My Whinge

[manama]

All these reports of people catching kingies, actually any legal size fish is killing me... at the moment I would have to say that the last 2 months have been the worst of my short fishing career. The most annoying part is, I have a newish boat, have brought lots of new fishing gear, reading everyones more than helpful reports and tips and yet I and my mates just don't seem to be catching anything worthy. last year with hardly any knowledge or info on fishing I was catching fish reguarly, now I am lucky to get a keeper.

I keep my boat at the parent in laws as its very close to the ramp and everytime I come home from a fishing trip they ask,"did you catch anything" knowing I havent and they have a laugh at me. Same with my wife, she just asks to be nice these days.

I have been taking out some mates and havent caught zip. EMBARRASING!!

I only go to the harbour, try all the spots mentioned by the members on the forum. I just don't know what I am doing wrong or whether karma is getting me back, what for I don't know. I ave a feeling its my bait, like I said I'm not having any success with live bait but as a back up I buy squid from the fish shop and that hasn't done a thing for me.

To make matters worse, last week I went out and watched from around 30-50m away the charter boys pull in around 10 kingies within an 1hr period while my mate and I caught to undersize snappers.

I have been trying to catch my own bait, no success, have decent equipment and just no success. Anyway I just wanted to have a whinge.

[mrmoshe]

Keep trying Manama..Don't give up.. One day it will all come

together and you'll look back and say why did I worry.

We all have dry spells like you are having and they begin to gnaw at your psyche and

you think it's just you..Don't despair, soon, you'll have a blinder of a day I hope.

Also the fish shop squid may have been washed down with fresh water which may turn the Kings off a bit.

Keep trying to catch your own freshies and if successful, will be a far better bait.

You might even try Tony's squid like he had at the Kingy Social...It is as fresh as a daisy and never

touched fresh water..vacuum sealed as soon as it's caught.

Have you also managed any yakkas?

Keep your chin up mate.

Pete.

Edited January 29, 2007 by MallacootaPete

[Sammy0884]

Mate i understand the frustration, i have been in the same situation... I think the key is live or fresh bait first and foremost! i have seen harbour kings turn their nose up at baits that i would eat myself, so live squid is the best even if it takes hours to catch. Second best is freshly caught squid cut into strips which makes the baits go further if pickers are around, strips can sometimes outfish whole squid. Third is the reliable old Slimy mackeral and Fourth are Yakkas, these can work as long as they are small enough.

You obviously know the spots, so look around for action on the sounder before you throw a bait down, or if you are struggling still, find a nice reliable spot, anchor up and pump out some burley, a bread and tuna oil mix works very well, float out some baits and it will only be a matter of time before you have line ripping off your reel!

[manama]

Thanks Pete,

What you said makes sense. I think I just needed to get it off my chest. You get all excited everytime you know you are going out, spend the time and money to do it and come home with no rewards except for spending a glorious day on our beautful harbour (which I am very thankful for).

I will never give up but sometimes it discourages you.

I have caught a couple yakkas before but have mainly focused on the squid.

Will keep trying

[Mondo Rock]

Manama - I too understand how you feel.

We bought a beautiful brand new quinnie top-ender about four months ago - perfectly kitted out specifically for fishing. Scotty downrigger, all shimano gear, expesive sounder and GPS, live bait tank and separate kill tank. We've been taking it out every fortnight since we bought it and do you think we've caught any good fish from it?

Best to date is a four hour session that produced five flatties.

We've done everything within our power to get into the kingies but so far have had zero luck. Nothing from the jews either, which we have also targetted. We get the same amused questions whenever we come back from a session, and give the same dejected answer every time.

Funny thing is, like you, prior to buying the boat we caught heaps of fish whenever we went fishing.

I reckon it comes down to being willing to try something new. We (and you) could have kept doing what we were doing - catching whiting and bream off the beach, flatties and flounder out of little hire-boats - but we decided we wanted to move up to the next challenge: light tackle ##### on the inshore reefs. It was never going to be as easy as I thought it would.

Sure we've had zero success so far, even with all the helpful tips from Raiders, but the way I see it every trip is one trip closer to the day when we score big time. We'll get there - just like you'll get there, and it will be all the sweeter for the hard work we put in.

You're not alone Manama!!!

[Guest DV8]

When all else fails try fishing lighter. You would be amazed that sometimes the fish have been there all the time (as i have recently found out with snapper when i changed to 9 lB line). Kingies are smart asses. sure you will get more bust ups but also heaps more hook ups.

Davo

[Wastin Time]

Thanks Pete,

What you said makes sense. I think I just needed to get it off my chest. You get all excited everytime you know you are going out, spend the time and money to do it and come home with no rewards except for spending a glorious day on our beautful harbour (which I am very thankful for).

I will never give up but sometimes it discourages you.

I have caught a couple yakkas before but have mainly focused on the squid.

Will keep trying

I too am feeling the same!!!

Although we got 2 x salmon a couple of weeks ago - but even then i didnt catch them.

Just tell everyone that you are going boating & not fishing - then its a surprise to everyone when you bring a fish home.

[Chaos]

Know how you feel manama,

Bought a boat with a mate last year with very little fish caught. The laughs and smarmy comments from eveyone gets on your nerves after a while. Even went out with a charter guide in the harbour caught zip.

But all is forgotten after last Sunday when we went to Clifton and bagged out at 10 kingies. At one stage we had a double hook up and 3 kingies at the back of the boat flopping around. I think the key was the 1 squid we caught which turned the others on. Best day fishing yet and the look on everyone's face when we came home with the esky full was priceless.

Not superstitious but hopefully we have brocken the drought. Mate, just keep at it and soon enough you'll have a day that will make it all worthwhile. Also I agree with Davo's suggestion about going lighter. At the end I was fishing on 4lb braid with 6lb leader on a 2500 shimano symmetre and 3-5kg raider rod. Can't beat the zzzzzr of the reel and the 10 minute fight.

Cheers

Kurt

[manama]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their kind words.

Second of all I feel bringing this soft spot up has been a good counselling session (hopefully not just for me) . Its nice to know that I am not the only one having troubles. See, who needs a counsellor when you have fishraider!

There are some really good points made by everyone and I will keep fishing and using some of the suggestions.

Wastin time,

Your quote "Just tell everyone that you are going boating & not fishing - then its a surprise to everyone when you bring a fish home." that is a winner. I will be using that one from now on but the only problem is they see me getting the fishing gear out and this makes it hard to disguise.

Sammy,

When you say you slimey mackerals I assume you mean live slimeys?

I keep an eye on the sounder but to be honest its relatively new to me and I am still trying to figure it out. Just starting to understand all the settings. I read the posts from forum members and see snap shots of bait balls and I am yet to see anything like that on mine, oh... only when I am going flat out and the sounder is saying there is fish everywhere, more like bubbles.

In regards to catching the squid, the other day I spent 2-3 hours trying to catch em but didnt one. Will keep perservering.

Chaos,

I did the charter thing last year and caught zip as well, couldn't even get a squid. I am really hoping what happened to you at clifton is just around the corner and things may change from there on in. keep the posts going to give me and others some incentive

Mondo,

Mate, I really hope we are getting closer, I feel like I'm getting close to the big fish and then you have a session that produces nothing. I keep thinking its because I am targeting the bigger species and that one is just around the corner. Fingers are crossed.

DV8,

Because I take some mates who don't know too much about fishing I generally give them the lighter gear so at least they are catching something. I think from now on I will keep a heavier and lighter setup for me. When I have my knowledgeable mates aboard I generally have my heavier set up on board, maybe I need to try different setups on different occasions.

I am also suss that bringing along my camera could be causing the issue, it must put off a bad vibe and the fish don't want to be photographed. I'm thinking I might have to leave the camera at home. See if this fixes the no show of fish. The 2 kings I caught last year there was no camera around.

I really can't wait till I have a session worth reporting about.

[tonyt]

dont worry manama it took me a whole year to put a decent photo up on the site but like a lot of the guys are saying try to get some fresh bait even sacrificing some of your outings to practise getting it its like anything else the more you do it the better you get at it ,and try to target certain species on you trips you tend to be more succesfull that way

one more thing try not to touch any sort of chemical like sunscreen or petrol before you go fishing or at least wash your hands with some aniseed soap,just in case.

[Dalucius]

We have had our new boat for nearly 2 years and have been fishing 30 years. Mainly freshwater.

We have never caught anything massive.

Mr Dal caught his first jewfish the other week and then last week a hammerhead shark.

On Monday I caught my first kingfish just under legal size.

We go home often with nothing to show.

But you know what? Sitting in the boat on a beautiful day in Sydney Harbour .... NOTHING beats it.

[johnno]

manama

I know how you feal i bought my boat in september 06

since then i got some here and there and would have been cheaper to go to the co-op

but then thats not fishing.

For me this weekend has been a pearler.

i have had lots of first and i am very pleased

i did research spent etc and my wife asked if i was even going fishing

Your luck will turn.

[domza]

it just goes to show, it doesn't matter how flash your boat or gear is to catch fish!

[Jewhunter]

This is why fishing is called 'fishing' & not 'catching'.

Good luck in the future manama. Take all you can from the forums & be prepared to experiment a little.

Try targeting a species & if that doesn't work have a back up plan like throwing some hardbods or softies around. Try to maximise your chances by fishing the bigger tides around the tide changes.

Unless it's from Fishfinder, bought squid usually won't work. Work out your bait catching & the rest will fall into place for you.

Be patient & persistent. It WILL pay off for you!

Cheers,

Grant.

[Penguin]

Mate be patient,and keep trying new things

eventualy u are bound to get some luck going

your way.

penguin

[Guest]

Righto all you experts on Kings ,here is your big chance to show off .

One of you take Manama out for the day and show him how to catch Kings so he can get the monkey off his back

Cheers Stewy .

I know I love the look on a Fishraiders face when they get a new species when fishing on my boat and its priceless .

[DaveD]

If it was me mate I'd say just try a lot of variations, different bait, lures, and so on. All should come together sooner or later, then again, as long as something keeps biting and taking the bait, there's always a bigger fish.

[netic]

Mate i definately understand where ya coming from.

Before i got a boat i was a rock fisho, used to get heaps of fish of the rocks, then i bought the boat with the idea that i will get heaps more fish.

It took me about 10 trips to get my first legal fish, many teasing sessions from the uncles, in laws etc.

Took me 3 months of trying to get my first squid and then finally i got my first ever king that same day.

All i can say is keep trying, you learn from every trip and really take on board what is being said on the forums....there are many ( nearly all of us) who started off slow but in time we figured it out, so will you...just be pateint mate....good things come to those who wait.....and i can see a big king being posted up by you soon.

Edited January 31, 2007 by netic

[manama]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for their positive feedback. I will be heading out in the next couple of weeks to get the monkey off my back.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Cheers

Manama