Out With Greendog In His Boat For Blackies

[arpie]

Hi guys

Horrible day yesterday - blowing a gale, no fish around & I had arranged with Peter for a possible outing today. Up this morning to a really beautiful day - calm as, no wind, looking gorgeous!!

The plan was to go out just before high tide in the lake (after 12pm) & fish the turn of the tide in some of the areas that I have had success in my yak!

When Peter rang at 9am it was so nice out there, we agreed to meet up at 10am!! I figured that even tho it was a rising tide, we should be able to find some blackfish somewhere to catch!! WRONG!

We found some in the first lease we stopped at - but the structure around it made it almost impossible to get a decent drift, even tho we tried!! We could see some biiig fish down there!

We hung round that area for a while, working our way along the washboards to the corner, & then entered the lease via a broken pole!!! WHen in the yak, i use a rope with a wire hook on it to hold onto a fence so I can fish the area, but in the boat, being higher up & no rope with wire hook, made it more difficult to stay in the one place! I used Peter's gaff to grab the submerged fence whilst Peter had a go at blackies!! No joy there! Shame - then the float got caught on the structure ..... luckily I had taken my long net, so were able to retrieve it!

Looks like my 'fish guide' days are numbered ..... I can catch them from the shore & breakwall & yak - but as soon as I get into a boat, nothing happens!!!

We went around the other side of the main channel to get out of the fast flowing water & got ZIP! We headed back towards the main channel in Little St & parked up there and as the tide slowed, we started getting some nibbles. Nothing big - 3 throwbacks & quite a few 'downs'! By now, it is after 3pm & we are both getting very hungry!! We head home & marvel at all the ones we saw near the ramp, along the swimming pool at Little St!

MORAL OF THE DAY - Stick to your gameplan - if you are going out to fish the Top of the In Tide/change to Out Tide - do just that!!! Next time we go out (either yak or boat) we will be doing just that!!

Ne'er mind, sometimes you win, sometimes the fish win!!

Cheerio

ROberta

Will be up Pt Macquarie from Thurs for the weekend, back Monday - will give the blackies a fright up there!

Edited October 30, 2007 by Roberta

[mpreston55]

G'day Roberta,

Unfortunately not all days are good but at least it was a day out and by the sounds of it you learned from the experience. I went to Sussex Inlet this morning even though the tides were all wrong. Got there just on Low tide. First cast the float gently went down and I thought it was some weed but as I lifted the rod I could feel the tug of a fish. He fought well but I managed to get him into the net and measured him at just over 27cm, Let him go.

Over the next 2 hours it would go quiet and then come back on again and I managed to land 9 fish around the 25cm mark. It looked like I had found the kindergarten class. Of course they all went back also. Could see a few big ones around the weed patches but could not get them to bite. Finally ran out of weed and headed back home.

I tried something else today. I flattened the barb on the hook which made it a lot easier to release the little ones. Didn't lose a single fish that I actually hooked so I will continue doing that.

Good luck when you go up to Port Maquarie hope you get onto some big ones.

I'm off in my everlasting search for decent green weed.

Howard

[gretsch]

That's fishing!! At least you got three.

[arpie]

Hi Howard

Well done on getting so many to 27cm even! At least it keeps the interest level up! Hmmm, flattening the barb .... not sure I would want to hook a really big on on that hook - they twist & turn so much there would be a very good chance of them slipping off the hook!! Very sporting of you to do it tho!!

Our normal weed 'pond' has become a cesspit of sludge!! Really horrible to see. Check out this posting from this year's Blackie Social (I took the photo in Feb)

http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.ph...17350&st=20

Doesn't look like that at all now!! The weed is all 'dreadlock' & floats on top like scum & can't be separated into strands. Any underwater weed is now covered in the sludge & you have to wash it 5 times to get the crap out. The sand is now covered with a slimey sludge that is really repulsive to walk in! It sticks to your shoes & will no doubt eventually be transferred to other spots! (I go in bare feet & wash well before putting my shoes back on!) All this has happened because the Council (in it's wisdom) has done heaps of 'remedial work' around the pond, planting, bringing in soil & sand from elsewhere & I reckon it has leached into the pond & stuffed it!

So I have been using cabbage more than anything, recently & they love that too! Mind you, some days, they only want weed!

Hi Ceph - Yeah - I try to be philosophical about it, but it is annoying when you know the fish are there & should take but won't! ('specially when trying to show someone else some spots!!)

Hope they are on the chew in Port - just got some fresh cabbage to take up!

Cheerio

Roberta

Edited October 31, 2007 by Roberta

[marlin1962]

hi reberta, bad luck on the fishing, as you say ''win some - fish win some''.

saw a lot of blackies near some weed patches at the entrance but didn't

have any weed to try to entice them. Do blackies take any sort of lure because

i used everyone i had ,ran them right past them witout a look at them.

cheers marty.

ps. Good luck at port , hope you have a great time and take care.

[arpie]

Hi Marty

They do take sps - the bream pros catch them on occasion! This time of year, they are also taking nippers, bloodworms & even pippie! So if you can alter your sp to look like any of these, you may come up trumps!!

Storm does a really good looking sp nipper - haven't tried it on a float yet, But reckon it should work!!

Cheerio

Roberta

[mpreston55]

Hi again Roberta.

Your description of the weed pond that you use sounds just like we have down here in Lake Illawarra at the moment . Opening of Lake Illawarra has been great for the water quality but it has been terrible for good weed growth. I might have to go to the sea rocks and see if I can get some cabbage and give it a go.

Getting weed is indeed a major problem at the moment.

All the best.

Howard