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Catching Hoodlums In Sydney Harbour


namesay

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Hi raiders! Lately I have received a bit of flak for "giving away " too much information. It seems like there are those who want to keep secrets! I got to tell those people that there are NO secrets in fishing!!! I really enjoy sharing with people and showing them a few pointers to get them started. Like Wednesday with 445F. I enjoyed watching him catch fish more than if I had caught them myself! I only hope that others will one day do the same for me. :biggrin2:

Talked to Mrs Swordfisherman last night and she pointed me in the right way and sorted me out. She is an RN after all! Thanks Donna.

Anyway to the serious stuff. I went out this afternoon specifically to catch a hoodlum.I was nominating today as a big fish day to 445F on wednesday.

As usual I was in a mad rush to get everything done after work but made it to roseville ramp at 3pm. As usual the wind was up but it was only "MILD"at 25-30 knots!!! I am now used to 40-50 knot winds so this was like eating candy.

Got out to catch some squid. The wind made things very difficult as usual but I found a patch here and there. After about 2-3 hours of squidding I had enough for bait. As my bait pump packed up on wednesday it was a bucket brigade to keep the fresh water up to the squid but none expired.

I went into Middle harbour mainly to escape the wind. Then I realised I had forgotten to bring my downrigger :thumbdown: . I had taken it apart after wednesday to clean out all the salt but had left it at home BUT I did have my lake trollers. These small riggers are very simple and I ALWAYS keep them in the boat just in case.

As I was rigging up I got a call from Barrykrocker. Talked to him about catching a big one this afternoon. I also met a few "regular" kingie fishers. Hi boys!. I got to apologise to Dan for getting his name wrong in the photos!!! :05:

I got my bait out and trolled around the moorings. I found a MASSIVE school of bait and trolled around them. Straight away the squid got zapped. I got the fish in. It was about 70 cm. I released it and put out another bait. It too got hit almost immediately by another fish . It was almost the twin of the first. It was deeply hooked and bleeding badly so I dispatched it.

THe action slowed down a bit as I had to wait almost 5 minutes for the 3rd fish. This fish was slightly larger at 80 odd cm. It was also released. By now I was using up my squid real quick. So I stripped up one of the smaller squid and trolled the strips and the head. They were taken by tailer and two more kings. Although they were OK it wasn't the big hood I was after.

As difficult as it is to leave the fish biting, that is what I did. The sun was starting to set...big fish time!

I moved away from the bait school and started fishing a ledge. This drop off is where the kingies cruise for an easy meal. The larger fish tend to not follow the bait schools at sunset but patrol these areas for easy squid. I got out my largest squid which would have been close to 1kg and trolled.

There was no signs of any activity....no bait, no tailer...nothing...no wind even......absolutely perfect for hoods :thumbup: !

I trolled this stretch about 5 times over 30 minutes. Then the hit came. My torsa just screamed with 10kg of drag!!! and my T curve was doubled over. First Thing was to get the boat out to deeper water and fight the fish there. Obviously this was a good fish. The fight was typical of hoodlums-mainly vertical. By the way if you are reading this Victor, tell the shimano guys this reel is THE PERFECT reel for kingie fishing. If ever a reel was designed for this type of fishing then the Torsa is it!

The fish took line and I won it and on it went. But gradually the 50lb braid did its thing and wore the fish down. I netted the fish and tried to measure him up. My ruler only goes to 100cm but this fish was BIGGER ...way BIGGER :biggrin2: .

post-2057-1164972901_thumb.jpg

Can't tell for sure but you can guess from the photos.

post-2057-1164972957_thumb.jpgMakes the 70cm fish look like a dwarf.

These inshore hoodlums are VERY common and when I target them specifically I get them regularly. But to catch the big ones from all the rats you need to fish differently. Lately I have been fishing for numbers mainly to keep the young ones happy and to try out the torsa. I guess I have now caught about 30 fish on the torsa in the last 2 weeks but today was the day I wanted to target the larger fish. Finally landed one after a few bust offs in recent weeks.

So get out there. They are waiting for you! Another good day on the kings. Cheers Kelvin

Edited by namesay
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congratulations on th fish today kelvin. what an awesome fish and honour.

im so jealous but i will have to keep trying. do you reckon that there are these hoodlums around port hacking.

thats where i do most of my kingie fishing.

frankp

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Guest fishrunner

:thumbup: Cracka of a habour king there :thumbup:

bigger squid did the trick by the looks of it!

No dramas with givin away secrets as we are all here for that lil bit of extra info and share. :biggrin2:

Good job Kelvin, and they're gettin bigger

cheers :beersmile:

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Thats a cracker King Namesay and congratulations on doing the very hard yards to score a "hood" from the Harbour.

Guys like you telling others how to catch Kings will only get them fired up to go and catch a few of these fish themselves.

Once again well done and keep the posts coming as we love to read about your exploits :yahoo:

Might have to get my old 30 short stroker out myself :074:

Cheers Stewy

Thanks to you and mrsswordie for your support. I just hope they leave enough for me! By the way the 30lb stroker isn't enough firepower!!! :074: Cheers Kelvin

Edited by namesay
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Hey Kelvin, I think everyone on Fishraider is VERY greatful for your reports and the information and tips you provide. Many people have become better fishermen because of your reports, so please keep them coming.

That is an amazing fish for middle harbour, and again your experience and knowledge has come to the fore.

I can tell you that I liked you letting me catch the fish on Wednesday, so much so, I will let you do it again :biggrin2:

Since you dedicated the hoodlum to me, I will be over tomorrow to pick up the fish :thumbup:

Keep up the good work, cheers.

BTW I never doubted you would get a hoodlum in MH.

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:thumbup: Cracka of a habour king there :thumbup:

bigger squid did the trick by the looks of it!

No dramas with givin away secrets as we are all here for that lil bit of extra info and share. :biggrin2:

Good job Kelvin, and they're gettin bigger

cheers :beersmile:

I just can't wait to crack 20kg in the harbour! Got one in Pitty andin Swansea but not in syd Harbour. I think I have hooked a couple but got busted off. One recent bust off in MH sounded like a shot gun firing when the braid parted company. Scared the living daylights out of me...but he is still out there I suppose! CHeers Kelvin

congratulations on th fish today kelvin. what an awesome fish and honour.

im so jealous but i will have to keep trying. do you reckon that there are these hoodlums around port hacking.

thats where i do most of my kingie fishing.

frankp

Port Hacking has a HUGE population of squid. and bait The water is clean and there is little or no fresh water...P..e..r..f..e..c..t for kings! Cheers Kelvin

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Its all good Kelvin.

The members are very appreciative of your reports. Keep em coming.

This is a general fishing forum and we encourage members to share.

No one species is targetted or revered more than any other.

I personally get enjoyment reading about a member's conquests, whatever the fish is or size etc..... because a fish is "small" or not a "sought after species" (whatever that means) has nothing to do with it.

The smiles on the anglers faces tell it all.

Fishing is for enjoyment for all of us. There is no angler better than anyone else on Fishraider, we all have some meaningful input. Those that have more experience help the newer anglers etc...

Just my thoughts there :biggrin2:

Keep the posts coming raiders for all to share and enjoy

Cheers mrsswordfisherman

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Hey Kelvin, I think everyone on Fishraider is VERY greatful for your reports and the information and tips you provide. Many people have become better fishermen because of your reports, so please keep them coming.

That is an amazing fish for middle harbour, and again your experience and knowledge has come to the fore.

I can tell you that I liked you letting me catch the fish on Wednesday, so much so, I will let you do it again :biggrin2:

Since you dedicated the hoodlum to me, I will be over tomorrow to pick up the fish :thumbup:

Keep up the good work, cheers.

BTW I never doubted you would get a hoodlum in MH.

There are BIGGER fish in the harbour as we speak!!! Just got to find them, get them to bite and land them without being busted off . Simple really :biggrin2: Cheers Kelvin

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Hi Kelvin ,my thirty stroker would give a lot of guys a heart attack if they see how much pulling power it has

6455xxh Sabre and it fishes way over 30 lb :biggrin2: I have stopped a lot bigger fish off the rocks on it and they do go hard from the stones

Cheers Stewy

Yes stewy there is NOTHING like getting a hood off the rocks!!! When I was a lad spent a lot of time fishing off the rocks....too poor to own a decent boat. Used to "borrow"gear from mates. One guy used to lend me his Fin-nor with a sabre blank.Those sabres are awesome...the first of the radical strokers!!! I still remember the ads with that big yank fishing with the rod doubled over.

Used to fish 15kg mono in those days and got busted up regularly...great rods those sabres :thumbup: A mate and I used to use alveys to catch Yellowfin off the rocks in Jervis bay.....talk about going back to basics!. Heaps of fun but we were stupid then...still am !! :074: I'll see you out there!Cheers Kelvin

Edited by namesay
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Yes stewy there is NOTHING like getting a hood off the rocks!!! When I was a lad spent a lot of time fishing off the rocks....too poor to own a decent boat. Used to "borrow"gear from mates. One guy used to lend me his Fin-nor with a sabre blank. Used to fish 15kg mono in those days and got busted up regularly...great rods those sabres :thumbup: A mate and I used to use alveys to catch Yellowfin off the rocks in Jervis bay.....talk about going back to basics!. Heaps of fun but we were stupid then :074: I'll see you out there!Cheers Kelvin

Great Fish Kelvin

Keep up the good work and the reports as an ammeter like myself appreciate them.

Besides that if I can’t get out and go fishing (work commitments) I would rather be reading your reports.

Sparky

PS: May be you can let me tag along one day and show me how its done,

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Guest johblow

Hey man, ive been setting my watch by your kingie reports, so please dont stop otherwise ill miss my train on monday!

Ive been trying a bit to catch a kingie of late, got some really expensive quid jigs, but to not avail so far. I cant wait to try raw kingie. I have just gotton back from Korea where we had all sorts of raw fish (snapper, flounder), and it was good. They have Kingies there too. But, recently ive been having my bream raw. Man, i recommend it. Best ive ever had. I just cut their throats and start into the ice water. I really want to get a king so that i can eat some more!!!

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:1worthy::1worthy::1worthy:

That is an absolute ripper mate!! i'd give up every last king i've caught over the years for a fish like that...well done :clapping:

it won't be long till no no no is stalking you around MH :risata:

Craig Mc Gill guided me to my first ever kingfish in Middle Harbour!! I have read EVERYTHING he has written on fishing the harbour. I think I have memorised his articles on fishing middle harbour word for word!!! Probably the best squidder I have seen.....mucho respect for this man. CHeers Kelvin

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Craig Mc Gill guided me to my first ever kingfish in Middle Harbour!! I have read EVERYTHING he has written on fishing the harbour. I think I have memorised his articles on fishing middle harbour word for word!!! Probably the best squidder I have seen.....mucho respect for this man. CHeers Kelvin

couldn't agree more ! but there is always a time when the student will challenge his master :04: it's only natural

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Hey Kelvin,

That fish looks familiar. Didn't have a gaf hole in him did he? :thumbup: Great fish mate. I'm putting the boat on the car and getting back to some serious fishing, well after Christmas maybe. :( Don't let anyone knock you for sharing your experience. For us weekday/desk bound fisho's it helps "keep the feeling." How'd you think No.1 son would go on that one :biggrin2: I reckon he'd give it a good pasting.

Cheers,

Brian P.

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