Mondo Rock

I don't really understand the moral dilemma. If you happen to find a new spot then mark it and fish it in clear conscience - shouldn't matter that you found it because a charter operator was there fishing first.

Yting - I'm there with you friend. Also been chasing that elusive beach Jew for years with no success. Closest I came was at Cronulla beach also - two hookups but no joy. I'd have to agree though that 50 mins seems way too long to be fighting a Jew - if your gear is under pressure for that long there's a good chance something's going to give.

PM sent - but as a general statement all the guides working the Hawkesbury/Pittwater/Brisbane Waters area are worth their weight. These are tough systems to learn and you get more out of a half day with the pros than you will learn in a year by yourself.

Hi Donna - yes it's me, still chasing he Jewish after our Pearl Beach adventure (10 years ago?!?!), although not fishing as much as I used to due to marriage, kids, work etc. Still fishing though! Bo - I'd be delighted to post details of the guide but not sure what the site rules are re such things these days. Can anyone confirm?

Not much of a fight to be honest - got to feel those famous head shakes though. Fished the end of the run in so not too much current to contend with.

Hey Raiders Very long time no post - but had to put this one up. First really solid jewfish for me: 98cm, 8kg - caught Sunday on whole butterflied tailor at high-tide (noon) at the ever reliable Juno Point. Caught with the assistance of a guide so can't really tick off my bucket list but hey, it's still a good result.. At least one other good hit but no hookup. Mondo out.

Thanks for the advice - gonna give that a try!

The secret to winter fishing in Sydney Harbour is burley, or targeting blackfish instead of the usual summer species. Find a spot with structure and a moderate current flowing over it, position yourself 20 metres upstream, drop a frozen burley block in the water at your feet (or in your boat's burley bucket), then fish he burley trail. Won't take long before the bream show up.

Hi All I was fishing Jerusalem last Saturday arvo from about 4 - 6pm and 2 medium hairies came over the side (with about 5-6 lost at the side of the boat, one of which was a monster). We left them biting at 6pm when we motored off. Saw at least one other caught in another boat (looked to be about 6 ft long) and a guide boat seemed to be cleaning up too based on all the hooting and hollering. Not doing anything special, just pillies on gangs with a small glowstick 1 ft above the rig. So they're around.

Hi guys What tides do you find work best for the blackies off ocean rocks? I've been getting into a few lately but it's been really hit and miss and I'm wondering if the tides have much of an impact. I love it as a form of fishing though - it's really visual and you rarely go home empty handed.

I love these posts - but no I can't help. It looks like a cross between a salmon and a rock-cod.

Nah - don't skin before you fillet. Just make sure you scale first around the edges and have a v. sharp knife to fillet with as the skin is tough to cut through. The rib-cage also takes some cutting through so a second serrated knife helps to finish the fillets off. Bottom line is that these aren't flatties or whiting and filleting them takes a bit of practice and perserverance.

Unbelievable - what a great experience. We East Coasters can only look on and dribble with envy.

Bloody good haul - is he fishing Julienne landbased or is he fishing out of a boat?

I've had a theory for some time that when the surf gets out of control big like it is at the moment an opportunity for drummer presents itself in places that otherwise wouldn't see much wash. Places like protected bays and deeper beach corners that normally don't see a lot in the way of wave action get a good dose of whitewater during really big winter swells and can be a congregating point for fish when the rest of the coastline is a total mess. I've seen this approach work on the South Coast but the only place I could think to look nearby in Sydney was the Clovelly pool, which I've heard holds fish when the seas are rough - but when I got there the southerly was howling and waves were washing up over the concrete making it hard to get close to the edge without getting wet. So I ducked around the corner to a protected bay where the water looked like I could get a bait in from a safe ledge. The normally calm family snorkelling spot was a mess of waves and whitewater, but the tide was close to high and the water was deep enough to look green when I would catch a glimpse in-between sets. After an only moderately successful dash across the rocks dog and fisherman ended up safely on a dry ledge where the bread burley was duly mixed and the first handful deployed. Fishing was slow for the first hour with little in the way of bites - it took a while to get used to guiding the bait through the wash: current pulled the bait to the left and when the sets came the peeled prawn and ball sinker would be washed straight back at the base of the rocks beneath me. In the end I gained some control by throwing the bait out into the deeper green water and then bringing it back into the turbulence once the bait was down a bit. The first real bite came about an hour into the fishing - a typical drummer light tap-tap-tap - and it was hard to resist the urge to strike while it was mouthing the bait. But I've seen too many missed chances that way and so I waited for the rod tip to load up before I lifted into the fish. Anyway - long story short - after a long and tense fight (during which I realised my fishing platform basically required me to guide the fish up and over a series of boulders once subdued) I landed a damn healthy specimen of drummer at bang on 50 cms. Another smaller model came in 20 minutes later and after that I had a good half an hour of fast drummer action. I guess the steady stream of burley had done its job as every cast got a good bite, and over the course of the next 30 minutes three more big fish were hooked. The first fought to its freedom amongst the washy stones and the second defeated me through sheer size when, after a long fight, the 6kg line broke under its weight while I was trying to dead-lift it up onto the ledge. The third stayed connected however and eventually another 50 cm fish was bleeding in the pool. So I reckon my theory turned out OK. There's no way you'd look for drummer in this spot on an ordinary day as it's usually calm, deep and flat but yesterday it held big fish in a mess of sudsy water. It must have been one of the only spots on the open coastline that was fishable amongst the massive swell and howling southerly wind - which only goes to show that there's always a good option somewhere.