Juzza

Hey Matt, did you get my PM probably a few days ago? It sounds like good fishing at the lake so far, and yes iv seen a few larger ones come out of the righthandish area. After all those times iv been to the lake, iv never fished slackwater, only the run in till high. Iv seen the bream and whiting too, was planning to bring in some beachworms and give them a try when the blackies are off the bite. Anyway, i wont be there for a while, unfortunately exams are approaching! Ill be there in 2 weeks! cant wait! Justin

luderick -angler is the guy to talk to when it comes to blackie gear. Im not much of a help, have only ever used an eggbeater to catch blackies. But, great reels you got there ! Justin

Ahahah, what?! another addiction...i thought blackies were enough already!!! Justin

Yep, i have read quite a few people using alveys while groper fishing. Do you know why? (the winching capabilities, large line capacity?) Also i was under the impression that you needed to use 60lb,80lb mono, though i have caught quite a few 4kg browns on 45lb (of which my daiwa is spooled on). Justin Just on the topic of the rod bucket, i actually got one 2 weeks ago from an uncle! He has a room full of fishing gear he doesnt use very often!!!

I was looking at buying a Penn spinfisher 950ssm to go with my 8W snyder, right now im using a BG90 daiwa spinning reel. Using it for groper. Any advice would be great. Justin

Mmmmm blackies, still my favourite fish. Great catch you have there! Justin

You caught the blackies on the slack tide?! Hmm thats quite interesting...gives me more excuses to get out there again! Justin

Went to fish in my backyard today along a jetty fishing some dropoff... After 20 or so casts, i got my first hit!..it felt like an old sack so i thought it was a flathead (and yes it was). MY FIRST infact!!! taken on a 2' pumpkinseed minnow. BUT ...it got unhooked when it hit the surface at my feet . Cast 10 or so more times, and decided to hop it along where i lost my fish. And what do you know , twitch, feel the weight, strike! also it was the same Flathead. It managed to unhook itself when it was landed onto the pontoon. Maybe im not striking hard enough? my jigheads are sharp ...! It was 35cm. Thats bout it, nothing fantastic. Maybe ill get better at this! (oh, last week i caught my first bream on a sp...manage to get the bream before the flatty =D) Justin

Braid twists and tangles >.> Justin

Jackson is famous! Dont all the narralake fishos know him Justin

Hi Spence, Iv tried quite a few ways, the most 'common' way to cook them would be to: 1) Fillet and skin them, dip them in egg, then into some sort of flour (i use corn flour). Pan fry them till golden brown and EAT!!! 2) I found steaming them werent too bad!!! 3) Have tried oven baking them wraped in foil with all sorts of stuff but they turn out quite softer than compared to say snapper. (this method wasnt particularly great) They freeze well =D Justin

When we 'run', does it mean...they're 'running' out to sea if you're talking about a lake. Or does it just mean when they're active??? Justin

yep at the caravan park Justin

Went to narralakes today............i was the only one crazy enough to go!!! Medium winds...freezing...raining! So, i got wet, pretty cold and gave up after ~1hours. Caught 3 blackies 28-30cm. I think its much better when more people are fishing the fish didnt seem to be too excited. Except...something took my weed on the surface of the water while i was reeling in, and im pretty sure it was a blackie/possibly a tailor but my hook pulled. I wont be trying that in a while =D Justin

Went for my first ever flick for flatties yesterday arvo on the run in... After 100s of casts (maybe i need to do thousands), i gave up, not even a bitten off tail! BUT i didnt even bring my blackie gear since i was so focused on catching a flattie on a SP. Was using squidgie fish 65mm and 70mm fishing the dropoffs on the southern side of the channel near the marker. I dont know what else do say...not sure if i should try again! I was there when the blackies were firing Justin

Thanks everyone for the advice! I have another question, when i cast the upper arm (mainly my wrist) that is holding onto the rod gets whipped. Looks as though i was scratched by a cat!!! Any possible way to avoid that...besides wearing gloves? Thankyou Peter for the offer, i cant wait! You have a really keen eye...because all along the rocks there, theres loads of stringy (very short though) might be good for burly. But on the jetty theres cabbage growing slowly with alot of brown weed. And its only a walk away! Roberta, no way am i going to change from the dark side maybe ill just take a little holiday like you and hunt for some flatties/jewys =D Finally, thanks geekfisherman for the setup, going to make good use of it, wait till i land my first jewy on this! Justin

Today was a very nice overcast day with little wind on the parramatta river, further upstream. Time 5:30pm, Wind was <5knots, water was calm and murky, tide was low and rising, sun still up and fishing a patch of weed. A great day to be spending on the water. Set up on a jetty with a great newish setup (3months old!) that i bought TODAY from a fellow fishraider at Auburn Maccas! It was a... 13ft Snyder Glas 'Surf Spin' FS156MT (6w) , With an alvey 6500 BCVRR Couldnt resist taking it for a flick in the river! But in the end i had no fish, not even a nibble!!! First time ever, casting with a Alvey too> i made my attempt Cast 1. Failed Cast 2. The 30g sinker goes a mile...but somehow some line went inbetween the back piece and the spool couldnt get it untangled...Failed Cast 3. Rerigged, decided not to belt it out but to, lob it (im learning)... and YES, no dramas when i reel it in. Sucess!!! Cast 4. Do another lob, rig goes flying away and drops dead midflight...something has stopped line going out!!! I look at my guides and theres a birds nest there. Realised that when i was casting that i did not guide the line back into the spool the cast before. THEREFORE...cast 3+4 FAILED! Cast 5. Rerigged...learnt from my mistakes. Great lob, turn the reel back and it comes in fine! . . . . ~Cast 10. Tried to put a bit more force into the cast...and my thumb somehow stopped line from coming out of the spool and sinker flies away with a broken trace ~Cast 15. Same thing happens with my thumb...but i lose grip of the rod with the upper hand and almost chuck the rod into the water ~Cast 35. All Good, BUT NO FISH (WHY?!)...Answer: I was using only a sinker and no hook Overall a great learning experience! but i should of watched the alvey DVD before-hand rather than losing 100m of line . But i couldnt ask for more, using alveys are a new experience and are quite fun and i am wanting to catch a fish next time! Not sure if you would call this 'fishing' but hope you had a fun read =D Justin ps. After watching the DVD it seems like its gone though everything i learnt by myself!

Fish were off the bite today really early, almost around the middle of the tide...which was extremely weird!..caught 1 before they went off ~30cm. And gave it away. Not a bad day IN the water =D Justin

Im interested Justin

Nice catch! Yum groper...which reminds me, i need to get some groper fishing done! Havnt done it in ages!!! Justin

Went out to the lake for a bit of blackie fishing, there were a good 10+ people not including the boats that were in close and apparently spooking the fish near the buoy. I met Peter there and quite a few regulars! Bagged 7 fish. The small ones were everywhere today! Though i didnt catch any i had to throw back... Last of all! I HAVE A NEW PB of...................................34cm, nothing flash, but a 1cm improvement from last time! Justin

Went down to the lake today (Wed)...all the fish were really small and were playing with the baits alot! Overall caught 12 keepers, let 6 go because they were too small to keep. Biting on all weed baits today. Biggest went for 33cm which matches my PB...when am i ever gonna get over 33cm !!! I cant wait. =D Justin

First of all, nice sized whiting you cuaght!!! Too bad it got eaten by those pesky pelicans...if they see anything with fish, they will go crazy for it. Some of them are more than willing to snatch a fish out of your hands! ie. Today when i was trying to release an undersized blackie...it thought i was going to feed it and rushed in like 2m away with its big mouth open!!! Justin

Does anyone know where i can find a wilson live fibre MT4144??? I know there are plenty of snyders out there but none of the fish stores i have called seem to have them in stock. Justin I found one in kiama...though its a bit far away to drive, maybe i should just phone around a bit more

Thanks everyone!!! The uni snell is working good, iv just tested it about 10 times. and it doesnt seem to be breaking at the eye as much but within the line itself. Jewgaffer: i kinda get it, well the 1st and 3rd paragraph, ahahah. I will have to read it again or need someone to show me to get to know how it works. Thanks though! Justin