Jo5hC

Headed up to Forster with my mate Nathan (@MCNC) and both our families for 3 days. Goal was for both of us to get our first Jewies ever. Day 1: Only arrived at 8:30PM so started fishing at around 9. The water was really clear and I could see tons of baitfish which I think were herring around the jetty as well as packs of big luderick and bream passing through occasionally. Unfortunately there were many dolphins about at this time that were getting quite close to the jetty which made the fishing quite slow. Nathan managed one small squid that we kept alive for later. Saw a flatty around 60cm sitting in literally 50cm of water right at the base of the jetty. Dropped a plastic on its head and it spooked and swam away. We also explored further up to the marina and while walking saw what must've been a 80-90cm flatty sitting right on the side of the wall which swam away once I shone my headtorch on it. Day 2: Woke up early to fish the beach and also try for beachworms for the first time. Had bust ups happen very close to us but yielded nothing. Having only watched youtube tutorials on beachworming we couldn't raise any and called it there. Went to a local tackle shop to ask for advice and learnt that 9 Mile beach was much better for beachworming due to the banks and also that there were many Jewies being caught off the wall which was a good sign. Headed to 9 Mile armed with a mullet slab and some pilchards to hopefully get onto some worms. After about 5 minutes of waving the mullet around, Nathan and I were able to raise our first worm. We attempted to use our fingers at first but after missing countless worms, Nathan finally pulled up a tiddler worm. After the trouble of pulling one worm with fingers, we had a go with some small pliers which were much easier and I soon got my first worm. The worms were not very large which made them quite easy for the pliers even though we were still pulling the heads off occasionally. After gathering about 10 worms, we had a few casts with them off the beach only yielding one undersize whiting. With the winds howling we decided to try and find shelter moving back into Tuncurry. We quickly moved on as we were plagued by sweep and decided to fish the tide change at the breakwall as it coincided with sunset which was probably our best bet for a jewie. Getting there Nathan chucked out the squid that we caught on the first night and no kidding, on the drop it was eaten in about 2 seconds. The fish fought hard and brought him into a snag where it pulled the hooks. After a few casts with a baitjunkie minnow, I hooked up to a decent fish that was pulling a bit of drag. Seeing a silver flash as the fish came up to the surface made me think it was the target species but it turned out to be a fat tailor, my PB at 48cm. While trying to unhook the tailor, Nathan hooks onto a very sizable fish on a squidgies prawn paddle tail. After a bit of a tussle, his first Jewfish at 72cm was landed which we kept. After switching to a squidgies prawn as well with a heavier jighead, I hook on pretty much instantly with some pretty hard headshakes but not putting up much of a fight and was able to get my first Jewfish, just a little soapie at 49cm. A few more casts later and I presumably get snagged, however when I tighten the drag and start pulling, something starts pulling back. The drag screams for about 2 seconds before I hear a twang and the hooks are pulled out of the mystery fish. After that I got snagged and lost my leader as well as running out of jigheads, probably the worst way to end a hot bite as all those 5 hookups and 3 fish landed were within about an hr. Day 3: Woke up early to try again at the breakwall with more jigheads and a fresh leader. No luck unfortunately. Plan was to head down to Wallis lake and try target some whiting with the beachworms from the day before but arriving at the spot, it was clear that we would not be able to do anything due to the winds. On the way back, we stopped by the central coast around the Ettalong area and had a quick flick. Managed one flatty, 3 trevs with the biggest going 40cm and one mullet. Overall very happy with the trip as both Nathan and I were able to land our first jewfish and both on lures which is even better as well as having some fun trying out beachworming. Unfortunate to have lost a big one but the one that got away always fuels the obsession...

It was on the one far out. Honestly wasn’t expecting it though as I had only caught small fish prior as well.

Haven't been fishing too much but considering its school holidays I managed to get out on Friday with a mate and on Sunday with some family friends so this report is kind of a combination of both days. Friday: Got down to the local at Apple Tree Bay just to do some soft plastic fishing not expecting too much as it is winter but first cast saw a flounder following up my plastic but after failing to set the hook did not get anymore attention. Moved around to the stacked up rocks and saw a ton of bream which actually seemed quite interested in my grub but had some commitment issues. Final spot to try was the pontoon where we fished for a while. Saw what would've been millions of jelly prawns stacked around the shallows and pontoon. Every few minutes they would start jumping followed by big boofs on the waters surface, which I think were bream who I was not able to entice as they were too keyed into the prawns. Put on some Sfactor as the bite was pretty much shut down and that seemed to do the trick as on the second cast hooked onto something that started taking some pretty fast runs. Almost dusted me on the pontoon edge but up came my PB trev at 33cm and also my second on lures. We kept it for the table as I hadn't had fresh fish in ages. Moved to Bobbin Head and did not get any luck until the sun was pretty much setting when I caught a undersize bream on soft plastics that was unfortunately hooked in the eye. Some plier work and after bending the jighead out, the fish seemed to swim off fine. One more undersize tailor and then called it a day as it got dark. Not a bad day at all considering winter and land based. Sunday: Our initial goal was to head down to Parsley bay to try and target some snapper or trevs but upon arrival, it was far too packed and we decided to move. Ended up at Rose bay pontoon where we saw a ton of squid ink on the pontoon so now our goal was to get some squid. Started off with soft plastics as it was the middle of the day and got some hits which I expected were from overeager tiny snapper but did manage to foul hook a Yakka which we livebaited for no luck until the livebait just fell of the hook or got picked so stealthily that we didn't see it. As it got closer to sunset we started squidding and my mate managed to hook onto a squid pretty quickly for a solid 1 second before it coming off. There were definitely squid in the area as over the next 1.5 hrs, the squid started to fire up. I lost two squid and managed to land one decent one which was actually an arrow squid which caught me by surprise. My mate on the other hand was having a ball hooking the squid but couldn't seem to keep them on. Finally managed to get his first squid on a squid jig being another decent arrow. Then the bite suddenly shut off and we decided to call it there. Overall two very different types of sessions but managed to find a decent amount of success in both of them which is always good but especially so in the winter. Definitely need to hone in my squiddin skills a bit more...

Hey guys, heading up to Forster later in the week for a few days and will be fishing lanbased. I have researched some spots like the breakwall where I will be trying for jewies. For anyone who fishes in that area some tips on fishing the breakwall would be helpful. For lures I will probably be using big soft plastic and maybe vibes. Not sure if one side of the breakwall fishes better than the other or if it makes much of a difference but I will be closer to the Forster side. Other land based spots that I have found are Fern Island on the Tuncurry side but I'm not sure if it is only accessible at low tide. My mate and I have also gotten pretty into squidding recently, and seeing as they make great jew baits as well as being delicious I am curious about the options for squidding land based there. Finally, any other tips just for what species would be available to target there at this time of the year or generally how the fishing has been going up there would be much appreciated. Thanks, Josh

I can’t speak for the Stradics as I’ve never owned one so take this with a grain of salt but I have had a Vanford C3000HG for 3 years and even had it fully submerged for like 2 minutes and after a service it’s good as new and I’ve had no other problems with it before or after. I can recommend it as a good quality reel. Have also heard great things about the Stradics though so best bet is probably try them both out in a store.

Yea it was on the jetty. I had a look at the wall on the left but the rocks were exposed at low tide and at high tide it was shallow for quite a distance out. I reckon casting baits far out enough to get past the rocks could be effective but I didn't try it on the day.

Haven't fished in a good while and the weather seemed to be good over the long weekend so on Monday I went with my dad (@expositer) and a mate to forty baskets in Manly. Arrived at 6:10 when it was still dark and started flicking around for squid as it has become my recent obsession along with a Jewie on lures. I had one solid squid hookup but pulled hooks even with light drag. I reckon this place is a squid nursery of some sort as I always see baby squid hanging in the shallows which is always a reassuring sight that you are fishing the right place. The abundance of yakkas and other baitfish are probably also a factor. In saying that, I could not get a squid for the life of me even moving along to the rocks on the fringes of the beach. The small jetty got packed quite quickly as more people showed up, so I abandoned my squid fishing and turned my attention to the swarm of yakkas. Got two pretty quickly and sent one out as a livie. The rest of the day was pretty quiet with a bunch of undersize trevally, bream, and snapper caught on baits. My dad managed a pretty large flounder and my mate his first trumpeter whiting and an emperor of some sort which was very cool. We kept the flounder and whiting and decided to call it a day at 1pm. Hopefully I will get more sessions in once exams are over as the winter fishing means putting in the hours for less quantity, but hopefully more quality. -Josh

Unlucky on the lost fish, but at least you know for sure that your lure shape works!

Yea it was guaranteed that at almost any time there was someone fishing the breakwall. Wanted to fish the rocks as well but the swell made it too risky.

Hey guys, It has come to my attention that the fish in the second last photo is not a Wirrah cod and in fact a juvenile Black Rockcod (thankyou to @Blackfish for the ID). Due to it being a protected species, I just wanted to clarify that this one was safely released. -Josh

Following up from my post about my Port Macquarie trip, this is a report of how it went. Day 1: First day arrived at the NRMA park in the mid afternoon but didn't get to wet a line until later in the afternoon. Fishing off the breakwall and first time with a new setup, Oceans Legacy Dreamcast 882L and Daiwa 23 TD Sol HD 4000D-CXH. Trying for a jewie but the current was very strong and even with a 3/8 oz jighead wasn't able to keep it near the bottom. About 10 minutes in hooked onto a decent fish which ended up being a legal tailor but unfortunately spat the hooks when I had it on the rocks and fell down a crack back into the water. Luckily there were more around as was able to pick another one up almost instantly and took it back for a feed, going 37cm. After that fish the bite suddenly turned off and being so close to the breakwall decided to come back later in the night, which unfortunately did not amount to anything. Day 2: Had a quick flick in the morning but no joy so decided to head to a local tackle store to get some bait. While we were there, also decided to get an interesting looking weed fly that I hadn't seen anywhere else, but one of my mates had success with it for luderick in the past, so decided to try it out. The breakwall was littered with luderick fisherman and every few minutes I would see luderick being pulled up all around. All this time also seeing schools of massive sea mullet swimming past regularly. Still trying for a jewie unsuccessfully due to the current and decided to move to the town wharf to try my luck there. A ton of action on the surface action but really small so no hookups. My dad managed one 27cm bream on prawns which we had for dinner along with the tailor from day 1. Day 3: Fishing the breakwall again, and saw the strangest thing - a school of sweep chasing and busting up on what seemed to be tiny baitfish, just like kings would do to other baitfish but on a much smaller scale, but also made it impossible to fish baits as the sweep would demolish them instantly. Went to try some spots around Settlement Point and other jetties around the area, but only dropping an undersized flatty. Came back to the breakwall later in the evening and into the night to hopefully get past the pickers. Managed two undersized bream and then a surprise 48cm flatty which we kept, drifting pilchard cubes in the wash. Got dusted a few times and managed to pull up two firsts for me, being what I think are Wirrah Cod and Eastern Kelpfish. After meeting some other people going for jewies as well, waited for the slack tide and moved to the mouth of the breakwall, where there was a lot more wash. The current was less of a problem, and almost instantly one of the people I was fishing with hooked onto a steam train that dusted him in 30s. Having adrenalin and hopes high, a few casts later with a soft plastic into the wash, I was hooked up. Rod tip was thumping and fish which gave me hope of a jewie, and was pulling out line pretty fast. Whatever it was headed for the rocks hoping to dust me, but after hopping over boulders with the light of my head torch, managed to get a bit more control over the fight. The mystery creature had surfaced and alas, I spotted the roll of a wing and as it came closer my hopes of a jewie were dashed as the creature turned out to be a stingray of sorts, probably an eagle ray. Had heard of quite a few of them caught on bait, but none on lures, especially not a 4.2 inch soft plastic. It took one more run close to the rocks and cutting my braid, marking the end of my night session as I had to pack to leave the next day. Day 4: No fishing got done until our pitstop at Karuah, where I got the opportunity to flick a line around the bridge, which saw many missed bites and no hookups. Overall, it was still a fun trip and still being able to get on some fish on both bait and lures, and while not getting a jewie was disappointing, it was my first time properly targeting them and with lures as well, and especially knowing how rare jewies can be, I couldn't really be too surprised. If anything, I am now more determined than ever to get one. -Josh

Thanks for the help guys, will put a report to let you guys know how I go

Hey guys, heading up to port Macquarie later this week, just wanted a general idea of what fish are biting at the moment if any raiders are around that area. I will probably try the break wall for a jewie or something, but are there any other land based spots worth a go? Much appreciated.

Had relatives coming over for easter so we decided to go to Davistown for a fish with them. Goal was to tick off the holy trinity of estuary species (flathead, bream, whiting) to cook up on the spot for my relatives. Arrived at 1 and the conditions were perfect, glass out and quite warm. Fishing was pretty quiet for the first 1 1/2 hrs only picking up an undersize flatty on a BaitJunkie grub. Fish started coming in when the tide changed. Fishing the drop off and as soon as I looked away, the reel in the rodholder started screaming. had good weight and did a couple solid runs. Brought in a fat 29cm bream on prawns. The bites came in thick and bait was getting smashed every cast. Decided to flick the lure out again and immediately hooked up to a decent fish, didn't fight too hard but felt heavy and in came a 43cm flatty. 2 down, one to go. I had seen a ton of whiting and caught a just undersize one beforehand, so hopes were high. Had a decent fish spit the hooks and then afterwards hooked onto a whiting that was just legal at around 28cm. Wouldn't usually keep one this size but just to give my relatives a taste of some fresh fish it came for the cookup. While filleting the whiting, my rod in the rod holder buckled over and I sprinted over to pick it up. Had solid runs and saw a bream shaped body coming in on the flats but then saw a tinge of pink and blue spots. A good snapper from the land especially for where we were fishing at 26cm, sent back to get big enough to eat. After that had one really big fish which spat the hooks right at my feet. I could see the bait in its mouth but it must've been a dark coloured fish as I couldn't see exactly what it was. Also caught another 20+cm snapper afterwards. After the sun set, had to go home and left the fish still biting. Pretty happy with the day especially being the first time out since the summer holidays due to schoolwork.

I found the mud quite problematic when at bobbin head as well. Interestingly some parts were almost impossible to walk out whereas if I walked like 50m down the track and walked out it was much easier.