Volitan Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Hi Raiders. I'm interested in fishing the rocks at South Avoca. It's a bit of a hike from my place so I would like to know whether it's going to be safely fishable before I leave home. So any ideas on what swell height (significant wave height) I should regard as the cut off point? Also should I be considering swell period as well. Or direction? cheers arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 avoca is a bit of a wave trap not good in swell..it would be unfishable the last two days as its been big..i would consider 1.5 or bigger too much but it depends if its coming from south east or north.it all affects it differently...imo there are better spots anyway..rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 54 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said: ..imo there are better spots anyway..rick My focus on South Avoca is for the pelagics - bonito and kings and perhaps one day a chance at Mack or long tail tuna. I'm also intrigued by the role it played in the development of the LBGF movement in the 70s and 80s. I missed that whole thing but am still nostalgic about it. i can get the bread and butter species (mostly bream and flathead) close to home, but we don't get pelagics here. so I'm curious about your comment about better places. Are they good spots for pelagics too, and if so would you mind saying where they are. thanks for the replies cheers arron Ps. i think my goal for next summer will be a long tail from the rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Avoca is still an OK spot but its pretty heavily affected by crowds, what the guys said before about it being dangerous in a swell is very true, I was lucky enough to fish it growing up in the 80's but by the time I got my drivers licence I looked further afield. Longtails (still call them Nthn Blues) can be caught there but its very hit and miss. The Avoca platform will only get decent current a few days a year which is why its dominated by smaller pelagics, the other issue you face is the crowding- hook a decent fish and the pilchard tossers will make it pretty hard to land it , not to mention its a hard spot to get decent Longtail bait (ie slimies) , I spent as much time as I could fishing Avoca between about 1983 and 1986 and I saw about 6 longtails caught. I then found out about the platforms further north and saw and caught a hell of a lot more. Can I suggest that you start your search at Port Stephens (Tomaree) and move further north. A few places worth exploring are Charlotte Head, Muttonbird Island, Hat Head and just about any platform that holds bait. If you can get time to go now- go-its a pretty good time of the year for them right now especially considering we have nice warm water still on the coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 1.5 metres southerly you should be right, 2 metres a big MAYBE but if it's north east or even SSE swell you wouldn't fish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 18 minutes ago, flatheadluke said: 1.5 metres southerly you should be right, 2 metres a big MAYBE but if it's north east or even SSE swell you wouldn't fish it. yeah- Southerly swell tends to "walk" past the platform, NE/E is the killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrone07 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Have fished Avoca frequently for the past 12 years and have seen one long tail and a small black landed in that time, in saying that it regularly produces good numbers of bonito, salmon, tailor and mac tuna when the conditions are right. If you want Longys you definately need to head further north as mentioned above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Thanks for all the advice. for now, I'm satisfied with smaller pelagics and I probably wouldn't have either the equipment of experience to tackle a longtail for a while yet. Any other advice for locations around the Central Coast which are good safe-ish headlands for pelagics. I can fish midweek so crowds don't bother me much. i think I'll also investigate a trip to Tomaree. maybe next week - swell forecast is looking good. cheers arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 20 minutes ago, tyrone07 said: Have fished Avoca frequently for the past 12 years and have seen one long tail and a small black landed in that time, in saying that it regularly produces good numbers of bonito, salmon, tailor and mac tuna when the conditions are right. If you want Longys you definately need to head further north as mentioned above I'm interested in your comment about conditions being right. Are you meaning just when the swell allows fishing, or are there other issues like currents to think about. I assumed every day would be the same for pelagics but I guess that's a bit naive. cheers arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Current- no run no fun! it just doesnt hit Avoca often enough to make it a top notch spot for bigger pelagics, another factor is the proximity of the Hawkesbury/Broken Bay a big rain event can shut down Avoca for weeks , having said that its a pretty reliable spot for bonito and small stuff- footwear is pretty important on the front ledge it gets black slime buildup that turns it into an ice rink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 1 hour ago, PaddyT said: Current- no run no fun! it just doesnt hit Avoca often enough to make it a top notch spot for bigger pelagics, another factor is the proximity of the Hawkesbury/Broken Bay a big rain event can shut down Avoca for weeks , having said that its a pretty reliable spot for bonito and small stuff- footwear is pretty important on the front ledge it gets black slime buildup that turns it into an ice rink You mean ocean current rather then tide, right ? If so how do you know when the current is running - or do you just have to go to find out ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 More questions. i just told my wife I'm off to Port Stephens next week to fish Tomaree and she's Ok with that. Now I just need to assemble some gear. I bought this reel at the markets a while back, just cos it was very cheap. It is pretty old I think but is like new condition and appears well made. Shakespeare 2153. Is it useful for fishing live or dead bait at places like Tomaree. I'll probably be buying a bigger threadline for spinning too but would like to know if this is usable off the rocks. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I would suggest for your first trip to Tomma- walk in and watch what the regulars do, LBG fishing can get pretty complex-but if you spend half a day there observing what goes on it helps- I dont know that reel but looks pretty similar to the old Penn Jigmaster- i caught my first LT on one of those - 31 lbs on 20lb mono- first run took about 300 M and the drag faded really badly during the fight, a modern star drag that holds about 500M of 20 lb will handle most LT's - if the sharks dont get them . LAst LBG reel i bought was a Diawa Sealine something or other for throwing big poppers at LT's and Spannies off the rocks, these days I use it for snapper fishing in the boat. For live baiting a TLD 25 is a great starting point reel for most Nth Coast fishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrone07 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 As mentioned mate there's a number of factors current, water colour, tides, barometer, swell all that can effect fishing conditions. Generally low light periods such as dawn and dusk fish better and if you can coincide these with a tide change even better, other factors such as what bait is in the area, how many ppl are fishing etc etc. These are just general things though I have had days where it has been sunny, water was green and cold and caught a fish a cast. It's just a matter of trial and error and working out what works for you. As mentioned fishing the rocks is extremely dangerous, always watch the ledge before you fish it and if it's not safe don't risk it a fish is never worth your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 if you don't mind a long walk Winnie bay is good..if heading north I would go to laurieton and fish north side of pt perpendicular there are longies there now tomaree has been quite..booti charlotte cape hawk have fish..hat head has heaps goin thru..your reel will work but a tld would be better...rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, Volitan said: Thanks for all the advice. for now, I'm satisfied with smaller pelagics and I probably wouldn't have either the equipment of experience to tackle a longtail for a while yet. Any other advice for locations around the Central Coast which are good safe-ish headlands for pelagics. I can fish midweek so crowds don't bother me much. i think I'll also investigate a trip to Tomaree. maybe next week - swell forecast is looking good. cheers arron You can't beat Terrigal haven. The best, safest spot to fish is the boat ramp, safe as houses and plenty on offer. Just pick a day where boat traffic is minimal. Or you can fish the haven ledge at low tide. Dawn or dusk and east/ south east winds are best and not straight after a storm. Edited May 23, 2017 by Guest123456789 Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreasePit Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Not a guarantee, but checking the surf cams online for the local beaches can help you mitigate a useless travel or possible good conditions. Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 10 hours ago, flatheadluke said: You can't beat Terrigal haven. The best, safest spot to fish is the boat ramp, safe as houses and plenty on offer. Just pick a day where boat traffic is minimal. Or you can fish the haven ledge at low tide. Dawn or dusk and east/ south east winds are best and not straight after a storm. Thanks. Just clarifying, the haven ledge is that bit of the rock platform just around to the right from the boatramp - the bit that faces back towards the moored boats, right? I'll have to investigate Terrigal this weekend. Incidently, I took that Shakespeare reel shown above out last night. The line kept getting into the gap between the spool and the end cover. Ended up wrapping around the little ratchet gear and impossible to fix on the water. Can't seem to stop it - maybe the gap is too large. I guess that's why it was cheap. cheers arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Take apart and paint nail polish on lip of spool to build up diameter takes a few layers but works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 53 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said: Take apart and paint nail polish on lip of spool to build up diameter takes a few layers but works Gees forgotten that one- some of the gear we used to use was pure c!@# compared to what we can get now. I learnt to spin with a 2nd hand Seascape which was the casting equivalent of herding cats- Jigmaster was even harder to throw with- not to mention having to replace the drags with split chrome leather soaked in oil every season (if not more), amazing we even caught a fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 1 hour ago, rickmarlin62 said: Take apart and paint nail polish on lip of spool to build up diameter takes a few layers but works Brilliant. Thanks arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 aaahhh seascapes...blew up six of the beastly things..then came speedmasters yaayyy......havnt had to do the nail polish for a long time...but it works...rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novicefisherman Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Any luck on the fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 9 hours ago, Novicefisherman said: Any luck on the fish? If you're asking me, then no luck. Two visits to Avoca rocks. One I was there on my own and caught nothing. Second visits there were a few others, donuts all round. maybe a bit late in the year. arron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novicefisherman Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 That's no good. Must have just missed out on pelagic season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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