Berleyguts

Great catch! The missus caught a good fish too!

Thanks KC! Stock on the boil. Occy just gone in. Might let the mother-in-law put some in her mee rebus. 😉🤷‍♂️

It’s all about the punctuation. 😉 A bit like capitals. Imagine if you wrote the following sentence without capitals: “I helped my Uncle Jack off a horse”. 😂

Thanks Noel. Yes, I’ve already cleaned them and separated the legs. Tried skinning the legs but it was too much of a stuff around so left them. I’ve been googling recipes. I think I’ll boil them in water with garlic, onion and aromatics then char grill them. Although my mother-in-law has her eye on some for one of her noodle dishes. 😎

Nothing to report really because I had a pretty unsuccessful day but what the heck. 🤷‍♂️ With a few days off work but that east coast low heading our way, today was the only chance I thought I’d have to get out with light winds and a low swell but with a chance of rain. The rain forecast has been wrong before so I thought I’d chance it. An exchange of texts with @Scratchie yesterday and I decided I’d try Broughton Island early for snapper up to the tide change, then try and get a longtail tuna, while they’re still around and before this low moves them on. That was the plan anyway. Left Little Beach ramp at 5:15am and with no moon and a cloudy sky it was as black as the ace of spades heading out, so I had to take it easy. Not just because I couldn’t see the swells but also because it’s whale season (even if the whale watching cruises aren’t running). So it was a cautious ride out to the bait grounds. The only light around was the occasional flash of lightning on the horizon. Ominous perhaps. 🤔 I spent a little longer than I wanted to catching a few slimies and a couple of yakkas but I then had enough pre dawn glow to confidently make the run to Broughton, whale free at 20 knots. 😎 Hit the spot for the first drift. What drift? Current was 1/2 knot or less and just seemed to take me in small circles. I repositioned and got a slightly better drift but each drift seemed to take me in a different direction. Weird. I fished plastics and mixed the colours up a bit - coconut ice, white, pilchard (and, yes, I found my pilchard Z mans, Jeff). Scratchie was sending me lots of tips via text while he was at work and I put in a lot of casts but the only hits were from a sergeant baker and an octopus. This occy was released but it was the first of 3 on lures for the day. I kept the later 2 for something different. More on that later. Another text from Scratchie and I put a slimey fillet on the jig head instead of the plastic. First cast and I had a solid hit. I struck hard (well I thought I did) and felt the bump, bump of a reasonable snapper, a short tussle and a little line lost against a fairly heavy drag, then the hook pulled - so, I guess I didn’t set the hook properly! That was my chance and I blew it! 😖 A few more fruitless drifts, then a small shark turned up so I headed on to another spot to try for longtail. Got to the spot, found the bait, sat on spot lock and floated out a live slimey. There were two other boats in the area. No action for any of us. By now, the rain was getting heavier and I was getting colder, so I pulled up stumps and headed for home. Tried a short flathead drift on the way, managing four blue spots at 33cm, legal but I released them as I find them a bit small. Also those two other occies caught on the jig I use instead of a sinker on my paternoster. Finished the run home in stinging rain and was back at the house after filling the tank by 12. Not a successful day but it was still good to get out, even with the rain. 🌧 😎 Many thanks to Scratchie for his great tips during the morning! So, all I came home with, apart from a few slimies and yakkas (future bait) were a couple of octopus, which I’ve decided to cook up. I’ve only barbecued baby octopus before. Does anyone have any octopus recipes? @kingie chaser perhaps?

Yes, Jeff... and I very much appreciated the invite too! However, I had to work and I couldn’t take a sickie (I generally wouldn’t take a sickie anyway)! My only chance is tomorrow (Thursday), so we’ll see what the weather holds!

Yes, Kewpie mayo does take the edge off wasabi but I like it on its own - clears the sinuses! Of course, I have snorted wasabi on a dare before. 😮😂 And I love sake... but it does have its consequences! I’ll just have to get out and get me some toona myself!

Red wine with fish. Whatever floats your boat! I agree though... need the wasabi. Pickled ginger is nice too. 😉

I have all the bases in my contacts. I can just ask Siri to call them - saves me getting muck all over my phone. 😉

Of course, it also helps if you remember your charger cable so your battery doesn’t run out! 😉 Or make sure your cable hasn’t had it, or you don’t grab a micro USB cable (for an android) instead of a lightning cable for an iPhone or vice versa, like I did the other day! (It was dark, OK?)😂

I use the app for convenience and check in via VHF from time to time, especially if my phone battery’s getting low. I like using the app and have found that MR rings me up if they notice anything odd... like the time I put my launch point as Broughton Island instead of Little Beach and they could see me going out through the heads (I was tired and it was my first trip in a while, OK!).

Do you own the house or rent? I had a steep driveway at my last house, although it did flatten out a bit at the top. I had a big double parking slab poured off to the side, in stencil crete to match the rest of the driveway. Then, I’d just drive into the garage then manually manoeuvre the boat out onto the slab.

My bad. I shouldn’t have mentioned the test. Got my SMS at 10pm last night BTW... negative. So, back to the front (work) tomorrow! Might get a land based session in this evening. Stay safe everyone and enjoy your fishing! And I hope to get one of these babies again soon!

Yes, I come into close contact with hundreds of people each day at work. I do my best to keep my distance but some customers just have no idea! I’m washing my hands so much and using so much disinfectant that I’m not even having dirty thoughts anymore! 😂 When I started coughing at work I decided to get tested to alleviate the concerns of those I work with. I tend to cough whenever I spray disinfectant, so it’s probably that combined with the cooler air and the bushfire around Anzac Day. I had my flu shot a few weeks ago. Was talking to Chris at the local tackle shop and he named 4 locals who had it - one was his next door neighbour. Got it in Bali apparently. The nurse at the hospital said the results usually take 24 hours but I registered for SMS notification and they advised that a “negative” notification could take up to 72 hours. I guess if it was a “positive” they’d ring me pronto! If I don’t get the SMS by lunchtime tomorrow I might have to give work a heads up that I might not be able to come in on Saturday! 😂 All’s good but we really do just need to be vigilant with social distancing for quite some time yet... it’s not really that hard. Meanwhile, I do my best to support local businesses who are doing their best to keep trading. 😎

Thanks. I only asked because I very rarely use a computer these days... I do everything on my phone.

That’d be great, Jeff! I’ve got a few days off coming up, too. 😎 I’ve got tomorrow off too but I’m self isolating until my covid test results are in from yesterday’s swab! Slight cough and tickle but I’m sure it’s nothing!

Paddy - I’ve been interested RipCharts. Is it viable on a phone, do you know?

Great stuff, @Scratchie! Doesn’t it feel good to finally get out after so long in lockdown?! 🙌😎 I fished on Friday and got totally different conditions to you... flat seas - I was able to sit on 25-26 knots to and from the island. I could even do 23-25 knots coming back in through the heads. 😎 I got hardly any run though, so struggled. Still, I didn’t mind one bit - it just felt so good to be out there! I released half a dozen snaps just barely legal and a 69cm kingie that took a live slimey. I tried The Sisters, North Rock and over near Inner Rock 😉 but just couldn’t get a drift I was happy with... but I didn’t care! 😂 I know people got fish that day - snapper and longtail tuna. There were a heap of boats on the Little Gibber, so maybe that was the area to go??? I salvaged the day with a few flatties and bonito, had no dramas (finally!) and returned home totally relieved of stress, which is just what I needed. 😊 Can’t wait to do it again!

It’s commonly called a “doctor”. I’ve found them in silver trevally and yellowtail. Fairly common. My wife once caught a trevally with one in it and hasn’t eaten trevally since! I have. They don’t really affect the flesh as they’re basically feeding on what’s coming into the fish’s mouth. They can be a bit off putting though! 😂

I know what you mean there. I clip leaders on to my ball bearing snap swivels on my game rods, e.g. skirted lures on mono, Jinkai or wire leaders; or live bait bridle rigs; or skip bait rigs. The lightest leader I am using at the moment is 70lb and I crimp a loop with a nylon sleeve in it, which protects the loop. Lighter leaders for paternoster rigs for bottom bashing, I use 30 or 40lb mono and just tie them to a stainless steel ring with a uni knot and clip the snap swivel to that.

Good stuff! Did the mullet actually hit the lure? I didn’t think they were too interested in feeding. 🤔 I fished right amongst them at Fingal the other evening. I was targeting whiting, though.

Yes, I’m leaning towards a bar cod from pictures I’ve googled. I’ll dig out my Grant’s Guide to Fishes sometime today and have a good read. I wasn’t thinking black cod - I saw a 120lb one caught on a charter at Lord Howe Island years ago. The markings were totally different. DPI has this info on banded rock cod (bar cod) but the pic doesn’t show the white edge trim on the tail but it looks a lot like it just the same: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/fish-species/species-list/bar-cod Caught in 38m with a small standard red rock cod on the other dropper.

Any idea what fish this? I’m too lazy to get my Grant’s Guide to Fishes out! I was thinking some type of cod. Would it be protected? It was released. About 42cm, caught in 38m off Port Stephens while drifting for flathead (I found a small patch of reef amongst the sand).

My present for the better half arrived in the mail today and my son (same initial) opened it in error, so she discovered what it was. End result, she’s happy and I have a leave pass to go fishing tomorrow. Broughton here I come! Look after the little ladies, lads!

If we decided to go caravanning, I suppose I could be happy with beach and rock fishing... but maybe a 12ft car topper at least (that was my original plan back in the 80s anyway). But at the moment, living in Port Stephens, my 4.5m seems almost a necessity and it is really not expensive to run. 😉 The other option (which I’m sure she won’t agree to), is to sell the house and buy a live aboard boat and live in that. I’m sure I’d be happy! 😂