Blackies On The Flats

[Davemmm]

Went out on the Hacking today and on the way back was having a poke around the flats.

As I was drifting around the weedy bits I kept seeing blackies in 400-500mm of water. Some of them were absolute crackers.

In a drift of about one hundred metres I sighted over thirty blackies.

Went back and had the same drift with the same sightings of numerous blackies but this time I ran a couple of weed baits under small floats. Didnt get a touch.

Aside from summer when you get them on worms and nippers has anyone landed blackies on the flats?

Dave

[Hodgey]

G'day Dave

I don't know if this is relevant to your area or not, but I have a mate who is a very successful blackie fisherman (here in this district anyway) and he says that winter is when he stops using weed and starts using squirt worms. He was skiting about a very good bag of fish he caught recently, when other blokes who were using weed, caught nothing. The way he explained it, he was using the same blackie rig he always does, but simply changed bait.

Anyway, just some 'outside the square' info for you to consider, as I reckon Roberta, Peter and the like will be able to shed some light on your query.

Hodgey

[arpie]

Hmmmm - not sure if we get squirt worms up here ..... but my brother Sails recently got a big PB 45cm blackie on beach worm!!!

Dave - like you, I've been watching the big blackies mooching around the weed beds here & throwing all sorts of weed & cabbage at them at varying depths...... with limited results. When they are breeding, they have only one thing on their minds ........ usually, not food!

THey also like nippers (specially at night ....)

I think I'll be going back to the breakwall & trying there again .... where they have to make a faster decision!

Keep trying & Good luck

Cheerio

Roberta

[double pluggers]

Dave what can i say get with the squirt.

[roosterman]

hi dave,

yes ..... blackies love worms...

unfortunately so does everything else...

fishoes down the sth coast use them over weed and do well...

ive heard about the theory of them turning from veg to meat certain times of the year but im not real sure about that....

as with all fishing try to have a variety of things to offer as they can be real fussy buggers at times..

ive had them turn there noses up to varieties of real good weed to cut one open we did get to find all sorts of crud in them.....

forster is one place thats real frustrating as roberta will attest,shallow clear waters and able to see them alot of the time and not interested at times in anything offered..

ive found going ultra light gear helps when in clear waters and they are fussy......

hope this helps...

cheers....steve.....

Edited July 13, 2008 by roosterman

[Guest Ben75]

Gday Dave

I love fishing for blackies even no it has been a while cant find any weed

I also am a kayak fisho and as most of my esturies trips i hit the shallows allot .I have had several trips up south west arm on the hacking and in the shallows on the flats you see the Blackfish scoot along in and out the weed patches. Maybe becausce when paddling i always have a shallow diver out and myself and other yakfisho's hit the shallows every couple of trips some one hooks a Blackie . On my last trip up there I could see a school of Blackfish and i yelled out to my mate cool some blackies then my lure gets hit only to catch a little guy

Plus up the end of south west arm were it comes to the freshwater creek and drops of into a deep pool

I think it was maybe at the beginning of this year I had a trip up south west arm and took a pic of the one of many tiny little blackfish up on the shallow edges of the pool at the end of the arm there was heaps of them.

Not the best pic but you can see them

If you look close you can see the little blackies with the little baby bream

I wonder if the big ones come up the arm to lay the little Blackie eggs

I am yet to head up the arm with my Blackie gear . There is some awsome looking water up there I think at the end of the arm would be awsome

Cheers Ben

Cheers Ben

[Davemmm]

Dave what can i say get with the squirt.

Little problem with the worm advice. I tried pumping yesterday but the hand in plaster issue cropped up. It seems the bait pump is the only operation I am incapable of (fishing wise that is).

he says that winter is when he stops using weed and starts using squirt worms

Hodgey Interesting you say that. For some reason I have had it in my head that it is the opposite ie worms/nippers in summer. This is probably because I have caught blackies from time to time whilst targetting bream in summer but havent in winter.

am yet to head up the arm with my Blackie gear . There is some awsome looking water up there I think at the end of the arm would be awsome

Ben thats where I spent most of the morning. Unfortunately the only fish landed was a small bream.

Dave