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.

I like gumtree and personally I prefer to buy from more mature owners. Seriously consider buying with the intention of repowering. Many boat sellers in the cheapy market have run the same motor for 10 + years and are upgrading or selling due to not using. You could get lucky but any older outboard can turn into a $$$$ anchor and ruin the experience. Use this as a bargaining tool and you can get a decent boat and trailer for 2k or less. Save your $'s and run the motor keeping an eye out for a good deal on a newer model motor, have cash ready and be quick to view/purchase. Good luck with it

Appreciate the tip off on cheap Airds. I have had one for 3 years, used weekly in salt not looked after caught many flathead to 91cm, snapper and yakkas. Bail arm has just started to get stiff/not returning properly but still usable and probably an easy fix with a clean and grease. Nice & light with reasonably smooth drag I like it and will get another at that price!

Hey Welster, pretty sure this is the same story with no paywall please correct me if I'm wrong. So sad to think what these blokes went through out there just trying to put bread on the table. https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/6356437/qld-coroner-lashes-fisheries-over-alerts/?cs=9676

Some type of Banjofish?

Always enjoy reading a @ScratchieSnapper report keep em coming!

I get most hits on 40 gram knights retrieved flat out. If that fails I'll go 7 inch Zman Jerk Shad in white on 1.5 oz jig head. All land based but I agree livebait beats all else if they're not biting their heads off.

I use thigh fillet fairly big pieces for the Snapper. Let us know next time you're down if ya keen for a fish.

Sometimes you have to get off the beaten track in JB to find the fish. It was quite calm on Saturday with late arvo low tide. I found some protection from the wind and got these 2 lost a big one using chicken 20lb line and 4/0 circle hooks. Went back Sunday and couldn't get a bait past the squid.

I use 12ft rod 20lb mono pea sinker 3/0 circle chicken thigh for bait. Fish with bail open as snapper like to pick up and run 5 mtrs then stop I count to 5 and slowly tighten up. You know if he's on and go hard to get his head up or risk bust off. Rock cod definitely a good sign.

I admire your determination to catch fish on hardbody lures. Assuming you are landbased I suggest you start with Flathead. 2 to 4kg rod, 2500 size reel and 8lb line. The area you fish is crucial, around 1 to 2mtr sand flats cast where sand meets weed beds or deeper water. I would use rapala jack rap deep or similar quality 75mm lure. The lure must be hitting the bottom regularly to catch flathead. Start fishing an hour before tide change and you will catch. Once you've mastered that and caught a dozen flatties you are ready for Bream. Jewies and Kingies landbased on hard bodies will be challenging with many hours of fruitless casting and years working out the when and where. If you know Bonnies, salmon & tailor are around then long cast minnows like the Rapala xrap retrieved relatively quickly will catch fish. I prefer metal lures but I think your hard body lure obsession will provide you with many challenges. Best of luck!!