coastspinna

my 2 cents worth: be careful with 10 pnd fireline on a 2-5 kg rod.... seems like a bit of overkill too me.... good way to blow up a nice graphite rod... remember that stuff tests way above 10 pnds.....i've seen two pfluegers and a sic stik blow up.... with the light rod you cannot pull as much drag, so you aren't even using the 10 pound to capacity.... i have maxd my rod and the 10 pnd fireline out drummer fishing in the wash and you have to pull pretty damn hard to bust off...i am using a 6-10 kg dropshot for light pelagics and bigger flathead, and the 10 pnd is plenty strong

next one i catch i will do you a demo...i tried yesterday for no luck... i might even put a vid up i have never found any problem skinnin flatties with a knife , after filleting, the key is to grab the fillet form the tail end... placing your knife as close to parallel as possible to the chopping board.... then, keep the knife stationary with slight downward pressure, lightly saw the fillet left to right.... that simple.... if you only pull on the skin you will have no problems (in theory)

flightmanager: you are one step ahead of me we'd thought about watsons.... luderick angler... thx for the tips.... i thought we might be better at botany flats wise.... anyhow thx boys i'll keep you posted if this wind dies down

hey raiders, i'm gonna be headin down two sydney in a couple of days, and me and a mate were thinkin about gettin a ferry pass and flickin some plastics in the harbour.....anyone want to share some land based spots close to ferry stops? we will mainly be chasin flathead, so sandflats would be prime cheers.,. ian

i've alway hooked my nippers in the back of the tail lightly....to keep them alive and kicking... otherwise it sort of defeats the purpose of live bait if you feel any kind of bite the nipper is gone... hope this helps ian

i read your article with great interest..... its funny how people give such little thought to hook placement, especially on livies..... your reversed hook theory has great merit.... its nice to see someone on here encouraging the young fellas to actually get out and fish for jews.... your theories on georges only fishin well of a night time is one i can vouch for too... on the subject of the georges , the best jewie i have see came out of the georges was at somewhere that is definitely no spot x..... at 27 kg it was a true monster and was caught near picnic point on a butterflied mullet... we have put a fair bit of time into jews on this waterway usin squid, but all results have come from live fish or flesh baits....... its nice to get an informative report, instead of the usual cloak and dagger, fake bait fake spot stories..... most of the people out there readin this have neither the time or the persistence to actually do this cheers mate ian

flathead love plastics at night... all my best fish are caught after dark

work out each metals optimum speed , and spice things up with a bit of rod tip work.... some need flat out presentation, others need a medium retrieve..... don't worry man... i have had a couple of session on salmon where baitfish have been exploding all around me and we had to work hard for a hookup.... the suggestion above of using a popper has merit... a guy that i used to livebait with always has a popper rigged and rips a couple of casts every 20 minutes or so.... this is like a dinner bell to fish sulking down deep hope this helps ian

i'm no expert but there is extensive reef off terrigal, and you are right the boys have been cleaning up..... i would assume that a lizard that big would have been caught much closer to shore than you think.... the reef off the headland where the charter boats moor runs out about 400 metre and is very fishy

no wonder those fellas were down there flickin...

imho it seem that greens are happy to permit the pros to keep netting our estuarys(nurserys) which is unsustainable and destructive you are right penguin if the greens hold balance of power we will see marine parks spread up and down the coast based on little or no science...this would be a disaster, but there will still be pro fisherman rec fishos are just the easy target for the greens...

i think both.... a bar and some restaurants and some shops.... ian

firstly, i consider myself to be a fisherman who cares about the environment, but all anyone needs to do is take a look at the greens own websites at both a nsw and national level..... they tell you that... A) the greens primary objective is to gain balance of power at the federal election via the climate change debate... B ) they are actively campaigning for more marine parks (amongst other policies that i do actually agree with) C)they use the precautionary principle as a guideline for policy (ie: not having evidence about something happening is no reason not to do something about it) most of the fishos i hang around with are fairly vocal about the environment, and caring for the health of both the rivers, bays and oceans we frequent..... the greenies have made powerful enemies with the people they need to be uniting with against: i)destructive commercial practices ii)pollution in our estuarys, rivers and ocean iii)unscrupulous rec fishos iv)destruction of foreshore habitat v) harmful govt. policy after all it would definitely be in ourt better interest to preserve and maintaion the beautiful areas which we are probably the only ones lucky enough to see as an example, who is more knowledgeable about a bass and what it needs to survive??? a bloke who has fished for them for 30 years, or a green pre selected candidate? i think you would be hard pressed to find a bass fisho who isn't extremely angry about the inaction regarding fishways that are condemning whole species of native fish. greens and rec fishos need to stand together on these issues and we will be a powerful environmentalist force to be reckoned with... divided we will be conquered by industry and govt. my opinion only regards ian

where on the coast you from man?? maybe we could catch up and spin some flattys... you'll pick up some handy info on here if you only ask welcome anyway ian

there certainly are a few pockets of bass in the georges.... i think you are on the money royce, it is a wonderfully clean and pristine system and in a few year it will be amazing i think. its a shame they didn't do it earlier?!?!?!?

nice fish... if you are where i think that was the only spot we could find fish the other day too....the flatties seem to be holding a little further up the system than is usual for this time of year... i would suggest the sand flats near where they are building the new wharf near the bridge to get poddy mullet, otherwise with some patience the boat ramp always produces, failing that try the one at long jetty

thx for the replies guys.... thats great news about the fish ladder jewgaffer, wouldn't it be nice if the powers that be and the media devoted half the time and attention to freshwater fish migration as they do to the grey nurse issue... i had a feelin those old blokes might have been in the know.... it wouldn't surprise me if there were bass up there at all...

nice flatty boys, theres nothing more satisfying than lettin the big girls go

andy, re your first question.... when using 10 pnd fireline i don't tie a bimini twist, but i should say that after lookin thru other raiders posts, our allbrights are different.... i tie geoff wilsons improved one... have a look on platypus lines site under albright.. i use 7 wraps each way in the 10 pd and 9 each way in the 6 pnd 6 pd fireline i tie a short bimini because it the most solid and connect as above .it took me a while to learn to tie it correctly, but since then i never have a problem... when in a rush sometimes i leave the bimini out and just double the braid and use the same knot as above...in a pinch it will do the job

nice tip peter you learn somethin every day

i would forget the balloon and just use a bobby float.... i cut my jigs in half so i get 2 with three hooks, look for shallower section of reef or wash or if else fail someone will usually help you out with a spot ...if i get there too late for livies i spin small plastics in the wash and can usually get a pike every 20 minutes or so slimies or squid would be the ultimate bait...... one of my good mates has spun gars for years .... he is spewin about that article lol gl man hookin em is 1/10 of the battle cheers ian

lol that is a crock...he even says marine parks will let us spear groper again lol sustainably though anyway slightly off topic i couldn't help but be amused at the irony that ross hunters gamefishing charters was advertised on google ads at the bottom of that clowns article.... maybe you can set his readers straight if they come out with ya ross lol

i apply my own rules to fishing for flathead.... all fish over 65cm go back.....we only livebait for them when chasing a feed, when the flatties are thick we only keep the ones that are deep hooked or bleeding. such a fantastic ##### that is so available shouldn't be wasted.... that isn't to say i don't keep a lot of flatties... most of my mates have self imposed and ethical limits, which apply to most or all fish we catch... whiting are the only fish that ever have to worry about me bagging out on them... the poor tasty buggers changing size limits and then relying on how much the professionals catch in following years is hardly science, but it would be hard to argue against increasing the general size of fish in an area...then again over regulation has got us nowhere...i guess we will see// i am much more concerned about the entire marine park fiasco cheers ian

swear lol

nice one theres nothin better than flatty fillets n chips