Hi dudes,
Sorry for the looong delay between posts but unfortunately, or fortunately for me, i took 3 weeks off doing what i love best. Thats right folks, 3 weeks of fishing and relaxing. So i thought a good way to kick off 2009 is to look back at some highlights of 2008, the milestones and the lowlights... Then tomorrow i will kick off 2009 with some cutting edge techniques that are donking fish all over the eastern seaboard.
So lets look at 2008's goals;
To catch a jewie on sp over 20kgs
To catch a flatty over 1 meter
To catch a kingy on a popper
To master a new lure
Bag out on whiting with poppers
Pretty standard but lofty goals to help me strive to achieve something. Otherwise i feel if i dont set goals i just go out and fish without any direction.
So how did i go towards these goals..
Jewie - 12kgs. Yep i fell 8kgs short. while i would be disaapointed with that usually the upsides were it was a PB jew on sp's. Also looking back on the year i caught 35 jew on sp's which was also a PB on numbers, including 2 individual days where i caught 3 jew a day.
Flathead - 98cms. Yep you read it correctly. I fell 2 agonising centimeters short. Can u bloody believe it. Mind you i did wait till the last week of 2008 to catch it so up until then i was 18cms short of 1 meter. I got the monster in St. George's Basin on the south coast of NSW. Nice effort.
Kingy - Nil. While this was a goal i only went out once to achieve it. Just so happened that it was the day the kingys were shut down in sydney harbour. Got a heap of follows but no strikes. Im sure this goal will be ticked off before the months out.
Master a new lure - Blades. Done. While it is a little presumptuous to state me mastering it i can confidently say i can catch a variety of fish in a variety of situations on any given fishing trip. Mind you i have used them every day for a month too so the learning curve has been steep but rapid. And let me tell you...these things catch fish ladies and gentleman.
Whiting on poppers - Incomplete. I didnt fish for whiting on poppers as much as i thought i would so far this summer. I have been been pre-occupied with catching that elusive 20kg jewie... but in the few times i have chased whiting on poppers results have been positive. While i didnt bag out this year i get 11 in one session... so 9 short.
All in all it was a productive year. Caught a stack of EP's and bass too. Still need to get my 1 meter flatty and my 20kg jew in 2009.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Lures at Night
Hi Peeps,
Here's a good question for you all. Do all lures work at night??? Do soft plastics work at night? If so, are they as deadly at night as they are in the day???
Interesting stuff. I must admit i dont flick lures at night as much as i should but a few of my fishing mates love flickin lures at night. They have good success on the regular species of bream, flathead, jews and whiting. But from my limited experience i would say that not all lures work at night. Some are more deadly than others. Lets see some exampleas and why...
1) Soft Plastix are a good allround performer. I would say that they are the best of the night time lures for salt water estuary species. But within the range of softies some perform better than others. Usually in the day i mainly use stickbaits or jerk minnows. The in-built action of shads, fish tails or grub tails can turn shy fish off the bite in the day. The in-built action in the lure transmits a vibration that attracts fish from long distances. This is extremely helpful at night or in murky low-vis water. So using a plastic with some tails action seems to catch more fish than subtle presentations of jerk minnows.
2) Top water lures are also another good night time producer. Usually they are used for aussie natives like bass or perch but some switched on anglers are starting to use poppers at night in the brine. Once again the attraction is the noise the lure makes as its worked. Also another consideration is popper colour. As fish look skyward for a meal a black or dark lure sillouettes better with the light of the moon making it more visable.
3) Metal blades are also making a splash at night now. I mentioned in an earlier blog that some guys are catching blackfish at night. Once again the vibration these lures transmit make them a deadly weapon at night. i dont think colour matters here, just as long as the lures is working correctly it will attract fish.
There we have it. I think the lesson is a clear one. Lures that make noise, vibrate, rattle or hum will catch more fish at night than quiet finesse lures.
Get out there and give it a go. Im sure you'll be surprised at the results.
Here's a good question for you all. Do all lures work at night??? Do soft plastics work at night? If so, are they as deadly at night as they are in the day???
Interesting stuff. I must admit i dont flick lures at night as much as i should but a few of my fishing mates love flickin lures at night. They have good success on the regular species of bream, flathead, jews and whiting. But from my limited experience i would say that not all lures work at night. Some are more deadly than others. Lets see some exampleas and why...
1) Soft Plastix are a good allround performer. I would say that they are the best of the night time lures for salt water estuary species. But within the range of softies some perform better than others. Usually in the day i mainly use stickbaits or jerk minnows. The in-built action of shads, fish tails or grub tails can turn shy fish off the bite in the day. The in-built action in the lure transmits a vibration that attracts fish from long distances. This is extremely helpful at night or in murky low-vis water. So using a plastic with some tails action seems to catch more fish than subtle presentations of jerk minnows.
2) Top water lures are also another good night time producer. Usually they are used for aussie natives like bass or perch but some switched on anglers are starting to use poppers at night in the brine. Once again the attraction is the noise the lure makes as its worked. Also another consideration is popper colour. As fish look skyward for a meal a black or dark lure sillouettes better with the light of the moon making it more visable.
3) Metal blades are also making a splash at night now. I mentioned in an earlier blog that some guys are catching blackfish at night. Once again the vibration these lures transmit make them a deadly weapon at night. i dont think colour matters here, just as long as the lures is working correctly it will attract fish.
There we have it. I think the lesson is a clear one. Lures that make noise, vibrate, rattle or hum will catch more fish at night than quiet finesse lures.
Get out there and give it a go. Im sure you'll be surprised at the results.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sydney Harbour Kingfish
Hi People,
Just want to highlight for you all the remarkable kingfish numbers that have filtered in to Sydney harbour this season. If you live in sydney you would be no stranger to the fact that the kingfish are so thick you can walk across the water and not get wet! Seriously the fishing has been phenomenal...
The overall size of the kingys have been small. There are no doubt good specimens around but the ravenous little rats are beating the bigger, more weary fish to the lure or bait. Livies are getting the better quality fish but the fun factor is still squarely with chucking lures. Nothing beats the flick of the lure only to be met witha crunching halt and a screaming drag. My good mate Sami Omari helped popularise the concept of flicking poppers for kingys in the harbour. In the December Fishing World he penned an article highlighting a few techniques. Since that article came out poppers sales have gone thru the roof in sydney. Every marker in the harbour has been hit with every top water lure imaginable. The fish are starting to wise up to things. They are increasingly becoming gun-shy and catching them requiring more cunning and stealth.
Funny thing is even Sami is finding catching the kings harder. Dunno if he will be giving away so much gold to punters in an article next time!
The recent performers have been Halco Roostas in 110mm, Cultiva Tango Dancers and Cotton Cordell pencils. But in saying that, the trend has been that lures that the kingys havent seen have been getting atention. Basically get out all the old top waters you havent used in ages, dust em off and get ready to throw some lures at some markers.
Also softies are still donking a stack of fish too. The technique is to sink the lures down past the marker, give a few twiches and retrieve back to the boat. The kingys are also busting up here and there so keep a keen eye out for bird activity.
So basically, if you live in sydney, or close to it, get off your arse and get going. While the fish are mostly undersize, on bream gear they are a heap of fun. Just goes to show that after 5 years of removing the kingfish traps haow impressive the fish stocks have rebounded. How can they tell me that rec fishing decimates fish stocks???
Viva la kingfish....
Just want to highlight for you all the remarkable kingfish numbers that have filtered in to Sydney harbour this season. If you live in sydney you would be no stranger to the fact that the kingfish are so thick you can walk across the water and not get wet! Seriously the fishing has been phenomenal...
The overall size of the kingys have been small. There are no doubt good specimens around but the ravenous little rats are beating the bigger, more weary fish to the lure or bait. Livies are getting the better quality fish but the fun factor is still squarely with chucking lures. Nothing beats the flick of the lure only to be met witha crunching halt and a screaming drag. My good mate Sami Omari helped popularise the concept of flicking poppers for kingys in the harbour. In the December Fishing World he penned an article highlighting a few techniques. Since that article came out poppers sales have gone thru the roof in sydney. Every marker in the harbour has been hit with every top water lure imaginable. The fish are starting to wise up to things. They are increasingly becoming gun-shy and catching them requiring more cunning and stealth.
Funny thing is even Sami is finding catching the kings harder. Dunno if he will be giving away so much gold to punters in an article next time!
The recent performers have been Halco Roostas in 110mm, Cultiva Tango Dancers and Cotton Cordell pencils. But in saying that, the trend has been that lures that the kingys havent seen have been getting atention. Basically get out all the old top waters you havent used in ages, dust em off and get ready to throw some lures at some markers.
Also softies are still donking a stack of fish too. The technique is to sink the lures down past the marker, give a few twiches and retrieve back to the boat. The kingys are also busting up here and there so keep a keen eye out for bird activity.
So basically, if you live in sydney, or close to it, get off your arse and get going. While the fish are mostly undersize, on bream gear they are a heap of fun. Just goes to show that after 5 years of removing the kingfish traps haow impressive the fish stocks have rebounded. How can they tell me that rec fishing decimates fish stocks???
Viva la kingfish....
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hawkesbury Marine Park Proposal Update
Hi everyone,
I don't want to get too political on this blog, but after all if we dont try to educate now, chances are i will have nothing to write about later...if they lock us out of our fishing spots.
An email circulated last week, one which i posted a copy of here on this blog, to contact the premier and carmel tebbut to voice your disapproval of the marine park proposal for the hakesbury bio-region. I also took it upon my own to email Clover Moore, the sydney mayor, who is supporting the proposal with very strong language and a heap of gusto.
I emailed clover to ask where she got the quotes she was using as she didnt reference them on her website where they were published. Admittedly i didnt expect a response from her. I was delighted this morning to find in my inbox a response to my email. It read;
Dear sender
I refer to your email about my support for a marine park for Sydney.
I have supported establishment of a marine park following extensive consultation with community groups, stakeholders and scientific experts to ensure that protection is achieved. The proposal would include a number of different management zones and only the areas declared sanctuaries would totally ban any extraction of sea life.
I share widespread community concern that the Government should protect marine ecosystems, including addressing damage caused by urban development, agriculture, pollution, climate change and other major threats. While marine parks can play a vital role in protecting marine biodiversity, I believe that a multifaceted response to all threats is the best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of our waters.
You may wish to contact your local MP to express your views about this matter.
like all politicians the response answered nothing and in a long winded way only highlighted how deficient clover's knowledge is of the current state of our fisheries. I like how she stated in her response "I have supported establishment of a marine park following extensive consultation with community groups, stakeholders and scientific experts". What a complete load of crap. The only consultation clover has had has not been with community groups or scientists, but rather with the EPA to get herself well versed in the rhetoric needed to run a campaign like this....complete bullshit.
Anyway. I emplore all readers of this blog to send clover moore an email requesting her to identify where her quotes are sourced from and what scientific studies, relevant to sydney waterways, she is referring to. I'm curious to know if she knows who she is quoting. My fear is she has no bloody idea.
Clover Moore [Clover.Moore@parliament.nsw.gov.au]
I don't want to get too political on this blog, but after all if we dont try to educate now, chances are i will have nothing to write about later...if they lock us out of our fishing spots.
An email circulated last week, one which i posted a copy of here on this blog, to contact the premier and carmel tebbut to voice your disapproval of the marine park proposal for the hakesbury bio-region. I also took it upon my own to email Clover Moore, the sydney mayor, who is supporting the proposal with very strong language and a heap of gusto.
I emailed clover to ask where she got the quotes she was using as she didnt reference them on her website where they were published. Admittedly i didnt expect a response from her. I was delighted this morning to find in my inbox a response to my email. It read;
Dear sender
I refer to your email about my support for a marine park for Sydney.
I have supported establishment of a marine park following extensive consultation with community groups, stakeholders and scientific experts to ensure that protection is achieved. The proposal would include a number of different management zones and only the areas declared sanctuaries would totally ban any extraction of sea life.
I share widespread community concern that the Government should protect marine ecosystems, including addressing damage caused by urban development, agriculture, pollution, climate change and other major threats. While marine parks can play a vital role in protecting marine biodiversity, I believe that a multifaceted response to all threats is the best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of our waters.
You may wish to contact your local MP to express your views about this matter.
like all politicians the response answered nothing and in a long winded way only highlighted how deficient clover's knowledge is of the current state of our fisheries. I like how she stated in her response "I have supported establishment of a marine park following extensive consultation with community groups, stakeholders and scientific experts". What a complete load of crap. The only consultation clover has had has not been with community groups or scientists, but rather with the EPA to get herself well versed in the rhetoric needed to run a campaign like this....complete bullshit.
Anyway. I emplore all readers of this blog to send clover moore an email requesting her to identify where her quotes are sourced from and what scientific studies, relevant to sydney waterways, she is referring to. I'm curious to know if she knows who she is quoting. My fear is she has no bloody idea.
Clover Moore [Clover.Moore@parliament.nsw.gov.au]
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Bladed Lure Review
Hi All,
Xmas break is coming up. For me that means 3 weeks of solid fishing. In that time i am going to be trying out the variety of bladed lures on the market today. It's no secret the blades have gained alot of popularity and are catching good fish in a variety of situations. I blogged about them last month and discussed a fvew different variations in design and effect.
What i hope to achieve during this break is a total review of all the bladed lures on the market. I have sourced 12 different brands for the review ranging in size, colour, weight and materials. These are a combination of local manufactured product and imported models from various countries in asia.
While i wont give too much away in this blog, i will try to give some insight on the findings. I do however have to be careful as this review will be printed in an upcoming Fishing World article in 2009.
I think the key areas for examination will be;
1) Will the different lures fish differently?
2) Are they all just as effective as each other?
3) What are the design differences and how does this affect lure action?
4) Does colour matter?
5) Do the local lures fish as well as imported ones?
6) Does size matter?
7) Does the construction material benefit or detract from the lure action?
All these questions will need to be answered. I will fish blades almost exclusively for 6 weeks and use every lure in similar scenarios to try and compare apples with apples where possible. I know it sounds like a tough job... but somebody's gotta do it.
Xmas break is coming up. For me that means 3 weeks of solid fishing. In that time i am going to be trying out the variety of bladed lures on the market today. It's no secret the blades have gained alot of popularity and are catching good fish in a variety of situations. I blogged about them last month and discussed a fvew different variations in design and effect.
What i hope to achieve during this break is a total review of all the bladed lures on the market. I have sourced 12 different brands for the review ranging in size, colour, weight and materials. These are a combination of local manufactured product and imported models from various countries in asia.
While i wont give too much away in this blog, i will try to give some insight on the findings. I do however have to be careful as this review will be printed in an upcoming Fishing World article in 2009.
I think the key areas for examination will be;
1) Will the different lures fish differently?
2) Are they all just as effective as each other?
3) What are the design differences and how does this affect lure action?
4) Does colour matter?
5) Do the local lures fish as well as imported ones?
6) Does size matter?
7) Does the construction material benefit or detract from the lure action?
All these questions will need to be answered. I will fish blades almost exclusively for 6 weeks and use every lure in similar scenarios to try and compare apples with apples where possible. I know it sounds like a tough job... but somebody's gotta do it.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Hawkesbury Marine Park Proposal
Hi All,
It's with great regret to announce that the greens have finally tried to invade the last frontier of the NSW marine region. The Hawkesbury mrine bio region spans from stockton beach in port stephens past sydney all the way down to wollongong in the south.
The greens have some serious clout this time. They have luminaries like Valerie Taylor, the hag who got bitten by a shark 20 odd years ago. Too bad it didnt finish her off. Clover Moore... enuf said, and other political back benders and rubber armers. The greens obviously know they will need some clout this time round cause it will be a big undertaking. Sydney has over 1 million anglers and if mobilised could counteract this movement. But as has been shown in the establishment of other marine protected areas, anglers are an apathetic bunch. Unity in voice is not thier biggest strength. Unfortunate. Drama is, unless anglers are directly affected, they are loathe to unite. We could be an immense political power, able to create our own legislation and govern our own sport.
The Hawkesbury bio-region will unite a large percentage of anglers, thats for sure. But now is the time to act. Everone must write and lobby against this proposal before it gathers momentum. If there is enuf backlash the ruling Labor party will not jeorpadise thier already unstable government and try to implement this. 1 million voters swinging the other way will overthrow them...along with the greens.
So lets do this.
YOU CAN HELP STOP THIS WITH 2 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME.
1) Copy and paste the text below into a new email
2) In the subject line put "Hawkesbury Marine Park"
3) Include your full name on the bottom of the email where it says
4) Copy the recipients:
To: dp.office@tebbutt.minister.nsw.gov.au
Cc: thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au
5) Click ‘Send’
Dear Premier & Ms Tebbut,
As a recreational fisherman I vehemently oppose the proposal for a Hawkesbury Marine Park. I feel so strongly about this issue that should it go ahead, I will not vote Labor at the next State Election.
A Hawkesbury Marine park has mobilised the one million strong recreational angling community and you can expect to feel the political backlash on an unprecedented scale. You would be best served to dispel any speculation by immediately announcing that a Hawkesbury Marine Park will never happen under a NSW Labor Government.
Regards,
It's with great regret to announce that the greens have finally tried to invade the last frontier of the NSW marine region. The Hawkesbury mrine bio region spans from stockton beach in port stephens past sydney all the way down to wollongong in the south.
The greens have some serious clout this time. They have luminaries like Valerie Taylor, the hag who got bitten by a shark 20 odd years ago. Too bad it didnt finish her off. Clover Moore... enuf said, and other political back benders and rubber armers. The greens obviously know they will need some clout this time round cause it will be a big undertaking. Sydney has over 1 million anglers and if mobilised could counteract this movement. But as has been shown in the establishment of other marine protected areas, anglers are an apathetic bunch. Unity in voice is not thier biggest strength. Unfortunate. Drama is, unless anglers are directly affected, they are loathe to unite. We could be an immense political power, able to create our own legislation and govern our own sport.
The Hawkesbury bio-region will unite a large percentage of anglers, thats for sure. But now is the time to act. Everone must write and lobby against this proposal before it gathers momentum. If there is enuf backlash the ruling Labor party will not jeorpadise thier already unstable government and try to implement this. 1 million voters swinging the other way will overthrow them...along with the greens.
So lets do this.
YOU CAN HELP STOP THIS WITH 2 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME.
1) Copy and paste the text below into a new email
2) In the subject line put "Hawkesbury Marine Park"
3) Include your full name on the bottom of the email where it says
4) Copy the recipients:
To: dp.office@tebbutt.minister.nsw.gov.au
Cc: thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au
5) Click ‘Send’
Dear Premier & Ms Tebbut,
As a recreational fisherman I vehemently oppose the proposal for a Hawkesbury Marine Park. I feel so strongly about this issue that should it go ahead, I will not vote Labor at the next State Election.
A Hawkesbury Marine park has mobilised the one million strong recreational angling community and you can expect to feel the political backlash on an unprecedented scale. You would be best served to dispel any speculation by immediately announcing that a Hawkesbury Marine Park will never happen under a NSW Labor Government.
Regards,
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Weekend Report
Hi everyone,
Just a quickie today. Its late in the day and im coming off the back of two days in bed sick.
I hit the Hawkesbury river on saturday with two local tackle store gurus. The main aim was to hit a nice jewie on sp's. Been doing well recently and i put it down to s-factor. The new squidy scent is dynamite for turning lookers into takers. I used to sound out jewies all the time but would only have a 30% strike rate even once sounded out.
Now the s-factor has improved that equation. I reckon i'm hooking 60% of the jewies i sound out. Big call...but it seems that way at the moment. Only time will tell.
So we did manage to wrangle a samll soapy out of a new hole i havent flicked before. It looked the goods, had a nice colour change, a deep drop off, reef bottom, an eddie and panned out to a nice mud flat. All the ingredients for a good bag of fish. Sure enuf we got our mark. Also throw in a couple of good flatties as well.
Admittedly it was a tough day. Mooney ck was devoid of life and wind showed up....again. Seems like November 08 will be remembered for the gail winds and lack of fish. No surprise really. November in sydney is typically bad. But the good news is December usually fires up so bring it on.
I made a personal goal at the start of the year to knock over a jew over 20kgs on plastix in 08. Ive got 1 month to go. So far all i've got is a 11kg model. Cross my fingers.
Just a quickie today. Its late in the day and im coming off the back of two days in bed sick.
I hit the Hawkesbury river on saturday with two local tackle store gurus. The main aim was to hit a nice jewie on sp's. Been doing well recently and i put it down to s-factor. The new squidy scent is dynamite for turning lookers into takers. I used to sound out jewies all the time but would only have a 30% strike rate even once sounded out.
Now the s-factor has improved that equation. I reckon i'm hooking 60% of the jewies i sound out. Big call...but it seems that way at the moment. Only time will tell.
So we did manage to wrangle a samll soapy out of a new hole i havent flicked before. It looked the goods, had a nice colour change, a deep drop off, reef bottom, an eddie and panned out to a nice mud flat. All the ingredients for a good bag of fish. Sure enuf we got our mark. Also throw in a couple of good flatties as well.
Admittedly it was a tough day. Mooney ck was devoid of life and wind showed up....again. Seems like November 08 will be remembered for the gail winds and lack of fish. No surprise really. November in sydney is typically bad. But the good news is December usually fires up so bring it on.
I made a personal goal at the start of the year to knock over a jew over 20kgs on plastix in 08. Ive got 1 month to go. So far all i've got is a 11kg model. Cross my fingers.
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