Jigholio

They can make a person very ill indeed. They must be treated with utmost respect. Different folks have different reactions... "I once had the experience of having a long time fishing friend aboard who boated a 10" fish. It spat the hook and bait, and fell, spines down onto his bare instep. I literally pulled the fish off his foot, leaving a neat row of punctures. Pain was immediate and spectacular; he collapsed to the stage where I had to settle him in the cockpit of my speeedboat 1-S before starting a race for shore and medical attention. He was deeply nauseated and complained of hot & cold flushes; developed chest pains; and his breathing became heavy & laboured. I found his pulse had become erratic; and for the hour's run back he was clearly in severe pain. Alarmed? - I doubt that he was any more frightened than I was. After medical treatment the pain subsided; but his foot remained awfully swollen for two days." Ern Grant. What could happen if you were handling one of these, it kicked out of your grip and punctured your chest, right over your heart. Respect this critter! Also like all scorpionfishes they can survive out of water for many hours. Don't ever think it's dead unless it's been intentionally killed. Knife thru the head & break the spines off with long release pliers, it's then safe to handle. Hope that's definitive enough for you, Beau

Hmmm. someones pulling your leg. http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/quran911.asp Very entertaining nonetheless

OK I'll give the hoodlum style a go & let you know the results. The rigging technique & hook placement you described is exactly what I'm doing, so that must be good! Thanks again for for the advice Also we never seem to miss with squid baits, it would appear they're inhaled rather than mouthed. The squid seem really thin ATM however and only in pairs? Cheers Jig

Thanks for all your positive comments gents, just seeing Chef break the duck & the change in him that occured was worth the price of admission tenfold. Byron if only I could read between the lines in your posts like you can dissect the meat in mine I wouldn't have this constant twitch in my crimson right eye lol. I have the strike drag set tight, enough to put a full working curve in 10-15kg gear at a deflection of about 40deg. I first used big Gama SL12's (10/0) for 100% strike rate on 3 fish. I could not find them again in that size at any tackle shop within cooee, so we used twin snelled 9/0 Gama suicides last night. The only appreciable difference to my (good) eye is the amount of barb & gape showing. It's the only change in anything! We fish small sinkers, just enough to keep it down and just enough line to keep the baits bouncing with some hull movement. Baits are live or ultra-fresh squid, slimies or yakkas as a last resort. The two missed ones last night were on yakkas. Any thoughts or advice for me, Sir? Jig

I made the call three weeks ago. "Keep friday the 30th free, I reckon we'll get into the Jewfish". So the plan was made to meet Chef at Rose Bay around 8pm. I had arrived at Tunks some 4hrs earlier to be greeted with a most unusual sight: An old International prime mover complete with the biggest Hiab crane and huge boat trailer being rescued & towed up the ramp by.... a Landcruiser. It would make a primo publicity shot for Toyota. Oddities aside, step 1 - collect bait. with a fierce & persistent northerly blowing & a nasty steep chop this was no easy task. 2 1/2hrs for one piddly squid . So I made the run between the heads where it was real ugly and sabiki'd a dozen jumbo yakkas in quick time - relief . Worked around the very few sheltered pockets along the eastern shoreline & picked up another two boogers within 5 mins when I got the call, Chef was waiting at the ramp. Just pulling up to the jetty was diabolical & fraught with danger, some judicious throttle & steering and quick moves from Chef and we were on our way without incident - or any further squid so we agreed to anchor at spot J and sit out the nastiness. I had boldly, or perhaps foolishly made the call that at 11.30pm a Jew would hit the deck. I had a very solid hit on a yakka fillet at 10.30, within seconds the hook had been spat out . Just to rub it in my other rod with the butterfly got smacked, again not finding the mark. So I had a little Damir Dokic moment and felt much better thankyou. Things went quiet for a while....except the wind which was only getting stronger. Some 'raiders who have read my reports from last year might recall that Chef is the king of monumental bustoffs, pulled hooks and every known flavour of epic angling tragedy. So it was only fitting I blamed him for two dropped fish "well over 20 kilos mate, for sure" . We were both cold, hungry, & battered by the weather at this stage. Then at 11.24pm the unmistakeable sound of the spool clicker on the big Ryobi, Chef is ON! His rodcraft was textbook. After a very strong initial run of perhaps 30m I see the rod tip rattling like crazy - a Jew for sure. The gaff went in cleanly thru the jaw & we took a moment to savour the unique sight, smell & croaking. Two very happy fishos in a very dark washing machine. We decided to pack it in, just too uncomfortable. Back at Rose Bay the Water Police were hovering around, no doubt to assist boaties using the facilities, Angels on our shoulders. The chop & wind was that fierce! Chef back on terra firma without incident I made the run (crawl) back to MH for a quick washdown & long sleep. That's 3 jewie fishing trips for 3 successes, I believe I'm sussing out the clockwork. STOKED! Cheers folks, Jig

Cyanoacrylate debonder. Can be bought at any hobby shop. Methyl Ethyl Ketone and/or Acetone will also work but the cyan.....debonder is made for the job. ooohhhh big scary words. I luv em.

The difference is: Fisheries will ask for a report to be lodged with an ensuing investigation. They have tricky & varied responsibilities with inadequate resources like so many other Public Servants. I think they do an outstanding job under trying circumstances. Fisheries put the safety of their unarmed officers first, as they should. Police will IMMEDIATELY take action to catch the perps red handed. They treat the undersize/over limit issue as a serious breach of the law & with the aim to prosecute. Just ask Ceph how seriously they take this issue. They have the advantage of crew numbers & a 'bigger stick' Please don't ever approach anyone keeping undersize fish. I learned this very early in life after having a shotgun waved in my direction. Leave it to the proper authorities.

30 yrs ago myself & the other local kids used to make fairly regular catches of Estuary Cod in Middle Harbour at Bunny Rabbit's and the salt pan wrecks. They were not tiny juvies either, most around 2-5kg, clearly they were resident and breeding in local waters. I recall recently an article by Mr purple charter boat about a monster tackle thief that lives in said wreck and will dust you on any tackle class. hmmmmm Haven't seen a single cod since 1982 and never seen a Lutjanid in Sydney waters EDIT: prior to the dioxin pro ban lobster were trapped commercially in the Harbour for the live trade, very close to shore. Close enough I could chat with the guy at normal conversation level while he retrieved his trap with two very nice specimens inside

They're a killer livebait for jewfish and will actively swim for hours on the end of a hook. Did you notice the constant croaking noise they make? Some have suggested the jewies home in on this noise, I dunno....but I've caught plenty of jewies around Soldiers Pt on live trumpeter. They are very common over ribbon weed/clean sand habitats where they are countershaded perfectly. They are great fun for kids, just look at that happy face!

Tell your friends not to worry. There are plenty of good data recovery programs around, some have free trials for 7 or 30 days etc. I have recovered deleted .jpgs & other files using System Mechanic pro (vista). The process is slow however, a 'let it run overnight' sort of thing. Main thing is not to worry, the files should be recoverable

Good work on the cephalopod Grand Slam! Some real tasty treats there. Last two trips I've gone in search of the big cuttle, they're around in good enough numbers to make a worthwhile target. Hey choad, how's the beast? If you get an occie that's too big to handle but just right for dinner, put a gaff thru it's head and jam a cork or whatever on the end. Not a very elegant solution but highly effective. Big ones aren't worth it, they will go all Jules Verne at the first & every opportunity. I would love to know the yum cha recipe for occy legs, the yellow fried ones with chilli. Can anyone help? Jig

Go the bigger one for line cap. The stock drag will fish 30-50lb braid no mods.

I would look at the Penn Slammers. At that price you'll get a very smooth & powerful reel, better suited to braid than the spinfishers or B'runners, (I also have these) and a MUCH better drag. I think they are the most underrated & underpriced reel in the country. With the silstar rod it would make a bang for your buck hero.

The bigger 3.5 jigs are killer in the harbour atm. Good choice, should bring you plenty

Thanks Byron, your assessment of my mental state is spot on! Dicko, how's sunday for you? send me a PM. Jig