Quick Stop At The Spit

[ginko]

Raiders,

I stopped in at the Spit today for a 10 minute fish on the way home. I parked on the south side of the Spit bridge, west side, just north of the marina.

My intention was to see if I could get a squid for bait for a session on the beach tomorrow morning, but I was running late.

I decided that I didn't have time to tie-on a squid jig. I had a whiting rig already set up on my rod: a very small ball sinker above a short red tube and a smallish long-shank hook on a short mono trace. Onto this whiting rig, I had jammed a soft plastic on the hook, a Matzuo "pink sparkley swirl-tail grub", and thus converted it to a flattie rig. I'd used this setup earlier in the week in some shallow water, and scored a beautiful 35 cm flattie with a bright blue and white tail.

So today I just cast this rig out again, concentrating first on the sandy-bottomed area in front of the boats moored at the northern-most set of berths.

I had 6lb braid on. It is very fine: it tangles easily and it cuts skin like a knife; but it casts very nicely even with very light rigs.

With the rig almost back to shore on the 3rd cast, I felt a lovely thump on the line, and then the line just peeled off the reel. The power of the pulling was enough to let me know I was into a solid fish, but as I worked it back up to the break wall, I could see that I had a heavier fish than the 6lb braid and too short trace would handle. I had no net and there is about 2 ft of breakwall above the waterline.

Thankfully, another fisho was at work just up the break wall, and he heard me hollering. He scampered down with his sizeable net and scooped up my 60cm flattie.

As I'm not much into eating fish out of the harbour, I offered the fish to him which he graciously accepted - I just hope he doesn't have any nasty effects of consuming it.

I had time for 2 more casts (for zilch) before heading home. Hopefully I'll get some brekkie off the beach in the morning.

[Tip Tip]

Raiders,

I stopped in at the Spit today for a 10 minute fish on the way home. I parked on the south side of the Spit bridge, west side, just north of the marina.

My intention was to see if I could get a squid for bait for a session on the beach tomorrow morning, but I was running late.

I decided that I didn't have time to tie-on a squid jig. I had a whiting rig already set up on my rod: a very small ball sinker above a short red tube and a smallish long-shank hook on a short mono trace. Onto this whiting rig, I had jammed a soft plastic on the hook, a Matzuo "pink sparkley swirl-tail grub", and thus converted it to a flattie rig. I'd used this setup earlier in the week in some shallow water, and scored a beautiful 35 cm flattie with a bright blue and white tail.

So today I just cast this rig out again, concentrating first on the sandy-bottomed area in front of the boats moored at the northern-most set of berths.

I had 6lb braid on. It is very fine: it tangles easily and it cuts skin like a knife; but it casts very nicely even with very light rigs.

With the rig almost back to shore on the 3rd cast, I felt a lovely thump on the line, and then the line just peeled off the reel. The power of the pulling was enough to let me know I was into a solid fish, but as I worked it back up to the break wall, I could see that I had a heavier fish than the 6lb braid and too short trace would handle. I had no net and there is about 2 ft of breakwall above the waterline.

Thankfully, another fisho was at work just up the break wall, and he heard me hollering. He scampered down with his sizeable net and scooped up my 60cm flattie.

As I'm not much into eating fish out of the harbour, I offered the fish to him which he graciously accepted - I just hope he doesn't have any nasty effects of consuming it.

I had time for 2 more casts (for zilch) before heading home. Hopefully I'll get some brekkie off the beach in the morning.

I think if I was that fisho that took your flattie I would have taken my chances with any nasty effects

I love flathead

[adjustedpete]

Hey Ginko, How do you have a 10 minute fish???...My 10 minutes always always turns into 2/3 hrs and that is without blinking...lol

[Day's Fishin]

Mate don't believe all you hear about fish from the harbour. I've been catching and eating harbour fish for the last 50 years. Next time you catch a nice flathead like that I hope I'm near you. If you had caught it in the cooks river or up the parra river then that would be a different story.

Regards Jeff

[fryboy]

I agree with Days fishing - the harbour and especially middle harbour is very clean. I'd have taken that lizard home and gobbled it.

fryboy

[spongy]

Nice 10min session there.

I think that bit of water in middle harbour is pretty clean, and I wouldnt hesitate eating fish from there, especially flatties.

Maybe if anything, C&R bream, mullet and tailor as they accumulate the most heavy metals.

Good on you for offering the flatty to a fellow fisher anyway.

[zen801]

Hey Ginko,

No problems eating that flattie - perfect size and coming from Middle Harbour bugger all chemical contamination. West of harbour bridge is suss - thats it!

Mike

[Kooks]

Good catch Macgyver

[ginko]

The brekkie trip to the beach on Friday morning was pretty wooly. Cold grey morning, 25 knot wind howling from the south east, very choppy waves, but a decent rip coming off the corner of the beach.

So maybe I should have kept that nice flattie, this tailor was all I managed in a 2.5 hour session (apart from a kelp fish). The wind was so strong that it made feeling the hits very difficult and I ended up feeding loads of pillies to whatever was out there biting. Any suggestions for high-wind beach fishing?

And AdjustedPete you're right - often, the ten-minute-fish takes a half-hour or more.

Edited November 19, 2010 by ginko

[facebook]

what a big CROC thats awesome dude!