Yowie Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Headed out into Bate Bay before sunrise this morning. First drift was in the middle of the bay, 2 blue spots pulled up then the spikies turned up and nothing else. Headed towards Kurnell, pulled up more spikies and a slimey. Moved towards the cliffs, used cut slimey strips but only managed a few maori wrasse, so headed deeper to a couple of spots and eventually found some blue spots, some under size ones as well, and stacks of spikies. The wind eased a little, so tried out deeper around 200 feet, and found the red spot whiting on the bite. No legal size limit, bag limit of 20, and they only grow to about 32 cm. The ones I pulled up are an average size for the species. 900 tonnes will be caught this year by commercial fishos. Not often caught by line fishos, however, they are very popular in the fish and chip trade, and frozen fish packs. Small fish but good eating. Also caught 2 tiger flatties in the deeper water, the larger one is the biggest I have caught off Sydney. Not much swell or wind, though a little breezey earlier on. Only 1 humpback spotted near the boat. A few feeds there, some for family members as well, and some into the freezer. Edited July 24 by Yowie 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 That is a good Tiger. Very nice catch, and great eating those Flathead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 A good feed for a few hours on the water Yowie, well done. Did you see the news about the whale breeching on top of a fishing boat? bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunastrike11 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Not much on those red spots but very tasty. Edited July 24 by Tunastrike11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 2 hours ago, noelm said: That is a good Tiger. Very nice catch, and great eating those Flathead. Thank you Noel. I rate tigers as just above other flatties. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, big Neil said: A good feed for a few hours on the water Yowie, well done. Did you see the news about the whale breeching on top of a fishing boat? bn Several hours worth b.n., but happy with the catch. Have not seen any news yet today, last thing you want is a whale on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, Tunastrike11 said: Not much on those red spots but very tasty. First time I have really targeted them as a catch, usually they are just a by-catch of 1 or 2. Fiddley preparation for them, but will enjoy the fillets, crumbed and pan fried (no bones allowed in fish in my house, and that is not me with that idea) They will be like finger food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Nice tasty catch there Dave ... congrats. Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Great stuff Yowie, good feed. Good size among those flathead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 55 minutes ago, zmk1962 said: Nice tasty catch there Dave ... congrats. Cheers Zoran Thank you Zoran, a good day out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 13 minutes ago, Isaac Ct said: Great stuff Yowie, good feed. Good size among those flathead. Thank you Isaac, a couple of nice ones there compared to 2 weeks ago. The biggest blue spot and tiger were kicking hard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 A good feed there Dave, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 2 hours ago, Little_Flatty said: A good feed there Dave, well done. Thanks Mike. The wife is looking forward to fish feeds. 🤣 At least my grandaughter likes fish meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Looks like you found the good sized flatties! 👍 Love those whiting! I found them very easy to clean and scale. They are so good floured & deep fried whole. Meat peels off each side just like eating a chicken wing - no bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 13 minutes ago, Larkin said: Looks like you found the good sized flatties! 👍 Love those whiting! I found them very easy to clean and scale. They are so good floured & deep fried whole. Meat peels off each side just like eating a chicken wing - no bones. A few better sized ones there. I have to remove all bones from fish that I serve up at home. 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james Cutler Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Top haul again. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 6 hours ago, james Cutler said: Top haul again. Well done. Thank you. Regarding the red spot whiting, a long way to haul up small fish, however, they are good eating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabstar Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 On 7/24/2024 at 3:23 PM, Yowie said: Headed out into Bate Bay ccefore sunrise this morning. First drift was in the middle of the bay, 2 blue spots pulled up then the spikies turned up and nothing else. Headed towards Kurnell, pulled up more spikies and a slimey. Moved towards the cliffs, used cut slimey strips but only managed a few maori wrasse, so headed deeper to a couple of spots and eventually found some blue spots, some under size ones as well, and stacks of spikies. The wind eased a little, so tried out deeper around 200 feet, and found the red spot whiting on the bite. No legal size limit, bag limit of 20, and they only grow to about 32 cm. The ones I pulled up are an average size for the species. 900 tonnes will be caught this year by commercial fishos. Not often caught by line fishos, however, they are very popular in the fish and chip trade, and frozen fish packs. Small fish but good eating. Also caught 2 tiger flatties in the deeper water, the larger one is the biggest I have caught off Sydney. Not much swell or wind, though a little breezey earlier on. Only 1 humpback spotted near the boat. A few feeds there, some for family members as well, and some into the freezer. Not a bad haul mate. I've been busting to go out, project work and the young one has stopped be going anywhere further then the local woolies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't be too many more whales heading north, i think they slow up early august? Those whiting are fantastic, I've found them out in the 60m mark, long way to wind up but i prefer them over a small spikey....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, Crabstar said: Not a bad haul mate. I've been busting to go out, project work and the young one has stopped be going anywhere further then the local woolies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't be too many more whales heading north, i think they slow up early august? Those whiting are fantastic, I've found them out in the 60m mark, long way to wind up but i prefer them over a small spikey....... Thank you, happy with the catch. Only saw one whale on the surface, another big swirl but nothing to see, he was probably under. They should be dropping down in numbers by now. Yep, a long way to haul up the red spots, but you don't get spiked like the spikey flatties. The spikies are a pain in the arse to unhook at times. One dorsal spike in the finger and it aches for an hour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 great bag! those whiting gutted and deep fried whole are absolutely delicious 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 26 Author Share Posted July 26 7 hours ago, kantong said: great bag! those whiting gutted and deep fried whole are absolutely delicious Cannot have any fish with bones here (not me, the other inhabitants 🤣) I removed the bones from the fillets, then crumbed and pan fried them. Very nice, my grandaughter asked for more fillets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 12 minutes ago, Yowie said: Cannot have any fish with bones here (not me, the other inhabitants 🤣) I removed the bones from the fillets, then crumbed and pan fried them. Very nice, my grandaughter asked for more fillets. Do you have to fillet tinned sardines The whiting task is easier if you chill the fillets in the fridge before taking on ribs and pin bones with a really sharp knife. I just slice out a 'V' to get rid of pin bones. You don't sacrifice too much meat, and it beats the whinging if you miss a bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 26 Author Share Posted July 26 52 minutes ago, Steve0 said: ribs and pin bones with a really sharp knife. I just slice out a 'V' to get rid of pin bones. You don't sacrifice too much meat Same here with all fillets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo from Sydney Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 On 7/24/2024 at 3:23 PM, Yowie said: Headed out into Bate Bay before sunrise this morning. First drift was in the middle of the bay, 2 blue spots pulled up then the spikies turned up and nothing else. Headed towards Kurnell, pulled up more spikies and a slimey. Moved towards the cliffs, used cut slimey strips but only managed a few maori wrasse, so headed deeper to a couple of spots and eventually found some blue spots, some under size ones as well, and stacks of spikies. The wind eased a little, so tried out deeper around 200 feet, and found the red spot whiting on the bite. No legal size limit, bag limit of 20, and they only grow to about 32 cm. The ones I pulled up are an average size for the species. 900 tonnes will be caught this year by commercial fishos. Not often caught by line fishos, however, they are very popular in the fish and chip trade, and frozen fish packs. Small fish but good eating. Also caught 2 tiger flatties in the deeper water, the larger one is the biggest I have caught off Sydney. Not much swell or wind, though a little breezey earlier on. Only 1 humpback spotted near the boat. A few feeds there, some for family members as well, and some into the freezer. A good haul there Yowie. Should keep you well fed for a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 On 7/24/2024 at 5:58 PM, Yowie said: First time I have really targeted them as a catch, usually they are just a by-catch of 1 or 2. Fiddley preparation for them, but will enjoy the fillets, crumbed and pan fried (no bones allowed in fish in my house, and that is not me with that idea) They will be like finger food. So how do you target them if you don't mind me asking? Hook size, bait, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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