humesy

Cheers mate. Butterflied yakkas. I sometimes take in livies (about 5 max) but it is a real schlep to get them in there. Takes 10 minutes up and over the sand dunes which is a punish when carrying 3 rods, a backpack, another bucket and 10 litres of water. Cheers. Yep, about an hour before high tide too.

Got out for just the 2nd time since winter and struck a good one. I tend not to bother until the jacarandas are out. Started off on the breakwall to catch yakkas and got totally schooled in the art by the local 12 year old kids. They were a friendly bunch and gifted me a few before I finally managed a couple for myself. Then went to my beach spot with a 2 ft surf coming in from the NE. There was quite a rip running but also a prominant sand bank which seemed to provide shelter from the current. One of my rods went in that direction while the other 2 were in the sweep. It was very quiet for 2 hours before a good tailor took one of the yakkas. As I was dealing with that, I turned around to see my rod bent to the water (the one beside the sand bar). The fish woke up and went screaming straight down the beach. I wasn't sure what to call it as there weren't many headshakes and it seemed to lock itself in the current. I managed to get it coming back in the right direction, thinking it was likely a ray. Then caught a glimpse of silver and it was time to get excited. 112cm and very solid. So much so, the rods and bucket had to stay while I lugged it back to the car. Retrieved them after a second trip. Not quite a PB but pretty stoked as the smile indicates. 😁

Cheers! I also like the top hook through the snout because you can get a good cast in, without tearing the hooks through the flesh on the back. I might have to try lightly pinning the back hook though.

Cheers! Yes, barely light. Think it was around 5.30-6.00

I don't usually report these days but had a few questions answered last night so this post might be helpful for a few folks. Spent two hours catching bait on a glorious sunny afternoon. There were plenty of baitfish about and just on sunset, the dolphins came by to add to the scene. Had quite a serious mission to get to my spot with 3 beach rods, 2 buckets and a backpack.Stuck one of my buckets with dead baits at the top of the pack so I could carry the livies in one hand. I got to the beach and noticed my only slimie was gone. Turned around to see a sea eagle pick it up and fly off. 😆 There was a dad and his 2 boys next to the spot I chose. I chucked out a butterflied yakka over the back of the waves and 5 minutes later had hooked up to the first of what would be several bronzies. The kid came straight over and laughed at the fact that they'd been there for 3 hours and not caught a thing. Dad left pretty soon afterwards, hopefully not feeling dad-shamed. So the bronzies were thick. I landed 5 of them in pretty short time. A guy walking past with a plastics outfit told me it had been exactly the same the night before. I was pretty discouraged at the thought of feeding hard won, perfect fresh and live jewie baits to the sharks. As well as the tackle they chomp through. While I was de-tangling a rig my rod went off. The fish was noticeably different. Much longer charge away from the beach, then a few headshakes. He came in with no dramas, measuring 98cm. Had plenty of bait left and kept fishing with the intention of releasing anything else. Had 2 livies chomped by jewies and a tailor head took off and came back crushed. The bronzies were still in the mix. A couple of live yakka were bitten clean in half and a couple of rigs bitten off. The jewie actually took a slab of mullet which came from a large camping, fishing boating outlet. Not a bad result for $6 purchase. The learning points for the trip: Fish on if the bronzies are about. It is difficult and can be expensive but worth persevering. I have a supply of pre-tied rigs in my tackle bags which helps a lot. Jewies still bite on the full moon. Used 6/0 circle hooks on the slab bait for a perfect hookup. A question still to answer: How to pin a live yakka for the beach. I was using 2 hook rig. Ciircle under the chin an trailing hook loose by the side of the fish. The survive well in the water but not sure if it is the best way to get the hook in the mouth. Both fish I missed, started runs. I put weight on after about 3 seconds but pulled the fish out of the jewie's mouth both times I think. Anyway, it was a great session. Beauiful conditions and lots of action. Cheers

Cheers guys, Good tips. I bought the reel and christened it last night. It got put to good use straight away on a 50cm tailor followed by 68cm jew and a couple of bronzies. It was quite a hot session actually 😁 (landed 2 other jewies and missed a couple of hook-ups). Wouldn't say the casting difference was massive but it does send out a jewie bait out nicely and has a great smooth action. I will also give it a go with some big plastics and hard bodies at some stage. I do love my beach fishing so sure I will get my $255 worth. Cheers!

Howdy, Does anybody have experience with surf fishing using a long cast reel? I am just wondering how much farther they can cast. I am considering a Penn Spinfisher VI. I have read that they are not as durable as a standard spin reel but would trade off if it lasts me 5 years and puts in a decent cast. How much extra distance do you get? Many thanks.

Cheers for the reply mate. Good thinking on the livies. I am new up here so not quite sure where to source. It also takes quite a bit more time for the whole mission. Fresh tailor has always done the trick for me in the past. I have been trying lures as well but this is a much lower % game. They still have to eat so not sure why it has been a slow season. Will keep at it: It's a mighty pleasant way to spend the evening.

Hello, My first report in a long time. Really only posting to get some feedback from any Raiders that regularly fish for jew from the beach, over the past year. Last night I hit a local (Newcastle) beach at about 4. Overcast and warm, with no good gutters but deep water within casting range. Started with a bronzie, caught a perfect sized tailor for a livie. He got chomped in half. Went on to catch a large salmon, a banjo, shovel-nose and lost a big ray. Lots of action but no jewie. I would have put in at least 20 trips over the last 8 months (since returning to Australia) and have not cracked a single jew. I am no gun but I do know what I am doing. Has anyone else struggled this year. I am starting to contemplate bad excuses like la nina being bad for beach jewie fishing. A few of the locals have been saying it has been very slow for jew. PS, my last trip, the tailor were thick and this has normally been a good sign. Threw out lots of beautiful fresh fillets, but you know how it went .... Cheers

Hello all, I was wondering if anybody could recommend a place to pick up livies. Ideally yakkas. Somewhere near Swansea would be perfect. I am hoping to mix up my baits off the beach. Many thanks, Humesy

Hi there, Would anyone care to recommend a rod to throw plastics for jews, to be matched with a Stradic 2500 reel and 10lb braid. Budget is between $100 and $200. Many thanks,

Agree with Short. I used to live at the pines, literally on the beach. It was a dream spot (for very cheap rent too) and I did pick a few jews in my time there. Often the best spots on the beach were taken before sundown, especially in summer and on weekends. I had the luxury of ducking out midweek for sessions here or there but if you were going to drive any distance for a beach fish in the hope of a jew, I would consider other spots that are equally likely to produce, with much less crowding. Do a few drive-bys and check out the gutters, weed, etc before making the b-line to Narrabeen. Or get out in the rain if you are really keen.

Good on you for having a good crack. Your story sounds a lot like mine. I must have spent 40 nights over a year+ fishing a spot like the one you described and never got a jew there. One night, a childhood memory came to me. The older guys up the road lugging a bloody big jew from the spot we used to fish for bream and flatties as 10 year olds. I decided to give it a crack and that first night, bagged 2 jew, and by god I was happy about it. The moral of the story is to fish a spot you know has produced jew and fish it for 10 times minimum across the different tides. All the better if it has produced jews recently. As a novice, it could be a long shot to be able to catch a jew based on your own read of the spot. Keep notes. Maybe use the bait from the spot you have at your new spot, especially if it is fresh squid. The short cut is to get a mentor and fish with them. Good luck. It's a long, fascinating learning journey but very rewarding when you have have done the hard yards.

Have definitely experienced the smell of jewies in the surf from the beach. I thought I was going mad but the smell is unmistakeable. I have read theories that they rub the sand to bring up the worms with their scent.

Great write up, I was there with you. There is nothing worse that losing a good fish because of a knot failure. I lost my first few jewies within sight. One off a breakwall when a wave crashed down on it out of nowhere and the second (a biggie) when I tried to drag it through the shorebreak too soon. I also lost a few good fish when I first tried the snood knot and was doing it wrong (one of my mates has never forgiven me). 10 years of trying though; jeeze you must be shattered. I would up the leader to 40lbs minimum. 50 won't harm you. Doesn't really need to be FC either. Any leader material should do. Assuming you are surf beach fishing, I think with the turbulence in the water, sight isn't so much a factor. Fight shouldn't go more than 15 minutes though my PB is only 115cm so maybe a monster is going to take 50 minutes. If you keep at it, you will get one. You have hooked up and that is the hardest part. You have learned your lessons. Go get the next one and you will be on a high for weeks.

There was a great thread on this topic a few years back with some weighty contributions from the great Jewgaffer (and others). Some said fluctuations were the time to fish with one poster equating fishing scenarios with fluctuating financial markets. While it was very conceptual, it made sense. Try a search, it was about 4-5 years ago. I had a hot bite one night on a low reading and caught my biggest on about 1004 from vague memory. It was before a weather change. How many have you caught, if I'm not being rude by asking. Just wondering what your sample size is and hence, can you draw concrete conclusions.

Tough spot to fish because of obvious current. You only have a 1 hour window on big tides or 2 hour on smaller tides if you are out over the deepest parts. If you throw wind into the mix it can be a nightmare. With eddies and wind blowing the boat all over the place it can be tangle city. A drogue/sea anchor can be essential. As stated, use heavy leads if necessary and only fish 2 lines. Otherwise drift, move about throwing plastics. There are fish there day or night.

Some sort of electrical charge because of storm activity I'd say. I used to rock climb and experienced it once standing on top of a large tower in the desert in Utah. It was really loud and seemed to come off the metal gear we had harnessed around us. This tower was the tallest thing by miles as far as the eye could see and my mate and I were crapping ourselves. We abseiled off pretty quickly.

Outstanding Marky, In broad daylight too. First of many I hope. Do you still have that ugly stick/Penn combo i sold you? That would handle a good metre+ fish.

<p>Jesus that is one bizarre tangle! <img class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/public/style_emoticons/default/insane.gif"title=":insane:" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Being the Hawkesbury, there'd have to be an eel in there somewhere</p>

Nice work Jim. You teaching over there?

Which paper? I'd be taking it with a grain of salt. The tele used to poach reports from another forum for their daily reports. They were often a month old. I reckon this is often the case with newspaper reports.

You are going to find it difficult to find structure without a sounder. Even a written description here would be difficult to follow and locate with any accuracy on Saturday night. You might like to try some moorings. Failing that, look at the surrounding hills that run down to water line. Steep slopes generally drop off steeply into the water and can make for good fishing grounds. Otherwise fish down current of a prominent point and you might do OK. You might even find a spot with all these features in one.

Totally agree Ben.

Nice job there, I missed a hook up on a live slimie on Saturday on one of the reefs off Broken Bay whilst fishing for kings. Might be a pattern in their movements at the moment.