Lane Cove Luds

[Little_Flatty]

So being nice weather today, decided to head out on a picnic with the family. Apart from all the food and keeping everyone entertained, the plan was for my dad and I to have a go for some luds at Clarkes Pt. So I collected some weed early in the morning before everyone got up.

...but we never got to Clarkes Pt! Turns out it was gross there, no parking for miles, for love or for money! So a bit of quick thinking saw us find another spot on the Lane Cove river, which was absolutely deserted, apart from the odd nomadic lure chucker, which of course is my usual state of being...but not today! I had no idea if luderick frequented our chosen spot, but that was what I was committed to targeting today. No lures, no flies, just my rod, some floats, some green weed and the associated terminals.

Got on the water, set up the picnic, then got a berley trail going with sand and chopped weed. For some reason, my kids seem to really enjoy berleying - more so than the fishing itself - so we had some berley assistants from the get-go, operating my ISO burley flinger.

The first hour was devoid of action, which was ok because I really wanted to eat some lunch. But shortly after I'd finished eating, I got a down and hit it, resulting in an estimated 30cm fish:

I never cease to be amazed at how strong these fish are, this one putting a deep bend in my light surf rod and providing quite a tussle before I got it into the net.

Next cast, got another one, at an estimated 33.5cm. This felt like a very solid fish:

Then it goes quiet for a good while once again. Maybe not 'quiet' per se, but I was struggling to learn how to properly identify the difference between a down and a snag catching your line...and then correctly timing the strike. I'm new to all this! But after another 40 mins or so, I come tight on a high 20s fish:

No brag mat today as I honestly didn't expect to catch anything! This was a first for me, and I had ultra-low expectations. Although I have landed luderick on lures and fly in the past (and some small ones on prawns/bread), this was my first concerted effort targeting them with green weed! A decent luderick on weed bait has always been on my bucket list, so I was pleased to tick it off today.

After that, the tide dropped a fair bit and it really did go quiet. I started to get tired and called it a day before the family did (now that's another first!). Turns out watching a float intensely takes it out of you!

Unfortunately no fish for my dad, but at least he got to witness the process in action. He lives not far from a good source of green weed, so I'll leave it up to him 😎

All fish were lucky today, being west of the bridge and me not being in a fish cleaning/handling mood. So they were all released.

[Isaac Ct]

Nice stuff, good day out. Haven't seen a report from you in a while so nice to see one.

Well done.

[wazatherfisherman]

Bet you're hooked now Mike! Well done

[Larkin]

Looks like you found some nice fish Mike! 
my youngest is the same - loves to burley more than fish lol 

[mrsswordfisherman]

Great day for you Mike! 
I love Luderick on the plate - delicious 

[Little_Flatty]

40 minutes ago, Isaac Ct said:

Nice stuff, good day out. Haven't seen a report from you in a while so nice to see one.

Well done.

Yep I’ve been fly casting (note I said casting and not fishing!🤣). Add winter water temps to the mix and there’s not much to report. I do have a few yarns racked up over the winter fishing which I will share on a bad weather day😎

35 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Bet you're hooked now Mike! Well done

Yep I have a feeling that an obsession with luderick might well become the collateral damage that arises from my fly fishing 🤣 I understand what all the fuss is about now!

30 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Looks like you found some nice fish Mike! 
my youngest is the same - loves to burley more than fish lol 

Always handy to have a hand with the berley!

20 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Great day for you Mike! 
I love Luderick on the plate - delicious 

Was indeed. The next ones I get may not be so lucky…

[XD351]

Great report Mike ! I used to fish for them at valencia st wharf and under the spit bridge ( in a boat ) if you think Luderick pull hard wait until you hook a surgeon fish - they are like bulldozers! I was scoping out a few spots when I went for a run in my boat on Saturday , Greenwich and Chiswick wharves look enticing! I want to catch them on conventional gear but using a weed fly and some weed scent , probably still need to scavenge some weed for berly though .

[Burger]

Well done LF! You don’t need the ‘traditional gear’ to get a feed of luds. 👍👏
 

A snag looks different to a down as the float kinda slowly leans to side and continues to sink on that arc.

A ‘proper’ bite the float will go straighter down .

cheers,   Stu.

[Little_Flatty]

16 minutes ago, XD351 said:

Great report Mike ! I used to fish for them at valencia st wharf and under the spit bridge ( in a boat ) if you think Luderick pull hard wait until you hook a surgeon fish - they are like bulldozers! I was scoping out a few spots when I went for a run in my boat on Saturday , Greenwich and Chiswick wharves look enticing! I want to catch them on conventional gear but using a weed fly and some weed scent , probably still need to scavenge some weed for berly though .

Cheers Ian! All of those areas are on my radar, just need to get round to testing them.

To tell you the truth, I'm finding luderick fishing with bait more difficult than I've found it with fly! I believe they work perfectly well on regular gear, scented or not.

Just now, Burger said:

Well done LF! You don’t need the ‘traditional gear’ to get a feed of luds. 👍👏
 

A snag looks different to a down as the float kinda slowly leans to side and continues to sink on that arc.

A ‘proper’ bite the float will go straighter down .

cheers,   Stu.

Cheers Stu!

Will keep an eye out for the difference between a down and a snag next time I'm out.

[XD351]

Or you can get a rise , if you use a tiny split shot down near the hook when the luderick picks up the bait it takes up the weight of that split shot and the float will lift a tiny bit - that is why you want a float with marker bands around the stem .

You can get false downs and rises as well - more likely when there is an lot of current and it is because of the bottom structure- current flowing over a rock bar and into a hole can give a false down as it sucks the bait down and current flowing from a hole up onto a rock bar can  give a false rise - you will get used to this and be able to map out when it will happen at a specific spot with some time on the water. Timing the strike ( or more correctly the lift as you don’t strike a down)  is something you will learn and each spot can be different- I typically count to six but if i notice the float rise while I’m counting to six i will half that next drift .

PM me if you want to know where to get the weed scent .

Edited September 3, 2023 by XD351

[Yowie]

Good work there Mike. 

This time of year the blackfish will take weed, as well as small prawns, shrimp, nippers, worms, bread., and, they do fight hard because of the big tail fin, looks like a large paddle.

[Little_Flatty]

30 minutes ago, XD351 said:

Or you can get a rise , if you use a tiny split shot down near the hook when the luderick picks up the bait it takes up the weight of that split shot and the float will lift a tiny bit - that is why you want a float with marker bands around the stem .

You can get false downs and rises as well - more likely when there is an lot of current and it is because of the bottom structure- current flowing over a rock bar and into a hole can give a false down as it sucks the bait down and current flowing from a hole up onto a rock bar can  give a false rise - you will get used to this and be able to map out when it will happen at a specific spot with some time on the water. Timing the strike ( or more correctly the lift as you don’t strike a down)  is something you will learn and each spot can be different- I typically count to six but if i notice the float rise while I’m counting to six i will half that next drift .

PM me if you want to know where to get the weed scent .

Cheers Ian. I have a tube of that scent somewhere, but haven't used it in anger yet.

I was just using a cheap blackfish float I bought from a local shop starting with K. I do have a nice collection of wagglers and the like (but more because I like them rather than how they perform), we'll see if I become more discerning with my taste in floats. I will watch for the rises. Used three quite small shot to balance the float, so I could easily position one further down towards the hook.

12 minutes ago, Yowie said:

Good work there Mike. 

This time of year the blackfish will take weed, as well as small prawns, shrimp, nippers, worms, bread., and, they do fight hard because of the big tail fin, looks like a large paddle.

Thanks Dave.

In my first year on FR, I got a big one on a hardbody and come to think of it, it may have been around this time of the year. They certainly do have good purchase on the water, and you can feel how muscular they are when you are handling them for the esky or release.

One more thing, the weed I collect has lots of bugs and worms in it. So I have a suspicion that they are much less herbivorous than one would think. I suspect it's more the case that they have their protein/vegetables in a much healthier balance than other fish (and many of us humans for that matter) .

[XD351]

If you want better floats - pm me - the ones you buy in any big store are crap .

[XD351]

Hardest lesson i ever learned with Luderick was at swansea- i lobbed up with my trusty parra river weed and couldn’t get a down - i gave up and was walking back to my car and must have looked pretty dejected as this old bloke who was cleaning up out there came over and said don’t feel down , it is not you it is your weed and told me where to get the stuff that works there and i went and got some . Next day i got a few fish on the weed he put me onto - been lucky in my life to have this happen a few times and i will never forget the day i was standing waist deep in freezing water in Narrabeen lagoon when this old guy set up next to me and literally unloaded a life time of luderick fishing experience on to me - i always endeavour to do the same for any young fisho -regardless of what type of fishing they are doing because i will never forget those that helped me .

Edited September 3, 2023 by XD351

[wazatherfisherman]

5 hours ago, XD351 said:

Great report Mike ! I used to fish for them at valencia st wharf and under the spit bridge ( in a boat ) if you think Luderick pull hard wait until you hook a surgeon fish - they are like bulldozers! I was scoping out a few spots when I went for a run in my boat on Saturday , Greenwich and Chiswick wharves look enticing! I want to catch them on conventional gear but using a weed fly and some weed scent , probably still need to scavenge some weed for berly though .

Yes to the 'bulldozer's' and they turn up in the lower harbour in September every year

[Green Hornet]

Good to hear you had a great day chasing blackfish Mike. They certainly are a fun fish to catch and nice on the plate.

[Yowie]

10 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

 

In my first year on FR, I got a big one on a hardbody and come to think of it, it may have been around this time of the year. They certainly do have good purchase on the water, and you can feel how muscular they are when you are handling them for the esky or release.

One more thing, the weed I collect has lots of bugs and worms in it. So I have a suspicion that they are much less herbivorous than one would think. I suspect it's more the case that they have their protein/vegetables in a much healthier balance than other fish (and many of us humans for that matter) .

Spring time fishing in Lake Illawarra as a kid, live shrimp or squirt worms were the baits to use, not weed.

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Yes to the 'bulldozer's' and they turn up in the lower harbour in September every year

I’m curious now Waza, might need to target lower harbour fish for a bit longer then!

1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

Good to hear you had a great day chasing blackfish Mike. They certainly are a fun fish to catch and nice on the plate.

Cheers Pete, they certainly are!

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Spring time fishing in Lake Illawarra as a kid, live shrimp or squirt worms were the baits to use, not weed.

Maybe I might get one on a shrimp fly sometime.

[bessell1955]

A very rewarding day!

[Green Hornet]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Spring time fishing in Lake Illawarra as a kid, live shrimp or squirt worms were the baits to use, not weed.

Same in the Shoalhaven. In fact some fishos target them year round on squirt worms.

The funny thing is, in the Crookhaven they’re nowhere near as effective and weed is always a better option.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Green Hornet

[Bennyg78]

Some nice looking fish there mate well done!!

[Burger]

One school of thought is that post spawning Luds look for more protein and thus take worms, nippers, etc.

They are primarily weed eaters, however mates have told me cabbage and string with ‘bugs’ will go better than no ‘bugs’.

stu.

[wazatherfisherman]

Like Pete says above, squirt worms and shrimps are a year round proposition and Surgeons love shrimps as well. Don't forget, the Surgeons are always happy to take any tackle 'donations' we might offer. They pose the greatest (in my opinion!) light line challenge we have here in Sydney

[JimT]

Have caught surgeons off the rocks around Little Bay using the brown moss like weed which is usually scrapped in with our cleats when fishing for Luderick.

Jim

[jenno64]

Nice luds🙏🏻