DerekD

When I teach people soft plastics I point out that if I have to guarantee that someone will catch a fish I'll use bait. On the flipside I also point out that in general the size of the fish I catch is better on lure. If you put a piece of food in the water the small fish will often get in before the bigger more cautious fish. The small fish on the other hand can have a nip at a plastic but the bigger fish will engulf it. My biggest fish (104cm) jewfish was caught on a whole squid with snelled hooks. It depends on the species you are chasing too. If chasing tailor I think use of a metal gives a better result than bait. If chasing blackfish I'll stick with weed rather than weed flies and I have only ever caught one blackfish on a soft plastic. A flathead is an ambush predator so I do better with lures as I can cover a lot more ground.

I met Darren several years ago by the water when he asked about fishing in Sydney. He comes from a family of mad fishos but most of it was in Queensland where they have to muscle the barramundi and mangrove jack out from snags. A quick trip to the fishing shop and that was the start of his learning curve in Sydney. A few more rods, a Hobie fishing kayak, trips on my boat, shore based stuff and once he got used to playing a fish he has become very proficient in fishing Sydney. He has been a great fishing buddy over the years and when family commitments allow he’ll put the hours in to get some great results. Last year while doing some shore based fishing we decided to do an impromptu State of Origin fishing comp. I started off with a 53cm flathead. While unhooking it he snuck in with a snapper but I was fortunate enough to land a 70cm flathead to close the game out with a win to NSW. This year we decided to make it a best of three with a scoring system. Lure only and any fish hooked and landed gets a minimum 1 point. If it is a species which has a legal size you get either 1 point for undersized or 2 points if it is a legal size. There is a bonus 1 point if it is the largest of that species landed for the day. For example, if only one flathead was landed in the session and it was 40cm (legal size being 36cm) then you would get a 2+1 = 3 points. Alternatively as there is no legal size for a yellowtail it would be 1 point plus 1 more point if it was the only one of its species caught. There is a proviso that if a fish is too big to land on the light bream gear we are using you only have to get to within reasonable netting distance for it to count. There are a further possible 2 points for the longest fish landed of the day. That 3 point flathead could actually end up being worth 5 points. Daz and Dez’s State of Origin Match 1 (a few weeks back) An English mate was keen to join us which would have made the State of Origin a Tri-Nations (I also have a Dutch passport) but not to be as said mate slept in. Couple of warm up casts and Daz yells to me, “Mate I am on, does this count?”. Checked my watch and 30 seconds past 8am so it counted. Nice little flathead for 1 point. Fifteen minutes he is on again for a second flat head. Again not legal but still another point. I have a few taps but nothing. Switching between minnows, grubs and Ecogear ZX and still no joy. Minor location change and Daz foul hooks a small snapper. As it was hooked on a lure it counted. I finally hook up on a flatty and as I am lifting it up the hook pops – “NO TRY”. Bugger. I turn around on the wharf and there is Daz struggling around the pylons with a huge bend in his rod. Turns out he’d flicked a blade at some structure and something big took it and went for a screaming run. All is fair in love and fishing but both of us wanted to see this fish landed. I gave him a hand clearing the rod around the pylon and passed it back to him. Fortunately the fish headed for the middle of the bay. Long runs and no give. Daz was hoping for a mulloway but I had other thoughts. Over 5 minutes in and this thing is showing no signs of giving in. I know it is only 4lb braid with 7lb leader but get your knots right and keep constant tension and you can land some really good fish. I made a judgement call at that stage and ran around the back of the bay to get my landing net as I figured this fight was going to last a while. 15 minutes in and I look at my watch and realise the ferry was due in a bit over 10 minutes. A power boat came cruising by and we are pointing at the rod and line and that we had a fish on. They still drove over the line – crap. Daz put rod tip down to water level and fortunately the boat didn’t cut the line. At one stage the rod tip jumped and the pressure came off the rod. Thought we’d lost it but then the pressure was there again. We think one of the trebles had pulled lose and fortunately other one stuck. With the ferry coming soon we had to get some line in. Fish was about 20m out from wharf. Then 10m. Then the danger zone. Getting some lifts on it and then it did a dash under the wharf and clipped him off on the pylon. He didn’t curse. He didn’t smash the rod. He just stood there, silently looking across the bay. I could feel his pain. It wasn’t just losing the fish. It was never knowing what it was. Based on experience, the long runs, the going deep I’d take a pretty big bet it was a king. Salmon or tailor I would have expected to jump at one stage. The fight was too long for a mulloway which often need some rest time during the fight. I’d take that bet even further and call it at least 70cm (like the one in my profile pic) and probably 75cm. If he’d landed it I would have conceded the match which I probably wasn’t going to win at this stage. A short while later he managed a frigate mackerel which sealed the deal. Win or lose I still had a blast and so did he. Daz and Dez’s State of Origin Match 2 (last Sunday) Same scoring system 12pm to 2:15pm. Walking to the first location Daz spots $5 floating in the water which we fish out. No that doesn’t count for a point. First location Daz gets some hits but no hook ups. I’m switching lures trying to spark some interest. My go to pink grub gets hit and up comes a flounder. Darren then hooks up and up comes a flathead which he drops as he is lifting it out of the water. NO TRY. Location change and I pick up two silver trevallies in quick succession. Not legal but worth some points. I then hook up this monster. Laughing I walk over to Daz and point out that as it was hooked it counts as 1 point and as it was another species I get the bonus point too. Sweet. Shortly after Darren hooks up and I walk over to him and start laughing at the monster he has hooked. Working the back of the bay I manage a flathead. It looked close to legal so out comes the tape measure. 34cm so no extra points. Switching to the Ecogear I hook up three flatheads of which two were well legal. I also drop all three trying to land them. I am still way ahead on points but I know Daz could turn things around in quick succession. One more location change and another flatty. 15 minutes to go and I am feeling pretty confident. We agree that any fish hooked at end of match counts if it is landed no matter how long the fight is. Fortunately for me there was no last minute turn-around. A win for NSW. Shook hands and I’d had a blast. So we stand at one all. The decider will be a 4 hour session which I am really looking forward to. I pointed out that in Origin the matches are held in different states so that maybe we should go to Queensland and stay with his family for the decider. Just a thought.

Hi Henry, I enjoyed the report. Also glad to hear the instructions made sense and the results speak for themselves. Heard you picked yours up on a hand line. So did how did the bait versus dinner decision with those squid go? One of these days I hope our schedules match up and I can join you and Krause for a kayak fishing session. I've spent enough time on the phone to Krause that it would be nice to finally put a face to the voice. Regards, Derek

Hi Nuts, I've been fishing SPs for over a decade and during that time I have tried really light but have found in my case it led to decreased casting distance (that one is obvious) and more importantly more birds nest because without a decent weight on the other end the line tends to go on the spool with less tension. I was using 4lb Fireline at the time which is a fused braid which fluffs up and has a tendency to grab line on the way out. These days with some of the fantastic small diameter woven braids that may be less of an issue. Due to the nature of the areas I fish most of the time I rarely bother dropping below 1/8th in jig weight. 1/16th is the lightest I'd go. Just something to be aware of. Regards. Derek

What is the legal size for a 40cm plastic? Not bad for a first cast but I am guessing you probably meant flathead.

I've enjoyed this report and am very impressed at the quantity and quality of the fish. I have a few weed flies lying around but haven't gotten around to using them. Are you using any berley or only the flies?

Regan, By the time you get all the other items on the shopping list and take the time to install it a savings of $300 to $400 between the bottom of the range sounder and a mid level sounder isn't that much. A sounder isn't a I need it now or I'll die proposition or won't catch fish. If you are going to do it then it will be more trouble doing it twice to get what you decide you really need. Enjoy the kayak now and save up for a few months for a mid range sounder. Mine was a boat show special and that usually takes place in August. If you have done your research you can go to the different stands compare and purchase before the end of the day. Regards. Derek

Hi Regan, My advice is take a reasonable bit of time and do lots of research and not an impulsive buy. Can you clarify what you have in mind for it (river fishing, harbour, ocean). Will you need a GPS to find waypoints? How big do you want the screen and how much detail? I have a Fishfinder on my 2010 Hobie Revolution 13 and I had to work a few things out. As mine is an older model I don't have an under the hull pocket for my transducer so I had to use a through the hull set-up. As I didn't want interference from the Hobie drive I have located my transducer between the drive pocket and the mast pole (transducer length had to fit). I went with a Humminbird 587 ci HD which has a Sonar, Down imaging and GPS. The mounting bracket is permanently connected to the power and transducer so I had to work out a way to bring the cables out from inside the hull and where to store it when not in use. I am still pretty pleased with the way it turned out as I didn't have to do any drilling through the hull. The shopping list for my set up (and it shouldn't be too different for you) is as follows: 1x Fishfinder – Suggest one with Sonar (83kHz/200kHz) and Down imaging (455/800kHz) and GPS. The Lowrance Hook 4 combo is one possibility. 1x Ram Fishfinder Mounting kit - Talk to your Hobie dealer 1x Ram ball mast mount to match mounting kit – Hobie Dealer 1x tube of Goop – Hobie Dealer 1x foam transducer pocket (makes a dam in which to pour the heated up Goop for through hull setup) – Hobie Dealer 1x Battery holder for rear hatch (Hobie now do fit for purpose but I prefer my option using the Hobie compartment storage box with a couple of the dividers trimmed out as it is sealed from water) 1x U-bolt Ram ball (for storing mounting kit in kayak when not in use) – Agent for RAM gear 1x fuse holder and rated fuse (see fishfinder manual) – Jay car 1x extension power cables to reach battery – Jay car 1x Heat shrink tube to protect joins of Fishfinder power cable to extension power cable Some cable ties for cleaning up loose cables 1x SLA Battery probably 12V 7.2Ah (lasts me at least a 10 hour straight session) 1x smart charger for above battery Some time to install it all. Watch that you don't get bubbles underneath the transducer. BTW for most of my fishing from the kayak I don't think it has improved my catch rate (in summer we watch for the birds to chase the schools - no sounder required) but it has given me a lot of learning time and I bought a system I can easily switch between the kayak and boat (I use the same head unit for both) so no regrets. Regards, Derek

Hi ITMan, Middle harbour is a great place to fish and I have had some great results over the years including a 1m plus jewfish. Finding spots is really easy but it involves taking a step back from google maps etc. Get your hands on an old fashioned street directory as they indicate most of the wharves and paths down to the water - these are not as easy to identify from the internet maps. I prefer UBD but I suspect Gregory's and Sydways would also be pretty good. Have every other week as a research trip and you will build up a list of locations very quickly. Regards, Derek

Personally I do not think there is a disadvantage bait casting with a stiff tip. Just don't try to accelerate the rod tip as fast as you might do for a plastic. Rather than a short sharp punch use a long accelerating sweep for your cast. I use my bream finesse for both lures and baits. For example I can get a nipper/pinkie/yabbie a fair way out on this gear when chasing whiting and that is a relatively soft bait. The only issue there might be with a stiff tip and braid is that there is less shock absorption than a soft rod with mono and from years of experience I find this a non-issue. The tip will be fine enough to have some shock dampening effect plus use a soft hand when handling the rod.

Like others above I usually prefer a stiff tip. It makes it easier to get the subtle little twitches I require at times. When I am teaching people light soft plastics I point out that in a rod I look for a 2-4kg rod on the stiffer side. Ideally a touch over 7 feet long (tip speed helps with casting distance) with an ergonomic hand grip (more comfortable over the longer sessions) and a short butt. I use a rod tip down technique so the wind is less able to affect the line and it is easier to watch. I find the longer butts bump up against my forearm. As a starting point I usually recommend that people look at the Shimano Raider Bream Finesse 2-4kg 762 (7 foot 6 inches 2 piece) rated for 3 to 12gm lures. Depending on the sales at the time you can find it for between $100 and $120. Suggest you use that as a benchmark and if you find something better then buy that and please tell me what it is.

Going to the DPI website they discuss the difference between bag, possession and boat limits. I have cut out the excerpt below and if my understanding is correct the only time the boat limit applies is to Gemfish. For blue swimmer crabs the personal limit is 20 in possession but you are only allowed to take 10 away with you at the end of the day. The boat limit would depend on the number of licenced people in the boat so if you had 5 people you could take 50 blue swimmer crabs with you. Recreational fishing rule definitions More topics in this section Share Bag limit Bag limit is the maximum number of fish per person per day. A maximum daily bag limit of 20 applies to any fish or invertebrate not included in the bag & size limit tables. Daily bag limits are one of the key tools for managing recreational fishing. They limit the number of fish that an individual angler can catch and keep in a 24 hour period. Bag limits are typically put in place for a number of biological and social reasons including: conserving fish stocks sharing the catch between recreational fishers and other users encouraging responsible and ethical use of fisheries resources assisting in reducing illegal fish sales protecting threatened or vulnerable species Bag limits apply to all forms of recreational fishing for fish and invertebrates, including line fishing, spearfishing, hand gathering, prawn scooping, drag netting, bait collection, and the use of crab traps, nets and lobster pots. Possession limit A possession limit is the maximum number of fish that a person is allowed to have in their possession at any time. Possession limits provide a useful tool to discourage illegal sales of fish by constraining recreational fishers from accumulation commercial quantities of fish. For all saltwater species except; Australian Bass and Estuary Perch, Flathead (except Dusky), Bream and Tarwhine, Tailor, Luderick, Trevallies and Blue Swimmer Crab, the daily bag limit is also the possession limit. Boat limits Boat limits aim to limit the catch of anglers fishing in the same boat over a 24 hour period. These apply regardless of the number of people in the boat. Boat limits are intended to limit the overall recreational fishing catch and prevent the circumvention of personal daily bag limits by individual fishers through the carrying of non-fishing passengers in a boat. At present, the only boat limit applies to gemfish (10 fish).

I have a high ceiling in my garage and have been storing my kayak in there on a pulley system for 6 years. I got one of the Fleebay ones but there are two weight ratings I kept on coming across and I bought the heavier rated ones (60kg and not 40kg). Soon as they came in I got rid of the cheap dynabolts that came with it and bought some genuine ones. I didn't want to come into the garage one day to find that my kayak was even more keen than me and had already thrown itself into place on top of my car. The pulley system uses a friction lock so to lower the kayak pull down on one of the two lines and then ease off on the second and then repeat for the first otherwise you will damage the ropes. I lower mine on to two old life jackets and then carry it out to the car otherwise I have to do a lot of awkward flipping of the kayak inside my garage.

Hi Wellzy, Welcome to the world of fly fishing. Out of curiosity how much do you know about fly fishing technique? Have you tried it before or do you have a friend who is proficient at it. My first rod was a freshwater 7 weight and I ended up doing a course taught by a trout fisherman to shortcut the learning process. Rarely have I felt so uncoordinated. Furthermore the only time I have ever properly hooked myself was with that fly rod. It was a really really small fly so I wasn't left screaming in pain. I also own a 9 weight saltwater rod which I use from the kayak on Sydney harbour. When you get it right it is almost therapeutic and it is a pleasure watching that line sailing out and gently dropping on the surface of the water. I learned on grass but when you get on water it is so much easier to load the rod up. When you can learn the roll cast too. Surprisingly what distance you can get with that. Tie some wool on the end of the tippet instead of using a fly. That way when it clips you you don't end up with an ear piercing which your mother will grill you about. Regards, Derek

Hi Outdoordan, I have really enjoyed reading this topic and it was something which I was discussing with a few of the mad fisho's from work. Did some further research a few months back and was seriously impressed to find that one of the UK anglers has an unofficial record of just over 300m. Over the years I have had to refine people's casting technique with the gear we use for lure fishing. Most of them comment on how effortless it is to cast well with an efficient technique. While I try and teach for accuracy I find they get distance improvements too. I often point out that the extra 5m length you might gain multiplied by a 50m wide strip gives you another 250m² of area to cover. I can see the benefits of the extra distance and want to be able to get more out of my gear. How well does what you have learned with sinkers and bait translate to the 7 foot spinning gear we use for hard bodied lures and soft plastics? In my case I use a Shimano Raider snapper 7'6" and 15lb braid but I top out at about 70m with a 1.5oz (45gram) lure. As the rod was a present from my mum I won't push it into rod snapping acceleration and I am sure it will take more than I am throwing at it. The rod comes into its own when I start working the plastics on the retrieve (which I would probably struggle with using a longer rod). Regards, Derek

Hi Mike, Even though I was there I really enjoyed reading this and other reports you have taken the time to upload. For me it was a pleasure meeting you and a fun afternoon. I hope that you can make it for another session when we can fish a number of other spots in the area and see if we can get your species count up. Just don't blame me too much if you feel the need to add to your tackle collection. Regards, Derek PS. Considering you have only been fishing for two years I was seriously impressed at the amount of knowledge you have accumulated in that time.

Congratulations. Don't forget to get the jewels in the head (above and behind the eye sockets from what I remember). They look like a white marble.

The road down to Roseville ramp is on the Killarney Heights side of Roseville bridge. It is a good facility with plenty of parking but costs about $8 per day. I use Cammeray but you have to get in a stupid o'clock to get a reasonable parking spot. Be warned that it is a little hairy leaving the area as the traffic is doing about 80kmh over Roseville bridge and you will be merging from a standing start. Some other reasons for suggesting Middle harbour. You can motor up to the Roseville Marina and there is a café and toilets there. You can stop off at Clontarf or Spit Marinas if you need petrol. You can head up river under the Roseville bridge past the mangroves for something different. Plenty of areas to fish - look up Bantry Bay, Sugerloaf bay, Northbridge, Quakers hat bay. If you don't get hits pretty quickly on the baits then shift location. You can pop out underneath the Spit bridge and fish the two bays to the left towards Clontarf marina. Pretty deep water at this point so takes a little while to get your baits down. BTW I have a little trouble getting my boat on the trailer at dead low tide at both Roseville and Cammeray as my back roller ends up about 15cm above the waterline so I time my returns so they are two hours outside dead low. Just something to be aware of. Hope you all have a fun and safe day and looking forward to hearing your report.

I'll put together additional information at lunch time today but suggest you put Sydney Harbour aside for the time being and if you don't mind a little bit longer drive launch from Roseville Ramp and fish middle harbour. No matter which way the wind is going you will find a protected area to fish, there is less large boat traffic (less big wakes), there are plenty of bays to fish and empty moorings to tie off. With the exception of the spit bridge opening it is an enclosed waterway. Middle harbour has in the past warmed up quicker than Sydney harbour and we have done pretty well with the kings earlier in the summer season (yes I know they can be caught all year round but I am talking about the schools feeding on the surface). There are plenty of areas for squid (just work the foreshores where you see seaweed). There are plenty of areas you can flick for bream. If you get the chance look at a map for the area and maybe print one off for reference. Some people get a little lost in the area the first few times.

Which direction are you coming from? Roseville boat ramp gives you easy access to Middle Harbour Other ramps up past the harbour bridge give you easy access to Sydney Harbour.

On my 2 inch grubs I use a Gamakatsu 1/8 ounce 211 ball head jig with size 1 hook. Depending on what brand of jig heads you use my feeling is that a 2/0 hook is probably a little large. Hold the jig head against the plastic and ask yourself if it looks right. Same advice goes for most plastics. If chasing flathead I will go a little heavier on the jig head to get increased casting distance. Flathead are not as picky about a meal that comes hopping past as say bream. I prefer 4lb braid for added casting distance and 6 or 8 or 10lb fluorocarbon leader depending on what I am chasing at the time. I don't like mono or a fibreglass rod as the feel is too spongy after having used braid for years with a graphite rod but it will still work. In the Mosman area there are plenty of spots which will give you some alternatives. Think both sides of the spit bridge area, Chinaman's beach, Clontarf beach (unfortunately some sections are paid parking). Also look at some of the wharves in the area. Just have a back up location or two before you head over. Google maps or a street directory. Stay away from Clifton as it is usually overly crowded and harder work to fish well. If you haven't done much plastics fishing then try and keep in contact with the line by winding in the slack as it drops to the bottom. Watch for the bow in the line when it hits bottom and then a couple of flicks will get it back into the water column. If you feel a hit then tease the fish with some small hops. Also cast back to the same area as flathead are often happy to take a second and even third shot at a lure.

Rod will be fine. At times I chase them on bream gear with 4lb braid and 10lb leader and manage to land enough of them that given some working room I am pretty confident of landing them. As JonD said above you can play them lightly and take your time and they don't go insane and try and reef you. Biggest landed so far on that gear was the 70cm specimen in my profile photo. My other go to is a Raider Snapper 762 with 4000 Stradic and either 10 or 15lb braided line. Lets me cast lures a reasonable distance and it is stiff enough for me to be able to give the larger plastics a really good darting action. Landed every King I have hooked so far this January but as that is only 4 rats so far (3 shore based) you can make your own call. Just need to have a smooth drag and remember to back the drag off at the end of the day when putting it away.

Definite chance of catching a flathead off Balmoral beach but minor detail - it is summer and Balmoral is pretty packed so wouldn't recommend it unless you want to upset a few people. You have a chance fishing off the wharf but on the left side is a bit of ribbon weed so you may get a few minor snags. Which area are you coming from as may have some better recommendations in the area.

There is a time limit on the parking at little Manly so careful where you park. There are two locations we use to get yellowtail in the area. One is close to the point at Quarantine station and the other is back in towards the 40 baskets area. Should be a fun day.

I fish land and boat based and while I think in general burley is good there are times it causes more trouble than it is worth. I like to chase kings and most often will use personally caught squid to do so. There are areas I fish which have been burleyed to death and as a result there is usually a school of leatherjackets in the area. If I fish these areas and find I am losing squid baits but not feeling any bites then I usually find all I am doing is feeding the local leatherjackets. Just something to think about....