SimJ

i agree...

Thanks Kingslayer they certainly are a challenge! Monch, it was just before hightide, rig was 20lb mono(the cheapo 99c type) smallish bean sinker with about 50cm of 30lb trace. Ray, as ur the master of photos Im glad to hear u approve Cheers, Simmo

Had some time before uni today so went and bought a tiny 4ft 6 bait catching combo. I didnt plan on it but couldnt help having a quick test run at a wharf. Only had 2 or so hours before uni so just bought 5 presalted pillies from the tackle shop. I normally take 3 or 4 rods when I fish but with a time limit I just took the small new one and a 6ft Penn combo. Burleyed up and got yakkas straight away the new rod was awesome for bait fishing. I sent out a livie on the 6ft and kept getting yakkas great fun on the tiny rod with 4lb mono. Satisfied that my new rod was worth the $ I was about to pack up, when a friendly older lady(i think maybe greek) turned up and offered to "show" me how to catch yakkas. I already had 20 or so and didnt need anymore but I set her up with a handline as she seemed pretty keen. Needless to say she actually did get the next one before me . As the nice lady is leaving I see what looks like a Kingy come to the surface and eat some of the pilchard I was burleying. I quickly grab my 6ft with the livie on it and reel it in, then drop it near where the kingy came from. He comes back straight away and makes some half hearted attempts to eat the yakka(which is swimming on its side by this time half dead). He seemed to lose interest and went back out of sight I decided to very quickly change to a new 'fresh' yakka and as soon as it hits the water and starts running... SMASH... ZZZZZZZZZZ. but I couldnt get too excited as I had recently lost 2 kings at a wharf because of structure. No playing around with him this time tighten the drag the most i can without the line breaking. after about 3 tense minutes of him zooming under pylons and me gently easing him back out, I finally manage to land my first LB Kingy . Not anything special as he was only 66cm but Im still pretty stoked because i was starting to think id missed my chance for a king this yr and it was a lot harder getting him in than others i have caught by boat. Shocking pic i know but it was hard to take it by myself holding the kingy . Cheers, Simmo

pm sent

any measurements on the squid? looks nice. Simmo

very nice mullets there Ray, beautiful Jewie baits! Im impressed u got them to take those sp's, I have that exact type but have never had any luck especially not from mullet. Would u mind telling me ur retrieval method mate? Cheers, Simmo

at 90kph its a miracle no one was killed. P plater better hope she has insurance. Pity about the fishing but glad to hear noone was hurt.

Cheers Ray thanks for the confidence boost, Simmo

gr8 feed there mate.

tan, pm sent. Richard, I think u will need to hire a boat mate to chase hairtails. Ritchie, U wouldnt believe it but I got a new combo to replace the "dropped" one. It lasted one day Penguin, which do u think is nicer arrow or calamari? Cheer, Simmo

Quick flick at a Balmain jetty on way home from uni today for bait. I have had trouble in the past getting the larger cephs to take any jigs at this spot, however tonight was good. Soon after I arrived spotted a large arrow cruising around with some pike. dropped in pink yamashita 2.5 jig and the silly guy grabbed it around the spikes easy catch. After about 20 mins saw a large calamari stalking something, by the time i had the jig ready he was out of sight, but it was ok because after dropping the jig in the water he jetted out of hiding and snatched it. holding hands aww. gonna fry them up and see which is actually nicer. Cheers, Simmo

the start and end are very funny.

the float on the left is Korean not Jap.

that sounds really delicious... except for the "penus" oil

try using a rubberband through the eye socket attached to the hook.

mate if ur just starting out I reckon stick to bait for a while, rememeber u can use bait the same way you use lures. try catching ur own bait, buy some really light line 4-6lb and a 99c hand reel use a small 10-12 hook a tiny bit of pilly and u will have yakkas etc in no time. The gun fishermen on this site have helped me so much that I barely spend more than $5 on bait when i go out these days, I find live and freshly caught bait produces much much better. Cheer, Simmo

very nice catch there! most impressive. Simmo

nice pics mate, ur camera must be quality the pics are always good. plastic on plastic.

Thanks for the kind replys everyone. Ray I used the rig u showed me that night and it caught me the 2 eels ill try again next time. Smitty the measurements for tailors are there but didnt measure jacket. tevoro ill pm u sometime to organise a fish. Unfortunately the tailor was used as bait and only caught 2 banjos... Cheers, Simmo

Went to a favourite jetty in the Harbour with a mate last night. The wind and rain were on and off all night it made catching bait hard and for the first time at that spot there were sweep in swarms. Kept a few for bait and managed to get 3 yakkas. Using some fresh squid and a fillet of sweep caught 2 big eels a moray and a long fin(I hate eels so much for some stupid reason Im an expert eel catcher ). Sent out the yakkas and nothing for an hour or 2 then the rods start getting hits, by this time Im pretty sure the yakkas are goners, but its not long runs just short powerful hits hmm not jew but too big to be bream... My mate gets one and its a nice size tailor. A few minutes later im on and at first it feels pretty good but it just turned out to be another tailor stuck to a large clump of seaweed . Unfortunately we had run out of yakka by this time but there were still heaps of tailor there they just wouldnt take squid or sweep, but any tiny piece of yakka we had left would get smashed. Left as the rain came back and there werent any more yaks around. Interesting to see decent tailors around in numbers theyre normally not there. Biggest was 47cm other 39cm. Go this wierdo leatherjacket too hadnt seen such a fluro one b4. Cheers, Simmo

Is his name Trevor?

Mate the way I prepare squid is simple. If your using it for bait only then run a sharp knife down the very middle of the hood, try to cut the plasticky thing in half. open the hood up and then run the knife underneath the guts to remove them completely. Then cut the hood into strips for bait and the head and guts will be connected keep them that way and use whole for big bait or cut the head in half and use it for 2 baits. Remember this is for big squid only. If ur only eating it then just cut the head off. Get the hood and remove the skin and side flaps. with one finger push the top of the hood in and turn it inside out. The guts are then easily removed and it can be cleaned. Cheers, Simmo

anywhere and anything.

nice one kiddo ur making good progress. save the heads for bait if ur gonna cook them. Good work, Simmo

well done good read too. very jealous. Simmo