Botany Bay 20Th March

[ross patti]

Hi all,

Just a quick tale about my trip to the bay yesterday.

Very pleasant conditions all morning, and a few fish as well !. I finished up taking home a nice feed of Flatties, Bream, Flounder and Trevs.

2 of each, 3 flounder. Nice sized flounder, too.

Got them drifting around near the sticks.

At the end of a great day on the water, I got the best surprise of the day at the ramp.

A quick chat to a fellow boatie saw him proudly show his catch to me.

3 of the bream he had must have been 1.5 - 1.7kg each. He didn't measure them in front of me, but I reckon they would have ranged from 45cm - 48cm. Big, bronze, fat, thick bream. Horses. The biggest one had number plates. They were huge, I tells ya. Didn't even think of taking a photo . . his fish, not mine . . ..

Funnily, he didn't get around to telling me were he got them . . . . but they are in the bay.

I felt good knowing there are bream of that size in the bay, and it is now my quest to find 'em.

[Keflapod]

Hi all,

Just a quick tale about my trip to the bay yesterday.

Very pleasant conditions all morning, and a few fish as well !. I finished up taking home a nice feed of Flatties, Bream, Flounder and Trevs.

2 of each, 3 flounder. Nice sized flounder, too.

Got them drifting around near the sticks.

At the end of a great day on the water, I got the best surprise of the day at the ramp.

A quick chat to a fellow boatie saw him proudly show his catch to me.

3 of the bream he had must have been 1.5 - 1.7kg each. He didn't measure them in front of me, but I reckon they would have ranged from 45cm - 48cm. Big, bronze, fat, thick bream. Horses. The biggest one had number plates. They were huge, I tells ya. Didn't even think of taking a photo . . his fish, not mine . . ..

Funnily, he didn't get around to telling me were he got them . . . . but they are in the bay.

I felt good knowing there are bream of that size in the bay, and it is now my quest to find 'em.

Hey Roscoe,

I know where to get fish this big but I have purposefully avoided fishing for them for three good reasons:

1. These fish would be 20+ years old and would have a high probability of containing the biggest concentrations of toxins.

2. They are the best breeders in the ecosystem given their advanced years so to take these fish would be shooting oneself in the foot.

3. I have eaten a few bream of 40cm - 46cm and realised they don't taste anywhere near as good as the 28cm - 38cm fish.

The big fish like very shallow water (0.5m - 1.2m max) and prefer bigger baits (eg half-pilchards).

When they take a bait, I give them 5 minutes to get the bait down - yes 5 minutes !

They travel alone and don't compete with other big fish for food so they take their sweet time to eat it.

The rig I use is also a little different to the traditional rig.

I don't like to say too much because I'm trying to protect an important resource as best I can.

The better eating sized fish are spread all over the bay and can easily be targeted so no need to hit the monsters.

PM me if you want to have a chat

[Stacer560]

keflapod, fair point but each to their own.

Its the same case for marlin, most if not all catch and release so the next fisho can enjoy, but the odd time someone lands a a huge PB and wants to keep it, or gets a small one perfect for the bbq.

No law on catching a fish TOO big. I wish i had that problem hahaha

[Keflapod]

keflapod, fair point but each to their own.

Its the same case for marlin, most if not all catch and release so the next fisho can enjoy, but the odd time someone lands a a huge PB and wants to keep it, or gets a small one perfect for the bbq.

No law on catching a fish TOO big. I wish i had that problem hahaha

Absolutely Stacerboy, each to their own.

I try to justify my actions based on my understanding of the facts available at the time and of course my personal experience. I can understand the need to increase one's PB - fair point. The only question I ask is that once a PB has been attained with a capture - the next action is the critical one. Release or keep? Again - each to their own. I never complain if someone chooses to keep a big fish, whether it's a marlin or a flattie. All I do is pass on my knowledge of the pros and cons of that capture in a balanced and unbiased way, but I let the captor absorb the information I have imparted. Then the angler may alter their decision or angling views when future captures are made. It's all about learning the facts in a nice friendly way. You celebrate their great capture with them, let them enjoy the moment. Then you impart the knowledge and hope the angler is mature enough to see the long term impacts of their current decisions. They will appreciate their previous captures more (because the captures will virtually cease) and I believe they will also see the good side of a release and slowly adopt the practice. They will change of their own accord without feeling they have been pressured to conform else they're a rebel...

You know, us humans are more complicated to work out than any fish species on this planet....

Edited March 23, 2010 by Keflapod

[Stacer560]

KEFLAPOD, gee you must be a solicitor or someone in politics. Choice of words for a fishing shit is second to none haha

Anyhow, i think the majority would keep a big fish caught of that species.

There are NOT if ANY amateur fishermen, fishing on the weeks off their boat that costs them money to use, plus bait, plus fuel, plus rods/reels, that would catch a 12kg king, 8kg flatty or 12kg jewfish, and would drop the fish back into the drink. I know most would get the camera and esky ready.

Anyhow, each to their own.

[Keflapod]

KEFLAPOD, gee you must be a solicitor or someone in politics. Choice of words for a fishing shit is second to none haha

Anyhow, i think the majority would keep a big fish caught of that species.

There are NOT if ANY amateur fishermen, fishing on the weeks off their boat that costs them money to use, plus bait, plus fuel, plus rods/reels, that would catch a 12kg king, 8kg flatty or 12kg jewfish, and would drop the fish back into the drink. I know most would get the camera and esky ready.

Anyhow, each to their own.

Hi Stacerboy,

I had a good laugh about the politician bit. Yes my problem is that in my line of work (Information technology) - if I'm not so bluddy precise in what I say and write, people will twist my words and use them against me to belittle me...unfortunately it has rubbed off on my written and verbal communications. I must sound like a complete geek.

I understand your point - yes - most people would keep their capture for those very reasons. Good on them. If they're smart enough to work out the secret and capture big fish fairly regularly, then I guess they would be smart enough to understand the species well enough to know what they're taking and it's impact on the fishery. If I caught a 20kg jewie - yes I would eat it - well not all of it but I would take it and brag like hell about it too ! Then future fish beyond 10kg might not get targetted with large slabs of tailor and 24kg braid - instead I would target fish 3kg - 10kg with squid strips and 6kg line.

I think the old saying is "It's the difference of opinion that makes a horse race" applies - perhaps we can change it to "It's the difference of opinion that makes a fishing forum". It was nice having a chat.

[monch]

Nice to see another advocate of catch and release.

I was never a huge fan of eating fish but seeing as how I am able to occasionally catch fresh and great tasting seafood by myself, i have started to acquire a taste for fish.

Nonetheless my fishing career and knowledge has been raised by the likes of the ABT, fishing shows and fishraider which have all shown me the benefits of catch and release. I don't kill fish for the sake of it and i will not criticise anyone who bags out on fish within the legal limits. If i manage to catch any amount of fish that is superfluous to my needs then i will try to release them. Older fish i will try to release as well, firstly because they don't taste as great and secondly because they are the breeders which restock the fish populations. If not for those reasons, i'm also lazy to gut, clean and prepare a whole bunch of fish that i don't want to eat.

If i caught a very large bream or flattie i would definitely take the camera out, get a few good shots and try to release them, no second thoughts. With big kings and jews though... i am not equipped to get the real bigguns so haven't really contemplated the thought.