stormy Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Went for a fish yesterday to a spot which often holds a few fish most of the year round. Convinced my two mates that it was going to be a hot one, so we should have an early start and aim to be on the rocks at 7am (well, that's early for some). The tide was starting to run out, so a cast about three rod lengths out found the fish immediately. The water was too clear for my liking, and I could see big schools of swirling fish, obviously spawning. They don't bite very well at this time, but a quick snack between doing the business never hurts does it. The float went down, down, down and a lift of the rod saw the first of many hooked over the next 3 hours. I hooked over twenty fish and got bitten off three times and also dropped a few at my feet, trying to drag them up the ledge with no help from the swells. A great session, but having decided to keep a dozen fish for my family and a couple of friends, made the filleting and skinning a draining proposition in the heat of our hottest Sept day on record. A great morning on the rocks, with Rick landing 11 fish, Bob 4 and me with 12. Quite a few of the fish were in milt but not enough to say the spawn has started full steam. Looking forward to some good fishing in the weeks to come. I have recently made some floats with carbon fibre rod stems and they work a treat. The takes see the float appearing to go down with very little resistance. Don't want to lose too many though, with each rod costing $3.50. Only lost two in the past 12 months, so can't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishythings Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hi Stormy, It is nice to see blackfish start biting. That was a good catch. Btw, I make my own blackfish floats as well. I use wine cork, plastic tube and lead sinker glued. Do you mind showing me a picture of your homemade floats? Thanks, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qnut Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) Sorry to hi-jack but here are some of the floats I made for this season:Darker ones are Balsa Wrapped around tassy oak with Solder Coils Wrapped around the base - The ligher ones are Cedar / Cork with no weight.Sadly the blackfish season has ended somewhat abruptly at the usual haunts in tuggerah lake at the moment due to ever important commercial fishing. Edited October 1, 2013 by Qnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormy Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hello Flattie. I make the stems from 4mm carbon rod, the body from 'virgin' champagne corks (they are perfectly cylindrical and have never been in a bottle) and the balance weight from either hollow point rifle projectiles or I have recently made a mould for casting tube which I cut to the length I need to balance the float. The first pic shows a range of floats I have made in the past few weeks. Second shows the lead tube (which still needs tidying up)and third shows the projectiles on the 3mm estuary floats. The colour on the top of the stems is iron on trim tape, used in model aircraft covering. Just need to trim them to length and they will be ready for use. A couple have been used already, as you can see by the tarnish on the copper jacketed projectiles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macman Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Do you always fish fixed float Stormy ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormy Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 G'day Matt. Yes. I don't generally fish deeper locations like the harbour, but have floats to fish as running rigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebottle18 Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Good to see you catch a few fish. The best thing about Black fishing is you can fish gentlemans hours as long as the tide is right. With the interest in home made floats seems like we could run a DIY day if some one was interested. Plenty of good ideas and personal choice of materials. Also a chance for a meet and greet day of fellow fisho`s who enjoy blackfishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishythings Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Hello Flattie. I make the stems from 4mm carbon rod, the body from 'virgin' champagne corks (they are perfectly cylindrical and have never been in a bottle) and the balance weight from either hollow point rifle projectiles or I have recently made a mould for casting tube which I cut to the length I need to balance the float. The first pic shows a range of floats I have made in the past few weeks. Second shows the lead tube (which still needs tidying up)and third shows the projectiles on the 3mm estuary floats. The colour on the top of the stems is iron on trim tape, used in model aircraft covering. Just need to trim them to length and they will be ready for use. A couple have been used already, as you can see by the tarnish on the copper jacketed projectiles. Hello Flattie. I make the stems from 4mm carbon rod, the body from 'virgin' champagne corks (they are perfectly cylindrical and have never been in a bottle) and the balance weight from either hollow point rifle projectiles or I have recently made a mould for casting tube which I cut to the length I need to balance the float. The first pic shows a range of floats I have made in the past few weeks. Second shows the lead tube (which still needs tidying up)and third shows the projectiles on the 3mm estuary floats. The colour on the top of the stems is iron on trim tape, used in model aircraft covering. Just need to trim them to length and they will be ready for use. A couple have been used already, as you can see by the tarnish on the copper jacketed projectiles. Hi Stormy, Your homemade floats look nicer than the ones sold in tackle shops. I think the carbon rods must be expensive and to get some rifle projectiles will not be easy. I myself just use lead sinkers to balance the cork floats. As bluebottle18 said organizing a workshop/DIY day is a great idea and count me in if you really want to do it. I want to post some of my homemade blackfish floats here but I do not know how to do it, I could not find any insert or attach sign. They work well and make me get more addicted to blackfishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishythings Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Here I found it now and attached are my homemade blackfish floats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skullidug Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Good to see you catch a few fish. The best thing about Black fishing is you can fish gentlemans hours as long as the tide is right. With the interest in home made floats seems like we could run a DIY day if some one was interested. Plenty of good ideas and personal choice of materials. Also a chance for a meet and greet day of fellow fisho`s who enjoy blackfishing. Count me in for a DIY. Love your float making ideas guys. Cheers Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormy Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Did a quick report on my methods, in the Workshop segment of this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elferoz777 Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Stormy You ever fish down northern Wollongong way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormy Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 Not really. I had a go at Windang Island, breakwall and bridge with not much result for my efforts, a few months back. I guess when you have a couple of spots that produce, you tend not to travel too far. That's my excuse, anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Hi guys What tides do you find work best for the blackies off ocean rocks? I've been getting into a few lately but it's been really hit and miss and I'm wondering if the tides have much of an impact. I love it as a form of fishing though - it's really visual and you rarely go home empty handed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishythings Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Hi Mondo, To me it works best 2 hours before high or low tide in South Coogee especially when the swell is between a meter to 11/2 m. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reubs Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 count me + 1 in for a DIY day.. sounds like a bit of fun Reubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paikea Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Hey Stormy, not a sign of any white water over your rock this morning, calm as. Did you get out? Cheers Paikea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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