Meeting two Raiders out in the wild & a very successful day of fishing

[linewetter]

4 hours ago, Steve0 said:

Enjoying the day, finding fish and increasing your PB. Well done!

It is not surprising you found fish in salt water that looked like chocolate. We tend to judge from what we see on top. However, salt water is denser than fresh water, so fresh water tends to 'float' across the top before mixing. What you see at the top is not necessarily the same as what the fish are in beneath the surface.

https://www.surfertoday.com/environment/the-fresh-water-meets-sea-water-natural-phenomenonI

Similarly, if you test taste surface water in an estuary and find it slightly brackish, deeper water is likely to be more salty.

You aren't the only member of that club! Gear failure is something to learn from.

Wow that is very interesting and I'm really glad you brought this up.  Completely changes my theory after all then of the fish not being there near the storm drains flooding out with freshwater.  I wonder how much the murkier freshwater floating on top affects the light penetration to the bottom now, where the saltwater & my lure would be.  I suppose at least in the shallows, it can't be that bad.  But man this brings a whole new set of things to think about next time I'm out fishing after a rain....very interesting.  The fact that I also got the big bream on a black lure (never used black/dark colored lures much) in water that wouldn't be that chocolate milk color necessarily is also interesting to me.  I feel like you've opened a can of worms for me haha.  Thanks again for this and the link, I've got a bit of thinking to chew on now.

[linewetter]

20 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Just go online. Delivered to your door and won't cut into fishing time.

I was being a cheapskate and didn't want to pay for shipping!!!   I ended up going to the local tackle shop to get the ruler and to pick up some more paddletails anyway (and to look at the large selection of plastics like I always do, only to inevitably get sucked into picking up more than I came for...which I did).  

[DerekD]

Hi @linewetter, one of the things we haven't covered is fishing near drains after the rain. Essentially that water coming down the hills, trees, hardstand surfaces collects and washes food (e.g. insects) down with the run off to the outlets in the bays. I have several fishing buddies who do very well on bream and other species in the channels after the rains.

Edited April 7 by DerekD

[Little_Flatty]

1 hour ago, linewetter said:

Yes!  I'm someone who always fished when the opportunity arose, not someone who fishes when the conditions were only ideal.  Never know what you're going to get unless you wet a line 😁

Sorry to hear about your eldest and their fever!  Hopefully the next outing is more successful when you guys go together...I know when I was a kid, I had little patience for fishing but nothing beats the excitement of a hooked fish.  Hard part is hooking the fish in the first place though!

I'll be looking forward to your lure making project and following along.  I've had a mild interest in at least painting my own blank lures but reading your future lure making journey might be the motivation that pushes me over the edge to actually do something on my own 😝

Thanks mate.

 Oh yeah, @linewetter I just need to get this off my chest. Where was your landing net mate?!

I know the majority of Youtube influencers don't carry nets, but the next 40+cm bream to break your leader or fall of your trebles when lifting won't be the last! Some of you here will know that even undersized flathead sometimes get netted on my sessions. Last one I caught broke the single rubbish treble arm that it was pinned on (cheap rubbish lure)..

I have a bee in my bonnet about landing nets. You'll realise this if you find my thread on it 🤣

As far as lure making is concerned, making lures out of wood is much more time consuming and expensive (in terms of tools) than I expected. Good fun but. Thread to come, but here's a sneak peek:

The first two are me making a mess of a Greg Vinall design (of the Doclures podcast fame). It's the lure on the far right I'm most interested in! I want to discover the most effective lure for the least amount of effort. Even though it looks dead simple, the lure on the right took a lot of mucking around to get the weighting the way I wanted it and also getting everything in a straight line proved difficult for this very-unlikely-handyman...I'd use a screwdriver the wrong way around given the opportunity...

[linewetter]

1 hour ago, DerekD said:

Hi @linewetter, one of the things we haven't covered is fishing near drains after the rain. Essentially that water coming down the hills, trees, hardstand surfaces collects and washes food (e.g. insects) down with the run off to the outlets in the bays. I have several fishing buddies who do very well on bream and other species in the channels after the rains.

Ah my theory disproven it seems.  This info coupled with @Steve0's info makes sense.  The freshwater would be on top, so the fish could still remain bearable underneath and eat the food from the drains.  I knew the drains held fish normally because I could see them near it most of the time, but did not expect them to be able to bear the flood of freshwater instead of the normal trickling when it isn't storming.  I'll have to give this a shot next time it rains and try the drains like that.  I did notice it smelled extra sulphur-y and like eggs near the drains so the hardest part may be just trying to bear the smell 😁  

[linewetter]

36 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Thanks mate.

 Oh yeah, @linewetter I just need to get this off my chest. Where was your landing net mate?!

I know the majority of Youtube influencers don't carry nets, but the next 40+cm bream to break your leader or fall of your trebles when lifting won't be the last! Some of you here will know that even undersized flathead sometimes get netted on my sessions. Last one I caught broke the single rubbish treble arm that it was pinned on (cheap rubbish lure)..

I have a bee in my bonnet about landing nets. You'll realise this if you find my thread on it 🤣

As far as lure making is concerned, making lures out of wood is much more time consuming and expensive (in terms of tools) than I expected. Good fun but. Thread to come, but here's a sneak peek:

The first two are me making a mess of a Greg Vinall design (of the Doclures podcast fame). It's the lure on the far right I'm most interested in! I want to discover the most effective lure for the least amount of effort. Even though it looks dead simple, the lure on the right took a lot of mucking around to get the weighting the way I wanted it and also getting everything in a straight line proved difficult for this very-unlikely-handyman...I'd use a screwdriver the wrong way around given the opportunity...

Thing is...I have a landing net!  I bought a telescopic one so I could take it with me on public transport when I take the train or bus to go fishing sometimes.  I have tried using it a few times but I find it very difficult to use on my own.  It extends to about 1 meter long, and I end up feeling like I need a third arm trying to net the fish, particularly when I'm along a rockwall or somewhere that the net isn't long enough to keep the fish in the water still.  When bringing the flatties up, I was extra nervous about them and the headshakes....had to time it so that I pulled them up right after they had their thrash up of headshakes but only underwater, especially on 6lb leader - would have been like a hot knife through butter otherwise. 

Do you have any tips or suggestions using a net solo particularly in those circumstances where you're too far from the fish to keep the fish in the water while netting it?  Or do I just need to suck it up and get an even longer telescopic landing net and give up some of the portability?  I imagine if I pull it out the water to be able to reach it with the 1 meter landing net I have now, it sort of defeats the purpose of the landing net since I'm pulling them out of the water and gravity starts taking its toll.  

Hey those lures are looking pretty good so far!!  A far ways away from the humble FTT popper but if that thing caught fish, these look like they'd catch even more fish.  

[Little_Flatty]

7 minutes ago, linewetter said:

Do you have any tips or suggestions using a net solo particularly in those circumstances where you're too far from the fish to keep the fish in the water while netting it?  Or do I just need to suck it up and get an even longer telescopic landing net and give up some of the portability?  I imagine if I pull it out the water to be able to reach it with the 1 meter landing net I have now, it sort of defeats the purpose of the landing net since I'm pulling them out of the water and gravity starts taking its toll.  

Yes it's relatively simple really. It starts with thinking through the process at home first, working out a way to get the net and extend it single handed. For me, I need some kind of contraption to attach it to myself. I ended up getting a belt mounted rod holder and have it on all of my fishing belts. I carry my net in those.

For very light nets, you can use the magnetic net releases for fly fishing, which I do use but only on the flats.

Apart from that, make sure you're not trying to net a 'green' fish. Ensure it's reasonably played out (although sometimes with fish like big flatties on light leader, you might want to take your chances sooner rather than later).

My net is 3m long and carbon fibre, but it still weighs a bit, but it collapses into nothing and is easy to extend.

[linewetter]

31 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Yes it's relatively simple really. It starts with thinking through the process at home first, working out a way to get the net and extend it single handed. For me, I need some kind of contraption to attach it to myself. I ended up getting a belt mounted rod holder and have it on all of my fishing belts. I carry my net in those.

For very light nets, you can use the magnetic net releases for fly fishing, which I do use but only on the flats.

Apart from that, make sure you're not trying to net a 'green' fish. Ensure it's reasonably played out (although sometimes with fish like big flatties on light leader, you might want to take your chances sooner rather than later).

My net is 3m long and carbon fibre, but it still weighs a bit, but it collapses into nothing and is easy to extend.

Good advice on netting a 'green' fish - I've mainly focused on getting the fish in as soon as I reasonably could without tightening up the drag a massive amount...just enough so that I remain in control.  But that was when I was hooking into smaller fish.  Some of these bigger fish, I am starting to realize have to play differently now, like you said tire them out a little first.  

I'll also PM you for more details on the net.  I'm very interested in it now...3M length sounds actually really good for most scenarios.

[SpeedyGiraffe49]

Good job man!! That 41cm Bream is really impressive 😃

[faker]

I am going to need to.work harder on my bream technique after reading this. Getting complacent doing too many things at once

Edited April 7 by faker

[Little_Flatty]

8 hours ago, linewetter said:

Good advice on netting a 'green' fish - I've mainly focused on getting the fish in as soon as I reasonably could without tightening up the drag a massive amount...just enough so that I remain in control.  But that was when I was hooking into smaller fish.  Some of these bigger fish, I am starting to realize have to play differently now, like you said tire them out a little first.  

I'll also PM you for more details on the net.  I'm very interested in it now...3M length sounds actually really good for most scenarios.

PM sent. But I’m the spirit of sharing, anyone who is interested can google PRO TRUST Telscopic landing net and find it. I bought it from an auction site from a Japanese supplier. Seems like it’s come down in price by about 25%, bucking current trends!

I swapped out the net itself pretty quickly as it is far too small for bigger flathead etc. A Berkeley medium sized rubber net is fine.

[Bennyg78]

Well done @linewetter!

Great report!! You are improving with your curiosity in every report!

The water was definitely foul I was kayak fishing up on the central coast and gosh it was filthy!

[kantong]

fantastic report mate and well done on all the fish!

[Little_Flatty]

22 hours ago, Steve0 said:

Similarly, if you test taste surface water in an estuary and find it slightly brackish, deeper water is likely to be more salty.

Just a note. Do not taste water in Sydney or anywhere populous! Especially after rain!

Last I fished a canal after rain I kept getting this white stuff on my line and lures. I soon realised it was TOILET PAPER and it doesn’t take much imagination to realise what else might be accompanying it!

[Steve0]

43 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Just a note. Do not taste water in Sydney or anywhere populous! Especially after rain!

Last I fished a canal after rain I kept getting this white stuff on my line and lures. I soon realised it was TOILET PAPER and it doesn’t take much imagination to realise what else might be accompanying it!

You caught the reason I would make a poor teacher. 

[linewetter]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

Just a note. Do not taste water in Sydney or anywhere populous! Especially after rain!

Last I fished a canal after rain I kept getting this white stuff on my line and lures. I soon realised it was TOILET PAPER and it doesn’t take much imagination to realise what else might be accompanying it!

I agree very much with that sentiment. Have seen many Sydney Water signs around middle harbour (including hiking trails) that there’ll be raw sewage runoff after rains. I now assume anywhere that’s close to where people live will have that issue considering one of the trails I saw that sign at, wasn’t exactly near a body of water, just homes 😬

[Little_Flatty]

3 minutes ago, Steve0 said:

You caught the reason I would make a poor teacher. 

You’re an excellent and knowledgeable teacher Steve, all our experiences are different. Us city slickers live in a harrowing world at times!