A Couple Of Weeks Of Fishless Outings

[arpie]

Hi guys

Had a hard time of it in Sydney, not managing to catch any keepers ..... this was all I could manage last Monday.

Thankfully, Peter had given me the fish he had caught on Sunday - a nice fat 32cm fish

Whilst I was fishing, this guy came past in a yak with a weird attachment on it ...... asked him what it was - a gps/depth sounder & he is paddling around Narrabeen Lake, checking out the current depth of the lake! He was getting paid for it!! Nice work if you can get it!

I have been a bit quiet since returning from Sydney mid last week - first issue was to get out & try & catch some fish!! I was in a fishing drought! First day back & I got none. Wendy suggested we try going out in the boat & we could see fish most places we stopped at, but could only catch throwbacks (or in my case, drop offs! ) I have not dropped so many fish in ages!! The dolphins kept us entertained tho.

We had an interesting visitor too.

On our way back towards the ramp, I spotted an oyster fence that was parallel to the water flow & even tho it was shallow, decided to give it a go. The stopper knot was only about 10cm above the float, if that!

First cast & we had immediate downs. I hooked into a fish & it got off (surprise!) Wendy hooked into a fish & it was a beauty! It kept trying to skunk her on the wash board, but persistance paid off & it was duly brought to the boat. A nice fat 35cm blackie - that had been attacked by something just recently!

I kept dropping fish & Wendy caught another nice one, 30cm! It looked tiny against his bigger brother! They both turned white, as they were kept alive in the container before being despatched later on.

We figured out why I was dropping the hooked fish - with the area being so shallow, & being used to more line between the float & the stopper knot, I was virtually pulling the hook out off the fish's mouth! If I'd struck on an angle instead of straight up, perhaps the hook would have held better - also I was using smaller hooks than I normally do, but they had caught well prior to leaving for Sydney! Wendy was using mono on her line & as we all know, it has more stretch than the braid on mine, so acted more as a shock absorber whereas mine just PULLED! Ne'er mind! The Apprentice had comprehensively outfished the master this time!!

Next day, we went to the Camping & Fishing show at Wauchope & had fun checking out all the big boys toys up there! Some nice boats & camping rigs there, for sure. We really enjoyed watching the guy with the Supertank. It reinforces just how slowly you should move the lures & what action does to entice the fish to strike! All good fun. We stopped in at Port Macquarie on the way back & checked out the monster blackies hanging around the moorings there ..... but neither of us had thought to put a rod in, let alone weed!

We agreed to meet up for a yak fish on Sat & spent many hours fishing the Breck Channel, with me once again only catching throwbacks & Wendy not getting anything much either! The water was pretty cold, & may have influenced the inactivity of the fish. We were both pretty gutted by the time we headed for home! We decided to have the day off on Sunday!

Sunday loomed bright & sunny & nice & warm, so by 8.30am i was over at Tuncurry fishing! I couldn't let the week end without catching any fish ........ it was very quiet! A local gun fisho was already there & had 3 fish in the bag, but over the next 1.5hr only managed to add 1 more (so that made me feel a bit better, as I hadn't even had a down!) It was very disappointing & I thought I'd have another fishing doughnut!

Persistance & patience pays off & finally, I got a down! Damn! Missed him! Another couple of guys had joined me & no-one was getting anything! Then, suddenly, I am onto a fish! Yippee!!!! I am on the board!

Within the next hour, I landed about 4 fish, got busted off by 2 & dropped about 4! The other blokes had none! They were wondering what to do to get a fish! Then I got a double bunger! As the line peeled from my reel, I said "Sh.t!! I've got 2 on!" I didn't get any sympathy from anyone as one busted me off & the other one (the better fish) also got off. Shortly after that, one of the guys got his first fish, then the other guy also got one. By the time I left, I had 8 fish & they had 2 or 3 each.

Wendy had also turned up for a fish & came over with one fish in her bag, so I gave her one of mine & gave a neighbour 2 as well. Wendy was using her new polaroid sunnies to see the fish in the water around the jetties & was amazed at how good they were at cutting thru the glare! (note to all fishos - GET POLAROIDS!!) She had a fish at another jetty & had some success - I will let her tell you about that one! No need to say that we intend fishing that jetty again soon ..... like, tomorrow

I was so pleased to be back catching fish again! Seemed like an age since my last legal fish!! Hopefully, a sign of things to come, as i still reckon August/September is the better blackie months up here!

Cheerio for now

Roberta

Edited August 11, 2008 by Roberta

[Hodgey]

She's back!

Well done Roberta. Just needed to find the 'hiccup' in your technique and you are back into them again. Those fish look great in that clear container

Nice to see that Wendy has been getting a few fish of late too! Top photos, terrific report ... all is right in the world of blackfishing again

Hodgey

[james7]

Hi Roberta.

Loved reading your report. I was a bit worried at the beginning. Not a great start.

Fortunately, like all good yarns it has a happy ending!

Congratulations for being back "in form". Persistance does pay off!

Of course now we all expect good reports from you and Wendy to follow over the next two or three weeks.

By the way, your photos were great too.

Cheers

Peter

[slinkymalinky]

I love your reports Roberta. Just what I need to transport me out of the realities of life to a more peaceful, sublime time and place.

Love the photo of the 'Whities' in the tub and your little feathered friend. It's not like you need the help but having a trained aerial Blackie spotter isn't a bad idea.

Is Wendy's boat a Quinnie Freedom Sport?

Cheers, Slinky

[squid hunter]

Hi Roberta

Once again another amazing report. Like all the raiders here, i love a good Roberta report during the day. Makes me look forward to the weekend when i go out for a couple 'pods and fish.

Those whities are unreal... i thought it was a different species ... just like my 'brapper' i caught the other day - a bream with a massive bump on its head.. didnt get a foto unfortunately.

Great to see Wendy getting some fish as well.

regards

Squid Hunter

[Ross Hunter]

Great report Roberta,

That' a novel of a report.. Loved the pied butcher bird on the canopy..Well! Stew, myself and a couple of other friends just come back from the river. We caught one blackfish and Stew snapped two off... and the language. I'm glad you weren't there to hear it. It even embarrased me Stew reckoned they were both WORLD RECORDS but you know what he's like!

[arpie]

hehehe Ross - couldn't have been any worse than what I was saying - especially on the boat with Wendy, as I am sure she will attest!! Mind you, I got the odd thumping when Wendy's fish got off too!! As you say, almost embarrassing!!!

Bad luck - better luck next time!

Cheerio

Roberta

[luderick59]

great to see yougetting fish after last seeing you ive had the dreaded flu all week

will give them a go in the next couple of days winds permitting

is the water as clear up there as the lake down here and water temp?

PETER

[Davemmm]

As usual a great report Roberta. Your fishing tales deserve to be published.

Missed fish aside at least your getting out on the water. My life has got in the way of fishing lately.

After weeks off the water I managed an outing on Saturday that started with a twinge in my back followed by a couple of throw backs then the pain my back getting worse so I went home to discover kidney stones had made a comeback. Lucky me.

Dave

[arpie]

Oooooh Dave - kidney stones - the most painful condition out, they reckon, when one is trying to work its way out! :( Hope they can blast them away or something! Commiserations.

Hi Peter - shame about the flu - hope you are on the mend! Plenty of warm fluids help, especially Hot Toddys!! Within 1hr of the turn of the tide, the water is as clear as!! Everyone has been complaining of being able to see the fish, but they are very selective on what they want to eat! Water temp has been quite cold in the lake. About 12-13 degrees. Can't wait for the temps to warm up, so I can give your lures a go! :) Bring on Spring!!! Not long now......

CHeerio

Roberta

[marcel haber]

Well done there Girls, another great report and great fish to go with it.

You girls would safely outfish many a men on this site.

Tight lines

Twin 1

Marcel

[spence]

Hi Roberta,

How did you go in Narrabeen???

I fish there a lot and although I don't Blackfish fish (does that make sense) I see guys there pulling Blackfish regularly, especially around the yellow marker out front of the caravan park and from various weedy drop offs on the southern side outside the caraven park.

I have caught blackfish in there as by catch on nippers around the woollies bridge and also some weedy drop offs near Jamison park boat ramp. Just FYI info should you fish it again....

Spence

[arpie]

Thanks for that Spence - I had a shocker at Narrabeen last weekend!! Big doughnut! Ne'er mind, good fun catching up with Luderick59 & his wife.

Wendy & I hit Tuncurry again mid afternoon today, to try 'Wendy's Spot' that she found the other day. Pretty quiet to start off with, then we started getting some downs. My first fish was a very well conditioned mid 30's & then I pulled one in that had a very slow, deliberate tail slap! "I'm onto a beautie" I told Wendy! Funnily, it didn't fight half as hard as a smaller specimen so was surprised when it measured 40cm! Nice Fish!!

Had a few hits & misses & was busted off by another one. Wendy catches a nice low-mid 30's fish & then I pull in a similarly sized one. I ended up with 3 nice fish & Wendy 1. Having just smoked my previous 5 fish, I gave Wendy my 3, so she had plenty of fish meals for her folks.

My 3

A bucket of fish

We had heard that it was tough going today, even at more productive spots, so was pleased to get the 4 that we did. Seems our spot fishes better near the top of the tide - so won't get there so early next time!

Cheerio - the Narrabeen weed works its magic, again!

Roberta

Edited August 12, 2008 by Roberta

[donjuarez]

top stuff!!!

Great to see that you sydney woes have been left behind to some well conditioned northern blackies!

I tried for blackies on the weekend, further south kurnell/cronulla area.. nowhere to be found

changed tactics to see if the drummer were about....

landed 4 in my first ever drummer session! dropped a beauty! and at least 2 other smaller specimens... none legal though.. closest went 29.2cm.... tried pulling on his tail to stretch him out to 30cm... he just wouldn't make it!!

Will keep trying on those blackies... will get one one day...

keep the reports coming Roberta.. they inspire me...

AJ

[arpie]

Well done AJ, on the drummer, but OMG!! That is a helluva long way to go for a blackie fishing session!!! I hear the harbour is fishing well ...... whether you'd eat them or not ........ hmmmm

Don't the drummer 'go'??? Well done on landing them! :)

Roberta

Stick with the blackies & they will come!! See if you can hook up with other Blackie addicts - once you've hooked one or two, there'll be no looking back! Don't forget to adjust the depth regularly till you find where they are feeding!!

[gdcalmer]

You are so right about the polaroids Roberta,its great to be able to see through the water , Its almost mesmerising.

Good to see the teachers photo on screen for a change,that blackie looked much bigger in real life.

I'm going to wonder over to our new spot tomorrow, I will give you a call in the morning when I pick up my phone which I inadvertently left behind today at mum and dads

Slinky,my boat is a quinni 435 coast runner,she is 3 yrs old but looks and goes like brand new,I was sort of hoping to get Roberta more enthused about fishing in it ,but she much prefers the yak,We plan to tie her yak to the boat oneday and venture further up the lake and then Roberta can paddle in some new territory and I can enjoy the confort of the boat, sounds good to me

Cheers

Wendy