roughstyler

Cheers yowie, hopefully some fish are around! Do not want to encounter a Tiger Shark when we'll be swimming in those waters though..

A friend and I are heading across to WA in a couple of days and I was wondering if you guys know of any good spots to flick some lures on the beach. We'll be on the coast from Esperance all the way to Perth so I assume there are plenty of options.

Cheers for the awesome report. If you don't mind, where abouts in the harbour were you fishing? Regarding the technique, how tight was your drag? Would setting the drag really light from the start have worked the same way?

Tailor have incredibly sharp teeth that easily cut through line. It wasn't a case of your line being weak, but rather their teeth being a nuisance.

Ask as much as you'd like, we're here to help. Yellowtail are quite abundant at Pier 2, which is good because you don't have to change locations when you want to send the bait out. For your setup, I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing it all, so hopefully someone will be able to help out. How many rods do you have? What I normally do is catch the Yellowtail on one rod (my lighter rod) and send it straight back out as live-bait on the other rod (my heavier rod). If you only have one rod, you could bring a bucket with a rope attached to the handle (you're quite high above the water so the rope will allow you to collect some) to leave the bait in while you change your hook/leader/etc. Regarding using them dead, I'm sure they've worked for people before, but from what I've heard they're not nearly as successful (for Kings) compared to live. I've heard of people having success using them butterflied for Jewfish. Have a look here: http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=31716 Equipment is quite tricky to answer because there are a few approaches that all work and it depends on what you prefer. Some people only use mono, others like braid, some like fluorocarbon for their leader and some don't use any leader at all. I'm not the most experienced in the rods and reels department so again I hope someone who knows their stuff can help you out. In terms of rigs, one of the simplest setups is to go from mainline > leader > hook, joining the lines with a knot such as the Double Uni. However, this is not the only rig so make sure you find one you're happy with. Sorry if it wasn't helpful. I'm still sort of new to all of this and it's a bit hard to give an answer without knowing some more details about what you have/would like. Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like, and I'll try to help out as much as I can.

Hey mate, I'm not too sure about Snapper, but people have lots of success with Kings at Pier 2, just west of the Harbour Bridge: The most popular baits are live Yellowtail and live/fresh squid. If you don't mind live-baiting, I'd recommend you try it here. Unfortunately the area can get quite busy (especially on weekends) and you'll have people regularly taking home undersized fish. If you are able to go on a weekday though, it is a great spot to fish (particularly for targetting Kings landbased). Keep in mind that you're around quite a bit of structure and Kings are dirty fighters so it's difficult to be gentle with them (you'll see just about everyone locking their drags and skull-dragging the fish in). I should mention that I'm yet to land a King (I was at Pier 2 when I hooked onto one though) so my advice is based on what I know has worked for a lot of people.

That was an awesome report, and good on you Matt for showing him the ropes. It's always great fun fishing with company.

Awesome catch. What were you using on them? Do they put up a decent fight at that size (I've only gotten ones at around 30 cm and they don't seem to pull at all)?

I'll probably be heading out early tomorrow morning, possibly to Pier 2 (the spot is great but people leave rubbish everywhere and undersized fish are taken all the time) but maybe somewhere else (perhaps Birchgrove wharf). If you're like me and have yet to catch your first King, it'd be awesome to have you join in haha. My options are kinda limited (don't have a car), but if anyone knows of other spots that are close (walking distance) to a train station where Kings may be around, I'd love to give it a shot. Not entirely sure about specific times yet, but I'll update them once I know.

Cheers mate. Do you think you would've been able to handle the rats on something lighter? I've got a heavier set-up (30 lb braid main and 50 lb fluoro lead) for Kings, but I'm wondering if my lighter rod (just 8 lb mono main) could ever take the smaller rats.

That is absolutely insane! What was the line weighting on both rods?

I'm heading up to Port Macquarie tomorrow and was wondering if anybody knew of some nearby land-based spots that could potentially deliver some Kings. Last time I was there we mostly fished the Hastings and that was a lot of fun, but it didn't seem like the place you'd find (m)any Kingfish. Any help would be appreciated.

I'll be on holidays for a while so I'd love to join you guys again. I've gotta help my dad set up insulation next week, but I'm free after that.

Not surprised, he has a gift haha.

Looks like fun! I imagine Anthony got the biggest Blue Swimmer ?