▲TopGot One Port Stephens-27th June 2008

Its been blowing up a storm and the seas have been up but the good news is that the weekend weather is looking like we may be able to get out and chase a few. Seas abating and 10-15 knot winds and the reds are on. Hope you get a few. Don't forget our Winter clearance sale ends on 30th. If you need some new gear now is the time to grab it - great specials store wide.

OUTSIDE

Once again large seas have kept most inside over the last week. With ground swell not dropping under 2mtrs all week the few reports I do have from offshore are mainly snapper from the north side of Fingal point were it is a little bit more protected from the southerly swell that has been pounding the coastline for the last couple of weeks. Once again the good old plastics are doing the damage with the new satay chicken gulp in 5” being one of the hot new colours from all reports. Further offshore I have no solid news, but I did hear reports of yellowfin out wide of the carpark area and with water temps still pushing 23’ on the shelf I reckon a few striped marlin should still be on the prowl. If you happen to get out on a day were it is not blowing 20 plus knots make sure you have a few blocks of pilchards onboard and give cubing a go, as it definitely produces better quality yellowfin than trolling. I do always recommend you run a spread of diving lures from just inside the shelf out until you hit the temp break, once you hook up start cubing and bigger fish should hopefully follow. Bottom fishing is well worth a run this time of year on the shelf as the current starts to slow down. The rewards are well worth while (Kingfish avg 6-10kg, Bar Cod, Blue Eye Cod, Bass Groper and Gemfish to name a few and they all taste great even those bloody leatherjacket) despite the hard work of winding 200mtrs of line in.

ROCK HOPPERS

Rock fishing conditions were perfect this last week with exceptional catches coming from most ledges along our coast you just had to find a slightly more protected spot to fish from and a feed was not far away. I snuck out to boat harbour on Tuesday afternoon for a quick flick to find that the action was furious with a Tarwine well over 1kg ( biggest one I have ever caught) on the first cast only to be followed by a string of healthy drummer the first of which I did not stop (I got a look at him and I reckon about 2.5 – 3kg would be on the money) on the 12lb tackle. So I upped the ante to 30lb and a 7144 rod and removed 3 fish about 1.5kg in a row and dropped a couple trying to swing them out of the water. I was very happy with my 4 fish for dinner for 1 ½ hours fishing, so if weather continues this way get out there with some heavy tackle and plenty of berley (I use a mix of old white bread and STEADS berley pellets along with a few prawn shells) and a feed of pigs (drummer) should not be far away. On the subject of drummer fishing I was using peeled Hawksbury prawns over a 15kg tortue main line with a no.1 ball sinker straight to a 3111 - 1/0 DAIICHI hook. I personally think these are the best hook you can get for drummer as they are sharper than any other double strength hooks I have come across and I am yet to break or straighten one. I think they are great value when compared to most competitors hooks as they are boxes of 50 not 25.

BEACHES

Beach fishing has been very quiet this week. Only a few reports, in particular from Stockton, were the fishcakes have moved in - so expect these critters to feature in the majority of catches over the next few months. Always remember that these fish are not generally good eating. I fillet and skin them, cut out the red meat and then cut the fillet into long strips and place them in an icy salt water brine for ½ hour. Remove and pat dry then mix 60/40 brown sugar / salt and rub into flesh and then sit in the fridge over night in a baking dish before smoking for about ½ hour. Let cool and serve with watercrackers, cheese and a cold beer or wine - just perfect! (if you want more info just pop in and I will be only to happy to run you over a few recipes). Elsewhere around kiddies corner a few bream have been taken, as well as around the spit area The corner of One Mile was fishing very well over Tuesday and Wednesday night with a few nice bream and a stray whiting along with an occasional flathead. So if you persist (even though the weather is pretty poor) a feed is not to far away.

ESTUARY

Finally that rain has stopped and I think fishing is going to start to heat up now that a bit of saltwater can make it’s way up into the bay. D’Albora marina seems to be the go with droves of luderick fisherman queuing along the wall to remove a feed of these tasty little critters. Armed with those funny soft rods that bend inside out and centre-pin reels they all seem a bit funny to most fisho’s, but a quick chat with any luderick fisherman will quickly let you know these blokes know what’s going on and in most cases they have it down to an art form. Some are not to keen to pass on info so I reckon you are sometimes best to sit back and just watch as they do make it look like art and a lot of info can be picked up just by watching. Also off the wall good numbers of bream have been falling victim to peeled prawns, mullet strips and gut. Fish em with very little weight and hold on. There have also been some quality tailor inside the bay with garfish and metal spinners doing the damage and the anchorage breakwall the best bet just before dark. There are still a few good whiting coming off Shoal Bay beach late at night around the tide on live nippers.

Now instore are KRONIK GT Poppers for all those that are heading up to remote North Australia or out to Cato or Wreck Reef or anywhere in the indo-pacific region where giant GT’s, Dogtooth Tuna, Wahoo and giant yellowfin are expected. These are not cheap poppers but they are bullet proof - using solid timber bodies and stainless through wire they are ready to be decked out with either OWNER ST66 Trebles or my preference SERGEANT N JIGGING SINGLES from DECOY. Early next week we will be receiving the new GULP 7” chicken colours along with more 5” jerkshads in the chicken colours. I will have more of the DECOY hooks next week also.

SALE SALE SALE SALE ends 30 June - don't miss out. 10% on reels, soft plastics, accessories, combos, 15% on rods, hard body lures, camping and diving, 25% off certain tackleboxes and a whopping 50% off selected dump bin items.

Kronik Poppers now in stock - the ultimate in GT poppers

Happy fishin'

Shep