Jiggy

Yeah and say at least we'll get a flathead or two as an extra incentive. The bakers will jump into the boat then.

My thoughts exactly until I ate one of the tuskies last night. More crappy bottom feeders please.

So after sitting around twiddling my thumbs for the last couple of months I was hanging to get out of the city and catch some mighty Sergeant Baker. I am after all the self crowned Greatest Sergeant Baker Fisherman in Sydney. Thursday I jumped into the 4x4 and charged up to Yamba. I had booked a seat on Charter X as it wasn't worth towing the boat up for just a day really; Friday I had to work out of the hotel I was staying at and was coming back Sunday. Wandering around after work on Friday and noticed that no one was fishing one of the better blackfish spots there. If your ever up there this spot can go off big time but the fish often want black weed. When they are like that the generally won't take anything else. We headed out at six and went south towards Brooms Head to the first spot and baits down. Felt a few bites then I'm on; it was the right colour but wrong species. A pannie snapper. Back down and shortly later I'm on again; tusk fish. I got to say at this stage I was getting worried as neither I, nor anyone else, had caught a sergeant baker. This just wasn't going to plan at all. I had caught some micro red rock cod but that's not what I was after. Finally someone did catch one and the deckie cut it up for bait!! What a sad way to treat a prized game fish like that. At one stage a floater that was out went off and I was hopeful that it would be a giant one, but it was only a 73cm snapper. We fished on after that for more snapper, tuskies and a few trag. I briefly tried slow jigging but I kept tangling up with others so stopped pretty quickly. By the time we had to head in there was not a bad collection of fish in the box and everyone was pretty happy. FYI there were more fish in the box include a metre whaler shark that was kept for the table. I myself was pretty happy and had enough fish for a couple of feeds which is fine for me. How can you not be happy floating around on a nice day, see a few whales and get some salt spray on the face. It was nice just getting out and about and a fish or two was a bonus. The charter was very good and they knew where to go. It wasn't the best moon phase for reef fish but we did OK. If anyone would like details on the charter PM me and I'll pass their info on. Once we got back they started prepping for an evening charter; they run these during the winter as there is no wind. I saw the results on their Facebook page..yeah they did ok I think I need to go on one of these charters and see if I can stop being the worst jewie fisherman in Sydney! Cheers Rob

Like all of us I've spent the last couple of months sitting at home; for most of the time in glorious weather. Made a spontaneous decision the other day to go to Yamba and jump on a charter. Currently I'm sitting in the sun on the wall watching the sea and the charter operator has just confirmed tomorrows trip. North coast sergeant bakers watch out I'm coming for you! Cheers Rob

Next time you cook a brisket try this: Season (dry rub, salt pepper whatever you prefer) then put in the fridge overnight. If possible rest on a rack so that it stays dry. Pre heat your oven to 165 C. Slice up an union than fry that in butter until it softens then add some garlic, rosemary and a cup of apple juice. Cook until the juice is reduced by half. Put half on this in a roasting tray, put the brisket on top then pour the rest over the brisket. You want the brisket to be fat side up. Cover the tin in foil then bake in the oven for 1.5 hours. After this reduce to 120 C and cook for another 2.5 hours. What you get is very tender, juicy and tasty. I've done this with just salt and pepper and it's great. Largest brisket I've cooked like this is 2.5 kilos but larger should be fine; maybe cook for a little longer.

Usually by now the Spanish and spotted mackerel would be going off, but this year all the rain has had an impact on them. They seem to be few and far between. As the water clears they should start to come on or at least I hope so, my plan is to go up late April early May. Try ringing Motackle at Coffs and they can tell you what things are like at the moment. Cheers Rob

That's nice. My once I will lotto dream is a 37 foot Freeman; just the thing for chasing whiting in Brisbane Waters. If you're going to dream, dream big!

I know we all bitch about them but leatherjacket are not a bad feed. A few large ones when nothing else is biting isn't a bad result but yes I understand what you're saying.

Thanks Donna; I wasn't sure if a link to the article was allowed. I really hope that this is a hoax cause it could be the beginning of a problem. I think they would compete with jewies for food which is the last thing they need.

Just looking at the Fishing World site and they are reporting that a Newcastle angler caught a Japanese Sea Bass in the Hunter river, on fly, in the last couple of weeks. They have pictures and it's a pretty solid fish. It could have been transported in ballast water but the article states that others have been caught there and there may be a breeding population. If so they would be a fish to target. From what I've read they pull hard and are pretty good on the plate. And as ferals they need to go, who knows what problems they will cause for local fish species. That's if they have established a colony in the Hunter/Central Coast area. Cheers Rob

Thanks that's a great idea; I'll call around closer to when I'm up there and see how it goes. Cheers Rob

Yes so I found at Port Macquarie; out on a charter and asked the deckie if they chased mackerel in season. Big no on that but they do chase jewies on the full moon each month. Seem to get a few looking at their pictures so that is something I'm going to try. I may take the boat up to Coffs anyway and give it try; always in with a chance dragging some lures around.

Hi Guys, I'm planning on going north in March/April this year to beat my PB on Spanish Mackerel. Should be easy as my current PB is 0! Given that I've not chased them before I wouldn't mind a charter that would target them, if anyone has any charters that they recommend please let me know. FYI pretty flexible for area so anywhere from Ballina to SWR would be great. Oh and pm's please. Cheers Rob

If you ever get stung by these pouring very hot water on them is supposed to reduce the pain...I think not getting stung is the far better option.

That's a familiar looking ledge; used to be my go to blackfish spot for a number of years. Caught some cracking fish there especially in the autumn...enjoy!

Same here; was caring for a parent with dementia then had a heart problem. As I'm getting on top of that developed a hand issue that needed surgery. Haven't had the boat in water for at least 2 years. Had my first fishing trip in a long time recently, charter out of Port Macquarie and a couple of nights spinning the wall, and it felt great. Next job is getting the boat wet again. Cheers Rob

You could try a trolling sinker or make your own. Just get a large bean sinker and put a swivel in front and behind on a short piece if mono. You really don't want it to move much and I would also place a bead between the swivel and sinker. If you search for trolling sinkers you'll see what I mean. How far they sink depends on the sinker size and distance behind. Look at the attached guide as a chart. I'd start with 100 grams which is around 4 ounces and adjust from there.

Look at Simrad Multi function displays like the EVO3 series. You can bolt onto them all these functions and for your budget you could go for either a single 12 or 16 inch screen or even a couple of 9 inch ones. I have a 16 inch EVO2 with all bells and whistles; it's pretty awesome. I just need to use it a lot more! Cheers Rob

With level 1 restrictions you can: wash non-commercial vehicles and buildings at any time using a bucket, a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or high pressure cleaning equipment clean garbage bins and bin wash bays using a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or high pressure cleaning equipment flush boat engines using a specially designed flushing device attached to the hose clean bilges and essential safety components on boat trailers, such as brakes and wheels using a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or high pressure cleaning equipment. I can't find much on level 2 but I suspect that, while the washing of cars/boats may be banned, the flushing of motors and trailers would still be allowed. We'll have to wait and see what gets published when it's announced.

You could also look into doing a local charter; it can be a way to pick up tips and tricks for the local area. Cheers Rob

Hooked a big one at Molineux Point a few years back, fishing four pound mono to the hook and it took a prawn. Fought it for over an hour and finally got it to the boat where it shook it's head and the hook pulled out. It was well over a meter in size. Hooked a decent one in the Merimbula river one night, near the mouth, in less then a meter of water when chasing bream. There were a lot of tailor around and I think it was chasing them. Took a strip of slimey and eight pound mono to the hook. Ran out mid river and started shaking it's head; I though great there's only sand here and all I have to do is be patient as there isn't anything it can run into. Apart from a boat anchored about 150 meters away in the opposite direction it had run. Fish did a U-turn and wrapped me around the anchor in one big run. Fished there the next few nights with big baits and heavier gear for a stack of bream, tailor and a few crabs and not one touch from a jewie. So the secret to hooking jewies is to not fish for them. Buggered if I know what the trick is to land one though. Cheers Rob

Thanks guys for the input, I'll let you all know how I go. Knowing my luck with jewies I won't get a touch when fishing for them but will hook a big one when fishing for blackfish. With weed. D'oh! Cheers Rob

Landbased and will be using 50 pound braid. Might use a lighter leader, say 40 pound, just in case of snagging.

Thanks guys, I'll stick to braid as that's what's on the reels.

Hi Guys, In the next few weeks I'm planning on spending a few days up the mid north coast fishing for jews. I am the worlds worst jewie fisho so I'm not expecting too much. And of course I want to make it even harder and use lures only. When it comes to using lures around breakwalls what have you found to be the best option for line; mono or braid? Cheers Rob