g.t.

Good stuff on your new PB there Yak. I was down at the lake myself on Saturday, managed a couple of just legal flatties, and my mate dropped a nice 50cm + speciman at our feet , all on live poddies... Just out of interest, what sort of bait/ lure were you using?

Good stuff on the finding the new spot. Sounds like a fun session. Couldn't agree more about the rats in the harbour at the moment being very well conditioned. I've found it's not unusual to find around 4 yakkas in their stomach when gutting them, so they're obviously eating well! Not asking you to divulge your new spot X, but I was wondering if you might be able to share with us if there was anything about the new spot that made you decide to try it? ie. structure, sounder reading, surface activity, hot tip etc...

Thanks heaps guys for all your replies! I really appreciate your time. I think I'll give one a go, and I'll be sure to report back with the results.

Gday Raiders, Just wondering if anyone's had any experience, or formed an opinion on Okuma spinning reels. If so, are there any models in the range to avoid? Or am I better off sticking to the what I know (shimano)? This is mainly price motivated, as I'm looking for a new 4000-6000 reel, and I can get a reasonably priced AVEON model through a mate. Cheers, Geoff.

Very entertaining read- just like being there. Congrats on a great day!!!

Now that's a whopper of a lizzard. Flatty of a lifetime you'd have to say. I think the other Raiders' estimates of at least 90cm are on the money... Scroll down and check out the Dusky Flathead section on this link... http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recrea...r-fishing/weigh Really awesome effort there! Definately worth getting that camera!!!!

Top looking spot, and top bream there... What a view. Nothing like putting a bit of an effort to get to that good spot.

You're right about the samson- With all the experience of one kingy under my belt, i was calling it for "a decent kingy" when I was bringing it in, and it wasn't that big... I reckon the extra height in their profile gives them a huge amount of power when swimming sideways to the fishing line. In terms of Des, top bloke/ teacher, with the best job in the world!

hehehe... funny you say that. I'm not quite there yet, but after the early success we had, we were joking about that yesterday. Scary bloody obsessive sport!!!

Well done mate... Great to get the Mrs involved in the action, and onto a whopper tailor as well. I've mentioned a couple of times to my fishing mates that I wished the wife would get involved, figuring I'd get more time fishing and less time copping grief for how much time I spend! One mate quickly pointed out to me that he'd done quite the opposite, banning his from fishing and golf, just to get some time away from her!!! Either way, mine couldn't be less interested... go figure.

Gday Raiders! I'm writing this report as a VERY VERY happy fisherman... My dream and obsession for the last year has come true- I caught my first kingy! This last week I've had the two best fishing sessions of my life. For a long time I've been reading other Raiders' reports of successful kingy sessions, and I've been full of admiration and a certain amount of jealousy! When my lovely wife asked me what I'd like for Christmas this year I quickly replied "a boat". She laughed... damn it... stupid mortgage. When she asked me what I'd really like, I then replied, "I want to catch a kingfish". So given that I am boatless , she very kindly gave me my choice of fishing charters . After doing a bit of research, me and two mates decided to book with Des Tombs from Hookem & Cookem. The idea was to have a day of learning techniques, tackle, and locations from Des, and hopefully catch a kingy or two in the process. This would hopefully mean on the rare occasions we do have access to a boat, we would be in good stead for success. Anyway, Wednesday (16/1) was the day, and we met Des down at the boat ramp at 0530. We motored up Middle Harbour through the Spit and Balmoral areas, stopping at a number of Des' favourite bait spots, and soon the live-well was full of a good supply of squid, yakkas and slimies, and my head was full of a few great bait spots for the future! We moved to our first kingy spot, and put out a number of baits, on different weights and rigs, and it was long before BAM... ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.... my rod bent, and the drag was screaming. I could not believe the power, and how much line could be stripped at will, despite tightening the drag a number of times as much as I dared on 20Pd line. After about five nervous and exhilarating minutes, and a number of incredible runs, I landed my first kingy!!! He went 75cm... The rest of the day had a number of other big hits and unfortunately my mate got tangled and busted off on something (busted anchor rope maybe?) about 6 foot under the boat... looked like a good sized model as well. My other mate didn't manage a kingy unfortunately, but did manage a hammerhead shark, which he thinks sounds pretty impressive when telling people... Fairly important not to mention what size though (about 70cm ). We were pretty unlucky not to land more fish, but nevertheless the day was fantastic. Not trying to plug a business too much, but Des was bloody awesome. So generous with his knowledge and really works hard to get everyone onboard a good result. If there's anyone else like me, hanging to catch a kingy, and you don't have a boat, or need some invaluable guidance, fork out the cash and spend a day out with a GOOD charter provider like Des. In my opinion, it's the best thing I've done since joining FISHRAIDER. Very keen to test out our newly acquired knowledge and skills, one of my mates who was on the charter talked his dad into taking us out on his boat yesterday. We left at 0530, and as we'd done with Des, went to catch our livies. We easily caught about 20 odd, and headed off to the spot I'd landed a kingy on the Wednesday. Not long after getting my first line in the water I was on, and after a solid little fight, landed my first Samson fish measuring 62cm. "GOOD START!!!", we were all saying, and not long after, line after line went off, with kingy after kingy all in the 62-71cm range. There were 3 of us, fishing 5 rods, and all got a good taste of the action, and at one stage, had a triple hook up. We all ended up with a good taste of the action and the tally was as follows- Matt (my mate)- 4x kingies (1 legal), 1x Samson, 1x red rock cod (swallowed a yakka 3/4 it's size!) Matt's dad- 3x kingies (2 legal) Myself- 4x kingies (2 legal), 1 x Samson We went home over the moon , feeling like we'd graduated somewhat in our fishing careers. CANNOT WAIT to get out there again!!!! Thanks for reading, Geoff.

What a WHOPPER!!! Bloody well done!

Very nice effort there. I dropped a very similar model right at my feet about 2 weks ago, so I'm very jealous!

Great news... They look like a hell of a lot of fun!!!

Thanks heaps for the help! I look forward to reporting some (hopefully) success!

G'day Raiders, I was hoping I could get a bit of guidance for some spots to catch some yakkas or slimies somewhere between Drummoyne and Rose Bay. I'm heading out on my mates dad's boat to chase some kingies, and the only bait spots I'm familiar with are in Middle Harbour. Thanks to a lot of help from Fishraider members, I've become reasonably proficient at catching them, but I'll just be a bit out of my usual area. We're leaving from Drummoyne, and plan on fishing the harbour "proper", and if we can avoid motoring around to the Spit/ Balmoral it would be great (it's a big slow boat). Thanks in advance! Geoff.

Massive condolances on the stella .... not to mention not getting a chance to apply some serious drag on whatever sea monster pulled it overboard. I remember reading your post where you lost it the first time- I told the story to all my fishing mates and it got some serious laughs. I suppose the "glass half full" way of looking at it is to be greatful for all the fish you've been able to catch with it since it's first swim.... tragedy none the less!

Greetings Raiders! Can I first just say, what a fantastic site I think this is- Thank you sincerely for all the fantastic tips I've gained from the extensive hours I've spent reading all your posts. I've been "leeching" info as a timid "reader only" for some time now (long before I signed up as a member), and I've gained a hell of a lot of inspiration and invaluable tips from the incredible calibre of fellow fishos on this site. I really hope I can contribute some reports more frequently to kurb my "leeching" ways, and help return the favour you've all shown me! Anyway, onto my first report.... Thursday arvo I headed down to my grandfather-in-law's house down in Northbridge; a great house on the water with its own jetty out the front... and yes, I'm very jealous! The idea was to have a quick bash with my brother in law and his grandfather, both of whom are keen fishos, casting off the jetty towards the moorings immediately out the front. We started fishing an hour before high tide, using mainly servo purchased prawns, something I've been doing very well at weaning myself off, thanks to the many bait catching tips I've read on this site. As I've become accustomed to in Middle Harbour, we had the normal constant attention from the "pink squire brigade". We would have caught at least a dozen of these 20cm snapper wanna-be's, which although annoying at times, were still good fun on the 4pd bream gear I was using. Getting a little sick of the constant bait changing, I pulled out a squid I'd caught and frozen a few days prior, and cut it into some tasty looking strips, hoping it may last long enough for a larger specimen to come along. At the same time, I threw out some home-made burley to get the party started. Not long after the burley went out, a fairly sizable school of small bait fish arrived, followed by a fairy penguin feasting away at our feet- bloody marvellous. With this the bites got considerably better, and the next 2 fish were couple of 25-30cm snapper, which actually gave a good account of themselves. The next fish landed was an unwelcome surprise in the form of a pineapple sized puffer fish, that fought like a bucket of water, and was a real pain to de-hook- This as it turns out got me unstuck if you read further... Having re-baited with a squid strip, I cast out again, took up the slack on the line, when BAM! I'm on again, and this feels better!!!! My 2500 reel with 1kg of drag set was having a fair bit of line peeled off it, and I was getting a bit worried as my braid was a little depleted and in need of a re-spool. Thankfully he ran out of steam, and after a fun little battle, I got him back near the jetty. I was ecstatic and amazed to see him to be a 40cm-ish snapper (I'd never caught any snapper larger than 30cm in MH). So here's where I came unstuck... Just as I was about to land him, he gave his last little fight, and with surprising ease, the 10pd Vanish leader snapped an inch from the hook, and off he went. BUUGGGGER!!!! Upon inspection, my leader was really frayed and scuffed for about an inch above where it snapped. That bloody giant puffer had done a number on it (or perhaps I had, removing the hook), and I made the beginners’ mistake of not checking it afterwards. I won't make that mistake again.... We finished up around 1830, with other sundries including a good sized male blue swimmer, and a couple of undersized bream. All in all, a fantastic, relaxing arvo, and great to spend some quality time with some of my favourite in laws. I thanked my grandfather-in-law for having me around, and he thanked me for "leaving some in there for next time". Thanks for reading, and I'll have photos next time I promise!

Well done on the flatty. I love hearing about a session where someone throws everything at it. I get a huge buzz everytime I hook up on a plastic, more so than bait for some reason. Being on leave from work at the moment, I've been hitting the lake quite a bit lately. Having recently modified my approach, I haven't been home without a flatty for dinner in the last week (which is doing wonders for keeping the off my back about my worsening fishing obsession!). I've been using live poddy mullet with great success, and rather than spending hours wading around catching undersized bream and feeding the "pickers", I've caught nothing but good flatties and legal bream. I feel like I've had my own little epiphany/ breakthrough (and can't stop bragging about it!) I find get the same "better" quality fish when using the plastics, and seem to avoid the constant undersizers... Anyway, cheers for another awesome report - I've thoroughly enjoyed reading them.