Port Hacking - whiting

[Yowie]

Launched the boat around sun-rise, though did not see the sun at all. My son had planned to accompany me for a fish, but bailed out due to lack of sleep, so headed out myself. Bruce (Hookerbruce) turned up a little while after I started fishing at Maianbar flats, and I did leave him a few nice whiting to catch. 😁

The whiting were caught on nippers, with a couple of small ones mixed in. They took a little while to come on the bite, until some water over the flats.

While I was wading about, I trod on a hard spikey object hidden in the sand. Did not take long for the brain to register - crab - so I quickly lifted my foot and 2 blue claws shot out of the sand. Last thing one needs is an angry crab hanging onto the foot and toes. I grabbed the 2 landing nets from the boat and sandwiched the crab between these so he could not escape.

The whiting bite stopped, so I headed to a few other places for a drift with the remaining nippers. Mostly pickers, but  did find one flattie on the 2nd last nipper.

Cooked up a good feed of crumbed whiting fillets tonight, and my son and his girlfriend turned up for a feast. Still enough left for another meal.

[GoingFishing]

Now thats a seafood lunch ! Awesome stuff Yowie. You certainly are the master of the hacking

[Yowie]

2 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Now thats a seafood lunch ! Awesome stuff Yowie. You certainly are the master of the hacking

Thank you. The fillets were nice, a little bit crunchy - panko bread crumbs mixed with crushed oats.

[jenno64]

Great bag Yowie, good to see the tings still around the flats in numbers and a couple of nice bigger models there too!

I had a go off Wanda and North Cronulla yesterday with beach worms but the weed was plaguing the gutters at low tide. Nor whiting played for me and I only managed one decent Bream at Blackwoods when the tide started to move in. 

[zmk1962]

Decent display of seafood there for sure! I notice you didn’t mention the use of a PLASTIC net but I’ll let that slip. Too tired to zoom in and check for paper wrap tonight. 
Enjoy. 
Cheers Zoran 

[big Neil]

You certainly know your local area Yowie and seem able to come up with the goods most trips. Those blue swimmer crabs are certainly very colourful but is there much meat in them? Do you keep the nippers alive so that you have live bait or do they do the job when deceased?  bn

[leonardgid]

thats a very good catch , 

[Yowie]

11 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Great bag Yowie, good to see the tings still around the flats in numbers and a couple of nice bigger models there too!

I had a go off Wanda and North Cronulla yesterday with beach worms but the weed was plaguing the gutters at low tide. Nor whiting played for me and I only managed one decent Bream at Blackwoods when the tide started to move in. 

There have been patches of weed there lately.

I had a body surf this morning at Wanda. No fishos I could see, and the water full of surfboards.

[Yowie]

11 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Decent display of seafood there for sure! I notice you didn’t mention the use of a PLASTIC net but I’ll let that slip. Too tired to zoom in and check for paper wrap tonight. 
Enjoy. 
Cheers Zoran 

Thanks Zoran. No plastics, just real bait, i.e. nippers. 🤣

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, leonardgid said:

thats a very good catch , 

Thank you.

[Yowie]

5 hours ago, big Neil said:

You certainly know your local area Yowie and seem able to come up with the goods most trips. Those blue swimmer crabs are certainly very colourful but is there much meat in them? Do you keep the nippers alive so that you have live bait or do they do the job when deceased?  bn

Thanks Neil.

There is enough meat in a crab for a small feed, or one could pig out on several. 🤣

Like  most, I keep the nippers alive in a bucket. Nippers have an exoskeleton that they shed when growing, so at times, you will pump ones with soft skins. These do not last alive too long, so need to be used very soon or returned down a hole.

I don't keep the small ones - too small for a hook, so let them grow larger. I pump enough for a fishing session - 30 to 40 - and if I have any left after catching a feed of fish, I return them to the water where they will be fairly safe from fish, usually a shallow sandy area where they can bury back into the sand.

At times I have pumped nippers, then kept them alive overnight for an early start. They survive best in a shallow tray with about 1cm of water - this allows them to stay wet but also have enough oxygen to keep breathing. In the confines of a deep bucket overnight, quite a few can die - still good for bait, but after a few hours decomposition sets in and the nippers go soft.

[big Neil]

16 minutes ago, Yowie said:

Thanks Neil.

There is enough meat in a crab for a small feed, or one could pig out on several. 🤣

Like  most, I keep the nippers alive in a bucket. Nippers have an exoskeleton that they shed when growing, so at times, you will pump ones with soft skins. These do not last alive too long, so need to be used very soon or returned down a hole.

I don't keep the small ones - too small for a hook, so let them grow larger. I pump enough for a fishing session - 30 to 40 - and if I have any left after catching a feed of fish, I return them to the water where they will be fairly safe from fish, usually a shallow sandy area where they can bury back into the sand.

At times I have pumped nippers, then kept them alive overnight for an early start. They survive best in a shallow tray with about 1cm of water - this allows them to stay wet but also have enough oxygen to keep breathing. In the confines of a deep bucket overnight, quite a few can die - still good for bait, but after a few hours decomposition sets in and the nippers go soft.

Thanks Yowie. How do you present them on the hook? What rig do you use? Sorry for the dumb questions I have never fished with them. bn

[Yowie]

30 minutes ago, big Neil said:

Thanks Yowie. How do you present them on the hook? What rig do you use? Sorry for the dumb questions I have never fished with them. bn

Not a dumb question.

I use a size 2 longshank hook, 6 pound mono, with a small ball sinker running to the hook.

I thread the point of the hook through the underside of the tail, along the body, hook out behind the head, then the hook through the head. A half hitch of line around the tail to keep the nipper straight on the hook.

Nippers are not meant for distance casting or using a lot of throwing power, as they will bunch up on the curve of the hook. 

Fish swallow nippers head first.

[Rebel]

Good haul as usual. Well done.

That crab was Fabi in disguise trying to steal your Whiting.

Cheers.

[Isaac Ct]

Nice bag of whiting there as usual yowie, a lot of people I invite on the boat bail after they hear what time I expect them to get up at🤣.

[Yowie]

6 hours ago, Rebel said:

Good haul as usual. Well done.

That crab was Fabi in disguise trying to steal your Whiting.

Cheers.

Thank you.

I could reply to that comment, but Fab might get upset. 😂

[Yowie]

3 hours ago, Isaac Ct said:

Nice bag of whiting there as usual yowie, a lot of people I invite on the boat bail after they hear what time I expect them to get up at🤣.

Thank you.

The fish don't keep office hours. Some are feeding before sparrow fart. 

[leonardgid]

8 hours ago, Yowie said:

Thanks Neil.

There is enough meat in a crab for a small feed, or one could pig out on several. 🤣

Like  most, I keep the nippers alive in a bucket. Nippers have an exoskeleton that they shed when growing, so at times, you will pump ones with soft skins. These do not last alive too long, so need to be used very soon or returned down a hole.

I don't keep the small ones - too small for a hook, so let them grow larger. I pump enough for a fishing session - 30 to 40 - and if I have any left after catching a feed of fish, I return them to the water where they will be fairly safe from fish, usually a shallow sandy area where they can bury back into the sand.

At times I have pumped nippers, then kept them alive overnight for an early start. They survive best in a shallow tray with about 1cm of water - this allows them to stay wet but also have enough oxygen to keep breathing. In the confines of a deep bucket overnight, quite a few can die - still good for bait, but after a few hours decomposition sets in and the nippers go soft.

any special way/hook that you use  with them or just the mustad  long shank ?    i have only fished with them twice 

 

[Restyle]

Amazing bag of whiting. You'll be eating like a king!

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, leonardgid said:

any special way/hook that you use  with them or just the mustad  long shank ?    i have only fished with them twice 

 

I use the mustad red coloured long shank. Made from stainless steel, it is a relatively strong hook.

I use size 2. That hook has landed flatties to 70cm plus, salmon, the usual whiting, bream and a snapper about 56cm.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, Restyle said:

Amazing bag of whiting. You'll be eating like a king!

Thank you.

I like to eat like a king at times, as I have to put up with the queen.  

[Fab1]

5 hours ago, Yowie said:

Thank you.

I could reply to that comment, but Fab might get upset. 😂

Great work again mate.Size 2 long shank for whiting?I must be doing something wrong as I've always used a size 4 or 6 usually 4.I thread nippers on like a prawn with 2 half hitches around tail or ping them once through the tail.That must be all wrong too.

Love reading the reports mate.👍👍

[Fab1]

11 hours ago, Rebel said:

Good haul as usual. Well done.

That crab was Fabi in disguise trying to steal your Whiting.

Cheers.

Don't tell Yowie I'm back as a ray watching every move he makes taking notes.😉

[leonardgid]

7 hours ago, Yowie said:

I use the mustad red coloured long shank. Made from stainless steel, it is a relatively strong hook.

I use size 2. That hook has landed flatties to 70cm plus, salmon, the usual whiting, bream and a snapper about 56cm.

thank you for the advice,

 

18 hours ago, Yowie said:

Not a dumb question.

I use a size 2 longshank hook, 6 pound mono, with a small ball sinker running to the hook.

I thread the point of the hook through the underside of the tail, along the body, hook out behind the head, then the hook through the head. A half hitch of line around the tail to keep the nipper straight on the hook.

Nippers are not meant for distance casting or using a lot of throwing power, as they will bunch up on the curve of the hook. 

Fish swallow nippers head first.

 i was doing ti wrong  thinking that nippers were ment to be hooked so that they remain alive  for a long time , thank you for all the tips  , ... i think  im actually going to have a taste of some  whiting  for a change this  summer.

[Pickles]

Yowie - “Whiting master”

Brained em again mate- well done. Have you ever tried small poppers across the flats?