dale1396235468

I thought it was quite unusual aswell, as I have always seen schools bunched up also! Photo was taken on the southern Yorke Peninsula

Has anyone ever seen a salmon school line up like travelling ants as opposed to the usual round/oval school of fish?

I'm sold guys! I hit Tennyson this morning at bottom of tide at 1030 , there were two massive schools of them cruising up and down the sand bars. I used the bassday orange and first cast they swarmed all around it and followed the lure all the way in! Second cast went straight overs the top and out the back of the school , jigging it through the school they went into a frenzy and smashed it ! This was the most fun ive had YFW fishing in years ! I also had a rod holder I've made sitting in the sand bar with another rod baited and sitting in the water , thanks to des's post( finessing) I followed the rig he posted.......THANKS DES! This rig worked a treat.. I've never been so busy fishing , if the baited rod wasn't bending the lure was being smashed... I was like a little child in a candy shop. I was amazed to actually see em jumping out of the water in the school .my first metro bag was had in 1 1/2 hours. I must say using my spotters was definitely helpful in first spotting them on arrival at the beach. I stayed on after my bag was reached trialling the clear bassday lure to less of an affect as yhe orange but still managed to land em. After two hours of fishing it was like school of fish went to lunch and disappeared never to return again the rest of the Arvo . Any how it's fair to say YFW on lures..............BLOODY OATH!!! Now to somehow wipe the smile off of my face. This little camper will definitely be back tommorrow .... After he puts in a split system for his mate..... Boooooooo

http://www.fishin.com.au/Bassday-Sugar-Pen-70F.asp

Catching a bag or 2 … or 6! of Yellow Fin Whiting has not been a problem recently. There are always plenty around in the right places.However I have struggled to land many of the better size fish. I have had my share of bites, even plenty hook ups, although I was not happy with the hook up rate. And lastly and most frustratingly staying hooked up. I have had some big blistering runs, from big bruising YFW on light tackle in the shallows. Only to find my hooks pulled. Yes they are definitely YFW and not Flathead. You can tell by the distinct differences in their head shakes. The Flathead thrash and swing their heads from side to side whereas YFW tug their heads downwards trying to get back down to the sand. And on occasions I have seen their tell tale silver flash. They are nearly always hooked on the longest cast when you do not get much of a chance to see colour. I have never landed the best of the Yellow Fin Whiting that I have hooked.Well I can find them. I can get them to bite, although with a poor hook up rate and when hooked up my hooks would pull once we were into a fight. I had to have a rethink about what I was doing.
 
I paid a visit to a congenial veteran of the tackle industry, Trevor Rea at Gotcha Tackle on Magill Rd Stepney. Trevor has extensive experience as a land based fisho with many an unbelievable tale. There has been plenty of tales of monster size YFW, but Trevor is the only person I know that can look me in the eye and tell me he has caught a 55cm YFW. Albeit a while back. And a mate of his has had 60+ cm fish, whilst fishing along side him. When he digs up photos, which I am urging him to do I will scan & post them up. Well you cant buy that experience and it soon became apparent.
 
Trevor listened intently to my problem, then quietly walked down along a display shelf, returning with a packet in hand saying “This is what you need. Give up the long shank hooks” In his hand was a packet of Gamakatsu #4 octopus hooks. He looked at me and said “stop thinking Yellow Fin Whiting and start thinking Bream” Big Yellow Fin Whiting behave more like Bream than whiting. The penny dropped. I have always inspected the stomach contents of the fish I catch. I find the bigger YFW always have, apart from worms, crabs, nippers, prawns, whitebait, and even a baby octopus. Below a pic of stomach contents from a previous catch.
 

 
Exactly the type of food you expect a Bream to eat. So they could be expected to attack your bait in a similar manner to bream. I once had a huge YFW attack and hang onto for a while a whole pilchard on 3/0 hooks intended for Flathead. I described my current trusted and very reliable rig (below) to Trevor.
 

 
He said “you are assuming it attacks the worm from the bottom” Well yes! He was challenging my hard and fast assumptions. Great! I was getting a fresh look at what I was doing. This is the rig he suggested and assured me from his own experience, of changing his own technique, that my hook up rate would double. This is his suggested rig;
 

 
I have tried this rig out in my last 2 sessions. On the first session it was very windy and the big YFW that normally hang around the shallow nipper beds are not around in these conditions. I did finish with a bag of YF between 30-34cm It was interesting to note all the bigger YF took the top hook and I doubled my hook up rate. It was only small YF and Puffers that took the bottom hook. Yesterday the weather was looking good and I headed out with great anticipation. It was on the first 2 casts that I found a couple of 31cm YF. From then on I tried to avoid them. There was an easy bag of fish for the taking, in the 29-33cm range but my focus were the bigger specimens. So I focussed on areas that hold less but larger fish. The rig works well! I did not lose a single good fish today and probably only missed one great bite. I kept 15 fish 31-40cm.
 

 
The best sizes were; 2 @40cm, 2@38cm and 2@36cm
 

 
Taking up the whole shelf of the fridge while chilling down before filleting.
 

 
I thought I was doing pretty well, but there is always room for improvement. Listen, review and have a rethink. Well it is satisfying to have changed my rigs with great results.Now a 50+ cm Yellow Fin Whiting can realistically go onto my bucket list! Cheers, Des

:woohoo:

atleast 34

I dont reply to forums much anymore, but i cant let this one past,Fishing is so much more than throwing in a line and wanting a bag limit,Its the planning the trip, the thrill of a new spot, the night before tying rigs and dreaming of the mecca fish,the sun rising as your heading out with wildlife and dolphins,its the unexpected, the never knowing,the antisipation, watching the rod tip while enjoying a cuppa.always learning a lifetime couldnt teach you everything, never boring, the satifacion when , yes not often or always, but the times it does all come together.A sport you can enjoy with 3 generations, the mates, the wife, or in solitary bliss,Once it was a commonality, a mateship quickly struck with strangers, with a common interest or obsesion.you can take it as serious with comps and records or as casual as you like.yes theres more of some species and less of others, theres the rude ones, or just plain new, as with the rest of the world, more regs and rules, Im on a dissability pension that isnt obvious, like a wheelchair, I volunteer, conribute to society, work when i can, I live on a pittance and fishing, is a luxury, an excersise, and bloody good therapy,I get told often, "its okay for people like you" ?I get told to get a job, pay taxes, i voted for the gst so i could.Id give you a fag if it wasnt my last one, help you put your boat in, tow you back if you got stuck, i share my catch when im lucky enough to get enough.Ive passed on the little i know to many, I went from line wound on a coke bottle to a proper hand line, then a rod as a gift, now i have a stacer, i support my tackle shop, the term used to be "the patience of a fisherman"I thank the universe when i feel well enough, when everything falls into place and i get to go fishing, I return ready to face all the rest again, till next trip.Ali

Hahaha, this thread reads like an episode of Today Tonight.It's got single moms, dole bludgers, refos, work cover cheats/bludgers, meth heads. I'll check back to see the obligatory diet posts, angry neighbors, car hoons, dodgy tradies etc ect Back to you Rosanna.

Sadly, I've turned into an armchair fisherman! I was one who would get out at least once per week, regularly both days of the weekend, and sometimes I'd even slip another week day in as well.Fishing took over my life, I invested all my money into the boat (the most recent of 3), I kitted it out to also fish tournaments, then I also became involved in the tournament organisation here in SA.I went on to also purchase a kayak, I had all the best of fishing tackle, and I spent all my remaining free time as a forum whore, or helping out with this website.I could accurately tell you what was on the bite where, new tackle on the market, changes in boat technology, what tacklestores offered the best products or the best prices, and what the weather was gonna do in the upcoming week.I got involved in the political side of fishing, I was making phone calls, writing letters, speaking with politicians and collecting reams of laws, legislations, reports, concerns and possible changes.Every time any one of you here ever had an arguement, a sh*tfight, a complaint or a whinge over the past few years, I was somehow involved, whether you saw it and had to deal with me, or whether it was involvement in behind the scenes discussions, phone calls and decision making as a team on how best to deal with the situation....naturally, making these decisions doesn't earn you many friendship, coz with every single decision, at least one participant is gonna be p*ssed about the outcome, and guess who they always take it out on....rarely does anyone ever stand up and say, yep, I was out of line and/or I overstepped the mark. I've been faced with so much abuse, hatred and profanity I've lost track, threats of violence and/or property damage, legal action, retaliation and reprisals....yet I shrug it all off, cop it on the chin, remain impartial, be seen as consistent, and treat everyone equally! Oh the fun of recreation!I was the one at every boat show. I was out in the middle of winter collecting bloodworms. I was down at goolwa digging cockles. I attended every fishing event or gathering. I was organising social events. I was rallying others to get events happening and organise trips. I was going away on expensive fishing trips, or I was planning my next adventure away.I've been accused of lying about my captures, giving away too much information to others, ruining spots for others, not knowing what I'm talking about, using the wrong tackle, and a whole lot more which I've forgotten.I've been burnt to a crisp, I've been seasick, I've been wet to the core and I recon close to hypothermia, I've been digging bait in the surf so cold I can no longer feel my hands, I've literally lashed myself to the gunnels with rope in big seas, just so that we can continue to stand and fish, I've been out in weather that sees most others staying at home, I've pushed my little boat to it's limits, and I've pushed myself to exhaustion, only returning to land to refuel, grab a quick feed, and get out again to catch the next tide.......sometimes just for a fish which I intend to re-release when caught.I've cut myself, hooked myself, broken my hand and suffered countless little injuries and annoyances, along with broken equipment, damages and failed tackle.I simply lived and breathed fishing with it encompassing my life!Things have changed for me though!I got quite disheartenened by the political side of things, rising costs were seeing the boat sitting in the shed more and more often, and I was also getting fed up with witnessing shitfights between fishermen, and also having to be the one who always intervenes as is my job here.Life has now changed for me!I had a car accident which buggered my back, and I also took on other interests.I'm now a member of an early model Holden club, I own a coupla restored cars, I bought a new caravan, I'm a member of a rock & roll club, I joined the gun club and have gotten pretty serious about a coupla different shooting disciplines, and I've also renewed a past interest in archery/bowhunting........with also running a small business, and monitoring this website, I've got a pretty full plate these days, but I'm also now spending more time with my wife, which I was neglecting due to fishing taking priority.I find the boat is now just sitting in the shed collecting cobwebs, I've got a lot of expensive tackle sitting unused, I haven't even had the kayak out for longer than I care to remember.The boat is going into the mechanic for a spruce up this spring, and then it's going onto the market. I'm gonna thin out a LOT of my fishing tackle and only keep a few good outfits to use from the kayak on occasion. I no longer take any interest in the politics of fishing, I gave up tournament fishing, and truth be known, as fishermen are such a fickle bunch always waiting to point the finger, I've also been considering relinquishing my position here, to someone younger and with more active interest in the sport, rather than having to face accusations from disgruntled fishermen about a staff member here being nothing more than an armchair fisherman......because THAT'S really what I've become.Occasionally I will hook up the caravan and throw the kayak on the roof, or maybe take it down the port, but this will only be during good weather nowadays, and fishing for me is gonna become a thing of leisure, just to get out and enjoy the sunshine, rather than a constant effort to actually catch fish, produce results, or putting pressure on myself come rain or shine.I lost the "recreational" side of things, by getting FAR too serious, and it's time for me to reclaim the recreation, coz it's only a game, and it's meant to be enjoyed, not worked at and worried over. When it becomes worry and work, it's called a JOB, not a passtime, and if it's gonna be a job, I expect to be paid for doing it......recreational fishermen dont get paid though!

Bear necess i use a small net from bcf to scoop em out my live well head first then place the closest hook on your trace through the end of the pocket and the second hook between its eyes in the back of the head stops em just pulling the head off when you got your hook/ hooks in the tube

howdy all,pb kingy caught a few weeks ago with absolute fishing charters,hope it works,cheers

anyone seen geoff wilsons pilchard dumpling demonstrated at the lowly rip a sure way to beat lice& pickers and definately more scent released from your shitty block pilchards just bit 2 much mucking around for me.iqf only way to go or fresh from fish processor;)

my biggest and only came from my tinny up at exmouth few years ago around 15kilo didnt pack the scales.

18lb