Snapper still around Sydney Headlands

[whiskey299]

I've been a bit busy to post any reports and most readers are probably sick of hearing about kingfish so something different this time.

 

Plan A: Got cancelled
Plan B: Go chase some kingfish to tag for the comp being run by @project_kingfish. But I couldn’t find the kingfish anywhere!
Plan C: Target some reef fish to feed the family.

It was a real sloppy day! The swell, the bounce back swell and the wind chop made it feel like fishing in a washing machine. The kayak got hit by waves from 3 different directions and it was challenging trying to hold position, really wish I had spot lock!

Moving spots every few casts until the fish starting to feed towards the top of the tide and continued feeding on the run out. I was using a j hook with paternoster rig and lost 3 good #snapper when they swallowed the hook and cut through my leader, eventually switched over to a circle hook ftw!

Managed to hook 2 annoying sharks on live yakka. What a royal pita!

As a last cast special hooked a 51cm snapper which I thought was a #kingfish as it pulled some good string. Left the fishing bitting as I had already hit my bag limit and conditions were getting rough.

#fishdistributionsystem working overtime today, gave most of the fish to family and uncles and kept 2 snapper and 2 scorpion fish to eat. Sharing is caring right?

Gear used:
Rod: Daiwa TD Black V2 Mangrove Masher 642MFS
Reel: Daiwa 21 Caldia MQ LT3000
Line: #Tasline Elite PE 1 15lb
Leader: Sunline FC Rock 12-20lb
Sinker: 1-2 oz
Bait: slimy/yakka strip

Edited November 17, 2023 by whiskey299

[jenno64]

Sensational bag!

[Yowie]

Nice bag of reddies.

Reddies do not have the teeth for biting off the hooks. Big jackets or sharks or tailor would be the main problems to chew off the hooks.

[bookwa]

Great report, great fish and what an outfit to fish from!  As one who’s never been on a yak and a bit too old now to try it ,can I ask what is the gear laying diagonally across the bow?  Congratulations on sharing the catch too!

[whiskey299]

2 hours ago, bookwa said:

Great report, great fish and what an outfit to fish from!  As one who’s never been on a yak and a bit too old now to try it ,can I ask what is the gear laying diagonally across the bow?  Congratulations on sharing the catch too!

That’s the hobie mirage drive pedal system to propel the kayak with your legs. 

[whiskey299]

3 hours ago, Yowie said:

Nice bag of reddies.

Reddies do not have the teeth for biting off the hooks. Big jackets or sharks or tailor would be the main problems to chew off the hooks.

Yes it could have been sharks but as soon as I switched over to a circle hook I didn’t loose anymore fish. The sharks kept taking the live yakka instead of the strip bait. But I’ll never know and can just put it in “the one that got away” bag lol.

Edited November 17, 2023 by whiskey299

[Thommo10]

Awesome catch, well done!

[Pickles]

A lovely bag of red’s @whiskey299 - many thanks for posting - a comprehensive report.

(Not sure about others, but I never get sick of hearing about Kingies).

[bessell1955]

A great outing and a great variety of fish.

[whiskey299]

3 hours ago, Pickles said:

A lovely bag of red’s @whiskey299 - many thanks for posting - a comprehensive report.

(Not sure about others, but I never get sick of hearing about Kingies).

Thanks Bob. Unfortunately haven’t been all  that successful with legal kings and with the water temp rising I’m going to shift my attention to crabs. Last season while not plentiful the quality of blue swimmer were great.

[fish-aholic]

Nice mix bag.

[Larkin]

Looks like you found the school. Good haul of reds!

Which system do you do your crabbing in?

[whiskey299]

13 hours ago, Larkin said:

Looks like you found the school. Good haul of reds!

Which system do you do your crabbing in?

Thanks Chris

I Drop my pots in the Hawkesbury.
Managed to even get a 2 nice mud crabs last season which was a pleasant surprise.

one caught in March and one caught in April this year.

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by whiskey299

[bookwa]

So you can manage to carry two pots on a yak!  Amazing, I’ve been missing out on all this!!

[whiskey299]

48 minutes ago, bookwa said:

So you can manage to carry two pots on a yak!  Amazing, I’ve been missing out on all this!!

Yep before I got the electric motor on the yak it was certainly hard work on the legs in the Hawkesbury. Getting an electric motor was one of the best decisions I’ve made.