Finally got out for a fish

[GordoRetired]

After the soaking that we have had in Sydney over the last couple of months we Finally got out for a fish yesterday. Forecast was for light winds and low swell so the plan was get some Yakkas, then head to our favorite Flathead spot, get a feed then go chase some Kings. It worked .....Kinda 🙂

Launched at Roseville around 6.15, pleasantly surprised at how few people were there, everyone must have gone away for Easter. Of to the bait grounds and within an hour had around 17 or 18 livies in the bait tank, 2 of us were targeting them, but no Squid, our man on the Squid just could not tempt them with his Jigs. We were surprised at how small the Yakkas were, with most of them being under 15cm, I guess you would call these Kingie snack size.

Next stop was our Flathead spot off Long Reef. The 3 of us sent down paternoster rigs baited with different combinations of Pillies, Frozen Yakka slabs, chicken strips and Cuttle fish pieces. Well the Flathead were not overly cooperative, over the next couple of hours we got a few, but ended up with more Snapper than Flaties. Although the chicken on my rig did snag a solid, around 60cm, Flathead. 

While we were drifting we spotted some fish traps so took a short break from the drift and put out some lures for a troll past them. There were 3 sets of traps and we looped around them all. Unfortunately no hits but it gave us a bit of a break from winding lead up and down to re-bait hooks....

So with a few Flatties and Snapper on ice we headed onto Long Reef, deciding to fish around the Wall. We stayed with the paternoster rigs and started drifting the area, this time with dead bait on the bottom hook and a small Yakka on the top. The baits had not been down for more than a few minute before we got our first king, an absolute monster that had taken the dead bait, it must have been all of 35cm 🙂  Even at that size they do put up a spirited fight and are fun to catch. We ended up hooking 6 or 7 of these small fellas, only 1 actually taking the live bait, all of the rest were on pieces of Pillie or Yakka. Along with the kings we also snagged a few more Snapper and a Pig fish.

Final stop was over the Foul Grounds for a drift. Again Snapper seemed to love our baits as well as another decent Flathead. While drifting I got what felt like a huge hit and the rod loaded up with something that seems to be kicking well and had a bit of weight. After a few minutes of pump and wind it turned out to be a double header of big Sargent Baker....how disappointing.

At around 3.30 we decided to call it a day and head in. Again a nice surprise as there were hardly any boats waiting to get pulled out. Often on a Public holiday there can be a 30+ minute wait to get out.

Overall it was not a spectacular fish keeping day, however 8 Flathead, 7 Snapper - all but 1 between 33 and 38, a pig fish and a Trevally can't be all bad. All 3 of us went home with a decent feed.

During the day we also caught a large Banjo Shark, pulling that up was hard work, Nannygai, Some bug eyed little reef fish, Rock Cod, a Moray eel - destroyed a rig with that one, and Sargent Baker, as well as throwing back a heap of undersized Snapper and Flathead. So a real mixed species day out.   
Lets hope we can get out again soon.

Tight Lines all.

 

[masterfisho7]

Nice report well done 

[Yowie]

Very nice, well worth the effort with a feed for everyone.

[Rebel]

Super report.

Well done.

Better than staying home.

[Pickles]

Great report Gordo, Brilliant to have such a quiet day at the ramp. Surprised the kings have gone quiet at Longie (have to remember to put a banana n next time)

[The Rev]

6 hours ago, GordoRetired said:

After the soaking that we have had in Sydney over the last couple of months we Finally got out for a fish yesterday. Forecast was for light winds and low swell so the plan was get some Yakkas, then head to our favorite Flathead spot, get a feed then go chase some Kings. It worked .....Kinda 🙂

Launched at Roseville around 6.15, pleasantly surprised at how few people were there, everyone must have gone away for Easter. Of to the bait grounds and within an hour had around 17 or 18 livies in the bait tank, 2 of us were targeting them, but no Squid, our man on the Squid just could not tempt them with his Jigs. We were surprised at how small the Yakkas were, with most of them being under 15cm, I guess you would call these Kingie snack size.

Next stop was our Flathead spot off Long Reef. The 3 of us sent down paternoster rigs baited with different combinations of Pillies, Frozen Yakka slabs, chicken strips and Cuttle fish pieces. Well the Flathead were not overly cooperative, over the next couple of hours we got a few, but ended up with more Snapper than Flaties. Although the chicken on my rig did snag a solid, around 60cm, Flathead. 

While we were drifting we spotted some fish traps so took a short break from the drift and put out some lures for a troll past them. There were 3 sets of traps and we looped around them all. Unfortunately no hits but it gave us a bit of a break from winding lead up and down to re-bait hooks....

So with a few Flatties and Snapper on ice we headed onto Long Reef, deciding to fish around the Wall. We stayed with the paternoster rigs and started drifting the area, this time with dead bait on the bottom hook and a small Yakka on the top. The baits had not been down for more than a few minute before we got our first king, an absolute monster that had taken the dead bait, it must have been all of 35cm 🙂  Even at that size they do put up a spirited fight and are fun to catch. We ended up hooking 6 or 7 of these small fellas, only 1 actually taking the live bait, all of the rest were on pieces of Pillie or Yakka. Along with the kings we also snagged a few more Snapper and a Pig fish.

Final stop was over the Foul Grounds for a drift. Again Snapper seemed to love our baits as well as another decent Flathead. While drifting I got what felt like a huge hit and the rod loaded up with something that seems to be kicking well and had a bit of weight. After a few minutes of pump and wind it turned out to be a double header of big Sargent Baker....how disappointing.

At around 3.30 we decided to call it a day and head in. Again a nice surprise as there were hardly any boats waiting to get pulled out. Often on a Public holiday there can be a 30+ minute wait to get out.

Overall it was not a spectacular fish keeping day, however 8 Flathead, 7 Snapper - all but 1 between 33 and 38, a pig fish and a Trevally can't be all bad. All 3 of us went home with a decent feed.

During the day we also caught a large Banjo Shark, pulling that up was hard work, Nannygai, Some bug eyed little reef fish, Rock Cod, a Moray eel - destroyed a rig with that one, and Sargent Baker, as well as throwing back a heap of undersized Snapper and Flathead. So a real mixed species day out.   
Lets hope we can get out again soon.

Tight Lines all.

 

Well done Gordon…perseverance pays off!

 Thanks for the report. I’ll be out Tuesday.

The Rev

[Larkin]

Can’t complain about snappers and flatties. Well done!

and a bit of fun on the rats!

[Isaac Ct]

Good stuff mate. A nice feed and a nice day out. Well done