first fish in a long time

[mattarch]

hey guys,

just thought i'd introduce myself and mention that i went fishing today for the first time in a long time. i decided to go somewhere close and simple so i went to the shorncliffe pier. i didn't expect to catch anything (i've never seen a fish caught there when i've been on the pier) but it turns out i caught a 35cm flathead. nothing special but it was a good feeling and so i went home and cooked it up and ate it for tea. i have a smile on my face and so i just thought i'd mention it here and share the joy that i had today.

[Mack_attack]

hey mate,

The legal size limit for a flattie is 40cm so you may need to have a read of the DPI website

[dhess]

The legal size is 40cm only for duskies 30cm for other species.

[Davo_Dinkum]

yeps thats what the book says

[mattarch]

i checked a book one of the other guys had and it said 30cm. i'll check the website though and make sure.

[dan25]

nice work mate and welcome to the forum

what did you catch it on?

[Mack_attack]

I could be wrong and you may have caught a bartail but by far the most common species are the duskies. If you've still got the frame the duskies have a large spot whereas the bartails have serveral white and balck bars.

[mattarch]

well i guess this is where i admit my fault...i checked it out and i'm pretty sure it was a duskie

Guess i better invest in a good book so i don't make the same mistake.

I caught it on a $5 handline with a line, sinker and hook already set up. So i guess the line was about 6 or 7 pound.

Thanks for your help guys.

[ellicat]

Everyone makes mistakes mate. No real biggie. If you have a look at how little 5cm really is, I'm sure the mistake is insignificant in the big picture.

Have a look on the dpi.qld.gov.au website. They have all the right up-to-date info and it's free.

There's only a few tricks amongst the bread and butter species you're most likely to encounter landbased

1. Whiting - need to learn the difference between winter (diver) whiting and summer whiting.

2. Flathead - 3 main species and a couple of fringe ones. Dusky, Bartailed, Sand. Main one to be able to identify is the dusky as it's the only one with a slot limit (min40cm - max75cm). The others are min 30cm no max.

3. Bream - currently all minimum 23 (with a change to 25 from next year). A common beginner mistake here is confusion with a small snapper (squire, pinkie). Snapper min is 35.

Have a gander at the dpi website to familiarise yourself with those and you'll be 90% there.

The other "rule" is if you don't know then let it go