ginko Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 So I hit the rocks at the south end of Avoca Beach this weekend. And so did about 70 other fisho's! Saturday, I got there just before sunrise, and struggled to find a clear place to put a line in the water. I finally found a gap, and started with the spin gear and a 30g halco in pure silver. About 20 minutes after sunrise, the fish started busting up on the surface, and after about 5 minutes of fruitless spinning right through these schools, I finally managed to get one - a watsons leaping bonito, small, but extremely beautiful. There were a few fisho's using a lure I'd not seen before (and I can't remember the name...) but it was an odd looking lure: blue/green with a flat front edge that was angled to pull the lure down. They seemed to run about 1m under the surface, and on saturday, they were the definite winner lure. (name please?) I tried a spanyid (greenish tinge) but no luck. But by now, about 40 minutes after sunrise, the rock was really crowded and there was little room to cast anyway: the wind was blowing from the south along the rock and all the floats were drifting off to the left of the respective fisho's. So I switched to a pillie about 3 m under a float, and landed a decent stripie. But that was it for the morning - about 60 minutes after sunrise the rate of captures fell dramatically, so I cleaned my fish and headed back to the rental for a cup of coffee and brekkie. My wife, incredibly, gave me leave for a second morning, Sunday morning was even more crowded. The best remaining spot had decent wash but copped a fair bit of spray and wash. I could not cast out to far either due to crowding on the rock and heaps of floats/lines out in the sea. Out went a pillie, and 5 seconds after it hit the water in the wash - bam! I was into a good one. Up came a decent bonnie, Out went another bait, and 5 minutes later, on again, a slightly larger model. They really can pull, and it seemed that there were more and better fish in close. With two big ones in the bucket - I thought I'd give the spinning a go. I found the only gap was in front of some un-likely looking water, and, sure enough, it held no fish. There was another fisho spinning with saturday's gun lure there too, and he didn't get a single hit. So, again the coffee beckoned. Tonight it was teriyaki and sesame bonito with mango/pineapple/capsicum/basil/red-onion salad. Still enough fish for another meal for five! The rest of the weekend was good, with incredibly great weather. But sooo many people there: huge queues to get a bite to eat, crowds in the surf, crowds on the rocks. After a weekend fighting the crowds, the drive home to Sydney at 5pm on Sunday was ifantastic: almost no traffic at all. Maybe everyone was heading back out to the rock for the evening session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 G'day mate, yes I saw you there eyeing off possible spinning spots, Saturday morning was the better of the 2 days, I had 10 bonnies and a small king landed and returned by 7:30am had to go then for a morning work session. Sunday wasn't too bad a few less in the schools, only got 5. That lure you are talking about is Mack Bait lure, they do work well but not as good as a plastic twitched close to the ledge. Anyway mate good to see you caught a few.. P.S. Branch carnival on the beach also pushed the crowds up on the weekend.. P.P.S you should see it when it is crowded.. hahaha... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dom_shabil Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I was also there saturday and sunday, and managed to pull up my first king (rat) on a livie. The lure that you talking about is called a mackbait, they are gun lures made in australia, if you are after some check out the web site www.livelylure.com.au and enter the australian store if you want to buy some, they're not cheap but you wont find them cheaper anywhere else. By the way good work on the Bonnie's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kooks Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 The lure sounds like a bumper bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisholb Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 G'day mate, yes I saw you there eyeing off possible spinning spots, Saturday morning was the better of the 2 days, I had 10 bonnies and a small king landed and returned by 7:30am had to go then for a morning work session. Sunday wasn't too bad a few less in the schools, only got 5. That lure you are talking about is Mack Bait lure, they do work well but not as good as a plastic twitched close to the ledge. Anyway mate good to see you caught a few.. P.S. Branch carnival on the beach also pushed the crowds up on the weekend.. P.P.S you should see it when it is crowded.. hahaha... hi ray r...just wanna know which plastic do u use for d bonito if u dont mind....ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisholb Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 So I hit the rocks at the south end of Avoca Beach this weekend. And so did about 70 other fisho's! Saturday, I got there just before sunrise, and struggled to find a clear place to put a line in the water. I finally found a gap, and started with the spin gear and a 30g halco in pure silver. About 20 minutes after sunrise, the fish started busting up on the surface, and after about 5 minutes of fruitless spinning right through these schools, I finally managed to get one - a watsons leaping bonito, small, but extremely beautiful. There were a few fisho's using a lure I'd not seen before (and I can't remember the name...) but it was an odd looking lure: blue/green with a flat front edge that was angled to pull the lure down. They seemed to run about 1m under the surface, and on saturday, they were the definite winner lure. (name please?) I tried a spanyid (greenish tinge) but no luck. But by now, about 40 minutes after sunrise, the rock was really crowded and there was little room to cast anyway: the wind was blowing from the south along the rock and all the floats were drifting off to the left of the respective fisho's. So I switched to a pillie about 3 m under a float, and landed a decent stripie. But that was it for the morning - about 60 minutes after sunrise the rate of captures fell dramatically, so I cleaned my fish and headed back to the rental for a cup of coffee and brekkie. My wife, incredibly, gave me leave for a second morning, Sunday morning was even more crowded. The best remaining spot had decent wash but copped a fair bit of spray and wash. I could not cast out to far either due to crowding on the rock and heaps of floats/lines out in the sea. Out went a pillie, and 5 seconds after it hit the water in the wash - bam! I was into a good one. Up came a decent bonnie, Out went another bait, and 5 minutes later, on again, a slightly larger model. They really can pull, and it seemed that there were more and better fish in close. With two big ones in the bucket - I thought I'd give the spinning a go. I found the only gap was in front of some un-likely looking water, and, sure enough, it held no fish. There was another fisho spinning with saturday's gun lure there too, and he didn't get a single hit. So, again the coffee beckoned. Tonight it was teriyaki and sesame bonito with mango/pineapple/capsicum/basil/red-onion salad. Still enough fish for another meal for five! The rest of the weekend was good, with incredibly great weather. But sooo many people there: huge queues to get a bite to eat, crowds in the surf, crowds on the rocks. After a weekend fighting the crowds, the drive home to Sydney at 5pm on Sunday was ifantastic: almost no traffic at all. Maybe everyone was heading back out to the rock for the evening session. thank you very much for the report mate...well done...the lure is called mack bait (green bonito)...u can buy it online...very hard to find it in d shops...cost around $25 delivered...i bought 4 of them last week...havent caught anything on it yet...u better off using a squid skirt on float...its cheap...$1 each... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 hi ray r...just wanna know which plastic do u use for d bonito if u dont mind....ty Z-Man 5"streakz.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisholb Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Z-Man 5"streakz.... thanks ray...ill try it out n let u know d results... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginko Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Thanks for the name on the mack baits, and I saw the green bonito and blue mack colours bringing them in on Saturday morning - they're $15 online + delivery: $$$! Given my habit of digging treble hooks into the cunjevoi, I might give the softies and skirted squid a go first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwood1980 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yay here i come avoca well done buddy on your bonnies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranticD Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Hi Ray, what size jighead do u use when spinng off avoca with the Z-Man 5"streakz.... also would you mind letting me know your set up? Have seen you there before but just was too shy to ask what gear you had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Hi Ray, what size jighead do u use when spinng off avoca with the Z-Man 5"streakz.... also would you mind letting me know your set up? Have seen you there before but just was too shy to ask what gear you had Message sent to you mate.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnAking Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Hey mate good work on the fish. You do know the fish on the top in the pic is a watsons leaping bonito right? How did it taste? Any diff to normal bonito? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginko Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 OnAKing - watson's leaping bonito tasted the same as the stripeys, both as sashimi and cooked. One watsons + one mid-sized stripey from Sat morning were an addition to a bbq for four adults and three kids. The two big stripeys from Sunday were two full dinners+ for two adults and the three kids - and the kids are growing boys. All were dispatched with knife and then bled immediately, and in the fridge within an hour of capture. All fish were filleted, with all bloodlines cut out. Saturday's fish were sashimi with teriyaki sauce (not marinade!), and also bbq with lemon and a touch of teriyaki. Sunday's were one dinner with fillets done in garlic/soyasauce/lemon/sesame seeds/splash of maple syrup, and then another dinner with a tomato/vinegar chutney. When I filleted the Sunday fish I had to wash the fish with fresh water and store for a day, and this made it a bit watery after the day in the fridge. So Monday, I threw in some sea salt onto the fish and the fish kept beautifully after that til Tuesday. So next time, if I have to wash in fresh and store, I will throw some salt into the bag for storage. Also, next time I will pack my filleting knife on a road trip! One thing I noticed: on all the fishes' port side, on the inside of fillet about the middle from front to back but on the lower half from top to bottom, there was fluoro green stain on the flesh. This corresponded to a sac of very green stuff (bile?) in the fishes' guts. Anyone know what that is? Anyway, I think I am inclined to just cut this out, as it looked, well, not so appetising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefin Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Memories. Havent fished avoca for 30 years, back then speed was the key! 6/1 seascape spun as fast as you could! Mitchell had a 499 that brought in the same amount of line per turn of the handle, but you could wind faster with the seascape, and that made a difference!!! The Face, Ironstone and my favourite Little Winney Bay. Further afield The Point and The Island at Hat Head. As i said Memories! Edited February 20, 2013 by bluefin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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