Sydney Kings & Dollies & Figuring it all Out

[fishmaniac]

I was out with my mate on Sunday on his boat and took my boat out with the Mrs on the Monday. Both days were very similar in terms of fishing and conditions. The water was around 23.2 degrees with a slight uphill current. Although the water was a beautiful blue colour there was quite a bit algae/coral spawn.

We picked up some livies first up and headed out to some fish traps we had found on our journeys between spots in previous weeks. The dollies were queued up for a feed upon arrival on both days. They were taking just about anything that was presented in a half decent manner. We would have caught at least 30 on the first day before moving on and on the second day after getting around 10 to 15 we moved on. Live baits certainly accounted for better fish but were often gut hooked which was not good when you want to release.

Second leg of the journey was chasing kings. They were not that easy to locate first up and it took some sounding around to find them. But when we did were they hungry. It was up there with some of the best kingie sessions I have had in terms of the number of fish taken. We would have easily caught 25 on both days. A few rats but predominantly between 70-85cm. Interestingly we had the spot completely to ourselves so an important point to consider is to figure it out yourself sometimes instead of following the hordes of boats.

All fish were taken on good quality jigs (not cheapies that seem to be being pushed in everyone's face at the moment). But it is worth throwing a few cheapies down first up to make sure the jackets aren't too bad if you are fishing the deeper reefs!

On a bit of a side note, over the past few months I have noticed a lot of conjecture surrounding facebook fishing reports. I appreciate that this can benefit fishermen through the sharing of information, but I believe a lot of it is being done with commercial interests at hand.

Fishing (for me anyways) is not just about "catching lots of fish". It is about getting out with friends, meeting new people, clearing your head, setting yourself objectives and goals, and learning and refining what you know to improve your skills. The day you don't catch what you target is the day you learn the most.

There are plenty of dollies around (as everyone is probably already aware) and kings too albeit difficult to find at times and they do seem to switch on and off. It is worth looking around at various reefs and don't be afraid to go for a troll in 110 to 150m of water as there are often fish traps scattered around. The dollies and kingfish do shut down under the pressure of many boats so it is worth exploring at times as often you will create some great experiences on your own accord!

Edited April 23, 2014 by fishmaniac

[sydangler]

Nice work mate sounds like a cracker session. What sort of depths were you fishing for the kings?

[mike2153]

I don't suppose these cheaper jigs you say come in a pack of 10 and cost around $55 with a bonus jig bag?

[thefisherman6784]

Great work mate

Must of been been a great session and heaps of fun

Cheers thefisherman6784

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 23, 2014 by thefisherman6784

[fragmeister]

Good read and a well considered post.

Cheers

[fishmaniac]

Kings were caught in about 50-60m of water.

Mike2153 I have used those jigs, they do catch fish but better quality jigs outfish them by a longshot when the fish are not jumping on the hook.

[benm]

Fishing (for me anyways) is not just about "catching lots of fish". It is about getting out with friends, meeting new people, clearing your head, setting yourself objectives and goals, and learning and refining what you know to improve your skills. The day you don't catch what you target is the day you learn the most.

Spot on.