yellow door 1

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....

And they would cast out into a wave and retrieve it with the motion of the ocean.

And even though I don't eat my catch nowadays they made me eat the fish we caught. Terrible childhood I had.

Some of my earliest memories involve those lures.

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My Granddad used these on Goolwa beach when I was a wee lad.

Salmon and mulloway in the suds.

Big split cane beach rod which to me as a little kid was huge and heavy.

And an Alvey reel.

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Thanks for all the info Plec - I spose ID-ing a lure was alot easier back then -  as they were only 5 of them😉

How did you retrieve these metals for Mulloway - Hop hop pause or straight retrieve?

Just remember to reel in fast when the wave is breaking so the line doesn't foul up the hook at the back.

Wish I had my Granddads rod now but I still have an Alvey reel matched up with a Wilson 10ft one piece rod that lives in my dining room.

But these days I use Spanyid Raiders or big blades coz they cast accurately right next the salmon schools and don't spook the fish.

Old metal lures are the ducks nuts coz they cast a mile and never say die but they also have some bad habits and don't copy the action of a wounded baitfish.

Big blades are also good but the trebles are prone to gathering weed at times like the Spanyids.

The old lures were more weed proof but swam too straight.

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Ahh I spose retrieving with an alvey ensures you arent brining it in that quick.

I've got them on blades before but I havent thought to use metal slug type lures

Thanks for all the info Plec - I spose ID-ing a lure was alot easier back then -  as they were only 5 of them😉

How did you retrieve these metals for Mulloway - Hop hop pause or straight retrieve?

Less bulky than the store bought versions 
 

Less bulky than the store bought versions 
 

I just dry in newspaper until they start to bleed, then straight into bags and the freezer. When I defrost, I just put some paper towel in the bag to ensure they don't go soggy - works a treat

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

Do your hooks snap? This could be why,

Metal fabricator has a simple hack that may improve the life of your hooks
 

 

Do your hooks snap? This could be why,

Metal fabricator has a simple hack that may improve the life of your hooks
 

 

I've had a look - and a chat to a fella thats caught more Jewies than me -  and our river fish, landed in nets, dont seem to have sores or bruises - But they arent suppossed to spawn in our rivers either.

I'm still waiting on a bloke who has 100's of Melbourne river Mulloway photos, to get back to me. But so far, all we can remember, are clean skins😉

(The Bream - which do spawn in our rivers -  get beat up and exhibit sores during spawning time - not so much bruises - but their tails get bloody and they will have bloody sores on their bodies aswell )

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.....

I've had a look - and a chat to a fella thats caught more Jewies than me -  and our river fish, landed in nets, dont seem to have sores or bruises - But they arent suppossed to spawn in our rivers either.

I'm still waiting on a bloke who has 100's of Melbourne river Mulloway photos, to get back to me. But so far, all we can remember, are clean skins😉

(The Bream - which do spawn in our rivers -  get beat up and exhibit sores during spawning time - not so much bruises - but their tails get bloody and they will have bloody sores on their bodies aswell )

Ive watched carp spawn and they are super aggressive
bashing into rocks,  even beaching themselves for the chance to be the guy that gets his sperm on the eggs
the males also relentlessly head butt the females in the guts to get her to release her eggs
im not saying that’s what these bruises are as I have seen similar bloody bruised areas  on bream  around spawn time and carp for that matter  - but I’ve heard them also described as fungal in fections

Yeah it was more for my Mental health than anything😉

I go fishing to unwind and relax and theres very little relaxing to be done in some spots.

Getting into a blue would ruin the vibe😉

When it comes to people taking undersized fish - I took the cowards way out and just stopped fishing where other people were - no more crowded piers  - no more crowed jetties - no more crowded hot water outlets for me.

Melbourne has hotspots where huge amounts of people gather and behave poorly - I just avoid those spots now. In one spot you would have no time to fish, if you confronted every one shoving undersized fish into safeway bags between the rocks.

It used to be infuriating and having a word, only stops the problem while you're there.

In alot of the spots I fish - I've never seen anyone else fish - its much more relaxing - no more people casting over the top of you - no more getting snagged on other people snagged lines - no more sitting in a tip of rotting bait in discarded bait bags - while I do miss the social aspect and camaraderie between fellow enthusiasts who do the right thing - in some spots the righteous are in short supply.

I do have a couple of spots where I'll see the same faces and although we dont speak the same language - we communicate through nods smiles and hand gestures. What we do have in common, is a respect for the water were fishing. And sharing the water with those who respect it - is now a prerequisite for me casting out a line

When it comes to people taking undersized fish - I took the cowards way out and just stopped fishing where other people were - no more crowded piers  - no more crowed jetties - no more crowded hot water outlets for me.

Melbourne has hotspots where huge amounts of people gather and behave poorly - I just avoid those spots now. In one spot you would have no time to fish, if you confronted every one shoving undersized fish into safeway bags between the rocks.

It used to be infuriating and having a word, only stops the problem while you're there.

In alot of the spots I fish - I've never seen anyone else fish - its much more relaxing - no more people casting over the top of you - no more getting snagged on other people snagged lines - no more sitting in a tip of rotting bait in discarded bait bags - while I do miss the social aspect and camaraderie between fellow enthusiasts who do the right thing - in some spots the righteous are in short supply.

I do have a couple of spots where I'll see the same faces and although we dont speak the same language - we communicate through nods smiles and hand gestures. What we do have in common, is a respect for the water were fishing. And sharing the water with those who respect it - is now a prerequisite for me casting out a line

Yeah it was more for my Mental health than anything😉

I go fishing to unwind and relax and theres very little relaxing to be done in some spots.

Getting into a blue would ruin the vibe😉

it's a pity I can't put more than one like on that comment, BIG thumbs up from me 

Yeah it was more for my Mental health than anything😉

I go fishing to unwind and relax and theres very little relaxing to be done in some spots.

Getting into a blue would ruin the vibe😉