crunch

Pollard. $12 for a 20kg Bag. - Try a stockfeed place (CRT at Ourimbah for Coasties) I've been using it for years. I take home all left over bait, keep all eaten fish frames, skins, trimmings, prawn shells, EVERYTHING gets used when I take a fish home. Whatever doesn't get eaten/frozen for bait goes into my burley mix. Generally I don't even use tuna oil as there's enough scent in it. Mix it up the night before, let it permeate. I crush up everything in a bucket with a stiff flat shovel before I mix the pollard in. If you want a heavy mix, then mix it with water. If you want a light/topwater mix, use tuna oil, BUT bulk it up with a cheap vegetable oil, or you'll go through litres oif Tuna oil which can get very pricey! It ends up costing about $5-10 for a bucket of berley. I'm talking a 20L bucket. And you can freeze it to keep it handy when you don't have time to make it up. But a high water content freezes solid, so plan ahead and take it out early.

Make sure you don't use it around rubber bungs/elec cabling(casings) etc, as WD40 is ptroleum based and will eat through it over time. Use a lanolin based product such as Inox or lanotec. Could become an expensive excersize with Inox though (around $10 a can). Best to buy in bulk - http://www.lanotec.com.au/?link=3 (and NEVER ever ever ever ever (x 209,879,876,547,835,676,572) used WD in a fishing reel - lanolin based products only!!! Inox is my fave. http://www.inox-mx3.com/inox.htm

I've been thinking about it for a while, but am on the Central Coast. Seeing as I'm 10 mins from my training centre, I wouldn't go to syd to do it. Maybe if there's enough coasties up here, we can organise it? I've got a couple of others that would do it too..

lolz.. we had this as in intro link on a forum (car club) I ran years ago. Got plenty of laughs.

I was catering a function up in Newy on Saturday and thought I'd drop into Wybung to see what was going on. As I was getting back in the car, Fisheries pulled up. Straight over to check my esky when they pulled in (only to find it was half-full with Spit Roast ). We got chatting, and he was a keen rock fisho too so we swapped some info on whats been going on. He's been up the north end of the coast, and I've been down the south end, so it worked well. I mentioned that I've not seen a fisheries officer for 12 months. Apparently they've only got 4 officers working the Central Coast.... From Snapper Point to the Hawkesbury!!! That's a lot of area to cover and a zillion possible locations! Plus paper and office work on top of field time, and that explains the lack of presence! I also asked about getting into their line of work, as it's something I've always been keen to do, but have never found the avenues. I was always in the thought that you'd have to do a conservaion/land management type course at TAFE. Not the case. Entry level positions are based on your background, mainly fishing experience and boating experience. They don't do cadetships or similar, they just do an intake and train up from there. Unfortunately they had just done an intake 6 weeks ago and probably won't do another for a few years. Might mean I've missed that boat completely now But pulling in a Wybung, which is a walk and a slippery goat track with climb sections for access, don't ever think that you're safe ANYWHERE. Unfortunately it's not raiders that need this message, as I know we're all good kids... I'd like to see some sort of volunteer sceme set up to assist the officer. They have this in WA, Volunteer Fisheries Liason Officers (VFLO's).. But unfortunately they would only really be able to hand out pamphlets and chat to poeple, but it would put a presence out there at the least...

Not fishing, but when I was doing Sea Scouts in Perth we were out on the river on a perfect day sailing, and within the space of 10 minutes, things turned nasty with no warning. The water picked up from glass to 1m swells with wind spray everywhere. We had about 15 boats out and many of them only had newbies in them. It was a mad dash back in with everyone trying to get back to the shore. I had the leader's son with me, who was probably the most skilled, so we had to go around and make sure everyone was OK. We were the last back in, and the front was literally 20m behind us and gaining. Keel up, landed it, and bolted back to the shed and sat it out. by the time it passed, we went back out to get the boats in, and there was about 30L of water in them. Pretty scary stuff when you're 13!!

I'm just struggling this week! Given Monday arvo to Thursday arvo has seen some big swells and in many places wasn't fishable. I did get out for an hour Tue, Wed and Thurs and only came up with Squid (on a laser pro! ), Tailor Squid Respectively. 4 hours On the stones live baiting and spinning Sunday morning for not a single hit. I got out this morning in my prime-time (first-light) before work and only had one Tailor that spat it I was chatting to a couple of snorkellers that popped up not far from me, and they said the water was horrid, couldn't see more than 2m infront of them. The only spotted a couple of Mowies and a Leatherjacket in about an hour and a half. They did say there was bucketloads of Yakkas about though, which I was surprised, because I was struggling to even get them up destined for a hook! The walk back on Saturday I saw only one (questionably legal) King being cleaned, and a scumbo - at Avoca. Just quiet... Might have to head inside for the week. Might go hungry otherwise!

Thw wharves around Wagstaffe are always a sure bet, although they can often be small and very timid. Very small good quality jigs work best. Davistown channel and wharf can put on some good squid. Offside of the fast-water around the rip bridge. I've even seen them hunting in the shallows around Iguana Joes! You don't get much higher up the main body of BW than that! The whole system gets a good flushing with the regular tidal flow, so it generally sees quite good clean water most days. It's fair to say that you're in with a pretty good chance anywhere around BW.

I didn't fish it, but I'm stinging to hear the results. Hurry up! Lines have been out for 15 minutes now... What's taking you all so long?!

Nice one Hob. I spent 5 hours at the Mosh Pit at Avoca for nothing at all this morning. You did better than me!!!

No one knows their 'anger' number until they miss a placing by 1cm

Be there bang on 6am for those Tailor. Little swells = little wash = early finish to the morning feed. However, one thing I've learned is that tailor NEVER play by the rules.

Good luck everyone. I'm going Tailor fishing tomorrow, but unfortunately I didn't enter this year. I'll still post results here

Bugger the feeling in the cabin... those spectators aren't going to get out the way too quick!

Try telling the Avoca rock gang that! Still, great fish. I'm in two minds about fish that big... If you've got to distribute between so many people, then I'd be grabbing my photo and sending it back. but then, I've caught half a dozen 60+ Bonnies in one session and given two to my boss, two to my parents, and donated two to the BBQ, and everyone appreciated it. I don't have a problem with people doing what they want with their (legal) catch, just my train of thought on stonking fish. I suppose I have a deep respect for something that can test me to my limits!