Big disappointment today at Balmoral 😭

[TheFishyFisherman]

Hello raiders. Today I went to balmoral to see if I could catch some Trevs. In the last report I posted, I asked for tips and tried them out. Arrived at 11:30 and burleyed with bread and dropped a prawn with a split shot on fine line but only caught undersized tar whine and yakkas. The boy next to me got 2 decent sized leatherjackets. He let me clean the second one because I love ripping the skin off because it’s so satisfying to do. As I was gutting it, there were 3 tongue eating louse in the leatherjacket and they were abnormally massive. Usually, they’re about as wide as a pencil and pretty small, but these ones were the size of golf balls. I screamed and annoyed everyone on the jetty but soon they realised what I was screaming for and everyone else was traumatised. Afterwards, I kept fishing and got some pretty decent yakkas (one of them was 27cm and my friend got one just over 28). When the crowd thinned out a little, I cast out a livie, hoping to get a salmon or tailor. A bit later, my drag suddenly screamed and a lot of line went out. I waited for about 30 seconds (I was using a circle hook) and reeled in, only to find a half dead yakka with half of its face missing on my hook. As I was reeling, the predator that attacked my livie surfaced and started chasing my yakka again. It was a massive squid. I could tell that this was what attacked my yakka because it had a massive beak-like bite on its head. The squid  was way bigger than my dog (she’s half beagle - half cavalier)!!!! But it didn’t hook up and left when I foolishly tried to set the hook (forgot that I was using a circle hook). I should’ve let it run from the start a bit longer with my yakka and swallow it. I estimated that it was around 60 cm. And the worst part of all is that I didn’t catch the squid or a single trevally while everyone else on the wharf did.

Edited June 29 by TheFishyFisherman

[juicy233]

Disappointing with that squid, you were lucky to see some action though, I was squid jigging for an hour off the island at balmoral today and didnt get a single one. The trevally seem to be around heaps now unlucky you couldn't get one

[faker]

it can be like that sometimes. i started specialising hunting for squid this winter and only had one donut session more to do with me being stupid on going out on 2.2m swell on a safe north facing ledge but still too choppy for squid

[TheFishyFisherman]

3 hours ago, juicy233 said:

Disappointing with that squid, you were lucky to see some action though, I was squid jigging for an hour off the island at balmoral today and didnt get a single one. The trevally seem to be around heaps now unlucky you couldn't get one

Island? I thought it was a beach. But you’re right, I am unlucky cuz I didn’t get a single trev even tho they’re everywhere 😅

[faker]

4 hours ago, juicy233 said:

Disappointing with that squid, you were lucky to see some action though, I was squid jigging for an hour off the island at balmoral today and didnt get a single one. The trevally seem to be around heaps now unlucky you couldn't get one

where abouts do u jig off balmoral i thought it was too snaggy and shallow to jig from land there

[TheFishyFisherman]

Surprised that nobody’s is surprised with the abnormally sized tongue biters I mentioned 🤣. They look like they’re from another planet

Edited June 29 by TheFishyFisherman

[faker]

44 minutes ago, TheFishyFisherman said:

Surprised that nobody’s is surprised with the abnormally sized tongue biters I mentioned 🤣. They look like they’re from another planet

Well they are super tasty, i have been hunting them for fun recently and kinda of gotten used to them

[big Neil]

8 hours ago, TheFishyFisherman said:

Hello raiders. Today I went to balmoral to see if I could catch some Trevs. In the last report I posted, I asked for tips and tried them out. Arrived at 11:30 and burleyed with bread and dropped a prawn with a split shot on fine line but only caught undersized tar whine and yakkas. The boy next to me got 2 decent sized leatherjackets. He let me clean the second one because I love ripping the skin off because it’s so satisfying to do. As I was gutting it, there were 3 tongue eating louse in the leatherjacket and they were abnormally massive. Usually, they’re about as wide as a pencil and pretty small, but these ones were the size of golf balls. I screamed and annoyed everyone on the jetty but soon they realised what I was screaming for and everyone else was traumatised. Afterwards, I kept fishing and got some pretty decent yakkas (one of them was 27cm and my friend got one just over 28). When the crowd thinned out a little, I cast out a livie, hoping to get a salmon or tailor. A bit later, my drag suddenly screamed and a lot of line went out. I waited for about 30 seconds (I was using a circle hook) and reeled in, only to find a half dead yakka with half of its face missing on my hook. As I was reeling, the predator that attacked my livie surfaced and started chasing my yakka again. It was a massive squid. I could tell that this was what attacked my yakka because it had a massive beak-like bite on its head. The squid  was way bigger than my dog (she’s half beagle - half cavalier)!!!! But it didn’t hook up and left when I foolishly tried to set the hook (forgot that I was using a circle hook). I should’ve let it run from the start a bit longer with my yakka and swallow it. I estimated that it was around 60 cm. And the worst part of all is that I didn’t catch the squid or a single trevally while everyone else on the wharf did.

A lesson learned for next time. Now you know there are big squid there it may be worth it to try to catch them the conventional way. Plenty of food in a decent squid. Better luck next time.

Cheers, bn

[TheFishyFisherman]

10 hours ago, faker said:

Well they are super tasty, i have been hunting them for fun recently and kinda of gotten used to them

You eat the tongue biters?!

[TheFishyFisherman]

9 hours ago, big Neil said:

A lesson learned for next time. Now you know there are big squid there it may be worth it to try to catch them the conventional way. Plenty of food in a decent squid. Better luck next time.

 

yes. Need to stock up on squid jigs 👍

[faker]

2 hours ago, TheFishyFisherman said:

You eat the tongue biters?!

meant by squid. i have been specializing hunting them in winter

[sashkello]

Yeah, that's the problem in places with lots of fish - hard to target something in particular, too much competition to eat your bait. Also, you never know if your target fish is simply not there at that particular time for whatever fishy reason...

Saw a BIG squid caught there last week. Problem is, the jetty is always crowded and it's rare to find time when you can just fan out your casts and cover the ground.

[sashkello]

On 6/29/2024 at 6:04 PM, juicy233 said:

Disappointing with that squid, you were lucky to see some action though, I was squid jigging for an hour off the island at balmoral today and didnt get a single one. The trevally seem to be around heaps now unlucky you couldn't get one

Where do you access the island? I tried rock hopping on the south side and while it's doable, I lost a jig there and then a decent fish snagged me on the rocks, so I gave up... The bottom is all covered in boulders there... I don't think I saw any way to access the East part where boats hang around and haven't tried North yet... Is it possible?

[TheFishyFisherman]

8 hours ago, sashkello said:

Yeah, that's the problem in places with lots of fish - hard to target something in particular, too much competition to eat your bait. Also, you never know if your target fish is simply not there at that particular time for whatever fishy reason...

Saw a BIG squid caught there last week. Problem is, the jetty is always crowded and it's rare to find time when you can just fan out your casts and cover the ground.

It’s not as crowded in night time tho. Gonna try at night again when the rain here stops

[TheFishyFisherman]

Also, last day on school holidays aren’t packed too. Went there on the last day of summer holidays and there was only one other guy. I hooked up to something on my first cast while using a live yakka. My drag was loose so I heard it and ran up to my rod but the other guy grabbed my rod and tried reeling it in without my permission. He didn’t realise that I was using a circle hook so he tried to set it and lost the fish. 

[TheFishyFisherman]

…Wait I’m revealing my secrets 

[ireallylovefishies22]

Quick question are you fishing off the swimming net or a different area? I went there in the Summer but there were too many people on the pool, so I moved to another area.

[sashkello]

Pool area is prohibited for fishing, but people do it anyway it seems... I stick to the wharf.

Edited Monday at 10:09 AM by sashkello

[ireallylovefishies22]

1 hour ago, sashkello said:

Pool area is prohibited for fishing, but people do it anyway it seems... I stick to the wharf.

thanks mate, do you mean the long L shaped one near the HMAS Pengiun?

[sashkello]

16 minutes ago, ireallylovefishies22 said:

thanks mate, do you mean the long L shaped one near the HMAS Pengiun?

I assume that whole area is closed off for military.

At Balmoral Beach itself, the big elevated area surrounding the pool has "no fishing" signs. There's a small wharf attached to it, which is fine for fishing.

[bessell1955]

That Squid would have been a nice bi-catch.

[juicy233]

On 7/1/2024 at 9:20 AM, sashkello said:

Where do you access the island? I tried rock hopping on the south side and while it's doable, I lost a jig there and then a decent fish snagged me on the rocks, so I gave up... The bottom is all covered in boulders there... I don't think I saw any way to access the East part where boats hang around and haven't tried North yet... Is it possible?

I was on a tinny just drifting around at the border of the kelp bed

[Fried Rice]

Are you sure it was a squid? At that size it sounds like a cuttlefish. They look similar.

[TheFishyFisherman]

23 hours ago, ireallylovefishies22 said:

Quick question are you fishing off the swimming net or a different area? I went there in the Summer but there were too many people on the pool, so I moved to another area.

I fish the little wharf bit. You’re only allowed to fish there

Edited Tuesday at 07:34 AM by TheFishyFisherman

[TheFishyFisherman]

16 minutes ago, Fried Rice said:

Are you sure it was a squid? At that size it sounds like a cuttlefish. They look similar.

My friend saw it too. I said it looked cuttle fish-y but he said that he was sure that it was a squid. I’ve never caught squid before and he has been fishing longer than me so I assumed it was one.