nickb111 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hey Raiders, Does anyone know if this sort of fishing is possible off sydney rocks? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Stalker Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hi Nick, as long as you have a low enough platform and room for a back cast there is no reason as to why you couldn't. I would advise though that you only do it on a day where the water is not rough and to wear a life jacket just in case as you never know when that one stray large one is going to come up over the platform. You do not want to be too high as you don't want to be lifting fish out with a fly rod so keep a net handy also. Stay safe. Luc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Cheers mate, it looks like fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy72 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) yes mate - old mans hat is the best spot for LBG swoofing in sydney, though the undercut ledge and the mushroom type rocks to the east don't help any when hooked to a decent king, the buggers look at you then make a dash and cut you up !!... only fish it in swells with some north in them , maybe small east is ok, can be wet to downright dangerous when fishing there with any south in the swell, take a stripping mat or even an old blanket to stop the line catching on the rocks and stop it blowing around. fan you casts through 180 degrees, we seem to get hook ups on the kings when casting ... in a certain direction?? i'll let you work that out, the little tunas are usually further out ;-) my mate and i ed have caught kings, bonnies, salmon, frigate and macks from there, plenty black fish too if that your bag, and the odd smelly pike you just need to be aware of other fishos behind you when you cast, thats why shooting heads are good less false casting -- when you get going one of two back cast and let it go gets you out 80-100 ft+ depending on wind and skill shooting heads save effort,and at least use sinking lines ( they cut wind better and get the fly under the surface current, also means you dont need heavy weighted flies, making casting easier again., i like Lc 13 or t14 home made heads as you will loose some ( i have some info if you are keen to make your own, they work out at 15 bucks each, i like these with floating running line... i have been known to use an old 5 wt floater fly line as a running line -- trouty one.. only 30lb breaking strain and 90ft long is only just enough ... t14 is 50c a foot and depending on rod weight its <$15 A HEAD, YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE GOOD BRAIDED LOOPS though.. easy enough done with rear one big enough to put your reel through to change heads, like to a floating shooting head for poppers, or getting the old one off after being dusted ( make few and keep on hand line reels in your bag) shooting heads should be made 2 line weights greater than your rod is rated for .. thats is using the AFTMA table, cut longer and test and trim to size, test with a leader and fly on too ( my 9wt is just under 26 foot of t14, thats about as small a head as you want to use length wise.. optimum is around 30 ft) use t11 for anything lighter than a 9wt, and t8 for smaller rods again. the T"xx" number is the grains per foot weight of the line.. t14 is 14 grains a foot and t11 11 grains and so on- so my 9wt head is 360 grains. a little which is actually heavier a standard 11 weight full line weight ( line are weighted for the first 30 ft , but when casting a normal wf line you need more than the 30ft out to load the rod , so shooting heads are designed to just get the head out the tip which being heavier will load the rod and then let it go, so very little false casting, very efficient and less room needed beware these heavy heads are a little dangerous , wear a hat and good glasses, you will get hit in the head with the wrong breeze and the weight will pull the hook deep .. no fun !! there are other ledges around but this one is near perfect for fly.. just go early or late so you miss the crowd.. over cast days are good for that reason,and the fish seem to get closer into the rocks if you want more info let me know i've a big file on fly fishing and do it yourself stuff wow thats an essay .. sorry for the near thread hijack lol cheers grant Edited February 19, 2014 by jimmy72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Is 9wt the go to size? Any rod/reel combos you like in particular? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Stalker Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thanks for the info Jimmy. Twas a lot to absorb but this thread is going to be saved in a document for when I need its valuable info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy72 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Is 9wt the go to size? Any rod/reel combos you like in particular? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk yeah seem 9 wt is very popular size, in a boat you can get a bit lighter - seen rat kings landed on fast 6wts, plenty on 7wts but off the stones you want a little extra grunt , due to wind and trying to control an angry fish in the wash. even 10wt wouldnt hurt. i fish an old sage RPLXI 9wt .. late 90's model or early 2000's some thing with a med fast - fast action suits me and i think the style of fishing from the rocks a faster action rod is good tool. reels i have had a few, i have an old scientific anglers mastery series reel for 15 years, still going strong but has a small arbor, i have a spare spool for it it holds my 2 shooting head setups etc as i can get a load of backing on to effectively increase the arbor. my favourite and the most used now is my colton CRG-II 8-10 wt, made in usa, you can get them from the manufacturer off ebay the guys is very nice and legit , think reel was 180 or so, plus i got a spare spool and delivery .. 250 all up? but that was was 3 years back -- the actual website often has big specials around christmas and thanksgiving. its very well made product, fine tolerances , good quality alloy, cork is smooth as drag and as good as any reel i have used. only casted one of their rods and it was sweet too most reels by known manufactures should be Ok , okuma have a decent looking one that's cheap the hellios my mate is on the loops team there stuff is not bad either, but i think most graphite these days is pretty good, as always best to test before you buy. some great warranties with some manufacturers , but you pay for that in the initial price. ha ha another essay , i need to diet my posts cheers gm second hand gear is also an option, some guys are tackle crazy and have to do clean outs . a nine is overpowered for bream and salmon, but the extra grunt will do well off the rocks... just never high stick them and breakages will be less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Essays are good! Lots of good info that isn't really out there. What type of backing and strength do you prefer to run (dacron, braid...) and how much backing is enough? What are the flies you're using too? Is a 7 wt better for salmon off the rocks? Too many questions! But thanks for the invaluable advice. Cheers, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy72 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 (edited) Essays are good! Lots of good info that isn't really out there. What type of backing and strength do you prefer to run (dacron, braid...) and how much backing is enough? What are the flies you're using too? Is a 7 wt better for salmon off the rocks? Too many questions! But thanks for the invaluable advice. Cheers, Nick i thought i had 30lb dacron but i found the old bulk spool i got years back when i moved a few months ago and its only 20lb ha ha , i have broken 30lb leaders and snapped fly line that were supposed to be 35lb BS, but only once snapped at the backing - go figure.im about to re-spool all my backing with 50lb fins prt braid as my mate said he likes it best -- im not too bothered in worrying about it being the 'best' as its 50lb and i was fishing 20lb dacron previously.. but dacron doesn't rot , that why it lasted so long -- like 15 years lol -- im planing on using 50lb braid as any lighter in the braid and its too thin, cut your fingers off if something went wrong ( as with fly fishing your hands are near the line most of the time. i measure backing by how much i can fit on the reel without the fly line catching on the reel when wound in, its a bit or trail and error. to be honest i cant recall how much is on there now, im thinking maybe 300m +, i remember it was more than the reel was supposed to hold, but now i know its 20lb not 30lb that makes sense now ... i think the 50lb braid will be similar if not smaller diameter than 20lb dacron Rods weights - if i was only fishing using off the rocks i'd still use a 9wt or 10wt, ( fly rods are not the best fish fighting tools so extra grunt would be handy and with wind you cant move to a better angle as you can in a boat) and if i was only fishing from the stones i might even look for a 10ft rod not the standard 9ft to get a longer cast with less effort. i usually only fish for pelagics in the harbour - ive been fishing poppers lately as the kings love them this year. i often use small eyes flies, and sparse polar fibre minnows, surf candies, small and large flashy profiles, and squid flies too. im not a big clouser fan as i dont usually fish deep but they do work well too ( i'm also scared of hitting and breaking the rod tip with clousers and their lead dumbell eyes -- also they dig deep into my head when i make a bad cast ..ouch!) i only use flies that dont foul much... that is a big deal for me, if a fly keeps fouling, ill change straight away, often chucking it away -- its my biggest hate ... fouling flies and line twist !! i usually like to try match the bait size at the time.. usually 2 - 6 cm anchovies in spring and summer , or i like to go really big or really small (i.e the complete opposite to the bait).... i like natural colours in my flys, white or light tan belly, and contrasting back / shoulder, usually olive, greens,or tan backs, and of course chartreuse - but i have a few of other colours just in case brink pinks , black and blue cheers gm Edited March 13, 2014 by jimmy72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Is burley a good idea? Will it help out? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy72 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 yeah burely works, though one of the reasons i got into fly fishing was so my hands didnt stink from bait / burley etc after a day out fishing . when we used to LBG a lot we'd take some rope and slash up bonnies sides a bit with a knife (head to toe) then hang the whole fish off the rocks so they would hang and get bashed by the waves and break up slowly making a burley trail. ive never bothered when fly fishing too busy casting changing flies and untangling line lol cheers gm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Cheers! There aren't any more questions I could possibly ask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 One last thing, tropical or cold water lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Sydney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Would making a coldwater head, but tropical running line make it shoot better, yet still let me cast loops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 50 meter casts with a shooting head?! thats pretty solid range! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 and running line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 is it floating or sinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Am I going to notice a difference in catch rates? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 What times should i be fishing? Just mornings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy72 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 what james said ! but fly fishing early morning off the rocks produced best results for me, due to lack of wind mostly i'd say making fishing easier. with wind you end up having your line tangling, flies getting stuck in your ear, hat or back and plus shorter casts mean you fly is in the water far less so naturally you''ll catch less the catch rate on bonnies and macks was always better earlier but have hooked kings and salmon up until lunch, which is usually when i head home. though the few time is have fished off the stones in the late arvo its been good especially if the wind dies down, just a pain walking out in the dark along a dodgy track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Yeah true cheers guys, its much the same for metals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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