Blackies At The Entrance

[sails]

Hi Raiders,

I travelled to the Entrance last Friday with my wife Christine for a weekend camping get-to-gether with the 1030 congregation from St Faiths Anglican church Narrabeen, where we were booked into the camping grounds at Toowoon Bay.

We arrived early afternoon, so checked out the Entrance to see where the fish might be.

There was one old local who was cleaning an estuary perch upstream from the bridge, and he was good enough to explain how the bass come down to the lake system during the winter for breeding, and it was not unusual for 60cm fish to be taken there.

We also saw one fisherman blackfishing on the southern side of the outlet downstream from the bridge, and I could see from his bag that he had some fish.

Booked into the campground around 1330, and Christine needed a rest, so around 1500 I took my chance to say that I would just go back and see if there were any fish to be caught.

Tide was coming in, and there was a sand flat with a bit of a back eddy, which was around 30m up from the area the previous mentioned blackie fisherman was fishing from, so I took up position there. The other guy left to clean his catch after about 15 minutes, so I had the area to my self!!

Water was absolutely clean, with a little bit of ribbon weed coming in, and with my polaroids I could see the fish holding around the rocks in front of me, so it looked good. Also with the incoming tide the water was

spreading out over the rocks down stream to the entrance and was washing back into the channel where I was standing, carrying lots of cabbage with it, and it was acting as the natural burly machine.

Well, I took 7 fish home that afternoon and dropped about 4 others, so I was stoked.

A couple of the locals arrived around 5pm, and while friendly enough, just made it a bit uncomfortable for me by taking up a position about 15 ft upstream from where I was fishing, which made it a bit awkward for the drift, so I took the opportunity to head back to the camp; and the bite was slowing down a bit as well.

I set the alarm for 5pm the next morning to have a surf with a couple of the other guys, but the waves had died, so while they went back to their cabins, I grabbed the chance and headed back to the Entrance.

The bite was slower this time, and I only gave it an hour and returned to camp with no catch, but one of the locals was there and he caught a couple of fish. He also explained that the bite was always better in the afternoon.

That afternoon I returned to the area with Christrine and another mate Garry, who had bought up his fishing rig, and we got there around 1330, so nice and early for the tide.

I rigged a blackie set up for Christine on my whiting/bream rod, and we set to it. A big problem with the ribbon weed coming back into the system on the early in tide, but as the flow got stronger it got flushed away and stopped being of concern.

As always happens, She who has never caught a black fish before was the first to hook up and we got the obligatory line tangle as I closed with her to give her moral assistance. After a few sharp words, I bit my leader through and cleared her line and presented the net for her to guide the fish into. I ended up chasing it around the sand flat we were fishing on, but it was netted and into the keeper bag.

Garry was the next to hook up, and he managed to land a nice sized fish with the dignity of someone who has done it before, but was handicapped with a fly reel that was trying to run off its spindle due to the loss of a little keeper lever.

The competitive fishing theme developed quickly and quietly, and I was lucky to be the next to hook and land a good sized fish!

Well, for the next two hours we three fished, and Christine landed three good sized fish before having to run another camper back to camp. Garry and I kept it up, until around 1730, when we thought we'd better start cleaning the catch, as the bag was looking quite full.

During the session we had lots of visits from other Sydney tourists asking what we were catching and what bait we were using, etc. I had great pleasure in helping one guy by rigging him up with my small square sinker made from a piece of lead flashing that I had been introduced to by (Pete) Luderick59, back in Mona Vale. This guy had been watching us pull in fish while he had been standing next to us on the sand using prawns. Well, with in a couple of casts he pulled in a fish that would have gone 40cm, and said it was the biggest fish he had ever caught, so he was stoked.

By the time we had finished cleaning the catch we counted 18 fish, with the biggest going 41cm, and a host of 38 - 40 cm, so we were also stoked. It was the best session I had had for good sized fish on float, and we lost quite a few as well, so a good fisherman would have cleaned up.

There was another guy who had rigged himself up and joined the session, but I could see that he was totally bemused as fish came in on both sides of him, but he remained fish-less. Before we left I checked out his rig which was all tied up tight at around one metre. With his consent I cut it away and reset it as we had been rigged, at around 8 ft with a sliding float. I gave it one cast to check the weight , which was fine and handed the rod back to him and headed back to our gear. Before I had walked back to the rocks I heard from my wife "he's on" and turned to see him muscling in another 40cm fish, which he managed to land while it was trying to go between his legs and run back to the depths.

We had BBQ'd blackies that night cooked by Garry and it was the best tasting fish I have had in a long time.

Oce again set the alarm for 0500 Sunday morning and headed back to "my spot". I was the first to show up, but was joined soon after arrival by one of the locals and we took up positions at either end of the sand flat. I was soon joined by an older father and son act who were just starting for blackies but usually fly fish for salmon and tailor in the area. We worked the area well together by rotating the cast area and allowing the float to drift upstream with the incoming tide. I was fortunate enough to catch 4 fish, but not as big as the previous afternoon.

Funny thing happened after I had caught my second fish, as the "local" , who at this stage had not caught a fish decided that he would "join"us and took up a position in the spot where we three had been casting. Well, when I came back for my next cast and I moved to go around him I heard the swearing . I offered for him to join us with the rotation system we had been using , but he refused and then gave us a mouth full about tourists and drug addicts and that we should respect the locals etc!! The father, who had been a local since 1973 reminded him that he had been fishing at the other end of the sand, so what did he think he was doing moving in on us in such a hostile manner , and with that he chose to move further up towards the entrance, muttering and swearing as he went. Funny thing was that he started catching good fish just after that, so his rediculous attitude was so un-necessary, and re-enforces that negative view of old local blackie fishermen.

Dont know if it always fishes as well throughout the year as the fish were ripe with eggs and sperm, but it is a great spot for easy fishing on either tide, and usually we were no deeper than ankle deep.

Didnt have the camera with me on the Saturday afternoon, but took a couple of pics of the other catches.

tight lines

Sails

Edited November 11, 2008 by sails

[glennmreid]

Hi Raiders,

I travelled to the Entrance last Friday with my wife Christine for a weekend camping get-to-gether with the 1030 congregation from St Faiths Anglican church Narrabeen, where we were booked into the camping grounds at Toowoon Bay.

We arrived early afternoon, so checked out the Entrance to see where the fish might be.

There was one old local who was cleaning an estuary perch upstream from the bridge, and he was good enough to explain how the bass come down to the lake system during the winter for breeding, and it was not unusual for 60cm fish to be taken there.

We also saw one fisherman blackfishing on the southern side of the outlet downstream from the bridge, and I could see from his bag that he had some fish.

Booked into the campground around 1330, and Christine needed a rest, so around 1500 I took my chance to say that I would just go back and see if there were any fish to be caught.

Tide was coming in, and there was a sand flat with a bit of a back eddy, which was around 30m up from the area the previous mentioned blackie fisherman was fishing from, so I took up position there. The other guy left to clean his catch after about 15 minutes, so I had the area to my self!!

Water was absolutely clean, with a little bit of ribbon weed coming in, and with my polaroids I could see the fish holding around the rocks in front of me, so it looked good. Also with the incoming tide the water was

spreading out over the rocks down stream to the entrance and was washing back into the channel where I was standing, carrying lots of cabbage with it, and it was acting as the natural burly machine.

Well, I took 7 fish home that afternoon and dropped about 4 others, so I was stoked.

A couple of the locals arrived around 5pm, and while friendly enough, just made it a bit uncomfortable for me by taking up a position about 15 ft upstream from where I was fishing, which made it a bit awkward for the drift, so I took the opportunity to head back to the camp; and the bite was slowing down a bit as well.

I set the alarm for 5pm the next morning to have a surf with a couple of the other guys, but the waves had died, so while they went back to their cabins, I grabbed the chance and headed back to the Entrance.

The bite was slower this time, and I only gave it an hour and returned to camp with no catch, but one of the locals was there and he caught a couple of fish. He also explained that the bite was always better in the afternoon.

That afternoon I returned to the area with Christrine and another mate Garry, who had bought up his fishing rig, and we got there around 1330, so nice and early for the tide.

I rigged a blackie set up for Christine on my whiting/bream rod, and we set to it. A big problem with the ribbon weed coming back into the system on the early in tide, but as the flow got stronger it got flushed away and stopped being of concern.

As always happens, She who has never caught a black fish before was the first to hook up and we got the obligatory line tangle as I closed with her to give her moral assistance. After a few sharp words, I bit my leader through and cleared her line and presented the net for her to guide the fish into. I ended up chasing it around the sand flat we were fishing on, but it was netted and into the keeper bag.

Garry was the next to hook up, and he managed to land a nice sized fish with the dignity of someone who has done it before, but was handicapped with a fly reel that was trying to run off its spindle due to the loss of a little keeper lever.

The competitive fishing theme developed quickly and quietly, and I was lucky to be the next to hook and land a good sized fish!

Well, for the next two hours we three fished, and Christine landed three good sized fish before having to run another camper back to camp. Garry and I kept it up, until around 1730, when we thought we'd better start cleaning the catch, as the bag was looking quite full.

During the session we had lots of visits from other Sydney tourists asking what we were catching and what bait we were using, etc. I had great pleasure in helping one guy by rigging him up with my small square sinker made from a piece of lead flashing that I had been introduced to by (Pete) Luderick59, back in Mona Vale. This guy had been watching us pull in fish while he had been standing next to us on the sand using prawns. Well, with in a couple of casts he pulled in a fish that would have gone 40cm, and said it was the biggest fish he had ever caught, so he was stoked.

By the time we had finished cleaning the catch we counted 18 fish, with the biggest going 41cm, and a host of 38 - 40 cm, so we were also stoked. It was the best session I had had for good sized fish on float, and we lost quite a few as well, so a good fisherman would have cleaned up.

There was another guy who had rigged himself up and joined the session, but I could see that he was totally bemused as fish came in on both sides of him, but he remained fish-less. Before we left I checked out his rig which was all tied up tight at around one metre. With his consent I cut it away and reset it as we had been rigged, at around 8 ft with a sliding float. I gave it one cast to check the weight , which was fine and handed the rod back to him and headed back to our gear. Before I had walked back to the rocks I heard from my wife "he's on" and turned to see him muscling in another 40cm fish, which he managed to land while it was trying to go between his legs and run back to the depths.

We had BBQ'd blackies that night cooked by Garry and it was the best tasting fish I have had in a long time.

Oce again set the alarm for 0500 Sunday morning and headed back to "my spot". I was the first to show up, but was joined soon after arrival by one of the locals and we took up positions at either end of the sand flat. I was soon joined by an older father and son act who were just starting for blackies but usually fly fish for salmon and tailor in the area. We worked the area well together by rotating the cast area and allowing the float to drift upstream with the incoming tide. I was fortunate enough to catch 4 fish, but not as big as the previous afternoon.

Funny thing happened after I had caught my second fish, as the "local" , who at this stage had not caught a fish decided that he would "join"us and took up a position in the spot where we three had been casting. Well, when I came back for my next cast and I moved to go around him I heard the swearing . I offered for him to join us with the rotation system we had been using , but he refused and then gave us a mouth full about tourists and drug addicts and that we should respect the locals etc!! The father, who had been a local since 1973 reminded him that he had been fishing at the other end of the sand, so what did he think he was doing moving in on us in such a hostile manner , and with that he chose to move further up towards the entrance, muttering and swearing as he went. Funny thing was that he started catching good fish just after that, so his rediculous attitude was so un-necessary, and re-enforces that negative view of old local blackie fishermen.

Dont know if it always fishes as well throughout the year as the fish were ripe with eggs and sperm, but it is a great spot for easy fishing on either tide, and usually we were no deeper than ankle deep.

Didnt have the camera with me on the Saturday afternoon, but took a couple of pics of the other catches.

tight lines

Sails

Great report. Got some great fish there. Shame about the unfirendly local. Some people go so over-protective and think that they own the place. Where abouts in the entrance did you catch these fish? I usually fish just over the bridge in north the entrance. Haven't fished up there for a few months. It's about time I had another go.

[taloyoak]

I love the old blackfisherman- just makes me want to get even better!...lol

[Juzza]

Hey Cam! Great read and a great catch!!! imagine getting bags like those at narra!! Hope to catch up with you at narra! I just started taking on the 'art of beachworming' and got 4 in the first 2 hour session.!!!

Justin

[james7]

A very comprehensive report sails and a good read.

It was the best session I had had for good sized fish on float, and we lost quite a few as well, so a good fisherman would have cleaned up.

I reckon you can put yourself in the "good fisherman" class now as well! You attitude to the locals and your willingness to share some knowledge and help others puts you in that very special "blackie" class of fishermen. Well done on some great catches. I'm looking forward to more reports like this one.

Cheers

Peter

[sails]

Hi Chopper 75,

I just checked it out on Google Earth. On the south eastern side of the bridge the road runs along side the entrance. Where the road is divided with single traffic flow, you can see the sand bar where we were standing , which was probably only 50m to the east of the boat launching ramp at the end of the car parking area. I tried to capture the Google image, but couldnt figure out how to do it. If I was a travelling man for my fishing, I would be heading up there regularly, as the fish should still be there with the numbers that were being pulled last w/e.

Hi Justin,

well done on the worms. Which beach did you attack? The worms at Collaroy are not the easiest to catch, but there are some big ones to challenge you if you are there on a good low tide, and that time is coming up around about now. It would have been great to have that number of quality fish at Narrabeen. Maybe it was like that earlier in the season!

Hey Nanook,

what's the saying; dont get even, get better!! Outfish them, after all it is a competitive sport.

Sails

[jewgaffer]

Nice report Cam. You did very well on the blackfish mate

Toowoon Bay would be a handy spot for you to meet up with your sister Roberta for a weekend on the blackfish, ay.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[kkw]

I love the old blackfisherman- just makes me want to get even better!...lol

Great sessions. Congrats on the catch. Yes they are starting to spawn down in Sydney as well. Some healthy, big, strong fish at present.

I had a run in with some 'local old blackfishermen' up at Nelson Bay Marina breakwall recently. I had taken a 7ft barra rod up to do some SP and hard body spinning for bream. Went for a walk along the breakwall with my wife and daughters and saw a couple of blokes fishing on the outside of the breakwall. Stopped to see how they were going, and only got a mumbled response, "no good, no fish today". Undeterred, I asked where I could get some local weed and have a go. They both just sneered and told me I couldn't catch blackfish with the gear I had, and to get some proper gear if I wanted to catch a fish. Anyway, I went on the marina side of the breakwall, as I could see hundreds of blackies rolling on the surface, spawning. Found a rock with some cabbage on it and put on a small plastic bubble float. Was only in the water for a minute before I was on. I asked my daughter to go across and ask the blokes if I could borrow a net to land my fish. They told her in no uncertain terms - "NO'. Anyway stayed for a half hour and landed four nice fish. As I was leaving, I had them in a plastic bucket with the tails sticking up. Stopped and said goodbye to the blokes and thanks for their advice. I had my dinner and hoped that they would also be able to catch a fish. Not happy campers. Doesn't take much to be friendly and helpful. I had been fishing another spot for a couple of hours one time, and a local came up and told me to 'p' off as I was fishing on 'his' rock. I just laughed and told him to wake up. Some people.......

[arpie]

Well done Cam & Christine!! Another convert! Watch out Cam - there will be a family competition going on now ..... only got to get Claire in on it now, too! Can't wait to see a pic of all three of you blackie fishing at Narrabeen!

Great report & terrific looking fish! Very good of you to fix those other guys up with 'workable' rigs ...... shame about the 'old phart' being so nasty - unbelievable, and not at all necessary!! He can fish it any old time, so should have just moved on to his 'next best spot'!

Just downloaded these pics from Google ...... sounds like you were down near the actual entrance to the sea?? Is that the small ramp you were talking about (near the 2nd 'Marine Pde' name?)

I tried further up near the bridge where there are some great spots to stand in the shallows & fish the gutters (or if in the yak or boat, fish the pylons on the southern end of the bridge.)

Can't wait for the next "Entrance Social'' - you'll have to book in for that one, to be sure!! Unfortunately, it didn't happen this year, but hopefully will next year!

Cheerio

Roberta

[sails]

Hi Roberta,

yes you are right, we were just about 40 m past that little boat ramp towards the ocean. The pic on Google shows an awful lot of sand in the entrance ,and I think in its current form it is a bit wider where we were. It was certainly running well on both incoming and outgoing tides, and that was clearing the channel of sand.

Last year when we were up there we tried and caught blackies on the same side of the river, but upstream of the bridge, where there are a couple of jetties and landing steps.

I think that place would fish well pretty much all the time!! We should try for a session there some time as Jewgaffer suggested!!

Cam

Hi there "The Hun"

thanks for the read, and well done on proving the old fishermen wrong!! I find it is always a good lesson to remember; to treat others the way that you would like to be treated. I know that I need to be reminded about my attitude towards other fishermen sometimes, and it is easy to become possessive of your favourite spot.

cheers

Cam

[arpie]

.....I think that place would fish well pretty much all the time!! We should try for a session there some time as Jewgaffer suggested!!.......

Just choose a weekend & we can do it!! I bet Christine will outfish both of us! Try & Have an RDO as well, for less stress getting there, set up & all! :)

Dunleith Caravan Park is just across the bridge on the water on the northern side ...... just paddle across & fish from shore! Will be in Canberra in the middle of Dec for a week, but otherwise most weekends seem to be free!

Cheerio

Roberta

PS I think the Google satelite maps are a bit out of date, too ie not current!

Edited November 13, 2008 by Roberta

[tide'n'knots]

good on ya cam,

Nice catch, sounds like you had some good fun, shame about the old guy- some people are w**nkers!

Its been about 2 years since i caught any blackfish, I may have to organise a catch up with you at narrabeen one weekend !

pete.