linewetter Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 (edited) I'll have to break this up into multiple posts due to the volume of photos so a warning in advance. What a day! Where do I start? Well a few weeks ago, @DerekD mentioned to me a challenge of catching 5 species in one day. At the time, I was thinking no way…That’s a big ask. Maybe Derek could do it with all the fish he always catches (always manages to land big ones when I can’t come out to fish…I must bring the bad fish joojoo) but that seemed…optimistic for me. Derek swung by to my place to pick me up at 6:45am. A little bit of an earlier start than usual but we had a big day ahead of us. We had tried the 5 species challenge a week or two ago and were going to try again today. We drove and picked up another fellow new raider, Jakob, that Derek had met and then introduced me to a few weeks back. Once we had Jakob in the car, we were headed off to our first stop: A short drive later and we arrived. Shoes off, bucket, sieve, and pump in hand and we were ready to go. That’s right, we were yabbie pumping: Jakob hadn’t done this before and Derek had shown me once before how to do it, but today was the real deal. We were here to catch enough yabbies for the first part of our day and catch some good fish. Derek started out by explaining and demonstrating the technique to Jakob: Edited March 3 by linewetter 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 Then Jakob gave it a go himself: A success! While we were pumping into the sieve, we found a tiny blue swimmer crab: After only about 15-20 mins of pumping, we had enough bounty for the day. We only wanted to take enough for our planned fishing with the yabbies and leave the rest for another day: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 Back to the car with our bucket of yabbies, we went to head off to the next location to go fishing now….or were we? On the way to our fishing spot, Derek spotted an open field with no one around and we made a pit stop and pulled in. We get out the car and head onto the field: In Derek’s hands were a couple of boomerangs. We were going to learn how to throw boomerangs. Very cool for both Jakob and I, both never thrown one properly before. Here’s Derek giving an explanation on the technique: And here’s a few videos of Jakob giving it a go on both two types of boomerangs: https://youtu.be/Xt0oxt4jfVU https://youtu.be/DAp9cAXL5_k After a bit of fun (came close to catching my boomerangs a few times but no dice), we stopped off to a local tackle shop nearby for some goodies and headed off to fish with our yabbies. Derek showed us how to do the rig and how to hook the yabbies live: Fishing with yabbies is great fun. Either your rod bends pretty quickly or the fish just aren’t around where you cast. The instant action is really nice. It wasn’t long before I got my first fish: Target species today was whiting and bream at this location. After a couple of more casts, I was on to a whiting! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 I recast with a fresh yabbie and got a suddenly jerk. I was on again and it was a good fish. I had my drag set pretty decent and it was peeling line like nothing else so far. I had to twist the drag some more and tried to bring it up. The fish started to jump and flail into the air. I don’t know what the heck it was at this point, but it was giving a real fight. I walked down from the footpath onto the rocks to plan how I was going to bring this out the water, when it started to pull line again! Had to regain my footing and tighten my drag and started to pull it in again. As I brought it in closer and got a look, it looked…different. Brought it onto the footpath safely without grabbing it yet and you’ll see why… This thing had a good pair of chompers on it. On the ground we could see it was pretty flexible. The thing could turn and wriggle like a snake and basically turn its head 180 degrees. I had to get a firm grip on its head to avoid losing a finger and we got some quick photos before putting it back in. First time catching this fish, Derek let me know it was called a long tom. The fish were out and hungry today it seems because it wasn’t long before Jakob caught the next fish – the target fish! A whiting: After moving down a couple meters down the pathway together, Jakob caught another fish (bream?) with a missing head chunk. Fish that lived to tell the tale from whatever happened to it: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 This next species was a first for me. We think it’s a herring but if anyone can confirm, would be great: After a little bit of a lull in the bites, we managed to land the last couple before it was time to head off for lunch: We had a quick lunch and were off again to the next location in the freshwater hoping for bass and redfin. There were a lot of people in the water though so it wasn’t ideal fishing and we left empty handed after a little bit. The fish weren’t feeling like playing today here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 Back to the salt! Derek had gotten us some weed the day prior so we’d have more time to fish today, so we were off to blackfish hunting. I chopped up the weed for burley while Derek talked Jakob through the technique so no pictures of that…but mid chopping for more burley, I heard line starting to peel and Jakob was onto his first blackfish. It was a very nice size: We threw it back in the water and now I had a go at the blackfish. It wasn’t long before I was on too. These fish are great fun, you really have to keep them under control because they seem actually smart. This one kept trying to wrap the line around the oyster encrusted pylons but I brought it up after a short fight: Time flies when you’re having fun. It was time to drop Jakob off sadly. After a quick stop to drop off Jakob and a frozen Coke, we were off to our last location on the Parra River for some topwater. I caught a tiny bream the size of the lure almost and we called it a day. The sun was beating down on us at this point and it was getting too unbearable. On the way out, we stopped by for another frozen Coke. My god it hit the spot especially after feeling the sun biting. I’ve left out a couple of good conversations that were had with bystanders for the sake of brevity, because this is getting long enough at this point. Special thanks to @DerekD for taking us fishing newbies out and showing us the beauty of what’s all in the water and what’s capable with nothing more than local knowledge of where to forage for your feed (if you wanted a feed). Today was all catch and release, the fish going on to fight another day. If you’ve been keeping count, Jakob got to 4 species in a day and I managed 6. What a day. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 (edited) The “Herring” is a Silver Biddy, supposedly good eating, but way too small to even think about (in my opinion) the “Garfish” is a Long Tom, pretty common in estuaries and lakes, but can be difficult to hook. Edited March 3 by noelm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo from Sydney Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 What a great report and sounds like a full-on day fishing with @DerekD . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Hmmmmm.... So do the yabbies (ghost nippers) also count as a species? Maybe your count goes up to 7 species caught in a day. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 It’s funny how the humble old Nipper is such a great bait, they are easy to catch, are free and work a treat, yet people go to a shop/servo and buy packets of bait (most rubbish) when the best bait is right there under their feet…….one of my “tricks” is to pump Nippers at low tide, then fish the same spot as the tide rises, all the stirred up sand/mud and left over Nippers is natural burley. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakob Duus Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Truly an awesome day of fishing with some good mates! Sydney is turning out to awaken the fisherman in me. 🤘😁 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 40 minutes ago, noelm said: The “Herring” is a Silver Biddy, supposedly good eating, but way too small to even think about (in my opinion) the “Garfish” is a Long Tom, pretty common in estuaries and lakes, but can be difficult to hook. Thanks for the confirmation! I have heard of the name Silver Biddy before on forums reading, so very cool to now have caught one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 21 minutes ago, DerekD said: Hmmmmm.... So do the yabbies (ghost nippers) also count as a species? Maybe your count goes up to 7 species caught in a day. Hahaha I like the way you think 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 17 minutes ago, noelm said: It’s funny how the humble old Nipper is such a great bait, they are easy to catch, are free and work a treat, yet people go to a shop/servo and buy packets of bait (most rubbish) when the best bait is right there under their feet…….one of my “tricks” is to pump Nippers at low tide, then fish the same spot as the tide rises, all the stirred up sand/mud and left over Nippers is natural burley. It is honestly the best bait. Derek pointed out that for being bait, it has the advantage of not making your hands smell either. Incredibly fun to gather, you get the benefits of a great bait, and no smelly fingers after. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe could be a little better if they had no claws to avoid getting pinched every now and then 😜 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 (edited) 24 minutes ago, linewetter said: It is honestly the best bait. Derek pointed out that for being bait, it has the advantage of not making your hands smell either. Incredibly fun to gather, you get the benefits of a great bait, and no smelly fingers after. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe could be a little better if they had no claws to avoid getting pinched every now and then 😜 They can be fun to gather, kids love pumping Nippers, I take my grandkids bait gathering all the time, they reckon it’s way more fun than fishing, Nippers, Pippis, Beach Worms, Squirt Worms catching Garfish or Yellowtail are all free bait and lots of fun, and probably the best bait possible. edit……they can give you a decent bite! Edited March 3 by noelm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertW Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Looks like a good day out @linewetter . @DerekD Where was my boomerang lesson??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy 75 Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Looks like you had quite the day of fishing. Top effort in the challenge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 That's a great day out! Plenty of good mentoring and target met! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 1 hour ago, AlbertW said: @DerekD Where was my boomerang lesson??? You are Australian born - should be in your DNA. It is something I do with all my overseas guests. @linewetter is from the U.S.A. and @Jakob Duus is from Denmark. Having said that... Whenever you are ready and have some time I'm happy to show you how to throw and then catch a boomerang. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Sounds more like an account of a month's fishing than a day's fishing. I wish I had 10% of the energy that you guys have. I would have needed a nap after chucking the boomerangs around...although I most likely would have headed straight to the hospital for shoulder surgery (lol). Your account of the days' proceedings was an excellent read, accompanied by related photos. Keep up the good work and we will all look forward to reading some more of your fishing experiences down the track. Well done Derek too. Just shows how much expertise you have that you can pre-plan a day like that and have a successful outcome. bn 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlickNAnthony Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Great report ! Awesome day fishing with @DerekD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Nice work, good tuition by Derek (especially the boomerang throwing) Plenty of species. Be very cautious of long toms. As you saw, they can twist their head around to nearly the tail, and if those teeth grab hold, they will not let go. The blue crab you caught is a soldier crab, do not grow very large, and are good bait as well as nippers, though I would be sticking with the nippers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 7 hours ago, big Neil said: Sounds more like an account of a month's fishing than a day's fishing. I wish I had 10% of the energy that you guys have. I would have needed a nap after chucking the boomerangs around...although I most likely would have headed straight to the hospital for shoulder surgery (lol). Your account of the days' proceedings was an excellent read, accompanied by related photos. Keep up the good work and we will all look forward to reading some more of your fishing experiences down the track. Well done Derek too. Just shows how much expertise you have that you can pre-plan a day like that and have a successful outcome. bn It was definitely action packed but a good coffee and good company definitely helped keep the energy levels stay up 😁 I hope to bring more reports to come, it's been nice to share a good fish day with other fishos. 1 hour ago, Yowie said: Nice work, good tuition by Derek (especially the boomerang throwing) Plenty of species. Be very cautious of long toms. As you saw, they can twist their head around to nearly the tail, and if those teeth grab hold, they will not let go. The blue crab you caught is a soldier crab, do not grow very large, and are good bait as well as nippers, though I would be sticking with the nippers. HA! Don't have to tell me twice. I was already wincing in pain from the nippers pinching me, can't imagine those teeth sinking in 😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now