Clifton "octopus" Gardens

[PPSGT]

Went for a quick hour of squiding down at Clifton Gardens,

to see what was around prior to the Kingy social on Sunday, and if its worth drifting the little bay

for squids after registering.

Ended up talking to two other guys who were also squiding, and ended up doing more chatting then

squiding.

The guy next to me snagged his jig on the bottom, and was trying get it free when suddenly the

snag started jettisoning water and ink about 2 metres in the air. It let go of the bottom, and he wound

it in to the jetty. By this stage the snag was quite angry and had not intention of joining us on the jetty.

So i went down to the beach while he dragged in into the sand and got it into his bucket.

It was quite a good sized Octopus - 1.5-2kg at least, and its skin was still in the shape of kelp so it looked

like a bucket full of weed. He stuck the lid on it and we continued fishing. About 5 minutes later the

Octopus decided the bucket wasnt quite for him, removed the lid ands was making his escape.

I personally let all octopus go that I catch, and I havent killed a Cuttlefish in years - I seen too many Discovery channel specials so cant bring myself to kill them , and its pretty cool to watch them swim off but i sometimes still buy pickled octopus! YUM! I dont begrudge other fisherman from killing them,

especially being that cephlapods are extremely tasty!

Squid on the other hand are dangerous, evil creatures that must be kept under control!

( I find the best method to humanely kill them is to tow them 5 metres underwater it front of

a large lead ball and let nature take its course, or fry lightly then dust in salt and pepper)

I ended up dropping the only squid for the night as I was talking and not paying attention when a squid charged under the light and grabbed the little 1inch jig just as I was lifting it out of the water, it got flicked out of the water, squirted ink and water mid air landed back in the water and darted off into the darkness.

I hope the guy killed the octopus before putting it in the boot of his car - If it got out you'd never find it!

Looks like I'll drift the area a little bit after registering, there's plenty of weed and its

out the northerly wind so I'll being sticking it on my list of spots to try for squid on Sunday

Jason

[Mondo Rock]

Yeah - octopus are incredible creatures. I've personally watched one unscrew the lid of a jar in order to get at the crab inside. Took it a while to figure it out, but it did.

I've also seen that discovery show where they stick them in a maze and demonstrate that they learn very quickly how to get to the bait every time. I dunno if it's intelligence or what, but the fact that the one you saw caught managed to remove the lid of a bucket and start walking back to the water leads me to believe that they're a bit smarter than your standard mullet.

They can also deliver a wicked bite if you're not paying attention!!

[dazzassj6]

i saw this video on youtube done by these students at university doing an experiment where they put the octapus inside this clear box right, and there this 1 inch diameter hole where the octapus can actually manage to crawl out. thats 2.5cm hole! so yeh it can probably crawl out of your boot if u're not careful

[kabz]

lol mondo ive seen that on discovery channel aswel they get this big octopus and they make it a big maze see if it can get to the other side where there is food also dey make it do all these crazy things

[tricks]

jus wondering is octopus allowed to be kept in the harbour been told its illegal

[mrmoshe]

jus wondering is octopus allowed to be kept in the harbour been told its illegal

Yes, octopus can legally be taken in the Harbour.

It is only unlawful to take them from Aquatic Reserves. ie: Towra Point in Botany Bay

http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/recreation...rn_sydney_map_e

Hope this helps.

Pete.

[arpie]

Hi guys

I think (personally) that that occie deserved it's freedom!! What a story! I have caught quite a few occies up here (some very large) and usually put them back. Then I saw Food Lovers Guide on SBS showing you how to cook them! I kept the next big one, hoping for a good feed.

Well, I tried it according to the recipe (maybe I didn't thump him enough) & was a bit disappointed in the result - really tough & chewy & almost too rich in flavour with all the onion & red wine! It got binned. That was the last occie I have kept!

Cheerio

Roberta