vxman29

G'day all. Haven't contributed much lately due to a serious lack of fishing.
 
But I have been following this thread and after missing the last 2 runs I was keen to have a go last night. Met up with Vxman in the OH car park by the platform about 8.30pm. The lads on the platform said it had been very slow, but they were just starting to get a few. So we found a decent spot on the rocks and had the torches illuminating the surrounding water for anything that looked wormy! It was slow, but we were picking up a few here and there and having a bit of a laugh as I tried to perfect the technique without losing my very dodgey pool net and/or fall in. Had a slow but steady flow for about an hour, but after that they really slowed down so we gave it up about 10.30pm. Probably would've picked up a few more, but there was a flotilla of small boats scooping like crazy just up river from where we were. Honed the netting skills so well I managed to scoop up a little Occy that was cruising around!
 
We had beautiful conditions last night and it was a great way to spend a couple of hours, learnt a few things for next time and got a couple sessions worth of bait so all good!
 
 

Nice to chat to you Zorgs, sorry we didn't let a few more through mate.
 
The pool net was OK, but the extendable inner tube has nothing to stop it falling out apart from pressure/ bend in the pole, so had to let the wider ones go to save losing the net end! Was our first time too and will definitely be up for it next year. Hope you ended up with a few.
 
Some crazy cats out there in their boats, some lit up like Xmas trees and others with a torch and no other lights at all! Nearly had the older couple on the rocks with us at one point!
 
Vino and Octopus goes down well!

Looks like a feast you have there, wine and bloodworms.
 
Hey pirate, I was the guy that turned up a bit later and was picking up the suckers you missed just to your left. I saw the pool net and was thinking that was a much better idea. Nice and light and lets the water through a bit better, I'd stick to that. Was my first time out and tried at the yacht squadron boat ramp and surrounding rocks but nothing was happening so shifted to OH. Feeling crook as a dog with a dodgy cold which explained my slipping and sliding on the rocks but I'd been building myself up for this so wasn't going to miss it. My wife thinks it's amusing a grown man wants to catch worms....... Like mentioned it was slow going but once the boats cruised past the length of the banks it was almost all over. I was probably picking up one every 10-15 minutes at that stage. I walked a little further down the breakwater but it wasn't much better so called it a night.
 
Now I know someone from Strike Hook but only by the size of his pole.

cant answer the which time is better and dont think there is a bag limit.
got the vacuum packer through one of my supplier as i sell commercial kitchen equipment.
its only a cheap chinese made unit, it is no better than a unit you would get from harveys but does the job.
only reason i got this one was the price and got a heap of bag rolls chucked in

final result, a few vacuum sealed packs of worms ready for the northern flats

Got there after 8, left around 11 last night so a couple of hours work. The quantity in the water got more as the night went on but i reckon they where smaller. Anywho, 2/3 a decent sized bucket full is going to keep the freezer nice abd full, now to use them. Was an interesting car ride back down south with them between my legs!!

Worms everywhere tonight

Im keen too. Want some ready for the YFW when my wading season starts.
 
Never collected bloodworms before......Sounds like we might be looking at a S&H bait collection session?

easier than that mate.
On the nights mentioned in the coming months, they will "commit suicide", jump out of the mud and float out of the port river during the run out tide. You simply sit in a boat or on a rock wall with a torch and net, and scoop them up

Its the same every year. Put it in your diary. July & August a few days after the new moon.

Hi guys if this is in the wrong spot could Mods please move it as I can't find a lost or stolen page. Thanks Stolen from Port Noarluna yesterday from my cousins place.Shimano TLD50, Shimano Stradic 2500, Shimano T Curve 3-6kg 7 foot spin, 24kg Shimano backbone elite + 5 other general purpose rod and reels also an Avanti Orange/White push bike.If anyone is offered these or sees them for sale somewhere please let me know as I would think there would be a some sort of cash incentive for their return.Thank you

James and I finally set off to target mullies. First we were fishing for livies with little sps and bait but all of them were undersized. We kept fishing with sp for st and then the water stopped running. James casted his sp where the water was running and saw a huge silver flash which he thought was a massive salmon but it came back for the lure and fully engulfed it! James Screamed out MULLY! So I started filming.

Mate, pm pirate pom, he catches garfish land based in his sleep! They pretty much line up pre crumbed for his autograph when he shows up at north haven

Hit west lakes last weekend with a couple of mates. Straight away we got nice bites on first cast. After a few more casts we hooked one but this didn't feel like a normal fish from the lake. It had heaps of head shakes! We got it up and it was surprisingly a small KGW! When we got it up the other rod went off and it was another KGW! these lil guys were only around 27cm. Then a few more casts, another hookup! This time it was a mullet! Awesome livebait but we kept it for dinner because we didn't have the gear for a mully. Got heaps of bites then another hookup! For the next 20 minutes we got hookups after another. Mostly mullet and sometime small bream. Later on, the bite stopped... Not a single bite for another 2hrs. We left the rods sitting there and finally we got some more bites! Hooked up and it was another little KGW. Then another. That was it for the day, caught a nice feed of mullet ranging from 23-28cm. Here's the video which I think everyone is looking forward to see! :silly:

That's the ones orange bass days. Went again today to same spot and a big fat donut! Didn't even lose a bait. Only fish I saw was the flounder I stood on... Lol scared the crap out of me. I reckon I walked a km of the beach and didn't see anything. NO LUCK lures or bait.. Still nice being out there though

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

There are days where the yfw will just smash the lure and other days they will follow it and check it out then shy away. If you get this happening speed your retrieve up a little as it will usually make them compete against each other and have a go at itAlso under 10-12 knots usually makes it easier to work the lure

Ive loosely followed the idea of catching YFW on lures for years now, but have never attempted it, mainly because most of my fishing is undertaken from a boat.Over the lst few months Ive been reading and gearing up and this afternoon I launched my first assault.I'd have to say that I chase the worst conditions - the tide this afternoon was full quite early, plus it was a reasonably low tide. The wind blew like crazy last night and the water was full of ribbon grass - I could probably count the number of cast that succeeded without getting tangle on one hand. Plus, it was a blowy day to boot.I started the session with a clear coloured Sugapen however this was difficult as I couldnt see it in the chop. I did feel like I got a few taps on it but given the weed it ws hard to know for sure. I swapped colours to an orange which made life easier. Whilst the weed prevented me from being able to run a lure long enough to catch a fish I was amazed at how many fish rose to take a peak.Im particularly curious to know if others experience is that the YFW suss the lure out first before striking? Do people also maintain their retrieve speed when they have fish trailing.All in all - I think Im addicted!Oh, and the new Infeet rod is a dream - if anyone was considering one!

Hi mate, i have used the 'bitza' and the 'warrigal' with a bit of sucess.Personally i prefer more of a walk the dog style lure. Favourite being Atomic k9 walker.

Finally got round to making a better and safer place to store the fishing rods. Works for me!

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

caught this beauty recently on a safwaa dam. she went 71cm ,5.1kg