bjneville

He makes good coffee, but it's a bit pricey. Then again, he has the overheads running an expresso machine and fridge on a small dory, plus his fuel costs. The cafe at the southern end of the Spit Bridge is good too, and cheaper. Just pull up on the beach at their back door!

Whiting make excellent sashimi. Best I ever had - reeled it in, killed the fish, knocked a fillet off within 3 mins of the capture. Felt a bit primal, but bloody hell it tasted good

Best response I saw in the Herald this afternoon - reintroduce commercial fishing. That'll keep the baitfish numbers down and help control the number of sharks. I see stupid people. They're everywhere. They don't even know they're stupid.......

That lure's seen some work Good investment

Gee, only $1,522 USD Ouch!!! http://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/product...21f4fbc02610673

I've heard rumours over the years of Jacks in Queenscliff lagoon and Narra lake. The QL ones supposedly died off after a pesticide spill at the golf course upstream. Mind you, some scientsts have indicated Jacks could well extend their range south as water temps increase. There is an upside to global warming!! Bring on the jacks

Damn, he makes that look so easy. I'm going to have to practice, but I think I get it. Thanks yarraone.

Thanks Josh! That was quick. I'll give that a try.

Morning all. I've finally managed to crack the squid code and I'm pulling them in in reasonable numbers now (thanks to Slinky and other raiders). I've worked out how to rig them, dispatch them, freeze for bait, cut strips and so on. What I'm struggling with is how to clean the buggers. Getting the (multiple) layers of skin off is an exercise in frustration, and it's taking way longer than I think it should. Does anyone have any tips they could share for cleaning squid effectively and efficiently? Any help appreciated! Ta, Ben

Whitmores sell them at Gladesville. I just put some in the Hornet.

You're a star Roberta! I reckon those whiting would be staying in my live well with a firm dinner invitation though......

Ask Ceph - he's the expert on sunken tackle

Keep at 'em adzzy! Bugger the marina nazis

Fish sanctuary my ass. It's a public waterway. You can't own the water. They're just concerned about me dinging the hull of their precious floating gin palaces with my jig heads Diddums

Thanks adzzy. You pre-empted my next question

Muddies in the harbour?! Can you give us a very rough guide as to what sort of area? That crab's huge!

"You still have to find the fish!" And there's the bottom line. It's a lure - what it smells like might help a little bit, but in that half a second between the hit and when I set my hook, Mr Flattie doesn't have much time to think "Hang on, this lure tastes funny". He's got a big fat hook through his lip by "Hang o........ouch!!" Lure fishing is a predominantly visual affair. While I'm prepared to concede that the scents may waft off the lure and hang around in the water column for a short time (acting like burley?). they're not going to add much to your game. Maybe in dirty water when there's low visibility..... Concentrate on finding the fish. After that, your lure choice is almost secondary. Ben

Good one Pete - like he needs help! Nice flatties hodgey - they must have been great fun in the shallow stuff.

Pretty obvious, seeing as there ain't no sturgeon in Australia. Good catch Hodgey.

That's a ripper bream Salami! Well done.

I dunno, seems like a fitting end to a floating gin palace to me.....

Nice big girls there PM! Where do you launch at Narra? Any probs on a low tide? Ben

Thanks guys, Peter - Caught a couple of small bream. I did target them for a while, but when a 49cm flattie monstered my SX40 deep in the racks, I was too nervous to try again! I got the lure back (and the fish), but switched straight back to placcies after that. Did manage a small flounder on the big squidgie. God knows how he got it in his gob. Roberta - I reckon you have to give them a chance to win the battle. Yeah, it causes me grief some time, but when I win, I know it's a been a good honest battle. The 85 cm model gave me 15 minutes of heart palpitations, wrapped me around 2 poles, and frayed the leader in four places. I was sweating by the time she was landed! My 74cm fish fought much more sedately, stayed in the channel, and entered the net gracefully on the first shot. Mind you, I'm also lazy. I don't like to change leaders just because I've moved from a nice smooth channel into the racks Ray - You're right. Best money I ever spent. I'll reiterate my advice to anyone who'll listen. If you're toying with the idea of spending your hard earned on a good rig, particularly a top of the line leccie - bite the bullet and do it. It revolutionises your fishing.

Sure is Hodgey! If you look in the background you can see how tight the territory is. But damn! It's sure worth it

Sorry for the late report, but I only just found myself in front of a computer - with time to put it all together. I had 400+ emails to clear first Spent all of last week in Port Macquarie, fishing with my uncle and GF, and what a week it was! The new minn kota terrova paid for itself in spades. Last Monday, I fired it up, and gently guided the hornet into the thick of the oyster leases up Limeburners Creek at the top of the tide. This leccie is brilliant! I can hold station between leases only meters apart, with the wind running one way and the tide the other, with fingertip control. And the result of this new found freedom? 85cm of prime Port Maq flattie, and a new PB! She was landed on 6lb firewire, with an 8lb fluoro leader. Wouldn't you know it, I had no way of proving her size for the camera (the fisheries sticker is along the step up to the front deck and doesn't photograph well, so I went off to BCF to get a new brag mat). Just to prove she wasn't a fluke, on Thursday I pulled this big girl, who at 74cm would have been my PB prior to this trip Not to be outdone, 3 casts later Uncle Dave hooks into this 73cm model (note how fat she is in spawn!) All three of the big girls went back to fight another day, but we didn't go home empty handed. To give you an idea of the action, on Sat the tally was: 18 keepers (between 36 - 59cm) 22 throw backs (< 36) c. 25 we failed to land - spat the lure, busted off etc. The high failure rate was due to the location - you've gotta expect to lose some gear in the racks. Two lures did the damage. Uncle Dave primarily used Gulp pumpkin seed minnows (3"). I used 110mm Squidgy flick baits in avocado. These two lure types were outfishing any other type of lure by about 3:1. I variously used berkley drop shot minnows and atomic prong lures on the 2nd rod, and although they took fish, they were nothing like the flick bait - the flatties were climbing all over each other to get at it. On three occasions, we watched a second and third flattie try to steal the lure from a hooked fish! What a week. I can definitely recommend heading into tiger country! Somehow fishing middle harbour's going to seem a little tame this week.... Tight lines, Ben