GordoRetired Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 On Thursday this week the forecast was looking good, very low winds even though there was a 2m+ swell running so dragged myself out of bed at 3.45am. While having a coffee before heading out my son, 19yr old, came out of his room, he had not been to bed as he was too busy playing games online and asked if he could come for a fish with me. BIG Yes to that question as he does not come out very often and I love the Father/Son time. Readied the boat, launched and were pulling away from the Roseville boat ramp at 4.45am, before the sun has even started to come up. Headed to the front of Balmoral beach by the island, put a bag of my home made frozen burley into my burley dispenser and dropped in the bait jig. In no time the Yakkas were coming onto the boat and into the bait tank. got around 10 in about 45 minutes. Time to head out. Fortunately the forecast was accurate and there was almost no wind so it was a reasonably quick ride out to the FAD. Down went a couple of livies and we trolled around the FAD for around 45 minutes without getting a touch. Bonus was watching a dolphin cruising around. Nothing showing on the sounder either so decided to head to the Wave Rider again, 3rd visit in 2 weeks. When we got there down went a couple of livies and we slow trolled past the buoy. Baits had not been in the water 5 minutes and we got our first hook up. A solid King around 55-60cm. Not legal but my boy had a ball struggling to get him to the boat for a quick release. Made the decision to save the live bait and went to Pillies, fillets of old frozen Yakkas and some small frozen squid. It was just like my previous 2 trips, no matter what you put down it got smashed in no time at all. Over the next hour or so we landed around 20 Kings, none legal and some not much more the 30cm, but still a lot of fun to catch. Interestingly the fish were hanging really close to the Wave Rider buoy, as soon as you were 30m away they stopped biting. Had a bit of an issue with a Charted boat out there who abused the hell out of me for going too close to the Buoy as he said it would, and I quote, 'send the F#^#% fish down'. Only saw his clients land 1 fish, maybe he should have followed what I was doing and given his paying Customers a chance to have some fun and land some fish 🙂 🙂 🙂 After having fun with the small Kings we thought it would be nice to go and target some table fish, Snapper, Flathead, Morwong or Nannygai. First stop was Whale. Drifted around there for a while and did not get a touch on either the live bait or the cut baits. Then headed to Foul Grounds and drifted around there. Again same result, nothing seemed to be interested in our bait. Also the wind was starting to pick up so the drift was getting a little fast at 1.5kts. With the large swell it was time to get closer to home. When we were down in the troughs between the waves we could not even see land. Final try was my old faithful Flathead drift off Manly, again not a bite, a coupe of taps and lost bait but no hook ups. By then the wind must have been up around 15kts so headed back round to the harbour and made for home. Nothing in the ice box but a fun time on the water with my son. Can't beat that. Above I mentioned home made burley. My latest plan was to get an old blended and make up a mix. Put a post on Facebook in our local community asking if anyone had an old blender that they did not want and within 2 days the locals came through, thought that if I used the wife's she may not have been amused. Started by turning 1/2 a loaf of white bread into bread crumbs, then minced up an old Tailor from the freezer, threw in some old bolognese that had been frozen too long and finally added a generous amount of tuna oil. With it all minced up it went into a bucket with the breadcrumbs and around 1/2 liter of water. Stirred it all together, then put it into snap lock bags and popped it into the freezer. A small bag lasted a bit over 1/2 hour while it defrosted in the water and left a lovely trail of oil and small bits drifting away from the boat. The Yakkas seemed to love it. A lot cheaper than buying it too. Now busy preparing gear for the next trip, weather permitting, on Australia Day. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Gordo-i didnt witness what happened but in general there is a "code" for FADS and the like when boat traffic is around- and its head up current and drift past-that way everyone gets an equal chance-not judging you or anything but most charter operators are there to make a living -its just our recreation-i know a few of the guys and they are all good blokes and will work with anyone if you have a simple conversation, most charter operators wont target undersize kings anyway . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 hour ago, PaddyT said: Gordo-i didnt witness what happened but in general there is a "code" for FADS and the like when boat traffic is around- and its head up current and drift past-that way everyone gets an equal chance-not judging you or anything but most charter operators are there to make a living -its just our recreation-i know a few of the guys and they are all good blokes and will work with anyone if you have a simple conversation, most charter operators wont target undersize kings anyway . After fishing off Sydney for the last 30 years, including running the deck on a charter boat for some time and fishing tournaments from here to North of Cairns, I am pretty up on what you should and should not do and always respect other fishermen. If I am on a mark and someone cruises by and asks what is biting I will always talk to them. The way that the charter boat skipper, I will not name them, abused me was not good. He was screaming obscenities at me even when I tried to explain how the area had been fishing over the last 2 weeks. I agree with you, most are really good blokes, I often chat with Craig from Fishabout Tours, and other operators, at the Roseville boat ramp and have send friends to him for days out. To be honest my boy and I just laughed and figured that he was a fool. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 charter or no charter boat .boat ramp manners are a must there was a problem at drummoyne yesterday when a large commercial barge deciding to tie off to pontoon ,blocking one lane at 1230pm on a very busy saturday, i can can confirm there was alot of yelling going on from rec boaters and lots of photos taken and sent to maritime as this ramp states for recreational use only. no one minds commercial guys using ramp on a week day when plenty of room but these guys were rude and i hope they cop the full rath of the law cheers dunc333 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 6 minutes ago, dunc333 said: charter or no charter boat .boat ramp manners are a must there was a problem at drummoyne yesterday when a large commercial barge deciding to tie off to pontoon ,blocking one lane at 1230pm on a very busy saturday, i can can confirm there was alot of yelling going on from rec boaters and lots of photos taken and sent to maritime as this ramp states for recreational use only. no one minds commercial guys using ramp on a week day when plenty of room but these guys were rude and i hope they cop the full rath of the law cheers dunc333 Be it at the ramp or out on the water Respect for fellow boaters is key. There is never any need to be abusive. I once saw a woman going after a bloke at the Roseville ramp with a large piece of timber because she had got upset by something he had done on the ramp. I stupidly stepped between then to calm things down and was fortunate that it did so no one got hurt, including me. In retrospect not too sure that I would do that again. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 yep fair call Gordo- as i said i wasnt there- if some one starts a conversation by shouting you know they have a problem -not you!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Great day out with your Son. Can't beat that. Super report. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 40 minutes ago, PaddyT said: yep fair call Gordo- as i said i wasnt there- if some one starts a conversation by shouting you know they have a problem -not you!! Could not agree more. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Top report Gordo, glad you got out and spending quality time with your son on the water is a major bonus. Sounds like you had heaps of fun with the rats ... 7 hours ago, GordoRetired said: Had a bit of an issue with a Charted boat out there who abused the hell out of me for going too close to the Buoy ... thats discounting the "rat" you mentioned above. I've had my share of issues with charter boats. In my case I was not fishing but whale watching with the family. I'd position us a good 500m ahead of the whales path (making sure not to impede them or other vessels having a sight see) ...while waiting for the whales to surface, we had a charter operator power in within 10m of our boat, place his boat between us and the whale ... not once but 3 times. Seriously. Yes I appreciate it's their lively hood - it's also a lively hood that they chose, just like I chose boating as my recreation - but in the final analysis it cost me the same to put my boat on the water and to get there ... and I do not get any tax write off on the boat, gear or the running cost. I also don't make any money from it. So I don't buy being a charter gives them any additional privilege. A bit of respect and common courtesy is all it takes. Cheers Zoran 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaxland Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Its a pity that rec fishing is more popular now than ever, and more people are trying to make a living out of the same areas, the final result in our over governed state/country will be legislation, we as rec fishers I believe are the largest and most financial i.e. money to government and small business, group in the fight but we must act as a group. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 I completely agree, some operators are really good blokes but some seem to think that they own the water. I know which ones are likely to run successful operations and survive..... and it's not the 'rats' 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I think thats happening -witness the efforts of the Stop the Lockout guys with the help of the Shooters Fishers and Farmers-they stopped the ridiculous Sydney marine park going ahead and are working behind the scenes to stop a whole bunch of other crappy things from happening-like the Botany Bay cruise terminal-there are actually less commercial fishing operators in NSW than ever and NSW has a very well regulated commercial fishery. Our main enemy these days are the greens and dive operators. Charter boat licenses are tightly held and i dont think any new releases have occured in at least 20 years. Also be aware of, and strongly advise any of your relatives/friends etc to put the Animal Justice Party stone cold last on any ballot. They are an extremely well funded lunatic group that have already grabbed seats in upper houses throughout the country. If you want real power for rec fishing be very careful with your vote, the only thing politicians really understand is the vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) 8 hours ago, PaddyT said: Gordo-i didnt witness what happened but in general there is a "code" for FADS and the like when boat traffic is around- and its head up current and drift past-that way everyone gets an equal chance-not judging you or anything but most charter operators are there to make a living So essentially what your saying is being a charter operator gives you right of way on the waterways does it? ld like to see where is says that In the charter operators manual Edited January 24, 2021 by kingie chaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaxland Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Most pros are very accommodating I have seen a few new operators who assume, in their adds they serve sushi from caught fish. I know charters operate under different rules but really? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 i can say the charter guys at drummoyne which there are a few who put there tinnies in everyday to get to there moored boats off the ramp are fantastic .always up for a chat how the fishing is going outside 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 10 hours ago, dunc333 said: i can say the charter guys at drummoyne which there are a few who put there tinnies in everyday to get to there moored boats off the ramp are fantastic .always up for a chat how the fishing is going outside They would be in the majority. In best part of 30 years fishing in Sydney this is the first time one has aver abused me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I enjoyed reading your post Gordo. Great to have a day on the water with your son, pity it was a tough day. You certainly did your best to get some fish. Shame about the aggression from the charter skipper, so much anger in people these days. Better luck (on the fish) next time you hit the water. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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