The Poacher

Hi raiders, A friend just came back from wooli and noted the great location,clean environment etc. Can anyone tell me if you can launch and get access to the ocean in a 6metre boat. from google maps it looks like a shallow creek but it may actually be two meters deep. Thanks, The poacher

Congratulations, you can't help it if the odd fish gets tail wrapped and dies. Glad you had a great trip.

Great story gummy buster. Good to hear a different point of view re the Pro's. It's a great lifestyle for some of them. The poacher

Maybe they wanted a Salmon sandwich for lunch!

great session- well done. The whiting are very sweet and you have a good feed there. I am surprised they are still on the beaches as they usually go quiet in winter. Does any one know where they go? The Poacher

Great fishing Benny Boy - especially for the middle of Winter!!!! Good on you,

Keep at it Champ, am sure you will get a Barra soon - they cant resist a live mullet, The poacher

Sorry to hear that Anthony. I have heard that fishos on Birdie Beach have their cars targeted a bit. Sounds like you had a good fish at least . Cheers, The Poacher

Nice work Brad and Sam - would have been a busy session - should give you the confidence to keep going. Cheers

Thanks Hawkesbass, I am going to run the boat up there tomorrow and drag some lures around - should be fun. Its great that the Salmon will bite through the day like that. The Poacher

Last nights tide was OK, so after all the crap weather I decided to take the boys down to the beach. They had been hassling me for ages. Anyway, first two casts got snags - in the middle of the beach I kid you not. Anyway, a short 100m move then produced 3 tangles in a row - I asked the boys if they wanted to stay and they said yes. So I shortened up my leader to stop the tangles, and every cast after that got munched. It was one of those sessions where you cast, and expected to get hit within a minute. 2 tailor first, then 5 salmon in a row. The sambo's were easy to see jumping and in the waves - it took both boys to hold the rod up when the salmon were really fresh. This year on the beach has been the best I can remember - since Christmas I don't think I have missed getting fish in any session. Certainly a lot better than last year when I seemed to miss more than hit. Anyway raiders, take your kids beach fishing, it is so easy at times, and they really love it - you will have "Dad of the Year" status before long. Cheers, The Poacher

Hi, I haven't been out. Usually get them in the Haven with a bit of burley. The Poacher

Well done Ray R, Sounds like a great trip. Beats catching flathead on plastics. The Poacher

I have been threatening to do this for a while - but you have given my the incentive. Next summer, I am getting in the SURF with a facemask, and I am going to swim around looking for fish. Will have to wait till the swimmers leave, but then I am getting in with the fish. Will let you know what I find. THe Poacher

Hi James, Stick with it champ - you will get some soon. Try to fish after 4pm in the afternoons - a high tide helps but is not a must. I too, have fished Hargreaves successfully, so give that a go. Also, its much better to hang on to your rod, and not fish with it in the holder. Only use the holder when you are baiting up etc. Let us all know how you go. The Poacher

Nice fish - I would take quality over quantity any time.

Hi Manhands, There are actually 3 launch options. - river mouth - back creek - safer, but suitable only for smaller boats. Inaccesable on the last half of the run out as the bar is too shallow. - beach launch at Trial Bay jail. However, National Parks closed this during the school holidays as the campers were complaining about boat noise. Some guys think this is the best option, but I dont know much more than that. The Poacher.

Thanks Raiders, Despite the river mouth being a nightmare, SWR is still a great place - in fact if it wasnt a dangerous bar, then more guys would fish it, which would thin fish out a bit. Also, most guys at SWR (even the locals) are very willing to share information, which makes a big difference. Mal, you mentioned the new reel - it was fantastic. Its a Diawa Saltist with 15kg braid and will catch most fish you are likely to hook in NSW. I forgot to mention we also caught a 100kg Hammerhead (which we released). The hammer was awesome, and held kept us busy for 25 minutes. You can see it in the rod holder in the back of this shot. I ate some Spanish last night, and they are very nice. Would recc them to anyone. It was very similar to spotted mackeral, but a little firmer. Cheers, The Poacher

Hey Raiders, Sitting down to write my piece of my annual review is always fun. Usually one species will dominate. We have had the year of the cobia, the year of the kings, and several good "year of the spotted mackeral". However, I have never scored a Spanish Mackeral. Last year, I saw a few at the cleaning tables, enough to really wind me up. After saying as much on Fishraider, I got some good advice on larger livebaits. There was fantastic reports of pelagics being caught all during March this year - which I was cursing by the way, as my holidays didnt start until April 6. Anyway, I got to SWR and as I drove into town there was a guy weighing a spanish at the local Tackle Shop - it went 25kg!!! It was a very solid fish. However, the general vibe was "you should have been here in March". Day #1 - pulled 3 spotties with my Dad and dropped a couple more. They were only the little 4kg jobs, but it was a good start. To show how "poor" the fishing was, there was only 6 boats on Grassy Head, compared to about 50 when its good. DAy #2 - we were worried when we couldnt catch any slimies - but there were stacks of Watsons Leaping Bonito in with the yakkas. I fought one to a standstill on the 6lb handline, as did my mate Nick and we stuck 2 in the bait tank. One died on the way to Grassy, but the other one went out alive with a 8/0 in the nose and a treble up the back. The spotties were timid and we couldnt hook any. We were literally pulling the anchor up when the bonito got absolutely smashed!!! After a few big runs, up came my long awaited Spaniard!!! WOOOHOOOO. I am sure the other boats thought I was nuts. It wasnt big, maybe only 10 kilos, but I didnt care. But its a great feeling to chase a fish - and then to change techniques, persist and get a result. I had actually caught one before on a charter in Cairns - but that is nothing compared to doing it yourself, in your own boat, with your mates. Day #3 - Went up to Grassy again, again the Spotties were quiet, so I pulled the pin early, and drove all the way down to Fish Rock. The current was flying past the rock and at 23.6 degrees. who cares about the colour eh? Plus I had talked to a couple of spear fishos who had seen some good Kings there. Fishing 500 metres past the rock (less than that would have been inside the Grey Nurse exclusion zone - even though this will apparently be repealed by the new Govt) I had a livebait smashed off the downrigger. It was cable tied on, but no hook up. Put one staight back out and it got smashed 30 yards behind the boat even before we got it on the downrigger. Funny behaviour for a King I thought - I mean even big kings rarely rip off 80 metres of line going west on the surface, change their minds and go east so fast they leave a rooster tail behind the braid!! Silently praying that the line would hold, I kept the pressure up and eventually a wahoo came up and was duly gaffed. Hooked under the chin!!! when I cleaned it, I found 2 slimeys inside - both with cable ties. Day #4 - Fished with a bit more confidence. My long time fishing buddy Lento ended up with a big spaniard. . We werent the only boat high speed trolling down there. If you have never seen 3 boats trolling a 9 knots with lures 100m behind the boat - its a sight to behold. So, I didnt get many fish this year- maybe it was the "year of the Spanish" even though I only got 2 of them. More importantly, they provided me with some memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks also to the Raiders for their advice. Sorry I rambled on a bit - I will get some photos of the Wahoo later. All fish were caught on a threadline (Saltist)- fantastic feeling to have those fish on the light gear. See you on the water. The Poacher

That is a pretty good start - most guys would work up to something like that so you have done well. Make sure to log in with Coastal Patrol - you shouldn't have absolute faith in your engine just yet. Cheers, The Poacher

Thanks all, Mikey R - I promise they are not high standards. I honestly can't believe how good the beach has been this year, and how easy. You got to get out there!!! One trick I am happy to share is that I do use 8lb fluorocarbon leader. Snapper and jewfish are hard to catch, but not whiting off the beach on a worm. Anyway Mikey, hope to see you soon, Steve

Went down the local beach with the kids again - and got some fish - again. Its been a great summer. Theres no secret to the success, I buy $10 worth of worms, using #6 long shanks and fish a high - ish tide. THe kids love it. I often just hook the fish, let it settle down, and call them over to hold the rod. Soon they get bored and want to wind it in, only to realise there is a fish on - they think they are gurus!!! One day soon, I wont get a bite, and none of us will know what to do! Its going to happen sooner or later. Anyway, get out there raiders. The Poacher

Hi ABCfisho, I have been fishing beaches all summer and doing well. I only fish at dusk and normally at a high and not a low. Just buy some worms and #6 hooks and keep trying, you will get them soon. The Poacher

Great story Robofish, Its a great feeling to put someone onto fish - especially your Dad. Glad you stuck at it and got onto some. Bonito and flathead are both under rated as table fish - so you would have nice feed there. THe Poacher

Thanks - good to hear all reports. Forecast isn't great this weekend either. Steve