Fishing

We have been going fishing a lot lately, in the Paramatta River in Sydney, caught whiting, bream, tailor, flathead but only about 30% of the take is big enough to keep. We take a gamble every now and then and spend some food money on bait - amazingly we always catch dinner those nights so someone must be looking out for us. Started to put the crab pot in trying to get some mud crabs, seen a few other pots in around the place but haven't caught any crabs yet.

Anyone else keen on fishing?

i've never been fishing.....i'd like to someday though maybe

The tide is right on sunset today (full) so we are off again to hunt! *beats chest*

Going to have a sniff around for some more info on Watson's Bay though, last time we dropped a pilchard in there - no bites. Hopefully the tide and sunset will treat us well.

I know you are hoping for pictures - will post some if we get anything decent.

We caught nothing, but here a few shots of the view - worth the trip! (thats Gish fishing).

We have been fishing at Bondi more recently, although last week Gish went by himself and fished from somewhere where he managed to get himself swept off the rocks and tossed around like in a washing machine. He showed me where this was the other day and I've gotta say he was lucky to get out alive. So anyway, took him to the hospital and he went into sergery to get the shell fragments cleaned out of his wounds. After almost a week's rest he was egar to get back into it. So we went again yesterday but only caught one fish worth keeping.

And there was me thinking that Fishing was a passive sport!!!
Send my best regards to Gish... I thought us Irish were Mad!!! :D

He shure as hell is mad! I'll let him come on and tell the full story of his stupidity if he wants to.

I like the more laid back approach personally. The relaxing side more than the hunting side.

We are all heading off now at 4am in the freezing cold morning for a spot of dawn fishing off the rocks at Bondi. Yes we are going to freeze our little butts off, but hopefully we will catch something decent. If not, it's a great adventure anyway. See ya!

Another good fishing trip. One of the guys caught his first decent fish and threw back a few small ones. I can't stress how great an outing fishing is for everyone here. We all love our fishing and everyone gets into it, especially when we catch decent fish. They were so into it we went again in the afternoon after having a strategy meeting on how to better target the fish... can you believe we put the bait down in a puddle to defrost and a wave came up and washed it away. What a bummer, no more money meant we just had to head home again. Bugger. We had caught breakfast and were all keen to catch dinner. Oh well, next time.

Oh here's hoping the fishies are out for your group. I love flathead best but they aren't, well, as buff as say getting a bream - who are tough bastards to get out of the sea because they put up a good fight. Either way, looove fishing - it's good way to contemplate, hunt and eat. If you're city based a day trip to Bundeena can be real nice...oh but then the fishy gets smelly on the train back from Cronulla. Haven't been fishing for years but remember it fondly. Like a kid, I like using a handline tho - a rod is far to techno for me!

Hope the Bondi rock fisher is all patched up. Ouch.

I'd much rather catch a flathead - what a great fish.

Here are a few of our guys fishing off the cliffs:

http://www.homeless.org.au/images/fish-bronte-1.jpg

The view to the right:

http://www.homeless.org.au/images/fish-bronte-2.jpg

Fish of the day, looks small but was actually a 40cm black bream:

http://www.homeless.org.au/images/fish-bronte-3.jpg

A FISHING thread!! How come I only just found that? Fishing is what I do - whenever I can, which is not so often these days.

When I find out how to put photos on these threads, I'll post you a photo of the biggest fish I ever caught.

Sorry, but you all fish - you know that's just something I HAVE to do. If you catch a big fish.....you HAVE to skite. You HAVE to gloat. In front of other fishers.

OK, I'll see if I can find a photo of the littlest fish too - just for balance.

This is a good place to fish. There are trout streams on the Fleurieu Peininsula, beaches, rocks, jetties; pretty much like Sydney, but the most common fish are different.

:D

At the very beginning of this year, I travelled to Kangaroo Island SA, and went fishing and had the most UNREAL time!! I was lucky enough to save for a charter for 1/2 a day with a whole group of other eager fishermen. We were picked up in a 4WD and taken to a private marina, it was spectacular!! On the way there, I joked about being the only female. I said, " just because I'm a chick, you didn't have to edit your conversation in the least today. In fact, I'm gonna catch the biggest fish, so get over it!". Well, we all laughed and laughed - I didn't know them from a bar of soap, it was really fun. We launched the cruiser, it was fully set up with rods and bait. The charter guy even put bait on my hook and removed the fish everytime I brought one up! We caught the boat limit in King George whiting, 50+ cm long and approx. 5cm wide. We also pulled up a couple of rays! Countless smaller snapper..(hee hee). The boys were kicking arse.....until.... I CAUGHT THE BIGGEST FISH!!!!! 70cm Snapper, I was nearly peeing myself it was so cool! You should have seen the crushed look on all the guys faces, still, we all helped each other. They were having a good laugh watching me reel it in and pushing me on. We ended up sharing the catch and saying a lovely goodbye when the day was over. I have loved fishing since I've been little, but I can never actually kill them when I pull them up. I eat everything I catch, and if its not edible, or too young, or a pregnant female- I'll throw it back. Never fished in Sydney. Sounds like fun.

Congatulations katerina.

Have you got a picture of your snapper? I've been promising to put up a picture of my 'biggest ever' fish, a mulloway that I caught off the screwpile jetty at Granite Island. Which for those who don't know South Australia, is off Victor Harbor - which probably doesn't mean anything to you either, come to think of it. So - if you look at a map of Australia and follow the coast of South Australia westward, just before you get to the Great Australian Bight, you'll see three peninsulas. Victor Harbor is on the Fleurieu Peninsula, the first of the three. It's a great place for big mulloway, they come out in January.

I've got a couple of favourite places to fish from the rocks at Myponga - lots of good eating fish there. You can usually pick up a few mullet around here (Hindmarsh Island).

The guys do get a bit crestfallen when you catch a bigger fish than they do, don't they? I wish they wouldn't - it just inspires me to make a smart-aleck of myself. Then I just feel like a...well, a smart-aleck.

Time to shut up, before I do it for no reason :D :D :D

What a cool trip! I had always considered sting ray a pest as a fisherman and released them, until I worked at an Aboriginal legal service (while I was studying social work) and one of the guys brought in sting ray for lunch. He gave me a taste... incredible, I've been hoping to catch one ever since. Like all good bush tucker he basically recommended cooking sting ray like chicken (but a bit hotter and faster given it's seafood). Nice job on the snapper, way to show the boys!

Look forward to that photo Rose.

This is how I brought my mulloway home from Granite Island. I couldn't lift it up off the jetty once it was there - at home, it took me nearly three hours to get it out of the car, back into the stroller, take a photo, then fillet it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/shadowraithe/mulloway2.jpg

On the way home, I stopped to show Chris, at the local fishing shop, and he took this photo. He had quite a time lifting it up there.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/shadowraithe/mulloway1.jpg

Rose, with all due respect, you dont have to be from Sydney to drool over that catch! YEEEEEEHA! That's what we're talkin' 'bout girl! That's friggen' massive!!!! FANTASTICO!!!! Well done!! :eek: WOW!

Dom's bream looks really small now. Guess you had to be there!!! LOL :D

Love and Light, K

If he caught a bream the size of the mulloway, i'd be REALLY impressed.

All those Sydney fishers will have to come to South Australia and find out what they're missing.

But the truth is, I was the most surprised person there - I thought I was wrestling another big stingray. When I got it close enough to see under the jetty lights, all I could think was, what on earth am I going to do with THAT now?

This is where you catch stingrays, Dominic - lots of them. Full marks for eating one - most Australians simply shudder at the thought - they don't know what they're missing. :D

Holy bagoly that's a big fish! Did you send the photo into the paper?

No, I'd skited enough by the time the photos were taken. Sometimes I have to give myself a little talking to, tell myself to sit down and be quiet, like my mother used to. This was one of those times.

Besides, I'd been up all night, that was the culmination of a whole night's fishing, while Liam slept on the jetty. I just wanted to get it in the fridge - which meant working on it a bit.

South Australia's a good place to fish though - the end of this semester Kat - we'll get to the Myponga rocks then. :D :D :D

I think that fish weighs more than me!!! lol :D

We went fishing again the other day and it was a dismal effort. Too windy and we didn't have any decent sinkers so couldn't really cast far enough to avoid snags. Good to get out there though, will make sure it aint windy next time.

http://www.homeless.org.au/images/fishing-dom-mse.jpg
Dominic and Mouse

I'm up in Queensland later this week so Dad and my brother and I are planning a fishing trip for monday / tuesday.

Aaargh, I hate that, when I get out there and realise I haven't brought something important. I once went fishing without a rod. Drove miles, clambered over the rocks, settled down, got ready to rig up - !!!!!!!

Good luck in Queensland; we'll be waiting for the photos.

The fishing report from Queensland:

Day 1 - Noosa River
Well we didn't get off to a good start, after hiring a boat we got out there and only had one rod. The hire guy put our gear in the boat and the rods in rod holders, one really shouldn't have gone in a rod holder and it fell out in transit, no residing somewhere on the bottom of the Noosa River.
So I fished with a rig I attached to the spare line spool. This handicapped me in no way as Dad didn't catch anything either using a rod. We were fishing near the mouth of the Noosa River and can't remember even getting one bit.

Day 2 - Maroochy River
Better boat on the second day and the sandbar was perfect, tide perfect, everything perfect except the fish were nowhere to be found. Dad caught a small Flathead which went back in to grow bigger. I caught a bream that went back in too. We only kept the whiting Dad caught which was decent enough.

So the haul was absolutely pathetic but it was still great getting out on the river fishing for a few days with my father. Nothing to take photos of so no fishing photos from the Queensland trip.

We recently had a death in the extended family. Auntie Marcia taught me how to properly pour a Guinness when I was way too young to drink. Anyways, the clan is coming to Sydney for the funeral so will see if I can get Dad out fishing with me in Sydney.

Dominic, I'm really sorry to hear about Auntie Marcia. She sounds like one of those great older relatives who are such a treasure. :(

I was thinking the same as Rose, she'll always be around you..;)

Hope you catch a huge arse Groper or a Marlin..(just for the sport of it):cool: .

Big cyber hug,

Love & Light, K :)

Net profit for fishermen with cream liqueur from the deep




Christmas came early last week for Irish fishermen who hauled up an unexpected present in their nets while fishing off the English coast, writes Seán Mac Connell, Agriculture Correspondent.

The Dunmore East prawn fishermen discovered that their catch included bottles of Carolans Irish Cream liqueur from the seabed.

The fishermen were even more astonished when they found that, not only were they catching bottles of drink, but they were getting free glasses as well.

Yesterday C&C International, which makes the liqueur, confirmed the loss of 8,000 bottles from a container load on its way to Spain.

The 40ft container was lost in a storm in the Bay of Biscay last month on the way to Spain with supplies for the Christmas market.

The Whiskey Galore!-style story surfaced in Dunmore East last weekend when some of the haul was brought back for inspection.

"Fishermen from three trawlers who had been fishing for prawns in an area known as 'The Smalls' off the English coast brought some bottles into the pub over the weekend," said Mary Power, a local publican. "They told me the bottles were being brought up in the nets of three trawlers, two from Kilkeel and one from Clogherhead, which were here at the weekend," she said.

"They could not believe their eyes when they saw the presentation packs of drink in the nets and the fact that the glasses in the cartons were not damaged in any way," said Mary, who runs Powers bar with her husband, Peter.

She said the fishermen had brought their haul in to herself and her husband to see if they could identify them or give any clue as to where they might have come from as most of the labels had been washed off.

Last night the mystery of the deep was solved by C&C International which confirmed the loss of a containerload of Carolans, which is the world's second-best-selling cream liqueur.

"A 40ft container of product fell from the deck in a storm in the Bay of Biscay bound for the Spanish Christmas market last month.

"The matter is with our insurers at the moment," said the statement.

None of the fishermen who made last week's discovery could be contacted yesterday. They were back at sea fishing the same area.



© The Irish Times, November 23, 2005

Well, I'm partial to Trout, Salmon, Herring, Tuna but the best catch I've ever made personally(with a line not nets) was a nice little silver travelli on St Kilda pier.

It fitted just perfectly into the frypan. (Licking :p lips).

But *&#* that was a big fish Rose.
As for the Irish fisherman, "Beats an old boot an a couple a rusty cans" :D

Regards,
Konstantìn

Re Auntie Marcia... after the wake I crossed the road to a pub. Wasn't in the mood for the crowd so put a few bucks into the pokies. First 1, $2 in, $9 out. 2nd 1, $2 in $21 out, 3rd machine, $2 in $52 out. Do I decided my great aunt wasn't sending me a message from the grave to gamble more but take my winnings and drink imported beer on her shout (she was an alcoholic). So I had Caronas and plenty of extra $ the next day.

Unfortunately Dad wasn't able to make it to Sydney, but I did take my Mum and an aunt to visit a squat what they were here to give them an idea of what I'm always talking about. Funny part, my mum spotted one of the many sheets she had given me over the years, and said 'we had sheets like that at one point.' um... mum. I think I may have given that to whoever it was that was sleeping here. she didn't tell me to pick it up and take it home and wash it and use it again or give it back to her.... but was good to be able to take my mum and aunt into a squat. as we walked out I said 99.99% of people who work with homeless people have never ever had the experience you just did. they didn't know what to say.

I'm planning some more fishing pretty much as soon as I get back to Brisbane my Dad and cousin and maybe my brother are planning a misadventure. Can't wait.

I've been a bit reluctant to post here since that last post of Dominic's, because it says so much about the reality of homelessness, I wanted everybody to see it.

I have only ever seen one squat; years ago when I was living in Sydney, up the street from my place in Cremorne was a decrepit old mansion that really tweeked my curiosity, because it had clearly once been so grand. So one day, when nobody seemed to be watching, I let myself in through a glassless window to have a look around. The ground floor was empty, but on the upstairs floor, I found beds made of potato sacks, old clothes, anything that could be gathered together, and amongst the mess, discarded food wrappers that were obviously fresh...I had walked into somebody's home!! Not something you easily forget, realising that there are people who have to live like that.

Fishing...today I had a great fishing experience. Liam, my son, wanted to spend the afternoon with one of his friends, and since he doesn't drive, I drove him there. Seemed a bit stupid, since it's a few kilometres, to do the drive twice, so I took some fishing gear and went over to Granite Island. I got myself off to the rocks below Umbrella Rock, a spot known mostly only to the locals, down a relatively precarious track that isn't visible from the walking path above.

After I'd been there a while, I spotted a couple of young men looking down at me from above; they'd left the track to look at the view from the more exciting vantage points on the cliff rocks. I waved and smiled, and they waved and smiled, and shortly after, they appeared, seeking out the path down. Three young Japanese men, and two delicate, laughing women. It took them a while to persuade the girls to commit themselves to the descent, but eventually, they sat down and had lunch while they watched me fish. They were great to have nearby; they never stopped laughing...love it when I'm surrounded by such happy sounds.

I caught a baby sweep ('baby' means two and a half inches long in this case), and they were so excited. Everybody wanted to stroke it quickly before I threw it back. The next thing I knew, my fishing efforts were the focus of their attention. They carefully examined the cockles I was using, they watched how I put them on the hook, and they asked questions. They wanted to know what was in the berley, and why the fish liked it; each fish I caught was a wonder to them.

One of the men wanted to know how I knew when a fish was biting, so I gave him the rod to let him feel for himself...and the rod promptly dipped deeply, but he only brought in a baby sweep. Not that the group wasn't excited about that; these were people who were able to eke the maximum pleasure and excitement from fishing. When I went to bait up again, there was the explanation...one of the two hooks had been bitten off by sharp teeth. He had initially hooked a whopper leatherjacket! I showed him, and he understood immediately what had happened, and everybody examined the evidence. By this time, he was firmly hooked, and he and I took turn about with the rod.

When I finally caught a good-sized sweep, the excitement was amazing. Since I only had a little bit of water in my fish bucket - too dangerous to try to get a full bucket - one of the men then got soaked to the skin hanging off the edge of a slippery rock to fill a plastic grocery bag with water to fill my bucket. Which they did, the three men in relays, running with the leaky plastic bag, while everybody laughed uproarously. Well, I ended up catching two very nice sweep and a zebra fish, before my companions left. When they left, the fish stopped biting immediately.

One of my best fun fishing expeditions ever...and the interested young man's final parting question to me was...'tell me please, where can I buy fishing rod?'

Hooked!!! :D

i luuuuuuuuuvvvvvvvvvvvvv fishing!!

Haven't been since i've been living in sydney, but where i grew up on the north coast we used to fish everyday just about...and if we weren't fishing we were yabbie pumping in the river or catching beach worms on the beach - all for bait.

I have fishing gear down here and live close to part of the parra river, but i probably wouldn't ever go fishing alone down here as i dont eat fish (i will fish up the coast though, cos mum, dad and the kids all it).

Every easter we used to go in the local easter fishing comps on the nth coast, it was awesome fun! (even though 50% of my "OMG this one's HUGE!!" kinda catches turned out to be snags! lol).

I prefer river rishing to deap sea or rock (ocean) fishing... my brother and my dad like spear fishing, but not me - i went out once, saw a huge stingray and a wobbygong and headed for the shore never to return LOL

awwwwwwwwww i miss fishing :(
not as athletic as good old soccer, but LOTSA FUN!!!

I went fishing this afternoon. Caught a few decent sized fish but they weren't really the type you would cook up so I just threw them back. Once again it was very windy, but I had good bait and big sinkers so it didn't effect my casting too much. It was great to get out there, I'm going to try and go again very soon.

I just got back from fishing for most of the night at Granite Island. (Victor Harbor)

We didn't catch anything that we considered big enough to bring home, but...it was a still hot night, very pleasant to be out. Two sea lions (probably the reason the fish stayed away) had a fight, wuffing and biting at each other, and distant lightning put on a magnificent show. And the penguins of course, they're always there.

It's easy to forget what you're missing when you 'can't find time' to go fishing. The fish are not the point really; just getting out there is enough..fish are a bonus.

I fished sunrise today and caught a number of decent sized fish, so good fishing, but none were good eating fish so I threw them back. I went through 5 rigs on snags - bugger, but luckily the line broke at the rig so I didn't donate much line.

What kind of fish is this?
http://www.homeless.org.au/weird-fish.jpg

I keep catching them, but haven't cooked one in probably over 9 months. The head only fish has an eel like tail, don't know what that is either. (both caught in the ocean)

I think the whole one is a Wrasse, crimson banded (not considered good eating).

And i think the head is a Leather jacket (not sure) apparently good eating.

No the head isn't a leather jacket, I know what they are.

Dooshka was right about the top one:

Crimson-Banded Wrasse
Abundant on coastal reefs of N.S.W. Female is usually recognised by the white-spotted pattern, it's base colour ranging from greyish green to brownish orange. The red dorsal and anal fins are diagnostic of the male. Also known as the White-spotted Parrotfish. Southern Gld, NSW,to Vic (Mallacoota). Max. length 49 cm.
From Sea Fishes of Southern Australia by Barry Hutchins and Roger Swainson.

Listed in the book as not very good eating, but I usually give anything that's not poisonous a try, because some people will even throw leatherjackets out, declaring that you can't eat them.

The only fish in my book with similar facial patterning and a fairly long skinny shape is the Blue Weed Whiting. They prefer sea-grass beds, but you might catch them off the rocks. The weed whitings I've caught here have pretty blue-green bones.

Your fish could be a wanderer from the tropics that isn't in my book; weed whitings are long, but not really eel-like.

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/cool-fish.gif I just wanted to see if I could actually get these little fish to appear here.
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/cool-fish.gif Now that they're here, you can all cut and paste them if you want.

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/happy-fish.gif
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/unhappy-fish.gif
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/confused-fish.gif
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/laughing-fish.gif
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/angry-fish.gif
http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/images/smiles/wink-fish.gif

Very cool, but I prefer the real ones.

I'm thinking of looking further south for a good fishing spot. Bondi was a waste of time, Bronte is mainly just non-plate fish now. Shall have to go exploring further south.

Thing is we are going to be living further north so maybe I should look at some spots further north... will see.

Gerry who works with me @ Rebeccas Community... also has a day job developing and installing software.

Anyway, he is in Port Douglas atm for some work thing and they went fishing on the weekend. Check out this beauty he caught!

http://www.homeless.org.au/images/gerard-denton.jpg

Congratulations to Gerry :cool:

That's a great mackeral...sounds like a pretty good 'work thing' he's up there for :D :D :D