Port hacking lizard

[Larkin]

Hey raiders,

Headed out again this morning. First up hit my squid spots to pick up a few as live bait. Plenty around, but not taking to the lure as easily today. Still managed to get a few and headed out - hit up the artificial reef just outside the hacking, plenty of bait balls around but no hits. 

Ended up catching a few slimies around 35cm - kept to salt up for strip baits.

While I was out there (close to the bommie) I had a visit from a 2-3m shark that circled slowly once around - fin out of the water and then disappeared back under. Not sure what it was.

Headed back in and hit the drop off at Gunnamatta - on the last pilchard head before I was going to leave, hooked up to a nice lizard - came up at just over 70cm & very thick/heavy. She had a good fight in her, with head shakes and some big runs. 
Was gut hooked but managed to get the hook out with some long nose pliers - kept the fish in the net/water for 10-20mins to see if was still ok. 
Once the hook was removed the opening to the stomach closed up (I think that’s what it was, it looked like a sphincter 😂 at the back of the throat) and she seemed ok, so I released. I read somewhere that flathead have a high survival rate when being released, so hopefully the big girl is ok even though she had a hook in the gut.

Me, I’m stuck eating bait 😂 

actually did fry off a fillet of slimey to try - was quite tasty - & pleasantly surprised. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Came out white once fried…Chicken of the sea.

[Little_Flatty]

Awesome flatty and yes, slimeys don't deserve their bad name. Quite a lot of things you can do with them.

[jenno64]

Larkin....on fire!

Well done on a mixed bag with a beautiful flatty and released with the utmost care.....the fishing gods will repay you soon:)

I'm keen to get amongst the bait sized squid in PH so I might have to pick your brain:)

 

[Yowie]

Just a Great White having a sniff around you. 🤣

I have had a couple of makos swim around the boat before, not too far from the shoreline.

Nice flattie. If the throat closes up, and the fish looks good, it should be okay.

Have tried slimey fillets a few times, a strong taste, however, high in the good fish oils.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Yowie

[masterfisho7]

some nice flathead well done 

[big Neil]

9 hours ago, Larkin said:

Hey raiders,

Headed out again this morning. First up hit my squid spots to pick up a few as live bait. Plenty around, but not taking to the lure as easily today. Still managed to get a few and headed out - hit up the artificial reef just outside the hacking, plenty of bait balls around but no hits. 

Ended up catching a few slimies around 35cm - kept to salt up for strip baits.

While I was out there (close to the bommie) I had a visit from a 2-3m shark that circled slowly once around - fin out of the water and then disappeared back under. Not sure what it was.

Headed back in and hit the drop off at Gunnamatta - on the last pilchard head before I was going to leave, hooked up to a nice lizard - came up at just over 70cm & very thick/heavy. She had a good fight in her, with head shakes and some big runs. 
Was gut hooked but managed to get the hook out with some long nose pliers - kept the fish in the net/water for 10-20mins to see if was still ok. 
Once the hook was removed the opening to the stomach closed up (I think that’s what it was, it looked like a sphincter 😂 at the back of the throat) and she seemed ok, so I released. I read somewhere that flathead have a high survival rate when being released, so hopefully the big girl is ok even though she had a hook in the gut.

Me, I’m stuck eating bait 😂 

actually did fry off a fillet of slimey to try - was quite tasty - & pleasantly surprised. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Came out white once fried…Chicken of the sea.

Hi Larkin. This is not a criticism. "Experts" say that it is better for fish survival, to leave the hook in situ and cut the line as close as possible to the hook. I have caught Murray Cod with a hook partly hanging out of the anus. I removed it and let the fish go. When you think about a fishes diet (fish, shellfish, invertebrates, etc) a hook isn't too much of an issue.

Lovely photos. bn

[fishkent]

Amazing catch - would you keep mackerel for yourself next time?

Can you tell me more about where you saw this shark? I’ve recently got a kayak and looking to go deeper water of the the hacking but she shark situation is literally my greatest fear.

[Isaac Ct]

Awesome flattie there mate, I have had people tell me that slimies and yakkas go ok on the plate although I have never tried them myself. Well done.

[seasponge]

Awesome looking flathead there - nice and fat, great patterns. 

[Larkin]

3 hours ago, Isaac Ct said:

Awesome flattie there mate, I have had people tell me that slimies and yakkas go ok on the plate although I have never tried them myself. Well done.

They were put straight on ice when caught. My son and his school friend said it tasted really nice - might be my good cooking 😂 

the rest went into my salter.

[Larkin]

14 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Awesome flatty and yes, slimeys don't deserve their bad name. Quite a lot of things you can do with them.

Thanks,

quite a bit of meat on them and really easy to fillet - they’re popular table fair in some countries.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Larkin

[Larkin]

3 hours ago, seasponge said:

Awesome looking flathead there - nice and fat, great patterns. 

It was a thick fish - and quite heavy.

[Rebel]

Great report and photos.

Nice Flattie. Well done.

[Larkin]

4 hours ago, fishkent said:

Amazing catch - would you keep mackerel for yourself next time?

Can you tell me more about where you saw this shark? I’ve recently got a kayak and looking to go deeper water of the the hacking but she shark situation is literally my greatest fear.

it tasted quite good to me - although I only shared one fillet with the kids ,to try. Rest went in the salter. 

I’d try it again.

The shark was outside port hacking. In 22m water. 500m east of jibbon bommie (roughly 1klm from shore)

[Larkin]

5 hours ago, big Neil said:

Hi Larkin. This is not a criticism. "Experts" say that it is better for fish survival, to leave the hook in situ and cut the line as close as possible to the hook. I have caught Murray Cod with a hook partly hanging out of the anus. I removed it and let the fish go. When you think about a fishes diet (fish, shellfish, invertebrates, etc) a hook isn't too much of an issue.

Lovely photos. bn

Hi bn, good advice there. 👍 will do this next time.

I thought about cutting the line and leaving it in, not sure why but natural instinct is to remove it. 

Where it was hooked was quite tough and rubbery (prob the top of the stomach) I pushed it in deeper with the long nose pliers and it came out - no blood came out. 

[Larkin]

13 hours ago, Yowie said:

Just a Great White having a sniff around you. 🤣

I have had a couple of makos swim around the boat before, not too far from the shoreline.

Nice flattie. If the throat closes up, and the fish looks good, it should be okay.

Have tried slimey fillets a few times, a strong taste, however, high in the good fish oils.

Maybe.. it was a dark grey triangular fin, 30-35cm tall - moved slowly as it arced around and then went under. Was a very overcast/drizzly day so couldn’t see the body - was about 20m away.

There was so much baitfish showing on the sounder - literally everywhere.
 

 

[Larkin]

I have a question, maybe someone can answer. While I was out there I went through some water that was a different colour when viewed through polarised glasses to the surrounding water. My glasses have a brown tint and I was going through large patches of water that looked red. With glasses off, I couldn’t tell the difference.

 

[Rebel]

There was some of that in Sydney Harbour last week it was a reddy colour.

[Larkin]

It wasn’t on the surface, looked like when two different waters meet - edges of these patches were jaggered and a hundred meters or so long. Maybe algae, plankton under the water. Two boats were there fishing. Water Approx 25m deep. But only looked red through polarised glasses.

[Yowie]

Sometimes it is a 'tide line' where 2 different currents meet. There are also 'tide lines' where ocean water meets fresh water washing out from a river after rain upstream.

[Pickles]

Great report Larkin. I don’t mind slimies if bled and put on ice. If I’m going the eat them I cut the middle out of eat fillet to remove the bones. Also really nice if smoked or BBQ’d (salt the skin side lightly and place skin side down first, then 30 seconds on flesh side - yum)

[Jp2]

7 hours ago, Larkin said:

I have a question, maybe someone can answer. While I was out there I went through some water that was a different colour when viewed through polarised glasses to the surrounding water. My glasses have a brown tint and I was going through large patches of water that looked red. With glasses off, I couldn’t tell the difference.

 

Hello mate, I was out also and found the red patches I believe to be coral spawn.

 Thanks 

Jp

[GordoRetired]

Mackerel are a popular fish to eat in the south of England so when I caught a few some years ago I fried a couple of fillets in butter. They were lovely. When my flatmates got home they thought it funny that I had eaten them. Froze a few and fed them to the cat as well, she loved them 🙂 

[Larkin]

16 hours ago, Jp2 said:

Hello mate, I was out also and found the red patches I believe to be coral spawn.

 Thanks 

Jp

Hi JP, Makes sense - there was the annual coral spawn up north on the news a few days ago. And lots of baitfish around. The ocean side off jibbon bommie was sounding baitfish everywhere.

Did you see it down this way past jibbon?
or a different area?
curious to know if it was happening in other spots along the coastline

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Larkin

[dlvbw]

What a stunning fish. Amazing colouration. Great work.