Keflapod

Hey Zoran, Deep droppin eh? I used to Loooooove doing it but it became a bit expensive and good weather windows during the right moonphase was hard to co-ordinate. Essentially we used 200lb braid but the challenge is to get the breaking strains right of the essential components of the rig. The main line must never break. If you're coming down to 80lb, then instead of using 50lb sinker breakaway you might try 30lb. When the gemmies were bad and biting sinkers off, I used 50lb wire. The sinker trace needs to be about 3m or so because the bottom is littered with fishing gear debris and all sorts of man-made stuff. I believe it was a dumping ground for things a long time ago but I don;t know. The sinker was about 6-8lb of weight - window sash cord weights. You might go 4lb but it depends on the drift speed. Use 1 metre of abrasion-resisting cord on the weight and tie the breakaway line to the cord. Next you have maybe 5m of 400lb jinkai with the droppers. I used to use 3. You can buy crimp-style swivels where there is a crimpable shaft and a rolling swivel in between them. Very fast to rig. Leave spave between the hooks to take fish length into account when pulling up multiple fish. Then I use (used to use - lol) a crimped 400lb jinkai leader (very short so it doesn't tangle on the way down. And of course the humungous circle hook. Next point up the line I used 50m of 100lb shock-absorber mono. In your case you might go 50lb. You need this bit of stretch when you load up else you could break off. Then a big ball bearing swivel to connect to the main braid. Well that's the rig. Now the bait. I have never bothered with squid and pillies. Half-cut slimies will outfish everything else but there is a real trick to rigging it hydrodynamically so it gets to the bottom intact. Apologies I'm a bit tired and not feeling 100% else I would have drawn something for you

Mate snapper are amongst the most beautiful fish when photographed alive whether 0.5kg or 5kg. Very nice. Also the Japanese food you had in front of you looks incredible. She’s lucky to have a great fisho and you’re lucky to have a great chef. I write this as I have my tinned tuna and rice lunch😆

That’s a heck of a reddy for the harbour. Any photos? Also my experience with fisheries has been mixed over the years but I’m happy to have them come on board and look around. It’s an opportunity for me to show them the boat I custom built and use alone. Better to feel proud rather than feel like the subject of an investigation right?

What species of whiting are they? Any photos of them? How big is big?

Jeez don’t you guys work? Lol. Well done. Some big fish there. I remember way back on FR there was a guy called dogtooth who was doing the same and pulling some big fish. I don’t believe he said too much about spots but downrigging live squid was the go.

Bream would have to be amongst the most adventurous and adaptable fish around. They are only outdone by us humans. Well done on finding and catching those fish especially at that size. Do you eat them as well?

You only keep the bream over 40cm? Apart from that comment mate you had an awesome day. Well done. Kids and Jewies are an awesome combination

What? The kids outfished you again? Wow that’s sooo embarrassing! Really there is nothing more rewarding than to see your kids loving the fishing as much as we do. They will remember these days all their lives and really contribute towards a happy childhood. You can’t buy stuff like this. Keep them smiles coming.😎

Getting serious gear in a yak? Lock up the drag and go skiing! Lol maybe that might be a bit dangerous but after getting done twice I reckon it’s worth the risk! Mate I think you have the gun bait and technique for hitting Jews,. It’s only a matter of time before a big one comes up onto the lip grips.

Ah the Benny hill theme. I grew up with that theme and I still hear it regularly as well. Usually I hear it at the boat ramp when people are launching and retrieving. But when we are anticipating a bite we hear the Jaws theme right? Then when a nice fish hits the deck we hear the Rocky theme. Of course when we get a prize at a Competition we hear Freddy Mercury with “we are the champions”. Lol perhaps some people hear “ I want to break free”.😆. Loved your story your perseverance and determination, not only to catch the target fish but to fight the tree and win.

Crikey JD how big are those hoodlums?

Yep I know all about them. Last year I hooked something unstoppable but it didn't have the speed of the Eagles and I was wondering what it was. Earlier this year I spotted a shadow gliding under my 6m boat. It was as wide as my boat and I could have sworn I saw barnacles on its back. It was a black stingray prob over 100kg and that's likely what did me the previous year. Botany Bay is full of surprises.

Noel I see your point of view. Perfectly valid. Tuna do require vastly greater amounts of food due to their size, metabolism, growth rates, etc. Kingfish I expect are not in the same category but of course would be affected by the same ussues. If we can turn our whinges into suggestions, perhaps our scientists and government can leverage from them and make something happen. For example we can transform offcuts and other parts of fish/seafood that we humans don't consume, into a natural food source for the kingies or to feed baitfish that we can then feed to the kingies. The kingies would be a resource owned by the shareholders, (mainly pro fishermen?) so they would have a vested interest to manage their resource without relying on the currently horrible management. We are an ingenious species and there is always a way - it's just a matter of willingness, time and of course, money.

Why don't the pros just buy shares in a kingfish fish farm and leave the wild stocks to us recs? If a fish species is shown that it can be farmed successfully, wild stocks should be left alone (except to catch a few for gene-pool variation). Then if there's an issue with fish numbers, then we can adjust bag/size limits for us recs.

Hi Jon, clearly you aren't reading the signs here. The bananas are the REASON you're getting the fish to the boat. The rest is up to the anglers. So the only way to beat your daughters efforts are to USE the bananas as Live Bait. And if little miss cheeky catches on to the idea as well then really your trips are gonna become Revenge Fishing (@scratchie) and that's when the real fun begins!. For those of you who watch Extreme fishing with Robson Green it's like Robson losing a fishing challenge and he's a funny sore loser. Fantastic effort Jon and apprentice. Fabulous fish, photos and good fun.

Looks like whiskers has called in some re inforcements. He's called in ZZ Top (for the whiskers effect) and now Arnold ShwatzennSnapper. The steroids are real ! It never ceases to amaze me the size of the Reds you're getting and still getting destroyed on bigger fish. But I agree it's the feeling of being done by a big fish that pisses us off enough to want revenge. Grrr. Revenge fishing.. Lol. I love it.

So the lures can catch fish without even being worked by an angler. That's spooky. Maybe we can create a lure to catch fish without even us getting involved. We cast it in and sit back until the lure sends us an SMS to wind it in!! But we should be careful coz If the lures become self aware they will jump off the shelves, cast themselves and catch fish. I doubtbthey could rule the world though. Well obviously I haven't fished for a while - going stir crazy here. 😆

Hey Bruce. Very nice flattie. I hav seen 2x flatties do that but not hooked them. I've had one chase a little red but miss it on the surface. Another one chased a half eaten piece of chicken breast as I was pulling it back near the surface. But again no cigar. Well done on the release. Reminds me of the Finding Dory quote is Brucey the shark "fish are friends not food" . That's why the flattie was released😄

Hey Keith, regarding the metal buried in the bay, can you share some more information about what you learned? Also can you tell us how that person knows about it. It would be very interesting to know more.

Guys, with all the talk on the snapper, no-one mentioned the seagull on the outboard. Poor birdie...waiting for a hot chip on the motor coz he just can't get a bite

You know you gotta be in-the-know to know... It's getting as ridiculous as the bump on that fish's head

I knew @rickmarlin62 would ask you some probing questions. Lol. He KNOWS that ain't whiskers. He was testing your honesty when he asked you. But you also know he knows it's not whiskers and you fessed up. Oh the mind games us fishos play! Gotta love it. Mate you can just about hide behind that fish. And you still got done by bigger fish. That's just mind blowing. You're not really a "scratchie" more like a "catchie"😆

Ive caught some Sargent Bakers on jigs off the ocean rocks. Also cuttlefish and octopus. Oh and occasionally a squid😆

Hey salty creek, I have an image of you as a youngster on a bike going to spots and discovering the world of fishing. Regardless of your age, you're in for an amazing time coz the Fishraider community here are a great bunch of people who share Intel and can help you catch that fish you're chasing. I have seen some people catch Jew to maybe 70cm on very light line but they were in a boat and the hook was in the mouth holding onto almost nothing. They could chase the fish and keep enough pressure on to prevent the hook falling out. There's no way you could set the hook on a Jew with such light line. If the hook did get into the gills or swallowed then it might hold but the light trace would cut or wear out on the gill plates or mouth. That 12kg gear you have is better suited but don't fish the bait runner engaged. Fish it in gear and get some cord and attach it to the gear else you'll lose it on the strike. Good luck and hope to see you here with a big fish and matching smile on your dial. 😎

Hey rick, it's amazing how strong is the call of whiskers and his kin. Makes you research weather patterns, approach and departure routes, contingency plans, strategies and techniques so we can get bent over the side yelling Ffffaaaaarrrr@&$.!! when you do finally get whiskers he may have a beard like yours. But probably not the cool sunnies.😎