Jump to content

Weed Talk


GregL

Recommended Posts

Hi guys and gals

Had a few spare hours on Sunday so I thought I would hop in the car and check out the weed spots to see if there was anything about.

2 hours later zip.....

Only thing I could find was some cabbage I spotted while breaming but haven't had much luck with cabbage up river in the Gladesville/Drummoyne area before.

I went to a spot I found a while back and collected the little bit of string weed I could scrape up. Enough for a quick session. In the end, 1hr 20mins I scored 6 nice ones within a 2min drive from my place, gotta be happy with that! Even had a guy run down the rocks to ask if he could have one before I slipped it back in the water.

I have a few questions regarding blackfish weed after doing a bit of searching the net.

It's mainly the string I want to know about.

Is the string weed used the same as found in fresh water ponds?

I found this on the net up in New Castle area.

http://www.hcr.cma.nsw.gov.au/kooragang/Weed_bait_tank.pdf

While wading some flats in the Parra a few months ago I was getting string weed caught on my lures, it looked the goods but the stuff was past wadeable depth and I couldn't see if there was collectable amounts as I would only get it on every few casts.

I'm I on the right track with this deeper stuff?

The deep stuff looks similar to the stuff out at Narrabeen lakes area, fishes ok but nothing like the Parra string that is long and slender but has some cabbage looking flat bits like a grass blade compared to hairy looking if that makes scence....

Last winter was my first solid time chasing blackfish and I had a ball!

Then threw out summer when my sneeky weed spot grew a bit I would go out and wack em again but it usually took 5-6 weeks before it was pickable again.

I know the fish are there all year round and now the weed problem, how do I get string weed in the warmer months?

Does it regrow like the tank up in Newcastle?

Cheers

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Greg

Green weed is always difficult to find at this time of the year. It gets burnt off at the end of summer, then the cold hits it & can't regenerate until spring! Up here in Forster, our usual spot near the coastal patrol has none! I got some from Narrabeen lake this weekend just gone & will be relying mainly on cabbage - the blackies coming in from the sea usually prefer it anyway!

I had seen the Newcastle Weed tank site before, but never actually seen it in real life. You can always try growing some in tanks out the back .... but I think it usually needs a mix of fresh & salt water to get the best results & also lots of oxygen! Check out any drains/creeks/ponds around golf courses .... or any creek anywhere!! Good luck!! Some folk even resort to fake 'weed' made from green wool that has been 'teased'!

Well done on getting the 6 you did!! I've been smoking a few whilst in Sydney (Luderick59 caught most of them!) and they were lovely! A great hit at my brother's house - even their little girl (who refuses to eat cooked fish normally, but will eat raw fish, Japanese style) loved it!

Cheeiro

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg,

one i have rarely had a problem getting wed around Sydney and dad and i have a list longer than your arm, but 2 trying to get a weed gathering spot from a old luderick fisho is asking them to chop off their left arm then donate their avon royal and sportex to you!

Trick is look for drains that enter the river and are tidal, swamps that are fed occasionally on king tides in the mangroves any where there are goldf course or sporting fields that have canals running through are good spots as the fertilzer can contribute to weed growth.

When gahtering weed get tthe fine weed and the weed that has a width to it 1/8th of an inch plus also learn to distinguish between young weed and old burnt up weed some wee may look dead but give it a wash in water and the mud and crap on it washes offand there you have it many a time i'vepicked weed and old pros have thumbed their noses at it cause all it neede was a good wash

And oh some of my biggest fish j=have been caught up gladesville way on cabbage you just gotto burley what you fish with mate a rich half bucket of burley used reguarly will catch you more fish reguarly!

nowthis is only a 1/16th of what i could tell you on the subject of green weed any one remeber Hale Street green weed and when you could buy a bucket of fresh Botany green weed on the Eddy Ave concousre at Central Rail?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks LA and Roberta!

Any info I can get on weed I'm open with all ears!

I'll have to give the cabbage a go again. Maybe I just didn't burley hard enough to get them to feed on it well.

I have been down the usual drains and yes they have green walls and patches of short stuff but still a while a way before it's useable.

Next time I'm out on the boat I think I'll get the environet out and see what I can net up in the deeper flats and just give it a go. Can't hurt trying and you just never know....

Re Narrabeen, Last time we went out there to get some we went up the back of the lake. went out knee deep and pulled out some weed that looked ok. Is the stuff in deeper greener? or is there a better place to look for it.

We were near the scout hall in the car park on the south eastern side of the lake....

Regards

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi Greg,

i think luderick -angler has hit the nail on the head so to speak...

def keep an eye on any drains that have parklands especially well fed gardens or golf coarses :thumbup: .

one spot i know used to be choccas full of weed at times 20ft long and council had to reg get tractors in to clean up,this was due to fertilisers from the local golf coarse that fed the canal... council got them to stop the amount of fertiliser runnoff in the late eighties and the lack of nitrates etc feeding the canal meant it struggles now to get growing...this spot used to never fail in old days but now is very patchy.. im sure you'd know the spot royce im talking about....

so keep an eye out while your flicking for breamboes etc and you will prob find some...

i will pm you later with some spots that used to be good but worth a look when i get a chance...

i dont remember the weed from central,we used to go down the tunnel to get bus out to weed spot way back :wacko: woulda saved the trip out but our weed was much better than bb,cannot beat parra weed :yahoo: ...

hope this helps...

cheers...steve.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Greg

Forgot to mention the grapnel hook!

.....it looked the goods but the stuff was past wadeable depth ......

a buddy I know who gets good weed at Newcastle always has a rope with a small grapnel on the end. Just lob that out & drag it thru the weed & you should get some. It just has to be heavy enough to be able to toss it - not too heavy.

easy enough to make - maybe add another leg or two.

post-2231-1208989630_thumb.jpg

Cheerio

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Greg

Forgot to mention the grapnel hook!

.....it looked the goods but the stuff was past wadeable depth ......

a buddy I know who gets good weed at Newcastle always has a rope with a small grapnel on the end. Just lob that out & drag it thru the weed & you should get some. It just has to be heavy enough to be able to toss it - not too heavy.

easy enough to make - maybe add another leg or two.

post-2231-1208989630_thumb.jpg

Cheerio

Roberta

That's a cracker of an idea!!

I'll grab my little reef pick anchor I have at home and see what happens.

Roosterman

Thanks for that.

One of the spot's I got my weed last year runs threw a golf coarse but not there yet, it's starting but I think this rain we have is going to wash off any that has started to grow.

Does the stuff in fresh water lagoons and dams work or does it have to be out of saltwater?

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Greg

The freshwater stuff does work, but is usually quite slimey or 'thin'! Doesn't smell the same - usually smells musty instead of sweet. Better than nothing at all tho, if you can't find the salt variety. I have a few spots I will be keeping my eyes on over the next few months!

Anyone heading up this way, if they have some weed to spare, any donations gratefully received, too! :) :) :)

Glad you like the grapnel idea - you don't want too much weight on it tho. Thats why I liked the thin one.

Cheerio

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good idea roberta with the grapnel,

we used to use a rake in the early 80's at one spot that we waded into about knee to wast deep,weed was generally longer and darker but plentiful.....

as for the fresh,we experimented with different types a couple times and even used aniseed oil.. we tried some fresh stuff soaked in bucket of saltwater also..now the blackfish were like lots of other fishing back then,plenty around but we found it got fish also.. the freshwater stuff was like you said roberta slimy and also fragile compared to saltwater variety and we tended to keep the tail of bait very short as it just broke too easy.. so yes you will catch blackfish on freshwater stuff just not ideal but if thats all ya got then go with it....

cheers...steve......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your going to use a grapnel make it from old an wire coat hanger as if it is too heavy you will snag and rip up all the roots and structure of the green weed plus all the musd possibly rendering a patch of weed barren for future harvest Thats whart we use to gatherswamp weed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your going to use a grapnel make it from old an wire coat hanger as if it is too heavy you will snag and rip up all the roots and structure of the green weed plus all the musd possibly rendering a patch of weed barren for future harvest Thats whart we use to gatherswamp weed.

spot on mate, forgot about that.. yeh you have to be careful that you dont rip out the bottom that the weed has made a home in as it gets upset and doesnt return real quick :wacko: .. we used to keep the rake from draging the bottom and just sweeping it midwater and then carefully pulling it in,too bloody hard for my dodgy back these days bet very effective....

we have to be mindful of sustainable harvesting and this is why alot of guys that practice the dark art (luderick fishing) keep there weed spots that...very dark.... ive had run ins as a kid watching older guys scraping rock surfaces clean to get burly not caring if next week theres nothing to grow back :thumbdown: ... anyways enough ranting , the coathanger idea sure sounds the go though....

cheers...steve.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toby

There is a wealth of information on gathering weed in this post alone - read it very slowly & take notes!

Also do a search in Fishing Chat for 'green weed' & find other threads on the subject as well

Cheerio

Roberta

I've never actually used a grapnel myself, but will stick a coathanger & some cord in my ute for future reference!! :) Thanks LA

Edited by Roberta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...