Couta

Early April is when the mullet run, out of the estuaries and into the ocean. I think Narrabeen lagoon opened up recently and maybe it came from there.

This is not the first time a Raider has had that experience. A few years ago someone posted a very similar experience. That time they used one of those measuring tapes that fisheries used to give out. The person measured his king against that tape which was stuck to the side of his boat. It measured legal size but when the inspectors turned up it was undersize. The guy said he measured it legal against their tape but the response was "it's not an official measuring device". The fish obviously shrunk and yes they do so be careful if you catch a fish just on legal length.

Very tricky spot to fish, no real good places to fish from. It's mainly huge boulders everywhere. There are a couple of spots further along into the bay but it's a bit shallower there. Alternatively you have to fish off a high ledge at the ocean end but you then have the problem of hauling a fish up out of the water. Float fishing is best all along there. I pulled a lobster out of there once, the hook got caught in his tail.

I have used blades and found that the larger they are the harder they are to pull through the water. They have the advantage of the the vibration that fish can feel through the water. I do think they attract fish but I find they take a lot of effort and a large one would be quite tiring.

Hey Yowie, the albatroses with the grey/black beaks are most likely immature specimens. Adult beaks are the creamy colour you mentioned. Can't tell the exact species as they tend to look similar.

Hey Yowie, I had a look in my bird book - it does seem to be a Brown Skua. Here's a few comments from the book. Weight 1.4 to 2.2 kg Large robust gull-like Skua with warm medium brown plumage. Can have pale mottling on upperparts. Spends most of its time south of Tasmania, moves to Aust mainland (offshore) April-September reaching as far north as Sunshine Coast. Usually occurs in ones or twos. Attends fishing vessels. There's heaps more if you are interested.

I have been twice, last time a few years ago. I found to my disappointment that the the charter boats (boat?) had already been booked out before I arrived so no ocean fishing so try to make a booking before you go. Also the weather will stop boats from going out (wind). I only bought a small rod and had a few casts off the wharf with a lure but with no success but there are fish there at times. The lagoon has all sorts of fish but you really need a boat, its quite shallow in close. I did not walk to the Gulch but that is a well known land based spot as Yowie said. Check out Neds Beach - hand feed monster size fish in knee deep water. Its really unbelievable. Unfortunately you can't fish there.

As a general rule, the bigger the beach the better your chances. Bigger beaches tend to have more space for gutters to develop. I haven't fished any other beaches in Sydney, but I would recommend Cronulla or one of the larger northern beaches like Narrabeen (bit of a drive though). By the way, you will catch lots of shovel nose and the odd ray.

Hi Moose, I have fished Maroubra Beach a lot over the years. It's generally not a very productive beach. I find that if there is any sort of swell, there is a strong rip. Bigger the swell, stronger the rip. If the swell is dead, so is the beach. I would fish in the gutters, there's usually a couple. You will do best if the gutters are deep, deeper the better. Main species are the usual beach species - tailor, salmon, sometimes bream and flathead. Jewfish are unlikely. I have caught whiting in the early mornings this time of year. Good luck but like I said, it's not a very productive beach. I think the gutters don't get developed enough and the constant rip is a real pain.

Hey Yowie, as a kid I lived for a short while in a waterfront house just down a bit from Darook Park. I just had a look at Gunamatta Bay on Google Earth. Has it changed! In those days, I'm talking about the early/mid 1960s, the sand bar at Darook Park was about half the size or less compared to what it is now. It was a relatively narrow strip of sand which went a long way across the bay. The sand in front of our house has moved out a long way as well. It looks like Maianbar flats have also expanded a lot. These days I fish a lot in Brisbane Water, shore based. There is a sand bank at Ettalong with a nice drop off. In the 7 or so years I have been fishing there it has expanded hugely and the whole area is filling up with sand. I don't know what's happening there.

Wazz's great stories have prompted me to add one of my own. Waz reminded me that he used to fish at a spot called Julianne, in Sydney's eastern suburbs. I used to fish this place a lot. It was a good producer of bonito and kings. It would get fairly crowded as the best spot to fish from only comfortably accommodated two or three people. Live baiting was OK as you would leave your rod in one of the many rod holes but if you wanted to throw lures you needed to get there early to get a spot. One summer way back, it must have been in the 1980's because Prince Henry Hospital was still operating, I went down there. It was the week between Christmas and New Year on a week day as I was on annual leave from work. Being a week day there was no one there, had it been a weekend there most likely would have been others there. Anyway, I had brand new expensive Rapala diving lure which I was keen to try out for the bonnies. I started casting and after a while I hooked one and quickly brought it into the rocks and landed it. I used to keep my gear way back on a waist high ledge in a big cave so I took the bonnie back there with the lure still attached. I needed to get back there because the trebles were well embedded in the fish and my pliers were in my bag. Anyone who has caught a bonito will know how much energy they have with the endless shaking and jumping around. I went to grab the fish and one of the hooks on one of the trebles went right through my finger. I didn't feel a thing, I just saw the barb poking out the other side of my finger. Now I have a lively bonito on the end of my impaled finger. I had to hold it down with both hands for what seemed like an eternity until it died. If I didn't hold it still I was worried the shaking would tear my finger to pieces. Of course it was my right hand and I'm right handed so I had to try and use my left hand to cut the hook with the pliers. My left hand was not strong enough to cut the hook or the ring or the attachment wire on the lure. I don't recall but I probably had one of those tiny fishing pliers which didn't help. All I could do was cut the line. Then I had a brainwave - head up to Prince Henry and get them to get the hook out. I left all my gear on the ledge and off I went. The hospital was just up the hill, on the other side of the golf course. The outpatients was almost all the way up near Anzac Parade, so in I walked carrying the bonito and sat down in the waiting room. As you can imagine everyone in the place was giving me all sorts of looks. It wasn't too busy and fairly soon they ushered me in and wanted to know why I was there. When they saw the fish and heard the story there was much laughter among the nursers and doctors. They were coming from everywhere to have a look. I felt like a real goose. They finally settled down and set about getting the hook out. The doctor got some pliers and I said cut the hook not the attachment wire but of course he cut the attachment wire which meant my brand new lure was ruined. Anyway, hook was removed and I walked back down to Julianne with my bonito. My gear was still there as I expected. It all turned out OK but I don't know what I would have done if the hospital wasn't there.

I also almost got hit a golf ball fishing neat the footbridge out at Cape Banks, the ball hit the rock right beside me. I practically lived at Julianne I fished it so much. I've got a great story about catching a bonito there, I might post it some time. I also used to fish the Trap a lot in winter. There was usually no swell when the westerlies blew so it was safe but you could still catch trevally. I saw a bloke get swept off it once when I was over at Julianne. Saw some great fish taken at Julianne, mainly Kings and bonito. In those days I lived at Maroubra so all these spots were close. I love your stories Waz, keep them coming, they bring back so many memories.

Back in the 1980s me and my two mates fished out there regularly. It was not really a good spot but we fished there nontheless. Shakey is actually a large boulder at the tip of Cape Banks. I was told it was called Shakey because in a decent swell, if you were standing on it, it would shake from the waves hitting it. We never fished off Shakey, it was just too difficult and not productive. We fished on the ledge at the point, to the south of Shakey, or if that was too rough, back inside where it was quite shallow. There used to be a shipwreck inside the point. When we started fishing there you could step off the cliff onto the side of the ship but now days it completely rusted away. We never did catch many fish there but sometimes we could rustle up a snapper from inside in the shallows. One night I fished there with my mate. We were fishing from right back in the corner near the footbridge. My mate caught this huge snapper, it was too big to lift so he made me jump in the water to grab it. The water was only waist deep and quite safe. The snapper went 17 pounds, the biggest any of us caught there. One night the three of us fished well into the night. We used to park our cars near the houses up on the road and walk across the golf course. The houses belonged to the army. This particular night we arrived back at the cars at about 1am. We were met by the military police who had come all the way from Victoria Barracks. The people in one of the houses called them about our cars being there. These cops were not happy, having to drive all the way out there in the middle of the night. My mate, Wally, decided to take them on, saying that we were entitled to go fishing on public land. However I knew that we had parked on army land and were in no position to argue so I quickly defused the situation with lots of apologies. They let us go with a warning. Waz, you mentioned Jolong. One night we fished there and I saw a penguin asleep on the ledge. You are right, it was a dangerous spot; on the cliff at the top of Jolong there used to be a stone memorial plaque for some unfortunate fisherman who drowned there. It told the story of the guy who loved rock fishing, with his name and at the the end it said simply "So long Jolong". It was very sad seeing that and I always remember it. Another time we walked across the golf course at night, this is the NSW Golf Club, one of the top courses in Australia and we saw people on horses galloping across the greens! There were so many stories about that place. Thanks for bringing it up Waz.

The tidal flow in front of Andersons is ferocious. Hard to see poddies hanging around there. You need to find a spot well away from the main channel, up of the arms of the estuary where the tidal flow is more gentle.

Fishing off the rocks there I have been hit by kingfish in summer.