Pickles

Well get into them on 11th (Mrs Pickles birthday, so if we leave early, we’ll get some fishing time in- will be in touch)

Great report @R E G I C Y C L E! A chunky looking salmon, glad you didn’t loose your lure.

Great report @Bryant fish, we’ll done on the squid. Good to know the Kingies are poking around Pittwater.

Great effort @Jfish, those ‘cobes are a great fighter - every bit as good as the mighty kingfish and as @bessell1955says, a top eating fish when around to 70cm+ size. looking forward to future reports.

Great work Hugh and Theo, Some great scrappers there - a heap of fun. (Greg Catt who makes the Feralcatt lures is only at Freeman’s reach and is a lovely bloke who sells direct - it’s worth giving him a ring and seeing his set up and buying a few lures - he is a master fisho and outstanding lure maker. - pm me if you want details) Also Stuckey lures have a great action and working well at the moment in Colo.

Headed out extra early (didn’t really want to go on a public holiday, but a buddy was desperate & Mrs Pickles gave me a leave pass) and hit the water at 5am. Straight to the bait grounds and filled up with live Yakkas in double quick time and directly to Manly reef, then Longie wide and we had a “Rat Attack “, after 31 Kingies (mostly all around 62-65). Wed had enough, (doesn’t happen that often)so headed off to flattie grounds. 5 or 6 kayaks saw as hooking up & started doing laps around us (don’t mind at all and gave them a few Yakkas as all they had were pillies and Yakkas were doing the damage) . The last kingie was a 63cm rat with a chewed tail- maybe a seal??. We headed off to the flathead grounds & drifted for an hour and boated a dozen nice flatties, biggest going 63cm and twice as many “spikies”. We got monstered a massive school of slimies which we’re taking our 5/0 flattie hooks (kept a few to BBQ & bait tomorrow). A great start to 2023. (TYJ).

Always a pleasure my friend - you’re always welcome here.

Another great report (and result) @Isaac Ct, great way to spend the holidays.

Happy to show you the ropes - not far from my place.

You’ll have to give it a try on the MurrayCod Neil - no reason why it shouldn’t work. Happy new year mate - keep well (enjoying using the mug and pray for you every cuppa).

Great feed Basil, Red rock cod a lovely eating species, but butt ugly.

Down the road from me Sam - happy to take you out and show you.

Great report Basil, what a cracker day - wind and swell has been crook lately, what day was this?

Great fishing @bluefin, big smile on the dial of the young bloke and some cracker flattties, we’ll done.

Friend and (Christian brother Nathan) and his young bloke Harrison, twisted my arm to take them fishing (not much twisting needed) as the conditions were still windy and swell less than optimal, I decided on a Bass session again and as always, God was good, conditions were perfect (overcast and calm) and fish were in a fighting mood. We launched at 6.30 and had boated 22 fish by 7.02 (not surprising as Bass are normally more active early and late). When we had the Tinnie strapped on and ready to go by 9.30 and boated 61 fish. Lures we’re FeralCatts, Stuckey’s stump jumpers and prowlers, didn’t really seem to matter what we threw at them, they were hitting on the surface, deep diving and also got a few on some home made beetle spins with SP above the spinner blade. Colour wasn’t important either, but purple worked particularly well. The fish were so hungry you could see some of the school following a hooked fish and on one occasion, even got a double hookup on one lure, but multiple double and triple hookups. What a way to finish the year off (TYJ).

Hey @Renegade460, I haven’t been prawning in Narrabeen Lakes for 30 years, but it has been an early and “bumper” year so far n the Hawkesbury and the trawler operators put it down to the “big wet” - prawns love a flush of fresh water and all the Bass are stuffed full of prawns and coughing them up when landed (released of course, but doesn’t stop them regurgitating them once out of the water). Maybe because the water isn’t open to the sea, they are staying down deep.

Finding the Same Jon, great to see the Bass in big numbers and some tiny ones also, typically, some of the fish were so tiny, some were nearly the same time as the lures we were using.& then others in the 40cm range.

Great Question Chris, that’s a really nice Jewie, can understand why you’re so chuffed. My most interesting catch is a toss up between a 33cm rainbow trout caught in the Hawkesbury this past week (never caught a trout before and not a common fish (until they opened the dam) and a 36 cm Bass caught on a banana soft plastic that legend @Waza , made for me.

Way to go @Gengar, always great to have a day with the family, even if you do spend more time untangling than fishing - time spent with the kids is an investment and never wasted.

Well done on the Flatties and slimies, seems like there were plenty of fish biting today.

Good effort on the worms @beachwormer, grrrr about the stingrays.

A brilliant morning with 2 fabulous Raider mates - Jens certainly had a fine introduction and is now a real “Bass assassin”.

Way to go Dave and Amy. I love reading your posts and always look forward to some great pics. I trust you have a great time in South America (something I’ve always wanted to do, being an avid life long tropical fish enthusiast). Blessings for 2023.

Way to go Steve, some great fishing mate, pity Nozomi out fished you🤪 ( a few Raiders in “The Port”, if you’re going back, post some questions for places to fish, also the local tackle shop is very helpful.)

Nice job Dave - good feed there.