Koalaboi

I usually use a microfibre cloth to hold flathead. I find that gripping them so that you can place a bit of pressure on the cloaca or just in front of that keeps them pretty still. It also pays to play the fish till it’s quiet before handling them. KB

Depends on what part of the reef you are fishing. I fished there quite a lot in the 1970’s and 80s mostly fishing for blackfish and bream etc. Fishing the front needs a pretty low swell but we would usually fish on the platform as the tide came up in areas that were basiclly dry at low tide. So not too snaggy. A light spinning rod and little if no lead using cunjevoi, cabbage and luderick gut for bait. There's also pigs, snapper and big tailor. It will take a while to suss out all the potential spots. Standing at the top of the headland you cansee fish feeding on the platform. KB

Try fishing Long Reef. You have every swell direction covered at this spot and in time, you will work out how different swells hit rock platforms which will help you understand other spots. KB

Hi, I use an old Alvey ball bearing centrepin for fishing for flathead with live poddies under my blackfish float. It works well. The reel is heavier but, if you use the technique of releasing the spool a little earlier when you cast, you will find the momentum of the heavier outfit leads to long accurate casts. It needs practice. I don't think that stripping line before you cast is needed. That being said, we all need to find a technique that works for us so try all the suggestions you get and if it works then you're in business. It's just a matter of practising thoughtfully which is what we should do with every aspect of our fishing. I saw another technique where the fisher pulled the line out with one hand at 90 degrees to the rod then threw it out., It worked fine though I wonder about putting twist into your line. The dark art is such a wonderful source for discussion about techniques and gear. You gotta love chasing luds! KB

Hi Stevo, Thanks for the thoughtful and well researched information. As you say below WD40 is not necessarily a lubricant. My Steelite reel is a centrepin and when you disassemble the reel it spins solely on a sharp point. In this case a lubricant such as you would use for a ball bearing style of centrepin reel does not reely have much effect (pun intended).. I find the general purpose WD40 works a treat and can recommend that after 50 years of using Steelite reels. I do put marine grease on the ratchet assembly, and normal machine oil in the handle axels, (but if I don't have any to hand, a spray of WD40 works ok). Thanks again for your interest. KB

Hi, A couple of tips to help with your casting: 1. Make sure your reel is well lubricated with a light oil or even just WD40 2. When you go to cast, bring your rod back over your shoulder to load it and on bringing the rod forward, release the spool earlier than you would when casting a sidecast or threadline reel…it makes a huge difference. It will take a bit of practice to get the timing right but is worth the effort. 3. Just before casting, always check that your line is not behind the reel mount, between the spool and the backing plate of the reel or wound around the tip of your rod. After a while you will perform these checks automatically. TBH, have a look around for a Steelite blackfish reel. They work a treat and are much lighter than the old Alvey you show in your picture. You can often find them at local markets for $5-10. I have tried numerous centrepins over 50 years of fishing for luderick and have come back to the Steelite and love it. If you find one, check that the spool spins freely, that the handles spin freely,that the ratchet works and that there is little wobble in the spool. Seized reels are often easy to free up with lots of WD40 sprayed on them and left in a plastic bag for day or two before gently working them loose. Tight lines, KB

Took my restored Wilson rod out for a fish and it did well. I ended up keeping 7 good sized luderick but lost a lot more fish than I am used to both when striking and, in playing the fish. I am not sure why but feel that the fast taper carbon rod I have been using mostly is better, or, I am still needing to get used to the medium taper Black Magic rod. That being said, there were some solid fish on today and the rod repair held up fine. So, on the limited experience I have using boiling water to straighten bent rods, I can only say that it seems to work well. KB

Hi restyle, Whilst I can understand your anger at this decision, I think your predictions are a little extreme. I don't know what evidence was sourced to inform the decision to ban line fishing for groper. I suspect, but do not KNOW, (and the capitals are important because lots of people on social media make claims to fact that are no more than opinions) but feel it was, as you said, a knee jerk reaction to a stupid spear fisher's senseless killing of a popular fish amongst swimmers in Sydney's eastern suburbs. A political decision to be sure and one to be tossed out hopefully when some science is introduced. I don't think that your predictions of being unable to keep and kill fish for home consumption are likely to happen unless, it's proved that pollution from 2 plus centuries of European occupation and environmental degradation have rendered fish too poisonous to eat...and that is already a reality in many places! KB

Hi, The rod is now pretty much totally restored. It turned out so much better than I thought. I have added a restored Steelite reel and a homemade float and can't wait to see how it works on some luderick. Nothing like a bargain! (I picked up the reel at the markets for $5...hardly used!) Will be interesting to see how the top works under the load of a good fish after being heated. I hope it's OK as the rod is a very pretty thing. KB

Hi, I decided try and straighten the rod. I looked online and saw solutions like using a heat gun and/or hanging the rod from the ceiling with a weight attached. I thought these looked wrong: 1. heat gun is too hot 2. hanging the rod might not work I boiled up some water and filled my Stanley thermos then put the rod top into the thermos flask and left it for five minutes, Pulled it out and tried to straighten it gently. After a few attempts it came out perfectly and I don't think that I heated the fibreglass to a temperature likely to cause serious damage. I wish I'd taken some photos but it worked really well. If you wanted to put a bend in the tip as Green Hornet suggests above, this might well be the way to do it. KB

I love my traditional old school gear and still use a Steelite reel for Fishing for luderick. I picked up a 2 piece Wilson Black Magic rod this morning at my local markets for $15. Bargain. I can do all the repairs needed but one. It has a bend+twist in the top 20 to 30cm of the rod. I'm happy to leave it as it is as it won't really affect how it works but, would like to know if there is a good, safe way to straighten the rod. KB

Hi Kantong, I have not used salted mullet but am pretty sure it would be an excellent bait. I salted some beach worms then froze them. Pulled them out a few weeks later, used them but left them in the boot of my car for a few weeks. Decided to try them anyway and they worked a treat. I think that salting baits is a good way to not only keep them but also toughen them up a bit so they last a little longer on the hook. That being said, live bait is the best, next fresh, next lightly salted. I'm sure there are others on this site who can give better advice than me but that's what I feel. KB

Hi Kantong, Well done! Mullet are not only a top fighting fish, they make great bait and are an excellent feed. I know a professional fisherman and oyster farmer and the only fish he'll eat is mullet. So here's to the humble mullet...a great fish but a dreadful haircut! KB

Great fish Pickles! Two songs come to mind from your post Pickles. The first is Mellow Yellow by Donovan. (the banana in your mouth) and the second, Eternal Life by Jeff Buckley Enjoy!

Nice bag of fish. Well done. What will you do with the long tom? I've never eaten one and am wondering if perhaps i should try them. KB

I agree with Burger's suggestion you use a Steelite. I have used sidecasts and threadline reels but only when I first started. I only use a centrepin for float fishing. I have had Alvey Blackfish reels, a Shakespeare Golden Eagle, a handmade aluminium reel from Port Macquarie way and a couple of Avon Royals. After more than 50 years fishing for luderick, I have gone back to using my Steelite reel. They are so simple and straightforward. (When I bought it new it cost $2.50!) You can pick them up cheaply second hand just check that 1. There is not too much wobble of the spool, and that it spins freely 2. That the ratchet works 3. That the handles spin freely on their posts. Easy to clean and service just be aware that dropping them on a hard surface could see the reel shatter as bakelite is brittle. I pick one up every year or two at a garage sale/markets so I always have plenty of parts to fix any breakages. I generally pay no more than $10 for one. KB

Great spot. I remember fishing there 50 years ago, wading out to the distant reef at a very low tide and seeing a mate disappear into a pothole, only his hat and rod tip above the water! From memory, the NSW record tailor was caught there and my PB rock blackfish landed there too. Though I live at The Entrance, I only go there now and again but am never disappointed. It doesn't handle swell over about a metre or so well for safe fishing, but, if it is to big for the rocks, the beach on the southern side has a nice protected corner worth a throw. If too big there in a southerly, try the northern side of Norah Head. KB

Top catch Ms LF, Cracker fish. Well done. Great release as these bigguns are terrible on the tooth anyway. kb

In my experience the only traps worth using are the ones you buy like this: I tie a length of builders string to the eye fitting at the top of the trap and keep about 6 or 7 metres of string on a small plastic hand reel. The string can twist with use so just be wary of that. Having the string attached is good if you don't want to wade into the water, and up here in Tuggerah Lakes, into thick mud. I bait the trap with white bread and a handful of breadcrumbs. I also put a couple of pieces of polystyrene foam in the trap so that it floats just below the surface. Throw it out into the shallows (be sure to have the handline spool under foot) where you see poddies swimming around. Leave it for 15 minutes and bring it in, Transfer your poddies to your bait bucket. Re-bait the trap and send it out again until you have enough for fishing. The limit is 20 and the fisheries inspectors have been checking poddy buckets on the Lake up here. I keep the poddies in the water I catch them in and, if keeping them overnight, get a decent sized bucket of water and use a 240volt aerator from the aquarium shop. I have set the cylindrical traps up alongside the plastic boxes with a hole in the top and the cylindrical traps get plenty and the others mostly none at all. Sometimes the boxes work a treat but they are very inconsistent compared to the cylindrical traps. These traps need careful handling as they are brittle and break easily if you try to force them open. The style pictured above is less of an issue but the other style, with plastic tabs to secure the ends, has small plastic knobs which break when you try to release the tabs if you are not careful. I have circled the bits that break in the picture below: I find that poddies are easier to get when the sun is on the water and the surface calm or only lightly ruffled by a breeze. Every now and again, you wake up and find some of your poddies have died overnight. This happened to me recently and I have no idea what the problem was. I used them anyway and still caught plenty of flathead. I suspend them under a float in fairly fast flowing water so they kind of look like they're swimming I think. Just the same, the live ones were better. Good luck! KB

Hi AF, We get all sorts of gronks and dropkicks up here at The Entrance during the summer. We also get lots of lovely people too. You seem to have handled the fishing troll well so good for you. This time of year, try throwing out some live poddies. KB

I live on the Central Coast and fish mainly around The Entrance. The rubbish people leave lying around is appalling. Dirty nappies, used syringes, fast food and drink packaging, broken camp chairs, bbq cookers etc etc. Fishermen are the worst, with bait bags and buckets, tangles of line, hooks, batteries, broken rods, knives, sinkers, fluorescent night sticks etc. Locals blame the tourists but you only have to visit your local high school playground at lunch to realise that kids here are hopeless with rubbish. I’m sure their parents probably set the example. I’ve seen many tourist families enjoying the beautiful parks and waterways here who leave no trace of their picnics and other activities. Criticism from locals is often quite racist too….I don’t know the answer to this other than education at school and home and a serious government funded education strategy through all forms of media coupled with dedicated rangers to provide some serious level of visibility and enforcement of littering regulations and penalties. In the meantime, I try to fill my bucket with rubbish as I walk back from fishing to my car…often picking up some useful kit that I can keep making it worth the effort. KB

Hi, I’d never heard of bar tail flathead. I looked them up and your sightings of them in Swansea has them a long way south of their normal range. Do you find them in Swansea regularly? We have some very warm water along the coast atm and am thinking maybe they’ve come down with the warmer water. Interesting sighting. KB

Hi, I have been fishing The Entrance since I moved here in 1988. I am not sure that my experience tallies with what you have been told about the tides. The runout is a great tide to fish especially for flathead and blackfish. The run in is good too. I tend to think that as long as the water is moving (either flooding or ebbing), you can find a place where fish will congregate to take advantage of any feed that comes their way. For example prawns move on the runout so there will be plenty of fish waiting for the prawns to drift by. Keep at it and fish all tides until you work things out. The time of the year, the wind, water temperature, how much rain has been around lately, the ocean swell (size and direction), sunny or cloudy etc are all factors which play a part in fishing The Entrance...it's not that simple as just fishing the top of the tide. After a while you will work out what fish to fish for (and where) under any combination of the criteria I just mentioned. And then there's the baits you use! (live poddies, prawns and worms are the go and fresh weed or cabbage if targeting luderick). Keep at it with an open mind but think about what you are doing and you'll work it out. KB

Hi, There are stairs to the sand flats on the eastern side of The Entrance Bridge either side of the restaurant building on the southern shore of the channel (in front of the Bottom Pub). Both are OK as access points atm but you'll need to climb up a bit to get to the bottom stair when exiting the water. The stairs on the bridge side go into slightly deeper water than those on the ocean side of the restaurants. This could change quickly as atm we have some very big tides and the sand moves around a fair bit. A spot I fished yesterday morning no longer existed when I returned this morning! KB

Hi Amilyo, XD351’s advice is on the money. Where do you live? Do you have a car? I reckon it’s best to find spots that are as handy to home as you can so that going for a fish is not too big a mission, especially at the start as fishless trips that required a huge effort can be too discouraging. Better to be able to get out as often and as easily as possible. Secondly you mention size as a consideration. A 40 cm blackfish or bream is a very good fish whilst the same size kingfish is not even legal. So XD351’s question on target species is relevant. For what it’s worth, I reckon start your fishing with bait fishing light for species like bream, luderick, flathead etc. The gear is not too expensive and if you gather your own bait you will learn a whole lot about fishing basics that will stand in good stead if you decide to target other fish requiring specialist gear etc. Over time you will work out what to fish for, what bait to use and where to go depending on the winds, tides and season etc. Good luck. If you spend time looking through posts on this forum, you will see plenty of spots reported by members that regularly produce fish. Find some close to home and get out there! KB