Siesta911

Off the rocks, proper drag maintenance is important. I usually set it around 6kg. I don't let them peel my line even for an inch. This set up works for most of kingies in size of 70-80cm. If give them a chance to turn their head around, fight would be much tougher, so quick reeling and pumping is inevitable. Good luck!

Oh wow, didn't know we can catch conger eel aka ANAGO (Japanese name) in Sydney harbour! If simmered and grilled, you can make great sushi, and if deep fried, excellent tempura. Well done!!

Yes, definitely you should give a go!!

Yes, it is a very tasty fish as the matter of fact!

We call Mac Tuna legendary fish in Japan because it never gets to the retail distribution network as you don't catch it in large number, but it is famous for having fatty tuna like meat and thus people love it. If bleed properly you can have excellent sashimi or tataki (slightly seared). You can also have it deep fried with starch after marinating in soy sauce and ginger. If caught, I always take it home to make my family happy. See attached for the end product

That's lizardfish! It is edible, but too many small bones, so usually use for fish cake.

Thanks Pickles. Yes, great to see sapie Jewies there. Hope we can catch one over a meter.

Thanks hucho hucho.

Thanks Rebel!

You are absolutely right. If we gave up after 5 hours of no activity, we went home defeated!!

After having a terrible rainy week, mate and I decided to hire a boat and fish in Pittwater yesterday. Murky water was surely expected, but it turned out to be more like muddy water and a lot of debris floating everywhere... I have never seen Pittwater in this condition. Started fishing at 7:30am around the red pole. For the next 5 hours, absolutely nothing happened, not even a tap! Kind of knew minimum activity, but not to this extent... Baits are untouched for 5 hours!! Couldn't believe it. Around 12:30pm, decided to change the location. Water looked even muddier and more debris there, but gave a go. In ten minutes, we started to get tapping on our rods and started to catch yakkas and tailors there which was a good sign. Then, my mate caught a keeper size whiting. It was strange to see my mate pulling out a whiting from a muddy water though. Slightly afterwards, also keeper size bream was boated, so things were getting a bit more active. Then something started to nibble my bait. I thought it was a small pinky, but suddenly it swallowed the bait and started to pull the line. Quite heavy and peeling the line a bit. Not as powerful as Kingie, but more than Trevally. I was wondering what it was... and when the fish came up to the surface, it was shining bright orange in colour. I thought I caught a Japanese Nishikigoi (coloured carp) somehow, but it turned out to be a 50cm Jewie. Jewie's silver shiny skin was reflecting the orange muddy water in fact!! From thereon, I caught 2 more similar sized Jewies. I have never caught Jewie in Pittwater, so it was a big surprise to catch 3 within perhaps 30 minutes. It was already late afternoon then and water was muddy, so Jewies probably thought it was already evening causing & looking for dinner 😆 After the Jewies, a rat Kingie and Striped Grunter were also landed. We couldn't boat any legal size Jewie or Kingie, but after 5 hours of no activity in the morning, afternoon events were just enough to make our fishing trip fun one eventually. Thanks for reading.

Well done and congrats! Fattier one looks amberjack though. Great fish anyway.

This location is more productive during the summer time early morning. You can expect legal size kingies and jew fish between January and April. You get trevally and breams throughout the year.

Well done and congrats! By the way what do people say about bleeding instantly and icing them? It is a correct way I suppose...

Hi Oldfella. Interesting stories... Sharing is caring I guess, especially to those who fish land based and had no chance to land a king. Everyone deserves feel the excitement! Cheers,

Again, thanks Oldfella. Cound't agree more with you! Bryson, if you are willing to cross the bridge, you could try Little Manly - fish out of the rocks next to the Jump Rock. Must get there early to get a good spot though, say 3-4am. Until the dawn you can try squidding as well as catching yakkas. School of kings come around searching for brekkies at the dawn and if you have a live squid then, catching a king is very likely during this time of year. JFYI, one of my mates caught this giant jew there. Happy fishing!

You must be right Hooked-Up! Thanks Oldfella for your tips. Very nice of you to share.

Went to Pittwater yesterday. First fished at Stokes Point, but little productive. Then moved to the Soldiers Point. There absolutely dead water... Moved up to the West Head and there were a lot of kingy activities. Caught probably 6-7 of them, but all of them were around 60cm. While there, a king (must be) has snatched my bait fishing gear out of the boat!! I left it unattended while unhooking a rat. If anyone catches a king with my gear (Shimano Catana Rod, Shimano 2500 Baitrunner with light green braid on it), please let me know!!! Much appreciated. Happy fishing!

I would go in the evening or a few hours before dawn to catch squid. Harder to catch after sunrise I think.

Wow, banana prawns... Thanks

Wow, well done guys! Did you use live worms for the whiting by the way?

Red gurnard, one of best edible fish especially sashimi!

Well done and thanks for sharing.

Well done mate. Very nice of you to share live worms and prawns. Not many people do that!

Great report. Enjoyed a lot. Thanks for sharing.