fiveflies

Hi JJ, We were using rods (sabiki jig as well as single hooks) rigged with pea sinkers that we use successfully in Botany Bay. Pickles was unweighted and using a (maybe) Size 12 hook on 6lb trace up to a swivel. This wafted down in our berley trail more naturally and the yakkas hooked themselves! Simple when you think about it, but in the heat of the moment not obvious when our usual approach was failing!!

One of the guys I was with is a fly fisherman and he'd love to have a crack at kingies on a fly rod. We will get working on a plan to get the boat up from The Shire to MH and I'll DM you to see if you're free. Very happy to pick you up and take you out in our boat. Thanks again

Hi Neil, We certainly intend to take Pickles up on his generous offer. I'm based down south, so next time we get the boat up to Middle Harbour, Pickles will be getting a DM from me! Regards, Fiveflies

This Wednesday my mate and I went out for our first exploration, on our own, around Middle Harbour. We had taken a charter previously and were attempting to re-create that day when we caught squid and yakkas for livebait before targetting kings. We were full of confidence given our success on the charter however we caught no squid and the yakkas were particularly fickle. Enter fellow Fishraider @Pickles! We were next to another boat and the guys there were reeling in yakka after yakka. Pickles looked over and we said hello. Before long we were chatting and worked out that that we were both Fishraiders and that's when Pickles started teaching us his technique for landing the yakkas. So many fisherman are not prepared to share their spots or how they go about landing their fish. Pickles could not have been more generous, inviting us over and then tying a rig for us to use. Suffice to say we then started landing the yakkas! What's more he offered to take us to the squid ground and offered his services to help us with chasing kingies the next time we go out. We were blown away and so thankful. What a great experience and fantastic to, for the first time, meet another 'Raider face to face. Watch out @Pickles we will take you at your word and have you teaching us your kingie wisdom! IMG_4360.HEIC

I was out in Botany Bay last Tuesday and the Fisheries turned up in their boat. It was great to see them and to know they are checking catches and sizes. We had to hold up the fish we had kept which we were very happy to do. The moved to the next boat as we were leaving and took a long time with him so maybe a few undersize! 😡

Thanks for this post GordoRetired. I've seen those buggers jumping out of the water all the time and always wanted to snag a few for bait but never been able to get any interest from them at all!! Will definitely give this a go next time I get a chance and hopefully have some success.

I bought a kayak back in January this year and have not looked back. Mine's not a Hobie so I have to paddle rather than pedal, but I don't find it to be a problem. I got a cheapish model that came with paddle, seat, rod holders, etc. Bought the life jacket, trolley and a few other bits and pieces for a total spend of around $1000. I fish mostly in the Port Hacking and sometimes Georges rivers. Its perfect and the ability to sneak up on fish as there's no engine noise means that I have never (never!) gone out on it and not caught something! Its fantastically relaxing floating along with a rod out and enjoying the fishing and scenery. There's heaps of information on YouTube, etc. Make sure you get leashes to strap things on. I lost a rod/reel combo on my first outing with out even realising. Everything is strapped down now. When you get closer and if you have any more questions I'm sure there'll be lots of us on here who will be happy to advise based on our experiences.

Hey Raiders, I hope you're all having a good weekend and managing some time out, on or near the water! Friday the 13th turned out to be lucky for me! I decided to head out on the kayak, launching from Gray's Point and heading downstream. I usually drift along the river here and pick up flatties and bream with the odd whiting thrown in. This day I wanted to head up around the corner to the deeper water between Gymea and Yowie bays. I've caught a kingfish there before and I wanted to try jigging for them again. There wasn't much action on the paddle along so decided to head straight for the area in about 16m of water. Got to my place and put a SP jig over the side to work its magic. Thought I might snag a snapper whilst I was there so lobbed a prawn over the other side on the light tackle rod, with 2500 baitrunner reel and sat back to enjoy the beautiful day. Sunshine, blue skies and no wind. After about 10 minutes the baitrunner has a touch and a bit of line is taken. Then a bit more. Then its off like mad! Kingy I thought and started to panic as its 4lb braid and 8lb fc leader. Take it easy I tell myself and don't fight it too hard. As I'm thinking all this and trying to stay calm the fish is getting tangled up in the SP line over the other side so I'm having to try and untangle and fight the fish at the same time, not easy in a kayak! Decided to chance it and put the rod in the holder while I untangled and prayed that it wouldn't get loose and spit the hook. Working as fast as I could I managed to untangle and bring in the SP line. Now, back to the fight. There was some decent weight in the fish and it started to slow and I was able to bring back some line. A few more half-hearted runs and I could see colour at last. Its length was good and nice a sliver and I was thinking "kingy"! But as it came up and then hit the surface I couldn't believe it - a jewie! Nice big, fat jewfish flapping on the surface. Cleared the decks on the kayak and out came the lip grips and brought it over the side. A quick measure and I reckon it was around 72cm, a PB for me and a legal fish! I had no ice, a small esky and so, after a few snaps, decided to let the lovely fish go and fight another day. A fantastic, lucky by-catch and had me smiling for the rest of the afternoon!

Great work Allen. Haven't been on here for a while so missed this report. Looks like you've got yourself a new yak there!

Nope, can't see it either. Only the filename is showing.

Nice work krause! As we said in the other forum, that's a good day out!!

I completely agree! A great session indeed. Losing a fish means you hooked it in the first place which takes skill!! Sounds like a good place to fish to me!!

How did you get one? Would like to check it out one of these days.

Thanks everyone. It really was a fish of a lifetime and I do think I got lucky! I'll never forget that sensation when the lure was gobbled and the rod bent over. A beautiful fish and hopefully hiding under a log still waiting to be hooked and released again. Thanks swordfisherman and mrsswordfisherman for organising the site and COTM.

Beautiful work guys. I love seeing luderick getting caught!

What a brilliant fish Dan, great work and how satisfying to put your knowledge into action and see your plan deliver. The report was made even better thanks to your fantastic prose. Your talents are wasted if you're not writing for a living mate! You need to start writing for some fishing magazine. Well done!

Thanks Swano, it still seems surreal even a week later. Good luck this weekend, I hope you nail a big one. The girls were absolutely stoked to win COTM and I am hoping it keeps them wanting to fish!

That's a shame!! Might be better going there when its a bit quieter anyway!! Good luck if you do get to have a flick.

Great fight! At least you knew what it was before it busted off. Beautiful fish.

Thanks Jim. They're a beautiful fish and it felt great to release and watch it swim away to hopefully put a smile on someone else's face in the future. Not sure where he came from originally, but is local to Yarrawonga now. Thanks Blood Knot PM'd Donna

I've sent you a PM with the name of the charter guy. Highly recommended and not just because of this fish, he is a top guy and worked hard for us.

Thanks everyone. First time freshwater fishing after the saltwater here in Sydney. Got very lucky I think! Scratchie, the self-guided tour was not as successful although we caught more fish. We got out on the river early and tried to replicate the surface lures but no hits or follows at all. Once the light was brighter we tied up to various snags to soak some baits and managed a couple of trout cod, a carp and two or three smaller cod. More action but nothing like the monster from the day before!

Hi All, Flew down to Melbourne from Sydney on Friday to meet up with my mate, fellow Raider CaptLukey, and we headed up to Yarrawonga with his boat in tow. The plan was to take a guided charter (just the two of us) on the Saturday and then try to replicate the experience ourselves on the Sunday before heading home. We were picked up before first light on Saturday by the guide and headed out to the river to throw some surface lures around. Using his Minn Kota we were able to pepper the snags along the bank. It was my first time fishing like this and, in the dark, it was tricky to get the casting right. However, we persevered and slowly got better at landing those massive surface lures in the right places. After only about an hour I cast out and got a hit. Didn't feel big but the rod started to load up. As I began the retrieve the rod really loaded up and I knew I was on to a good fish. After a fairly short fight a massive beast came to the surface. It was in the net then the boat pretty quickly. We put it on the brag mat and it measured 106cm! I was stoked and we were beside ourselves. A fantastic start to the day and hard to top! We continued to fish but only landed one more fish on spinners of around 55cm. A great day out and a fish of a lifetime for me!

Great result. Been windy today, but I reckon you were out early enough to have the best of it! The Hacking always seems to produce something.