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DerekD

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Everything posted by DerekD

  1. I'll ask around. The guy was a rock climber in a past life so was pretty good at reading routes.
  2. Hi @FlickNAnthony, It was a pleasure meeting the both of you on a day when the fish were biting (for me at least) but it was a slow day. I was impressed at how quickly the two of you picked up the theory of the topwater techniques I was showing you. Mastering them will take a while longer as the movement is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach. Combining that staccato wind with the shaking of the rod tip will feel awkward the first few times then muscle memory will kick in and you'll be wondering why you ever had trouble with it in the first place. I'm looking forward to more fishing sessions with you and Brendan in the future and I've a few more tricks up my sleeve which I think you will appreciate. Regards, Derek
  3. Hi @FlickNAnthony, When I showed you how I fish the topwater lures I was really impressed at how quickly you grasped the concepts I was showing you. When I then inadvertently ran into you and Brendan a week or so later and you told me about this fish it put a huge smile on my face. You've now seen how effective a pause can be when teasing up these bream. I am kind of jealous of this fish and kind of pity you at the same time. That fish would be the fish of a lifetime for many people. The record on this site for yellowfin bream is 47cm and only 1cm more than that horse you landed. It is good to know there are bigger ones out there but I hope it doesn't take you a lifetime to better this one. Looking forward to more discussions with you on fishing theory and even more fish. Well done. Derek PS. Brendan took a cracking photo.
  4. Hi @Alkor, Welcome back. Hope you enjoy going through all the articles and reports since you were last here. Some of our members have been very prolific in their writings. In particular @wazatherfisherman who managed to get his own section in the library due to the amount of pieces he put together. Regards, Derek
  5. I had a friend who went down to Bluefish point recently and also mentioned that the chains had been removed. Not sure about the new fence and gates but that sounds pretty likely.
  6. Hi @XD351 Excellent observation and thanks for taking the time to put together such an informative response. On a side note I can do the FG knot with 4lb braid and a 8lb leader easily and very consistently using the method in the video link I posted. I'll now have to try it with 4lb leader and get back to you. Regards, Derek
  7. Ok. Submitted. This is what I went with. Maximised the use of 200 characters: My issue is that this ban appears to be an emotive response to illegal spearfishing incident(s). Bad precedent! Where is the supporting study/science validating this new law? PS: I don't chase groper.
  8. It is not that I can't tie a leader effectively and efficiently, it is that I don't get excited enough about it to want to have to redo it frequently. I also dislike unnecessary line wastage. Sure it is only a few cm at a time you lose each time you change a lure but over long fishing sessions it all adds up. Especially with frequent lure changes. Getting good at something is about mastering the big and the little things. This article is about one of the little things - tying on lures and terminal tackle with a uni(versal) knot with minimal line wastage. Over the years I've worked out how to minimise line wastage to the point I very rarely need to trim my tag each time I tie something else on. This video is intended for people who trim off 3 - 5cm (or more) of tag end every time they tie on a new lure or terminal tackle. This is especially applicable to most people using a locked half blood knot. My tags are typically around 10mm long. Two epiphanies I had when tying the uni knot are: 1) It is a sliding knot so I can tie it with the lure (and thus any related hooks, especially trebles) away from my hands and lock it down afterwards. 2) With a bit of care I can consistently end up with a tag end of plus or minus 10mm which almost never needs trimming. The first part of the trick is to keep the loop and tag end small while tying the knot. Every time you feed the tag end through pull it forward enough so you can feed it through the loop and grab it on the other side. The second part is rather than pull the slack out by grabbing the tag end (I'm sure that pulling the loose end of any line is hardwired into the human DNA) pinch the tag end against the top part of the loop and then start pulling the slack out from the lure end. Work the bottom part of the loop with your fingers if you have to. Once it is closed up enough then slide the knot down the line and lock it into place. With practice you can get consistently small tag ends which won't need trimming (for the record this video was done in one take - that is how confident I am in getting a short tag most times I do it. Additionally, I have bugger all experience editing so I didn't want to have to redo it). Just think about this... Every time you and I change a lure you are losing 3 to 5x the amount of leader I am which means you have to tie a leader 3 to 5x more often than I do. For the record I feel the same about line wastage with the FG knot. For the method I use I typically finish up with about 5cm excess of the mono and about 10cm excess of braid. This is the video which introduced me to the technique I use and it doesn't require me to cut off the circulation in my fingers or face west on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm while hopping on one leg:
  9. Looks like you can respond as to why you disagree to the ban but there is a 200 character limit. Drafting and re-drafting my response as to why I disagree with this ban. My biggest concern is that it appears to be an emotive based response to illegal spearfishing incident(s) without a scientific study behind it. I understood and for that matter agreed with bans for threatened species like the grey nurse shark but from the reports of others (not first hand experience) there are plenty of groper out there. Additionally, I've always liked the fair/sporting chance method of harvesting. Speargun on a lobster isn't fair but grabbing it by hand is. Groper on fishing line is a fair chance but spearfishing isn't. These rules made sense to me. I've never been interested in chasing groper personally and probably never will but if we move forward on "the feel" or "the vibe of it" rather than the science for bag limits and marine management then that is a big concern. The thin edge of the wedge so to speak. Also found this about a spearing incident back in 2002 on DPI website: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/archive/news-releases/fishing-and-aquaculture/2012/groper-killer-caught#:~:text=The Blue Groper became the,to this method of fishing.
  10. Hi Anthony, Welcome aboard (in a visible sense). Thanks for sharing your backstory and I look forward to hearing more about your journey as you branch out into other fields. Considering how well you write and turn a phrase I'm really looking forward to seeing some of your fishing videos. I suspect there will be a great deal of thought and preparation in the final product. Regards, Derek
  11. You are Australian born - should be in your DNA. It is something I do with all my overseas guests. @linewetter is from the U.S.A. and @Jakob Duus is from Denmark. Having said that... Whenever you are ready and have some time I'm happy to show you how to throw and then catch a boomerang.
  12. Hmmmmm.... So do the yabbies (ghost nippers) also count as a species? Maybe your count goes up to 7 species caught in a day.
  13. True but then if I don't use them as it was intended then I may as well not buy them in the first place. On a side note trying various lures is how I learn and grow and I can't take the money with me so I may as well have a lot of fun on the journey.
  14. And there I was thinking the GME GX600 was some special custom and awesome spinning reel from a brand I hadn't heard of before. Seen them before on boats but didn't connect the dots.
  15. Just want to encourage others to get out there and try this really enjoyable niche of lure fishing.
  16. Thought it was funnier to explain the logic behind it. Had to replace one lure and while I was conveniently in the shop...... Oh and the mid-water hang time on the new OSP hinged bent minnow is seriously impressive. I'm really looking forward to experimenting more with that one. It is so perfectly balanced that using a heavier and denser 12lb fluoro slowly drags it down while using a 6lb fluoro allows it to slowly lift back to the surface.
  17. Hi all, With shorebased kings being a lot of work for not a lot of joy I’ve switched to and been having a great deal of fun on light topwater this season. Between the usual mentoring and starting casual conversations with other people in the areas I’m fishing I’ve managed to get several other people addicted to this style of fishing. The sound and visual impact of a fish hitting a lure is a buzz each time. For some fishing company yesterday afternoon I reached out to three people I’ve been fishing with recently, @linewetter, @foxyfisher and a new Raider, Ethan (yet to post). They were all tied up with either work or family... Seriously wonder about their priorities at times... I hit the inner west knowing the tide was 44cm at 5pm. I knew some of my spots were not going to be practical to fish but I was using this as a chance to see where the deeper waters were and to see how they were fishing on the low. Drummoyne was not worth the effort but I took the opportunity to get some photos of all the channels and snags. Nield park had potential but was still a little too low. The rowers club wasn’t appealing but Lilyfield had some possibilities. After getting smoked on the weekend and having it cost me about $173 in lures (ok the one I lost was a larger OSP minnow at $35, plus two more replacements of the same bought the total up another $70, then there was the middle sized MMD splash prawn I bought to test, then the new OSP hinged bent minnow I had to try... adds up quickly) I decided to use my light rather than ultralight outfit to surf any fish out of the snags. A missed strike on the small MMD splash prawn early on indicated the area had possibilities. Then a few casts later and I pull up this little beauty in the high 20s. Naturally I took a photo and sent it to the three Raiders mentioned earlier. My petty revenge for them having other priorities. 😀 A few more casts then a swirl, a hit and line peeling off. With all the oysters in the area I kept the rod high for the fight and kept as much pressure on the fish as I could. Only one or two curly moments and then I lifted up this gorgeous bream. Being larger and fighting slightly harder than the previous one I took some time to measure it. 36cm. A photo before releasing and then a text message to my three absent companions. Must give them credit, they were supportive rather than insultingly jealous... I was going to have to work harder on getting under their skin. At this stage it was getting close to dusk so I hit Drummoyne for the third and final bream. In the high twenties so I didn’t bother measuring it. Obligatory snapshot to annoy the others and then released it. I love that we have so many fishable areas so close to each other in Sydney. To be able to consistently pull reasonable fish out of the water shows how good this fishery can be. The more I fish it and learn, the less I am restricted by the tides. I still have to take the tides and the wind into account but I’m getting more and more options each time I head out on a research mission. Regards, Derek
  18. Wish you had as I always enjoy catching up with you. It is also good for @linewetter to meet up with some of the other members on this site. I'm planning a really long and busy day fishing with L.W. on Sunday. Going to cover lots of locations and styles of fishing.
  19. Hi @noelm Really appreciate the offer. It is the connecting with another person on this site while doing a shared experience which is more than half the fun for me (if I look back on my life the best memories are because of the people involved rather than the activity). I'm not in a hurry but this summer is a good opportunity to add another skill set to my fishing experiences. I've heard rumours of another Raider who is trying it for themselves in the same region as myself so I'll reach out to them. Regards, Derek
  20. Hi @mrsswordfisherman I've known the theory of this for decades and if the world was coming to the end and I had to do it I'm pretty confident I could. I spend a lot of time teaching others what I have learned from others or worked out myself but this is one of the few times I want to go out with someone who has experience at this because I enjoy the company and there are always little tricks that don't come over in videos. I also don't want the hassle of the bait bags, finger baits, pliers, etc for what I feel will be a once only experience. I don't eat fish so don't have fish frames lying around for the bait bag and I don't need to chase worms for whiting as I have bait sorted much faster and with less hassle by heading out with my trusty yabbie pump and sieve. I had a blast going out with @FishingFables and @Little_Flatty for mullet on fly rod. Something I could have worked out for myself based on previous knowledge I had, but it was learning from Jason and the laughs which made it special for me. His sub-surface bread flies were also a game changer. I was hoping to repeat the joy of the learning experience by asking to head out with someone on the northern beaches who is good at this. Regards, Derek
  21. Hi all, While I know the theory of beach worming I've never quite gotten around to it. Bait bags, finger baits, pliers or fingers is stuff I've heard about but never quite gotten around to doing it. To be fair if I want to chase whiting out comes my trusty and faithful yabbie pump which I've owned for about 40 years. The relative ease in which I can pump yabbies as long as the tide is suitable compared to having to really plan for a session worming is probably the biggest factor in not taking it up. Having said that I want to have done it at least once successfully in my life so I can at least talk about it with some experience. I'm in a place where I think I know how to drive a manual car after playing hours of Grand Turismo or rally games. Theory is a whole world away from real life. I keep on hearing it is harder than people realise and there are some people who just have the knack. Is there someone on this website who regularly heads out for beach worms on Sydney's northern beaches who wouldn't mind some company for a session? I want one or two to be able to tick it off my fishing list. I'm also buying breakfast or brunch afterwards. Regards, Derek
  22. Just buy glow in the dark squid jigs and a UV torch and cover ground. Personally I think people put too much stock in fishing at lit up areas. Not to say you won't get squid turning up there but that the lighting is a magic elixer which will bring all the squid in to that location is probably a bit of a myth.
  23. Hi @Little_Flatty After your initial reluctance to give topwater a serious run to becoming almost a topwater addict like several others on this site this report is a big turnaround. I'm really glad to hear about the results you are getting. Personally I love the heart stopping moment when a fish takes a shot at the lure. It is far more visual than fishing soft plastics and usually a little more exciting. I've also had some rather nice fish this way. Looking forward to seeing more of these reports. Got at least another 2 months of topwater fishing ahead of us. Regards, Derek
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