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saltrix

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Everything posted by saltrix

  1. Good catch and your little girl looks well pleased
  2. The ramp at Tunks on Saturday was pretty busy and only roadway parking left at daybreak. Trolled around Dobroyd and Washaway for 3 nice Tailor in quick succession but then lost contact. Tried the troll around North Headbut no takers there. Headed out through sloppy seas to DY wide and started the drift at the hard stuff drop off where the snapper hit every drop but unfortunately they were all about 25cm, so stuck to the gravel patches. The seas smoothed out a bit and we kept a few small spikeys and then managed 5 larger bluespots and marbled flathead. Got a medium sized cuttle which may mate likes for Kingfish bait. Coming back through the harbour noticed the charters pulling Kings so anchored and used the cuttle for bait we got 6 between 65cm and 73cm but lost a few to the reefy bottom as they were hard to stop. A few months ago most seemed to be around 62cm but they must have grown as they were a good size and only 1 less than legal; went back. They liked the fresh cuttlefish. Picked these out of the ice for a quick photo.
  3. I was out on Sat. morning out from Sydney and it was certainly bumpy and sloppy, my mare and i had trouble moving about. Your lady must be a good sailor. Glad you found the flathead. Were the smaller ones spikey flathead ( Long Spined Flathead) which are sexually mature at a very small size and only grow to 34cm maximum, as they have no legal length they can be kept and are excellent eating but need to be over about 20cm to be worthwhile. If you know your flathead they are easy to distinguish as they have a very long lower spike and the tail has a different marking. They also make good baits for the bluespots and marbled flathead. If you keep them I think they still count to the species limit of 10 flathead each.
  4. Got an early start and was pleased to see the harbour flat as a tack and so expected to find the same outside. Tried a troll along Washaway beacj and the rocks a bit further and then around North Head, but no takers. As we got out further it got rougher and rougher until we got to the grounds off DY when we decided it was too rough and we would head for home after 1 drop. But it got a bit better and eventually calmed right down, although it was too rough to anchor or fish light in closer. The flathead were gone and and hard to find but we picked up some tea befroer heading home early. This was my share of the catch, the small flathead are spikeys which do not grow much above 30cm (max 34cm) and have no legal size but are good eating. Not a good day but it was a bit lumpy outside and would probably been better inside.
  5. North it’s much the same depth but you need to fish between the reefs. Watch your sounder and get to know where the spots are between the reefs or else you will lose a or of gear. The gravel patches are where the fish are and the reefs funnel the food in. The gps and sounders make it much easier to get good catches.
  6. I am glad the post was helpful, I think the reef structure in the north stops the trawlers cleaning the flathead out. I suppose the pros must make a living, my Dad was a pro fisherman with traps out of Terrigal many years ago.
  7. Nice report and good photos, keep at it I am sure you will find the right location for your style of fishing.
  8. We decided to try the south of the heads instead of our usual Dee Dwy wide and Long Reef trips as we were tyired of pulling in those big flathead and the usual catch. The sun was coming up as we rounded Dobroyd Point. The sea appeared nice and flat. Tried trolling aound Washaway Beach and the cliffs, but no takers. Then headed south and trolled around near the gap for 1 good Bonito but went back over and got no more. The sea was very confused and choppy. Heade towards Wedding Cake Island to check reports of surface fish but stopped at a school of fish chopping the surface. They ignored even the minute plastic lure which the salmon have been taking, but I think they were very small fish any how. Then tried a flathead drift which sometimes produces reasonable flathead but the spikeys were thick and I was catching them 2 or 3 at a time, but they were a very small size. I did manage a Gunard which was a good size, but I do not know how if it will be good eating. By this time the cop was getting very hard to put up with.The south side always seems to have a confused sea I think due to the bounce back from the cliffs, so we headed back to the harbour but it was very quite there. I think we will stick to the North side in future.
  9. saltrix

    Sea sickness

    Take one dose of preferred tablet, quells, travel calm, or whatever the chemist or doctor recommends the night before, then another dose at the recommended hour or so before the trip as the evening dose has a long term effect for seasickness and does not cause as much side effect as a double dose . Some of my friends who had severe seasickness use this method, but of course check with the chemist or doctor that this is OK.
  10. Yes , spikeys are good bait, I used some today and caught a couple of fish on them but the mullet pieces seemed very good today and the reds seemed to like them but most of them were undersized. The pilchards don't last long when the spikeys are around.
  11. With an excellent weather forecast for a change my son and I left Tunks about daybreak to try for a few flathead off Dee Why. We were suprised to find the ramp fairly busy for a weekday but there was still plenty of parking. The forecast was accurate although a confused swell made thing a bit rocky. The current was from the north and fairly strong and the drifts were pretty quick but the fish were iting reasonably well, although the small spikeys were a nuisanc. Most of the fish were caught on pilchards, or small pieces of mullet. Some of the flathead were a good size but the reds were only a couple of cm over legal. we kept a couple of spikeys that were a reasonable size, and added 5 marbled and 7 bluespot flathead before quitting about 11am as the northerly wind picked up. It was a nice way to spend my 80th birthday.
  12. We caught the flathead in about 52m, look for gravel and sand between the reefs. The small reds were a nuisance as once hooked it takes awhile to crank them up and return the and this cuts down fishing time. Make sure you use a sinker heavy enough to hold bottom and a sea anchor is essential in the wind.
  13. It is easily identified by the very long lower spine on the side of the head. This reply comes from Sea Fishes of Southern Australia by Hutchins And Swainson. There is also a colour difference, the spikey is a reddish brown. This is a good reference for all fish around Sydney. the tail fin is different for all the different species of flathead and a fisherman needs to know which is which as there are various legal sizes and none for some. The spikey only grows to 34 cms and are spawning well before. The bag limit of 10 of all flathead species applies.
  14. Plan A was to get some live bait and try for Kingfish off Long Reef. The yellowtail were a bit shy but the bream were hungry and we caugth several on the tiniest scraps of pilchard. One was a keeper at 29cm as we were not sure of dinner at that stage. With 5 bite size live baits in the tank we headed to Long Reef to join a pro leadlining, 2 sports charters downrigging and numerous kayaks and other boats. We drifted out with lightly weighed livies and got a couple of u/s kings very quickly. Had to bring them in very quickly to save them from a seal who was keen to snatch them. As we did not see any legal kings come in and the seal seemed hungry we gave Long Reef away and headed to our old favourite Dee Why Wide. At first a brisk NW made it hard to keep the bottom, but it eased and we got a few fish. There are 7 Blue spots, 1 marbled, 2 spikeys (no legal size for these kept them for bait but they are good eating) and the bream that took the live bait scrap. The fires looked big from the boat.
  15. Looks like you had a nice day, thanks for the post.
  16. Nice catch, you were lucky to avoid the bite offs whatever they are as they were bad off Broken Bay at the weekend.
  17. If you are at French,s Forest I would not bother to go to the Hawkesbury but launch at Roseville and fish that area within 1 km of the ramp, I am sure you will catch more fish in the time taken to go to the Hawkesbury. The Harbour generally fishes better than the Hawkesbury in my opinion now that there is no commercial fishing in the Harbour. I did mention that we caught the fish close to the ramp at Brooklyn, but that is not too consistent as there is a lot of commercial fishing in the area.
  18. Got an early start and with a forecast of easing wind we were optomistic of a good catch. On the way out the sky looked good but there was a bit of westerly which got stronger ther further out we went. Tried a couple of marks out wide which previously had produced good catches but only found pickers and 1 tailor in 60m, and then we both lost all our gear bitten off about 1/2 way down. Then tried a closer in mark but no action and pretty rough. Then tried off Patonga but that was quiet as well. On the way back to the ramp we tried a spot off Dangar which I fish when in the river. I managed a 39cm flathead and my mate landed a 59 cm monster. I know some would release the big ones but we go fishing for a a feed, stick to the bag limits, and do not waste any fish we catch. All fish that we do not want to eat are carefully released.
  19. Nice size squid, and a good flathead as well.
  20. Yes there seem to be a lot around, I wonder if they know a boat is above them as if they come up under the boat I think it would be a disaster.
  21. With a forecast of easing seas and a light westerly wind we headed out early, hoping to pick up some tailor or bonito on the troll. Nothing doing on the troll around Dobryod and North Head but there was such a heavy swell we did not get too close to the rocks. We saw the first seal as we rounded North Head, I think he checked us out to see if he could pinch a fish as we landed it. No photo as he just popped up took a quick look and was off. Bottom bashed off DY for some ( 9) large bluespots and marbled flathead, a couple of 32cm reds and in between spikeys, us reds, seargent bakers and cuttlefish. Had another seal pop up after landing a fish, so moved a fair bit away from him to avoid losing fish. Got the daylights frightened out of us when a whale surfaced alongside the boat while we were drifting., I mean really alongside I could have touched it and it was huge. I grabbed my camera and got this shot of 2 of his mates about 30 metres away. The wake you can see in the photo is from the first whale which surfaced about a metre from the boat. we were watching the whale watch boats about 1km away thinking there were none around us. It wasn't just jiggerly today it was ****** rough, impossible to move around the boat without holding onto something. Got as bit better for a while about 10.30am then got really nasty about 11.30 so we headed in taking very steady and copping a few over the front.
  22. Yes,we got 4 marbled and a couple of blue spot. Their spawning must have finished as there was no roe or milt in any of the fish. Had some for tea tonight, nice eating. Also had some of the spikey flathead although they are small they are good eating. As they only grow to 34 cm they are mature at about 25 cm so should not be regarded as undersized although they still count to the species limit of 10.
  23. Headed out nearly today to try for a feed of flathead. Hoped for a few bonito after getting 3 last time out around North Head. It was a good swell running so I was not too keen to get in close. I also welcomed the Navy home on the way out. No takers on the troll so headed out to close grounds off Manly but with almost no drift the spikey flathead cleaned up all baits including spikey flathead fillets so we heaed out to our reliable DY wide grounds. Got a few nice fish there and then to the morwong spot which is shown on the charts as foul ground but managed some more nice Flathead. In between spent some time cranking up Banjo sharks, u/s snapper(got 1 32cm), several large cuttlefish, and numerous spikeys and seargent bakers which were released except for the legal red. Finished about 11.30 with a feed. A nice calm day although a bit of breeze would have helped the drift. The esky is 38cm wide so the fish were a nice size.
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