Kelvin

I've started chucking 1/28th's in 9m of water, when conditions allow me to get them down to where the sounder says the fish are.

The same plastic will remain untouched (Almost😀) on 1/4er's or 1/8th's - but a plastic that doesnt plummet, will get smashed on the drop by the unstoppables that make this technique a bit ridiculous on my current tiny jigheads.

Sure you can grub heavy heads along the bottom and get hits and land the smaller dumber fish. But on the 1/28th's you barely need any skill at all. Just spot the fish on the sounder and count to 40 as the 1/28th sinks - then hang on until you get smoked by the bigger fish😀

How did you go?
 
I haven't fished the Torrens for a few years, but I used to fish near the zoo and the uni. Some years there are heaps but not always.
Heaps of carp everywhere in the Murray river at the moment. I usually go to Goolwa or Murray Bridge as they are close to Adelaide. Fresh is better. Stinky bait will work but not necessarily better and avoiding smell keeps the family happy as well as those fishing around you.

STOCK DEPLETION of Yellow Fin Whiting ~ A Summary of Conversations.
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I have engaged in a few recent conversations with many longtime Yellow Fin Whiting fishermen since my previous post:  “A Threatened Species”  … https://www.facebook.com/groups/1383810555282311/posts/3589648064698538/
They are experienced, talented fishers, with well established records, detailed in their many fishing reports in past fishing forums.
Stretching back well before the days of Facebook fishing groups.
They have all been unanimous in their observations of a steep decline in YFW catches.
So much so that there are gun YFW fishers that now no longer bother to target them as the returns are no longer there.
Today despite alternative claims from the Professional fishing sector, the Recreational catch of YFW in minimal.
Take a look along the metro beaches today.
No body bothers to target YFW anymore on a metro beach.
In the past you would see many family groups spend an afternoon fishing for them.
Along with the loss of catch, one must also consider the loss to the Community.
The Social and Health benefits that have also been lost along with the fish.
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This is not a situation that has come about due to recent weather or climate variations.
This is now a well established trend stretching back numerous years.
Of particular note in my discussions, are the common observations that the steepest decline in catches, has been without doubt, since 2019.
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THE MAIN UNDERLYING REASON FOR THE DECLINE IN YFW CATCHES, IS POOR FISHERY MANAGEMENT BRINGING ABOUT STOCK DEPLETION.
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There is an uncanny correlation in the decline in YFW catches since 2019 and the commencement of the Snapper ban in 2019. 
The Snapper Ban, obviously displaced the Professional Fisher’s Efforts.
Due to changes and restrictions forced on them, professional fishers have, by necessity, shifted their efforts towards the remaining available species including YFW. In doing so threatening the stock sustainability of many more species.
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The Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery Reform Advisory Committee  set up in 2018 sought to address this.
A flawed conceptual process, that only considered the needs of the commercial fishing sector of the Marine Scalefish Fishery. (MSF)
It was about how to best divide a shrinking State owned resource only amongst the narrow commercial sector.
A minor sector of the community and an even more minor sector of the economy.
With little or no consideration or respect for the Recreational fishing sector and it’s economic value.
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The Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery Reform Advisory Committee included:
- Six, members from the commercial Marine Scale Fishery  (WHAT !!! loaded!)
- one Rock Lobster Fishery member in recognition of its formal access to marine scalefish species
- One, recreational fisher in acknowledgement of the recreational sector’s interest in this shared access fishery. (Joking eh! How Tokenistic is our representation !!! )
- one independent chair, and one independent economist. (Puppets)
Little wonder the Recreational Sector has been overlooked yet again in their management reccomendations.
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Fisheries management have been unable to deliver a key recommendation of the committee:
“Establish sustainable catch limits for all species”
The Committee Recommendations on 31st October 2019:
https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/360736/CMSFRAC_October_2019_Report_to_Minister.pdf
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Licence buy outs were a cornerstone of proposed reforms. The last buy out of MSF licences was ineffective as most of the licences bought out were fairly inactive.
A breakdown of the licences bought, displays the ineffectiveness of the plan.
96 licences were bought. 89 were Line Licences. Only 7 were Net Licences.
It is the net licences that are decimating the YFW stocks.
So buying out 30% of the licences did not reduce the Pro catch tonnage by 30%.
It did not reduce the pressure on our fish stocks by 30%
Again ineffective fishery management hidden behind their “buyout fanfare”.
It did not set sustainable catch limits for all species.
Creating a disproportionate effort on species like YFW, that were not protected with a limit.
I am hearing claims, that PIRSA have a vested interest in maintaining as many professional licences as possible. Without a Recreational fishing licence they will not have a vested interest in the Recreational sector.
Until then they will never manage the resource equitably for ALL stakeholders.
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Further buyouts of professional licences are required.
For these licence purchases to be effective they must directly relate to the removal of professional catch tonnages and the relevant catch quotas.
All species must have catch quotas.
So we do not see unlimited take of a commercial species, to the point of collapse.
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However rather than decisive action from PIRSA, we are likely to see a repeat of Career Fat Cats creating another Marine Scalefish Reform Advisory Committee loaded with Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery representatives, making more ineffective recommendations and decisions, with contemptuous disregard for Recreational fishers and their value.
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It leaves me looking back on what has been destroyed by our Fishery Managers.
I am left only with some wonderfull memories.
Of Delightful past Tennyson Beach sessions by “BJ Slick”.
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Cheers, Des

Thanks all for the help.  Have decided that it is something we really cannot part with now and will keep as part of history. Will print off the writeup about Seamartin for the kids and grandkids.  Hopefully they will appreciate it one day.  As you say - part of history

I had a disastrous day last week and could only manage one Yellow Fin Whiting all day. I got the tide and the weather conditions all wrong.
I was fortunate to realise the error and managed to back it up the following day by relocating my fishing to a spot better suited to the tide and weather and finished with a bag of 20 large YFW on surface lures.
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The sandflats of the upper SA Gulfs are a dynamic environment and ecosystem with many a variable factor that affects fishing. It keeps you thinking. Keeps you on your toes! And we don’t always get it right!
One of the most dynamic and important factors on these sandflats are the tides.
And Beware! tides also are, the greatest danger for a novice fishing these areas !
Knowing what the tide will do on any particular day is essential.
Every spot has different characteristics, where the same tide will behave differently.
For a successful fishing trip to these sandflats, you need to consider the tide along with the weather on the day. You then select the most suitable spot for those tides and those conditions.
My recent trip to the upper St.V Gulf clearly illustrated this.
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On Day 1:
It went terribly wrong. The predicted tide was a slow steady run out all day. That did not happen. The spot was a wide sandflat. A small tide across a wide space means a slow steady water flow. That has a lot of fish lingering over the soft nipper beds. Unfortunately an unpredicted drop in air pressure and SW winds far stronger than forecast pushed against the flow and held the water at a standstill.
No flow no fish. I only ended up catching the one fish on Day 1.
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On Day 2:
The tides and weather were very similar to the previous day. Having reconsidered the factors at play. I moved to another spot. The location was narrower, more restricted & channeled sandflat squeezed between a mangrove wall and the weedline.

The tide flow here was quicker moving through this restricted space. And the fish were a lot more responsive. I finished with a bag of 20 quality large Yellow Fin Whiting.

The Sugapen 95 was the most successful lure. And Zipbaits Fakie Dog DS70 took a few.

 
For a successful day of YFW fishing on the sandflats you need to be aware of all the tide and water flow factors.
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GULF SHAPE, TIDE ENTRY, WINDS & TIDAL FLOWS
I do most of my fishing in the Gulf St Vincent. So this post will focus on the tidal influences on the Gulf of St Vincent Sandflats.
The very shape of the St V Gulf affects the tides in the gulf.
The first factor are the openings to the gulfs and their orientations.
To the East of K.I. the Backstairs Passage. A narrow and very restrictive entrance to the gulf. Not much water can flow through that passage. Although the tide that does, races through at a great rate.
On the West side is Investigator Strait. Which is considerably wider and the main entry point for the tide in St V Gulf tide.
If you study the tide times in the gulf, the tide arrives earlier on western side ports. This western orientation of the main gulf opening, has a major impact on tides when a SW wind blows. The SW wind or storm surge forces a lot more water up the gulf than any other wind. That will increase the tide height, considerably far more than the forecast height.
And the opposite also applies. A NE wind will force water out of the gulf, dropping the actual tide to lower than forecast.
 

Air pressure adds a compounding factor. A lower Air pressure draws up more water and a high air pressure will force water out.
Our Afternoon Sea breezes (occasional Gale) also act similar to a SW wind. It forces more water up the gulf and increases the tide height. Particularly in the upper gulfs.
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So if you have ever arrived at a sandflats location expecting the tide to be where you thought it should be … and it is NOT. Reconsider the above factors.
Danger is present, should these conditions come into play whilst you are out a kilometre away from the safe shore. A change in conditions can have the tide come in far faster than you have expected.
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Our gulfs narrow at their northern ends. This amplifies any tide movement. In the constricted space of the upper gulf the tide has no where to go but up. Check the high tide on the same day.  A Pt. Adelaide 2.60 mt tide, will be a 3.90 mt tide at Pt Wakefield. So in the upper gulfs the effect from any of the above variables will be amplified. Stay alert! And factor it into your fishing.

TERRAIN, & STAGE OF TIDE
Narrow areas will increase the height and speed of tide. Wider areas the reverse. This may assist or hinder our fishing depending on the weather and tide on the day.
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It is important to know your spot and its height in regards to the low water mark.
Beware the elevated sand flats. If the tide at a spot, like Bald Hill Beach, arrives 3 hours after low, then you are obviously on the higher ground on an elevated sandflat. When the tide arrives here, it arrives at the fastest period of tide flow. Many fisherman are caught and taken by surprise in these locations.
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Know the “RULE of TWELFTHS” .  How much water comes in and when. How much more will be coming in. The Flow rate of the tide in that hour. So you can decide; do you sit it out there and keep fishing or get out of there quickly.
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THE RULE OF TWELFTHS FOR TIDE MOVEMENTS:
- Based on the most frequent 6 hourly tide cycle experienced.
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If we Start at LOW Tide.
There is no movement. 100% of the water movement is yet to come in.
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1 HOUR after Low Tide:
- 1/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 7% of the tide has moved in, during this hour.
- 93% of the water is yet to come
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2 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 2/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 25% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 75% of the water is yet to come
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3 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 3/12th of the tide moves in this hour. The first of the fastest 2 hours of movement.
- 50% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 50% of the water is yet to come
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4 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 3/12th of the tide moves in this hour. The second of the fastest 2 hrs of movement.
- 75% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 25% of the water is yet to come
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5 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 2/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 93% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 7% of the water is yet to come
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6 HOURS after Low Tide:
- the last 1/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 100% of the tide has moved in, at the end of this hour.
- No more water to come in. This is the top of the tide.
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There have been a few occasions, when I have been counting the minutes and calculating the tide, whilst I was stranded out on a bank with water too deep to cross all around me.
Hopefully your sandflats fishing can be much more successful armed with the knowledge of these variables and their effects on your fishing.
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Cheers and Tight lines, Des

Bought these 2 lures to try out bad weather and my health issues ( don’t ask not nice)
hopefully I’ll be trying  the shallow Berkeley pro tech Saturday 
anyone trued either of these 

Good for a cheap disposable reel I guess.  Just like you need with a lot of wading fishing. Only a few dollarsat risk.
However as I mostly repetitively lure cast these days that extra 50 - 100 grams is a killer for my R.S.I. 

You can get anything printed on a reel in China😁
 
These are the same as almost all the other silver sub $50 reels and likely from the same OEM factories with just minor cosmetic changes. One of the clues is the Daiwa air rotor style design.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
Johncoo Anti Corrosion Treatment Spinning Fishing Reel Carbon Washer Drag 10Bb Saltwater Spinning Reel Metal Body - AliExpress
MEREDITH VANPES Series Rust Free And Smooth Bearing 5.0:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 8Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
EXIST Same Spinning Reel Full Metal Body Saltwater or Freshwater Fishing reels Ice fishing reel Ultralight surf Reel Best Reel - AliExpress
 
They are actually not bad reels if you buy then cheap. Instant anti-reverse, reasonable smoothness but probably 50g or more heavier than the same sized Shimano and Daiwa. 
I've got 4 and am buying more.

You can get anything printed on a reel in China😁
 
These are the same as almost all the other silver sub $50 reels and likely from the same OEM factories with just minor cosmetic changes. One of the clues is the Daiwa air rotor style design.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
Johncoo Anti Corrosion Treatment Spinning Fishing Reel Carbon Washer Drag 10Bb Saltwater Spinning Reel Metal Body - AliExpress
MEREDITH VANPES Series Rust Free And Smooth Bearing 5.0:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 8Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
EXIST Same Spinning Reel Full Metal Body Saltwater or Freshwater Fishing reels Ice fishing reel Ultralight surf Reel Best Reel - AliExpress
 
They are actually not bad reels if you buy then cheap. Instant anti-reverse, reasonable smoothness but probably 50g or more heavier than the same sized Shimano and Daiwa. 
I've got 4 and am buying more.

You can get anything printed on a reel in China😁
 
These are the same as almost all the other silver sub $50 reels and likely from the same OEM factories with just minor cosmetic changes. One of the clues is the Daiwa air rotor style design.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
Johncoo Anti Corrosion Treatment Spinning Fishing Reel Carbon Washer Drag 10Bb Saltwater Spinning Reel Metal Body - AliExpress
MEREDITH VANPES Series Rust Free And Smooth Bearing 5.0:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 8Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
EXIST Same Spinning Reel Full Metal Body Saltwater or Freshwater Fishing reels Ice fishing reel Ultralight surf Reel Best Reel - AliExpress
 
They are actually not bad reels if you buy then cheap. Instant anti-reverse, reasonable smoothness but probably 50g or more heavier than the same sized Shimano and Daiwa. 
I've got 4 and am buying more.

You can get anything printed on a reel in China😁
 
These are the same as almost all the other silver sub $50 reels and likely from the same OEM factories with just minor cosmetic changes. One of the clues is the Daiwa air rotor style design.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
Johncoo Anti Corrosion Treatment Spinning Fishing Reel Carbon Washer Drag 10Bb Saltwater Spinning Reel Metal Body - AliExpress
MEREDITH VANPES Series Rust Free And Smooth Bearing 5.0:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 8Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
EXIST Same Spinning Reel Full Metal Body Saltwater or Freshwater Fishing reels Ice fishing reel Ultralight surf Reel Best Reel - AliExpress
 
They are actually not bad reels if you buy then cheap. Instant anti-reverse, reasonable smoothness but probably 50g or more heavier than the same sized Shimano and Daiwa. 
I've got 4 and am buying more.

Reel servicing is getting expensive. Daiwa is currently $40 a service for standard reels and $70 for high end. They usually drop in new bearings at the first sign of wear at $10+ a bearing.
I've paid over $100 a service each reel for my fancy reels.
Recently I've been dabbling in the cheaper end of the market, especially for wading and kayak fishing. I've got 5+ years out of a pair of Kast King Sharky reels. They are not as smooth as Shimano or Daiwa but they have survived the saltwater and are still reasonably smooth.
 
Ali Express also has some bargains and I'm sure the same factories make the Savage Gear Reels.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
I'm pretty happy with these for $30 a reel. They feel as good as my low end Shimano and Daiwa reels for less than the cost of a service. They are solid, just a touch on the heavy side.
 

BCF stock them. I've only had a play instore and a look online.
Similar to the low end Daiwa and Shimano. Solidly built but heavy. As entry level gear it will be fine. For high end ultralight lure fishing they might be abit heavy

Savage Gear reels?

I don't have the bag anymore as the material eventually broke down. The zip still held up with a freshwater rinse after each trip and some inox spray
I got the zip from spotlight from memory and used a large sewing needle and pliers. It looked really ugly but did the job

I've previously used a large zip and stitched it on with some light mono. Did the job ok.

You'll love the Snowies. I used to fish Lake Eucumbene a bit. Favourite spot was Old Adaminaby. Had some great sessions with upto a dozen trout a trip all around the 50cm mark.

Nice fish
 
What part of NSW? 
Great trout fishing in the snowy mountains

Regular post readers will know I like to fish the dodge tides for Yellow Fin Whiting .
I cover a variety of reasons in detail, in this previous post:
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One very good reason, is that you will regularly find better quality fish on the dodge tide.
YFW movements and feeding are highly influenced by the tide. Revolving around the largest tide of the day, they tend to have a 24 hour digestive and feeding cycles.
So even when the tides do not move much on the dodge, they will still have a need to feed within their cycles. The larger YFW have greater food needs and will generally preference a bigger meal such as juvenile prawns or clickers.
With the small dodge tide their feeding will be concentrated to the smaller area, covered by little water flooding in. They will be easier to find.
The terrain/substrate that holds their preferred food will naturally attract a higher concentration of larger YFW.
That terrain you can feel under foot. The softer food holding substrate.
The small tide movement, along with a deeper low tide, holds water over these prime feeding grounds longer. It provides for prolonged access to this zone for both fish and fisher person.
A better explanation of productive terrain is in this post :
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The dodge tide on Monday with a High of 1.77 mt @ 8.15am  and a Low of 0.97 mt @ 11.36pm provided a long drawn out, run off tide. With a prolonged spell under water, of some prime food holding areas. It looked like an ideal tide and I set off fishing.
YFW are always stimulated by tide movement to feed. These tides do not provide much of that stimulus. However there are other factors that come into play.
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The day started slowly without a strike for the first hour. The warmth of the day gradually started to take effect and the first to stir were some small Whiting.
With the warming arvo came an arvo seabreeze, as well as a predicted strengthening southerly wind. YFW love a heavy rippled surface to take cover under and lose their feeding inhibitions. The bite picked up strongly and catches were now steady. In the constrictions of the upper gulfs any lower gulf southerly wind can force water up. A wind tide pushes in. It further stimulated the YFW and kept the feeding grounds covered with a perfect level of water for a wading fisherman.
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I caught my bag of 20 in good time. This situation regularly provides quality fish, with10 of the fish ranging from 38 to 41cm. Most of the remaining 10 fish were around 35cm.
Sugapen 95 was the most successful lure. Then again I did not need to use a lot of variety.
The new Sugapen Splash caught it’s share when the afternoon breeze picked up. This is shaping up as the perfect lure for that strong summer afternoon breeze that kicks up a bit of chop.
A few were also taken on the Ecogear ZX, when I was forced to go subsurface as a pack of persistent juvenile seagulls are yet to learn lures don’t taste good.
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Hopefully we have some more fine weather for the next dodge tide.
Tight lines all.
Cheers, Des

Honorable mention and if I could have a fourth pick it would be a light or white colored jig. I like to throw this if it is bright or if there are alot of baitfish around.
 
I would include the white with redhead in the same group. I haven't done that well with the red head but have seen my mate clean up fishing next to me with the white and redhead jig.
 
Finally at night I like a glow jig, lots of options here.

If I'm not sure I usually do a whois check of the URL and also check that the company is registered
 
shimanostore.com whois lookup - who.is
 

The Otto's combos tab is interesting. Looks like they have lifted their data from Otto's Tackleworld website.
 
Hard to stay on top of all the scam sites as it is just too easy to register a website these days. Once they are caught out they just start another website.
Other than price, the first thing I do if I'm suspicious is check the about us section and see if there is a name, contact detail, history of the brand and location, then check if they have a social media presence.
 

If I'm not sure I usually do a whois check of the URL and also check that the company is registered
 
shimanostore.com whois lookup - who.is
 

You can also type the website into scamadviser and they will give you a trust score
 
 
shimanostore.com Reviews | scam, legit or safe check | Scamadviser