ginko

Very odd! I was up the Grose this week... no trout there. I thought the water was way too warm. Something like 20 or 22 degrees. Did you happen to measure the temp at yarramundi?

@zmk1962 - your report (and that whole post) made for good reading. @bessell1955 - I was tingling all day, but came good over night. @yowie - the yabby pump incident must have been a classic.

The tailor will be just coming into the estuaries - the numbers and size will increase as the spring arrives. If you want to target them - cast out a 10g to 20g silver metal lure with a treble on the back... reel-in with a steady, medium-fast pace. Just keep the fingers away from those teeth. There are often estuary squid (arrow squid) in schools just at the drop-offs of the sand flats, so it's worth having a flick from the sand flat into the deeper water. Estuary squid will hand out over sand as well as weed and you can often see them if the water's clear.

Got out on Sunday, flicking a fly around Palm Beach inside, wading at low tide all the way up to the headland at the north end. No fish caught, and just one (nice) flatty seen bolting out of the only cove I didn't put a cast into before I waded in there...damn. As I turned to return southwards, in about 2 feet of water, I felt something brush my leg. "oh, probably a piece of kelp" I thought. But about a minute later, I felt another brush and then got a massive electric jolt. I hopped out of the water quick smart, whooping and hollering, the whole right side of my body still tingling. It's the second time I've had a zap up there - but this was much more severe than the first - I think this time it was a direct-contact by a numb-ray - I don't know of anything else that could deliver a jolt like that. Thoughts?

rlac, You've done well to get two fish at this time of year. The fishing warms up as summer approaches. Enjoy the fishing journey, and send in a few updates with your next catches.

Just a quick reminder, please be careful to collect any lost hooks/line. Today, a water dragon had a lucky rescue. I'm not sure how he got there, but the poor guy was dangling from a branch over a creek leading into the top of manly dam... held there with a weighted-hook/soft-plastic and about 80cm of mono that was caught up in the branch. He looked like he'd been dangling there for a bit - he was all skinny and bony. I did manage to get him off without too much damage (the hook pinned him through top jaw), and he thankfully scooted off as soon as he was free. It was a pretty jarring photo - not for sharing, even here. Please be careful with your tackle, who know who might be taking pictures of it later!

A couple years back I saw a blacktip shark (not to be confused with blacktip reef shark) at the outlet of coal and candle creek -33.61121569930875, 151.21367583384003. It popped up in the midst of a school of tailor busting up on the surface. I was targeting the tailor on a fly rod, so I was close. The shark came up and did a long, slow pass at the surface, but then disappeared. The black was very clearly visible on its dorsal fin - from the tip and down the trailing edge. Apparently blacktip sharks are, like bull sharks, happy to hang out in brackish water (although it is actually pretty salty in that system). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacktip_shark I've also seen a right whale pop up at Warratah Bay - close enough to smell its breath (not at all pleasant!). Got a video of that one. The big one_WBay.mp4

800 gallons* an hour? Thats 3000 litres per hour. Almost 17 milk jugs a minute. How fast are you bait shitting themselves? Maybe buying a pump fitted to the task would be best here. For years ive used a 2x d-cell aerator ($12) that keeps a dozen yakkas alive in a bucket for hours. *(Gallons? 1974 was almost 50 years ago. Holy crap!)

If you already use Google Calendars to run your schedule, create a fishin calendar and log yer trips there Have them repeat annually. Most interesting fish move around depending on season... so annual calendar is great. Lets you add in memory-triggering details like "Gavin caught eel." Attach your tracking maps, photos, tide tables as you wish... just in case you forget the trip when Gavin caught the sliming and biting eel. Simple, free, effective, records donuts and reminds you to get out fishing. Outlasts apps. And probably you too.

Pickles - 5 weight would have done - but I only have an 8 for the salt, so that's what they were caught on. A good feature of the 8 weight is that it turns over a pretty well-weighted fly. Given the rain, I'm wondering how the flats are fishing now. Papasmurf - an ongoing project/an agonising project is to learn to cast wrong-handed. Not that I'm that great on the proper hand... Wrong handed is weirdly hard to learn given that the motion is so basic. Esp in tight country next to streams, there are many times I wish I could cast well upstream from the right bank.

Went to walk down to a old spot this morning- but trail was closed. Change of plans, and hit a set of small Pittwater headlands, wading small beaches on high tide then a big sand flat on the start of the run out. Nothing at all at high tide, but promising shows of bait (pilchards?) over the sand flat. Picked up two flatties (larger one shown ~43cm) on the fly. First fish hit from the classic location: over a rock ledge that cut across the tidal flow coming off sand flat, right in close (about 2m from shore), in about 50cm of water. Initially, I had a good hit but missed a hook-up - so cast again a few times and picked it up again on a really slow retrieve. Second flattie picked up in the middle of the sand flat - I was actually just casting to keep the line out of my way as I approached a nice-looking drop-off. There was no structure there at all - just plain sand, and fly was hardly moving when the fish struck. At the dropoff, casts over the deeper water brought in masses of baitfish following along with the fly, but no bigger models chasing. Fly about 7cm long - an pretty slow sinking . It was same size as the bait, but much darker in the water - the bait was a very light blue/silver colour. #1 mustad tarpon hook. Mix of blue, brown, gold fibres, with deer hair head and dumb-bell weight/eyes. I think the deer hair really slows the sink rate and pushes alot of water on the retrieve. Line was south pacific clear fly line - I think the clear line helped avoid spooking fish on the flats.

I had to check this again - in fact I think the same fish (Antennarius striatus ) is listed as striated anglerfish and striated frogfish. It certainly had little "arms" and almost legs on its body. http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3832

I found this little fellow in middle harbour - dead and floating over a sand flat. I think it is a striated frogfish. Those guys are pretty fluffy underwater. It was hard to see any fluffiness on this guy - he appeared to be smooth-skinned. Very blue eye! The pics were taken on the blade of a paddle- so fish is maybe 10-15cm?

According to a renowned sashimi guru (Michelin starred), apparently 3 days is prime for [KINGFISH] sashimi but if and only if the fish is iced as soon as it's caught. It takes that long for the flesh to overcome the rigor mortis and become soft again. Not cutting/gutting but getting on ice immediately is apparently important for reducing the spread and growth of bacteria into the flesh you're going to eat. Also, a quick capture and iki jime is recommended to dispatch without stressing the fish - which leads me to think a long fight (which killed the fish) may not lead to great sashimi. Kingfish are not listed as being a susceptible species for scombroid - but still - I think the view that cold giving a longer shelf life than 2 days is valid. Anyway - that is a great capture anywhere, and especially so off a breakwall. Super skilled!

Wow, seems I am indeed not alone in the dead fish bite club. Hopefully I won't get ticket for the the dead snake bite club. 61Crusher -How long did you sting for? I was once nipped by a live cuttlefish on the thumb - it went numb (like really numb) for about 3 hours, only coming good just as I was about to head off to the hospital with what I thought would be a really lame "a cuttlefish bit me" story. I still don't get near cuttlefish. Toilor 3,000,000, I did Ike Jimi the fish (and then bled it) . It still got me. Interestingly, I also caught a few tailor on the same trip. I noticed that the next day, that the tailor I'd ike jimi'ed were quite floppy, but the one that I'd only bled-out was stiff as a board with rigour mortis. Apparently sushi chefs insist on only iki jimi, then directly on ice, and then only serve the fish on the third day. Do you find a difference in the tenderness of the fish that are iki jimied?

Picked up a just-legal jewie off the beach this week... I dispatched/bled/scaled it and then gave it a rinse off in the surf. After a good wash, I lifted the fish by sticking my thumb in its mouth and pinching its lower jaw... Ouch! I must have hit a nerve - the jaws clamped shut hard on my thumb, driving the little peg-teeth through my skin on both sides of the thumb, and crushing it a bit harder than I would have thought was funny at that moment. Thankfully, when I shook it off my thumb, the sea cooperated and didn't wash the fish away. Anyone else felt that pinch?

that is very scary - I had a small rockfall come down near me - but I was on a very wide platform at the time, and not near the rockface. that was scary enough for me! I think rockfalls on the cliffs are probably more common that we'd like to believe; there is also the huge rockfall at north head that came down last year. I wonder whether dry weather is more of a cause than wet?

def loads of bronzies on northern beaches - I caught 3 or 4 in one night when targetting jewies with yakkas. Fly fishos, who really look forward to the arrival of salmon, have also noted that the salmon haven't shown up yet. My calendar has them coming in thick by the end of August.

I got out on the northern beaches on Friday at the evening high tide for about 2 hours - went ok with 2 tailor and a flathead, and one solid run that was pulling some serious drag when my knot broke. I think the line was too old and getting a bit weak. fishing was on pilchards and gang hooks, and surf was fairly small, maybe 2 foot.

beware squidding near manly: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/fisheries/marine-protected-areas/aquatic-reserves/north-harbour-aquatic-reserve apparently fisheries have been occasionally enforcing the (somewhat mysterious) ban on squiding within this area.

great pic of the luderick there! I love the technique of finding a promising location by spotting the greybeards in action.

I've also been out in Pittwater, chasing the kings for nothin'. Recently, I had some marks show up down about 10m on the west side about 100m off of a drop-off, and my slimey was bitten super-cleanly in half down there by something - I assume a big tailor or shark. My fishin' diary from previous years has the kingies back in Pittwater at this time of year, but so far, I have had absolutely no success raising them: with slimies, yakkas, squid, and even on a fly that was a damn fine imitation of the eyes that are around in Pittwater atm. In fact, I've found all fish life to be in extra short supply up there this summer, apart from the pinkies and leatherjackets. Were there still loads of jelly blubbers in Pittwater when you were out?

I fish some areas where charters are frequent visitors - and they are much more mobile than me (I am usually in a kayak). My experience is that if I'm catching fish (or, more likely, I am not catching but all of the other fisho's nearby are catching fish), then the charter boats seem to notice, and seem to stay in the area until the fish go off the bite. If it is quiet at the spot, the charters seem to move on. So I think the charterboats observe your catch at least as much as you observe theirs. From your report, it seems like you might have some good info for them!

I headed out on Wednesday, hoping for a king... but it was not to be. I was a bit late out (9am) - and didn't find any yakkas over my usual wrecks - in fact, I couldn't find them anywhere. I did see some bonnies having a bust-up at the surface (on a prominent headland, and covered heavily by the gulls), and managed to land two (Watson's leaping bonito). One of the bonnies was used for bait. In spite of covering more than 20km in the yak with good bait, I didn't see any evidence at all of kings on the sounder. There were heaps of very aggressive leatherjackets around all the headlands, and I managed a small bream and multiple snapper when investigating some of the deeper markings on the sounder. I haven't really seen much kingie action in Pittwater yet this summer - and my fishing diary shows the same pattern last year at this time. Has anyone been bringing in any? If so, any tips you can share?

agree with Neilm - anywhere close to the cleaning tables is covered with banjo sharks - really big and heavy, they just suck themselves onto the bottom with no fight at all, and no fun of losing rigs and sticking them into rays' faces. On the other hand, there are definitely blackfish and bream out along the northern side of the spit there. Just go out past the big rock shelf into the little bays and cast alongside the edges of the rock. Cunje is definitely a no-no there, as it is a no take zone, and I think even weed may not be allowed.