queensland Manly Harbour

[waldo]

Woke up 4.15am to go out in the tinny but the cool breeze coming in the window made all too easy to go back to bed.

Decided an easy night effort was more my pace today so wandered dowwn to Manly Harbour to tease the local bream population. Fished the rocks at the jetty start for about 5 bream biggest about 30 1 other legalish the rest undersize. The little suckers were hungry as but very hard to hook and after I caught the bigger of them things quietened right down.

Moved out on to the jetty proper and started getting a few decent bites missing a nice fish second cast. Put a larger bait on and dropped it in to have it smashed soon after. Straight under the jetty it goes and some fast direction changes had me thinking BIG bream rather than a cod. I was feeling a little undergunned and was waiting for the line to go slack but luck was on my side.

A few surges back down as I got it near the surface then a sighting in the darkish conditions JACK. Grabbed the line and started lifting expecting a ping as 3 youngs guys ask "was I catching anything". Almost dropped it at their feet and siad yep :woohoo:

App 40cm of very healthy fat jack sat there for a few seconds as I grabbed the knife and the onlookers asked was I going to keep it? A snick of the knife followed by a splash and a nup I don't eat fish from here answered that one.

I had heard divers say they were there and heard the very rare report of one being caught but had never caught nor seen one caught in the harbour. So it was first for me. Only a few undersize bream followed after that but I had had my fun so wandered off a happy man.

[Shorty]

Great report and well done - niec fish!

Shorty

[kriso]

fantastic stuff mate! it was dostyles who caught a little jack there hopefully if they are returned a few more times we might see a decent population of them sometime there.

[thousandyards]

was it the jetty that's actually in the harbour? the one with the kiosk thing at the start?

[kriso]

thousandyards wrote:

was it the jetty that's actually in the harbour? the one with the kiosk thing at the start?

the jetty your referring to is the william gunn jetty:)

[thousandyards]

ah sweet. thanks.

so was it the william gunn jetty??

[Do$tylz]

yep. The one I had caught was off the William Gunn (my avatar pic). Old school alvey reel, on bait, cast at the very corner of the walkway/boat mooring opposite the kiosk.

Great catch Waldo. I let mine go back for a swim as well. I've never fished those rocks on the way out to the jetty... will have to give them a dig next time

[waldo]

Must be something to do with the old alvey reels, thats what I was using as well. :laugh:

Yes thousandyards its the william gunn jetty that's actually in the harbour with the kiosk.

I have only put in 1 or 2 half hearted attempts around those rocks for not much (a moses and a bream from memory) before lat night. There is a 5 -6 metre fence that juts out into the water and I was mainly casting near the end of it. At times I threw toward the rocks themselves although not as much as I would have had it been a bigger tide as it was a bit too clear/shallow.

[Angus]

Nice one mate! Might be an interesting place to throw a live herring or some good surface lures at night. I have seen heaps of GT's there fishing with Ando and the boaties there claim to have seen huge ones.

Lock up the drag and hold on

Angus

[Taz]

Yep they are there. Got one a couple of months ago off the jetty casting under the kiosk on a 2 inch shrimp. Went around 40cm to and was chubby.

[rob316]

correct decision not eating from the harbour - from very reliable sources - the water quality is bad , a fish now and then might be ok , eventually a build up of chemicals from eating fish there may cause sickness...each to their own , but i always catch and release in manly harbour and tingalpa creek - play it safe , don't play it sick!!