KingsRule Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 (edited) Fished around the harbour bridge with a mate this morning for my first shot at a surgeon fish, burlyed a couple up and managed to hook one on peeled prawn , he actually swam out , away from the wharf and i was able to get him in close enough for my mate to grab him, not without a couple of battle scars though! He went 51cm and believe it or not i was using 6lb fireline with a 10lb leader, talk about beginners luck!, not much later i hooked another but he took off like a steam train straight under , no chance of stopping him! but mission acomplished (spelling?) , i was content with just seeing one let alone hooking and landing the bugger! After that we moved to clifton gardens for nothing and then balmoral where we got a nice bream and trevally each. called it a day about 11.30 Rob Edited October 2, 2007 by johnno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 You lucky buggers being out on the water today!!!! Congrats on the first surgeon.... Did your mate try and have a fight with the blades on the tail did he????? Kinda sharp from what ive heard!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsRule Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Yeah, we had no net and no rag's on us so it was the only option, yeah , he got a couple of cuts on his hand ..apparently the scutes vary from fish to fish, some may be fairly blunt while other sharp as blades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Great effort!! The Surgeon is next on my list. Can't believe you caught one on a prawn!! Were you float fishing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsRule Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 (edited) Nup, unweighted baits in a burley trail, they were wolfing down the bread we were throwing in. ive been told its normal for them to do that which i wasnt expecting Edited October 2, 2007 by KingsRule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 good fish Rob nice effort on 6lb gear i fixed the photos up hope you didn,t mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Well done...good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Nup, unweighted baits in a burley trail, they were wolfing down the bread we were throwing in. ive been told its normal for them to do that which i wasnt expecting So they must be omnivorous.. I have been trying with cabbage and using Blackfishing techniques.. I am going to put some bread in the burley mix next time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 well done rob, you out anytime this week at all for squid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Well done Rob on a new species and a PB. A nice catch and a definite starter for the FOTM as well as a FR Record I'd suspect. You are a keen fisho who never gives up until your target is met. That's dedication. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsRule Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 (edited) Thanks guys Cheers pete,ill enter it in Dan , yeah i should be , not sure what night though. Edited October 2, 2007 by KingsRule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luderick -angler Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Well done there on that surgeon they go hard and as any seasoned blackie angler from east of the bridge will tell you they have cost them a float or several (should havre asked the divers at cremorne wharf to retreive the five or so under there for me ) I have only ever known them to take the weed not so much the cabbage, i'll pm you one of the biggest surgeon fish haunts ever i've vowed never to fish this place for blackies again as they muscle em out! On 6lb that is an awesome feat i usually end up getting smashed, msay i ask the sudden interest in surgeon fish as i reckon they go harder than kings pound for pound! Specially on a 12foot sloppy and 4 inch pin! Again congrats and top effort! Hey Ceph if you put bread in the burley watch out for the black trevally too! Cheers Royce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Fantastic result, Rob - especially targetting them & getting into them!! Great fish & supposed to be even better eating! Did your Mum cook it up?? Hope so. You will have no worries getting into blackies! Cheers Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Well done there on that surgeon they go hard and as any seasoned blackie angler from east of the bridge will tell you they have cost them a float or several (should havre asked the divers at cremorne wharf to retreive the five or so under there for me ) I have only ever known them to take the weed not so much the cabbage, i'll pm you one of the biggest surgeon fish haunts ever i've vowed never to fish this place for blackies again as they muscle em out! On 6lb that is an awesome feat i usually end up getting smashed, msay i ask the sudden interest in surgeon fish as i reckon they go harder than kings pound for pound! Specially on a 12foot sloppy and 4 inch pin! Again congrats and top effort! Hey Ceph if you put bread in the burley watch out for the black trevally too! Cheers Royce. Royce That is enough to stop me from putting bread in the mix Those little buggers must be the most unwelcome catch in the world... I heard they are good eating from a well known pro!! Any pms you wish to send would be greatly received!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlin1962 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 nice fish there rob, good on ya mate, nice catch on prawn and 6lb gear. fish of this month already. cheers marty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzassj6 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 yeh how do u do it rob? everytime u make a post u surprise me. Yeh it deserves to be in the fish of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davester28 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 msay i ask the sudden interest in surgeon fish as i reckon they go harder than kings pound for pound! Royce, I think the the humble surgeon fish's profile enjoyed a bit of a spike when mcgill featured them in the Local Knowledge dvd. I hadn't even heard of them until that point. I too would be most appreciative of a PM on locations! cheers, dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luderick -angler Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Okay, in general to look for surgeon fish look east of the harbour bridge and pretty much any known luderick spot (i'll exclude middle harbour as i've not encountered many there even places such as Balmoral) you want some good water depth a nice kelp bed with a sharp drop off the bottom can be sand/ reef or even a rocky bottom. North Harbour around Manly Wharf has a good population as does inner north head at times, quarintine station can hold them, nuetral bay particuarly the park on kurraba point. Mind you though guys i have caught loads of them off the front of pier 2 in 30feet of water try mrs macquaries chair off the very front on dead low. the trick is target blackies with string weed and lots of burley and if the surgeon are there hang on. This is how powerful they are i was getting smashed on 12lb straight through using a MT4144 and a fixed float out the front of mrs macquaries, for the bay fishos try the container wall (the little spur wall att he front on the side facing the docks has loads around late summer early easter time. PM's welcome. Cheers Royce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsRule Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 I have been hearing horror stories of guys not being able to stop just 60cm models on 40lb braid with locked drags. Once hooked they normally make a insanley fast dash for cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Nice work mate! thats a heaps good effort! I'l tel you what its funny how the interest in these fish took off when a certain pro featured them in his video and started making reports about them a few months before that! I didnt even know they existed until mid last year! Is this your last year of school Rob? Once your finished and you can just go fishing all day your gonna absolutely smash the harbour fishing! Keep it up mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luderick -angler Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Surgeon fish were relatively unknown and according to Dad he would constantly get smashed up on 4lb leader back in the 60's over at Cremorne he thought they were stray drummer in the harbour until he nailed one in the early 80's and i 've only had nothing but grief with them, some of the guys that worked at Garden Island apparently used to target them with 7ft 6 -8kg spin sticks and even then they could not stop some of them. Its amazing what one DVD can do i'm yet to see it though and must have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caranx Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 You can get them west of the bridge at the deep water piers as well. They might have increased in profile since some of the DVDs, but they have always been there and we were catching them over 15 years ago (with crappier gear than now). Great fighting fish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 (edited) you no the one im talking bout though luderick angler? it actually shows him fishing in the exact spot you mentioned a couple of posts above! ever since then there has been a growing number of people targeting them. Edited October 2, 2007 by dicko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Hook Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 That Local Knowledge DVD is a great fishing DVD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cflife Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Good work on your 1st surgeon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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