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Thanks for the info that’s a bit too far out in my 5.1 Cruiseabout. I’ve got a radio and epirb but wouldn’t attempt it. Reception even cuts out just going up the river haha?. Keep the reports coming guys great too see these fish off our shores.

Nice work. Great looking fish. How far offshore Botany Bay are the bluefin? Past the Peak? Some info where to head would be appreciated.

I dropped a witches hat in the same area yesterday. When i checked it a few hours later the net had 3 holes in it clearly cut by a knife. Obviously my catch had been stolen. Same scumbag probably.

Hi Al fella, I too am struggling to find whiting in Port Hacking. Can you tell me where you mean by the Basin? Which Bridge?

yeah mate i don't mind sharing information about spots, been getting them 1-2 k's out from Botany Bay in 35-50m depth. Plenty flathead out there, keep heading north from the bay in that depth until you find them, lots of small ones at times but changes in the tide brings on the better fish. Use a paternoster rig in 40lb fluoro, 4/0 baitkeeper hooks and enough lead to hold bottom. Most baits work well, pilly tails, squid, fish strips and prawns the go.

Fantastic fish mate. Do you use the anchovies for bait?

I think we should encourage all fishing reports, pics or no pics.

Yeah I agree, fishing pressure must be a big factor. I visit Nelson in NZ a fair bit, its located on a huge shallow bay called Tasman Bay that gets dredged for scallops. Despite that pressure the snapper still turn up every year, heaps of school size ones in summer but the big ones prefer the colder water around 15deg in spring. My brother in law has caught some beauties on rigs we wouldn't consider using here, rotten squid, heavy lines, big sinkers. I usually outfish him with lighter lines and fresh bait and he gets the sulks big time Anyway I was wondering whether the big ones prefer colder water here too. Maybe our harbour and inshore waters are too warm these days. Do you recall what the water temp was when you caught your fish?

yeah thanks for the info Wacko. Have you any thoughts on why the big snapper don;t come into our bays like they do in Melbourne or NZ? Like Broken Bay or Botany Bay?

Well said brettmann. Your point about "where else is there to go" is a good one. If there were more spots to fish and more info about other locations it would definitely assist newbies and parents who want to teach their kids to fish safely. I've fished in Sydney for 50 years and there hasn't been one wharf or platform constructed for recreational fishing to my knowledge. With all the development that has gone on in Botany Bay and all the money raised through fishing licences, why hasn't a bloody big pier been built just so people can have fun on. Even the new boat ramp at Port Botany has NO FISHING signs. It must be the only boat ramp in the world you can't fish at! The best fishing spot in the bay is the container wall out to Molineaux Pt but they've built the thing with all those interlocking blocks making it dangerous to fish off. People still do of course and they're crazy, one slip and you're history. Give us some safe platforms in good fishing zones and people won't need to risk their lives on the rocks.

Maybe we should ban people swimming at Bondi Beach too! People are always going to ignore advice and get into trouble, they made a television series out of people doing exactly that at Bondi. Do we stop promoting our beaches to tourists now? In todays paper there's a story about 4 people killed this year by buses because they had an ipod stuck in their ear. Do we stop marketing ipods now? Get it into context. People are still going to do stupid things on the rocks fishing or swimming at the beach regardless of what they're told, at least there's good advice here and its up to them if they heed that advice. Noone has a gun to their head.

Thanks mate that would be helpful. Are they boots the ones Stewy mentioned? I'll go check them out anyway. cheers Greg

Where did you get your shoes mate? I had a tumble on slippery rocks last week even tho I was wearing shoes with strong rubber spikes. Do any of the tackle shops sell ready-to-go rockfishing shoes these days? My local store still sells the same old rock plates that have been around for 50 years. They don't fit modern day running shoes as the soles these days are very thick and the bolts are consequently too short. Also the nuts used to always fall off. Is there anything else available these days apart form the old plates?

Those breakwalls have to be fished at night or first light I reckon Jenx. One day last summer I got there about 8am and saw a guy on the southern wall with a good bucket of bream and trevally. I approached him to tell him what a good feed he had and down in the water he had 3 kingies tethered on a rope swimming around. I couldn't believe it! They were all legal, he said he caught them on pillies. I tried for an hour thinking they might still be around but got nothing. He caught them at first light about half way along the wall. A few days later the Daily Telegraph reported the kingies were taking lures at the Cooks River breakwall. So I wouldn't give up on the spot just yet. Runout tide at first light using those paddletails should work I reckon. They get jew there too I've heard.

I didn't think of that, I thought it may have fallen off the back of their dive boat. At the time I was more amazed the bag had abalone in it. I thought abalone were only found in southern waters like Tassie or NZ. Has anyone heard of abalone in Sydney waters before? Greg

I was night fishing at south Maroubra beach years ago and hooked what I thought was a clump of weed. I skull dragged it out of the surf and onto the sand and when I turned on the torch to untangle the line I was amazed to see it was a big bag of abalone attached to a divers belt. The abalone were still alive so they got eaten the next day. Don't know what happened to the divers, maybe they got eaten too!

I can see Mt Warning in the first pic, it's south of them so they're probably out from the Tweed River bar, I'd say near Cook Island. Are we getting warm guys?

Hi Rob, Fish lighter off the rocks, you want the bait almost weightless and moving around, or depending on the conditions (wind, current, wash), use the smallest ball sinker possible sitting directly on top of the hook, just enough weight to get your bait down but not anchored to the bottom. If you do get snagged don't immediately break it off, give a fish time to find your bait. Give the line some slack and wait for a bite, the fish will dislodge the snagged rig most of the time. Same goes for the beach or in a river, a moving bait will get more bites. cheers Greg

G'day Ray, nice feed there. Trevs are great fun on light gear. I've fished that area quite a few times without much luck, do you anchor in the channel? I've nearly been mowed down by the ferry a few times and it's very shallow out of the channel. I've caught squid in close to the rocks but not much else. Any tips would be appreciated. regards Greg

Enjoy poetic reading about ones fishing adventures on this site but leave the alliteration out next time mate please, we get enough of it in newspapers, TV and advertising, it drives me crazy! You're a good writer without it.

Who reckons its about time we rename the common name for this fish. Its always embarrassing when I have to explain to people that its not actually a salmon and it certainly doesn't taste like one. I understand the common name is derived from its juvenile likeness to a real salmon but that's drawing a pretty long bow in itself. Calling them aussie salmon is even more of an embarrassment. Kiwis call them kahawai, I reckon that's a whole lot better than salmon. Any one else agree with me?

Martin where did you fish? I was staying at Orchard Beach during the July school hols and fished Indian Head for 3 days. No tailor, plenty dart and some top whiting on pipis mainly. Also some trevalley, tarwhine on cungee. Tailor were on further down the beach at Cathedral Beach near the shipwreck. We had one top evening, plenty tailor around 35cm and hooked 3 massive fish probably sharks on whole mullet heads 11/0 hooks and wire trace, didn't land any, all wore through the 80lb mono leader after about 20 mins fight. Where was the jew and bronzey caught?

Use the butterfly method as for garfish. Scale the fish and remove head and tail, leave the guts in, lay the fish flat, starting at the head make a long cut along the dorsal fins but not all the way to the tail end, crunch through the rib cage being careful not to cut all the way through to the belly side. Flatten out the fish (butterfly) and you should have a two fillets still connected by the belly side with the backbone intact on one side. Scrape out the guts with a knife. Pan fry as you do and the backbone then comes away easiy when cooked. Very quick and easy.

Gee they're a beautiful fish, well done mate. I caught one like that near Bald Face a few years ago and was so blown away I had to let her go. Doesn't get any better. Greg

Yep this is the knot I've been looking for Tried it at home last night and I couldn't fault it. I won't be using anything else from now on. Worked a treat with the light leader. Thanks to Stewy and to everybody who contributed to this topic. regards Greg