Andrew_P

Great Hamish we ate pieces of the snapper and drummer and I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. White, flakey, sweet flesh with a mild flavour

Over the long weekend i shot down south to the Central Coast NSW to see my mate i havent seen in a few years. I was delivering a couple of beach rods i'd built for his kids who are mad keen fishos and he promised to "fish my brains out". Well that was the case as we fished off the rocks, a couple of sessions in his tinny and an arvo at the beach sandwiched between 2 days of driving! Off the rocks we were targeting black drummer. I havent fished for them before and he warned me to hang on tight and dont give them an inch. When he was showing me where to cast and how to fish this spot he hooked a great fish and was well and truly smoked under a ledge. Fearing for the life of my hook and 4 ft leader i dropped the bait and prepared to be smoked. Nothing happened for a few casts until my rod started bouncing around like Dolly Parton's ample bosom - i was on! This was true hand to hand combat with the light mono at risk of busting at any moment, i managed to get the drummer (pigs they also call them) to the surface and looked for a place to bring him up with the wash. After a few tense moments i found a wave that cooperated and i had my first pig off the rocks - a respectable 40cm model at that! Stoked with that effort i worked through the old boots, kelpies and a cute little wrasse for my second legal drummer at 43cm. This was heart in mouth moment and i had to rely on my experience from 15 mins before to dampen the head nods and coax him up the rocks to see his friend. Shortly after i hooked another possibly bigger model whose head down power would rival that of Shane Webcke in his prime. Like Webcke he burst through my line just as i thought i had him under control and was looking for a spot to land him. The fight is never over with these things! The next morning we waited for a change in weather before heading offshore with a westerly behind us. We filled the live well with bait - big yakkas and a single slimy mackerel which were deployed around some gnarly ground where we jigged the bait. Everything looked good with some big arches on the sounder but all we could manage was getting the head of the slimy crushed in front of the hook. As the weather worsened we decided to go a bit deeper and try for a snapper. Back in my comfort zone it wasnt long before we had a couple of legal target species (30cm in NSW) in the boat and off to swim another day. Finally i hooked a fish that took line and landed a nice 47cm model then a 40cm in quick succession. After the red rock cod and gurnards moved in we headed for home in the rain, swell and wind. It was bloody cold! My boardies and Qld spray jacket didnt cut it down there thats for sure! The following morning the weather was supposed to improve so we headed out before dawn for another session on the snapper. Well the wind had dropped but the swell had turned 90 degrees and increased making it very joggly out on the reef. The good news was that the bait and shows were much better than the previous evening and we watched tuna harrassing bait up into the safety of the boat. We caught a couple of small snapper and silver trevally which were returned as well as some tuna and bonito for bait but hadnt got a keeper snapper yet. Well my mate soon changed that as the sun got higher we actually went shallower and found a fish willing to eat. The screaming runs of this fish made us think it was a bigger tuna which we had seen jumping towards us but the runs didnt continue then the head nods started. The fish continued with short runs as it approached the boat and when we saw the first signs of colour it made 2 more powerful runs to try to escape capture. Well luckily the hooks stayed in long enough for it to meet the net then the esky. At 75cm and a solid 5kg+ it was my mates best local snapper, and he was stoked. Not as stoked as me cos the fight was incredible to witness and i was glad to net the fish first go as the hook came out. With a nice feed sorted we took the boys for a beach fish with some king beach worms and only managed 1 small dart before packing up as the sun went down. We had a great dinner of fresh fish and homecut chips that topped off a great weekend of fishing and fun with my mate and his family. I slept well that night and prepared for my drive home the next day. Stopping at Coffs Harbour i couldnt avoid making the pilgrimage to Fishing Mecca - MoTackle - a must as you drive straight past it on the highway. A couple of pics attached.

G’day jimmyjack I’ve tried that and have the drag pawl installed as per the diagram but still no luck hence the request

G'day AFO, I've inherited an old Alvey 500c1 with a bakelite spool. I've pulled it apart and given it a good clean but cant seem to get the drag pawl to re-engage. Does anyone have one i could borrow to pull apart and see how it works/see if i am missing anything? or have the experience to look at mine and tell me whats wrong? Needs to have the drag clicker and the ratchet (see back plate in image). Cheers Andrew

@Neil Stratford can you look up the sun tag records? K. WENDT held it for many years and only recently was knocked off by L. BAKER

Sunny coast before they got flogged

This was 68cm pig. I know of a 72cm caught back around 2008/09. Mate put a tag in it and released it

That’s probably quoted from the literature, Grant’s Guide most likely. I know of bigger, high 60s even 70+ see if I can drag out a photo or two

Great vids Neil. I built a rod for your mulleted nephew for that trip, although it doesnt look like the one he knocked over that fish in in 4 secs flat. one of the drone vids i have seen is incredible, fishing and conditions. trip of a lifetime!

Can’t control fish around the boat. Hard to keep lures/sinkers away from the boat when you are dropping. To each their own but short rods are better left for the tenders

https://easternvoyager.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Eastern-Voyager-Suggested-Fishing-Tackle.pdf I wouldn’t use a rod under 6ft from the mothership. That’s asking for trouble. plenty of time to do your research. Plenty of threads on this topic in AFO

A legal red emperor from Sunshine Reef is a bloody great effort! The charter boats fish there and only manage 1 or 2 a year between them

Finny scad https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4275

To be honest I haven’t even looked at the car it makes me too angry. The good news is the car still runs and the tow ball wasn’t damaged so a few speed dents ain’t gunna stop me from getting to the boat ramp

Yeah mate but I’ve run out of money

Bloody great effort Robbie! We are lucky to have people like you and Steve working to rehabilitate our marine environment. Ben Gilby is an accomplished scientist it is great to have him involved too. I recommend watching the segment as well as the other videos on this thread

Sure is. 1997 model 2 banger. Had it since I was a kid

Pete at SPEC customs SPEC

Part 2. well Pete the legend had also installed the quick release plate for me, saving the MK from the hailstorm maelstrom cos it was safely in the back of my car. So when I got home all I had to do was wire it up. purchased a 135ah deep cycle gel battery to power the mk as well as the recommended 60amp circuit breaker. Wired in an Anderson plug, plugged it in and it worked! This model came with a heading sensor/compass (not gps) to allow minor adjustments when using spot lock. I installed that on a flat surface of the casting deck as out of the way as I could. Managed to fit my safety gear in the hatch next to the battery and wiring, and have now cable tied the wires so the Anderson plug and circuit breaker are off the floor and out of any water. Pretty happy with the result and the cold call success I must say! Thanks to Steve @Old Scaley for helping with technical advice Look out fish!

Been out of action for a bit getting some work done to my boat. I bought a minn Kota electric and needed a mount for the bow and place to store the battery out of the elements. Cold called Pete from SPEC Customs on the goldy cos pics on his website looked like he’d done a few thousand and when I rang him he said he had. Pete asked for some before shots: Then gave a very reasonable quote for the work. As a bonus he fit me in to do the work around his (and my) busy schedule. So down the coast I went! pete got the bow mount welded on and framing work for the casting deck/subfloor done on the first morning and sent me pics of the progress Next was the casting deck/ subfloor made from 12mm marine ply and carpet. The idea was I could put the battery there but also have room to store safety gear. More pics and it was time to pick it up! Flew down and picked it up with storms brewing. Well turns out Pete isn’t just a good fabricator he’s a legend of a bloke too got caught chatting to him for an hour and left as the clouds got blacker. Around Nerang the first of the pebble sized hail hit but the Corolla was eating it up! Got within 20m of the smith st overpass only to find it blocked off by cars 6 wide who had stopped under it for protection. Wtf. So now me and the rest of the goldy was stopped, stuck in the elements and unable to move to escape the maelstrom as the pebbles turned into marbles and into golf balls! Took a screen shot of the radar which showed I was right under the black dot! after a long 10mins one brave person escaped onto the shoulder and opened one lane of the highway. It was still hailing all the way to Ormeau! I got home safely with only 4000 big dings in the Corolla but luckily none to my precious Yewgary part 2 to come

Nice work Neil, a bit of a change from mastering mackerel beasts but just as welcome in the esky. Unfortunately i can't make it this week, Yewgary is out of action at the moment (needs some work) and home life is dominating my time. I'm sure @Kat will be a great sub to keep youngens Brian and Steve company! Re: whiting rods - i use everything including a 10ft slow noodle fibreglass luderick rod with an alvey 55GC and 8lb mono, a 9ft fibreglass 2 piece silstar powerstick 2-5kg with a cheap shimano 2500 spooled with 6lb mono to a 7ft 2-5kg graphite starlo stick with 4lb fluro. i tend to run 3 rods at a time - the 10ft straight out the back and the two smaller rods out the side, 1 in a rod holder and 1 in my hands. The most important thing is being confident in your equipment so if you struggle with Alveys and mono have a think about a longish rod with a soft tip matched to a small spinning reel spooled with light braid and maybe run a rod length of leader before your sinker/swivel/trace/hook.

Hamish @AUS-BNE-FISHOthis one is for you!

Hamish it doesn’t matter if you leave some flesh behind when filleting. Use a teaspoon to scoop up the remaining flesh from the frame and put it into a clip lock bag (free of blood and scales if possible). By the time you’ve finished a few fish there should be enough fish mince for some fish cakes or sang choy bow (Thai mince dish). It works better with larger fish but the best thing is the poorer you are at filleting the richer your fish mince bag will be!

couple of nice reds there Brian! didnt think they came that far south

Decky has got breakfast, lunch and dinner covered! Just need a 6 pack to wash it down Hope you find some fish Brian