Ramsgate Beach 17 November 2019

[LandBasedKeith]

Finally find some time and good weather to catch some blackfishes. Since the rock pool area is under renovation, i fish on the far left groyne just past the rock platform. Got there about 7:30am, it is at bottom tides so not expecting any bits soon. Caught my first(37cm) after 30mins, then another(33cm) a bit later. Lots of bits but very small. Went home about 2pm, only 5 keepers (...30cm, 29cm and 28cm), and throw back twice as much as  they are around 26cm-27cm mark. Haven't been out for a while and if it won't for the increase in wind speed, i would had stayed longer.

During the 1st and 2nd fish caught and just for a brief period, the water sudden boiled up around me. I managed to get my metal lure among the chaos. 3 flicks but no take! The fishes disappeared just as sudden as they appeared. Kingies? Salmons? but definitely not Tailors!

Met an ex-fishraider in the car park, learned a few things from him.

1. Botany Bay is polluted with buried metal.

2. Use canola oil(cheap coles brand spray) to protect your reels.

3. Blackfish can be caught at night

I may give night blackfishing a try some day....

 

[kingie chaser]

Personally I wouldn't use a vegetable based oil on anything mechanical but hey each to their own.

 

[anthman]

Use wd40 on the outside only, wipe down with rag. I reckon they could've been salmon - have come across them further down south along the beach (hooked up to one on a 3" soft plastic minnow)

[Keflapod]

Hey Keith, regarding the metal buried in the bay, can you share some more information about what you learned? Also can you tell us how that person knows about it. It would be very interesting to know more.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Keflapod

[frankS]

Might be worth wile to try a bit of magnet fishing.

Frank

[eladamrine]

Hi Keith. Good job! The guide on catching black fish by Robert in the "Fishing Chat" sub forum says blackfish will take seaweed at night. I tried this once, but these two older fishermen started cracking up when I told them. They didn't think it was a good idea. So I don't know what to think 

[LandBasedKeith]

13 hours ago, Keflapod said:

Hey Keith, regarding the metal buried in the bay, can you share some more information about what you learned? Also can you tell us how that person knows about it. It would be very interesting to know more.

While we talked, I didn’t pickup all the details. Sorry! I wish I could have giving you more info. Though our friend is no longer a Fishraider member, he still follow our post. Let’s hope he saw your query and give you the details you seek.

[nomispro]

Hey Keith,

I've been reading your posts of your trips for the past couple months, it has definitely made me want to give blackfishing another go. I tried it many years ago with limited success. Would appreciate it if you could help me out with a few questions. How deep do you set your rig at? And I guess you would probably have to keep adjusting it depending on the tide? Do you connect your main line to a swivel and use a trace or is it better just to use a line to line connection? Is it also better to use a longer rod (10 or 12ft) or will a 7 ft rod suffice?

[mrsswordfisherman]

Here is Roberta’s post on Blackfishing tips for those interested. She loves to fish for Luderick.  This post is one of the most looked at on fishraider. 

 

[Blackfish]

There's one person who I miss reading their posts.

[Welster]

5 hours ago, Blackfish said:

There's one person who I miss reading their posts.

Ditto

[LandBasedKeith]

On 11/24/2019 at 11:04 AM, nomispro said:

Hey Keith,

I've been reading your posts of your trips for the past couple months, it has definitely made me want to give blackfishing another go. I tried it many years ago with limited success. Would appreciate it if you could help me out with a few questions. How deep do you set your rig at? And I guess you would probably have to keep adjusting it depending on the tide? Do you connect your main line to a swivel and use a trace or is it better just to use a line to line connection? Is it also better to use a longer rod (10 or 12ft) or will a 7 ft rod suffice?

Hi @nomispro,

Hope this helps:

How deep do you set your rig at? Just above the sea floor up to 1 meter. I uses 2 rods in the start and each rod had a 2 hooks float rig. One rod has a bigger float and heavy sinker hence unaffected by the current and can cast further. Whereas the other rod has a very light float, less weight, more sensitive to bites and move(lift) with the current. What this result to is i had 4 bait/weed sitting at FOUR different depth!  

Do you connect your main line to a swivel and use a trace or is it better just to use a line to line connection? I uses both. I had a diagram of my two hooks rig in my earlier post.

Is it also better to use a longer rod (10 or 12ft) or will a 7 ft rod suffice? Long rod has its pros and cons. With long rod, it is easier to steer the fish away from the snags and rock edges but i found it hard to land the fish when your rod is more than twice the length of your landing net. I uses 10ft telescopic rod. Once i steer the fish to the surface, i reduce the length of the rod for the ease of landing the fish with the net.

Cheers, Keith.

 

[nomispro]

@LandBasedKeith

Thanks a lot mate, I think I will give it a shot in the next few weeks!

[Phil2135]

I'm not sure that metals being buried are the major issue. For those that don't know the Bay and Georges River have been polluted with PFA's (https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/795630/Botany-Bay-fishing-and-dietary-advice.pdf) so you need to be careful which fish and how much of it you eat. 

The Shoalhaven also suffers from PFA pollution and has limits.

Authorities overseas, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have found PFOA and PFOS chemicals (a type of PFAS) can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals.

Both PFOA and PFOS have caused tumours in animals, according to the US EPA.

The EPA found increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to:

• Low infant birth weights
• Effects on the immune system
• Cancer (for PFOA) and
• Thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS)

[LandBasedKeith]

7 hours ago, Phil2135 said:

I'm not sure that metals being buried are the major issue. For those that don't know the Bay and Georges River have been polluted with PFA's (https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/795630/Botany-Bay-fishing-and-dietary-advice.pdf) so you need to be careful which fish and how much of it you eat. 

The Shoalhaven also suffers from PFA pollution and has limits.

Authorities overseas, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have found PFOA and PFOS chemicals (a type of PFAS) can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals.

Both PFOA and PFOS have caused tumours in animals, according to the US EPA.

The EPA found increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to:

• Low infant birth weights
• Effects on the immune system
• Cancer (for PFOA) and
• Thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS)

Thanks @phil2135,

Good to know about the dietary requirement for fishes caught in Botany Bay. Also even better to know as there are no dietary requirement for Luderick(Blackfish) for adult consumption. 

Cheers, Keith.