mick2me

Hi all
Well first of all, I have lots of reports to do, so this one is just going to be quick. It's something I'd been wanting to do for a long time, ever since someone told me that they'd been getting great results in there! Now that the 100% lily coverage was gone and I could see them swimming just metres away from the bank, it was time to give them a crack. 
Since it was Mother's Day the next day, my hopes of going somewhere on the yak were off. Oh well. So, first of all, a big thanks to @GregOug for the rods and reels you gave me! I rigged up an Alvey 5 foot rod, on a 'Easy Cast' system, and another 6 foot rod. On that rod I put my little 1000 Sienna, so everything matched up quite nicely. I was fishing nice and light with 6lb, and a little sinker/unweighted hooks. Before we left, I made some putty/dough. I got an ice-cream tub, some plain flour, milk, and water, and mixed it all together. I probably made too much, but eventually had a nice consistency of it. It was a bit too sticky but was easy to mold onto the hook. At about 8:00PM, we departed with two rods and got fishing.
At first, we tried at the start of the pond. We fished here for about five minutes, with the weighted bait. Then, we decided to move along the path for longer. We found another opening, and deployed the baits here. We fished here for about ten minutes for no love, and by now both lines were deployed. I moved up a bit more, still casting with my Alvey (boy, these things are simple) but still had no luck. It was nearing 9:00PM now too, which meant it was almost time to go. Just as I was rebaiting for one of my last casts though, I heard my Sienna screaming.
I got there, and Dad gave the rod to me (thanks Dad). The fish was running pretty hard, so I tightened the drag. Once this happened, the fight got reallly good! I was holding the rod out in front of me, not under my arm or on my hip, and slowly doing the lift and wind technique to land the fish. I would do a little wind, then the fish would go off again. It was really fun! I kept up the fight, and it probably was a back and fourth (running and reeling) fight for about three minutes. The moment of truth soon arose, and we had the fish bankside in about another minute. It stayed there though, caught in some weeds and shrubs. Dad clambered down the side of the bank, and then, we had...
Our first ever Tilapia!!! 🙂 

Tilly, about 38CM

That is me... I think 😉 
Anyways, now with a bit of an adrenaline rush, we stayed a bit longer. The tilly was dehooked (I also had to retie the hook as the hook bent), and I got a quick photo (for once I avoided touching the fish, as I didn't want to reek when I got home, Lol). The sticky dough bait was moulded back onto hooks, and lines were casted back out. I sat back down and Dad and I had a quite chat, waiting for something to bite. In about another 15 minutes, just as we were going to leave, Dad hooked up to something. Once again, I was given the rod after Dad brought it in a bit. This one wasn't fighting as hard, so I loosened the drag for some more fun. Even with this loose drag the fish wasn't the world's best fighter, but it still went on one OK run. Eventually, we got a look at him, and to my dismay, it was a fat eel. Maybe the next one (if I catch another) I catch I will keep for shark bait, but this one got tangled in the reeds again. I think next time I will bring a wooden plank so I can slide the catch up on something. Anyways, it was this eels lucky day: he bit through my six pound leader just as I was figuring out how to land him (I also didn't realise it at the time, it was lucky the rod didn't snap because I was high sticking it so much to try and get him out 🥴. 
Anyways, after that, we left the cart there and went to the bin that was far away from anyone who'd be walking, unfortunately it was full, so we jammed it in there sealed tightly in a plastic bag. Hopefully it will be emptied ASAP so it does not pong. Next time I think we will dig a hole and give a tree some fertiliser. After that, we walked back home with the cart, and I warmed up with a shower, then off to bed after a successful mission!
Here are the stats of the trip for anyone interested - 
Moon Phase: 6.9%, Waning Crescent
Tackle Used: 10LB braid mainline, (Line on Alvey seems around that too), 6LB FC Rock leaders, tiny long shank hook (and crappy brass one too), tiny sinker. 
Bait Used: Sticky Dough made from plain flour, Norco Milk, and Hot Water
Fish Caught: Tilapia x 1, Eel x 1
Bait Caught: (I made dough though)
Air Pressure: 1014 
Humidity: 67%
Weather: Cloudy, not too chilly, few stars out.
Temperature: High, 26oC, Low, 20oC
General Notes: Tillies seemed to bite better after we stopped talking, shining the light, and were silent for a little while. Maybe that shows they are quite a spooky fish? The dough bait seemed OK, but not wildfire. Next time I will catch worms and shrimp and see if they're any better. Unweighted seemed the way to go. Though trickier to cast, maybe it makes bait look more natural?
Overall Success Rate: 100% - I mean, goal achieved! We caught a tilly. 
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. 
Cheers Hamish

Any fish ID gurus out there able to weigh in on what species it is?  Brown Sweetlip (aka blubberlip Bream), Sombre Sweetlip or something else.  Wood be good to ID it before I cut it up for dinner 😸.
@Daryl McPhee ? I know there is another regular out there good with fish IDs but can't recall who. Sorry.
Better photos for ID

Hi All 
I almost got an invite out to fish in a boat tomorrow but had some appointments, thought seriously about cancelling them but in the end did the right thing and turned down the offer.  Karma you might say visited me today.  I decided to go fish the last of the run out tide in the local creek again.  Sunday saw a guy catch a pretty decent 38cm whiting and a flathead so I went for a fish yesterday about the same tide and met up with him again came home with a legal whiting and first legal sized Tarwhine but caught 4 stingray. 
They were good practice for when I hooked a big fish sometime.  Anyway after turning down a beautiful fishing day on a boat tomorrow I had to cheer myself up.  Got to the creek about 3pm.  Set off with yabby pump and about an hour later put my rod in the water.  The same fisho, Will, was there again along with another couple.  We had some chats and Will caught a whiting so I changed my leader from 15 pound to the lightest I have left, 10 pound and I had run out of my normal long shank hook so used a number 10 longshank I had purchased for Garfish.  I looked in my bucket for the smallest yabbie I could find to match the hook and put my line out.  The tide had almost stopped running and not much was happening so I put my rod in the holder to put a lure on my second rod.  I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see my rod lying on the ground half on the sand half in the water.  I quickly reached out to pick it up and just in time as the reel began to scream and the fish took a big run.  It stopped and felt like it dug itself in and then I managed to gain some line back.  Cursing to the others that I had got another stingray.  Well the couple fishing wanted to know how I dealt with the stingrays I caught yesterday so she started filming.  I gained line and then it would take another big run, then I gained some more and another run.  Well you get the picture.  I brought it about a metre from the bank a couple of times and on the second time Will and I both saw fins thrashing out of the water.  Will said that is not a stingray!  The fins were big. No was excited and now scared I was going to lose it.  With a bit of coaching, Will telling me to tire it out, I brought it to the bank a third time and Will had the gaff ready and helped me land it.  
After I stopped jumping up and down and yelling (Ellicat knows what that is like) it was hard to get excited about fishing again so I left shortly after to come home and write the report.
I am going to enter the photo in my fishing club comp!
I am told by Doug Burt's that my catch is a Sombre Swéetlip.
If my mates really old rusty scales are right it is about 9.6 pounds and measures 62cm long.  It feels heavier to me but I haven't got kitchen scales big enough.

Nice one mate. Annoying when the flatties dont play the game but glad you got a nice mixed bag.
This week on Creek to Coast they are featuring the shellfish reefs that have been put in up there. this is a preview
https://fb.watch/4-23jY7XRZ/
 

My brother and i hired a boat out for the day on Sunday for a days fishing on the passage. Plan was to collect yabbies and fish a bunch of flats and drop offs for whiting and flathead, as well as throw plastics as we drifted. Collected heaps of yabbies (more than we needed as we let a lot go at the end of the day) and motored up the passage looking for a spot to fish. We ended up fishing at poverty point, misson point and a bunch of flats in the passage for a really poor days fishing. we ended up with a handful of legal whiting, 2 tarwhine, 2 bream one squire and a flounder. i cant believe that for 8 hours fishing we could find a single flathead. i didn't get a touch on any plastic (zman minnowz, holt production swim prawns, squidgy flick baits, zman slim swimz) which was very weird to me. i fished hard all day with plastics and bait for very little reward. Was a very long day with alot of waiting in between bites. Still nice to be on the water
 

Had a cool windy morning out at NPD, trolled around for nearly an hour before finding a school. Managed over 50 bass   and 2 yellas from the school and some from the edges on spinnerbaits. Got a bit of a shock when I saw the weed spray boat heading up the dam it looked like a BBQ boat from a distance.On my first cast I hooked something that snapped my spinnerbait wire off from the head and skirt, must of been big, I  think a lungy or a massive eel.
Dino

The Garmin comes with the ActiveCaptain app, which connects your smartphone or tablet to the head unit for software and chart updates, so your other option would be to use a tablet for navigation and leave your Garmin unit for sonar/sidescan and downview. That would give 2 screens of at least 9 incheswith no additional cost. By the way, You shouldn’t need to buy any extra maps. The pre-loaded maps are pretty detailed and you can update them for free using the app.

Not sure what’s going on @Old Scaley. I responded to your post but it’s not showing now? 
Anyway, thanks for your advice. Much appreciated. I could well take it. Just hoping someone can explain the differences between the Garmin GPSMap 952xs and the cheaper Garmin Echomap 95sv, and whether the extra money is really worth it.

Hi Greg. I think upgrading to a 9” screen is a great idea for you. Especially since I know you like to split screen when you are travelling and show both the map and the sonar. I have the Garmin 95sv and I find it really easy to use and the screen is fantastic, even with wet hands. I am definitely no tech head or gps expert, but I had a quick look at the specifications for the 952xs and they seem the same as the 95sv other than some unspecified navigation advantage and more advanced networking capability. Do you intend to network it to other devices? If not, it might be worth saving $1k or so and going for the 95sv.
With the transducer, if you are fishing mostly in the Bay, you won’t need a top flight transducer that is capable at great depths if you are never fishing deeper than 40 metres. Maybe drop into Whitworths or some other marine electronics dealer and see what they say. No point buying more capability than you will ever use. 
Good luck.

Hey @bulldogs195461
When I fish for whiting, which is rarely, I use long shank hooks. I thread the worms on, if using yabbies (once in a blue moon because my pump is broken and haven't put a new washer in) thread them on too, and if using prawns thread them on too. The long shank makes it easy to get the bait sitting nicely and have the barb nice and exposed. 
Cheers Hamish

Yeah I would definitely be using long shanks as the whiting go for the head first and it will make the bait look more natural 

For yabbies I use long shanks to get the hook up near the head which is what gets attacked first. Worms on short shank.

Hi, 
Ive only just starting using this platform and working it out very slowly.
Im after some reef mark's off Yamba NSW and id be targeting species like Kings, Snapper, Pearl Perch etc.
Id also like to head out to the shelf and chase some Marlin, possibly get some by catch like wahoo or dolphin fish which are amazing to eat.
Can anyone give me some real good gps coordinates?
I live on the central coast NSW and i have fished this area for over 15 years, im more than happy to send some cracking marks to anyone who needs them.
 
Is there any locals on here that would be keen to show me around on the water? I have a TABS 6.2 enclosed cab which is pretty comfy to fish out of.

hey dude,

my partners auntie runs calypso holiday park down in Yamba and they also run woody head camping park too so we get down there a bit to fish,

ive had good success on plastics fishing the middle wall, got 3 good jew from the kayak there last time we were down, there is a pretty strong rip when the tides going out but its definitely worth fishing, you'll see a-lot of folk fishing it.

im clueless of the ofshore stuff though haha

have a good time mate, lots of holiday snaps for a good report!! nice rig too,,

oh yeah one last thing, my partners dad had an awesome 6M boat stolen off the Calypso Caravan Park Pontoon so be safety conscious!

callum

Cheers for those marks Brad, im definitely keen to smash the mackeral, ill have to find some locals to watch go through the bar as i hear its pretty shallow. best part is i have a pontoon with the place we hired so no unloading and reloading the boat at the end of the day:)

And a picture of the boat....

Here's a pic of Jeremy's car and boat from wavebreak last weekend.

Here you go mate, some mystery GPS marks for you.. illuka and yamba area..
Let me know what you think..

29.29.574 153.25.501
29. 30.778 153.24.434
29.34.037 153.23.328
These off sandon, have caught good fish here,
29.42.000 153.23.800
29.42.800 153.20.850

and here are the good ones... there are a few good mackeral marks. These arnt secret spots, most blokes down there would know them

south of Clarence 29.29.574, 153.25.501
south of Clarence 29.30.778, 153.24.434
south of Clarence 29.34.037, 153.23.328
North of Clarence 29.18.041, 153.27.048
North of Clarence 29.19.040, 153.28.020
Black Head 28 51 670 153 36 570
32 fathoms 28 54 965 153 40 825
Ballina 42 fathoms South 28 55 327 153 46 283
Mckerel grounds, 20 m 28 56 700 153 32 820
Ballina 42 fathoms South 28 56 945 153 46 345
North Riordans 10 m 28 58 260 153 31 487
Ballina 42 fathoms South 28 59 613 153 39 825
South Riordans 29 00 400 153 30 152
Yamba canyon Far north coast 29 29 100 153 47 600
Yamba canyon Far north coast 29 29 425 153 49 025

That should get you going mate.
Brad

At easter im headed to yamba for 9 days, so if you have any gps marks or locations that might help me offshore or in the river as i will be fishing both weather dependant.

Mostly chasing crabs, flathead and jew in the river and then whatever is around in april that i can have some fun with offshore.

Welcome to the forum Bood. Your rig looks great.
I am quite keen on catching bull sharks and threadies too. Never really caught Mangrove Jacks, but never really fished for them! There is a Shark Comp going at the moment which runs until the 15th February so feel free to join up to that 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

Hey All, only recently joined this community and love what i have read and seen so far. I have a 4.1m allycraft rhino. Cast deck and false floor... this was in the boat when purchased and iM in process of building a esky and live well in front under cast deck and re doing the floor in midship..
anyway im pretty new to fishing so sorry in advance if i ask u guys some odd questions 

Jeez it sure is real nice to come home with a full esky😜🤣

Flathead jewfish jacks Barra Trevally freshwater or saltwater cod would be my main target speices with those lures. 

No worries. I’m getting used to the ribbing. I have a plan though and intend to silence the critics in the near future. Although, thinking about it, apart from a few regulars, I don’t see a heck of a lot of reports of the critics catching anything either. 🐟🎣🤪

Hey Bood, You're not related to Greg are you.
Sorry Greg.

Hello 
I just would like to share this app from the Fisheries of Queensland .
In this app you can find your location and autorisations.  
Can I fish there?
Identify your fish from your photo (not sure if it works)
Witch fish is it ?
Fish stats
A link to Bom
Plenty of good informations 👍🙂
➡️ Check out "QLD Fishing 2.0" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.qld.daff.qldfisheries