Jewhunter

It was toward the bottom of the tide, so I managed to wade out to a small bommie & stand on that. I got hammered by white water & ended up with the gaff in my leg at one point! It was a howling sou'easter, so the feathers weren't heavy enough. Ended up using a large popper with ball sinker in front of it on a short trace to get it under the foam. Got them on that. Sometimes you have to improvise!

I'm in mate. I run my own business, so it can be tough to get out at the drop of a hat though! Then again, if conditions were as prime as today I reckon I could swing it. I've also got a mate with a 5.5m Tabs centre console that we could head out with. Let me know. Cheers, Grant.

Thanks James. That's jogged the memory! We also used to call them batfish & silver moony! I reckon batfish was the most common name used.

Yeah, we used to call them butter fish. Hey Rick, wow $25 a kilo! They must be bloody tasty! Have a look what people pay for them now in a saltwater aquarium. $25-$30 each! I've got heaps of them swimming around out back atm.... New business?!

Mate, just seal the gaps between the roof tiles that are south facing with Sikaflex Pro. You will be able to get it in the colour of your tiles & do all the joins & it will be fixed. I had an old house in Five Dock with a very old roof that did the same thing. Did that & no more problems. Silicon won't work. Spend the money on the right product & it will last for a very long time. Good luck with it.

If you swim at dawn or dusk there is always a risk. It's feeding time for everything!

That's a VERY long paddle to Garden Island. Goat & Cockatoo Islands can be seen from Birkenhead Point. Garden is in the main Harbour out the end of Potts Point.

It really comes down to how much you want to spend...

Yep, bled straight away & cooked fresh they are very nice. I've been eating quite a few lately. Cover them in lemon pepper & cook in butter until the skin goes crispy.

Using a handline you can feel the subtle bites & set the hook. You have to strike. I only use 10lb/12lb mono. With longshank hooks you very rarely get bitten off. 2 x size 10 longshanks on a dropper above a sinker fished on the bottom. Always around structure. Wharves, bridge pylons etc. Great fun to catch & delicious eating.

I grew up in the Harbour catching Jackets. Segments of prawns are the best bait. You are often baited but get more bites & fish. Squid only works sometimes. A mix of small pieces of both works well. I'll p.m you some of my fave old spots Tash if you want? Absolutely guaranteed to get a bucket load of nice leatheries, & all on a handline. 2 x size 10 longshanks on a dropper rig with the sinker on the bottom is the way to go.

Hi Brett. I'm a bit further south on the Tweed. 9 mile, Fidos & Danger reefs all hold big GT's. 9 mile would be my pick. I've seen some horses landed there on big poppers.

Stowed up front Frank, as I had another person onboard the vessel over the age of 12y/o, as stated in the NSW regulations for the compulsory wearing of lifejackets. My 12 y/o doesn't have to wear one, but I make him anyway. I also have a built in floatation device situated between my chest & waist!

I know! Just started high school, & is taller than you. It won't be long before he's taller than me, so don't worry about that!! Loves his fishing. He & Taylor are out the back catching bream most days.

Yeah, didn't think so Rick as the snout wasn't rounded & the head too big, but it's got a bloody long tail from the pics.

3 inch bass minnow in pearl/watermelon or pearl blue on a 1/4' jig head with a very fast retrieve. Worked for me!

Hi Raiders. My youngest boy, Lucas, 12, had been hassling me to go bass fishing. My partners eldest boy, Taylor, 10, is a very keen young fisherman & had never fished with lures before. I made the call & a nice Sunday morning saw us heading up into the fresh of the Tweed River to some of the best bass water on the far North Coast. Living 10mins away from where we launch makes it easy. So with light spin rods & 3 of us loaded into the 'dog dish' as Slinkymalinky kindly named my bass boat, we headed off for a morning session. This trip wasn't about me, so positioning the boat, teaching the boys about bass & where they live, untangling spinnerbaits from trees & being what turned out to be an awesome guide, I didn't pick up the rod for the first couple of hours. Taylor, (great name for a kid that loves fishing!) picked up the cast & retrieve side of things quickly & it didn't take long to get whacked by a nice bass. It was fat & healthy & really gave him some curry, but he handled it like a pro & I slipped the net under his 1st ever lure caught fish. At 40cm fork length it was a cracking way to start his lure fishing career. He then followed it up with a 39cm fish that had one of the fattest heads I've seen on a bass! Not to be out done Lucas then scored a 39cm fish. It went a bit quiet after that so I changed spots up into a side river & it was on again. Lucas missed 3 hits in a row, while Taylor scored another fish at 37cm. I was itching the cast by now, so fired a few casts into likely looking snags & pulled a couple of 37cm & 39cm fish in quick succession. Taylor got another, being the smallest fish of the trip at 32cm's. So all in all it was another great session up in one of my fave bass spots. 7 bass in 3 hrs, all released of course, & back home for a nice brunch. The kids haven't stopped talking about it. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Geez, I might be wrong, but it looks to have a very long tail. Juvenile Thresher shark?

Hi Arron. I use enough worm to thread & then push up over the eye of the hook & then have about 1cm hanging straight down from the hook gape. I leave the point exposed. Try the Mustard longshanks with the bait holders on them. Once I've threaded the worm over the eye & up the leader a bit I do a half hitch over the bait & line, but not over the eye of the hook itself. This stops the worm from bunching up. I also use 30-40mm of red tubing above the hook.

Well done mate! 60cm is nothing to sneeze at & it;s a fat & healthy fish. Congrats!!

I find the opposite. The uni is thick & clunky & will unravel after a lot of casting. It's basically a hangmans noose, & can be used as a loop knot on lures that you can pull up & down. If tied correctly the FG will never unravel. Just my experience anyway.

Great to hear from you again Rooster. Coat the entire trailer, including up inside the rails, with a 50/50 mix of kero & linseed oil through a spray gun on a compressor. The water beads off it for a couple of years & then do it again. You'll never get rust in your trailer. Cheers, Grant.

It's vitally important to pull it tight after you do the first 3 half hitches. If it doesn't slip then it won't slip.

I just 22 turns out of habit in all line classes,& can tie it in 4lb braid. I've never had it slip.

Yep, that's how I tie it.In thinner braid it's a good idea to have an existing knot to grab on to with your teeth while tying.