jdanger Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) Hey all, After developing an interest in fishing last August, I went to my local inner west tackle store to pick up some gear to get me started. Too much iFish had me keen on a light spinning outfit suitable for soft plastics. After explaining that I was a complete noob and wanted something suitable for bait and lures, I walked out with a few hundred dollars worth of ISO fishing equipment . At the time I was pretty sure that I'd never seen a 4.3m fiberglass noodle used for plastics on TV, and I was right. A broken blank, a string of doughnuts and some research later meant that I finally knew what the damn rod was for. Fast forward to yesterday; I had a surprise day off work and decided to give blackies a bash after reading Roberta's amazing luderick thread (http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=23679) and watching a few ISO vids on youtube. Got to North Bondi around 9am after two peak hour trains and a bus and set up. Tide was dropping and the swell was under a metre. I found some cabbage (no string weed in sight) with plenty of bugs in it so I got my burley ready (bread, sand and cabbage) and began. The cabbage was quite short and I couldn't get it to stay on the hook and had only slightly better success with the bread, so after either losing my baits in the wash and/or getting snagged repeatedly, I decided to try my luck with cunje. Instantly I was on--my Korean noodle lost it's V to a small red rock cod (at least I think that's what they're called; kinda more brown than red). Must've been hungry as he swallowed the hook so I cut him off, re-rigged, found more cunje, continued, then got another one (also gut hooked). A few snags later and finally, something to write home about! This dummer came in at 23cm; small, but at least I opened my account. At first I thought it was a luderick; wasn't til I looked at the photos later that I realised I had more than 1 type of fish. Play was temporarily stopped due to rain when the storm system I'd been eying all morning opted to head south. After a huddled lunch in a cave, the rain ceased and the snag/cod game began again, though by this stage I was getting better at controlling the drift and managed not to hook too many more boulders. At one point I got completely smoked by what I assume was a good sized drummer or blackie. Saw the down and set the hook only to hear a burst of drag as the float rocketed towards the bottom of a boulder, quickly bobbing back up minus a foot of 8lb leader. A million rock cod and 999,999 hooks later (yes, all but one decided they'd take home intestinal jewelry), and I finally got onto the target species. This guy went 26cm (so close), and I had fun watching him hang out in an isolated rock pool for a while. Was especially cool to see him hiding in the weed, totally motionless. I spent the last couple hours of sunlight flicking for squid in more sheltered areas for zip. Twice I had squid grab the lure at my feet only for them to release it as soon as pressure was applied. Not sure what the deal was there, but it was enough for me to call it a long but fun day. Had the rocks to myself til 4pm; one guy was spinning for pelagics and another was bait fishing but it seemed pretty dead by that point, except for this ugly thing pulled in by a guy on his maiden fishing excursion: Good day overall. Glad to have ticked a couple of new species off the list and I'm glad that I heeded the advice RE: using a heavier leader between your mainline and trace, otherwise I would have lost a lot more tackle than I did. After a lot of time on SPs, watching a float bob around in some wash proved to be a fun and relaxing way to fish. Would love to know what I can improve on to start pulling in the crazy numbers of blackfish some of you 'Raiders do. Thanks for reading. Edited April 11, 2013 by jdanger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macman Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) Sorry to disappoint but that probably isn't a luderick, most likely to be a white ear, maybe even a small drummer. Try some cabbage baits and you might start to hit your target species. Good luck and nice report as well. Sorry, just saw you were using cabbage at one stage, I will PM you a link to an article about rigging cabbage baits. It will help you kep baits on long enough to get a down. Matt Edited April 10, 2013 by macman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Mate, great read! Just keep getting out there and you will work it out! You managed at least one targeted species so you aren't far off the mark. Keep at it and good luck! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdanger Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 Sorry to disappoint but that probably isn't a luderick, most likely to be a white ear, maybe even a small drummer. Try some cabbage baits and you might start to hit your target species. Good luck and nice report as well. Matt better edit the tags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlRak Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 That's a great report, keep at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novicefisherman Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) For the squid get yourself some squid jigs. Squid great for bait or great for calamari rings. Just be careful if your fishing the rocks alone, make sure to have all the rock safety precautions. Cleats, life jacket etc. Edited April 10, 2013 by Novicefisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benm Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Second photo looks like a small brown groper... ? Don't think that's a white ear. Entertaining read, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilliman Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Keep at it mate and it will all fall into place, then once you think you got it they change there mind and your back to square one with new techniques to catch them. All part of the fun of catching them mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbdshroom Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Interesting report! Good luck next time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koalaboi Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hi, Fishing for luderick: keep at it. I usually find a rising tide a better option for this species off the rocks. And even better in the late afternoon. That being said, any time or tide and it's possible to get fish. KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LungFai Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Damn that's a trip and a bit you do to get to a fishing spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdanger Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 For the squid get yourself some squid jigs. Squid great for bait or great for calamari rings. Just be careful if your fishing the rocks alone, make sure to have all the rock safety precautions. Cleats, life jacket etc. Yeah, was using jigs but only had small ones w/ 2g weights, too light for washy areas so I was in calmer water. Finally had squid fighting for it but it looked like they may have grabbed it side on, missing the barbs. Dropped it back in front of them only for the same thing to happen. They were literally at my feet so I thought I should try to scoop them from behind with my net, though by the time I got it they were gone, it was dark, and I'd had enough. Thanks for the replies, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdelux Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Great report! However I think the title is a bit inappropriate.. I suggest changing it so as not to offend some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdanger Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Great report! However I think the title is a bit inappropriate.. I suggest changing it so as not to offend some people. No worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatnat Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Forget fishing. Become a writer. Actually, fish some more and write about it. Enjoyed the read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Zod Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Wow your very keen, 2 trains and a bus. Keep the good work up, enjoyed the read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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