Red

Tony at Fishfinder Bait and Tackle sells awesome squid. Cheers Red

Steve, thats easily the best advise given thus far. Cheers Red

Stella and Saltiga reels are awesome if you don't have to work plastics all day. Have you considered something like the Certate 3500HD Custom or the new 4000 Hyper Custom? These reels are lighter which will be a godsend for your lure casting and lack nothing in terms of cranking power. Knowing Tony's rods well, i'd imagine yours is nice and light in weight. It would almost be a shame to bolt on something heavy/bulky. Good luck with your decision. Red

You're on fire Kelvin. Good to see the jews firing in Sydney Harbour. You must know Craig well as he's often mentioning your catches. I've spent some time driving a Furuno FCV582L and they are good things and i've spent some time with high end Lowrance products that are even better. The Lowrance LCX112C is without doubt the best sounder i've personally used. It was picking up reds in 80m of water like nothing else i've seen. Can't wait to have a play with the 585 though now that my mate has recently bought one. I'm expecting good things. I think most people here would not get the max benefit out of such a potent unit especially the inshore brigade. The 620 looks a nice unit and is probably bordering on overkill for bay/harbour work. I suppose it comes down to what you are use to. My trusty old Lowrance LCX15MT is an outstanding hi-res unit in inshore waters and shows up jews like nothing else i've seen. The poor things really do give themselves away. Can't bring myself to replace this unit as it has served me well. Hopefully the next generation sounders are even better. Love the photos, especially of the smiling young lads Cheers Red

And a healthy grapevine Cheers ' Red

Jewgaffer, there's no real drama at all, just looking for a better alternative if its out there. Its just that after washing the tackle and the boat, i can't be stuffed cleaning the fish....i'm sure i speak for many others here. You just want to sit in the shade with a cold refreshment. Unfortunately you couldn't pay my wife enough money to clean fish....that sort of stuff is beneath her Someone forgot to tell me that she was related to the Royals Anyhow i don't think osmosis will be a problem as the flesh wouldn't be exposed to water, just the skin. Looks like the only option is to bribe the kids when they are old enough to use a knife or just tag and release everything Cheers Red

A 6lb braid outfit will do the job on most dollies at the fads. Shimano is having a big sale at the moment and are selling a cheap but respectable little outfit for $99 The rod is suprisingly good and the reel is a Sienna from memory. Its not the greatest reel in the world but it will do the job on the dollies you are likely to encounter. Cheers Red

Roberta/Dave, thanks for your input. Has anyone tried scaling fish with a garden hose? I was told if you hit the scales with pressure, working from the tail to the head, the scales simply fly off. I'm not exactly keen an a lawn full of scales though. Might give it a try one day and if it works as good as they say, it might be worth looking at installing a high volume pump in the boat and scaling them at sea. Worst thing about catching fish is cleaning them i reckon. Cheers Red

Caine, i don't want to fillet these fish and don't want to take the skin off. I have used a spade on big jewfish and that saved a stack of elbow grease and time Will never use a scaler on jewfish again Any other methods? I'm keen on a better alternative for smaller fish like reds, bream etc Cheers Red

G'day Raiders, i'm interested in simple yet effective ways of scaling fish without a knife or scaler. I've been told of two methods but yet to try them. Would like to hear of your experiences in scaling fish the lazy way Cheers Red

A grapevine? What on earth has that got to do with fishing? I think the majority of hard-core fishos have networks of grapevines. One for each targetted species Thankfully these grapevines aren't affected by drought conditions......they only require one ingredient......trust Cheers Red

Awesome fish Mike, Congratulations

Top session guys Shame about the tackle damage. Might have to venture into the harbour for a sticky beak one of these days. Cheers Red

You're a good man Swordie . Regards Red

Love your work Lets see if you can keep your promises Regards Red

Your on fire Kelvin Sounds like another great session. Any size to today's fish? Regards Red

Congrats on a fine first jew Cheers Red

Kelvin, you summed it up to perfection. They do become an obsession and a bloody bad one. Once you think you have them sussed the obsession thankfully fades and you start to see clearly with both eyes again. Thank god there's more to fishing than jewies......so much more. I don't quite know what it is about this species. They are not the greatest fighter, not the greatest on the table but the obsession phase you go through is so strong.....why? My mate is a very well known Sydney jewfisho who now only chases them 3 or 4 times a year if he's lucky. He once chased then 3 or 4 nights a week! Its near impossible to psych him up these days. Once the challenge is over, there's no real point. Time to move on to the next challenge just to keep fishing interesting again Regards Red

A big congrats to all involved in making that special moment happen Check out those conditions......sensational Cheers Red

Totally! Goob was complaining of a sore arms and he goes to the gym . Can't wait to get him onto a marlin on 24kg tackle. Thats sure to knock him about Frankp, was that you we spoke to in the centre console? Kingiemaster, before this season i was totally anti full moon to the max. Actually it would be a good 15 years since the last fruitless full moon session . Never ever caught a decent Jewfish or red on the moon and probably never will however the rat kings don't seem to mind it. Jewgaffer, good to hear the jewfish and reds are starting to fire up with the warmer water. Kelvin's recent success has surely sparked some interest in doing a session in the harbour - probably the best local jewfish waterway in terms of numbers. Its really difficult to get motivated with chasing jewies when the kings are going off their nuts. Next moon should be well worth a shot Regards Red

You're on fire Kelvin They jewfish are a welcome by-catch. Great to see the Harbour firing on all cylinders again. Regards Red

Cheers guys. Mike, have a go at the rat kings if you have the time. Great fighters and great eating to boot. They're a good option when the jews are slow especially when they're in frenzy mode. It was like catching slimies out there yesterday but you had to work hard to initially find them. Most boats at the ramp had a slow day, i suppose we just got lucky. Just goes to show how important "Location - Location" is. Cheers Red

G'day Raiders, Goob and i had a weekend to remember. After celebrating way too much on saturday night, we decided to wake up early before hangovers could take their full toll Destination - Botany Bay, chasing squid and kings. Well the squid gathering went to plan with the Pheromone Skins producing around 20 or so in quick time Took off looking for kings and struggled for a good hour before we finally found them next to a big bait school sitting on one of the markers . In no time it was Kings four, Goob and Red nil We were beginning to understand exactly how the Australian worker's best friend must've been feeling..... Anyhow, we pulled our heads in, tied on some 20lb leader and went to work. The score was quickly looking more respectable:thumbup: . We went on to have an absolute blinder of a session that will be remembered for a while - stopped counting at 25 strikes and i'd say we hooked 30 plus fish in 1.5hrs. At least twenty of them came in a crazy bite that lasted around 30 minutes. Most baits weren't in the water for longer than 5 seconds before getting inhaled. I'd say by the end of the session the score was something like Goob/Red 16, Kings 14. Kept five fish for the table and donated a further 12 squid to the freezer. The fish were only rats ranging from 75cm down to 55cm but top fun on 15lb and 6lb braid. I got drilled too many times on the Saegake but Goob managed to get two to the boat, his first and second on bream tackle. Needless to say, Goob was doing these ones and i was very happy for him How we didn't break a rod yesterday is still unknown. Ten of us got together that evening for a bbq and Goob cooked the king fillets to precision. Hard to beat fresh fish, a few refreshments and a good ol' chinwag Regards Red

G'day Jack, the river is said to be fishing very poorly this season. There's are pro's flogging it day and night. Best off trying the Harbour or Georges River. There's plenty being taken in these systems of late. Good luck Red