Dazza72

I have a 13yo son who is a mad fisherman. We do ok, each time we head out on the boat, but we want to become much better. We have a belief that to get really good at something you have to spend time with others that are better than you. We initially tried a few charters to see if we could get some guidance from them. Unfortunately our experience was they were exceptional at putting us on the fish, but they didn’t care too much for our desire to learn and master this fine art. Recently I posted a question on FishRaider, and DerekD was exceptional. All week he kept giving me great advice. I also noticed somewhere that he mentioned mentoring some Raiders, so I approached him and he was brilliant. He explained that if he was to give up his time, he wanted a commitment from us that we’d practice what he taught us and that we’d ask great questions, primarily to learn why we fish a certain way. Yesterday was the day, and my son and I met him at 730a at Mosman. We started out with an assessment of our casting. We thought we were ok at this, and he gave us an 80% mark. I can’t believe how good an eye he has, how patient he is and what an a great teacher he is. By the end of the session our casting had improved dramatically. We’ve still got plenty more work to do but he improved us dramatically. After a great lunch together we moved onto a lure masterclass, we covered soft plastics, vibes and surface lures. We spent a great deal of time mastering the retrieve techniques for these. Joe and I can’t believe that one man would give up his Monday long weekend for nearly 10 hours, and all he asked that we buy him lunch. We built so much knowledge over the day and we can’t wait to put it into practice this weekend. Derek, thank you so much for yesterday, and for your care of the local fishing community. We loved the time with you and loved the learning. We cant wait to spend time with you again and hope you’ll have us back for lesson number 2. Raiders, if you’re struggling in a few areas like we are, reach out to the great man DerekD.

Hi Raiders, My 13yo and I planned an early morning start out on the harbour, however the thick fog delayed the departure. Based on my success with squid at Lady Bay last weekend, we headed straight there. We covered a lot of ground using orange, Bambi and white jigs. There was a lot of debris in the water and we didn’t get a bite. We headed around to Camp Cove but also nothing, then around to Double Bay and still doughnuts. We then made our way round to the weed beds between Middle Head and George’s Head. We got a small arrow here and that was all. At least we had one that we would downrig later. On the way to our kingy spot, we checked out the wreck at Clark Island, this spot usually produces for us. My son dropped down a small fresh frozen squid, only about a 10cm hood. It went down in a half pilly rig on a 1/0 hook. As we drifted over the wreck, he was hit pretty hard and he set the hook really well. It didn’t fight hard for the first 20 aeconds, then it kicked into gear and looked like a rat king the way it was taking line and head shaking. He yelled with joy when he got a glimpse of it, “it’s a croc”. I nervously netted it otherwise I wouldn’t have lived it down. The flathead went 73cm, so we gladly returned it so it could keep breeding. Joe was stoked with his PB. After this excitement we went to our Kingy spot, it was marking kings, so we dropped the down rigger to 6m and after 3 passes, he was on. Unfortunately I went 20lbs on the leader and it busted us off. Great day with my son and a pb flattie for him.

Thanks, that helps, will just keep plugging away Hi, looking forward to what others say, I know I have a range of whites, naturals and bright colours, that I switch out. I use a mustard fastach to make changing quickly an easy process. What I don’t know is should cover ground with my chosen colour, or stay put and try a bright, natural and white before moving?

Yes mate. I’m sure with more skill I’ll more.

Headed out today to continue work on improving my squid technique, as well as to hunt for cuttlefish. @DerekD was fantastic all week offering me great advice. Started out at Shark Island near the lighthouse throwing 2.5 size jigs around in white, natural and orange. No success here. Moved over to Clifton Gardens to hunt for cuttlefish. Again, nothing to report here. It was about now that my confidence was taking a dip. Then moved around to the area from George’s Head to Obelisk Beach, again not a nibble, despite going through my full range of 2.5 sized jigs. One last chance was over to trusty Lady Bay. Well I heard it was a nudist beach, but I’ve never seen anyone here before. Well today was different , surely I could t go home empty handed with nothing other than unwanted images of old naked guys burnt into my mind. After fanning 4 casts with the Bambi colour 2.5 size, I changed over to orange with the zig zag stripe. I was finally on (20cm) - first one in the live well. I moved another 50m away and nothing took the orange. I switched back to the Bambi colour and I was on again (25cm). 2 in the boat. Then a few casts later on again with the Bambi (24cm). With three in the live tank I was keen to get a fourth so the wife and kids all had a green eye each for dinner. I tried my luck back at Shark Island again, but nothing to report. Stopped in at Mort Bay on the way home, I was told you can find arrows there. Nothing here. Good day out, would have loved to have added a few more spots to my collection, but still super happy to have three in the tank and to know that Lady Bay keeps delivering. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.