I thought it was going to be a fine day for fishing. Weather report predicted that particular Sunday to be Sunny and warm, light wind and not much swell. Sounds perfect isn't it after 11days straight of rain? How wrong can the weather report get and how naive I was to believe in weather reports.The swell and wind was so bad that many of us were already sick by the time we left the bay.
It has been a long time since I last saw Chika, had a good chat with him and once again it was like taking lessons from a master. He was telling me about his trip to Fraser Island for Long-tail tuna using light tackle. Hopefully I'll make a trip there myself someday. Another angler Tak, knows a lot about jigging and stuff, sadly I didn't have a chance to take a pic with him. Next trip......
Had a feeling it would be a good day for fishing, when on the way to the first patch of reef one of the angler caught a 4.5kg stripy/striped tuna while trolling. I should bring my gear for trolling, it seems like I'm missing out heaps.
Jigging was good today, tons of fish from illegal sized rats to legal size keepers. But jackets were everywhere and I lost a total of 6 jigs. Damn jackets, wonder if tackle shops in NSW are breeding them.
At the end of the day I only manage 1 keeper weighing in at 5.5kg out of 4 hookups.
I was using a Saltiga Z4500 with Catalina 6/7 rod until I got reefed. So I switched to my Biomaster and Jigwrex setup since its already rigged up. Caught the keeper on the Jigwrex setup and since I seldom use the jigwrex, I decided to push it to the max. Turned out the PE4 Jigwrex handled the Kingie real well, only complain is it lacks the butt power to turn the fish's head. But, considering the price, Jigwrex really felt quite good to use, soft and parabolic.
The guys recently bought me an electronic fish scale for my birthday gift. Smart eh, buy something that you need for someone else's birthday, isn't that equivalent to buying a gift for yourself?
Anyway, the truth is it really is a great gift.
The electronic scale is around palm size and it weighs up to 22kg/50lbs in increments of 0.01 kg which is 10 grams. This should cover most bases for everyday fishing such as harbour, estuary, in -shore and etc.
With this scale, you could weigh the fish the normal way by attaching the fish to the scale's hook or you could attach a bag or container and zero the scale, allowing for multiple weighing (or when fish friendly containers are used when practising catch and release).
Besides weighing fishes, this scale could be used for setting drags.
Fisherman's Shock leader is the best shock leader I've tried so far. I used to believe in using only Fluorocarbon (FC) material leader but I found that heavier poundage FC leaders are too stiff for my liking. Fisherman's Shock leader is made from nylon which makes it easier to tie knots. It is very soft and supple and it also allows for some stretch so it helps to absorb the shock considering jigging mainlines have zero stretch. Lastly, it is surprisingly abrasion resistant considering it is so soft.
Jigging for Kingies in Sydney is very hard work but at the same time very satisfying when you manage to land a keeper. The latest size limit for Yellowtail Kingfish is 65cm and that means we often have to release some fishes. That is very frustrating when the fish you release is the only fish of the day or when fishes are 1/2cm short.
Willy's first jigging trip and he managed to land 1 kingie, measuring 65cm. He was very surprised when that "little" fish managed to pull his 4kg drag.
Anyone can crank a reel and yank a rod with a jig on the other end, however there is so much more to jigging than just that. When I first started out I'm always searching on-line for jigging techniques. People are always talking about a "JERK" here and a "PITCH" there, but what is a jerk ( it ain't what you are thinking of right now) or a pitch?
In the simplest way possible,
JERK = lifting the rod
PITCH = 1 round on the reel's handle
Thus, 1 pitch 1 jerk = lifting the rod while turning the handle simultaneously.
Sounds easy but it isn't and it is hard to explain jigging actions in words. Luckily there are a couple of very good jigging DVDs that cover the basics of jigging techniques
The first DVD features Mr Kubo and light jigging setups.
The second DVD features Mr Kitamura , owner of the very popular jigging tackle company, CB One.
Here is a link to a website that gives instructions on how other assists hooks could be tied. This website is maintained by a very experience jigger, Tak.
I reckon this is the easiest way to tie your own assist hook. I found this to be the simplest way and has yet to fail me so far.
First, estimate the length of assist cord needed and cut of slightly more than the estimated needed length.
Next, tie an overhead knot but do not over tighten.
Slip the hook into the overhand loop.
Tighten the knot and pull the assist cord through the eye of the hook.
Pull the knot tight against the hook eye and its done!
Some anglers add a drop or 2 of super glue to the knot for added security.
The JDM Shimano Stella 20000PG has always been my dream reel. Check out the latest Stella promotion video here. But at a price tag of around $1100 USD, seems like I'll have to buy mine second hand. That means waiting for people to sell the previous model Stellas when they change to the 08' model.
The Stella 8000PG would be a good reel for lighter applications. It holds 300m of PE4 line, max drag of 25 kg and a low cranking ratio of 1: 4.9 makes it a very good light/mid jigging reel. Although I still thinking why the max drag is so high for such a reel. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
The first jigging trip for 2008 went ok. Caught 1 Kingfish weighing in at approx 9kg. According to Jim the captain our trip was the first trip that managed to land keeper size fish. All of the 7 anglers (except 1 managed) to land a decent Kingie and some even manageg to bring up Flutemouths ( AKA trumpet Fish). The only angler that scored zero must have angered Poseidon or something. During one particular drift when 4 angler managed to get a hook up, he got no hits and instead got bitten off by Leather Jackets. The following drift 3 anglers managed to get hook ups while he could only watch. When we chanced upon a school of Dolphin Fish AKA MAHI-MAHI, he caught nothing too! I don't believe in Fishing Luck but.... What can I say.
Anyway, the Mahis were caught on jigging rigs without jigs. We simply attached bait to them and cast it out. What a sight when all jigging rods were used as casting rods.
My kingie!
Kelvin with his first Kingie.
Kelvin with his Flutemouth. 
Kelvin with both his and my fish.
Tackles used:
Daiwa Catalina Stick 6/7s
Daiwa Saltiga Z4500
50 lbs Tuff line
80 lbs Fisherman Leader
Place: Wollongong
Time: 1615 hr
Rod: Daiwa Procaster 6"6 4-6lbs
Reel: Daiwa Luvius 1500
Something must be very wrong or very right that day. Caught a Blackfish on prawns and a paternoster rig at the bottom. Biggest blackfish caught so far. Approx 1kg.
A nice looking fish that taste just as nice. Problem with this fish this fish is the amount of spines on its body. Also, its about time we bring the camera when we go fishing and not just show the fish about to be gutted and cooked.
Place: Bellambi
Time: 2245
Rod: Fenwick Boat rod
Reel: Charter Special 1000 size
Rig: Running sinker
Bait: Pilchard
Finally after 6 trips and losing tons of rays (2 kg and above) we finally managed to land a 12 kilo eagle ray. A small one but still a major achievement for the team.
All the previous big rays we caught were lost due to lines rubbing against rocks, breakwalls, and us using tackles that were too light. By light I mean 30 lbs boat rods with 50lbs braided lines. Rays there range from babies to monster sandrays weighing up to approx 150 ++++ kgs. We really can't tell. They are around 1.6-1.7 meters across..JPG)
Not very wide but it's very thick. The initial burst was scary, pulling about 60-70 meters of line in a few seconds under 4 kilo drag..JPG)
The team with the catch. Can't u see the super satisfied smile that we can't seem to wipe off for days. Can't blame us after we've endured nights after nights in the howling winds and freezing temp (winter/spring here)..JPG)
Another night at the harbour..JPG)
Place: Wollongong
Time: 2145 hr
Bait: Prawn
Rig: Running Sinker
Rod: Falcon 4- 6lb Rod
Reel: Luvius 2000
People say whitings bite only in the day so this might have be a lost whiting or just another greedy fish that was out for supper when it met its doom.
These pic don't do the whiting any justice but it's one big fat whiting. Didn't put up a good fight though.
Willy with his prize catch. Not too bad.........
Here's Yullie's Snapper from the boat trip fight lasted 5 min and almost pulled her overboard. Weigh around 2kg. Not bad for her first boat trip and second fish from a boat.
Another pic showing Willy and Yullie with the champion catch.
Not the biggest fish but definitely a hard fighter and a delicious fish. Maybe Yullie's a natural talent when it comes to fishing?
Date: 11th OCT 2007
Time: 0530-1330
Boat /Captain: Hapuku / Captain Greg
Anglers: Willy
Kelvin
Yullie
Kat
Yours Truly
The day before the captain mentioned that a storm might be moving into our region the morning we were supposed to go offshore. Kinda turned off cos its the last time we would be fishing until we finish our exams. Luckily, the morning's weather was fine, light wind and a clear blue sky.
Leaving the harbour.
Moving towards the first reef.
Willy looking tired. We went fishing for rays the night before and we only had 2 hrs to sleep. Sleep deprivation certainly does affect the speed Willy ties his rigs.
Me in the background looking dazed too. Rigging up for Kat and Yullie, in retrospect why isn't Kelvin rigging up for his girlfriend? Huh?
I can't see what Kelvin is doing but he seems to be busy. With what? hehe, I dunno. Yullie enjoying the sunrise, little does she know she's the champion angler today. The biggest fish and a Snapper to boot. Well Done.....
Everyone busy fishing, Greg the captain surveying us , wondering why we are working so hard. People in Oz treat it as a relaxing day out. We view it as the only chance to get fresh fish. Of course we need to work hard to earn our feed.
Willy with his puny snapper. Not his biggest fish ever but this is one of his dream fish on a boat trip. Hopefully we'll get bigger ones next time.
Cleaning the fish on the way back to the harbour. 48 fish to clean and it takes a long time. We didn't even finish when we return to the harbour. In the mean time, while the guys were busy cleaning and gutting the fish, the girls are taking photos and video.
48 fishes and roughly 25 kilos. Our catch consists of a 4 smaller snapper and a bigger one, plenty of Morwong (13) and lots of leather jacket, 3 sweep,5 wrasse and 3 pig fish and 2 nannygai.
The half the team in the picture, minus the girls, forgot what they were doing.
Anyway, the designated photographers are responsible for the photo taking and there are more photos with Kelvin. I'll be getting it from them and posting the other pictures soon.
