King slayer

Went off shore today on a charter for dollies. We got only a few livies and trolled some marlin lures out and back for no hits. Picked up a few dollies at a FAD and only three keepers. most were caught on pillies. See's were rough and the rain made things interesting. The wind made it hard to fish so we headed in a little early. Tried briefly for kings at a maker in the harbour before docking, but no good despite good soundings. A good day out with good friends was had and a few for a feed as well. I don't often get a chance to go off shore so soak it up even if the weather is not perfect. Gofish Pete, I used my new 3-6kg outfit on the dollies as you suggested. Worked a treat! Here are some pics Dave

Hi Raiders, Zenman was kind enough to invite me aboard his tinnie for a short jew session last night in middle harbour. zenman chose the likely spot and we put out our best baits. We only had pre-caught frozen squid, but better than no squid. Neither of us had time to chase down fresh baits before the tide change. Anyhow, we waited in what felt like fishy water for a few hours, shooting the breeze and ended up with one eel. I suggested we try for some squid at the spit on the way back so we did that for a while. picked up four nice arrows for next time and Zenman got some nice sized Cowan and tailor for the planned morning session the following day. All in all a pleasant night on the water and it was great to fish with another Raider for the first time. thanks again Zenman, can't wait for the next one. Cheers all. Dave

Sometimes the kings will take the bait shyly. I have had this before and you need to strike at the slight pull, then if it's a king you'll hook it. There have been lots of Jackets around too and perhaps your baits were lower down and in their zone?? Might also be that the frozen bait was causing them to hesitate. Dave

I want to throw out my Tailor head (from 57cm fish) for a jewie, and I will. But I was wondering about other guys experience with big jew baits. How big a bait has been taken, and was it a big fish that took it?

Yeah, that's awsome. I heard of some 90cm plus kings being taken in the last few days in the harbour. bring it on!

Hey Mike, Nice report mate. Once again good to meet you in person today. Let's do that low tide jew mission in the next few weeks. Dave

Ocean rocks Jim! But have caught and heard of good size tailor in middle harbour and main harbour too. Seems like they're all around right now.

Hi Raiders, My tradesman got sick so had to finish work early today.. what a shame! I heard about some big kings around a rock spot, so collected a few yakkas and a herring from Roseville on the way through and fished the rock spot, without any competition for a few hours. Met Zenman down there too. Good to put a face to a name. Had a yakka out under a float and was considering packing it in when the float shoots under and I miss the hook up...Damn, but I have more so on with the next one. This one comes back head only after a minute so I got wise and thought...Tailor! I hooked the next one in the tail and out she goes. Below is the result! 57cms and my new PB for Tailor. I put out another livie which was being harassed by something very big and white (King!), but it didn't take the bait. Packed it in soon after. Half the Tailor is for dinner tomorrow for my Inlaws, the other half and the head will be Jew bait over the weekend. Cheers all. Dave

One spot is available on an off shore charter chasing dollies (if they're around) on 18th April. Booked the whole boat, total six fisherman. Call me for more details if you're interested. Mob: 0425 843 194 Cheers, Dave

Have not yet Jewhunter, but I did mention the idea to my mates today, so it will happen one day/night. Yakkaman, the tailor went down a treat for dinner, but as much as I love calamari, I love using them for jews even more, so they're in the freezer for later in the week.

We've been getting them right up in Roseville last few days, even in the dirty water. Just need to find a less windy time so you can feel the jig.

Hi all, Went down to a nice rock platform in the main harbour this morning with two mates in hope of kings. We had planed to fish the predawn high for Jews off the beach and then to an ocean rock spot for kings and drummer, but the predicted swell looked a bit big so we opted for the safe spot. The morning started off well with a few squid collected on the way from middle harbour. As soon as we arrived (pre-dawn) and set up our big rods and float rigs, we tossed around squid jigs and pulled in a few more squid as we waited. The squid kept coming all morning when ever we got the urge. A school of sizable Tailor came through and we picked up two around the 45cm mark which took our whole squid aimed at kings. It is nice to fish a rock platform that is fairly safe, has nice deep water and squid right in front of you. Weather was perfect, but no more fish after the tailor. Total squid was around 16-18 all up. Harbour traffic seemed non existent compared to a normal Sunday. Perhaps everyone thought the fresh would keep the fish away? Anyway, next week it's back to the jew mission. Tides are just where I want them. Cheers, Dave

Bread crumbs and catfood (pilchard) with tuna oil seems to have some effect, also cubed pillies. failing that try lifting your anchor up quickly, catching bait fish/bream etc or other similar commotion. That usually tells me when they're about, cause they follow the anchor/fish etc to the top, then seem to switch on from there. This seems to happen when we see them on the sounder and have nervous livies but no takes. Dave

I recently bought a jacket and pants by 'Team', all PVC and very water proof. Like jew hunter said, check out gofish for sure. Dave

Reminds me of me as a kid and my grandfather. We went fishing at every chance and he is responsible for my passion for the sport. Great stuff. Those are the memories you keep forever.

I kept 5 in a tank about that size for 6 months with no water changes, a powerful canister filter and fresh water top ups. All stayed healthy. Just fed them sparingly on prawns. You can buy little yellowfin from some aquarium shops in fresh water for sure.

Nice work mate, We headed out side first thing for no hits and to the Wedding cake a fair bit later, but the wind and tide were fighting and it was hard work there. Guess we should have gone there first hey! Dave

Hey Andrew, I was out on Sunday too in the main harbour. Same for us, I got one king about 40cm's on my 10lb line and he didn't even fight! Squid came quick and easy though. Jewies are on the cards for me the next few months for me too. Let me know if you want company for an evening session! Cheers, Dave

Dogtooth, What ever it is you do, you do it well. Hats off.. Do you find those big ones taste as good as the babies? Dave

Hey mate, I reckon you're normally best to go new if you can, unless you really know and trust the buyer, or have a good idea of engines etc. We picked up a new 30hp 2 stroke for about $2500, and a new trailer is around $1000 to $3000 depending on quality and size etc. You find with the used stuff a lot can go wrong and it can be more expensive (and annoying). Try huetts marine. Good guys there, my mate an i got our last tinnie there. Dave

Seriously Dogtooth, it's just not fair! I've never caught so many kings as this season, but have had so few keepers. You have to tell us. What is it that you do so different? Nice fish, the 70-80cm ones look like livies next to the big mumma. Dave

I'm gonna say the head...

The water was quite brown and full of floating crap, but like you said this has been the best times to fish there. I heard a guy cursing as he lost at his feet what he called for a 45cm bream! Plenty of yakkas too. On another note, does any one here own or know the guy who owns the boat called 'Sh#t fishing tours'? He was talking pretty confident last night as he took off at around 11.30pm and I want to know if he hooked up. I swear he was skipping like he had it all worked out. Think he has a good spot for jew worked out and all the cards were lined up. Dave

Wetting a line on Monday night down near the Roseville ramp as I like to do sometimes during the weeknights, I had a few lines out and baits, live and dead. Was using my new 3-6kg spin outfit purchased from Gofish pete (great deal too) last weekend. I had a squid tube on this one with a small weight and was jigging it along the bottom very slowly like a plastic, but slower, when this big girl took a liking to the bait right at my feet. She was well behaved and patiently waited while I called out to borrow a net from the guys fishing near by, (thanks again by the way if you're reading this!) I took a quick pick, received congratulations from the other fisho's and released her promptly with a satisfied smile. She swam off gracefully. No jews again, but a good night either way...except for the rats which taunt me every time I fish there. Oh and of course I blooded the new outfit. Show me the jewies! Dave

I found some really hungry poddies at roseville ramp yesterday. Just had to drop a small piece of bread in and my baited weightless bait jig in with it and had one on straight away. I don't normally catch them for livies so it's all a bit new. Kept them alive and healthy all night in an aerated bucket and used them this morning. Maybe it's just the burley you need?