Plectropomus

Well I would have to rate my DIY Jig a "FAIL". It does tie a very nice FG Knot...but the braid slips under the increasing pressure between my rubber washer "bobbins" and buries in the screw threads. I then have to dismantle them to get my knot out!!! I tied 3 knots on various outfits with leader from 40-80 pound, and was absolutely delighted the way they slip unimpeded through the micro-guides on modern rods. Now I can use wind-on leaders. Caught a barra on one, too, and did not slip.......but ordered an FG Wizz online when I got home ($44). I see now he is using adjustable bobbins that are NOT rubber washers from laserlite fasteners (if they infact ever were)! https://www.fgwizz.com.au/

There were'nt no "hop hop" about it with an Alvey 650C5 and 13 foot Butterworth blank!!! Hop hop" was not in our rule books. It was flat out for as long as you could stand it for me!!. I remember retrieving flat out off the cliffs at Troubridge Point for salmon and seeing them idle up and then casually peel off...despite me busting a boiler and going as fast I could to overcome the marvellous 1:1 gear ratio!! I spun up a few salmon on the Alvey but never even looked like getting a mulloway, and firmly believed they only took Baltic bobber "gardies"!! Mind you, if someone said bream (or even snapper) could be caught on lures back then, they'd be accused of lunacy and utter fishing inexperience. Some of us even believed that aniseed was an "illegal bait additive" under fisheries law because it was so deadly. It certainly made the dough better to eat when waiting for a goldfish carp to bite in the Torrens....... The only thing we had besides word of mouth was the eagerly-awaited David Capel fishing column in the Sunday Mail, and Cyril Seidel (in tie and coat) and his bait rigs on ABC TV Friday night {"first high tides for Saturday}. Anyway, better not go on and bore the younger folk on here....

"Bernie Shzot's Baltic series were, the Flash and Minnow which were the through line models, the Bobber which had the fixed double and the Gardie." See http://www.lurelovers.com/forum/paw-paw-and-more_topic1773.html Being of a certain age myself, I remember when lure choice was easy in SA. The lure rack ws dominated by heavy metals: there were only Halco slices (with a red tag if you were flash), "Wonder Wobblers", "Wonder Pilchards", "Stingsildas", "WK Arrows" and "Baltic Bobbers/Gardies". Occasionally stocked were "Rebel Killers" (entire Minnows department), and "Flopys" (sole occupant of luxury, high-end soft plastics row!). Then "silver fox" VibroTails came on the scene and away it all went.......I still catch fish on my Wonder Wobblers and metal slices. I remember a summer when the mullowasy were on in the surf that I could not buy a "Gardie" anywhere

"Baltic Bobbers" http://www.jmgillies.com.au/product/bobber/ Long versions, or long copies thereof, used to be THE gun mulloway lures in the surf at the Murray Mouth (Coorong) in the 1970's !!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!

Parasitologist Dr Kate Hutson replied to my email and sent some interesting papers and a photo. Here is her reply: ".... . About two years ago some fishers were seeing this quite a bit in SA on mulloway and some photos were sent to me (among others). It was confirmed as the skin fluke, Benedenia sciaenae by some folks based in SA who got to sample some fish. See attached paper by my PhD supervisor Ian Whittington (now deceased). This is a monogenean ectoparasite that feeds on skin cells and mucous. Fish tend to get irritated and (presumably in an attempt to dislodge them) will rub (‘flash’) against surfaces. This can lead to secondary infections – bacteria usually. I’ve found B. sciaenae in wild fish in SA and it is not uncommon. I have not seen the clinical signs of disease progression on wild fish in person, just photos. To diagnose, immerse the fish skin in fresh water and the parasites (transparent when alive) will die and turn opaque/white (see photo attached; the big sucker to the right is the posterior end). Of course, it could be something else entirely, but this is the most likely diagnosis. As to the reasons for not seeing it on fish from other states… well I’ve seen it in farmed A. japonicus (mulloway) in NSW, so it can occur there. It could be seasonal. It could be infection intensity. It is not unusual for capsalid monogeneans to be site specific. We found adults might congregate for mating and new recruits seem to bury under the scales in some species (see my student’s paper attached)........" So, the parasite is definitely in SA fish and the "rub it off" reaction would cause the rash/brusing and associated inflammation/secondary bacterial infection. It is interesting to see a related species lives under barramundi scales. So, I have scratched my itch on this one!!! Trujillo-Gonzalez et al. 2015_Tracking transparent monogenea.pdf

Yes, there is plenty on EUS {epizootic ulcerative syndrome - or "Red Spot"} but those ulcers are caused by a fungus (Aphanomyces) that is not a problem until the fish get stressed by sudden changes in temperature, salinity, or acidity (in the case of northern NSW flooding of acid sulphate soils}. Common on mullet and bream in NSW estuaries, and very nasty. The fish get stressed, the fungus blooms in minor abrasions, and bacteria move in too to form a horrible ulcer. These surf mulloway with rashes/bruises are coming from pristine, remote, surf beaches. Hard to imagine better water quality. Might be stress induced by spawning and some secondary infection, as you say.....

Beautiful photo, and another explanation.!!

wow....and they would not be the monster/adult sizes either, would they? Gulf systems or Glenelg River? I emailed a fish parasitologist and attached the pictures for a professional opinion.

have you seen the rash/bruising in Victoria???

Thanks Mr Fish. That report will make interesting reading! I have not done a proper survey of photos (presence/absence of bruising "rash" +location+ month) and it is sometimes hard to know if the picture in an internet post (say, "tackletactics.com") is a reliable indicator of location, but it certainly seems most common in SA West Coast Fish. Not just there, though, the ones below are Salt Creek, Murray Mouth and (allegedly) Victoria (the smaller one with white fishing rod). I have not seen any (yet) in pics from WA, NSW/SEQ, or South Africa (where they call them "kob"). I have located the contact of a parasitologist in New Zealand (ex-SA) who I will email pics too for an opinion, too.

Hi there brains trust. For years I have wondered why pictures of big mulloway often show a pink area of bruising on the flanks. In contrast, I have never seen this on underwater footage of NSW/Qld mulloway taken by divers and spearos. I am really curious to see if anyone knows more. I even began to collect images to see if the bruising was limited to one side, or the other, and if it occurred only on largest fish. Early indications are it is mainly surf-caught, bigger fish, and often down the side toward the vent. See examples below, and the one with a yellow circle. The only things I have shortlisted from a range of possibilities are (a) a parasitic infection of some sort on the skin under the scales, (b) sand rubbing the fish when it is being landed, (c) some sort of contact with the line during the typical way mulloway fight, and (c) "spawning behaviour" where males might nudge females. As a semi-retired fish biologist, this is one of those questions that buzzes around in my head begging for an answer!! I don't think it is anything sinister. Apologies if the photos below are yours! I just Googled them off various FaceBook forums and the net. Any ideas or observations?? Thanks

I use 80 pound leader to 30 or 50 pound braid, and have had a devil of a time with knots. Knots failing (even when glued) and knots catching in guides. With my terminal gear, the "Slim Beauty" turns out as a "Nylon Nightmare". Sure, it is easy to tie at sea, and holds well, but boy, oy boy does it ever jam up in the tip and other guides. There is no doubt of the multiple benefits of the FG knot for such heavy terminal tackle, but blowed if I could remember it, and I seemed to need another hand (at least). There must be jigs out there on Google? Sure is, and the easiest to use and cheapest to buy is actually an Aussie backyarder by the name of "FG Wizz". Watching his "how to use" pitch, I was struck that, hey!!, the bobbins he uses look like the washers on my "Laserlite" fasteners from the deck renos, and also that the flexible rods look like pieces of tent pole or old fishing rod. Hmmmmm, I reckoned I had "the makings" in my shed. Scrounged or saved because "they will come in useful one day". Tonight, in isolation like everyone else, with the ABC broadcasting nothing but Coronavirus dilemmas followed by Amazonian destruction on 4 corners. What to do? Well, I made myself a copy of the "FG Wizz". Once the glue sets, I will be tying FG's like a pro I reckon......... I figure that such a copy might be somehow illegal, but some of you might choose to buy one instead -- so this is free advertising I reckon. The bits and pieces I used are shown here, but comprise only the cup washers from Laserlite screws, stainless flatheads with washer and nut, a piece of broken tent-pole, wall plugs, and a hardwood offcut. This was all I could drum up, but it looks the goods. The important bit is the "How To" video of the FG Wizz. See

The bloke I went with was a Parks'n'Wildlife ranger at Chillagoe for 15 years and used to chase them in the Walsh River. He told of very large waterholes there. I've never been out that way.

I built on your by-catch de-hooking device and saved room by welding it to my gaff. Gaff and dehooker all made from scrounged 316 SS rod. Pokes the hook out while they are still in the water boatside. Field-tested today on a big barracuda, but failed on a long-tom which had the whole hook inside its mouth. Worked today (in practice!) on a circle hook by pushing whole hook (and trace) back through the jaw, then I opened the swivel to free the trace. "J"hooks will go straight back out the way they came in (in theory, anyway). Better than trying to gaff the gang hooks away from angry sharks, I hope. I did learn that lots of tension has to be placed on the line in one hand, gaff in the other, with rod in holder...and that the dehooker will probably only work if the hook point is accessible.