jimbo61

Decided to stay within the LGA of concern and so threw a line in around Lugarno way. It was protected from the wind and very pleasant with kookaburras laughing and the odd jet-ski buzzing past. Fished a couple of hours around the low this afternoon and was rewarded with a nice feed of luderick. After a slow start the downs started but the first six fish were all undersized at around 25cm (annoying but a good sign of a healthy system). So I switched to some old dark weed I had on hand instead of the fresh wire weed I was using. This change for whatever reason enabled me to catch the next three fish at 30cm, 34cm, and 35cm. I find that sometimes old weed attracts the bites and I can be fishing next to others using fresh weed, cabbage and they get fewer downs. A few kayakers paddled past and one of them had a couple of nice flatties whilst drifting with the classic Mr Twister soft plastic (I have a bag of these must give them a go this summer) My last cast I got smoked. The float idled past me and then zipped under and disappeared in a blink. I lifted the rod and felt a massive head shake and then nothing. Whatever it was had wrapped me around some structure deep down. I eased off the pressure hoping it would swim away but nothing. The fish was gone and I was jagged. Needless to say I lost everything below the stopper. Called it a day and went home to fillet and skin these three for supper. Cheers

Thanks Green Hornet. I have tried the index finger method. It does work but tends to interfere with the free turning of the spool when you wish your float to drift as your finger creates drag. As you say you then need to hand feed the line out. But you do raise a good point about amount of line on the spool. I will definitely look into this as now that i think about it I have way too much for luderick fishing (this reels doubles as a light bream/whiting reel as it can be cast hence the amount of line I have on it) Cheers

Gday fellow fishraiders. I frequently fish Botany Bay and the Georges River for blackfish. My chosen outfit is a Snyder mag bream 126 matched to an Alvey 475A. My question does not relate to how to catch 'em, where to find 'em, or where to get weed Simply put, how do my fellow fishos use the outfit when fishing across a wind. The issue I have is line being blown off the spool while drifting your float. Normally this is not a huge problem until you get a down and suddenly realise you cannot turn the spool because you are trying to put coils of line back in place. Short of using an eggbeater, what tips and techniques can you advise. Cheers

Thanks Derek. Bit premature on the winter label but you know what they say - "Winter is Coming" 😊

Been a while since my last post. Dusted out the old blackfish outfit with my trusted Alvey 475A. I also have the non swivel model but I suspected some long casts into the wind and this is extra difficult with a centre pin. Normal weed spots were completely bare from the recent rains but I did have some old weed stored in a hessian bag luckily and a weed fly my neighbor made. Tried all around Tom Uglys with nothing. Water was very murky and lots of debris floating out with the outgoing tide. Moved around to Captain Cook bridge and changed to the fly. This was more successful with a couple of downs but no hookup. Wind had now picked up so I tried the floating cruise boat pontoon. You are not allowed on there as it is private but you can cast out to where the structure is. Anyway I got a good cast in from the shore and dropped it right next to the walkway. I could just see the float and the rain had also started to come down as the float started its drift. I dropped the rod quickly to put on my raincoat whilst trying to keep my eyes on the float. Picking up the rod I looked out and could not see my float anymore. Not certain if it had just drifted too far or if it was a down I began to panic. Do I strike? The even heavier rain made my decision for me. Lifting the rod I felt some weight. It could have been weeds. Then the tell tale surge of the blackfishes tail told me I was finally on. After a great fight with some strong runs taking line out I landed this beautiful 40cm model. Rain coming down in buckets now so I called it quits.

That;s a monster

Big hook stuffed full of beach worms.

I have had some success with cabbage in the estuaries (its a gun bait off the ocean rocks though). But in saying this the fish that I have caught in estuaries using cabbage although fewer and more difficult to catch tended to be larger.

Thanks everyone. As to the taste Squirt, if you look after your fish then they taste really good. Blackfish are known to have a weedy taste if not looked after but if you bleed them well and remove black lining and blood line then that that disappears. Their flesh has a noted fishy taste to it and it is generally white and quite moist. It's certainly no flathead, whiting snapper but holds its own. Best way I have found is to fillet and skin them and lightly dust with flower, salt, and pepper and fry.

Gday raiders. Decided to go for a blackfish session today. Time got away from me so it was late afternoon before I left home. Getting any decent weed was challenging to say the least and all my normal haunts came up with bugger all weed. I finally managed to find a few sparse strands around Carss Park so with that headed down to Botany Bay. I nearly turned back as it was howling and bloody freezing. I decided against all the usual spots as it was just too windy so I ended up a bit up river near the Lugarno. First cast and hit a snag nearly losing the whole rig. A few more casts and adjusting for depth it was not looking promising. Few guys came past flicking lures and we compered notes with zero fish all around. It was getting dark and the small amount of weed I had left was barely staying on but just then the float disappeared in a flash. I was slow to react and after what seemed an eternity struck but nothing. Cursing myself I baited up again and cast. Float drifted about 2 meters and then down she went again. This time though i lifted the rod and was on. Out came a beautiful 34cm blackfish. No time to muck around i threw it in the keeper net and cast out again. Bang down again and after a more spirited fight was rewarded with another blackfish at 32cm. Both put up a superb tussle on the outfit I was using and ended up as fishburgers for dinner washed down with a Heineken. Cheers

What are everyones thoughts on this topic. I went down to Wanda last Saturday for a beach fish session. For those that do not know the area from beach access #5 up to the start of the 4WD area is a dog leash-free zone in the morning up to 10am. I was fishing very very light with one spin rod and a shoulder bag targeting tailor and salmon. So i started at Wanda and then slowly worked my way up the beach. Once I got past access track 5 and into the leash free area i received a couple of odd looks from some dog owners. Thinking nothing of it I continued to walk and cast lures. Then it got interesting. One bloke looked at me a few times while chucking a stick into the surf for his dog to fetch. He was about 15m south from my spot. Then he came up to me and reminded me in a condescending tone that this was a dog leash free area and did I know it. I got a bit fired up but decided to play it cool. I said yes i did know it was a dog leash free area until 10am! He then reminded me that I should be fishing down south towards Wanda where "other" fishos were located. His reasoning was something along the line of dogs being impaled by fish hooks. I said thanks for the advice but was he aware that this was a public beach open to walkers, fishers, swimmers, surfers etc. I told him I would continue to fish as I am always aware of my surroundings (unlike some irresponsible dog owners). He wasn't happy and left to talk to some other dog owners. They momentarily all looked up at me and I smiled and waved back I love dogs and I have a dog myself but i really got the with this and it soured an otherwise nice morning. BTW there are obviously quite a few owners he just let their dogs all over the place. The sand was disgusting that morning with faeces everywhere. End of rant Jimbo

40gram spaniard does wonders.

Awesome fish well done. Must try kayak fishing one day.

Gday raiders, Well today was the day i decided to dust off the blackfish gear and hit one of my favorite spots in the Georges. But before I get to the report i digress. This summer i finally decided to make some more floats from cork champagne stoppers and kebab sticks. I have got it down to an art now where not only does it look half decent but the float functions well with minimal drag. I use less lead too and it balances perfectly. I am a convert to finely balancing the float to increase hook up chances. Here is a photo of the killer float that did all the damage today. So to continue with the report. The weather was not too perfect as i do not like bright days. However the water was clean and there was a very nice run with some eddies and slack water areas too. and a bit of sea weed to top it off I joined another few blackfishos and fished the last two hours of the run in tide. Down number 1. I was on with a good sized fish around 30cm. For its size it fought the best nearly busting me off before i brought it to the surface. But just then out popped the hook and fish gone to live another day. Down number 2. Waited and then this fella came over for a sticky beak and started asking questions excitedly. I hate that. I miss timed it and another fish gone. Down number 3. Started counting and quickly glanced around to see if Mrs Mangles was coming over, He was busy so all good. Lifted the rod and felt weight. He was on at about 32cm and so fought him for a minute to tire him out.Brought him closer to the surface and reached for my landing net. God damn!!!! I left it home. Now panicking with the fish splashing on the surface drawing attention to me. Too slippery to go down there so just timed it and reefed him up. Success with one in the bag. Went quiet for next 45 minutes and then the fun started again. Down 4. Missed Down 5. On. Heavier fish this time but fat and lazy thank god. Tired him out as much as I could. Bloke came over again to ask what bait i was using. Talk about timing. I gave him the run around and should him some slices of white bread i was using (hopefully not a fellow fishraider). Asked him if he had a net but he was less prepared than i was. So decided to hoist it up. Oops. Lost it Fair bit of swearing here................ Down 6. On again. This was heavier still and took three or four runs/dives before i finally turned him around. Was not going to chance this so i carefully walked him around the jetty, along the rocks, and finally to a bit of a landing place where i finally got my hands around him. I was soaked and a few of the others were having a bit of a laugh at me. But i did catch this fish finally. This one went 34cm and i was happy. I missed one more which i thought was on but when i started to walk him around to same place he dived at some under water structure and i lost him. So for all that i brought home two fish to the missus and a good story. Thoroughly enjoyed the day and really felt like i earned my right to eat those fish, I think filleted and skinned and then lightly battered before fried up in butter and thyme, served with a greek salad and a glass of crisp Mudgee white. And the motto of this tale is - don't forget the landing net, Jimbo

Well done Kel. The port is great for blackfishing although i prefer Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens side as there are less protective/secretive locals but unfortunately also much less blackfish. Hope you did not touch Frank's rock he gets pissed off! Would you mind sharing which tackle shops you got your weed from as I have not had much luck buying any green weed from tackle shops (in St George area at least). It would be good to have a s a back up when all the known canals and streams having nothing or have been picked bare. Cheers Jimbo