Jes

The genus is Siganus and there are over 20 species. I regularly eat them in Indonesia (most likely a different species). They are sometimes referred to as rabbit fish because of their small, toothy mouths. I have never handled them and not sure if all species are venemous.....best to play it safe and avoid touching the spines. I do aquaculture research and have seen them farmed in floating sea cages in Indonesia. The species are probably different to the one you caught at Maroubra.

The Bass are generally small at Bents Basin. Simon's fish was caught on a hard bodied lure over the weed beds. at the bottom end of the pool. The fish he caught was "large" for Bents Basin and a good first Bass for Simon. I've caught them on soft plastics and hard bodied lures. Soft plastics often catch Nepean herring as well. My first big bass was caught deep into the gorge about 22 years ago. It was caught on a flopy. Bents Basin usually fishes better after some rain. When we fished, last week, the system was almost cease-to-flow and the water was very clear. We saw much bigger fish down at Penrith Weir but we fished upstream and downstream of the weir it in the middle of the day, and despite a few follows, the fish were not keen to strike in full sunlight. Early morning or late afternoon are probably better prospects.

Hi Raiders After an unsuccessful session at Penrith Weir (upstream and downstream) earlier in the week, I took my niece's husband (Simon) to Bents Basin for another go at Bass. He hadn't caught one before and I was keen to see him get addicted. There were plenty of fish at Penrith, but we had fished in the middle of the day, and they were not interested in our lures. I caught my first Bass at Bents Basin many years ago, and have an affection for the place. My gut feeling was that it would produce a fish for Simon. It was a slow morning. We started around 7:30 am and I managed a small fish and watched a few follows with no strikes. We fished around the boulders, but the water was very clear and not flowing. We tried some upstream pools, but still no luck. The algae was a nuisance because it fouled the lure on almost every cast. I usually only do well at Bents Basin after rain, with some turbidity in the water and good flows. We then tried the weedbeds at the lower end of the basin. After peppering the water with lures for about 15 minutes, Simon caught his first Bass . It was 35 cm and in good condition. Surprisingly, it did not fight as well as Bass normally do, but he was nonetheless happy to have caught his first Bass and I was relieved because I promised him success at Bents Basin and was starting to worry that I can no longer read the conditions. A thumbs down to all the people who don't use the bins at Bents Basin. The rubbish and broken bottles spoils it for others. Tight lines

Go for it! I prefer to fish days like this (but not continuous heavy downpours). Fish seem to be less shy of lines in this sort of weather, and food gets washed into the system. I like to fish close to the junction of two channels if I am fishing a river system, or river entrances in estuaries. Some of my best bream have been caught in the rain or just before a southerly comes through. Bream will also nail small poppers in the rain. As long as there is no lightening, the rain beckons me to fish.

I have never eaten an estuary catfish, but the freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus) taste superb especially if they are small. The bigger ones are a bit greasy.

Hey there Are you sure it was a catfish bite? Catfish usually sting using three spines - one on the dorsal area and two on the pectoral area. They have venom glands that quickly inject venom when they pierce your skin. Freshwater catties also have these spines. When people get stung they often mistake it for a bite. Estuary catfish usualy have fairly blunt teeth, prresuming that is what you caught. It's best not handle the head area of a catfish with bare hands. They flex their spines in defence. I hope you feel better. Sometimes a catfish sting can cause grief for a few days. Jezzo