Anyone a flicker around here?

Been trying to get out but early mornings kill me.

Old man went out on Sunday and said the water was murky as hell. What kinda fishing you into?

I like to throw a line in, but I'm (literally) a fair weather fisher. Mostly fish around sydney harbour and just have a cheap light spinning outfit. I'd like to learn a bit of saltwater fly fishing one day though.

Fishing is my meditation, sesh last year on the flatchaps

Yeah would love to get out more. Really enjoy it. Don't have much luck but yes it is always good fun

Sick of my freaking kiwi mates posting up all kinds of awesome shit on FB (eg. 20 pound snappers) every week

Quote:

Originally Posted by TranceArt

Yeah would love to get out more. Really enjoy it. Don't have much luck but yes it is always good fun

Sick of my freaking kiwi mates posting up all kinds of awesome shit on FB (eg. 20 pound snappers) every week

Fuck you're on a hiding to nothing if you're in NSW and you've got mates in NZ who fish, I've got a mate who's got a 6m ally boat rigged for big game that he takes out of Whakatane, some of the shit he's caught is pretty nuts, had a massive big marlin bill hanging in a tree in his yard drying out last time I was there.
If I'm back during summer I take my dive gear and go out with him, try to supplement the fishing with some crays

Love my fishing. My main target is Bass when the weather is right and only catch, photo, release.








If Im not going for Bass then Im out in the kayak chasing bream and flatty's but eager to go off shore!

Mate of mine was out on Botany bay this morning having a fish... lucky ****.

Don't they have bag limits where your from Brad ?

Dieing for a fish, loving daylight saving get the chance to throw a line in after work.

These days I no longer have the time to go fishing-unless Im going on a trip away somewhere or just a muck around with my old man. Used to get into rock fishing at spots like the ovens at south whale (northern beaches-sydney) or Mt Tomaree at Shoal Bay. Broken Bay and Botany Bay on trailer boats, going outside when conditions permit to target snapper and kingfish, troll some live baits or lures then find a spot to anchor and set some baits. The most exotic location I have fished is Hinchinbrook channel working lures hard up into the mangroves, the most productive location being Bermagui. My career highlight has been my Mako capture and also seeing a Marlin inside botany bay at moulineux pt.

Ugly ol' barracuda last time I went fishing back home:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovetofeeldirty

Love my fishing. My main target is Bass when the weather is right and only catch, photo, release.

Spoiler:

If Im not going for Bass then Im out in the kayak chasing bream and flatty's but eager to go off shore!

Awesome, what yak are you fishing from? I'm really torn between getting a Mirage 580 for touring or a Hobie outback for fishing

Quote:

Originally Posted by davecw

Don't they have bag limits where your from Brad ?

Dieing for a fish, loving daylight saving get the chance to throw a line in after work.

Was that at me Dave? Bag limit for flatties is 30, with two of us fishing (45 for the day)

Dunno if I'll get any fishing in this year though, that fucking oil spill in the Bay of Plenty has probably fucked things pretty well.... certainly won;t be taking shellfish for a few years.

That sucks, how bad was the spill?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tapout

Awesome, what yak are you fishing from? I'm really torn between getting a Mirage 580 for touring or a Hobie outback for fishing

It's a Malibu Pro Explorer. Im currently saving to get a Hobie but didn't want to invest the cash in one first incase i didn't like yak fishing. But it's awesome!



I just got back from a night at Danjera Dam with some of the guys from kfdu.com.au

A few bass landed with the best going 35FL.



It also meant that I got to test out my new Abu Garcia Revo STX combo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSD4

That sucks, how bad was the spill?

Pretty fucking bad, google it, been tons of news reports.

One from todays trip

Been catching a few flattys on the sand flats near my place. Using Berley Gulps...work great.

Oh and Tapout i'm sorry....but you are a total knob for keeping that many fish...whats the point!?

My old man has been going trout fishing a fair bit up the Howqua river. He's had hauls of 15 and 18 the last two times he has gone! I'll have to go with him next season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

Been catching a few flattys on the sand flats near my place. Using Berley Gulps...work great.

Oh and Tapout i'm sorry....but you are a total knob for keeping that many fish...whats the point!?

I'll give you a couple of points:

• The bag limit for flathead is 30 per person, we kept 45 between 2
• The size limit of flathead is 30cm, thus they get at least one breeding cycle in before harvest
• I dont go out that often and Flathead freezes well

The main reason though is that i eat alot of fish, twice a week at least, what i caught would last me a month, the alternative is that i would have to go and buy it from a fish shop. There is no difference in the number of fish killed between me going out and catching 45 flathead between a mate and I, and us going out and buying 4kg of flathead fillets from a shop, the number of dead fish is the same. There is however a MASSIVE difference in how those fish would have been treated and the environmental impact of the two fishing methods. I can guarantee that each fish i caught was killed swiftly, humanely and treated with the upmost respect, the same cannot be said for a trawled flathead that has been left to die on the deck of a boat. There is no damage to the bottom from my fishing methods, no dead undersized fish thrown back into the water, absolutely no by-catch, no discarded waste and we use about 1.5L of fuel (we use a 3.5hp motor on a tiny tinny).

Now would you rather me go out and buy the same amount of flathead from a trawler (which i would do had i'd not gone fishing) or do you think its better that i catch my own?

Ill informed poorly thought out irrational knee jerk reactions to fishing such as yours shits me to tears. Knob.

Tapout is a fish doctor, dont question his authority.

I love you, Tapout.

Wet a line this morning at Lake Charm in Victoria, between 4 of us in about 2 hours we caught two yellowbelly and about ten decent size redfin. they were going to cook them up tonight, but I had to come back to Melbourne. Total fail.

Is Redfin decent enough to eat? Never tried it.

I haven't eaten it for years. I don't think you get too much flesh off them, but what you do get is pretty tasty.

It's just totally excessive. Its strange that somehow you make the connection between killing 45 fish and it being some form of meditation. From your last post it just seems it's a way for you to save money because you like to eat fish. From my experience people that are really passionate about fishing are also very consicencious with regards to limiting their kill and preserving local fish stocks for other anglers. I know if i saw some old mate bagging 30 fish in my spots i would be furious.

Just becauce the bag limit is 30 doesn't mean you have to kill that many.

Whether or not YOU choose to buy fish from the market has no impact on how many are caught using nets and the devastation as a result of their use. That argument is utter rubbish. Be realistic, how many people would have to stop buying fish from the shop to actually have an impact on the level of commercial fishing?...It's not feasible for everyone to go out and catch their own fish.

Did you think the fishing regulators/authority just plucked that figure out of the air?

Of course not. They have to safegurd against people who think its prudent to pillage a small area of large amounts of fish, so lets hope when they set that limit they were frugal.

This mentality of killing anything you catch that is legal is selfish and irresponsible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

Of course not. They have to safegurd against people who think its prudent to pillage a small area of large amounts of fish, so lets hope when they set that limit they were frugal.

Then what's your problem? Tapout was well within the limits, met the size requirements, and the catch was split between him and his mate. Plus he also said that that would last him a month, it's not like he's catching 45 fish every day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

This mentality of killing anything you catch that is legal is selfish and irresponsible.

Tell that to the Aboriginal/Indigenous people in the Northern Territory and QLD.

Are flatheads nearing extinction?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinJ

Then what's your problem? Tapout was well within the limits, met the size requirements, and the catch was split between him and his mate.



Tell that to the Aboriginal/Indigenous people in the Northern Territory and QLD.

Are flatheads nearing extinction?

My point is that just because your within your 'limit' doesn't make it right or ok. As the old saying goes 'limit your kill, dont kill your limit'. I very much doubt the fisheries dept set that limit under the pretense that every angler would walk away from a session with 30 fish. If that were the case i assume they would set it far lower.

Essentially i think its selfish to take so many fish from a specific location. Just diminishes other anglers chances of hooking up. My argument/problem is pretty simple.

My belief is the same regardless of ethnicity and or species of fish. Not sure what you point is there?

I wasn't joking when I said Tapout was a fish doctor, he knows WTF he is talking about dude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

My belief is the same regardless of ethnicity and or species of fish. Not sure what you point is there?

You said that killing anything that you catch is selfish and irresponsible. My point was that there are people who live off the land and sea, and have been doing so for centuries. Labelling that as being selfish and irresponsible is rather misguided.

It's not like Tapout and his mate are going to throw away their catch.

45 flatties between two people is hardly excessive. The flathead fishery in Tasmania is very healthy and recreational fishers are taking similar catches week in week out in waters all over the state.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derelict

My old man has been going trout fishing a fair bit up the Howqua river. He's had hauls of 15 and 18 the last two times he has gone! I'll have to go with him next season.

Probably shouldn't advertise that one derp, the bag limit for trout on Victorian rivers is 5.

Quote:

Originally Posted by big eddie

Probably shouldn't advertise that one derp, the bag limit for trout on Victorian rivers is 5.

That's per day isn't it? He stays a few nights.

I should also add that of the 18 he only kept 9.

It's per day/possession afaik, so in theory you can catch a couple and eat them on the first night and then catch another 5 on the next day. But I don't think you are meant to have more than 5 in your posession at any one time. But you might have to check that with DPI to be certain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

It's just totally excessive. Its strange that somehow you make the connection between killing 45 fish and it being some form of meditation. From your last post it just seems it's a way for you to save money because you like to eat fish. From my experience people that are really passionate about fishing are also very consicencious with regards to limiting their kill and preserving local fish stocks for other anglers. I know if i saw some old mate bagging 30 fish in my spots i would be furious.

Just becauce the bag limit is 30 doesn't mean you have to kill that many.

Whether or not YOU choose to buy fish from the market has no impact on how many are caught using nets and the devastation as a result of their use. That argument is utter rubbish. Be realistic, how many people would have to stop buying fish from the shop to actually have an impact on the level of commercial fishing?...It's not feasible for everyone to go out and catch their own fish.

As Ed said, the fishery down here is very very healthy, highly regulated and well managed. We dont have the population pressure that NSW has on the fishery nor can we fish year round, its just too fucking cold in the winter to be out on a boat, so fishing is usually restricted to around 5 months of the year. My 'spot' is just like any of a hundred spots i can access within a 40min drive of hobart and bag out within an hour of hitting the water. The fishing situation is shithouse on the mainland because of the amount of people hitting the water day in day out 365 of the year, we just dont have that sort of pressure so the spawning biomass here has never been really hammered.

You should be furious if you saw someone bagging 30 in your fishing spot, the bag limits 20 total up there, and they are completely different species (duskies, bluespots and tigers, we get sandies which mature earlier and dont get to the same size).

In regards to bag limits, TAFI do regular surveys and have the ultimate say on bag limits and size limits, ive personally spoken with Dr Lyle (TAFI researcher responsible for overseeing the assessments of flathead (plus other species) stocks around the state) about it and you will be happy to know that the fishery is in great hands, feel free to email him with your concerns of you really want, read any of the numerous reports he has written and you will quickly see that the fishery is been well managed spatially and temporally.

The argument about buying from fish shops might be valid up there, but its not down here. More people participate in (roughly 25% of the state) the fishery here than on the mainland, with over a million flathead being caught annually, easily eclipsing the commercial catch. Hardly anyone buys flathead down here, you fish for it, its accessable and easy to catch. So yes, people not buying flathead has had a huge impact on commercial fishing, there are two licenced commercial fishermen with flathead quota's here, one does it sporadically and the other supplies the fish and chip/restaurant trade, very little is sold to fish mongers as there isnt the local demand(tourists make up most of the buyers), most people have access to local freshly caught flathead. Me choosing to fish for it rather than buy it means that they sell less which means they catch less, there is no point from their perspective to catch more than they need.

Good on you for being passionate about preserving fish stocks, but your comparing apples and oranges by commenting on fishing practices in Tasmania cf to those in NSW, completely different species with totally different fishing pressure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

Of course not. They have to safegurd against people who think its prudent to pillage a small area of large amounts of fish, so lets hope when they set that limit they were frugal. .

Quote:

Originally Posted by ether1988

My point is that just because your within your 'limit' doesn't make it right or ok. As the old saying goes 'limit your kill, dont kill your limit'. I very much doubt the fisheries dept set that limit under the pretense that every angler would walk away from a session with 30 fish. If that were the case i assume they would set it far lower.

Essentially i think its selfish to take so many fish from a specific location. Just diminishes other anglers chances of hooking up. My argument/problem is pretty simple.

The average catch rate per hour in a 1999 survey was 3.44 fish per angler per hour in the south East in summer, with the average fish time of around 3 hours = 21 fish for two people fishing for 3 hours on average. Most people dont get near the bag limit but the quotas are set with the expectation that a majority might. There is no selfishness in taking 30 fish in a single fishing session, i could take 30 every single day from the same spot and it wouldnt make a difference to some other guys chance of hooking up, because chance are i would probably be the only other guy out there fishing, said it before but there isnt the fishing pressure nor the lack of fish like there is on the mainland. I get a bit twitchy when im fishing if i hadnt hooked a fish in a minute or so, 2 minutes and its time to move, i usually fish with two hooks and 50% of the time i get double hook ups with another flatty following them up (or a cuda ), fishing is insane here and its only getting better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tapout

Is Redfin decent enough to eat? Never tried it.

Yeah they're not bad for fresh water fish.

Just going to admit defeat on this one.

I was wrong so i apologise, sorry mate.

As i said mate, im stoked that there are people out there that give a shit about bag limits and what other fishermen are doing, there was a guy i used to work with who had a motto that if it was big enough to fit between two slices of bread then it was big enough to keep, typical bogan attitude to fishing. He would brag about keeping hundreds of fish in session, it used to piss me off no end. Personally, i'd love to see a ban on fishing full stop during spawning seasons, and a size increase to 32cm for sandies to give them a few extra spawning seasons to make sure its sustainable.

Agreed mate.

Was out this morning and managed a trevally and 3 nice dusky's. Knot gave way on was felt like a solid trevally or bonito. Needs to get the double uni down pat! Heaps of surface action around the harbour at the moment. Just wish i had a boat or kayak!

Starting to blog my outings
http://scbfa.blogspot.com.au/

Nice pics! re you using a waterproof housing with the camera?

Nah it's just a Lumix FT10 so is 3m waterproof. Happy with the quality for a cheaper camera.

Nice, do you just target Bass?

Im based on the south coast so do quite a bit of fishing on the Shoalhaven.

Nice blog ilovetofeeldirty.

Yeah pretty much just bass. In winter during the closed season I'll get back into the salt.

My new canoe and 50lb electric turns up this week. Should be fun.

Whereabouts are you located Dave?

Jervis Bay mate but work in Nowra wbu?

North Nowra and work in Berry.