Dredog

Hi guys has anyone been recently getting slimies at the artificial reef off Sydney andre

Heading off to little wobby for a few days with the kids , anyone know the spots to target flathead etc . I know Patonga , but that’s it . Any advice appreciated andre

Nice work buddy Love catching Bream, good on the tooth too Dredog

Riley was hooked up to a five foot hammer head shark, his little hands were grasped nervously aroung my brand new Stella and Terez rod. I was very nervous, but more about losing my new outfit. The gimbal was tied around his waist, much too big for him, but with a little improvisation around his lifejacket, we made it hold. the reel screamed as it took line and Riley nervously asked " Dad , would you class this a normal day, when you and Sam go fishing?" It all started getting up at the crack of dawn. Try getting two children up at 4.30 am! We picked up Sam from Watsons Bay and headed out to the Artifical reef to gather bait. the kids loved catching slimies and the rod buckled with chains of two and three fat slimies coming on board. It wasnt long before the tank was full and we were ready to chase some kings. Riley was in the hot seat after devouring most things from the esky. Hope the fish are as hungry as him. My other son Brady was taking a back seat today, as he got amongst the action the other day, aboslutely nailing the big sambo's around the harbour. His little arms were still in pain from the day before. We got 5 in total, but no kings. They were toying with us, the rats would literally hold on to the yakkas and spit them out, by the side of the boat. Very satisfied with his catch, he was willing to let Riley take the hot seat. It didnt take long as the line came out of the clip of the downrigger and Riley was on for his first king fish. It took line and we kept its head up by drivng out to some deeper water. It put up a good fight, but no match and it wasnt long before he was in the net and quick photo, before he was realeased. He was just under size, by two cm. " Dont worry son, theres plently more out there, by the look of the sounder. We rebaited but managed to snag the bottom and I ended up rerigging the stella outfit, right from the leader. I have recently learnt the FG knot and I meticulously tied it and finished it with a little super glue. in preparation for a PB king. Sam was driving at the time and pointed to the ominous fin, close to the boat. The kids were a little freaked out and Brady at the time was keen for a wee. But he refused to go over the side. One of the slimies was bridle rigged and Sam flicked the bait at the shark. The rod loaded up and we were on, but the fight was short lived and we were sure the line had been cut by the razor sharp teeth, but to our surprize the bait was still there! A little mangled, but still there. I repositioned the boat and we stealthily approached the shark again. Sam cast towards it. This time the shark attacked the bait. Sam calmly passed the rod to Riley and watched his face as he came to grips with the task of pulling in a fish as tall as him. The shark took alot of line off the reel and we chased it with the boat. I was very impressed with my son, he managed to control the shark as well as gather back alot of the line lost. It wasnt until the hammerhead came along side the boat, that the kids were amazed. Mind you so were Sam and I. With no wire traces, we were sure we would lose it. We agreed to get the hammerhead inside the boat for a quick "SNAP" Not an easy task with a net, far too small, but with the head in the net , I grabbed the tail. The kids feeaked out a little, but we had them at the back of the boat for safety. The shark was subdued with a small wrestle and it calmly posed for a few pics, before its release. It was hooked just on the corner of its mouth and the hook came out very easily. Riley was proud as punch. This was definitley the biggest fish he had ever caught. Making his 43cm blackfish , pail into insignificance. The with the boys at the back again, I grabbed the shark by the head, one last photo . He calmly sat on the edge of the boat and quickly snapped before being released. Wow what an experence to hook kids on fishing!

Tides, I've noticed in sea breeze , a distinct jump from one day to the next . Which is approximately three days after the full moon . Why is that ? And what effect dies it have on fishing ? Dredog

Hi Dwan It's a morningstar 406 , got it out from enterprise marine at Mona vale , extremely dry amazing boat , find it online Andre

Thanks Sydneyfisher , seabreeze was a little out yesterday. It wasnt very comfortable out there. I felt sorry for the guys wide of Browns that I heard on the radio that were staying out last night. That would be a very rough ride home today.

Thanks Mate We tried throwing a whole arsenal under the birds and could see the fish on the sounder, but no cigar. Funny enough, we picked up the snapper under a large dead cuttlefish that the 3 albatross were eating. In about 75ft of water.

Headed out very early this morning. Chewie and I had planned to launch at Long Reef, but a nastly northerly swell, made us think otherwise. I hadn't launched at long Reef before, let alone in the dark and with a swell at dead low tide. Must find out some tips from fellow raiders before attempting this next time. So off to Little Manly we went and before long we were at Longy. Dropped the drogue and my Nuclear Chicken was on the bottom in no time. First light was just appearing and I was worried that we had missed that window of opportunity for old man snapper , but my rod loaded up and the head shakes got me all excited. My first cast and I'm on! The sign of a very good day. Chewie tried to tangle my rod with his, an effort to loose the fish. But it wasnt long before old man snapper was in the net, not really old, more of a juvenile, but still quite fat and he measured in at 43cm. High fives, photos - Quick..... back to that mark! We tried desperately to find another........lost one, followed by lots of by catch, Seargent Bakers and a Wrasse. Maybe it was the sun getting higher who knows , but Chewie refused to be outfished, especially by me. We changed locations and pased through a flock of birds, small brown critters who were quite dopey. They were so thick, one grazed my hat and the other ploughed into the side of the boat as we passed through the flock. we were sounding large schools of fish, but suspected these were salmon and the birds were in hot pursuit, but there was very little surface activity. Chewie's rod finally had a hit and his soft plastic was devoured , by a much smaller snapper. Did I tell you it was alot smaller !!! but still a keeper. The two snapper happily upside down in the tank. The fishing slowed down and and the heavens opened up, but we were constantly entertained by breaching whales. At one stage a large whale continued to head straight towards us. Only veering away at the last moment. What a great day off. Only capped off by Morroccan stuffed snapper for dinner. Big thanks to Paul Flynn for the boat exteriors , good to see you again! Dredog

Love the shots, fantastic photos, what are you shooting on?. A marlin in 10m ,amazing. This year has certainly been a bumper year. brilliant report guys. really inspires you, im heading out to Longy soon

I had mine custom made by a guy, all assembled at my place, fits like a glove, water doesn't pool and it looks great. cost me about $1000 , but well worth it. It sure prolongs your investment. Also prevents people getting under and stealing items. The company was Rhino Boat covers . The whole job was done in a day. Dredog

Im sitting at work after a very long day and I see those pictures. Well done buddy. Very jealous , knew I should have scrapped work and gone fishing. Work all ways seems to get in the way. Very healthy reds. You have well and truly christened that rod now. But seriously, when are we fishing next? Dredog

Hi mate I was thinking of the same thing and then thought, why not just put your go pro on the back and using the bluetooth, you can see it on your phone, assuming youve got got one, if you havent well get one and then you can use it in the water too, whilst fishing. Dredog

Hey Nursie I purchased an Interline rod a while ago and i've got to say i love it. The sensitivity is out of this world, you feel every little touch. The rod combined with vibes or soft vibes is unbeatable. Infact I was landing Dollies on it last week and it still performed, my bream fishing has never been so good. You do have to be careful with knots out of the end and regularly replace the knot from braid to flouro. But it is my favourite rod. I did have a problem early on, with some line that got caught in the end, but the boys at Diawa, Brookvale fixed it on the spot, for no cost. The curve on the rod, when under load is sensational and the locking grip for the real seat is very one of the best. Its worth investing in the silicon coated braid with eight strands. it casts beautifuly Dredog

thanks mate will try

Yep. go 2 litre water bottle from the supermarket, cut a a square hole , fold down the flaps and place it just below the surface as poddys feed just below the surface. Dont place it too deep, otherwise youll get lots of toad fish and small bream .If you get one poddy in the trap, leave him in there. he will encourage others and move the bread around the trap. Leave it ten minutes and you should have a couple. They last for atleast 24 hours with a cheap aerator Then use circle hooks for them, but beef up your trace because you will often find the poddy deep in the flatties mouth. Dredog

Had the exact same thing the other day , but once the yakkas were hooked, the Kings changed and I was amazed to see a king chase my yakka on the end of the handline , where as before they were not interrested at all. I watched as a yakka came aboard the boat and i nearly copped a rat king straight on the chin.

Hi Guys Im heading to Dangar island with boat and family , I am keen to find some squid and Yakkas. I havent frished the area much and would love to hear from fellow raiders of spots to catch some bait. Looking to head towards the Lion island and the heads hopefully for kings. Regards Andre ( dredog )

Hi Fellow Raiders I have had my new boat for just on six weeks now, rushed it through so I could take advantage of these bumper fishing months. So glad I did. Sam ( Chewie ) and I went in search of Mahi Mahi of the FADS and were not dissapointed. Headed out very late, since we both had stuff on in the morning. I went to get some yakkas, which started off sensationally, 3 in the new live bait tank in no time. Then the kings turned up and then bait gathering became difficult. The kings werent really interested in the yakkas until they were on the end of the handline and then chased them right up to the edge of the boat. I was looking down at one stage and nearly copped a king straight in my face. A fired up rat is sight to behold. As usual Chewie outfished me in the bait catching skills, but humnble as ever.......! Armed with a full tank of yakkas, headed out to the FAD. Double hookup - first cast. Just about every yakka got hit and if it wasn't for the mutton birds we would have had 3 more in the esky. With 4 good Dollies in the esky we went for a troll , hoping to get amongst the marlin action. Had a good pattern set and it wasnt long before the real screamed. The middle rod got hit, with a divng rapapla that was once found by Chewie at Rushcutters bay, in a park attached to his shoe.......Yes correct. Definitely wasnt a Marlin, probably a mack tuna, by the vibrations through the rod. He fought well and spat the rapalla just by the boat, which felt the need to reattach itself back to Chewie , this time - to his neck. Hook removed and headed home with an esky full of fish. With days like these , you really need to take maximum advantage of your time on the water as Chewie keeps telling me. So with some convincing, we were back out again yesterday. " the sea was angry today my friend " and it wasnt the easiest trying to launch at Little Manly alone. But a few selective curses and I was away. Found Chewy in the dark and off we went. The wind was strong and the seebreeze forecast had changed overnight. We opted to fish locally for squid and found some shelter, but no luck. Till the wind dropped and we headed ou the heads, hopefulll for the elusive Marlin. We had barely cleared the heads when both rods went off. Double hook up of Mahi Mahi less than 1/2 mile form south head. As we passed over a bait school we got hit again, unfortunately they were undersize but Sam switched to his snapper outfit and nailed one of the little leaping blighters, who danced across the surface. Alot of fun. With the patern set again, my rod went off this time and by the feel, we were pretty sure it was a mack tuna. This time Sam didn't wear the lure and the fish came aboard, vibrating all the way and covering me and my new boat in blood. There was blood everywhere. Looked like a scene out of Dexter- Think we just thought of name for the new boat ! Got a little rough then, so we elected to head in and saw a large fin, just of North head. Came up close to see a rather large bronze Whaler cruisng about. Found some shelter in middle harbour and cast my Transam soft vibe out, felt some resistance, but no fight. Assumed it was an old towel, but to my surprize there was a John Dory on the end. A good 40cm fish. He wasnt hooked very well though and the pattern continued with the lure attempting to attach to Chewie. Theres a pattern emerging here.

What a sensational day , you forgot to add your mates simultaneous driving , net , photographic and then one handed gill grabbing skills . Top day , one of the best ever , now is the time fellow fish raiders , those warm water temps are blessing us with great fish , get out there Dredog Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well done Chewie and thanks for the lend of the boat. You are a legend. Check my post Dredog

Hi Raiders headed down to Sussex Inlet with my mate Chewy's boat who he kindly lent to me. Found a lovely house on Stayz that reported to have its own boat ramp and jetty. Unfortunately there was no hope in hell of getting the boat down that ramp. MMmm but that night the waterway was alive with prawns, caught a few and went armed with a few poddys, but absolutely nothing. It wasn't till the prawns disappeared that we found success. A local told me that when the prawns are around, the fish gorge themselves on them which makes fishing very difficult. He was right. It wasn't till two days later that the waterway started to produce. My son caught a nice Whitting and my rod buckled with a nice healthy bream to follow. My father tried his luck with the fly rod, but strong winds made life very difficult. The tide ran out about 2.30 and then we were on. My rod buckled. I was hoping for a nice lizard, but was rewarded with a 40cm plus Trevally that circled the boat 4 times before surrendering in the net. Dad soon found success and he was on. The head shakes were a definite indicator that it was a decent lizard, just over 50cm. the water was extremely clear and sensational. Another bream capped off the day and we were rewarded with a lovely feed. Beer battered fish and chips for dinner. the kids loved it. Commenting that they had never tasted fish like that before. its a beautiful spot. Sea Eagles diving for fish around the boat and rope swings for the kids to swing into the inlet. It had it all. Dredog

Hi Guys Has anybody fished St georges basin recently or sussex inlet? Im heading down with the kids and wouldnt mind doing some prawning too. has anybody fished this arera recently? Would really appreciate some tips or advice, taking my boat down with me, armed with my new christmas present from myself, a new diawa interline rod. Look forward to hearing soem feedback from other fishraiders. BTW went out with my mate Chewy yesterday armed with a few poddys and my new rod. the tides loked good and so did the lack of wind, but it was slow. Chewy bagged a nice Flatty on a squidgy near manly , but it wasnt till 6.30 that the game changed, a flounder took a poddy of the bottom and a nice keeper Bream took my blade very soon after. Quite a nice bag , 1 45cm flathead, 1 32 cm bream and a nice pan sized flounder

Or head up to Roseville bridge .it can be 30 knot winds and its always sheltered . Good bream around the bridge pylons and good flatties off the sand bank

Great article . Fantastic Queenfish . I think I just decided where I'm going for my next holiday and i know what Santa is getting you for Christmas , a Gaff ! I'm stuck filming interviews with my leg still in the mediboot, with only Fishrader to give me a fishing fix . Mind you , had great success with the new smoker, the Tailor tasted amazing Never throwing them back again , working all next week , but , might take the kids out Sunday Andre