Langa

Have been still trying topwater lures for EPs at my local each Friday night,the action has definately been slowing down but each week for the last 4 I have caught a fish in the first few casts, this gives me hope so I persist for a few hours without a splash. I think it is the same fish each week, I catch him, release him, then he sulks for the rest of the night while I pepper the water without a hit, then by next week he's at it again. Each time its with the trusty Sammy 65 you'd think he would be sus of it by now! Sorry about the quality of the pics. Last sleep before the soft plastic day, can't wait. Cheers, Langa

Wow, your young blokes did well to land those fish they (and you) must be really proud of their efforts. Congratulations. Langa

I forgot to agree with you about the Black snakes, we were there in late Feb and they were in plague preportions, we had an English tourist with us and he was totaly freaked out! Cheers Langa

I did a similar trip over 30 years ago, stayed a week and caught some good fish (many using this new revolutionary rubber lure called a Flopy) . Interestingly I don't remember seeing any Carp then, but I do remember seeing what we thought were Maquarie Perch. Your photos are fantastic and brought back great memories, thanks, I look forward to the next installment. Cheers, Langa

Yep definately a Bass, last time I fished Lane Cove about 2 seasons ago we only caught small fish (200 -250mm) so it looks like some of them have grown up! Hopefully they have fixed the fish ladder by the weir so the Bass can come and go and do the family making thing. There are some massive Carp in that river, if you get bored its always worth taking some bread and small hooks and be prepared to get towed! Cheers, Langa

Hi pmak, I was fishing for Whiting using a fast, constant retrieve, Whiting is all I catch using this technique and the odd Tailor. I have only caught 1 Bream on the flats I fish, I don't know if the're not there or if its my technique, I've tried using other retrieves but the Whiting go off the bite so I speed up again (when your on a good thing). I would like to target Bream but dont seem to have much success, I have just started using pencils and have been catching EPs at night in a different spot, so maybe the change in venue, lure and retrieve will bring success. Cheers, Langa

So happy to hear you are recovering. Some anxious moments were had by all on Fishraider as we awaited news of your condition. Please take good care of yourself. Cheers Langa

Excellent report and pics.

Hi all I went after some Whiting on Thursday arvo wondering if they may have gone off considering the mid week rain and drop in temp. As I waded out I was pleased to see the water temp was still OK even if the air was cooler. The result of the 1 hour session was 3 nice fish and 1 dropped, I even got 1 on a pencil which is rare for me. The fish caught on the pencil took 2 hits at it before hooking up on the third, something I have not experienced with Whiting. Went back the next day (Good Friday) with identical conditions and didnt get a hit, thats fishing! Cheers Langa

Hi Steze, try any estury where there are sandflats, fish your popper over the flats with a metre or less of water, you should find some Whiting if you use a constant fast retrieve, do not pause if you are after Whiting. I agree with Breambucket the season is ending, I fished my favourite flats yesterday and caught zip for the first time in about 6 sessions. I am addicted to poppering for Whiting, I must admit to having little luck on other species (except EPs, different place, time & retrieve)but I think the rapid retrieve is not attractive to Bream etc. At first I thought light colours and translucent lures were the go but now I'm finding any colour will work its the fast, steady, rythmic retrieve that seems to nail them. Where I fish I wade out to about knee deep water and cast into deeper water, if it is overcast with a slight to medium breeze so much the better. If you see any prawns or small fish skipping on the surface, or if you see or hear any fish breaking the surface (except leaping Mullet) cast towards or preferably beyond that spot and retrieve back. Persevere, it took me a while and I'm no expert, but I'm finding I'm consistently catching Whiting on poppers now. Another tip, squash down the barbs on your hooks, it doesnt affect the hook up rate but it makes taking under size fish or fish you intend to release off much easier, also if its Whiting your after take any feathers that may be on the lure off this seemed to increase my catch rate. Hope some of this helps, Langa

Hi pmak sorry for late reply, yes a constant retrieve as fast as you can go with the popper still performing properly seems to do the trick, if you get a hit dont pause keep going. I use 6lb braid with 4lb leader and I use a snap lock conector to the lure (lazy) Cheers, Langa

I've caught squid on a popper at night, it was very dark and scared the hell out of me when this thing I caught started squirting water at me as I dragged it up the wall.

Hi all, just finished a week off work and managed to fish 4 days in one week! I decided to use only surface lures all week, during the day I hit the flats at low tide targeting Whiting I scored 12 Whiting the largest being about 350mm, all caught on Owner Bubble Pops in clear with red face or mauve and white with red face, the darker lures didn't get a look in. I did chuck a few pencils around with no luck but I didn't persevere as I was having better success with the poppers (when your on a good thing...) I only got a couple of pics as it is hard to take photos in knee deep water with a rod tucked under 1 arm and a squirming fish in the other. I also got 1 Mullet and a few chopper Tailor, released all fish and 3 lures to the Mangroves. The highlight of the week came on Friday night fishing a rock wall at Bobbin Head, there was no wind and the water was still with the tide running out, I was using a Sammy 55 in clear and mustard. I heard a big splash about 15m up the wall, this was not a Mullet jumping but a determined belt from below, I had just reeled in so fired of a cast in that direction which landed right in the middle of the expanding ripples, let it sit for a bit then started to retrieve, zig, zag, zig (thanks Roberta for your excellent advice)and BANG I'm connected, a really solid fish took some line and went dangerously close to a submerged pipe, but I managed to land this beautiful 40cm Estuary Perch. A quick pic and I released it and cast again, half way home and BANG I'm on again, this one went even harder but turned out to be a few cms smaller than the first. Again a pic and release, then next cast a birdsnest so I switched to my other rod with an NW pencil in soft blue and translucent white, I got a few hits but no hook ups so I untangled the first line and recast the Sammy, a couple of casts later it happens again, a much smaller model but the same explosive hit. It was now getting late and I was happy to call it a day, again I apologize for the quality of the images, taken on the phone at night. Cheers, Langa

Hi all, had an hour to kill at work at Mosman so decided best way to do that was a quick flick at Balmoral, not so enthusiastic after losing an SX40 on a pier, but a couple of casts later this nice flattie scoffs the 3" silver fox Squidgy wriggler, and by scoffed I mean you could not see it, it was so far down its gullet, shortly after taking the shot it chomped the leader which meant no chance of retreving the lure without surgery and since I was surrounded by a group of school kids saying 'let him go mister' and as I had no intention of keeping it, I released it and it swam off strongly. My question is what are the chances of survival with a hook, plastic and 1/16th oz of lead in its belly? I know a hook will corrode quickly but what about the plastic and lead, I hope it spits it up, does anyone know? Also saw this spectacular jelly fish, image does not do it justice, it was bright blue with white spots, bigger than a soccer ball. Cheers, Langa I think I've got it now...

Another terrific report Roberta, I have been following your advice and am starting to have success on pencils and am indebeted to you. I caught my 1st bream on a Sammy the other day (way under but still my 1st) retrieving over some weed beds using your techniques, and it was a blast. Interestingly I spooked a flattie while wading out to cast, the biggest I've ever seen almost a metre long and sitting in about a foot of water! Thanks again for your great advice, I quiver in anticipation of the topwater article. Cheers, Langa

It destroys your faith in human nature when you hear of these low acts, you almost hope the guy drowns trying to use it! It may be worth watching local pawn shops as a lot of fishing gear finds its way to them. If it was a local, the local pub may also be a fencing ground for the yak. I have been saving my pennies for a year now and am about to buy a Hobie, I know I would be devestated if this happened to me, I hope your friends get it back. Cheers, Langa

Hi, I find the fishing rod is a bit like an umbrella - t always rains when you dont bring the brolly, in this case it was raining fish! I've had the same experience, now I always have a rod in the car. Cheers Langa

Nothing to make up about those Bream, they are crackers. Well done Giffo!

Thanks for the advice, I tried again today and I think I should lose the snap lock and go to a knot tied direct to the lure as they seem to be a bit nose heavy, has any one else noticed this? Cheers, Langa

Hi all, after a bit of trial and error (and a lot of hints from this site) I have started to have some success with Whiting on poppers, mainly bubble pops and strike pros, feeling confident I bought some pencils recently to see what all the fuss is about. I went to some flats I know yesterday to try them out, conditions were great, light breeze, low tide, cicadas droning, I had a top session 5 Whiting and 1 Tailor in an hour and a half, but only 1 caught on a pencil (Owner Rover) and I admit to having real problems retriving them. I was using an NW pencil and the aformentioned Rover and they both seemed to dive if I retrived at the usual speed I use for Whiting and it was only if I slowed down considerably did they seem to take on a life like imitation, is this right or am I doing something wrong. My limited experience has shown that the faster the retrive the better for Whiting and I felt I was missing hits slowing down with the pencils. I have benifited from the wealth of advice and experience proffered on this site and am grateful that raiders are so free with their knowledge. I defer to the experts such as Roberta, Hodgey and others, and appreciate in advance any advise. Cheers Langa

Wow great fish! I wish I had a mentor like you when I was that age, good work Ray and top job Browny.

Hi, recently I was working at Taren Point we had lunch sitting on an old dissused jetty, I dropped a bit of Tandoori chicken from my toasted cheese, tomato, tandoori chicken and onion focaccia into the 500mm of water and it was instantly smashed! We watched Bream up to 40cm fighting over pieces we threw to them, they were smashing it as soon as it hit the water. I always carry a rod in the ute so had a flick around with a couple of soft plastics with no luck, it was depressing seeing the fish pay no attention to the lures, so I took of the plastic and put a piece of tandoori chicken on the jig head and was instanly hooked up then almost as quickly smoked around an oyster encrusted pole, this proceedure was repeated 2 more times till I got sick of losing jig heads and realised the fish had had more of my lunch than I had so I went back to work. Point of this long story is that the Bream seemed to love this cooked chicken, it gave off an oily slick when it hit the water, and seemed to drive them nuts. Cheers, Langa

Hi I like lures because you dont have to worry about smelly bait, I find I can travel lighter, possibly cheaper overall. Also I dont tend to catch nusiance species like eels, catfish, toads etc. However I have to agree with Seager on average good super fresh bait will usually out-fish lures. Cheers, Langa

Hi I fished the river a couple of times over 20 years ago for zip, we were told there were trout in the river but saw no evidence of it. Good luck Cheers, Langa

Hi my brother and I caught one on the rocks at Blue Lagoon when we were kids many years ago, we kept it in a bucket for a day and took great delight in teasing it with our hands to make the intense blue rings. A couple of weeks later a soldier died from the bite of one at Shelly Beach, this was when people first became aware of the Blue Rings deadly capabilities. My brother and I were blown away when we realised how close we must have come to being victims, good thing my mother made us let it go! Cheers Langa