saltrix

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.

In both the Saltwater Guide booklet and the rules and regulations summary I just received with my licence renewal it lists Dusky as 36cm and Bluespot and Tiger only as 33cm. This makes sense as the other common catch out there is the Spikey Flathead, also known as the Long-spined Flathead which only grows to a maximum of 34cm. I commonly use these small ones for bait and consider keeping them for a feed if fishing is a bit slow. There are other listing in these guides where the size limit only applies to one or two varieties of the species such as whiting and trevally. I often catch the eastern school whiting while fishing 50m depth and it has no legal size and a much smaller maturity size than rthe sand whiting which is the only NSW whiting to have a legal size.

The day started well with a relativly calm harbour except for the heavy swell. Trolled around Dobryoid Point and across Washaway beach and we both hooked onto nice sizrd tailor, Mine gave a good effort at walking acoss the water and got off but my mate landed his. The swell was too big to troll close to North Head so we headed out to the FAD which was last seen 8km out from the Heads It was a bit lumpy on the way out , not a good day for our boat to go so far out but we were keen to try for some dollies. Unfortunately the heavy seas must have broken the FAD away because at the exact GPS marks there was nothing, and several boats were running around trying to find it. Did any Fishraiders find it? Plan B was to go into DY wide and anchor in 50 odd metres and anchor up and burly some snapper, but the wind was a bit much for our anchor and we drifted off the mark before it grabbed. Plan C was to drift out marks of DY wide but the wind was up by then and we only got the bottom by letting out line and the drift was quick even with the sea anchor. It was too rough to have our usual cup of coffee, but we kept at it and got a few fish. This was my catch , my mate had flathead, tailor, and mackeral but it was too rough to take a photo. I took these at home. Just for interest the flathead is a Marbled Flathead, very nice eating and identified by its marbled appearance and no bluespot like the usual Bluespots we catch out here. Here is what its tail looks like. It has no legal size but ithas to be over 33cm to be worth keeping. They still count for the species limit of 10 flathead.

I prefer the1 hour either side of the tide change as I think the crabs are more active then and can smell the bait better. Yes the trawlers were working off Milson Is and towards the road bridge.

I fitted the bow roller on the side as I bring the anchor line in there but as the boat got older I don't use it all the time , I should as it saves the paintwork. I use a float system as discussed here earlier to bring up the anchor.

I usually set them in 3 to 5 m, but a blubber carried one to 6 m and that one caught 2 crabs, so I think you need to try different depths depending on tide, temperature and location.

Took the grandkids out for a picnic and a crabbing trip yesterday. It was a late start but the afternoon tide about 3pm looked OK. Set the witches hats out from Milsons Island as it was close to the western ramp. This ramp seems to be used more for caravans and picnicers now with not much regard for the boat parking spots, but there was plenty of room this time. While the tide was dropping we did a few drifts and caught a couple of legal flathead and a soapy of which the largest flathead was kept and the other quickly returned. As there were 2 trawlers working the area I didn't hold much hope for the crabs and i made sure I didn't set them near the trawlers area. The girls pulled the hats up as the tide eased and we got 4 blue swimmers and a mud crab. I always return the female blue swimmers and would have returned the muddy if I had realized immediately it was a female. The blue swimmers were a good size. Did not waut for the low tide as we had a few crabs so had an early return.

Not much of a crowd at the ramp this morning, perhaps it was the promise of a weak early southerly change put some off. After picking up a few live bait the plan was to anchor up on the Annie Miller, burley and fish with a variety of bait. It looked lovely and calm crossong the harbour. But as soon as we headed south and out a bit there was a heavy swell from the north, when combined witha small swell from the south and bounce back from the cliffs it made for almost impossible conditions to fish in. There were a couple of charter boats doing a drift out from Rosa Gulley and I admired their tenacityto keep fishing while taking such a hammering. There was an occasional huge wave so I hope our fellow rock fishermen were alert. We gave up without putting a line out and headed back to the harbour. Saw a bit of action in the water and my mate caught a Watsons Leaping Bonito on a small lure. We then anchored near a reef marker and put out a bit of burley then some lines baited with some squid. While taking it easy and having something to eat I heard this squealing noise and then a bang and looked over to see my mates reel screaming and his rod bend double and break. After handlining the catch in eventually a large shark appeared but after a couple more runs he broke the line and was free. We then tried another spot in the harbour and got a few Kings, but they were all around the 55cm mark and went back to grow another 10cm. No fish meals today but a change of fishing to the bottom bashing that we have been doing lately.

Had a late start due to my mates alarm setting skills . The harbour looked good but on rounding the heads and heading north we realised that conditions were not ideal. with a fairly large northwerly sea. With the sea anchor and a heavy sinker it was fishable although like being in a gym having a good workout, swinging around and hanging on. There were a few flathead around and after an hour or so it quietened down a bit. We would have liked to change our technique and anchored and fished in closer but with the sea like it was out of the question. About 11.30 am the breeze got too much to hold bottom so we surfed hometaking care to avoid broaching. We both had some nice flathead, a mix of marbled and bluespot from35 to 52cm. My catch Mates catch As is usual if I catch fish I have to cook it. It was delicious and I have a couple more meals to come.

My wife and i decided on a leisurly day in the river on Thursday and perhaps a few blue swimmers for tea, with a couple of flathead mavbe as well. The plan did not work out as i could only find 6 hoop nets between us and only managed 1 nice crab. It might have been better setting them a bit deeper as I set them in in 2 to 3 metres, but caught 1 on a line in 5 metres, but dropped it trying to get it behind the motor. The fishing resulted in 2 undersized reds, 1 shovelnosed shark, and an enormous toad with teeth like a pair of sidecutting pliers, no sign of bream or flathead from the usual spots. Still it was a nice day on the water with a gentle breeze and some cloud cover. Friday I took my adult son and a friend out wide off Dee Why,There was still a bit of wind early and it was quite sloppy but we all managed OK. The fishing was not up to the usual standard and I was kept busy helping out and did not fish myself as 2 lines out is enough and my guests were new to this kind of fishing. We managed 5 flathead (a mix of blue spot and marbled) and a nice morwong, plus the usual multple catches of spikeys, sargeant baker, just undersized reds, and even nannagi and mados when we tried a reef patch closer in. Some of the spikeys were a good size and one day I will keep a few as there is no legal size and they are mature when pretty small and only grow to 34cm maximum, however the bag limit of 10 for all flathead species applies. Plenty of parking at Tunks and net many on the ramp. Tried a trolL around North Head and Dobroyd but no takers, it has been very quite trolling the lower harbour for months now.

Nice calm morning as we headed out from Brooklyn. Tried trolling around Barrenjoey but no takers. It has been a while since we have caught anything on the troll, but a few years ago tailer, bonito, and a few kings would turn up quite often. Saw a whale at the surface on the way out about 30 m away but it dived before I could get the camera and didn't come up again. It was huge and had a massive tail fin which showed as it dived. Bit worried where it would surface as it was heading towards the boat as it dived. Nice flat seas but a bit sloppy. I can understand someone feeling ill. Started to get a few nice flathead in one particular area, thanks to GPS we were able to go over the same area repeatedly and got hits every time although some were spikeys which would have been kept as they were a fair size, but the blue spots were bigger. The bigest measured 53cm, and the smallest 38cm. We both bagged out with our 10 each, took a quick photo before they went back on the ice. Flathead fillets for tea tonight.

Good to see someone else looking after their fish in an ice slurry, all fish keep better that way, and I agree with you about mowies. I always bleed them then fillet, skin, and wash them in salty water and reckon they are good eating. Nice catch.

I have been doing OK on the salmon although it is a bit hit and miss on the shown lures. The first lure which is 5cm long and has no weight so needs fly tecs to get out but I use a small sinker 20cm in front and a light leader. the small lure with the treble works fairly well but not as good as the unweighted lure. Forget any large lures as they are feeding on whitebait. Hope other raiders agree

Yes, that is a pike, they are OK to eat fresh, but they area bit strong on the smell. They make good crab bait, are ok as fish bait and very good as live bait for jewfish if you can rig big enough.

At last the wind eased and it was a pleasant day to be out fishing. The usual troll around Nth Head did not produce although some good showings on the sounder indicated there was something moving around. We headed out to DY Wide as a few weeks ago got very good catches of flathead, mowies, and a few small reds, but it was as dead as a doornail today. At the 55m mark the usual small spikeys were absent along with everything else, baits went untouched the entire drift, so we headed into deeper water and managed a few keepers. The 1metre hairtail was an unusual catch and would have been returned if he had been in good shape, as was the tailor in 70 metres. Headed home about 11am and noticed a few boats chasing salmon outside Nth Head.

Glad there are a few left, they are good eating but now protected with a zero limit as the pros gave them a hiding a few years ago.

Took my usual sunrtise snap on the way out. Had a look around North Head for Salmon but they were not around, so went over to South of the colours to try to berley up some trevally or perhaps kings as I have done sometimes in the past. Put out lots of old pilchards and used bait and finally started to get Trevalley, only they were all 28cm so we gave it away and headed out to the 45m to try for Flathead. Got quite a few between us, all legal but not as good a size as off DY. For each bluespot we caught several spikeys, often 3 at a time, but they all went back as we had a good feed of the bluespots. They were biting over a wide area and not fussy about bait,although with so many spikeys the firmer baits did better. I now have to cook flathead for tea.

The Morwong is a grey or rubber lip Morwong. The other species I know of is a Jackass Morwong which has a black band above the gill cover.

On the way out tried trolling but no takers. We have not picked up anything on the troll for months now but a few years ago almost always got tailor and bonito around Dobroid or North Head. This view was spectacular on the way out. The usual spots did not produce many fish and I resorted to keeping a few spikey flathead to make up a meal. But did manage a couple of nice sized Eastern Bluespot while my mate picked up a nice morwong. Before anyone accuses me of keeping undersized fish the Spikey Flathead or Long -spined Flathead only grows to a maximum of 34 cm so a 30 cm specimen is larger than the average and has spawned. This species has no legal size and most experienced fisherman know that they are one of the best baits for the Eastern Blue-spotted flathead. The Spikey or Long-spined flathead is easily by its very long lower spine on the side of the head. The predicted 20 knot NWer did not eventuate and there was only occasional spell of 10 knot SW. There were quite a few whales moving up the coast.

No, about 4 km off Dee Why in 50m, but in very specific spots, thanks to the GPS to locate them.

Light rain was falling as we launched at Tunks Park just on dawn. By the time we got to Dobroyd it had cleared but the rather large swell kept me well out from the shore both at Dobroyd and North Head so the troll did not produce anything. It was a bit jiggly until we cleared Manly and even at DY wide it was hard to move around. After a slow start the breeze dropped a bit and the fish started to come in. We finished with 10 fish between us, the reds were just a few cm over legal but there were a few good flathead and mowies. There were a few whales around but none came close to us. The Cuttlefish are going through their dying phase so the albertross are around and the picked clean cuttle shells were floating past occasionally.

Launched early from Parsley Bay, to a smokey foggy morning. Trolled around Barrenjoey as we sometimes pick up tailor or bonito, or right on the corner a kingfish, but not a hit at all today. Then tried in close with berley for a king or whatever likes burley. My mate got one king 63 cm which he reckoned at first it would be legal but it went back. I got a good hit from a king on a floating squid but the hook did not grab. My fault as i realised it was not real sharp but did not bother to change it. Then tried several spots offshore for flathead before finding a patch. My mate almost bagged out but I only managed 4, as I seemed to catch the little spikeys and he got the big pluespots. I also lost a rig to the jackets. But we finished with a good catch between us. On the way home.

Nice Kings, better than the 62cm models that seem too common, and a good way to clean out the freezer

Set my 4 witches hats at dawn with hopes of a feed of crabs after getting some a couple of weeks ago, then headed to Patonga to see if there were any flathead around. There were a few around but no size, about 1/2 the fish were just under legal but managed 5 keepers. Got some yellowtail which proved the most popular bait catching the larger fish. Things went quite about 10am so picked up the hats for just 1 crab, still it was a nice day on the water and it wasn't as much an effort on my own as going outside.

I was surprised to find parking spaces and no one on the ramp at Tunks Park today at 5.45 am, but with a forecast of 10 to 15 knots and heavy rain perhaps we were the odd ones out, but it looked fairly good coming out of Middle Harbour. Tried a troll around Washaway beach but no takers despite a lot of fish showing on the sounder. Then headed to Old Man's Hat where there was a bit of surface action and we both hooked up to Watson's Leaping bonito using small 5cm plastic lures but lost both fish at the boat. Tried to troll around North Head but it was very rough. Then headed out to DY wide and after Manly the seas eased but it was still a bit windy and rough, but the wind and rain finally eased and the sun came out while we continued to catch some nice flathead and mowies, although we needed a very large sinker to hold bottom. There was a nice mix of bluespot and marbled flathead. Saw the flypast and activities on the way home.