big Neil

What a buzz Noldty. Top report too. Right place right time plus persistence = a great result. You must be walking on air mate. bn

I enjoyed the excitement in your report. Sounds like a good session for you all. One of those was the very first fish I ever caught in Australia, a long time ago. Wierd the defensive mechanisms which some marine life possess, eh? Cheers, bn

A warm welcome to Fishraider Adam and wife. Will be catching up with your reports in due course, no doubt. The fish in the photo looks a bit like a Carp. Is that Fiji? Cheers, bn

Here's the picture of the catch Andrew. Definitely something I want to do again and may be back up there during Cod closed season Sept /Oct/Nov. Cheers, Neil

Love the pic Tyrone. You taking the micky or what? Get up, go for a quick fish, catch a feed and HEAD BACK TO BED? Seriously? bn

I think you need to change your name mate. Doesn't sound to me like you lack confidence or ability. Great report on what can only be described as a great session. Cheers, bn

I can send you the pattern for the Saville Row alteration package if you need it Jon. Sounds like a good idea... another thing which I learned was DO NOT BELIEVE THE WEATHER FORECAST. haha, bn

Plenty of good fish meals happening there Scratchie. Well done guys. Q. With all these whales about at present is there any risk of colliding with one when running flat chat to your favourite spot or is their "sonar" able to help them avoid vessels at speed? May seem like a dumb Q but it's something I've pondered for a while. Cheers, bn

That's the spirit guys, looking after each other. Some nice fish there too. Good job, bn

Nice one Luke, make it happen. There's a stack of nice anglers in the Fishraider fold. Cheers, bn

G'day there Derek. Just let me know if you ever intend coming down here for a fish. It's really not that far 530kms. I'd love to come back to Sydney sometime during the Murray Cod closed season Sept 1st to Nov 30th. Would that time slot be any good for catching live bait and Kingfish? Great to meet you guys, you certainly are a wealth of knowledge. Cheers, bn

Will certainly try the plastics on my spinnerbaits Waza. I left the aeroplane spinner at Franks, didn't realise it was for me to take. Told one of my old Cod mates that I'd seen one recently and he was telling me how good they were. Great to catch up with you and thank you for your generosity. I'll look forward to seeing you and Franks post catching JD. Will see you again on my next trip, when it's a bit warmer. bn

Sorry about putting the post on like this guys but It's taken me about 3 hours to finally get that bit on. The post kept losing large chunks of the content and I decided to post what I had before losing that too. part two SYDNEY Sunday. I caught the train into Central where I was surprised to find an old steam train being made ready for excited people to experience. Couldn't resist a few shots. I met up with Ryder and we headed around the corner to do some fishing. The weather forecast was for "slight possibility of a light shower". WRONG! I didn't bother to bring my wet weather gear because I didn't think it would be needed. After a quick refresher on how to apply the bait and setting the depth to fish at, we started fishing. I grew up on float fishing in the UK and have always loved it as a form of angling. Of course, the rig for Luderick fishing is quite specific, it needs to be. I had the first fish on while Andrew was still tackling up and it was a real buzz to play it on the long flexible rod. Very happy to break the duck and catch my first Luderick. The rain persisted and we were joined by Blackfish. Ryder dropped quite a few good fish right at the net. The fish were now in real trouble with two aces and a very keen learner chasing them. Blackfish caught a few and the occasional passerby watched when we had a fish on. Ryder was well prepared for the wet weather but Blackfish and I had got soaked to the skin when this little old Asian lady appeared from nowhere with 2 large garbage bags. I could have hugged her but she would have ended up soaked also. I quickly fashioned mine into a copy of the latest Saville Row wet weather gear and we were back into it. The fish were a bit timid in their bites but we still managed to get a few, Ryder getting on a roll half way through the first half. Blackfish had to leave and we kept going despite the drizzle. Ended up with 8 decent sized Luderick which was generously donated to me and subsequently Frank. It was a great day. I learned a great deal and would hope to do it again when the opportunity presents. Sincere thanks Andrew and Gordon, it was brilliant spending time with you, doing what you do. On that note, if either of you or any of the others who I caught up with fancy catching Murray Cod...just let me know. BOTANY BAY Monday. Frank and I had suffered an aborted mission at Burrinjuck late last year and had promised that we would get out together again...SOMEWHERE. This was it but once again the weather was seriously against us. We launched before first light and headed out into the bay to find strong winds and fairly choppy seas. The BASS BOAT was no deterrent to the waves splashing over and with the strong wind we got absolutely drenched. You know what they say about "Pommies" and the frequency of their showering... well I won't need a shower till 2019. Frank caught a small Snapper, me NOTHING. I was quite glad to get back to the boat ramp at Kyeemagh to thaw out a bit. I have had a great time and learned a heck of a lot during this trip. I still have a bucket list longer than my short arms and would hope to come back to the "big smoke" to further my fishing knowledge and experiences. SINCERE THANKS to everyone that I met. I am (and always have been) hopeless with names. You have all enriched my life experience, for which I am very grateful. Cheers from bn

Hi Raiders. Seems like I've been away from home for months, not weeks. So much to relate. VANUATU. If you want to meet the absolute friendliest, happiest people on the planet...this is where they live. Only 290,000 population all up, they are happy with what they have. No road rage, smiles and pleasantries are the go in this idyllic place only 3 hrs flight from Sydney. Might as well be on another planet. I wasn't able to arrange any fishing for myself over there, but it will be on the agenda next time I go there. I spent a bit over 2 weeks there learning a bit about their lives, from the locals. The roads are something to be seen, even worse than the bush tracks where I live. Well worth a visit. SYDNEY Thursday. Very lucky that Frank had the foresight to check the airline schedule as my flight was delayed 5 hours. He and Waza picked me up from arrivals and we headed to Berala. Waza showed us some of the fishing gear which he makes... (rods and soft plastics) and he also had this old rusty aeroplane spinner. I've heard a lot of my old Murray Cod mates talking about these lures, but I'd never seen one. Back at Frank's place we were met by Fragmeister and we chatted about where he used to fish for the green monsters, in the upper reaches of the Murrumbidgee River. I was particularly interested in the other hobby which Jim has, landscape painting. Self-taught, he's bloody good at it! Missed Ojay and Nat but will hopefully get to meet them next time. Already I was very impressed with the level of commitment applied to their "other hobbies". Plans were made for the next days outing at Cremorne. SYDNEY Friday. The plan was to try to catch some John Dory, but firstly to catch some small live baits. Waza took care of that and we ended up with 3 separate John Dory rigs put out. Alas the JD were a no-show but a very persistent cormorant succeeded in robbing us of the live baits. Derek D gave me some invaluable tips about squid fishing which I hope to put to good use when I eventually manage to fish for Kingies with the squid as live bait. Great conversations happening with everyone. You guys certainly know what you're doing when fishing for your particular targetted species. We also tried to entice a Kingie to the Cuttlefish which Derek put out under a balloon, but it was a mere spectator, like us. Suffice to say that no matter how much skill, knowledge, guile, experience...if the fish don't show up, it's gonna be tough. As we all know the reward from fishing can be in the effort made, rather than the number of fish caught. The effort was definitely not lacking. It was great to catch up with you all, I learned a lot about YOUR bread and butter fishing. We decided to pull stumps at lunchtime. Sincere thanks from me to you all. A great morning on a beautiful harbour with top people...LIFE IS GOOD. SYDNEY Saturday. A non - event with me being up all Friday night with vomiting and diarrhoea. I spent the entire time in bed trying to get well enough for Sunday. ...to be continued... bn

Hey Ryder, absolute FUN, FUN, FUN. Certainly a good level of skill, knowledge and finesse in the art of Luderick fishing. Can't wait to try it again. Many thanks for taking me out and teaching me how it's done...I HAD A BALL. Till next time??? bn