captnstabbn

Hi guys, I have one here on my shelf "Doyle's Fish Cookbook" by Alice Doyle. First published 1979 by Angus & Robertson. Old school recipes with accompanying old stories handed down from the original Doyle family. Many feature Jew, Kings, Mullet(!) Snapper, Gemmies and Blackfish - I guess what was commonly locally available back then. Regarding the reds - I moved to Syd from a 'much better' fishing area about 6 years ago & the harbour & surrounds just continues to surprise. Here's a few recent ones out of a wash in a bit of rough weather - what more could you ask for on your home ground??!! Cheers

As a keen and pretty green rock, beach & inshore fisho who gets around NSW a bit - Agree with the fines for undersized fish - some people just shouldn't be allowed to participate in our great sport.... Fine for licences - well, I guess we've learned to accept "fishing receipt" fees as just another part of life. It's human nature to want to see others have to pay their share because the rest of us do. I got mine the first day they came out - and have only had to produce it 3 times since (actually twice at the nelson bay ramp near fly point - small world??) But someone else hit the nail on the head there - most of the $$ in the fine would have come from the MPA. They're heaps better resourced to patrol "their" patch than fisheries because they get the green vote support. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I enjoyed fishing some great spots in the Solitaries, Port Stephens & Batemans Bay areas for well over 20 years before the MPA came along and drew imaginary no fishing boundaries all over the place based on their dubious "scientific" evidence and green vote preference deals. Anyway my third point (before the soap box bit) was fines issued for otherwise law abiding angling in an MPA sanctioned "no fishing" zone are completely unacceptable and should not be seen as anything but evil.

Light 4126 - 5.5in narrow spool Alvey - 4 or 6kg Light beach, beach corners, whiting, flathead, bream, blackfish etc choppers & salmon in nice conditions + squidding outfit off the rocks Medium Wilson Livefibre 13'6" (RLF44) or a home made MT6132 Alvey 6in direct wind (25yrs old) - 10kg line Used for everything else - tailor, salmon, jew off beach. Rocks and breakwalls for drummer, snapper, tailor etc High Speed Spin outfits - both 10kg line old school glass blank (possibly Sportex?) + seascape 621 standard 10ft shimano beastmaster elite & daiwa saltist 30TH (can easy fish 15kg thru this one) Heavy 7156 (i think?) 13'6'' pole + Alvey 650 with drag & 15kg line Not a favourite - but has it's place if kings turn up at the tailor spot or need to chuck a big lead & bait - may be replaced with the heaviest of the 13' Livefibres or an 8144. Generally use Platypus low stretch or Platypus super 100. All very effecitve bit of gear for their chosen application - owner just needs more time away to use them all!!

some of this covered by other posts, but orange/yellow or pink/yellow clousers with small dumbell eyes (get the painted ones in yellow orange or red with black pupils) - #4 hook for bream/whiting, maybe up to 1/0 or 2/0 for flathead. Basically the fly is meant to imitate a yabby (largely redundant now due to soft plastic yabbies, instructional dvds and "BS" factor) Also maybe #6 size crazy charlie or similar (baited breath etc) chartruese for clear water, dark green for dirty water The #5wt will be ample - with about a rod length of 8 - 10lb flourocarbon (i use siglon) and intermediate sink or sink tip line - just lets you work deeper dropoffs and not as wind affected on surface hope that helps - goodluck!!!

hi mate - by hi speed metal i wondered if you meant using 1/2 by quarters and seascapes or listening to slayer? my 2 cents worth would be to try under the punt bridge (erina ck) during / after some decent rainfall - they get under the lights there & it's easy to park & easy to fish. similarly the bridge on narara ck near west gosford maccas or the rail bridge at gosford (as copa said). seedy places to hang out on a wet night, but probably no worse than goin to iguanas..

I wish could go as your guide & tackle sherpa!! - But since I can't, here's a couple of ''easy to get to'' shore spots..it's really such a big area it's sometimes hard to know where to start - hopefully these are some help Yamba wall - T-Piece at night for bream, or there's often a gutter right in close next to the wall on the turners beach side of yamba wall for bream and odd schoolie. Romiaka and Oyster Channel Bridges from shore for flathead on plastics or poddies - get some live prawns or nippers and there's possibility of school jew, whiting etc. Also caught MJ's around around the rocky points under the bridge on livies. Pick a low tide and there's miles of channels, sandbanks and weedbeds up there to wade around and catch flathead. Anywhere along the western Palmers Island shore for bream, flathead & odd jew - i'm sure there's a segment on a berkely dvd catching jew along there. Your clue is Shady Nook.... If you're staying down Angourie way, get some worms (the BP at yamba should have live beach worms) and try the back beach for whiting, dart, bream and flathead in the shallow gutters (don't throw out too far!). Maybe walk down to one mans and fish the washes for tailor bream etc (they're better in winter - but still should be a few around). Wooloweyah lagoon is pretty shallow and weedy but take a mudcrab trap for there!! Enough Now - we want those pic's!!!

Great posts those ones – lived & fished that area heaps over about 12 years, lots of which was pre squidgies – so Mr Twisters and poddy mullet were the go then for the flathead (and don't those big longtoms love your hard earned poddies in the summer ). Had a couple of accidental finger burning encounters on me handlines with the resident turtles too - never landed one for a photo though! Getting a bit nostalgic reading about all your sessions - but it's great to see - keep up the good work... Cheers!

Haven't posted before (so hi all!!). Coming home from flathead drifting down in broken bay sat arvo and passed a boat with bent rods, fish splashing and motor running across from Cottage Point. Almost stopped for a throw - and sorry I didn't now!!! Some good tailor there....well done!