Toilor

How good would it be if we had more of these fishing platforms in regional NSW. Definitely looks like a Spanish Mackerel, great land-based catch!!

Hey Yowie, really appreciate your regular reports. Did it look anything like this.

Someone suggested a small length of whiting tube and this is what I came up with. Tests very well. Hopefully the slight change of line angle leaving the eye won't affect the circle hook's action negatively. The areas I fish Snapper are rocky, snags are inevitable and Port Jackson sharks almost always swallow the hook so for ease and speed of re-rigging the line I use is 30lb Maxima Ultragreen straight through the sinker directly to the hook. I always use a snell knot with circle hooks as I believe the action of a circle hook is enhanced and have found them to be a very reliable knot until now. Won't be buying any more of these particular hooks but for now intend to use them as they weren't cheap and have caught plenty of Snapper using them. Always have discussions with a mate that insists on netting his fish but if I see the fish is well hooked and under 60cm I'm confident in lifting them in. Losing that fish at the side of the boat helped me realise the flaw in my setup though if I'd netted it I'd be eating a fish dinner. 😪

I lost a decent Red while lifting the fish into the boat using 30lb mono and a snelled 7/0 in line circle hook, exactly the same setup I have been using for 4 years. I retied and tested but the knot snapped with roughly 12lbs of pressure. Stripped off a couple of metres and tried again with the same result. Ended up convincing myself the eye must have a sharp edge and started tying uni knots which when tested snapped at close to roughly 30lb of pressure. Problem is I believe that circle hooks work much more efficiently with a snell connection but I've lost confidence in the hooks. Has anyone encountered this issue? I would just try another brand except that I have a 100 of these hooks from a very reputable Norwegian company so I'm hoping to keep using them.

Great topic!! In the last few years I have lost a few lures and fish using a loop knot as the line snapped within the loop, right where the line contacts the split ring. Most of the fishing was trolling small hardbodies with 12lb leader, and living across from the water I was racking up long hours. This encouraged me to try tying directly using a uni knot. I definitely noticed a considerable loss of action with a direct tie. I also noticed a loss of action when using soft plastics after I went off loop knots entirely as I hate losing lures and fish!! I then noticed a significant drop in catch numbers and depth range so went back to the loop, only on hardbodies, and retie every hour or so and also after a couple of decent fish. I now fish soft plastics tied directly with a uni knot as I don't believe the loss of action impacts heavily upon catch rates and I still believe the loop knot, no matter how well tied, adds a level of compromise to the system.

In what can only be described as a tragic accident my favourite Kingy outfit now rests on the bottom of Jervis Bay. Lesson learnt to dry hands before grabbing the rod. The reel was a slammer 3 8500hs which I have replaced however the Daiwa Catalina Stick has been discontinued. If anyone has one that they would be willing to part with I would definitely be interested. If you think you can help please drop me a P.M. Took me 15 years to get a king over a metre then got these 2 kingies caught on the rod within 4 days of each other.

.The blue lines around the eye are quite distinctive. Lethrinus genivittatus appears more elongate and pale.

Goldstripe Sardinella, Sardinella gibbosa. I think this may be it.

I think it may be Lethrinus laticaudis.

I can relate. On a beach at Fraser Island I lost most of my tackle to a rising tide. The important thing is to learn from your mistake and never leave any gear in a vulnerable position.

I am hoping someone has a Berkley 3b Diving Dog in their collection that they would be willing to part with for cash or swap. Thank you and tight lines.

I'm struggling with a KINGFISH addiction

I went out last Thursday found kingfish in good numbers and good size. Used metal lures and soft plastics around salmon schools outside the heads. Also plenty of snapper around mostly in deeper water. Hopefully you get a few and sing out if you need crew. Cheers Toilor

Just to excite anyone coming down over the school holidays I went out yesterday after work 4pm to 6pm. Casting 40 gram knight got this king @ 74cm from a school of 4 or 5 that chased the lure hit at my feet. Heaps of bird activity offshore.

Fished Wednesday 6am til 12pm under cloudy skies with light winds and fairly small seas. Dropping 2 circle hook paternosters with minimal sinker around size 4 ball. Chicken thigh fillet on one hook and fish fillet on the other. Action was consistent with plenty of bait on the sounder. Birds working occasionally but too far for me to chase unfortunately. There were some big bust ups out from Stoney Ck this morning looked to be at least 20 to 30kg fish about 500mtr offshore. Got the snapper on a stray line. Great weather next week hopefully get back out amongst em. Tight lines, Toilor.