dino76

a very merry xmass to you... well, it seems that xmass has come early for you.

what a great dad! i cant wait to have kids so i can take them out fishing. it is a great way to bond and strengthen your relationship with the little ones.

great friggin catch bro!!! java script:emoticon('', 'smid_5') thats a whoppa!

Thanks for the help boys... i will take on board the berly tips - i must admit that i dont do this well enough... and yeah, i've heard that once you hook one kingy, dont bring it in immediately as it will attract others & this is a good chance for double hookups. dean

Guys, Having only caught two kingies (both rats), i would like to know how to bring them to the surface or fish them deeper without a structure. The two which i caught were both surface kings in sydney harbour, the first on a popper and the second on white stick bait. However, this week i intend to head down to botany bay where 4 were recently caught and try to bring them up from the a whole know that i know of. i have previously fished for kings around a structure (i.e. pylon/buoy) and understand that principle, but i dont know how to either fish or bring them up from the deep without a structure. your knowledge and assistance will be greatly appreciated in this matter! dean

hey nick, what time did you get the kingies? i was there on the same day, however, all i pulled up was a 120cm port jackson just outside the heads. we made our way to moli point around late morning early lunch but got nothing other than a few nibbles. also what rig did you use? we used both pillies and squid, both frozen. all the best with the soccer trials. dean

All, “spin” (in this discussion thread) and I had a great weekend! We got down to Sussex Inlet on Friday arvo and fished the ocean side of the inlet w/ pillies. There were very few bites; with the exception of the toadies! Then at around 8pm, & within minutes of each other, “spin” hooked a nice big travelly and almost as soon has he bucketed his, I landed my first big taylor; a 50-53cm greenback! Because of the late hour, we needed to head back to our holiday home where our wives and “spin’s” kids, were waiting for their, albeit late, dinner. The following morning, “spin”, Dave, who arrived late on Friday night, and I tried the same spot again, the ocean side of the inlet, the following, morning; from 9AM-12PM, however, only Dave came away successful, pulling in 2 flatties. The three of us then spent the late afternoon through to about 8PM on the inlet; fishing the “the goal posts” with a bit of success; pulling in approx 6 flatties & my second Taylor for the weekend, a big fat 55cm greenback! I must say, the flatties tasted sooo good in beer batter and with a side of chippies! We headed out again on Sunday afternoon; from about midday to about 3PM, but the conditions were difficult; high winds and very choppy water. In the end, “spin” landed only two flatties within the last half hour. So this is what I have taken from this weekend fishing at Sussex inlet & St George’s basin: 1. You must fish the tides, 2. Don’t bother fishing the ocean side of the inlet during the day; attested by locals/regular holiday makers, they (and us) only caught our fish during dawn or dusk, and finally, 3. If you use soft plastics, for flatties, I would recommend 3 inch “Evil Minnow’s” on 1/4 (7grams?) jig heads. Thank you “spin” and Dave for a great weekend… PS – Dave thanks for the tips, I always learn new or improve my technique when I with you!

'tide'n'knots', LittleNoah & spin, thank you all for your input. i will be on the flats tomorrow afternoon/evening and then on a boat on saturday. thanks for the tips and i will let you guy know how we go. i'm sooo pumped! i'm friggin over work and cannot wait to wet my line! gone dino

domza, how about fingal bay (nelson bay/port stephens)? it is about 2 hours north, great fishing and the following caravan park is dog freindly: http://www.beachsideholidays.com.au/fingalBay.phtml

Brendan, hey buddy and thank you for your input. i will be taking down my ugly stick (6-9kgs) so i think that this should cover this range of fish rather nicely. re hotspots... i too am relatively new to the sport and up until recently i have had a lot of difficulty catching decent fish and a lot of this is due to knowing the right WHEN and WHERE. from what i have seen, hot spots are closely gaurded secrets because they can be exploited and attract many of idiots; those who have little or no regard for others, out on the water. it is better to have a spot and fish in peace, rather than sharing it with some who catches undersized fish , throws their rubish over board , drives over your line , or is just doing something to annoy and ruin your perfectly good fishing trip . finally, it is also a sport... you want to catch the big one. you dont want to be going around, giving away your spots only to find that you have also given away that big one that you were after... i hope this helps you to understand why some hang onto these secrets to their death beds. dino

thank you both yarraone and scrubworm, i'm off to investigate right now.

g'day guys and girls, i need some advice from those who have or are currently fishing Berrara/Sussex Inlet. i will be heading down next friday (06/02) with a couple of friends, a boat (4.5 m quiny) and my fishing gear. i would like to know what i should be looking to catch, where is a good place to launch and are there any water hazards we need to be aware of in and around Berrara/Sussex Inlet? and last but not least; is anyone willing to share any 'hot spots'? i understand any reluctance to share this info, but hey, if you dont ask, you wont know! dino

All, Pease see the below link for the 2009 Lunar/Moon Calendar provided by Australian Fisheries Management Authority: http://www.afma.gov.au/information/publica...ase/default.htm It is a great, quick and easy to read calendar which I have posted at my work desk. Happy , Dino

nice one buddy, we pulled in 7-9 kingies in the same spot about 3 weeks back, with a whole bunch of tourists hanging around, eager to see what we were pulling into the boat. good fishing and all the best, dino

i'm over the moon! on saturday (03/01/09) i caught my first kingy in sydney harbour. this was my first time chasing kingies and i must say they lived up to their rep as fighters! during my 'pump' i often dropped the tip of my rod instead of winding down and because of this my bigone just clean snapped my line . i cant wait to hook another monster - i wont be dropping the tip of my rod next time round matey! i landed 2 rats ; both with popper (red head, silver body), but the third; the monster, the one that got away, on white sluggo . it was amazing, we chased schools all day, some were on the bite, others not. we tried sluggos, poppers, fly gear (or my mate did) and often we werent successful, but other times we got smashed and our only concern was successfully landing them! it was a great learning experience and i CANNOT wait to get back out there! we had a great time on the boat, with 11 kingies caught in total; 1x 73cm on fly gear by my mate ! we must have bagged about 10 taylors, whilst throwing back 30-40 and took home only two of the kingies. thanks to jan and dave for a great day on the water!

danielsan & koalabi; thanks for the advice - all this info is almost overwhelming! danielsan; * i’m nicking a note book and pen from work which will go straight into my flashy tackle bag! * i don’t have any issue at getting up @ 4:30am (or earlier if required) to make my way down to our chosen location, however i believe my failing is lining up my early starts with the tides. an early start equals an early finish for me… my wife doesn’t appreciate fishing… nor does she enjoy the taste of them. * i almost always use frozen squid, prawns or pillies. my last adventure to narrabeen beach i used fresh pillies, but i just kept on feeding the fish; they would either eat the pillies straight off my hooks (3/0 gangies) or they would go flying off when casting – head down with the bottom hook through the eye. * i have a 12’ & a 6’6 shakespeare rod & real. i seem to do alright with my whippy rod when chasing squids down @ bare island. * patience and persistence i have in buckets; ignorance i cannot tolerant (oxymoron?). i don’t want to go out there only to repeat the same mistakes week in, week out and not develop as recreational angler. koalabi, i must admit that i do tend to hang around the one spot for most of the day… i’m a bit of an optimist and i’m always convincing myself that if i leave my line in ‘this spot’ for just a bit longer i will be rewarded. your advice has been heeded! i need to be a little more diligent with maintaining my kit. yeah, i have my fishing book and i will learn/refresh a few for sunday’s session. chris, the rocks on the north end. i would of then use my 12’ with 15lb line, star sinker, with a two way swivel with a 1m leader for my sinker and 50cm for my gangies. when fishing in surging waters/waves i often have difficulty telling the difference between nibbles and the pull of swell. a guy at work professes that he always allows the fish to hook themselves… tried that but to no avail! thanks for the tips, dino

thank you all for the advice and tips! not to mention "take out a novice for the day". this is exceptionally generous! there is some very clear advice given; * fish the one spot, * ask the locals, * use fresh bait and * make sure that i note the tides and conditions. i love the idea of "take out a novice for the day" but i WILL have to pass this weekend - my current fishing buddy will be HIGHLY offended if i cancel on him. i've recently bought a fishing book in BCF but i'm having difficulty translating what i've read into results, but as kikila says; "There’s no substitute for experience so just hang in there". there is no risk of me quitting, the little success i have i enjoy far too much. ali, thanks for the tip - going directly to trading post to see what is available. thanks for your comments and tips so far & i look forward to posting a thank you once i've brought in my 'big one' in the very near future. dino ps moses - i still play rugby for mosman whales and i will be playing a home game on saturday down at balmoral; i may bring my gear for a 'cheeky'

g'day, i've now been for just under a year and i'm still chasing my first decent catch. with the exception of the last 3 months (just got married), i've been going out fairly regularly with a much more experienced mate - unfortunately we've been pretty unlucky (or is there more to it?) and havent even hooked anything of worth, let alone pulled one up onto the shore . i've fished; bare island, yarra bay (prince of wales drive), clovelly beach off the rocks and just recently @ narrabeen beach. i live in normanhurst (near hornsby) and would love to find a good spot within a 20km radius. any suggestions for a struggling L Plate man? please help a frustrated angler. dino

thanks ross. 90% of the time i'm fishing from land or rocks. this weekend my mate and i are looking to fish off the rocks at either clovelly beach or bare island... with the hooks - yeah thanks for the tip. i usually just replicate what my mate is doing but next time i'll think twice about the hook. i need to get my small rod relined shortly (due to rookie mistakes and not being aware of my line...) so i will definately look into the fluro lines. ps - what fish confirmed this? i'm hoping it was that allusive kingy that i'm still chasing! dino

sounds great. will give it a try tonight! will let you know what i think tomorrow

gentleman, thank you all for your assistance and insight into this new sport... for me! well, after talking to mates around the office they said the weekend (past) was going to be a great time to fish; lunar tide was perfect... high tide was around 8:30 AM (for fishing 2 hours on either side the tide)... overcast conditions for low light... the way it turned out is that on saturday at the entrance from 2pm-6pm on a 4.5m boat i caught 5 undersize bream (2 only just short of legal) which was tossed back and 2 legal flathead that are now in my freezer. this has been my most successful session to date! however on sunday from 5am-2pm at yarra bay (matraville) i caught one tiny little fish... dont ask me what it was. now later in the day there were some big bites, but every time we hooked something they would bite and run straight for the rocks. i had 3 big hook-ups only to lose both my hooks and sinker on each occasion . as a foot note, both my buddy and i got royally busted by his wife and my fiance for staying out so long ! as our punishment, there is no fishing this weekend poacher - thanks for the charter tip; i will do this... after the wedding fishmgr & choad - i've heard a lot about these seemingly allusive jewfish and i must say that i cannot wait to hook and cook my first! i will deff look "jewgaffer" up! flgithnmgr - thanks for that tip, i will look into Barometric Pressure as it really seems to have worked for you. all many thanks and i look forward to your next posts and tips. rgds, dino

hey there, i'm a newby to fishing and i must say that i'm hooked! that being said, i'm having a terrible time catching some decent fish. i've heard that there is a magical 'formular' consisting of lunar cycles, tidal & general weather conditions that any fool with a line and hook is guaranteed to hook big fish... i always fish with a mate who recons just on/after sunrise is great... but i havent caught anything worth mentioning when out with him & unfortunately he is my only real fishing buddy... any help and guidence on this subject will be greatly appreciated! dino 'i want my first kingy' laffey