arpie Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Hi all Over the last 6 months, I've been concentrating on catching bream on lures & sps (not that my results in the yak comp proved it ) so as soon as the yak comps were over, i couldn't wait go get back to my first love, blackie fishing!! Unfortunately, the weather turned ugly straight after the comp & I had to watch the big seas knock the crap out of any cabbage that may have been growing on our rocks here ....... then a small window of 'realatively fine weather' occurred on Thus & I rang my buddy's Dad, Cedric, (here on holidays) to meet up with him & take him to Tuncurry, to an easy spot, to show him the basics of blackie fishing. Cedric is retiring in the next year or so & keen to learn. Not long after setting his rod up with float & weights, the rain bucketted down. We hid in my ute till, 5 mins later, it stopped! There were lots of little blackies sucking our weed from the hooks, but at least Cedric had an 'easy' opportunity to learn the 'blackie flick' & to witness the difference between a 'down & a snag'. He even landed a gorgeous tiny little blackie, but nothing of any size. I caught 1 'throw back'. Whilst we were there, CHopper75/Glenn and Janet turned up, towing their boat! THey had literally just arrived in Forster the evening before & were on the way to their 'new house' to await the Furniture Removalists. They had spotted my ute (only one in Forster) from the main road (eagle eyes!) and came over to see if it were me or Keith!! On Friday, Cedric & I met up again & tried a couple of Forster spots this time - I showed him how to pick the weed 'correctly' and he is a blackie natural!! I thought he may have been bored with the fish not being too active, but no, he was enjoying the casting & 'watching the float' & has baiting the hook with weed, down pat! We headed back to the wharf to have 'one last gasp' and found a bloke there, who already had 4 fish in the bag, but it was now nearly lunch time & he'd been there since 7am! Hardly prolific fishing! Ah well, still worth a shot, as Cedric had to return to Murrundi/Tamworth way the next day. As soon as we started fishing, this other guy started catching! Nice fish, too, to about low to mid 30's. Cedric & I started getting hopeful we'd get some fish. Brian (by now we were on first name basis) was from Port Macquarie & regularly gets into good blackies up there too. He was using 'wire weed' whereas Cedric & I were using fresh green weed. Brian was getting all the hits. I hooked a tarwhine & it went back. Brian caught 2 more fish & Cedric caught none. I hooked a small blackie & put it back, Brian caught 3 more fish, Cedric caught none. I had a great hookup, but the fish spat the hook, Brian caught 2, dropped 3 and Cedrick caught none, but was getting 'downs' on a regular basis now! Brian even gave us some of his weed, checked what depth we were fishing & adjusted it to his depth and he even allowed us both to 'fish closely' to his spot ...... even casting over his line, to get a similar drift. No matter where Brian's float was, it got fish, ours got none, even when using his weed! Cedric was taking bets on which float would 'go down' next, but it was a no brainer - we all knew it was going to be Brians! Finally, Cedric tossed his line in & immediately he was onto a nice blackie - just legal, but a blackie!! It went 28cm, so we put it in the bucket, for him to take home for dinner. I was now about 3hrs overdue on my supposed 'return home' time, but figured Keith was used to that ...... Cedric was more than happy to stay ...... so I said, OK, when I get a legal fish, I'll add it to yours, so you can have a 'real' feed and then we'll pack up! Not long after, thankfully, I finally got a legal fish, not much bigger than Cedric's, so we hit them both on the head, gutted & de-headed them & headed home. Cedric just loved the day of fishing & I think we have a new blackie convert!! This morning, Keith wanted to run on Nine Mile Beach, so I thought, yeah, I'll chuck a float in (our Out Tide is currently running for about 10hrs instead of the normal 6hrs, after all the water is pushing down from up the rivers.) Filthy dirty, too! Virtually on my 2nd cast, my float disappeared in a split second & I was onto a solid fish. There was a Market Day on & about 10 people stopped as I tried to stop the fish skunking me on the poles ..... I had to climb down onto the rocks from the jetty to net it & was very happy when I had it in the net! It went quite white whilst in the white bucket of water! I dropped another nice one there & put a couple of smaller ones back before heading up to the next spot. There, I landed a smaller one (just over 30cm) & was busted off by another one, but Hey!! It was a much more productive day than yesterday was!! I am just soooo glad to be back blackie fishing! It is raining as we speak - now I can't wait to get out in the Yak & fish the racks again for blackies! I have seen some there that seriously would go near to 2kg! They are HUGE!! Steve (Cedric's son) will be back in Forster in a few weeks, so no doubt, we'll be blackie fishing together, too! Can't wait Cheerio for now Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Yes Roberta, I've been thinking of hitting the rocks to snare a pig or two....when the seas die down I might dust off the long rods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Nice to see you back into your blackfish Roberta! Roberta is this wire blackfish weed ready made out colourbond fence wire or do you put your own barbed hooks on it .......As I was reading down your post and reading ...and Cedric got none.... etc ....and Cedric got none... etc ..... and Cedric got none .... etc, I thought Cedric must been just another Cedric that always got none... etc. I was pleased to see Cedric proudly displaying a blackfish he caught in a squidgie cap Cheers jewgaffer Roberta it must be great to have Chopper and family living close by up in Forster.... Best of luck and best regards Glen I hope to catch up with you and Roberta when I stay up in Forster again with my old boyhood mate Syd, the bald bloke who you met Roberta, and his new four times around missus who might have to be either relocated back to NZ or re-educated about replacing our fishing hours in favour of bingo by the look of things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Good to see you're back to your "true love" Roberta. However, I've enjoyed reading some of your great reports over the last few months where you've caught some cracker bream, whiting and flathead (and even a prawn!). I'm guessing it'll only be a few days before we see some great blackie catches from you. Those big ones wont stand a chance! Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Nice to see you back in your natural element Roberta... your (as usual) enjoyable post, combined with a wet weekend here and your dusting off of the long rods, will result in a little care package arriving in your mail box containing some artificial Blackie bait... keep an eye on the post. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Hi Roberta, good to hear you're back chasing those blackfish, and good on you for sharing your knowledge with Cedric.. Cheers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 Thanks guys - it really does feel like 'coming home again'! It is just such a relaxing (yet exciting) fishing method & anyone who hasn't tried it, should give it a go. I had printed off ''the best ever Blackie tips'' for Ceddy to read prior to giving it a go, and he appreciated that. He will, no doubt, be purchasing a 'proper blackie setup' with spinning reel, by the time he comes back for his next lesson! I hope to get him on to the breakwall next time! I can't wait till I smoke the blackies up (with a few small ones I have in the freezer) tomorrow & I know that Keith can't wait till the Fish Pie is on the menu again! 3 or 4 fish makes up 3-4 pies, which i freeze with mashed potato on top for an easy dinner, specially when we are travelling, next month! My neighbour has been braining the blackies on the rocks over the last week, getting up to 20 a session. He is a pensioner & only fishes for them after the rough, so it 'supplements' his freezer with protein meals. One day, i'll go down there with him & give him some competition! He doesn't like it when I catch more than him ...... then again, the feeling is mutual!! Cheerio Roberta Thanks for that Slinky - looking forward to when when they are 'thicker on the ground', then I will stick on a weed fly again! hehehe Peter - that prawn shot came out well, eh? Hey Byron, it was great to see Ceddy not get too despondent when Brian was catching so regularly (he got a couple of doubles too, as he uses a 2 hook rig, like mine!) Cedric is a great sport & has a terrific sense of humour - absolutely essential for blackie fishermen!! Jenno64 - don't leave it too long till after the rough - once the white water goes, so do the fish! Well, maybe not all of them, but they definitely bite better up here with a bigger wash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Great report there Roberta, good to see the tables turned on Blackie fishing ............. the younger teaching the older Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 .....the younger teaching the older ...... hahahaha Only just!!!! I think he has 6 or 8 years on me! Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennmreid Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Blackie fishing is great fun. Even if you don't catch anything, it is such a peaceful way of fishing. Looking forward to getting into some blackie action myself with you. Try out some of that beautiful mona vale and narrabeen weed and cabbage that I have. I have also plenty of those weed flies to try as well. Byron, when you come up to Forster, looking forward to catching up with you and have a fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimJ Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Roberta I need a pro like u to show me what the hell im doing wrong good post very interesting and congrats on getting back to wat u love! Cheers, Simmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 ....Roberta I need a pro like u to show me what the hell im doing wrong..... hehehe going from my catch rate, I am by no means a pro!! More an enthusiastic beginner! Roberta If Brian hadn't been there, catchting fish after fish, we would have left earlier & I wouldn't have gotten into trouble for being home late! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfishing Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 It is just such a relaxing (yet exciting) fishing method & anyone who hasn't tried it, should give it a go. I actually gave it my first go just this morning. Not purely blackie fishing, but fishing under a float with some bread with a chance for blackies, bream and various other critters. I've never even fished with a float before but must say it's intoxicating watching it bob around waiting for a down. I understand now why you love it so much. Report to come later, just waiting for the photos from Luderick Luke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Good one, YF .....I actually gave it my first go just this morning. Not purely blackie fishing, but fishing under a float ...... Even Starlo has experimented with putting small sps under a float & running them along side oyster leases down south, catching big bream! The flow of the water gets the tail working a treat! I have seen bigger rigs used under bobby corks with bigger Squidgie Fish to catch flatties in the lake here, from the same wharf we were fishing. Even a pillie or other bait - worth a punt when fishing in the corner of a beach, too, or off the rocks with a bobby cork. Less chance of being snagged in the rocks & losing your gear & better chance of nailing a fish! Actually, it was because I was losing so much 'bait tackle' on the breakwall, that I decided to try float fishing for blackies in the first place. The 'old fellas' rarely seemed to lose tackle & were always catching fish. It is also one of the best ways of getting kids in to fishing, too. They have something to watch & don't have to muck round with smelly bait. Also, the fish don't know the age of the angler - the kid has as good a chance as anyone else of hooking a top fish! We'll get you into using weed one day, too! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Very good read Roberta. There seems to be a 'kindred spirit' shared amongst blackfishos, as demonstrated by Brian's attitude and generosity. Cedric truly has the bug now. If he can endure a couple of mediocre sessions and still enjoy himself: wait 'til the action heats up! Nice to read a blackfishing report from you again. You certainly seem to be happiest when you're chasing those little bruisers Cheers Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfishing Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 We'll get you into using weed one day, too! Cheerio Roberta Oooh yeah, I'm going all the way as soon as possible. Get some practice for the winter! I've gotta get some more suitable gear first like a 12 footer rod. And as far as reels go, I know Alveys are the status quo, but I don't really like them, I'm far more comfortable with an eggbeater. Would you suggest a Baitrunner as a good option? I've been looking for an excuse to get one (a shimano) and this is as good an excuse as any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat-as-trophy Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Its great to see you back doing something that you love Roberta, I have missed reading about your exploits with the blackies. I cant wait to start reading again. Cheers Mrs Flightmanager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Thanks guys - there really is a certain 'comfort level' in returning to blackie fishing, and you can still enjoy the buzz of a good fish! Hey, YF - the 12ft rods are really if you are fishing from the rocks (to keep the blackies away from the rocks ... as they are dirty fighters ..... whilst you net them with your 12ft net!) If in the yak, you can use much shorter rods! The main thing is that they have a bit of 'give' in them to act as 'shock absorber' to the wiley blackie! Stiff rods will pull the hooks from their mouths. Blackies also never give up fighting & if you pull them out of the water whilst still hooked (& before they are netted), chances are, they'll get off! I reckon a 2500 spin reel is a good size - bait runners should work, but I just use a regular spin reel, leaving the bail open but with fingers ready to 'strike & hold' before setting the bail & retrieving. I tried the old Alvey/Avon Royal, but couldn't master them! Spin is easy! I use 10 - 20lb braid (10 for estuary blackies & 20lb for breakwall) - all the info for blackie 'set ups' is available in Fishing Chat. Been making smoked fish pie all afternoon!!! Got 4 of them in the freezer already! :) CHeerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat-as-trophy Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Well get out there and grab some more girl. Keith must be one happy camper at the moment, plenty of blackfish pie in the freezer.l You will have to post, if you havent already your recipe for blackfish pie so that we can all enjoy it. Cheers Mrs Flightmanager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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