Sir Battler

i fished softies under the city-side last week for a mix of flatties and tailor (mostly mini versions). alot of squid around so may return soon for a squid then jewy session. The tide really flies through there so remember to weight your rig accordingly

Am heading up to Palm Beach for a couple days and was hoping to give the beaches a go. Any raiders had a go recently? Should i head to Whale or Palm? I heard there was weed around recently, is it still hanging around?

we were up there on the weekend. Fished in the river arm (some blue-green algae already) with powerbait, crickets, grasshoppers, worms, soft plastics, tassie devils, spoons and minnows for a doughnut. A beautiful weekend though with enough beer to make it bearable. Alot of gudgeons breaking the surface were a constant tease? the water was surprisingly warm for this time of year. All the others we talked to got zero as well

i saw a couple of fellas pulla 'small' blue groper (2-3kg) from under Iron Cove bridge, out the front of Balmain shores. So if they are there they can be anywhere.

I was there on Saturday (in the sleet) and it was very quiet. No action apart from a follow from a very decent brown and some half hearted nudges on the soft plastics. I reckon they have other things on their mind at the moment

Good catch, blackie fishing would have to be one of the more relaxing forms. Quick question. are you using the stringy weed or the lettuce/cabbage variety.

Good job guys, am planning on returning to the IC, after constant disappointment around drummoyne I imagine you were on very light jig heads

Is there any difference between the berkley dropshop minnow and the walleye minnow. The only difference i could discern was the scales. Also am keen to use the berkley nymphs (look alot like the old Hawgs) but cant find an appropriate jig head that wont rip them apart. Any suggestions?

Have noticed a number of the more prominant marinas around the place advertising "No Fishing - Marine Reserve". Whilst i recognise they can do what ever they want on their own property, are these marine reserves recognised by Fisheries NSW or alike. marinas like Birkenhead Point and adjacent Spit Bridge have security enforcing these reserves on landbased fishos but what right do boaties have. Can you have a crack at the hulls? Am interested to find out as there as some of the biggest bream i have ever seen calling these places home and want to get amongst them. Ideas?

fished tabourie a few times. generally the lake is very shallow with sporadic access to the ocean so the size of fish is generally pretty small. One spot we used to have a lot of success was just on the south-west side of the highway bridge. At sunset with nippers and fresh worms some sizeable bream were around (biggest went ~45cm). make sure you fish light though as without current and clear water the fish a liable to be very finicky. aside, the channel has plague numbers of small tailor and bream. Try with fly hooks, dough and floats for the many garfish and mullet. The beach and island are your best bet at a feed. The island is a bit of a lucky dip with plenty of pelagics to be had in the warmer months. good luck, let us all know how you go.

Good advice guys, being a recent newby as well i fully understand your frustration. Some things i have picked up are 1) fish as light as possible, that means both your reels, rods and lines BUT also jigheads. Since changing to 4lb leaders and 1/32 jigs heads my success has improved out of sight. 2) Perserverance rather than patience, that means dont sit in the one spot flogging the area to a froth. Move around, change lure and retrieve. 3) Fish structure, marinas, pylons, even canals are prime real estate (bream especially). From a fellow beginner, just keep plugging away, there in no substitute for practice Grant

Have managed a few fish each trip on both sides of IC. Have found halved berkley worms (natural) on 1/32 jig heads the most reliable. Whilst the drummoyne side is shallow around the rowing club, at high tide it is worth a try especially early and late as mentioned. Poppers are always worth a chuck on the flats. bream, whiting and flatties are the usual suspects

well done, have you had much luck under the IC bridge

Good to hear of fish comin out of IC (especially since i just moved to the area) What lures did the trick

well done mate, nepean never ceases to amaze especially considering the urban pressure put on it. Did you continue catching fish through out the morning? we noticed the bite slow down around 10 on wednesday. Old mate at the ramp cited a drop in air pressure but i thought it was because it was damn hot. Ideas?