XD351 Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Took a run down into Pittwater today , left the ramp at parsley bay around 4.30am to get the last half hour of the run in at flint and steel to see if I could hook a hairtail on a Lumo hyper kraken jig and moved on after about 40mins - fishless . I started searching Pittwater from the pill boxes down to Scotland island using the sounder to try and locate any bait or maybe a couple of decent fish , I was mainly looking at drop offs , holes and even through the various moorings . There were acres of jellyfish all through the system and this made things hard with regards to using the sounder as the screen was lit up with them , I did find a few interesting things though and put down some marks . I fished these marks and kept searching but just couldn’t find anything to eat my pillies until the tide turned and began to run in. I was going back over a previous mark I had fished earlier when the whole pillie on an elkat striker rig got hammered by a salmon - nothing special but at least I caught something on my new outfit and on a rig I had never used before . After releasing the salmon I continued to drift over my marks and around half an hour later my other rod with a half pillie rig finally hooks up , it was a weird sort of fight - bit like a flattie but not quite the same so I was scratching my head until it came up and I got a look at it - a gurnard ! Never caught one of these in there before , Sydney harbour - yes but Hawkesbury no . I released it and continued to search and drift until hunger got the better of me and headed for home stopping at a few spots for a quick fish but I couldn’t lose a bait . Next trip is definitely up stream! 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 The gurnard is edible, similar to flatties but not as good. Cut off the fillets, then skin them and remove the rib bones. Salmon are good for fish cakes, with a few flavourings added, skin and red blood line removed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Quite a few jellies in Botany Bay too. Always good trying out new rigs - see what works and what doesn’t. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 You got to wet a line Ian…. Lots of goodness in that. Fishing has been hit and miss lately… roll on the warmer weather I say. cheers Zoran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bait_drifta Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 XD351 do you remember what sort of water temp you getting out there? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 It appears you tried everything for a small return, better fishing next outing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Mate, Try around Clareville & Newport around the yacht clubs. I haven't fished there for a while, but always caught something. I mainly used bait. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 1 hour ago, bessell1955 said: It appears you tried everything for a small return, better fishing next outing. It was around 14 iirc , I didn’t really pay attention to it though so it may have been colder in some spots . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 15 minutes ago, Rebel said: Mate, Try around Clareville & Newport around the yacht clubs. I haven't fished there for a while, but always caught something. I mainly used bait. Here are the areas I payed attention to , I did go into a few mooring areas to check things out on sidescan, mostly old moorings and the odd sunken boat but nothing seemed to be holding on them . Next trip (hopefully next weekend) isdefinitely up stream of the road bridge - another area I haven’t fished for a long time . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 11 hours ago, Larkin said: Quite a few jellies in Botany Bay too. Always good trying out new rigs - see what works and what doesn’t. I have seen these rigs used on snapper and trag so I suspect Mulloway will go them as well- didn’t think about salmon , kings and tailor ! I spent the best part of 30yrs fishing the same rig, same bait for the same fish and mostly at two distinct spots - I had forgotten how to think outside the square ! I now find I’m more interested in trying to catch fish on rigs that shouldn’t work in locations that they may never have been used before - the happiness I get when it pays off is an order of magnitude greater than what I get from catching them on my boring old rig ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 39 minutes ago, XD351 said: I have seen these rigs used on snapper and trag so I suspect Mulloway will go them as well- didn’t think about salmon , kings and tailor ! I spent the best part of 30yrs fishing the same rig, same bait for the same fish and mostly at two distinct spots - I had forgotten how to think outside the square ! I now find I’m more interested in trying to catch fish on rigs that shouldn’t work in locations that they may never have been used before - the happiness I get when it pays off is an order of magnitude greater than what I get from catching them on my boring old rig ! Got to keep it interesting mate! im always trying different brands and styles of hooks, sinkers, length of leaders ect fine honing my rigs. that together with exploring new areas keeps it interesting. have you had a look at seamap - I use it to scout new reef areas to fish. https://seamapaustralia.org/map/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Good job, nice fish to show. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Larkin said: Got to keep it interesting mate! im always trying different brands and styles of hooks, sinkers, length of leaders ect fine honing my rigs. that together with exploring new areas keeps it interesting. have you had a look at seamap - I use it to scout new reef areas to fish. https://seamapaustralia.org/map/ Not yet but I will be now ! I noticed that this morning Spikes fishing posted a video on c-map reveal - wonder if it is the same thing ? One thing i did notice yesterday was that the shading that can be applied to the navionics app maps made it so much easier to see drop offs compared to the map on my Garmin echo map , funny thing is they are both navionics maps but I can’t find anywhere in the sounder settings that I can turn shading on - might have to do a programme update or something . Thanks for the link Larkin ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 19 minutes ago, XD351 said: Not yet but I will be now ! I noticed that this morning Spikes fishing posted a video on c-map reveal - wonder if it is the same thing ? One thing i did notice yesterday was that the shading that can be applied to the navionics app maps made it so much easier to see drop offs compared to the map on my Garmin echo map , funny thing is they are both navionics maps but I can’t find anywhere in the sounder settings that I can turn shading on - might have to do a programme update or something . Thanks for the link Larkin ! No prob! Seamap is a great resource - unfortunately you can’t get gps marks off it and have to cross reference the locations. But does contain data about local reefs that isn’t available anywhere else. Found many reefs that I just didn’t know about. The relief shading on Garmin has to be purchased separately - as long as your sounder is not too old and compatible. It’s the Blue maps “Vision” G3. It’s not cheap at $250-$300 hundred dollars for the local area download. You download it to Garmin active captain app on your mobile, then transfer to your sounder using wifi. Just make sure it the “vision” version. The relief shading is exactly the same as on the navonics app & that’s around $50 a year. Which is why I mount an iPad to my ski and use the app. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 Thanks Larkin! I will be sticking with the app on my phone then ! I already have the navionics subscription, the accuracy of the phone vs the sounder is quite good in - maybe even better regards to boat location . I just watched the video I mentioned and it is about a different brand but similar sort of thing , it is an overlay you download for simrad systems I think . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Well done for just having a crack mate.It’s a lot more than I can say for myself in recent times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Great report Ian - bummer of a day (but always good to get out on the water) I’ve been getting a few Butterfly Gurnard lately - a very pretty fish and good eating, but don’t get spiked as they are toxic (similar to red rock cod - very painful). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 I wasn’t really certain if poisonous or not so gave it the towel treatment ! I’m usually pretty cautious with fish I’m not 100%sure of - got stung by a fish in Sydney harbour donkeys years ago and I can still remember the pain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 15 hours ago, XD351 said: Thanks Larkin! I will be sticking with the app on my phone then ! I already have the navionics subscription, the accuracy of the phone vs the sounder is quite good in - maybe even better regards to boat location . I just watched the video I mentioned and it is about a different brand but similar sort of thing , it is an overlay you download for simrad systems I think . You peaked my interest XD - it’s a new overlay on C-Map - just released. I just downloaded the app on my phone - free 14day trial. Geez now that’s some detailed relief shading. So many new offshore areas in high def. Not much detail on popular spots like the peak, but other areas that you wouldn’t even think of fishing are now mapped in high detail. A lot of secret spots will be revealed lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 OK ! I didn’t know about the app , I will have a look and I do like the free trial idea as I can see if it is for me without having to buy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 good on you for getting out there. The weather has been nice lately, although looking to turn by the weekend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fried Rice Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I don't know if it is a coincidence but I never used to do any good in Pittwater when there were heaps of Jellyfish about. Good to get on the water anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 I have never seen so many and I have been fishing that system for 45yrs ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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