Neil Stratford

Nice going Ray. Did many trees come down in all that wind? Neil

goggle Wardy’s beach worm video . This is technique I use .

Hi Kat , my father thought me to catch them when I was about 5 years old . It’s a skill that all fisher people should learn. Very Good to see that your willing to give it a crack. Here’s a tip for you ~ they don’t like the wind. They’ll only pop their heads up for a second or two before retreating in this kind of wind, pretty sure it’s not going to be a very productive worming mission for you today.. . I’ve taught a few people over the years. I’ll try and find a link to decent online video for you . Give it a crack for a while and if you don’t have any success I’ll find some time to show you. regards neil

The current ANSA length record listed on their web site for Grass Sweetlip is 670mm . It was Caught off Bundaberg .This fish would have been measured correctly and a witnessed photo submitted as verification . Yes I do record a photo of a good one that The Bakers sent me about a year ago, caught off Double Island Point that Lachlan tagged , I think it was bigger, but I didn’t save the photo.He must not have submitted it to ANSA. Next time I speak with Suntag or the Baker’s I’ll ask how big it was. Just as a note , If a fish has a concave tail official measurements are also taken to the fork , with the tail laying flat and naturally spread on the measuring device allowing for the total length to be taken accurately. This is how fisheries will measure your fish . Sometimes A few cm’s is gained by squeezing or contorting the tail.Fish such as Flathead and various Cod species with convex tails , total length is the only way and these can’t be made to appear bigger. There’s always bigger fish out there , they just take time to find.

Bring on the Grassy’s . I’d like to try my luck on those

Watch out Bass , two trips in as many weeks . Captain Kennedy is only just getting to known you! Thanks for taking me today Ray. Great company and some very tidy fishing had by all. Regards Neil

Thanks for organising Christophagus. RIP Team Northside!

I set the boat speed going forward at about 3 knots , drop the baits in one at a time and count back about 40 sec in free spool gently thumbing the spool to keep the line tight , once lines are set , I then slow down as slow as the boat goes.

Greg , if you want to catch a Spanish Mackerel , this IMO is what you need to use.(see photo below.) They just can’t resist these baits and the bigger the Bonito the faster they absolutely will go off. There’s no luck involved , the skill is in catching the bait , the bait rigging ,how the boat is driven and then bullying the fish ito the boat before it becomes the prey. As mentioned in this spiel , Yes I’ve fished out from Seaforth - specifically in the Smith Group , this area goes off for Spanish and is a place that every mackerel fisherman should visit . You live approximately half way between Brisbane and Mackay . I know where I’d be looking and it isn’t Mooloolaba. Yes bummer for you , The mackerel on the mat were caught off Mooloolaba two days before Xmas 2021 - all on Bonito , pity you got crappy weather, good chance you would have got one as they were there in pretty good numbers . Good luck getting your first Spanish. Neil

Left home at 2 pm today , 3 throws of the cast net got me 30odd mullet and a fair few prawns by 3pm . Spent less than 30 seconds sounding for threadies , found them schooled up exactly where I left them last time. 1st drop missed a fish probably a small Jew. 2nd drop pulled a small bull shark and cut him off next to the boat. 3rd drop small Mulloway right on 800mm 4th drop 1120mm Thready Pulled up stumps and went home and washed the boat in time for the start of the 6pm News and Ash Barty Finish her match. Got to love it when the plan comes together , wish all trips were that easy. team South Regards Neil

Beautiful little Thready Hamish , I presume you caught it in a cast net? Even at that size they have big powerful tails don’t they. It’s nearly as big as Beno’s Mauri Cod mate . You have a week to go , go and catch a real one and put them in their place! Regards Neil

Some nice bass there Ray well done regards Neil

Put the boat in at dawn this morning , and headed out to find a few big squals still passing through to the East. The big black clouds kicked the sea and wind up as they passed by and made the conditions a little worse than the forecast at times . At least I didn’t get rained on . No birds working bait made it a little hard to find the fish and when the rods did go off , sharks jumped on the fish pretty quickly.Put 2 ok fish in the box by wrestling them in on 50 lb line but lost 4 to sharks, at least I got a feed. I hooked a real big Spanish -definitely well over 20kg on my last bait at lunch time only to see it taken mid air and swollen whole by a very big shark. It looked like a small Plane had crashed behind the boat , pity I didn’t have time to turn the video on. Would have been very spectacular! I couldn’t believe that 3 young fellows were having a swim off the back of their boat only 50 m away . Some 5 km offshore - they are on the short list if they continue doing that I recon. Regards Neil

It’s not over yet ! couple of mackerel upgrades from this morning for the southside a. 830mm b . 1350mm regards neil

I’m partial to the old 4inch Zerek Hot Legs , any colour. I replace their std weedless jig head with a std jig head. In saying that ,I recon Flathead will eat most lures dragged past there noses. I don’t think it matters too much which lure you use , just use something your confident with . I usually drift along likely looking ledges slow skipping the lure along with the current. Flathead lay heads facing into the current waiting for a feed. I stop and spot lock at drains ,snags, points , run throughs,visible bait etc.anywhere there’s a potential feed for a flathead your likely to find one , if you put a few casts in . I catch most in about 1 m of water or less. Neil Stratford

Hi DropBear I dig Rock Wriggler worms for my whiting trips. They are a thinner \ softer worm than the Cribb Island worms sold in bait shops. They are found in Rocky Clay type areas. Your likely to find the Cribb Island worms in more sandy muddy areas under live sea grass beds. There is also a Sand wriggler , they are often found in the higher sand areas beneath washed up dead sea weed .These are very similar to the rock wrigglers.They are basically sieved out the sand with special wide fine multi pronged forks . I used to use these, but I find the Rockies easier to dig. Regards Neil

Nice snapper Wazza, Southside needs two more similar to that one. regards Neil

Yes , 35 minutes to dig my worms , turned out I dug twice as many as I actually needed. Mind you I usually catch a few more whiting and the small bream usually take their cut. I gave away a heap to a couple at the ramp as I came in so they weren’t wasted. They thought it was Christmas. Neil

Hinze dam has been spilling water for a while now , Id be game to bet the Nerang will be brownish especially on a run out tide.

I dug some worms yesterday at lunch time for a solo whiting trip last night - boy was it hot and humid , luckily it only took 35 minutes to get more than enough. The water is still a rich chocolate brown colour , but surprisingly I only caught two tarwhine ,a catfish eel and a stingray as by catch - no undersized bream ! The whiting were patchy and very timid but luckily I managed to put a feed together with a few decent fish amongst them. Regards Neil

Three whiting upgrades for team south 1.420mm 2.400mm 3.400mm

Nice little session ! They’re always good fun on light gear. regards Neil

With all the rainy windy weather on at the moment , thought some of you sitting at home may like to view a couple of videos of my nephew and his mates getting into a few fish on stick baits . I told him to get a hair cut ! hope the video’s down load ok for u Regards Neil FullSizeRender.mov IMG_2431.MP4

This is too big to measure lol

Team South School Mackerel 620mm School Mackerel 740mm regards Neil