seacow

Made the early decision on Sunday to troll Molly Point as there was little surface action that we could find in the Bay. After 2 passes and a big dounut the decision was made to bring in the lures and come up with a new plan. That's when bringing the last lure to the boat I saw some silver flashes. Kings!!!! Threw in the lure again and this time imparted some more action on it. Bang!!! As I was bringing the first one in my mate throws out another lure and it's hit hard. End up with two in the boat. Under size but sure good fun on light gear. Sure that there were some bigger kings in the school that would have been keepers. Lots of bait on the sounder too. Couldn't get anymore to bite after that. Still, first kings of the season in the new boat. Got to be happy. Saw a couple of other hook ups by people anchored up. Off the water by 10am.

They were pretty strict on the 100 metres exclusion zone on Saturday. They moved us back 20 metres or so at one stage. Didn't stop the fishing however as the burley brought them out. Ended up with 20-25 trevally or so plus the obligatory 100's of 15cm reds. Interesting to see lots of surface action around the wharf but no one was picking up any tailor or salmon. The old man thought it might be "cowan young????" I said "what you talkin' bout Willis?"

Love the last photo! Say cheese.

I think that the big issue with non-native species is the ability of these fish to become the predominate biomass within a system over a short-medium timeframe. Yes trout do run and spawn however it is the stocking program that keeps the numbers artifically high (or low for those poor souls who can't get a fish at Thommos or Prejar.) Carp on the other hand have no need for stocking and considering the differences of systems that they can live in, can quickly become the predominate biomass. I read one report that in some sections of the Murray they make up over 80% and rising. I wonder if anyone has run the numbers to find out whether it was feasible to fish for them commercially as fish food, fertiliser or animal fodder.

The only blue swimmers that I have seen in winter are those people in the water down at Bondi Icebergs.

7 foot rod with a pretty subtle tip. 20 pound mono to a black coloured swivel (important - gold or silver swivels seem to attract them and get bitten) and 6 feet of doubled over wire trace after you put a ball lead (enough to get it down - depends on how deep they are) through the wire. With more wire crimp on 3 short strands about 10cm long spaced 30 cm apart up the main wire (from the bottom) to hardened long shanked no. 10 hooks. Bait up with a small fish flesh bait followed with a small piece of squid for added toughness. As you get to the required depth keep moving the rod tip up and down (only a small amount) till you load up and there you have it, dinner. Not the funnest fishing but it does bring home a feed. I just make the rig up at home and get it out if that's the only stuff around. If you have fishy smelling hands don't touch the mono or they will bite through and you will need to spend the next 15 minutes re-rigging. Haven't had that many bite offs but caught cricket scores - well at least Australian cricket scores.

I had a theory about using bigger squid jigs later on in the season. Well as it turned out I was completely wrong!!!!! A couple of weeks back we fished the Hacking and the very small jigs caught the squid. Bigger jigs (2.2-3.5g) got them excited but they were too small and timid to take them. Once i put on a small jig I got one within 5 seconds. After much soul searching I found a document, mind you it was for Phillip Bay where there was identified two separate spawing seasons for squid, one in August and the other in December. So there were a number of much smaller squid that had only recently spawned if you follow the logic of the document. Anyway the moral to the story is 1. somteimes a very small jig will make the difference. 2. when I have a theory on catching fish or squid or anything in the water it needs to be disregarded quickly by the wider audience.

Sunday in the pouring rain we got a couple of small squid from a few drifts off Wally's Wharf. Next thing we see surface action 2 rods lengths off the pontoon itself!!! Threw metals at them for about 30 minutes at them and picked up 2 salmon and 1 tailor. Left them still smashing up the bait because the rain was ridiculous and we were soaked. Chance of light coastal showers my arse!!! It's a little bit away from Lilli Pilli but it is easy fishing.

I guess what I would like to know or at least be more informed about are the growth rates and reproductive ages for these fish before making any real qualified statements. For instance Jewfish size limit is 45cm but my (limited albeit) knowledge is that they do not reach sexual maturity until 60cm and above. Taking one fish before they have had any real chance to reproduce could only be a bad thing. Taking a bag limit of these fish (while quite legal and I respect that) could only be a worse thing. My thoughts are that limits should be simply based upon the science. But then again "who's science?" The more information shared by fishers like us to those people making the regulations could only be a good thing. Then there is my "pretty factor" which has no scientific reasoning what so ever. Sometime I say that a fish is just too pretty for me to keep. This is usually when I have nothing in the swimmer and I catch one just before I intend to leave and have no interest in cleaning them. The fact that I don't eat them obviously reduces my credibility in the discussion.

Weight wise I would say is dependent on the depth of the water you are fishing. 1.8-2.2gms for anything under 3-4 metres of water. You want to keep the jig close to the kelp without actually snagging it. The more depth the more weight. I have a theory of matching the hatch. Smaller jigs early in spring and bigger jigs later on as the prawns in the estauries grow. (could be horribly wrong however) Read reports from "dhype." This guy catches them regularly and in good numbers with lots of pointers. I dare say he could catch them blind folded in a bath tub.

I can vaguely remember going out on a charter boat and getting slimies about 200 metres off shore in line with the golf course at Narooma. However, I know the golf course takes up a lot of area along the coast. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

You must be using one hell of a knive there cause those fillets look like they are ready for a sushi table.

Find the kelp and persist, find the squid. And my little secret is to bathe those jigs in egi max. But don't tell anyone! Eventhough I have caught squid on all sorts of jigs, I think that Djbazzab is right - the more expensiove the jig the better it works.

If you were fishing with 18kgs of drag no wonder it hurt! No gimbal in the world is going to help you unless you are He-man.

Saturday in the Hacking saw us plying our skills for squid. 6 in about 4 hours of fishing all different spots from Wally's to Jibbon. Note to self, need more skills in fishing for squid. Next step is the down rigger and the illusive kingfish. The water was crystal clear with little signs of life expect for the stingrays and the jellyfish. Pretty different from this time last year with lots of surface action and warmer water temperatures.

When down rigging a depth sounder is your best and only friend. Unless you know where you are going and how deep the bottom is, watch it like a hawk.

Count me in. Nothing better than a luch time protest. Hard to yell out when your mouth is full of food!

We ended up with 3 flathead around the 50cm mark for 4 hours of flicking plastics. Pretty slow but good size flatties all the same.

For my 10c worth I think that it might be the rod or the strike. If the tip is a little hard and rigid a strike will place more than 6 pounds of pressure on the line right where the the most amount of resistance is. I can only imagine that will be where the fish has the hook and weed in his pie hole. Therefore broken line at the hook. It's happened a few times to the old man. He has a strike on him like he is polling for tuna. I am pretty sure the fish that go back are in serious need of a denist after he is finished with them. I am very lucky that he hasn't taken out my eye with those missile floats screaming back at me on a missed fish.

and catch a sperm whale or Moby Dick!!!

Just got the transcript of her hearing last night from a mate in Parlo. I have just lost all faith in the democracy process.

I wouldn't hold my breathe that this parliamentary inquiry will bring about an overturning of the decision. The Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson didn't even show up to be questioned over her decision. Too busy apparently. The people voted out the last Government cause of their arrogance - it appears that some people never learn. It appears to me that the Shooters and Fishers did the deal on these things like Cronulla and electricity to get hunting in National Parks. My thoughts are that there is a definite heirarchy in the party. Shooters First - Fishers second.

Roberta the high priestess of blackfishing has some good tips (5 pages) in fishing chat. http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=23679

So I'm flicking through the latest Modern Fishing and I can't help but see one your photos of this session in the catches pages. It appears that we have another celebrity that graces our pages.

My little trip away to Shoal Bay showed up some interesting options aroud the Port Stephens area. From my previous trips up there over the last few years it appears that the prices for places have come down atleast $50-60,000. One like the 2 bed unit we stayed in right on Shoal bay was about $260,000. Now don't get me wrong it's not a house and it's only 2 beds but you can imagine that there is some level of holiday rental income which can help with mortgages etc. I spoke to someone working in real estate up there and it was mentioned that they were seeing an increasing number of mortgagee sales with people unable to afford the holiday houses that had bought before the GFC. Their words were "it's a buyers market in Port Stephens." Food for thought.