noelm

Do you find it a big deal to get everything (including motor/s) in and out of the boat when you need to “topper” it? Then storing everything you need to go boating/fishing? I have done a bit of car topping (sometimes it’s the only possible option) tried various boats, including folding and inflatable, and (like always) everything is a compromise. Automatic loaders have certainly taken a lot of the hard work out of it, probably my best setup was a tinny, modified to be completely flat on the top, so there was nothing to “catch” when upside down, but that was a manual loader and required rolling upside down, to put on or off the roof.

Yep, agree, I have seen lots broken on jetties and so on.

I can assure you, no amount of watching videos can teach you how to catch worms, they are very tricky, lightning fast, and the waves never work in your favour…..but, I like worming, it’s great fun. I am certainly no expert, but I get enough for bait (sometimes) if I lived up that way I would be more than happy to take you….not too sure how much you would achieve, but we would have some fun!

Yep, I'm like them cool too, but…….when the boats washed and put away, and they are just cooked, nothing beats a couple still hot, in the shade with a cold drink or two! They are fantastic when hot.

Never knew that, but then, I have never looked for the limit either……most times I would get about 10 or so to use “just in case”

Lots of meat in a Blue Swimmer, like all things, once you work out how they are “made” getting the meat out is simple, there is nothing better than a hot crab, just out of the cooker, and the big lump of meat on the swimmer leg is fantastic, as is the nipper bit that joins on to the body, don’t know why, but those two pieces of crab are about as good as it gets.

OH and the Toads can drive you nuts…….hate them.

Best guess the “small Whiting” were Red Spot? Easy to get a decent feed if they are thick, a bit of time filleting, but they taste OK. The Gurnard is also fair to good eating (not a Latchet, but a Gurnard?) the Rock Cod can go back (not getting into that argument again) the Mowie…….they are a yes/no thing, I eat them now and then, but mostly just give them away or toss them back.

Best filleted and used as a standard strip bait, can be used whole or with the back bone cut out.

I tossed an old Chilli bush (those small red hot ones) on the ground to “clean up later” 3 weeks later it’s got new Chilli’s on it……just laying on the path, no dirt, no water. I use those ones for my Chilli Crab, open them up, clean all the seeds out then cut them up, you get the Chilli taste without burning your mouth.

Fish don’t have fancy charts and tables, they eat to survive, certain species might feed better with a falling tide, lurking along a drop off, waiting for small bait fish and shrimp to leave as the water drops (Flathead) other fish might sneak right up in the very shallow water at high tide, looking for small Crabs and Worms (Bream/Whiting) others might feed along the edge of weed beds as the tide rises or falls depending on the food available. Fish when you can, and in locations that suit your intended species, adjust your tactics to suit the conditions.

Just to add, for fishing minded folk,, when at a gathering, get a baitcaster or a small spin reel and place a bucket at set distances and see who can land a weight in the bucket, on the full……it’s fun for fishers and great practice.

There is quite a lot of “science” involved in getting good distance, simply raising the rod, stopping, then using the rod to throw a lure does not create long distance, for extra distance, you need to “load” the rod up on the “back swing” and use that stored energy as well as the motion of the rod to cast the lure. I know it sounds obvious, but in reality it’s quite difficult to achieve. To get the timing right is an art, like fly fishing, it’s not just swishing the rod back and forth, it’s timing, practice then practice some more. All this science of course relies on the gear being used to be suitable, rod, reel, line, lure and skill all need to come together in that instant, a too heavy lure, too light, thick line, half full spools all are distance killers.

Water will be still warm in March, should be Whiting on the flats and beach, Flathead lurking around any drop off or weed bed edges. Pump some Nippers or get some Beach Worms for best results. Not too sure of crabbing rules, but it would be worth crabbing if it’s legal (I’m pretty sure it is)

Never had issues growing chilli’s of any kind, they just grow and produce copious amounts of fruit.

You get days like that, I just got back from the beach, not one fish, a swimmer got tangled in my line, it drizzled rain and I stood on an Oyster walking back via a shortcut across the entrance, but guess what? I still had fun and a memory. edit……and a group of longboarders having some kind of comp set their gazebo up about 1 grain of sand from my bucket! Then used my gutter to paddle out, go figure. Sometimes it’s just one of those days. The longboarders mentioned.

It’s funny how as you fish for years, how many odd/funny things you witness, most people wouldn’t believe some stuff I/we have seen, I mean how many people would have been beach fish and a Kangaroo swims up in the surf? Well done for helping the tired animal.

I think in a strange kind of way, Sharks get a bad reputation for simply living…..if you get what I mean! I have seen dozens of Sharks (including some BIG ones) when diving, most do what they do, swim along going from here to there, the misconception that every Shark is going to bite you is very wrong. How many movies have you seen with Sharks swimming close to swimmers, completely unaware it’s there? In all my years of spear fishing, i have only had one time that a Shark was getting aggressive, and it was only a very small one, it wanted my fish on my float, and I didn’t want him to have them……A shark biting you would not be fun, even a small one “tasting” will rip you up pretty bad. As advised there are ways to minimise the risk, but, nothing is 100% certain, except moving to Alice Springs and staying out of the water.

Sharks go where they want to go, shallow water, deep water, creeks and rivers, two where caught right up the back of Lake Illawarra last week, and one was photographed way up a polluted creek running into Port Kembla harbour.

My take on Bream compared to Flathead….. Bream tend to be more productive when fishing right in on snags, fallen trees, jetties, rocks and so on, and tiny lures seem to be the best. Very early morning and late afternoon triple your chances of a decent catch (in my opinion) stealth is your friend, big Bream can be right up in shallow water when they feel “safe” casting well ahead into likely spots before you go stomping around will often yield a trophy Bream. A well presented lure combined with an accurate cast will often get a hit the second it hits the water.

I remember Pegasus well. There was a couple of regular pro boats over the years, the most “famous” was of course Ajax, and Hunky too, Melicent, and a bunch of others that came and went.

If your mates using bait were pulling in Wrasse and Sweep, I think I would have stayed with lures…… edit…..that “Blue” Groper looks pretty red/Brown?

It seems kind of obvious you have already found your beach?

1.. always look for places by wandering around, using Google maps might be a starting point, but as you found out, it’s not what it seems. 2..Squidding is ALWAYS better late afternoon or early morning….end of story! 3.. I find almost any jig works, the expensive ones might be better, but, in my experience, smaller jigs, in any colour are good. 4.. depending on the depth, Squid will take a stationary jig, but….as a general rule, you will be fishing near weed, so letting a jig sit will see you snagged. I find clear/clean water, broken patchy reef/sand/weed low swell and a high tide to be the best Squid conditions.

Back in the “old days” Ticks were common for us, because of all the bush around, my father would just tip some kero/turps/petrol/diesel or whatever he had lying around on the Tick and it would just “back out” and fall off, I can never remember having any sort of “issue” though? We did lose a couple of dogs to Ticks over the years.