On Strike

Hi there Cruisecraft, Very Nice fish that. I'm going to throw this out there and say that looks a lot like one of the brood stock salmon recently released from the hatchery. I have a photo of a 13lber caught in the same spot . It was identified by Fisheries as one of their brood stock released into the river. I believe that that fish will be on the cover of Fishing monthly. Be it Brown or Salmon its a great fish Paul On Strike

Looks like a painted Grinner to me. Paul On Strike.

Hi daniel944, Nice reward for your effort. It sure was cold down there. I was fishing the river and lost several fish when my fly line had frozen to the rod. If you go again try near the river mouths for all the fish heading up river this time of the year. Your boat set up sounds good for these areas Paul On Strike

Hi All Just got back from a great trip to the Eucumbene River. The recent rains had the river up a bit but still fishable. Caught a good number of fish with the best being a 6.5lber on a globug. Caught plenty of others between 6 and 1lb all on either a bug or nymph. Fished the same water I fished with Caddis a few weeks back. Lots of angling pressure but still plenty of fish to be had. All fish weighed in a weigh net and all released. Mostly browns but a few good rainbows too. Best rainbow was 3lbs. Paul On Strike

Hi Chris, We had a great time didn't we and caught some cracking fish too. Glad I could help you land that beauty. The photos really dont do it justice though. It is a beautifully coloured and conditioned fish. It was great to meet you and share some banter as well. We will do it again some time soon. Hope your little one comes through ok On Strike Paul ( P.S. You forgot to mention I gave up my spot to you immediately before you caught that fish too:)

Cobes are around at the moment. Saw a small one caught in McCarrs Creek in Pittwater ( very close to Scotland Island ) It was caught along with a number of small kingfish and a mate caught a 90cm Cobe on a live poddy mullet in Botany bay off Towra last week whilst fishing for flatties. Still good to see them swim away though. Boat side, on the leader its as good as tagged. Well done. On Strike

Hey there Jeremy, Best advice I could give is stop in at the local tackle shops or look up their web sites. One just south of Cooma comes to mind, not sure if I can mention them in here. Even the Caravan Parks will give you info. There are a lot of fish being caught in Eucy at the moment on fly in the evening and mornings. My mate is slow retrieving nymphs in black and green at the moment and catching a few good browns and rainbows. Will be down there next week to give it a go myself. Good Luck. Paul On Strike

Hi Lukeee, I'm no expert but given the river heights the fish will be hanging on under banks and the like until the rivers drop a bit. My fishing buddy lives in Jindabyne and just sent me some pictures of the thredbo and Eucy. Dont know if you know the area but On the Thredy the rivers into the carpark next to the bridge on Kozi Road and Eucys is back up to the tree line at the back. The rain should send a early spawn run up just like last year and with all the new ground being covered the fish, both raindows and browns should be in great nick. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck. Paul. On Strike

Hi Chris, Just love the colours and spots on the rainbows but theres nothing quite like one of those green top brownies. NZ is such a beautiful place. can't wait to get back there. Well done. You got some lovely fish. Paul On Strike.

Hey Chris, Can you tell us what you thought of the rods. I have the Sage One and although not a huge fan of the sage I love this rod. What did you think ?? Looking forward to the Sth Island report. A trip early next year ?? mmmmm. Paul On Strike

You can go from Little Manly ramp but parking can be an issue or out of Roseville or Rose Bay. Bayview or Sand Point ramp in Pittwater if you like. LongReef ramp is only for the experienced really. If the wind comes up from the north it gets tricky. Unless your trailer is set up for the beach launch/retrieve I'd look elsewhere, besides putting in at the other locations allows you to pick up live bait before you reach Long Reef and check your charts as there are plenty of areas to steer clear of if you haven't been there before. Good Luck. On Strike Paul.

Hi Dan, I'll add my bit by saying that I have found the ride of a fiberglass boat much smoother than that of a alloy boat having fished from both offshore in various conditions. I had a Seafarer Victory and regularly fish from a Evolution and a Cruisecraft Outsider. All are great boats tried and tested. All these boats are in the 6m range and set up well for game fishing, both trolling and live baiting. Definitely go for a four stroke though as the performance of these motors is far better than the same 2 stroke ( especially noise and fumes/fuel ). Obviously your choice will depend on the towing vehicle as others have suggested. I love the seafarers though, solid, stable and a great ride. In saying that a mate has a 650 Barcrusher and raves about the ride. The fit out is very commercial like though, which I guess can be a good thing for cleaning it out after a day chasing tuna. Good luck Paul On Strike.

Hi Chris, Bet it feels good to be back on the rivers. The rivers have all moved around of bit with all the rain over the past 12 months. The spots we fish on the thredbo are now 4.5m under water and I just found out that my favourite little corner on the Eucy has been flooded by the rising dam. Its up to the Portal now. A mate said there are some good fish in the fish at Tarana too. Heading to Eucy next week after the crowds have left. I understand its been fairly crazy down there over the opening. Should be a good year and good to see you at least got a couple of fish. That TCD fish is so typical with those big yabby guts. Nice work. Paul On Strike.

I for one have seen the decline in stocks in Pittwater since the Harbour and Botany Bay licences were bought out. A buy out in Pittwater would be gold for ALL fisherman in the Sydney/Central Coast area. We should all support any buy out of commercial trap and net/trawl licences in enclosed waters. Imagine if the Hawkesbury/ Cowan systems were included in the buy out. Paul. On Strike.

Ah yes we all hate it so much but all seem to watch it. Some even tape it just to watch it again Ha. On Strike

I have heard they are called serpent starfish. They are quite common especially in bays and harbours. Paul On Strike.

Hi Bombora, Those wind speeds wouldn't stop me going on either day to be honest. There is usually somewhere to fish in any wind at TCD. The only thing is the distance you have to walk to find the sheltered parts. But if you're up to it give it a go. You can learn heaps online but will learn more being there. Cant catch fish if your lines not in the water. I fly fish so cant comment on the lure part. Good luck and let us know how you go. Oh yeah and remember to rug up. It gets verrrrry cold up there. Paul On Strike.

Hi there ddaniel, Try around Curosity rocks at Jindy. I got a few good fish, both brown and rainbows on wooly buggers but did see a guy land a nice fish on a hard body. Waste Point looked good too. Just remember that the rivers are closed for the season. I also saw some guys flicking plastics off the bank at Anglers Reach in Eucy. They were flicking out towards the trees near the boat ramp. Not sure if they caught anything though. Good luck. Paul On Strike.

Hi Chris, Like you I managed to lose my big fish with insult added to injury as my so called fishing mate laughed himself stupid as I fell over on the snowy bank as I struck and then lost the fish which he had clear view of from his elevated position. We caught a lot of fish but the biggest being a 3.5lb brown ( all coloured up with spawning rub marks on his bum ) and a great 3lb rainbow ( all weighed in the weigh net ) All fish released. Did have a nasty chat with a so called fisherman who not only fished over the top of us as we landed a fish but then proceeded to walk the middle of the run to unsnag his globug and then have the hide to tell us to F off after I politely suggested he learn fly fishing etiquette. I managed one brown about 2lb out of the portal pools on dark with a wooly bugger first cast. Second cast I got demolished by one of the bigger ones. As we left we were passed by 4 cars all full of fisherman and camping gear heading down to the river. You couldn't pay me to be there for the close weekend. Paul On Strike

Hi CCF, Don't bother skinning the cuttly if your using it for bait. All of its great for bait. Candles, head and the hood. The rear hood can make good eating as the flesh is quite sweet and has a nice texture. I have cooked it just the same as squid. Jewies love the head and I often have used the ink sack to cover the bait before I throw it out. I was once told that the ink attracts jews and snapper as they relate it to prey in trouble. It would make great snapper bait when the swell is suitable. How did you go with the groper ?. Paul. On Strike P.S. Kingys love it too.

Hi Caddis, Some nice fish especially that great Browny. Thats a great fish on fly in anyones book. The big fellas just have a knack in throwing that fly back at you don't they. Just got back myself so will post a report later today. Did you see the big fish in the Portal pools? Paul On Strike

No worries CCF, I never worry too much with burley. The groper are nearly always there anyway. If you get the chance and dont mind getting wet go for a snorkel and check your area out. You will see them just about everywhere. When I do burley I use the crab legs and the top shell, and the occasional crushed urchin or just stuff scraped off the rock with my cleats. I find burley attracts the sweep and weed cockys ( rubbish fish ). I have seen the big blues at the ledge your talking about when I used to spin there years ago. We caught groper, drummer and blackfish off the rocks just south of there too. I found that you normally catch the groper where you catch the blackfish. I pass the hook point through the space left after snapping off a leg and out the opposite side through another leg hole. I have seen people catch them on peeled cooked prawn too. The bites can be quite gentle at times and like freight trains at others so don't discount a small bite on a big bait. Good Luck. Paul On Strike

Hi there CCF, I have fished for them many times on shore and in a boat. I was taught by an old fella that just targeted them. We used rock crabs but the red ones work best. A 5/0 hook is about right but I have used bigger. This also seems to stop small by catch of rubbish fish. 50lb plus line and I agree with the locked up drag. Don't forget that the rod you use will need to handle this as well. I used to get the crabs on weedy rocks where they meet the sand, like the ones around the haven or the nearby beaches at low tide. I used bare hands to feel under the weed as you can feel them better. Any crab will work and really load the hook up with them. Remember there is bag limits on crabs and sea urchins too. There are plenty of good spots around Terrigal. The ledge under the skillion for one. Remember that its generally washy where they live so be careful. They are great to target on the flat days too when you can sometimes see them feeding. I was once told that one blue (Male ) groper services up to two hundred brown ( females ) and it takes the dominant female about 12months to turn into a male after the male has been removed from its area so think about it before taking a blue. ( someone else may be able to verify this ). Good luck, be safe and hang on when they bite. A big alvey reel is a great way to get started. Remember big bait= big fish. Hope this helps. Paul On Strike

Hi mimyo, There have been good gutters and holes on Palm Beach, especially from middle to the northern end. No weed there but a little towards the southern end. Saw a few salmon heads on the beach and saw bait fish in the shore break. Good sign. Good Luck. Paul On Strike.

Well done guys, Thomos is really open to the elements. Have fished it in snow and blistering heat, no wind and gale force stuff. Looks like a nice fat rainbow and Chris's nymphs really seem to do the trick. Interesting about the fish hitting the indicator. Maybe some late season dry fly action left yet. Last week they seemed to be sucking emergers from just under the surface film. Big HIGH pressure early next week. Could be good up there. Well done . Nice hat. Paul On Strike.