Fishaman

Yeah Hamish. Up near Caloundra mate 

Got lucky today with a few nice ones on plastics in the shallows. 6lb braid, 8lb leader.
 
 
 



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Hahahhahaaa yep, close to my PB. When I had it close to the boat I thought for sure I had a new pb … alas it was not to be 🤣🤪

Yeah Hamish. Up near Caloundra mate 

Got lucky today with a few nice ones on plastics in the shallows. 6lb braid, 8lb leader.
 
 
 



IMG_0510.MOV

Got lucky today with a few nice ones on plastics in the shallows. 6lb braid, 8lb leader.
 
 
 



IMG_0510.MOV

Got lucky today with a few nice ones on plastics in the shallows. 6lb braid, 8lb leader.
 
 
 



IMG_0510.MOV

I’ve made bream Sashimi and to be honest it was pretty meh. Tough as well. Haven’t tried flatty
 
 

I have had some great success with these soft plastics, rigged weightless for bream they are absolutely dynamite mate. 

I have a sleeper rig out the back of the kayak with a weedless hook and a curl tail grub. If you use a Z mand streakz curl tail in 4 or 5 inch they sit well on the hook and you can add some S factor or similar to the belly of the placcy. Caught plenty like this 😉

I have a sleeper rig out the back of the kayak with a weedless hook and a curl tail grub. If you use a Z mand streakz curl tail in 4 or 5 inch they sit well on the hook and you can add some S factor or similar to the belly of the placcy. Caught plenty like this 😉

I have a sleeper rig out the back of the kayak with a weedless hook and a curl tail grub. If you use a Z mand streakz curl tail in 4 or 5 inch they sit well on the hook and you can add some S factor or similar to the belly of the placcy. Caught plenty like this 😉

Hey John, 
Weedless is good. You can purchase the hooks with or without added weights. The idea is you thread the plastic on then push it back up the hook so the sharp point and barb push on the side of the plastic... I am finding it hard to explain in words soz. 

another way is buy jig heads with guards already on them. 
a third way and my fave is to fish top water... Not much good if the weed is on the surface but there are some plastics that you can rig weedless if this is what you need to do. 

Hey team!
I went shark fishing last night in the passage (caught nothing), but there was a group of lads 200m down the beach from me who hooked into this monster while targeting sharks too. It took half a freshwater eel bait. I’ve only ever seen a few caught in SEQ land based. I’ve also heard rumours of giant cod and grouper living under the bridge, so there must be some truth to it! She was released and swam away strong. Catch of a lifetime for that Bloke!

Hit up the Rous channel this morning with @Old Scaley to see if the mackerel were on. A bit of a choppy ride over from Manly with the wind against tide. The forecast was pretty good with sub 10 knots for much of the day. Plan was to get there earlyish and be back before lunch so we had time for a nap before the State of Origin game tonight.
We deployed our pillies on gangs under a float in the strong current and waited while we had some croissants for breakfast. Steve landed one of those little tailor that you know would make a great bait but you have to let them go. I was berleying hard, but nothing much was doing so Steve had a play with some metal on his other rod. Next thing you know he is on to something from down low and this 40cm cod came onboard -

Then Steve decides to put a dodgy looking pillie, meant for berley, on some gangs and fish the bottom with his new rod. Not expecting much I was surprised when his new rod buckled over. Early call of snapper, then maybe a ray, then it surfaced after a good fight. A 59cm Slatey
 -

I managed to get off the donut with an unders squire so put that rod away so as not to waist bait.
Things were once again slow and we said we'd get moving soon and have a fish at Harry's or Green on the way back. A few minutes later I got a hit on the mack rod which I didn't think was going to be much, but soon realised it was just swimming towards me. I tightened up the line and then it was on for all money. As it got close to the boat it went berserk and I lost it to a snipped leader. Bugger.
So now we knew they were about Steve got his new setup deployed and soon enough he got a hookup. A few run ins with the other rods in the holders and a brief tangle with first the slug hanging off his other rod and then my squid jig rod caused some anxious moments. Finally alongside I christened my new gaff and sank it into the quivering flesh of a tasty school mackerel. -

The tide had now turned and so had the boat, so a few extra shakes of the berley pot were made. Not long after, while Steve was measuring his mackerel, my float went down and again the fish swam towards me. As I got it close to the boat my line picked up Steve's line and a God Almighty mess of braid and leader ensued. At one stage Steve's knotted mess of braid was two runners down onto my rod. What a debacle ! As I couldn't wind my line in far enough, gaffing was proving difficult, so in the end Steve grabbed the leader and swung a nice 69cm schoolie into the boat. Finally I had a fish to take home.

The bay had glassed out a bit earlier but was now getting a few waves. We cleaned up the boat and headed for home, satisfied with a top morning's work and play.
Great conditions, great company and a great day to be out there.
 

Don't pay anyone to spool your reel. 
Just wind it on yourself. It ain't rocket science. 
If you got a spare spool with the reel then simply wind the braid onto it, tie on the backing and fill. 
Remove that spool and fit new empty spool. Tie the line on and wind it off the old spool onto a new spool. Backing is at the bottom, braid is at the top and it is nice and full. No guessing required.  
Pinching between your fingers is enough pressure to have on the line as it lays on the spool. 
You don't have to use every guide on the rod either. Just run the line through the closest guide to the reel. Keeps it easy to manage. 
 
Take note of how the line lays down too. 
As the bail arm spins around the spool the oscillation of the spool is what lays the line down evenly. 
Sometimes the reels are not tested properly and the adjustment can be out. I've paid a fair whack for some spin reels and they are not tunned properly. 
The line bunches at one end of the spool causing the line to underwrap, also giving a tapered look to the way it is laying on the spool. 
The line must reach the front lip and the rear collar as it lays through the entire oscillation of the spool. If it doesn't then the spool needs to be removed and either add a washer, or remove one from the shaft. 
Add a washer if the line is bunching towards the front of the spool, or drag knob end of the spool.  
Remove a washer if the line is bunching towards the rear of the spool.
 
This is also why the machine spooling tools are a bad idea. You don't notice uneven lay untill you're out fishing. Better to rectify this before you head out. What better time to do it then spooling up. 
 
Attach line to spool.
2 wraps of spool and a uni knot. 
 
To attach braid to backing. 
FG knot. 
 
Attach braid to braid.
Cats paw.
 
I'm one of those wankers with colored jigging line. 
I use gosen 42lb. Just over $100 at Tackle warehouse for 300m. 
It helps offshore with plastics. Its very thin and is equivalent to most 30lb diameters. You can really add the pressure on those fish that turn and head for the reef. It doesn't catch the current like cheaper braids do. It doesn't hold water as much as others do. It lasts more than 1 season before random breakages. It doesn't get hairy when aged. 
I think I've got a 5yr old spool still going strong and looking neat. 
 
I also use power pro braid. 
300m of 20lb for about $55 at T.W.
It's strong and lasts. It is noisey through the guides but sounds cool when big fish take big runs. Not bad on abrasion either. Doesn't seem to go hairy. Life span holds up. 
 
 
I hope this is easy to understand even though I made spooling sound like rocket science.  😜

Hmmm... update. Seems park is closed for feral animal control until end of November then it’s shut for wet season.

Recently returned from an epic trip to Cape Melville 
 
here’s a quick summary for anyone interested 😉
 
 

Hey Hamish, thats another great little write up mate. Keep at it and you will be writing for the fishing mags before you know it.
 
Plenty of good tips here about that knob that hassled you. Next time when someone asks where are your parents just say. Dad's just gone to the dunny and should be back in a minute. That will buy you some time to suss the situation and get an escape plan ready.
 
Keep up the reports mate.

Hey Hamish, thats another great little write up mate. Keep at it and you will be writing for the fishing mags before you know it.
 
Plenty of good tips here about that knob that hassled you. Next time when someone asks where are your parents just say. Dad's just gone to the dunny and should be back in a minute. That will buy you some time to suss the situation and get an escape plan ready.
 
Keep up the reports mate.

4.2 Renegade with a two banger 50 and a 4.29 Stacer with a 50 four stroke 
 

Great video mate, some great scenery there and looks like a great spot to camp. What were the two boats out of interest?

Hey Fishaman
Looks like an epic trip was had. I bet you'll be longing to get back up there 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

Recently returned from an epic trip to Cape Melville 
 
here’s a quick summary for anyone interested 😉
 
 

4.2 Renegade with a two banger 50 and a 4.29 Stacer with a 50 four stroke