diesel Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 The title describes it all. After weeks of research, tide, times, bait, riggs, spots, weather, local knowledge etc. Me and mate simon headed to the hawkesbury as we do every year for the classic! Over loaded with anticipation and excitement we put in @4pm Friday. We fished the usual spots like Juno, flint & steel etc. for 4-5hrs without even a bit. Settled in at yeomans bay for the night. Next day tried everywhere from westhead to Spencer pretty much same result with the exception of a 35cm bream which was eventually dropped over board during a cleaning malfunction. So, good luck to whoever wins the classic this year, it may just be won with someone weighing in a fish finger!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryO Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 (edited) You are not wrong. I spent 5 days on a houseboat the other week and i landed 2 undersized red bream in that whole time. I even had prawn baits out the entire night only to find them still untouched in the morning. I did the house boat trip the same time 2 years ago and the fishing was identical, so its either this time of year or its been on the declin for some time. Edited November 3, 2012 by GaryO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebottle18 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Hi Diesel, Yes the hawkesbury is not what it once was. It was not ever an easy place to fish but regular fisho`s could find a good feed. Today you would drift off Patonga for a good feed of Flatties but none the next. I think you know why. We have slaughtered the Jew fish population with so many of those huge Jewfish being kept and not released. Bream populations no longer exist and there are good reasons why that is so. I was listening to an old timer on the radio today who confirmed what you had experienced and he is a person who knows the Hawkes better than anyone. Hope it gets better for you next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryO Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Hi Diesel, Yes the hawkesbury is not what it once was. It was not ever an easy place to fish but regular fisho`s could find a good feed. Today you would drift off Patonga for a good feed of Flatties but none the next. I think you know why. We have slaughtered the Jew fish population with so many of those huge Jewfish being kept and not released. Bream populations no longer exist and there are good reasons why that is so. I was listening to an old timer on the radio today who confirmed what you had experienced and he is a person who knows the Hawkes better than anyone. Hope it gets better for you next time. Too many pro's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catchin Jack Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Well if it makes you feel any better Lake Macquarie is the same lately, very hit n miss and there's no "pros" there anymore. Tuggerah Lakes (The Entrance) is also very slow but heaps of prawns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingy Kaos Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hey guys, it's sad to say but the Hawkesburu is ruined. I lived on the river at Lower Portland from when I was 9 months old until I was 15 and fish that almost every day. My parent still own the property down there but over the last 15 year the river has been raped, pillaged and plundered of every thing it had to offer. I'm 30 now but when I used to live down there their were only a handful ( maybe 5 or 6 ) prawn trawler that used fish the river. These guys were old school fisherman that respected the river and knew from generations of fishing how to keep it sustainable. The last few years that I was living on the river more and more trawler seemed to be coming onto the river. These new guys were complete wankers thinking they knew everything and were just in it for a quick easy buck. What they didn't realize is that it isn't just scooping prawns out of the river but was more complex , and more about understanding there cycles, not just the prawns but the whole Eco system. It's as simple as this, if there are no prawns/squid in the river the fish will not want to be there either. The Hawkesbury river would be one of the most thriving river on the east coast if it wasn't for the large amount of commercial fishing! I extend my middle finger to them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davegroves68 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) I agree. Pro fishing does not help the Hawksbury. My fishing has greatly improved since moving mooring from Pittwater to middle Harbour. It can't just be luck that at my first full on attempt to catch a Jew in Middle Harbour I got 3 good ones. While I had many overnighters around Flint and Steel and got nothing. Though it has to be said that we all at some point buy bait from tackle shops...where do we think that comes from? I just think it needs to be managed a bit better. Dave Edited November 4, 2012 by Welsh Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 I agree, my middle finger goes up too! I live in port Stephens and won't be taking my boat south for sometime. The bay and rivers up here are packed with fish and on any day can guarantee a feed. The difference is amazing. But please keep that a secret because I don't won't the same thing happening up here!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen801 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Worst place in Sydney area to fish is the HR. Waste of time and money and usually ends in frustration and disappointment. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGP Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 What point does the over harvesting have to reach before its finally restricted?? The river and Broken bay used to be guaranteed big fish spots if a little effort was put in yet now is basically a waste of time. All I hear from pro commercial people is that it's fine and still full of fish..... But I personally have had to turn my back on my old favourite Jew spots after literally seeing them vanish over the last few years. You still get a couple but its completely stuffed compared to even 5 years ago. The river is so precious and such a large unique waterway and would easily be Sydney's greatest fishing haven if the nets were banned. It would bounce back in a couple years and urgently needs a break from the raping. To me it's pretty obvious that recreational fishers of Sydney are pumping more money into the economy than these trawlers yet our largest and potentially greatest waterway is fished to the point we have to all use other systems.. NSW fisheries needs to do what it takes to fix this nightmare situation. It really doesn't take an 'expert' to look at what's happened after the pros all had to hit the HR after being banned from the harbour. Hopefully new Mulloway size limits will make the non stop trawling un-viable and give the place some relief to rebuild stocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinfisher 4.9 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 It is so sad that a great fishery has been reduced to this. The pro trawlers are still operating side by side and taking all before them. There have been petitions to the State Government and the great hope prior to the election, MP Duncan Gay, has been totally non-existent on the issue. I have signed petitions and sent countless emails to Mr Gay and the State Government and don't even elicit a reply. It is an absolute disgrace what has been and continues to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGP Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Yep, same lack of response over and over again from mr Gay. It honestly seems that this joke will continue until the system is completely devastated. So frustrating when a small few do all the damage and give nothing back to the wider community. WTF are Hawksbury rec fisherman paying license fees for?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuhush Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Well Said boys no need to say anymore go the the middle finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Hull Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 The title describes it all. After weeks of research, tide, times, bait, riggs, spots, weather, local knowledge etc. Me and mate simon headed to the hawkesbury as we do every year for the classic! Over loaded with anticipation and excitement we put in @4pm Friday. We fished the usual spots like Juno, flint & steel etc. for 4-5hrs without even a bit. Settled in at yeomans bay for the night. Next day tried everywhere from westhead to Spencer pretty much same result with the exception of a 35cm bream which was eventually dropped over board during a cleaning malfunction. So, good luck to whoever wins the classic this year, it may just be won with someone weighing in a fish finger!!! I fished the hawkesbury all of last year, probably 25-30 outings there during 2011. And honestly, I don't have much to show for, cept for 50 billion cat fish eel. The worst part is, I'm so stubborn(due to persistence) that it took me a year to realize! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billseeker Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hi diesel don't know about you guys but we were fishing down the wise mans ferry end from Friday afternoon and we ended up with 11 flathead from 65 to 45 and threw back countless flathead at the 40 mark couldn't keep the small soapys of our lines and as soon as the bait was touching the bottom was onto a fish not long after no catfish at all and also scored a 5.5 kg Jewish through sat night for mine I think the river is in a good state this is the prawn trawlers backyard and yet this is we're all the fish are at the moment makes sense the fish are we're the bait is also had a fair few mates catch a lot of flathead in the same area and soapys for mine I think the front end is more the squid trawlers that do the damage around patonga and Juno also in the comp the biggest fish was 17.2kg Jew and he also come second with a flathead of 5.5kg heavier than any other jewfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josamill Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Best chance are the visitors........kingfish, salmon, bonito.......they come in and out and don't give the commercial guys a chance to get them all. The commercial fishes have been there for 150 years in one way or another. It's time for the latte sippers in Macquarie St to pay them a fair price and stop the nets and traps, and give the place time to recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helliconia Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I can't speak for the science of my idea, but there has to be something in the subsistence farming methods used since pre-history. Use a patch for a "season" (maybe 1 year), then let it lie fallow to recover for 6 or 7 seasons. In the closed seasons, they rotate to different fisheries giving everywhere a chance to recover. Apply the same catch quotas per year and nowhere will be over-fished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matyg Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 im only fairly new to all of this only having owned a boat for a year, but I have always managed a feed of flatheads out around juno and closer in around the channel markers, having said that we only ever end up bringing in three or four keepers but thats plenty for a feed for my mate and I, and our respective partners who always accuse us of stopping at the fish shop on the way home. but it would be nice to see the sort of success i have had both south and north of Sydney. great topic by the way for whoever added their thoughts, great to here some people who have much more knowledge than myself about the local areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I certainly agree with this... Always nailed a dozen or so good flatties off dangar island and now im lucky to get 1 or 2. The jewfish populations have been decimated in the lower reaches which is a problem for the upper reaches in itself. If the upriver jews hang there most of the year they are more concentrated and their numbers will be damaged due to people often keeping them. Then again, thats not the main problem here... Its the trawlers... Fishing up around milson island a few months ago had the trawler snag one of my lines. It then proceeded to keep going and in short, i lost a rig and 300m of braid... The whole system had turned into a "baron wasteland" and often spot after spot results in not just no fish, no bites or hits at all. I think Emptyhooks idea has some merit. I'm no expert but sounds like it would work to me! Still, getting them banned for good is the most desirable outcome. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josamill Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I was told by a commercial fisherman that he would drag his net each day off Mackeral beach, like he was mowing the lawn.........up, back, up, back.....the end result of 5 -6 runs? Usually 4 or 5 legal whiting and an undisclosed amount of juvenile bream, whiting. He was complaining, we are complaining, Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay got the right treatment....somebody with authority needs to give a sh%t and buy these guys out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Hi diesel, Great topic for discussion and after reading this forum, i felt compelled to email Minister Duncan Gay. I am eagerly awaiting a reply. For anyone else that would like to email the minister his address is: office@gay.minister.nsw.gov.au I too, have spent many hours in the hawkesbury river and noticed its decline over the past few years. Its about time someone brought this too attention. well done, diesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) the fisheries mp is called Katrina Hodgsons and she lives near orange and duncan gay lives at crookwell they dont give a damm about us they are just all talk from before the election to right now,can anyone name anything productive from these two?? the only thing i know of is changing name from maritime to roads and maritime ,big deal and katrina shutting cronulla fisheries office and science labs ,great work im so glad i have to pay for a fishing licence ,boat licence,trailer rego,i say they can all go and have a good look at themselves.cheers dunc333 Edited November 5, 2012 by dunc333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingy Kaos Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thanks Scratchie, This is the first step in saving the future of Hawkesbury River. I think if we all stick together and forward on our concerns we might just be able to get something done. Sending my email now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGP Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Emailing them is Exactly what needs to be done.. If they were harassed enough over it something would have to be done. The problem is apart from reccreational anglers, The general public probably doesnt care too much if some river gets a net pulled through it all day every day. People need to be educated as to what really is happening and these so called experts need to be continually contacted over the matter until atleast some of the pressure is reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinfisher 4.9 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Moderators, I know this is now getting into politics, but I would like to start up an on-line petition regarding pro-fishing in Pittwater, Broken Bay and the upper Hawkesbury and with the support of the Raiders, we possible may make the start of a change. Would appreciate your feedback and how it could be handled......or not? I am very passionate about this and from the replies, so are some others. Cheers, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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