saltrix

Launched at Tunks on saturday and found the harbour quite smooth but once outside there was the usual washing machine until clear of Bluefish, and even then it was very sloppy for the first 2 hours before the southerly dropped right off. Reading the other saturday reports we did not do as well as they were very quite at our usual spot off DY in 55m, and by the number of changes in location the charter boats in the area were not finding them either. The conditions might have been against us as the seas and wind made it very uncomfortable until the wind dropped and then there was no drift at all. We did manage 5 bluespots and a wrasse but did not match the catches of the other reports up further north.

Great to be out with your son, and a nice flounder.

What’s this doing in fishing reports?

I have tried them for bait at sea but did not the any good, while other fish baits were good on the same day. They were left untouched. To me they do not seem to be oily like mackerel or tailor.

I agree, salmon are OK if looked after and cooked with some extras , but do not overlook them or they become dry and stringy.

Great photos.

Good question, I will have to improve my typing, it should have read uninjured,

The main thing for cooking salmon to not to over cook it, but just lightly cooked it quite reasonable eating. Freezing also tends to dry it out as well. I always skin it and discard the very red meat. Try it fresh on the BBQ taking it off before it cooks right through.

Cook it whole, I usually return them if they are uninsured, but this one was a good size. They have a nice firm white flesh but are hard to fillet and avoid the bones.

Went out from Tunks this morning with my mate but started a bit late for the sunrise shot but took one on the way home while trolling around the North foreshore. Saw the salmon working aound North Head but we were not rigged to throw the little stuff they probably were after so just trolled Xmas trees aroung the outskirts, resulting in 1 good sized salmon and a 72cm Kinfgfish. The Salmon was returned but the king kept. As my mates GPS/sounder was out of service we had to rely on the phone GPS was was not perfect and some very old marks I had to find our favourite spots off DY. Still managed a feed but got a bit windy about 10.30 so came in.

Replies to questions Thanks for the information on slimy mackerel Berletguts . Only 1 flathead had roe and 1 milt the other 3 did not. I was fishing in 48 to 52 metres and from my 40 years of scuba diving I can assure you Port Jackson sharks are found in these depths although I think they congregate in breeding time in shallower rocky gutters. Thanks for the comments

It is a slimy makerel that was caught on the flathead grounds and was intended for bait but the squid and pilchards were doing so well it was not used and is the freezer for next trip. It is usually too soft after freezing so I should have salted it before, but I was a bit weary.

Launched from Tunks with my mate at first light and headed straight out to the flathead grounds. Bit of a westerly and some chop from rebound around North Head but got better further out. The drift was too fast with the westerly so we deployed the sea anchor which slowed us down and got us a few fish. The Australian large squid which I bought at a fish shop proved the best bait with Mowong and even a good sized Pearl Perchcoming in on strips from it. The Flathead were not as active as usual this time of year but the Morwong were a good size and so were some of the Flathead, a mixture of marbled and bluespot. Wasted time as usual on a large Port Jackson shark, Sergeant Baker, u/s reds and spikey Flathead but came away with a good feed.

Nice sized whiting,and they are great eating.

Thank you I have somebody now.

Thank you I have somebody now.

I am looking for company for a deep sea trip on Thursday. I prefer someone who could join me at Pennant Hills around 5.30am to launch at Tunks Park and fish off Deewhy. I can supply all the gear and bait and only require the company. An experianced person who can drive a boat but not necessarily hold a licence is preferred and immunity to seasickness is an essential. We will be fishing in about 50m using 1lb sinkers and paternoster rigs, but I have spare suitable gear. Should be home about 1.30 pm. as you can see from my posts we usually do well on the flathead about this time of the year but jackets, current, and other thngs can play up. please reply by a message before phone contact

I am looking for company for a deep sea trip on Thursday. I prefer someone who could join me at Pennant Hills around 5.30am to launch at Tunks Park and fish off Deewhy. I can supply all the gear and bait and only require the company. An experianced person who can drive a boat but not necessarily hold a licence is preferred and immunity to seasickness is an essential. We will be fishing in about 50m using 1lb sinkers and paternoster rigs, but I have spare suitable gear. Should be home about 1.30 pm. as you can see from my posts we usually do well on the flathead about this time of the year but jackets, current, and other thngs can play up. please reply by a message before phone contact

Nice catch and I am glad you enjoyed your fresh fish, that’s the best part of fishing besides the day out

They were available from chart suppliers in the 90,s but I have not seen them available in the last 4 or 5 years. I have them for the north and south of Sydney but my copies are getting a bit battered. They are accurate as advised as I have used them for diving and found them reliable. The grey area is listed as grey sand 5 to20 % mud and 20 to 30% shell. I can copy A4 sections and email you some if you pm me with a request.

They look like Warehou (583 Sea Fishes of Southern Australia), also referred to as snotty, which agrees with your slimy description. Rated 3 our of 4 for eating quality

It is a Frigate Mackeral also known as a Frigate Tuna or Leadinall, reference 595 Sea Fishes of Southern Australia.

I find the movies excellent eating. first make sure you bleed them, then kill them quickly, don’t bother scaling or cleaning them, just fillet and skin them and cut the rib cage and any red flesh away, and of cause keep them in an ice slurry until you are ready to process them. I never clean or scale any of my fish, just take the fillet off the flathead and the scales don’t worry you. I think bleeding the fish and keeping them in an ice slurry makes a big difference.

Good I will contact you, I have dived many of those wrecks and can tell you the names and locations of each, but have not tried fishing around them so will appreciate fishing locations. I can give you very good gps for flathead grounds but they do not fire until August September when spawning begins. The grounds are gravel grounds between reefs so you have to watch your gps and sounder but the results are very good and we often bag out very quickly, but they are not as good during summer.

We were suprised after a late start (5.15am from Home) to find Tunks Park still had parking spots and no one on the ramp. Tried the usual troll around Dobryod and Washaway Beach for Zero and then headed to try a troll around North Head. Nothing on the troll around North Head but a bit of confused sea made it uncomfortable. When we got around off Manly the seas got pretty flat so we fished off Dee Why wide first at 50m then out to 60m which produced a few nice fish and lots of Spikeys and Seargent Bakers which went back. Ther current was a bit fierce and when the wind started to pick up as well we couldnt hold bottom even with the sea anchor so we had an early return. The snapper only just made the 30cm but the mowie and flathead were a good size ( the esky lid is 38cm wide).