Linc

nice job, would have been a fun session. Bait or lure?

I just got from from a weekend up there as well, lots of flathead around with the constant running water and no shortage of bait fish and tiny prawns floating around for them to feast on (luckily they seem to be able to see in the muddy water better than us!) We also braved the high waters and mods of wader-clad-warriors to seek out a prawn or two, we ended up with merely a snack, literally a cup full of what I would call shrimp more than prawns, great bait size, but even as bait they seemed to get taken by the pickers. There were a few guys around saying you have to wait till midnight for the tide to recede but as mentioned above, the tides had absolutely no impact on water level as the lake's water was higher than sea level so it was a constant outgoing flow - perfect for flatties but bloody hard work wading through it.

That is a horse flounder. You're the first person I've heard of not liking to eat them too. How deep were you when the Mako hit? Would love to get out and chase some flake

They still have the blue containers in Bunnings which work a treat, I've never had a livie die while running the pump through mine

Nice post, it's nice when the squid literally just hop onto your jig, yet other times they'll stare at it and tease you but not touch it. Not sure what happened to your batter, looks a bit lumpy? try 50% corn flour, 50% self raising, add a pinch of baking powder then pour in beer till you get the right consistency. Fresh squid shouldn't need any flavouring, just make up a dip with lemon juice, white pepper and salt and your mouth will be watering in no time, mine is just thinking about it!

For me it depends on where the fish are caught, I'd have no problem eating a bream caught on the beach miles away from the parra river as Sashimi, but I wouldn't eat any bream I caught anywhere in the harbour without cooking it (even though I only fish East of the bridge), they are just too territorial and can be very old...just a mental thing maybe more than anything. Flathead is good as sashimi, one that hasn't been mentioned as well is whiting, one of the best fish to eat no matter how you prepare it.

Just be mindful it is technically illegal to fillet a fish while out on the boat/yak unless it's one that doesn't have a size limit... You'd have to be pretty unlucky to get in trouble over it but

No worries, just make sure to discard any red meat from the fillets before munching on them or it'll be quite strong. trevs have a really nice firm texture and you'll be surprised by the superb flavour when freshly done as sashimi

Don't clean a fish and eat is as sashimi straight away, I made this mistake once and it was very rubbery. it's best to fillet and leave the fillets in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. In my opinion Trevally, Kingfish, Snapper and Bonito make the best fresh sashimi of the fish we catch around here. Fillet and skin, leave the fillets in the fridge for a while, then slice thinly and serve with soy sauce and wasabi. One of my most favourite ways to enjoy a fresh catch!

We fished the colours on sunday and did quite well with some big mowies around, you needed 4-5oz sinkers though. Had the same experience as you at balmoral and sow and pigs though

That fogdog cajun stuff is good, expensive when not on special though so I only grab it when I see it going cheap I knew there had to be a use for seargant bakers - are they any good as strip bait?

Nice bonnies and squid. I could not get a touch in mh on sunday, not even an undersized snapper nibbling. The harbour was a different story though with trevs and a couple rats still around.

I lived in China for several years where it is a very common fish on the table, when covered with enough garlic, chilli and God knows what else, the taste can eventually be covered up, but one might as well cook a piece of cardboard as it would taste the same after such treatment. Oh and not even lures are safe from carp all the time, I actually caught on trolling a yellow dixon spinner in the wimmera river down in Vic about 20 years ago!

Having grown up in inland Victoria catching redfin, carp and trout, it has been well drilled into my brain that under no circumstances do you return a live carp to the water, and rightfully so as it is the law down in Vic. Having said that, what good do they do to our water systems? They aren't naturally part of our waterways so why should they be left there?

Nice landbased bag. Have always turned my nose up to the crabbies but might have to grab a bag since they seem to catch a nice variety of species. I imagine you'd use a really subtle action with them yeah?

baha that is a pearler. I'm sure most of us have hooked our anchor rope a few times but to fight it like a champ for so long, that would have made a great video

As mentioned, bleed on capture and straight on the ice. Then fillet and skin and cut of all the red meat. Then cook in beer batter and it is delicious. Anyone that says salmon is not good eating has not eaten it like this on the day of capture, I guarantee I could change the mind of any salmon haters preparing it like this. On the other hand, leave the red meat on or stick it in the fridge for 3 days and you've prepared yourself some nice burley - not for the table.

Nice report mate, but pls do yourself a favour and lose the wire trace, that stuff is just not necessary (especially for flatties) and will greatly decrease the number of bites you get. use a fluorocarbon leader instead.

It's pretty rare that I say this, but today is a good day not to be fishing

Wow I've never heard of hairtail in Botany, and so early in the season too! Where abouts was he roughly if you don't mind? Don't need your secret GPS marks or anything just curious as to which part of the bay

Thats right they changed it from I believe 1 trap and 5 witches hats to 2 traps and 4 witches hats

Also Banned in Vic. They claim non-target species (including turtles) get tangled in them and drown, A valid point I guess, anything and everything gets tangled in those damn things, but crabs do too so I like them

Looks like he must have strayed from NZ, so huge for a Sydney King, well done!

As you said, so many people go overboard with leader and mainline there, I've heard of people using 200lb, when (if) they eventually do get a bite sure they can just drag it in, but guarantee you'll get 10:1 more bites with your rig. You always need a bit of luck with a fish like that, just keep at it.

Sounds like a pretty good day all in all. I've had those things take a dead bait from the bottom in 8 meters of water below, thought we had a beauty of a fish on till we saw colour... and feathers!