lhan

sure thing mate. I'll message you when I got the chance next time! My heaviest line is PE2.5 (37lbs), no skull drag but it should be fine with a bit of luck

I think you're 100% right. Double checked my photo and cross checked on search engines - it's a frigate mackerel for sure. Thank you!

Thanks @Little_Flatty. If you ignore all the mkt bs and give shore jigging a go, bream/flathead gear with micro jigs work well in the parra for flathead/tailor/trev - it covers a lot more ground than SP/hardbodies. I even had bream biting my small-profile jigs so it definitely works. There are some retailers really pushing hard to finesse this kind of fishing style but it's actually pretty easy to start and very effective at the same time. Good gears feel better for sure but it's not a must.

Hi raiders, Didn't fish much for the past month or so. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get the chance and give it a real go down to the harbour for a proper shore jigging session - it's raining I know but they say "grab the chance and seize the moment". Grabbed my Shimano Hardrocker BB S83ML+ paired with Daiwa Fuego LT 4000 with 15lb braid, I was planning to get some... whatever I can get. Arrived at North Sydney at noon, it's been quiet for an hour or so, tried quick normal jigging, one pitch jerk, and various speed retrieve with normal jigs and blade jigs. With the recent burst of reports catching tailor, I got a bit frustrated I didn't even hook one. I decided to switch to one pitch slow jerk jumping around the bottom - maybe it's daytime so fish are not that active. Surprise surprise my third cast with a 20g slow jig, rod bent nicely. It didn't run at first so I was thinking it's just my good old friend flatty. I set the hook again to reduce the chance of losing it from flatty's iconic headshake while it wake up somehow. OMG it's the familiar feeling of that unstoppable strength and endurance, it is a king for sure. And judging from my reels' screaming, it's a decent one. It was a good fight for a minute or so until the line gave up - leader is gone so it definitely rubbed my braid to some structure. Really disappointed since it feels much more achievable this time with my heavier setup. The last two encounters are all with my bream gear, I did feel I had a chance for a while. Carefully re-tied 20lb leader with my shaking hands, I went back to the game and snagged 2 jigs due to careless bottom jigging. Tied a cheap one thinking give it a final go since the rain is getting bigger. Still stick to the bottom most of the time but with a steady retrieve when it's close to the bank to avoid snag. After a few times, I hooked on sth - it wasn't a smash or whatever but it moved quite a lot. It just feels like a undersized bream using bream gear. Reeling it in for a closer look, I saw some silver flashes - trev or tailor I was thinking. Suddenly it gave a few really good rush, not on par with what I had with the king but still it's an athletic fish. The reel gave some line out but it's far from dangerous. It turns out it's a frigate (NOT a ~~mac tuna~~, thanks for pointing out @Green Hornet), my first and naturally a PB 😆. The ease of getting fish really puzzled me how big the king I hooked earlier is. But on the other hand, I do have a good feeling that even medium gear nowadays is quite capable for the harbour for landbased fishos, and it's great fun! Bleed it on site and gave it to one of my fishing buddy who I donuted a lot together with, hopefully it's a good encouragement (sarcasm that's actually what I mean hahaha) to him. I knew it was late to the party but glad I can still catch at least during my first pelagic season here in Sydney. Thanks for reading and tight lines, Henry Special thanks to @Little_Flatty and @DerekD always open to my spam and giving good advice. It's impossible for me to achieve what I did today without your great knowledge and mentoring.

Amazing work! It's bad to lose the fish but it's a great compliment to the DIY work!

Great report and it sounds like a fun trip! I never fished there but I guess some 20-60g metal jigs will help with the current issue.

Not a bad session at all! It's a decent flatty!

🤣 I guess there's one group member wanna do solo... Better luck next time man!

Congratulations! And I believe there's a lot more to come! Lure fishing makes it more fun when you explore different methods and lures along the journey - it's so lucky we have great mentors and buddies here. Great report too!

I've tried all of them in Meadowbank/Putney area and had very good results on both Texas/Carolina rig but not on dropshot. I also tried to fish Texas/Carolina rig in middle harbour (hallstorm point) once with no success sadly, but sample size is only one. Texas/Carolina rig to me, for Sydney estuary fishing, are essentially the same rig (90% snag free rig) with only one difference - the speed/control of falling. Because the existence of the swivel on C-rig, after the sinker hit the bottom, there's still a falling period for the plastics when we all know it has the highest bite rates. The falling period is affected by how long your leader and how heavy your plastic is apparently. On the other hand, it's a bit harder to achieve the same length of free fall for Texas rig. The sinker tends to run towards the hook which leads to a much faster but unnatural falling. I tend to have the bail arm open for a while after sinker hit the water when I'm using Texas-rig, this will allow the sinker to sink first without straightened line forcing it sliding towards the hook. But don't do this when it's windy - wind knots are not fun and I learnt it the hard way. The nature of the emphasis on falling really weighs lure choice towards grub style, especially on C-rig. Texas rig is a bit more flexible imo because the sinker sorta serves as rattling generator to draw attention from predators - I caught some good bream on minor drag/slow roll on the bottom using paddletails/prawnz. Again, snag-prevention makes this possible in upper Parra. To answer some of your question: 1. there're some sinkers specifically for these rigs with inner plastic/extremely polished. But I didn't really have any issue on my 6lbs braid using kmart sinkers... I don't have the chance to do long sessions like you tho 😆 2. I had a feeling the sinker will touch the hook finally at some stage (this is also why T-rig has the best ability to travel thru snags - the sinker cut the way out first). So you can assume that's the case. C-rig is a bit harder because you're lifting the sinker at the end anyway. 3. I use size 6 for 2 inches crabby and 2.5 inches grubz/swim slimz. Also I had no issue doing size 1 hook on 2.75 inches noodle grub. So maybe just give it a try... I feels that dropshot is pretty good when you know where the strike zone is but for land based fishing we're mainly "scanning" so I didn't give it much time. Can't really comment on that Hope this helps and looking forward to any other advice too!

Another great report and congratulations on the new rod! I've been eyeing on the shoregun series for my shore jigging setup for quite a while...

Hi I'm trying to do a braid - light leader - heavier leader. I think a double uni will do on the light leader - heavier leader connection, just seeking if there is better knot and generally how heavy and long the "heavier" leader should be. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply @Steve0 @zmk1962 @mrsswordfisherman! Please accept my apology first as I made it confusing - I'm using fg knot to connect my braid mainline to flurocarbon leader now, mainly 6lb main to 4-8 fc leader. The issue is by-catches happen a lot when I'm using light lines where it's getting expensive quite quickly 😂. I heard there's some bream fishos would tie a short bite leader (like 20cm I guess?) in addition to the existing 4/6lbs flurocarbon leader. I'm seeking advice on what's the general rule on this trick. It's a good enforcement learning with all the details tho, really appreciate still !

Some fish raiders mentioned bite leader on light setup which I finally down to give it try after quite some flathead by-catch destroyed my thin leader. Could someone please shed some light on how it should be done? Mono or fluro? How it's supposed to connect to the original thing leader? Which knot is preferred? How long/thick is optimal? Thanks in advance! PS. sorry for the confusion - I mean the bite leader tied in addition to the existing fc leader used by bream fishos to avoid flatty destroying thin lines. Not braid to leader

What a great day out and great report too!

Great catch! Sometimes fish just wanna break the lure rules I guess. I caught a bream on metal jig recently which seriously surprised me. And I was using 10lb leader!

Exactly what I've experienced from my last session - 60-70cm flatty lost due to no net and leader snapped off while the final landing. Within the same session I also hooked either a king or huge Jew that SMOKED my 3000 fuego and finally pulled hook. As you said, that's fishing, all these facts make us addicted to it.

That's a monster trev actually it could be one's PB for quite some time. But maybe not for you mate . You did a really good job fighting the fish I reckon! With our obsession with light tackles I do see it's a must for me to bring a net now. I lost a 60+ flathead right at my feet when my scuffed 8lb leader gave up lifting that chunky girl last weekend. And before that I lost quite a few really good fish in Rushcutters bay when I try to lift them from the rock wall. Oh man I still can remember how that lizard turned her huge head and slowly swam away from me...

Sounds like another great session! And it's a stunning whiting on the new brag mat

You're really on fire @linewetter! Keep it up

And it is LIGHT, my C3000 is only 220g with braid. Not Vanford level but better than Shimano non-CI4 offerings. And I believe it at least feels more rigid compared to CI4 reels. I love the idea of magseal - perfect for estuary fishing at least. I also learned the tiny bit heavier crank feeling is from the thickened magseal grease (Daiwa Japan has a service to remove magseal or ST series for high end finesse reels). On the other hand, I heard some heavy inshore/offshore people actually hate it due to needs of Daiwa exclusive maintainance. Not bothering me since it's relatively cheap, I just enjoy it as consumables.

another crack session @linewetter! As for the squidgies, I found them a lot less durable than Zman/Rapala ones. Many of mine won't last more than 1 catch till they're ripped or tails bitten off. And not many of us are using Daiwa fuego here I just noticed - it's such a nice reel but I found the bail arm is a bit clunky or even self open under heavy load (when I tried flip the line trying to save a snag, but I never had a big fish giving this sudden big drag). Still I feels the drag is MUCH MUCH MORE linear and smooth than shimano low end reels

wow what a great session! Congrats on the new PB bream! Personally I had better success with paddle tails and slow roll when things are quiet around upper Parra. But I have to admit I haven't gained enough confidence to say this in the harbour.

Sounds like a fun session! If it comforts you, I lost @DerekD's bent minnow on the first cast when I was having the first session with him. Good side is I always open bail arm before casting now, 1000%.

Nice catch! I visited Cremorne wharf today but it was deadly quiet. Spotted 5 kingies chasing my 3g vib tho but luckily they didn't commit - I was using my UL outfits at that time. However they're all gone after I switched to heavier gear