smacka

Try some small (6 inch or less) clear stick baits - unweighted of course. I think the clear best mimicks the tiny baitfish they are chasing, and often seems to be succesful when nothing else is working. Good luck!

Hey StarCitySlic, Tried a 9" stickbait (pink) for a while for no joy. The 6" jobs were doing so well (albeit with rats for most of day) I stuck with them. They were the sluggo imitations you get at some of the bigger tackle shops, in white/clear colour. We did get a couple of fish on cheaper stick baits in clear pepper colour, but they didnt have nearly as many follows / hook ups as the white/clear. Cheers, Smacka.

Hit the Harbour early yesterday morning. Was expecting a packed Roseville Ramp, but was the only boat launching at 5:45am - strange. Flicked a few plastics around Bantry Bay for nothing. Trolled a rapala and squid strip around Seaforth Bluff and Spit moorings for nothing but some pickers. Then headed out to quarantine buoy at Nth Head to join about 10 other boats - and that's where the fun started! Dropped a selection of squid strips and heads, and started flicking 6 inch stick baits around. After about 10 minutes we had the first rat king on the stick bait - 55cm but a very spirited fight on 10 pound line. From there, it was rat king after rat king. Between quarantine and another school we found further out along Nth Head, we would have landed about 20 kings, all between 55 - 60cm. Satisfied with some fun fishing, we decided to make our way back to Roseville, flicking the structure on the way. Scored another rat at Dobroyd, then ducked into Balmoral for a look. "5 casts each" was the call. 3rd cast, my bro hooks a healthy fat Salmon, which is followed by a much larger something on the strike. So, my lure is deployed behind the fighting Salmon, to be SMASHED almost instantly. Double hook up! The salmon is boated and released while I struggled with the larger fish. First glimpse shows a much better king. After some long hard runs and nervous moments in only 2m of reefy water, a 75cm king is boated Ended up staying at Balmoral for about an hour, boating another 3 or 4 kings and a couple more fat salmon! All fish were caught on 10 pound braid and leader, and 6 inch plastic stick baits. Great day on the water, with great company and some great fun fishing. Kingie fillets on the barbe tonight! Happy Christmas fishing to all! Smacka.