Broken Bay Wide 11.10.2023

[zmk1962]

Hey Raiders,

Life just got very busy in the past two months and that has kept me away from Fishraider. We were having  some home renovations done and during the wrap up painting Maria experienced an anaphylactic reaction and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. We were advised that with anaphylaxis, once sensitised, every subsequent exposure to the substance will be more severe - which has led us on a journey to identify the culprit chemical -  so no time for boating or fishing I'm afraid and definitely no holiday @Yowie !   Happy to report Maria is much better and we have an appointment with the specialist later this morning to finally get the results of all the testing - fingers crossed.

Anyway, now that is out of the way back to the report as I had promised to report on plastics.  Our family friend Susan came to visit Maria after all the dramas above and the discussion between the ladies turned to whales and whale watching. So with Wednesdays forecast for mild seas, I was asked to take them out to which I agreed - as long as I could pack a few rods along. Susan had never fished before but was keen to give it a go.

We hit Parsley Bay at dawn, one boat infront of us preparing to launch and as it turned out it was another raider - Ian @XD351 ... what a pleasant surprise. Ian was heading upstream for flatties and has already posted his excellent report. 

We had the boat in the water in no time, super calm glassy conditions with water temp at 17.3C and headed to West Head. The yakkas were ravenous and the ladies had 18 in the live tank by the time I had rigged the other rods for offshore - Susan had caught her first fishy !

As soon as we poked outside the heads we came across a pod of whales with the adults and calves all putting on a show  ...

So with the primary mission objective accomplished .. it was time to catch dinner. We motored to the 50m grounds and started some drifts, water temp here was 18C, but with very little wind and the small tides there was almost no drift.

Bait used: half pillies, salted tailor fillets, selection of PLASTICS  Berkley and Gulp and WAZA specials - minnow and shad styles. The action was very slow - no flow no fun as they say - so after trying 55m, 60m, we finally hit payload at 66m off Dee Why. 

Up came a very healthy and chunky 62cm blue spot on PLASTIC .....  a Waza minnow  ( thanks for sending @wazatherfisherman they work brilliantly !!!)

Susan followed up with another 60cm model shortly after ... landing her first real fish in style:

By 12.30pm we had 8 decent fish in the boat and called it a day - headed back to the ramp to feed the pelicans.

There was a bit of activity at the ramp - some of the lighting was being upgraded with solar panels and quite a few fishos were returning - most reported a slow day. Bonus for me was that I bumped in to Ian again which gave us another chance to have a bit of a chat.  Anyway, hope you enjoyed this social boating/fishing report … for hardcore fishy stuff check out Ian's 🤪

Cheers Zoran

Edited October 13, 2023 by zmk1962
Typos

[bessell1955]

Great fish, great whale watching and just a great day, well done.

[Little_Flatty]

Good to see you back @zmk1962. Sorry to hear of Maria's health issues, hope you get to the bottom of the problem today.

I've been trying to get a fish on @wazatherfisherman's garfish for a while to no avail. That was a chunk of a flathead you got on it, especially for an offshore variety. How do you rig them? Just in through the eye and out through the body on your paternoster?

[Yowie]

A few nice sized fish there Zoran, looks like a tiger in the mix.

Whales putting on a show, and you don't need to pay a charter boat operator for the experience.

Hopefully Maria is much better now.

[jenno64]

Great bag of flatties Zoran, good to see you both out there and getting a good feed and a bonus show!

[zmk1962]

4 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

Great fish, great whale watching and just a great day, well done.

Thanks mate ... agree it doesn't get better.

4 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Good to see you back @zmk1962. Sorry to hear of Maria's health issues, hope you get to the bottom of the problem today.

I've been trying to get a fish on @wazatherfisherman's garfish for a while to no avail. That was a chunk of a flathead you got on it, especially for an offshore variety. How do you rig them? Just in through the eye and out through the body on your paternoster?

Thanks LF,  M's chemical allergy patch test showed a reaction to 4 substances ... so we now know what to avoid. I'll set some time aside and put up a post in the Bar - as lot's of learnings have come from this which are too important not to share.

Re Waza's SPs ... yes I rig them on the top hook of a two loop paternoster. I'm not shy with my choice of offshore hook size (6/0) as you can see. Thread the hook through the nose and out the gill/gut area. I like to leave a lot of swing in the body.  Waza told me to wash the SP he sent me to get rid of the chemical smell - also with this lot I had them marinating in a zip lock bag with some left over Squidgees paste for two months!!!   Anyway, that's what worked here - best of luck with it.

2 hours ago, Yowie said:

A few nice sized fish there Zoran, looks like a tiger in the mix.

Whales putting on a show, and you don't need to pay a charter boat operator for the experience.

Hopefully Maria is much better now.

Thanks mate, yup one solitary tiger in the pack ... and at the cleaning tables - just as the gathered fishos had finished a discussion about the flathead slot size limits - another much smaller tiger  popped out of the guts of one of the 60cm models - he was fresh - and then the jokes started that maybe I had a way to get around the slot limits !!!! 🧐 🤪 

Whales are just majestic magnificent creatures - why anyone would want to harm them in this day and age is beyond comprehension.

M's much better - thanks for asking.

1 hour ago, jenno64 said:

Great bag of flatties Zoran, good to see you both out there and getting a good feed and a bonus show!

Thanks Rob ... always good when a plan comes together - let alone when you can tick all objectives off the list.

Cheers Z

[kantong]

top report and glad to hear Maria is getting better. 

[XD351]

Awesome report Zoran and great stack of flatties ! It was great to meet you too ! 

[Larkin]

Looks like you had a top day out there Zoran!

Plenty of flatties to go round and good sized ones at that! 👍

love the “whale watching”

once I told my wife - let’s take the kids to Kurnell whale watching platform up on the cliffs! They were all excited and had a great time! 

I just wanted to scope out new fishing grounds 😂

[zmk1962]

4 hours ago, kantong said:

top report and glad to hear Maria is getting better. 

Thanks mate  !

1 hour ago, XD351 said:

Awesome report Zoran and great stack of flatties ! It was great to meet you too ! 

Thanks Ian ... tight lines till we meet again!

1 hour ago, Larkin said:

Looks like you had a top day out there Zoran!

Plenty of flatties to go round and good sized ones at that! 👍

love the “whale watching”

once I told my wife - let’s take the kids to Kurnell whale watching platform up on the cliffs! They were all excited and had a great time! 

I just wanted to scope out new fishing grounds 😂

Yes ... "whale watching" ...  with a fishing rod in hand is always extra fun ... if you can't do that ... then scoping is also good !

Cheers Z

[wazatherfisherman]

Hi Zoran sorry to hear of Maria's health issues- hope you two are out catching more of those tasty Flatties soon, Nice size one on the plastic by the way and thanks for the photo too!

[zmk1962]

9 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Zoran sorry to hear of Maria's health issues- hope you two are out catching more of those tasty Flatties soon, Nice size one on the plastic by the way and thanks for the photo too!

No Probs re photo ... promised I'd send one. Now to try for a big king!  Thanks for the plastic pack mate. Much appreciated.

Cheers Z

[big Neil]

What a welcoming report Zoran. Really happy that Maria is okay again, let's wish for no repeat performances. Very rewarding to have anybody aboard when they get their first fish, whether it be Yakkas or Flathead, doesn't matter really...both is fantastic. Lovely picture of the start to the day. Look forward to more reports from you, cheers. bn

[mrsswordfisherman]

Great report as usual Zoran

Pass on our regards to Maria. I will be interested in your findings on the allergy testing responses. Watching The Bar for that report. 

I absolutely loved the dawn pic of Parsely Bay - exquisite shot. 

Flatties looked yum and sign Susan up!!
 

[zmk1962]

17 hours ago, big Neil said:

What a welcoming report Zoran. Really happy that Maria is okay again, let's wish for no repeat performances. Very rewarding to have anybody aboard when they get their first fish, whether it be Yakkas or Flathead, doesn't matter really...both is fantastic. Lovely picture of the start to the day. Look forward to more reports from you, cheers. bn

Hey BN, thanks so much. We have taken action to prevent a repeat occurrence - fingers crossed!  Yes Susan was stoked, she ticked off all her wish list that day, then went home and cooked up some fresh flattie fillets for herself and her daughter - and in true raider spirit sent us a photo of her dish 😂 - think she was a bit proud of her achievements!  In fact we have to agree she didn't do badly first time fishing 12km offshore.

13 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Great report as usual Zoran

Pass on our regards to Maria. I will be interested in your findings on the allergy testing responses. Watching The Bar for that report. 

I absolutely loved the dawn pic of Parsely Bay - exquisite shot. 

Flatties looked yum and sign Susan up!!
 

Thanks Donna, well wishes passed on! ... I have posted said report in the Bar ... please cull if not appropriate. I didn't hold back naming products.

I can't take credit for that photo - it was one of the ladies - I was busy with the boat - trailer - gear - tackle - bait - ...... 🫣

Sign Susan up .... hahahah .... Susan has a mind of her own ....

Cheers Zoran

[Pickles]

Brilliant report Zoran, (as always). Very glad to hear Maria is OK - anaphylaxis is no joke (my cousin died as a result), so glad to hear specialist is on it.

Some really good Flatties there too make - some nice fillets for tea and whales as a bonus.👏👏.

[Welster]

It sounds like you and Maria have had a pretty rough couple of months, it must of been nice to get out on the water and providing some entertainment for your crew.  I hope you get to the cause of Maria's reaction and can avoid it in the future, it must of been very scary for you both.

[zmk1962]

On 10/15/2023 at 6:36 AM, Pickles said:

Brilliant report Zoran, (as always). Very glad to hear Maria is OK - anaphylaxis is no joke (my cousin died as a result), so glad to hear specialist is on it.

Some really good Flatties there too make - some nice fillets for tea and whales as a bonus.👏👏.

Thanks Bob ... too true anaphylaxis is not a joke, we;ve got the cause sorted as per my other post.  Very sorry to hear about your cousin - I can understand how quickly it can go pear shaped.  As for you my friend, mend up quick buddy ... I'm getting the urge to go out wide(r) again.  Finishing off our share of the flatties today.

On 10/15/2023 at 9:09 PM, Welster said:

It sounds like you and Maria have had a pretty rough couple of months, it must of been nice to get out on the water and providing some entertainment for your crew.  I hope you get to the cause of Maria's reaction and can avoid it in the future, it must of been very scary for you both.

Hey Jason, good to hear from you. It's been a busy couple of months full of life's challenges for sure - hopefully much smoother now going forward. Do you still have enough sinkers? 

Cheers Zoran

[GordoRetired]

Looks like a fun day was had by all and you came home with a good feed of my favorite fish. 🙂
The whales are spectacular.

[zmk1962]

1 hour ago, GordoRetired said:

Looks like a fun day was had by all and you came home with a good feed of my favorite fish. 🙂
The whales are spectacular.

Hey Gordo ... yup a family favourite for sure. Slow going but we got enough.  Two even came up on the sinker jig  ... may have to take you out again to re-acquaint you with it 🤣

Couldn't agree more about the whales.  

Cheers Z

 

[GordoRetired]

22 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

Hey Gordo ... yup a family favourite for sure. Slow going but we got enough.  Two even came up on the sinker jig  ... may have to take you out again to re-acquaint you with it 🤣

Couldn't agree more about the whales.  

Cheers Z

 

Would love to get out with you on the new boat whenever you have a spare spot. I even have my own version of those sinker jigs 🙂

[Welster]

On 10/17/2023 at 9:17 AM, zmk1962 said:

Hey Jason, good to hear from you. It's been a busy couple of months full of life's challenges for sure - hopefully much smoother now going forward. Do you still have enough sinkers? 

I think I am still yet to lose one!  I am collecting a bit of lead and the odd V can though.  Things have settled down a bit for me so I should have a few more opportunities for  some fishing fun. 

[zmk1962]

14 hours ago, Welster said:

I think I am still yet to lose one!  I am collecting a bit of lead and the odd V can though.  Things have settled down a bit for me so I should have a few more opportunities for  some fishing fun. 

Hahaha... good to hear you are getting more tome to play. I've still got about 30kg and have only lost 1 V-can !! .. must be really good lead!

Cheers Z

[JonD]

Good to see you getting out there again and getting a decent feed of quality eating fish.

Might be worth buying an epipen to keep onboard with those hook cutting pliers!!!!  My daughter has also had reactions to certain things which end up with paramedics and hospital. 

[zmk1962]

On 10/23/2023 at 9:15 AM, JonD said:

Good to see you getting out there again and getting a decent feed of quality eating fish.

Might be worth buying an epipen to keep onboard with those hook cutting pliers!!!!  My daughter has also had reactions to certain things which end up with paramedics and hospital. 

Thanks Jon ... we are pretty well sorted out now on Maria's "reaction" ... she has to stay away from Benzoyl Peroxide ! ... the epi is still something we are keeping in mind but so far the doctors have not advised it as necessary or essential 🤔.  Sorry to hear your daughter has similar experiences - chemical, food, insect bite trigger? - if you have not seen it already, you may find of interest my post in the Bar on Allergy reactions and the Yuka App.

Cheers Z