ianoc69

Sorry H&C = Hen & Chicken Bay

Hi Raiders, Long time no post. Been hard to get out in recent times busy working and doing the day to day. Few morning sessions lately with the usual species but this morning managed to land a 40cm Bream Land Based H&C. Gulp Shrimp did the trick. Cheers.

Took my 14yo Daughter (Natannè) out this morning for a 3 hour SP Flick around Iron Cove. I like to believe that my Training over the last 6 years has helped her. Nothing uncommon that she outfished me again (slow roll technique won hands down over my lift and pause technique). She managed 2x Bream (approx. 34cm & approx. 28cm) mixed in with a couple of smaller Flathead thrown in. Lets not talk about my smallest Flathead. I think it is time for the old dog to learn some new tricks and the Trainer be Trained. In any case great morning to be near the water - will try and add a couple of pics.

Hello All, I have just got back into Fishraider after sometime away due to work and family committments (having 4x Kids become almost all teens now does take up time, energy and as I have found $$$ + Grey Hairs). I finally will get the chance to get out 1 or 2 times a week either early morning or late afternoon to thro around some SP's and chase the usual suspects (Flathead, Bream, Whiting and if lucky enough the odd Jew) and was hoping to get a bit of an update on the Parra River including Iron Cove + Lane Cover River etc. for my Land based endeavours. I try and fish 2 hours either side of High Tide which mainly due to Water Depth in the common areas that I have been fortunate enough to fish. Any updates and tips on both Land Based locations + Tackle Upgrades / SP changes - my equipment was current as of 2 years ago but not much money has been spent recently other than ne fireline and some berkley Grubs & Sandworms. Cheers to all and hope to get some feedback.

My 15 yo cousin was Bait Fishing with his Rod from a Wharf down South in the Greenwell Point area 2 weeks ago. With his line in the water he felt a couple of minor enquiries and lifted the Rod Tip in an attempt to set the hook. After feeling a decent weight on the end of his line he was confused that what he hooked was a bit of a dead weight and each wind of the reel he thought i must have a stick or branch . To his amazement he wound in a Fishing Rod with Reel that could not have been in the water too long as it was in better condition than his own rod. He thought all of his Christmases had come at once when he retrieved the captured Rod and Reel only to find that a fish was attached to the rod and reel he had just caught. Winding in the captured rod he was greeted with a mid 40cm Flathead that was still alive and hooked. This is a true story and the Rod and Reel were washed and oiled before the Flathead ended up on a dinner plate . Amazing fishing story - I am sure there are many others out there.

blood knot, good report. i agree 100% about the chopper taylor. the young son and i fished both ic and hc earlier this week on the morning big tides and found 10 or so decent Bream & Flatties but came across many patches of chopper taylor - gets expensive on the sp's. the NW looks great and i have been thinking about getting a new hardbody or 2 soon - will check this out for sure. shame on the dropped fish and best of luck next outing

Hading down to Shoalhaven Heads for Easter W/End. Got access to the Parents Tinny and was hoping for a PM or Tip on any local knowledge as to how and where the they are biting in the Shoalhaven River System. Mainly chasing Bream / Flathead / Jew etc. on SP's. Any support much appreciated.

Any help in Yarrawonga Land Based this time of year (March 2009). I am a sole Salt Water Fisho but hoping to have a bit of fun with Fresh Water Species Land Based only. Will Soft Plastics with 1/16th Jig Heads combined with Gulp Grubs etc. work on Fresh Water Species. What about Hard Body such as Ecogear SX. A tip or two on the general area to try and Lure advice is much appreciated. I am not spending enough time there to spend up big on Spinnerbaits etc. and was hoping to use my general Slatwater Bream and Flathead SP Equipment - If practical. Any Tips mots welcome.

Hit Hen & Chicken for a Quick Land Based Flick earlier today (6am till 8am). Fishing was tough and I am gettiong low on Gulp Grubs / Gulp Sandworms etc. so had to go through the bag and use a few old lures that have been sitting in the bag a loooong time. Came across a Bag with 4 Green Hawgs left and sent one out which resulted in a decent Bream - see pic. Took a mark on the rod before releasing the fish and later checked the measurement - 34cm to Fork. Very solid & Fat Fish - extremelly healthy and gave a good account of itself on the symetre. Manage 1x Whiting (approx 30cm) also - but generally alot of casts for a few hits but not so many hook-ups. Good to get out and throw some SPs around.

Key Dan - we will get together for a flick soon. Missing you heaps at work dude. My personal wishes to you for future success. That Mantis Shrimp is lucky it did not end up on my plate.

Thanks all for those kind words. I am a Soft Plastic Fanatic and prefer to use them over bait. The challenge of catching fish with lure and technique. The young bloke is 1 of 4 - the 2 older boys are not interested in fishing and the daughte (youngest at 6 yo) is keen but not ideal to drag her out of bed at 5am. Pearce is the sone pictured herein and he would fish long hours without complaint on Land Or Boat (when the cahnce is there). He regurlarly asks me "can we go fishing" - but many of my morning sessions are pre-work mid week and this means I can only take him on the odd weekend morning. Always amazes me how quick the kids pick-up things.

Took my youngest son out for a Land Based fish on SP's around Hunters Hill area. As usual he out fished me. It was pretty quiet and wind came up within 30 mins of being there - fished from 6am till 7:20am before wind drove us crazy. Son managed his biggest Flathead on SP's - measured 60cm exactly - see pics attached. I do alot of catch n release - but this one found its way to the table. Very fat fish and when it was opened up you could see why as it inhaled a complete yabbie approx 12cm long and despite still digesting it the fish was more than happy to feed on a 3" Pumpkinseed Minnow Gulp Grub. Healthy looking specimen - the phot did not do it justice. Footnote:- Many thanks to Mustafa for a tip on the local knowledge.

Travelling to Hamilton (Near Newcastle) for 1 night next week and was hoping for a tip on the general area - will carry a flick stick & some SPs and would like to chase Flathead, Bream anr or school jew. I have wheels so can travel. How has the area been fishing ? Any tips by reply and or PM much appreciated.

Thanks for the info Stewy. Very much appreciated.

I mainly fish SP's Land Based BUT have had an offer to take out a Tinnie this w/e. Looking at fishing the Georges River this Sat OR SAun morning 6 till 11am. Dont get out in the boat much but can anyone give me a tip or two as to the general fishing areas from a boat with SP's - mainly targeting Flathead + bream + Jew as a bonus. What is an ideal ramp to launch from - 5M tinnie with 30HP motor. Any advice is much appreciated - reply OR PM Thanks in advance.

Tnaks all. There are so many good members here. Good site and great people - hope all get amongst them this XMAS.

Took the youngest bloke (Pearce 9 yo) out to IC yesterday morning 5.45am till 8.15am and we threw a heap of casts around the place - mainly Gulp Sandworms and Grubs etc. Managed a small bream, 6x flathead and a couple of chopper tailor. The young bloke outfished me again (6 to 3) with his largest flathead being approx 48cm - I might be better off being his casting caddy. With High Tide at approx 8.30am we moved to Hen & Chicken about 8.20am to fish the first hour of run out. I almost squared the ledger with a 4-1 Flathead count - largest still only mid 40cm mark. Slow on bream - I couldn't find them. As a side note we came across a nice Chilean Gentleman who was Bait Fishing with a very large rod + a smaller rod - he was throwing granade size sinkers out into the middle of the bay using pilchards - he told me he had started at 5AM and not had a touch. I landed a flathead within 10 metres of him and he approached me and I showed him a cut down rubber lure (sandworm) to which he bought back a mixed pack of SP's that had gathered some dust in the tackle box. Armed with firleine on his smaller rod I mentioned a couple of small tips and proceeded to tie him up a rig via a swivel (he was ready to tie the fireline straight to a 1/8 size Jig Head). He handed me a 40cm piece of mono leader that was maybe 8lb or so and a bright yellow basic 1/8th ball jig head. I tied up hos rig and modified a dark ribbed style worm he had with bright orange tail and spoke about a jerky lift and drop style retrive with 3 second pauses. It took 5 mins and he had landed a 38cm Flathead and he shook my hand for 2 mins. The son and I left 30 mins after as we covered ground back to the car. I stopped to wish him all the best and that Chliean accent again said "thank you very much - thank you very much" as he pointed to the gutter where there wer 2x more 40-45cm ish sized flatheads landed. It felt good to help out a senior carpenter who was a genuiune nice bloke.

Looking at a trip to Bermagui for a few days this Christmas. Any locals or recent visits to the system would be appreciated. We generally fish either Bermagui River or lake Wallaga. Prefer SP's but do fish Live Nippers when in the mates tinnie.

Thanks all for the feedback. I have been moving around the system at various locations that generally fish pretty well. Had a little more success today managing 3x flatties to 45cm. Snag, Thanks for the advice - I value your opinion and still thank you for your advice in the early days and ongoing Flightmanager, I will get some of the Gulp Alive product - have seen this pop up in nuerous threads. Gerg, Thanks for the input - It will come good in the coming month. Owendoble, I do carry scents but rarely use them - I back my ability to work the lure BUT when things are quiet I should go to the scent. Thanks all - Hope your fishing is productive and best of Irish luck to all.

Calling ALL SOft Plastic experts / Gurus / obssesed users out there. I started SP fishing when Bass Minnows was all the Go. Then a Phase came with Gulp this Gulp that. Understanding that SP's OLD & NEW are here to stay - and will always catch fish - I recently have noticed things a little quiet in the Parra River (Land Based) with the regular lures. Generally I can go out and throw around any of the following and catch (on average) 2x Bream + 4x Flathead or from time to time a mixed species (Whiting / trevally etc.) in a typical 2 hour session. * Gulp Sandworms (Natural / Camo etc.) * Gulp Minnows (Pumpkinseed or Watermelon) * Bass Minnows (3" Pumpkinseed) * Berkley Nimphs 1" * Gulp Turtleback worms Lately I have had 3x 2 hour sessions (mornings) within 2 hours of high tide - at spots that normally produce - and have only managed 3x Flathead (2 in one session and 1 in another). The hits also seem to be not as frequent. Do the fish not like what I am throwing at them - my technique is as normal a sharp flick of the rod tip (lift and drop) with 3 to 5 second pauses in between. The odd slow roll etc. Are the fish on annual leave. IS THERE ANY NEW "HOT" PLASTICS THAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN HAVING SUCCESS WITH - I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO CHANGE OR UPGRADE TO A NEW LURE. ALL HELP & ENQUIRIES WELCOME / NEEDED / DESPERATE FOR HELP

How does Kelso Park and Lurgano fish on a lowish tide. What is the water depth like around this area for Land Based fishing. Any further advice much appreciated.

Sorry peoples but I came across this joke at work and had to post it here. It may be an old one but I thought it was funny albeit a little nasty to the fairer sex. >>> >A bloke's wife goes missing while diving off the West Australian >>> >coast. >>> > >>> >He reports the event, searches fruitlessly and spends a terrible >>> >night wondering what could have happened to her. >>> > >>> >Next morning there's a knock at the door and he is confronted by a >>> >couple of policemen, the old Sarge and a younger Constable. >>> > >>> >The Sarge says, 'Mate, we have some news for you, unfortunately >>> >some really bad news, but, some good news, and maybe some more good >>> >news'. >>> > >>> >'Well,' says the bloke, 'I guess I'd better have the bad news >>> >first?' >>> > >>> >The Sarge says, 'I'm really sorry mate, but your wife is dead. >>> >YoungBill here found her lying at about five fathoms in a little >>> >cleft in the reef. He got a line around her and we pulled her up, >>> >but she was dead.' >>> > >>> >The bloke is naturally pretty distressed to hear of this and has a >>> >bit of a turn. But after a few minutes he pulls himself together >>> >and asks what >>> >the good news is. >>> > >>> >The Sarge says, 'Well when we got your wife up there were quite a >>> >few really good sized crays and a swag of nice crabs attached to >>> >her, so we've brought you your share.' >>> > >>> >He hands the bloke a sugar bag with a couple of nice crays and four >>> >or five crabs in it. >>> > >>> >'Geez thanks. They're bloody beauties. I guess it's an ill wind and >>> >all that... So what's the other possible good news? >>> > >>> >'Well', the Sarge says, 'if you fancy a quick trip, me and young >>> >Bill here get off duty at around 11 o'clock and we're gonna shoot >>> >over there and >>> >pull her up again!

Fishing a bit of new structure - before they turn it into a restaurant How about a name for the new restuarant (if it cant be moved):- I will start off with the name "SEA TO SHORE CAFE" Ane takers for a better name

Great report - good fish and nice pics. Water Level looks low. Just a question: Did that outfit Stewy was wearing (Beenie+Sunnies+Scarf) come out of the Gag Magic bag that Brad was holding. Sorry Stewy - Just Jokes mate - I couldnt help myself.

Thanks heaps RZEP. 36 years old - I have reached the top of the hill and am starring down a steep slope - It Is all down hill from here. Hope to have some success with the fishing into the future.