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Balmoral Alive


rjc123

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Hey Raiders,

went down for mothers day to balmoral. Lovely weather but as i predicted, no fishing would take place on this outing. Went for a walk along the wharf and there were fisherman everywhere catching yakkas and garfish every 10 seconds, they were everywhere!! I even saw a pack of rats chasing them towards the weedbeds! Thats a good sign for the kingy enthusiants!

I am thinking of giving it a go but i just need a few questions answered.

1) What is a good rig to use for catching yakkas and slimies in say, about 6-7 meters of water?

2) What sort of fish am i likely to tap into at this time of year when live baiting off this wharf?

3) Should i put them out under a large float or put them down on the bottom to give me the chance of a flattie?

Please reply as i dont have much live baiting experience!

Thanks, Tom

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Slimmies and yakkas use a 6lb hand line with a size 8-10 hook. Use a longshank if you want to use them for live bait so you don't handle the bait/fish to much trying to get the hook out.

Use a small piece of prawn. Like a section of a hawkesbury river prawn cut in half.

If there is wind, tie a small swivel into the rig for weight or a tinny split shot. The lighter it is the more you will catch.

Re fishing it for flathead, on the bottom as thats where they live. Floats are for kings as they swim mid water.

The garfish you saw caught, how big were they?

Going garfishing tonight and want to see if Balmoral has bigger than my area ATM.

Cheers

Greg

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Yeh, i might send them down to the bottom.

The Garfish were pretty average size and perfect for live bait. They would have been about 15-20cm.

Do you think it is worth puting a yakka or slimy out under a float for the odd tailor, salmon and king? On the other rod that is.

Edited by mack attack 79
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Bugger they are only small gars....

If king is your thing, id go the gars and slimmies.

Gars will also get eaten by near everything. Bream flatties kings salmon and your tailor. Better bait than a yakka

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Yeh, I hope they are there next time i go or ill be in trouble. Will i possibly have the chance of a jew during the day? I Have heard of them being caught there at night, especially in the warmer months.

Tom

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Damn. I went there Friday night and it was there Friday night and there was nothing. No squid no yskkas and no gars. I ended up going to Woolwich wharf to get my live bait. There was no squid of gars but hundreds and hundreds of yskkas. Was there any squid on Saturday of tonight?

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Hey Raiders,

went down for mothers day to balmoral. Lovely weather but as i predicted, no fishing would take place on this outing. Went for a walk along the wharf and there were fisherman everywhere catching yakkas and garfish every 10 seconds, they were everywhere!! I even saw a pack of rats chasing them towards the weedbeds! Thats a good sign for the kingy enthusiants!

I am thinking of giving it a go but i just need a few questions answered.

1) What is a good rig to use for catching yakkas and slimies in say, about 6-7 meters of water?

2) What sort of fish am i likely to tap into at this time of year when live baiting off this wharf?

3) Should i put them out under a large float or put them down on the bottom to give me the chance of a flattie?

Please reply as i dont have much live baiting experience!

Thanks, Tom

I usually use 8-10lb line. Hook, smaller the better I guess. I use a children's rod for bait fishing. It is easier for me.

For bait I use chicken because it is tough and I need a thumb size only to catch 10+ yakkas. Most importantly you should burley. I use staled bread disolved in to seawater. This way burley sinks slow and yakkas come up to the surface fighting for food. It is easier to catch while they are visible (for me).

With live yakka I think you can expect tailor, salmon and kingfish there.

I usually use float to ensure I know where my live bait is swimming to avoid tangling with other people.

Cheers,

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Mate, from what your describing the kings are busting up on the surface. I usually throw out an unweighted yakka or squid. This is a gun tactic for catchign the surface kings.

If you got livies even bettet, pin it throught the back and let it swim away.

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Ill give it a go. Whenever i make a berley it never seems to attract a whole lot. I use fresh bread, snad, water and thats about it. Sometimes little bits of pillie. Could anyone point out what i should add or a new recipe?

Tom

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Ill give it a go. Whenever i make a berley it never seems to attract a whole lot. I use fresh bread, snad, water and thats about it. Sometimes little bits of pillie. Could anyone point out what i should add or a new recipe?

Tom

If you blend pillie and bread together you got an awesome burley. Freeze it and break up little balls and throw it. (Just make sure your wife doesnt find out your using the blender for that)

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Best berley is bread, chook pellets, pillie off cuts, prawn shells and salt water mush up and throw handfuls out every 20-30mins- if you want a strong attractant mix in a lid full of tuna oil you will be spot on the money fish wil come from far and wide for a mix like that- I sometimes add chicken and weet bix or bran into my berley depending on how much I need mixed per session- if I want to extend it further add more bread or to reduce or make it sink more add in more pellets and fish off-cuts

For livies I use a sibiki jig and place tiny chunks of salted pillie in each hook

Hope this helps

Anthony

:D

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Ill give it a go. Whenever i make a berley it never seems to attract a whole lot. I use fresh bread, snad, water and thats about it. Sometimes little bits of pillie. Could anyone point out what i should add or a new recipe?

Tom

Add fish oil. It makes it a bit disgusting to mix, but works a treat.

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Yeh, that sounds a bit more effective than my old one. When ever i use the premade jigs, they tangle and become unusable. i might just make a few of my own with a single hook rig for the bait

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Mate I'm with GregL. I'd use the garfish as livies. If you do down size the float from that you would use for a yakka or slimie. Hook needs to go on the under side just in front of the tail. Avoid handling them as much as you can as once they loose their scales and slime they die fairly quickly. Getting cool enough for a early John Dory too. Good Luck.

On Strike

Paul

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If you blend pillie and bread together you got an awesome burley. Freeze it and break up little balls and throw it. (Just make sure your wife doesnt find out your using the blender for that)

Yeah my wife caught me using her blender for that exact purpose. The pillies get into spot and it a pain to clean it. J ended up buying her a new blender

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I often have trouble sourcing stale bread at the moments when I can go fishing, so I carry a box of no-name weetbix in the car. It is great burley in a pinch, and won't stink up the car or go mouldy. It does sink a bit too quickly, so you need to crush it up dry in your hand, and just toss little handfuls in every minute or so. I have not tried it for garfish, but I think it would sink too quickly for them - probably better to stick to the bread. I've not had to supplement this with fish oil or pillies - but I do use a pillie for bait. (nice hint on the chicken though)

I'm also for the kid's rod to get livies. I use 4lb mono, a pea-sized sinker above a swivel, and a foot-long trace of the same mono, to a #12 long shank hook.

I have a cooler with a battery powered air pump, which helps keep the livies lively for an hour or two more than without air. Keep the cooler right at my feet, so as soon as the yakka is out of the water I can get it into the cooler - with thier soft mouths and heavy thrashing, they come off the hook pretty easily, and they die much faster if they land on the wharf. I got the pump at an aquarium in Brookvale for $15.

Does anyone have a good spot in the Northern Beaches or land-based in Pittwater for mid-sized livies? I've been hitting Palm Beach wharf which is too far, and the yakkas there are pretty big models and hard to cast.

A fellow early-morning fisho recommended Narrabeen lake for mullet - but I always find it hard to find the mullet and then to get them on the chew. - any hints?

Many are the time, though, that I've eyed my wife's blender and wondered how a bunch of old pilchards would go. I swear the tackle shops should sell heavy duty blenders (or nice fancy ones to buy as replacements of the wive's blenders).

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You can buy whole or filleted mullet from a shop in narrabeen (can't use the name). I use it often. Great quality,very fresh. Try deep creek reserve for your mullet in the lake. At Taylors Point wharf there are alot of small tailor and yakkas around with squid aswell.

Good Luck

Edited by mack attack 79
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