Fergofisher

Water must have pushed off as well as the fish. Cube up and send some weightless pillies down next time mate, have had some glory sessions doing it that way. Sometimes they only want livies sometimes they like a cube of pilly..

Went off the fad off Port Kembla last Sat - Water was coffee.. Nothing around but debree in the water.

Mate all different. Iv caught a lot more bigger Jews on single hooks rather then double, just presents better in the water. Squid strips got the little fish going but i usually have at least 1 full out with a single hook pinched in the top of the hood. For the yakkas, i usually just butterfly full yakkas with the hook pinned from the bottom jaw through the head of the fish. about a metre and a half or so of leader to a running snapper lead attached to a swivel.

Cheers John, and yes haha i have plenty of questions. I'm happy to put in the hours to figure these fish out as usually not many want to give away there secrets which is understandable. Thanks for the info, i was thinking much the same about starting on the shelf and following the general rule of thumbs. Will keep you in the loop this season if i get the chance to head out. I ended up treating myself with a couple Tiagra 50's - so hopefully i get the chance to hear one screaming.

Gday Raiders, This year - is the year i am hopefully going to be able to finally target a YFT. I have a 4.75 Top Ender and have (in the right conditions) been 30-50 km offshore regularly. Need advice on a couple things before the season properly starts to help me try and land this dream nugget. Ill usually have someone on board with me so i don't mind running 4 rods as we have a bit of experience clearing them fair fast when we were on our marlin mission earlier this year. Gear: I currently have x4 Okuma TG30 2 speeds with 500m of 50lb braid and i would say 100-200m of 15kg mono top shot. For each, i have 24kg stand up back bone elites. Will this gear suffice on fish up to 50-100kg? I am willing to upgrade to a couple Tiagra 50WLRS's with 24kg setups if need be to be able to land one of these beasts. I have a couple heavy spin rods to pitch as well. Lures: I have a mix of Xrap 15's, 20's & 30's. I have a number of 6, 7, & 8" skirts all different colours etc mainly by Pakula. Lure wise will these do the job with a mixed spread? Teasers: I have a Pakula witchdoctor with a few flash strips attached. I have a few birds etc as well. Will this assist? Outriggers: I do have a set of outriggers. Not sure if this would wise to use or not? Leader: For the skirts i think they are already rigged at about 100-120lb. For the divers etc, will 80lb do the job? How much leader as well for the divers would work? Belts: I only have stand up belts not a full harness but again willing to get a black magic setup as example if that's going to help my arms not fall off. Couple more questions: - Where to go i am completely unsure.. This is the main concern i have. What sort of water do they sit in generally as in temp wise or does it vary? - I know to look for bird life etc, but if this isn't happening am i looking for temp breaks, clean/dirty water, mass eddies etc? I have access to Ripcharts to give historic guidance hopfully to put e in the general area of the hot spots - How close in can they be caught? As in do i need to wait for perfect day to rip 30kms off or do they come in closer to the heads at all at any point or do they just follow the bait etc? - Is cubing the better option when the fish aren't coming to the surface? If so what's the general rule of thumb as in how often i should cube, cut into halfs quarters, when to feed a bait back through the chum etc etc. Cheers for the help in advance, this fish has been on my bucket list since i can remember. Thanks Legends.

Al good mate. Theres some solid Jews in the river so don't be suprised if a random one picks up you're bait. Yep theres a little boat hire place just below the circle on the map. It has a tackle shop, food drinks etc as well - i think it's called the boatshed or something like that? Not sure on hire wise though, i know for sure you can hire little boats but not sure about 8 in one..

I have marked a few spots mate to give you an idea. The river used to be a haven for Jews, good bream and flathead it is a little more quite these days but you can still get some good fish.

Gday Eddy, Fished Tuross many times in the past, stunning quite spot down the coast. Are you chasing anything specific? Or just having a fish?

Went up to the Hawksbury last Sunday night. Not only to have a fish but to clear the head. Ended up trying the usual.. Juno, mid grounds, few of the bridges etc. Hard to find any yakkas or tailor in the average water but had some pre frozen yakkas and squid from a previous trip. Nothing for hours, about an hour after turn of the tide from low to high they came on the chew. All babies up to about 50cm but managed to snag a few. All let go of course, good to see the river teaming with soaps! A couple eels, 1 catfish.. The usual classic weekenders driving full speed a boat length from me which i could only just laugh. Rods: Ranging 4-6kg Reels: Ranging 40-50 sized daiwa Braid: 30lb jbraid Leader: 40lb Shimano Ocea Hooks: Mustad 5/0 Bait: 3 week old frozen yakkas/squid. I did have some prawns but they didn't do the trick, couldn't get freshys unfortunately.

nice good little feed there. What technique got them on the chew, slow life or jigging?

2.5g works well up river as it's not that deep where you're fishing the edge. lighter the better, has a better drop

Mate hit up any ledge in the harbour or where you can flick a plastic off. If you can find somewhere in reach of mored boats even better. As DerekD mentioned, jump on google maps to give you a better idea. Have a few spots to go to, if there not hitting you in the first 5-10 throws - move on

Ok thanks mate. Yakkas or slimys? What area would you target for a good place to start the cube?

Gday Raiders, This year - is the year i am hopefully going to be able to finally target a YFT. I have a 4.75 Top Ender and have (in the right conditions) been 30-50 km offshore regularly. Need advice on a couple things before the season properly starts to help me try and land this dream nugget. Ill usually have someone on board with me so i don't mind running 4 rods as we have a bit of experience clearing them fair fast when we were on our marlin mission earlier this year. Gear: I currently have x4 Okuma TG30 2 speeds with 500m of 50lb braid and i would say 100-200m of 15kg mono top shot. For each, i have 24kg stand up back bone elites. Will this gear suffice on fish up to 50-100kg? I am willing to upgrade to a couple Tiagra 50WLRS's with 24kg setups if need be to be able to land one of these beasts. I have a couple heavy spin rods to pitch as well. Lures: I have a mix of Xrap 15's, 20's & 30's. I have a number of 6, 7, & 8" skirts all different colours etc mainly by Pakula. Lure wise will these do the job with a mixed spread? Teasers: I have a Pakula witchdoctor with a few flash strips attached. I have a few birds etc as well. Will this assist? Outriggers: I do have a set of outriggers. Not sure if this would wise to use or not? Leader: For the skirts i think they are already rigged at about 100-120lb. For the divers etc, will 80lb do the job? How much leader as well for the divers would work? Belts: I only have stand up belts not a full harness but again willing to get a black magic setup as example if that's going to help my arms not fall off. Couple more questions: - Where to go i am completely unsure.. This is the main concern i have. What sort of water do they sit in generally as in temp wise or does it vary? - I know to look for bird life etc, but if this isn't happening am i looking for temp breaks, clean/dirty water, mass eddies etc? I have access to Ripcharts to give historic guidance hopfully to put e in the general area of the hot spots - How close in can they be caught? As in do i need to wait for perfect day to rip 30kms off or do they come in closer to the heads at all at any point or do they just follow the bait etc? - Is cubing the better option when the fish aren't coming to the surface? If so what's the general rule of thumb as in how often i should cube, cut into halfs quarters, when to feed a bait back through the chum etc etc. Cheers for the help in advance, this fish has been on my bucket list since i can remember. Thanks Legends.

When are you chasing them, night or day? A normal squid jig will get them.. Try a different techniques as sometimes they are shy. Slow lift or a couple heavy jigs, just need to keep trying to see what entices them to grab it. At night i tend to use something with a bit of glow to it, works well..