Rybak

A great write up again...You certainly do your homework...and the results show that...Very nice indeed.

A great write up again...You certainly do your homework...and the results show that...Very nice indeed.

An easy, quick & cheap way for crab bait is go to your local supermarket & buy the home brand sardine tins in oil. Punch some holes in the tin & use the pull ring to attach to crab net. Can't get any simpler than that...& it works.

Thanks Ryback, I felt I'd done it all when I reached my 10,000th trout back on the 3rd Nov.2019, I never thought about reaching this number until I caught my 11,000th trout on the 14th Jan.2022 then I knew I was in with a chance of doing so. At 79 years (in Feb 24) of age I'm not sure how many trout seasons I have left in me, the large rivers here are pretty tough on the body that's for sure.
cheers Adrian..

Thats dedication & a fantastic achievement. Bloody well done........!!!!

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

This was another of my late season spin sessions in a small tannin stream & it was great to come across a freshwater lobster. They were once plentiful in the rivers/streams here in Tasmania but due to very little catch rate restrictions they became scarce in the rivers/streams. Now they are a protected species that carry a $10,000 fine if taken from a river/stream.
cheers
Adrian (meppstas)
 

Me too. Cheaper the better. Still get squid. Nothing beats a tommie on a skewer jag if all else fails.

Thats how I do squiding for years now. Always works plus never snags up on the bottom. Great when also Whiting fishing as you can just leave the jag as is without worrying about it.  

Hey guys here is a tip that out fishes conventional techniques for squidding as every other tip has been covered but this
So firstly you attach a .5 to 1 Oz sinka on bottom of a paternoster rig then approx 40cm attach your favourite  coloured jag and then proceed to cast out as far as u want allowing the sink to hit bottom then wind in the slack so your connected to your sinka (like soft plastics) and give 2 quick lifts or jerks then wind up slack an repeat all way back sometime il stop and pause then with my index finger on the line give it 3-4 twitches  then continue ,the reason for this method is that it keeps your jagabove the weed right in a hungry squids face.
Make sure jags not to close to sinker 40-50cm is fine 
Keep connected to sinker winding up slack or jag will go in weed may get caught up 
Slight steady pull will fix that problem
Will improve catch rate especially when they aren't out midwinter feeding and are hiding in cover
Tight lines

With a very mild Spring and early Summer, Yellow Fin Whiting lure fishing has had a few challenges this season.
The weather patterns have not sustained a constant water temperature. It barely heats up when a cold change with a series of cold days would chill off the water. It looks like we may have turned the corner.
We have not yet seen a sustained warm spell to put the warmth into the water and hold it there for a prolonged spell. It is the sustained higher water temperatures that has the greatest impact on the ecosystem and the behaviour of the YFW. Yes we have been finding a few YFW on lures, but nothing like those hot bag out sessions of last year.
So today after a few, rare consecutive days of 30+C I was off to seize the opportunity and “Strike while the water was hot”

Comparative water temperature maps. What a difference a few warm days make
 
I was trying to avoid the cooler water in the morning, by starting around 11.30am. Sleeping in ! The water was still surprisingly cold at the start. Thermal lag, meant the water was still holding onto a cool temperature after a spell of cold days earlier in the week. Hence the importance of a sustained period of warmth. It was hard to find fish showing interest in any of the surface lures in the incoming tide.  Fish would not rise for the lure. The few fish spotted, were hanging back from the lure and staying deep. They were keeping as cool and calm as the water temperature.  I went subsurface with the Ecogear ZX43 blade to catch a couple of good fish.

 

The Salmon Trout have moved out & the Trumpeters have moved in. A sure sign of warm water.
Still it was not until the tide started to run off late afternoon, and the water had warmed up from the heat of the day, did the fishing come alive. Increasingly overcast conditions did put a dampener on the fishing. You always catch more in sunshine. I had to resort to some UV enhancement tricks to engage the fish. UV sprays and UV flash tinsels can transform the standard sunny day lures into successful overcast day lures. A quick spray on your lure. It dries fast. Although it leaves a strong lacquer smell. So rub it over with some S factor or Pro-Cure scent to negate the smell. Today my ever reliable Sugapen 95 could only catch fish with the UV enhancements. 


 
I worked through a variety of surface lures today. The other successful ones being Zipbaits Fakie Dog DS, Ebi Panic, MMD Splash prawn-AW Yabby, 

 
And one I have not used for a couple of years, the Atomic K9 Bulldog which took the biggest fish.

The smaller size lures where better in lighter winds and the bigger and noisier lures in the stronger wind spells.
 
The day finished strongly with the fish more aggressive in the warm water late in the day. I released a few fish in the high 20s to 30cm and kept 17 fish in the 31- 40cm range. Most were in the 35 to 40cm range. A clear sign of the warm water attracting a new batch of juvenile prawns onto the sand flats along with the larger predatory Yellow Fin Whiting.

 
Happy Hot days and some Hot fishing sessions ahead !
 
Cheers, Des

It has been one of the slowest starts to the Yellow Fin Whiting lure fishing season here in S.A.
Adelaide finally got it’s first 30c degree day in 7 months, this November.
It has been a disappointing weather pattern. As soon as we have a warm day, it is followed immediately by a cool change and several days with temperatures in the teens. A sustained warm spell is needed to put some deep set warmth into the water. At present water temps, still hover around the teens.  Well short of the 20+C that makes those big Yellow Fin Whiting rabid hunters. The hotter the better. My favourite YFW spot has the Big Mamas ravenous at 22C.
Nonetheless we have to get our fishing fix and take what is available.
There are plenty of YFW about for the bait fisher. And sub surface lures like the Ecogear ZX are more productive in cooler waters.
At present the most common catch on surface lures are Salmon Trout. In good sizes too, not your small summer sprats.  Their presence is a clear indicator of the cooler water temps.
Flathead are providing a good option to break the monotony of unproductive casts for Whiting.
They don’t mind the current water temperatures. Too hot and the baitfish along with the Flathead disappear from the wading shallows.Whereas the hotter shallow water see the juvenile prawn population thriving and the YFW voraciously feeding on them.
The Ecogear ZX gives you both options. It will take Flathead and YFW. Although you will need to modify your retrieve depending on which fish you want to attract. With whiting it is always the continuous retrieve of a fleeing prawn. For Flathead it is the high lift, pause, retrieve, repeat. For Flathead it is all about the “hang time’” above their eyes. A not infrequent by catch is the odd Flounder. Tasty when cooked fresh. Should you come to a Flathead holding hot spot, my go to lure at present is the OSP Bent Minnow which certainly attracts their attention. These catches in current conditions, necessitate you target a variety. And for those keen on Salmon Trout, you can certainly come away with a full bag.
Mixed bags are what I am getting in these “transitionary” conditions.
But I am keenly looking forward to a heatwave !!!!
Cheers, Des.
 

You will have to make Mark II now...............

Try This...hope it works
 
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=623288336193672&set=pcb.3270620673267947&__cft__[0]=AZXAGc-E5j2yjsDt8SoOe07d2djQSZm9BSfN2AQ8tEvyynAmwVXNAaeo_TzDmTg8L2e6DfWN71YiNQ5ofRzm8aks8AmwvC2KMoQLkR-j-a630vdO6y3GdTBpGM1hDQfzthVmSUGgkzmYoBIFTYVg1n1s&__tn__=*bH-R

You will have to make Mark II now...............

Thats a ripper  - thanks Rybak

Hi all..
Went out for a scout/cast today.. Tried some where new.. Walked the out going and incoming.. About 5 ks.. Not a biggy..
Water temp was warmish, Getting there.. Water was clear but patches of tape weed about....
Found a spot where they were.. Only were about where I found noodling holes... There wasnt too many of those either. They were concentrated in a few patches/areas only.. They were active, but fussy. Lure changers was the key. New lure = 1 fish, repeat.. Managed to get 6,, Not big ones but ok.. From 30-34cm.. Fat and healthy though.. Lost 3.. Weed tangles... At one spot they were hanging in the deeper gutter edge/run off area. I had to cast over some weed mounds to get them.. They were moving around that area.. I just stayed put and when they swan by Ide cast.. I was sight casting them.. Great fun.. They would hit the lure just as it hit the water and I started to retrieve.. Had to be quick as it was very close to the weed edge when they hit the lure..
After a bit they wernt taking the lures, just follow and turn away.. I moved on and found some more in roughly same type of area.. Got 2, lost 1 there.
It died down as the tide went low.. So I moved on and explored the area.. Mapped where I was and did some marks..
Plenty of salmon trout about, again? There every where.. Mullet, and some baby King George whiting.. Little buggers were smashing the lure in one spot.. Plaques of them.. I moved on.. 
I didnt see too many crabs.. Only in the one area.. Roughly the same area where the YFW were lingering about..
Lost another lure to a salmon trout.. First fish of the day and drag was too tight and it went under some heavy floating weed... Im loosing a few this season.. I didnt loose any last season.. Lucky I buy 2 or 3 each time.. Dont tell the wife..
Used 1 spool.. Snapp off.
All in all it was a good day, very promising area which Ill go back to later..
Mike









 

Good going overall. Always good to do reconnaissance trips. I do a lot of this on the boat, looking for new spots etc. Its amazing what you can find & how many new spots you come across with no one around. 
Your next catch is a new dog to keep you company.....maybe..  

Good going overall. Always good to do reconnaissance trips. I do a lot of this on the boat, looking for new spots etc. Its amazing what you can find & how many new spots you come across with no one around. 
Your next catch is a new dog to keep you company.....maybe..  

Me too. Cheaper the better. Still get squid. Nothing beats a tommie on a skewer jag if all else fails.

Me too. Cheaper the better. Still get squid. Nothing beats a tommie on a skewer jag if all else fails.

Me too. Cheaper the better. Still get squid. Nothing beats a tommie on a skewer jag if all else fails.

A good call about fresh water - I remember making a mistake while camping at the beach. I got my hair wet and rubbed a block of soap all through my hair, to wash out a weeks worth of slimy fish hands running through it.

That day I learnt that alot of soaps dont lather or dissolve in salt water😉

Thanks Rybak - Ive got a 10litre bucket that will be perfect for hand washing and ruler dipping👍

My mates get a bit weird about me cluttering up the deck with all my contraptions - and Ive always wanted to include a bucket full of water for washing hands - but if I can convince them its absolutely necessary for fish care  - I reckon that will get it approved👍

After a very cold start to spring, it looks like a cracker October long weekend ahead.
The water temperatures in the upper gulfs have hit 16C. That is like throwing the switch on, for the Flathead and YFW.
A Happy long weekend of fishing to all.
Cheers Des
PS. .....  and some favourable dodge tide conditions 😉