yellow door 1

And the beauty of diy is - if you lose the prototype to a snag - you just need 10 mins to whip up a few more when you get home.

Guys have been getting some big reddies on jig spinners recently so I thought Id give them a crack.
Obviously Im not going to pay "TT" prices for them - so I bent up some wire and gave them a swim.
No huge ones yet but I lost it to a snag a couple of casts after this one
 
 

Went with the hose clamp in the end - It allows you to orientate the torch for single handed button access

may aswell leave this here aswell - could be handy for more than just reddies
 
 

may aswell leave this here aswell - could be handy for more than just reddies
 
 

after mucking around with those slimey mullet the other night - the time has come for a dedicated fishing rag with caribeena

Pvc mount for the torch
 
 

If a large morning tide occurs mainly before daylight, there is a higher incidence of Prawns in their guts. Prawns are primarily nocturnal. Although the YFW can access them buried in the sand where they hide during daylight hours and are occasionally disturbed out of hiding. Often by Stingrays. So it is not uncommon to see YFW close to feeding Stingrays. 
I have only caught one YFW on a Cranka Crab lure. I think I have to use them in the Crab habitat and not on the flats.
The Sugapen 95 in Col-MB16 I feel mimics the prawns best. The Ecogear ZX43 blade mimics a disturbed fleeing prawn in the sand. 

ALWAYS !!! 😅   I gut my fish before leaving the water.
This lot ... Haswell Crabs in the larger ones and Lug Worms in the smaller ones. The big morning tide ( in daylight ) would have given them plenty of access to the Samphire beds holding the Haswell crabs. Lug worms are abundant on the sandflats. 
 

A sustained warm spell has held the Gulf water temperatures at around 22 to 23C for a few weeks now.
Since Christmas day the water temperatures in the upper gulfs have remained in the high range.
Nice Christmas present !!! This is about a month later than normal.
It is the sustained higher temperatures over a prolonged period that changes the dynamics of these gulf ecosystems, along  with the behaviour and physiological responses of its participants.
Currently the Yellow Fin Whiting have become voracious hunters and predators.
When water temperatures are at this level, It is a rare session when you will not catch a good feed of solid sized YFW.
With high metabolisms and big appetites any water movement in or out of their feeding areas triggers an aggressive response from these fish. So target YFW during these periods of water movement. Even on dodge tides where the fish are concentrated in a smaller water mass. Just a little movement produces a big response from the YFW.
I followed the late run off and early run in tide on this session for some quality fish on this session.
I kept 12 fish over 35cm. Three fish were around 40cm.
They are great fighters in shallow water on surface lures.
I was fishing a new spot so I did not experiment with many lures.
Intending to limit the variables for a good assessment of the new spot.
All fish were taken on the surface with the Sugapen 95 - Colour: MB16.
Happy Hot Sessions to all.
Cheers, Des

Ive never used a real one - just vice grips or free hand for flasher style rigs on 1/0 to 5/0.

I have heard its difficult to find a vice that handles both tiny fly hooks and large saltwater hooks.

Im all about diy and multi use items - so the vice grips are great for uncomplicated flies like flashers.

but none of the tools are completely necessary for flashers - please excuse the overly cropped footage - But you'll get the idea of a free hand attempt
 
 

SO... is this from the new blow-up girfriend..??????  KINKY !!!!

Bit of a learning curve on the new mullet trap-

only thing that likes these traps more than mullet is seagulls -  if you walk more than 10ms away - the seagulls swarm them and stick their heads in for the bread.

Even had a few terns grabbing the mullet before they could get in.

But the fact that 2 found their way past the flock of birds guarding the entrance, was very encouraging - . Had to leave early as a gale was steaming in -but now that I know I have to shoe the birds away - it could be a goer
 

Fished the dodge tide on Saturday. 

Unfortunately the wind and air pressure conspired to negate what little water movement there was. Rather than accentuate it which is what I was expecting. 
Nonetheless got 16 from 32 to 40cm. Sunday was a blow out !
 


 
 

No worries - yeah it seems no retrieve could be too violent when the prawns are in full panic mode.

Fish are much better at tracking stuff through the air than I first thought.

I remember being on a 3 story boat that takes tourist snorkeling up north - my mate left her camera on the second story, near where I was and asked me to get it.

It was a cheap disposable with a float - so I threw it near her, off the balcony - she got swamped by all sorts of reef fish. I could see them tracking the camera as soon as it left my hands.

The staff on those boats throw fish scraps off the side to feed them, so they are well trained to investigate stuff thrown into the water. But from a birds eye view - it was interesting to see how well they can see up through the surface of the water. And how quickly they can lock onto an airbourne target
 
 

No worries - yeah it seems no retrieve could be too violent when the prawns are in full panic mode.

Fish are much better at tracking stuff through the air than I first thought.

I remember being on a 3 story boat that takes tourist snorkeling up north - my mate left her camera on the second story, near where I was and asked me to get it.

It was a cheap disposable with a float - so I threw it near her, off the balcony - she got swamped by all sorts of reef fish. I could see them tracking the camera as soon as it left my hands.

The staff on those boats throw fish scraps off the side to feed them, so they are well trained to investigate stuff thrown into the water. But from a birds eye view - it was interesting to see how well they can see up through the surface of the water. And how quickly they can lock onto an airbourne target
 
 

The way I fish.. I use a fast retrieve..... Always keeping it moving and have the lure doing eratic movements. With the new technique I tried the other day,, It was still fastish but doing something a little different while retrieving.. Seemed to work on the little guys.. Just need to try on the big ones now..

Yeah in the past, Ive tended to keep things simple and I was mainly catch and release for alot of years. So I didnt have a chance to get bored of my recipes.

But since discovering redfin are delicious, Ive been thinking of branching out
 

Gotta explore this a bit more. 👍 

Yep. When I was mimicking how the prawn moved and left the water.. You could see the little YFW chasing it even out of the water, anticipating the Land, then they would all attack it.. Amazing to see nature in action..

A Couple of easy but tasty shallow fried versions for whiting fillets with some different added flavours.
PARMESAN CRUMBED WHITING
Mix Garlic salt and Cornflour, dust & coat the fillets.
Mix Panko crumbs, fine grated parmesan and Italian herb mix in a bowl. Then spread out on plate.
Dip flour coated fillet into beaten egg.
Lay fillets on to the parmesan crumb plate. Allow to sit a while to have a good coating adhere.
Pan fry till golden brown in Butter/Olive oil mix.
 
FURIKAKE CRUMBED WHITING
Baste or marinade fillet in Sesame oil & Miso paste mix.
Dust with Rice flour and Sesame seed mix.
Dip Rice flour coated fillet into beaten egg.
Mix Panko crumbs and Furikake Ebi Fumi in a bowl. Then spread out on plate.
Lay fillets on to the Furikake crumb plate. Allow to sit a while to have a good coating adhere.
Pan fry till golden brown in Sesame/peanut oil mix.
 -  Serve with a seaweed or any Japanese style salad. A squeeze of Kewpie mayonnaise on the fillets as well. 
Enjoy! Cheers Des
 

I'm a basic fish cooker.
Generally just some S&P and maybe some lemon juice.
Sometimes will use some instant batter mix for more of crunch.
Have a deep fryer but not used much due to having to put 3lt of oil in just to have it at a minimum level