Sounds like a great day. The young fellas would have been stoked.