Fishing tips

etarip wrote:

Jeez, these forums are getting a bit snarky and shite. Even the ‘safe spaces’ like the fishing thread. Go for a walk, take a couple of weeks off posting. Same old, same old across multiple discussion spaces. It definitely takes the shine off being part of a ‘community’ doesn’t it.

+1

Been risking spots in perfect conditions and bugger all tailor the last few weeks
There have been reports of good catches but really inconsistent for this time of year
Heaps of baitfish around and pelagics regularly just out of reach of land (most of the time)
A plague proportion of Dart in close
Was great to see some young kids fish tiny plastics showing nice skills on light gear of the rocks - after having 10 solid ones between them they kept fishing for 3 hours and throwing them back
Tailor will turn on any day now

Oh yeah Stefanofic is a tool

Dart are pesky over here on the WA midwest coast too. Any bait or lures retrieved quickly send them mad. Good bites and fight but as soon as you see those long blue fins its a disappointment. Many have totally swallowed the bait and on inspection have a huge parasite in their mouths. (Cymothoa exigua?) Poor buggers have no choice but swallow and get gill hooked.

I didn’t have to wait long for it to change

This morning tailor were around for 25 minutes before the run out tide got moving
Then this afternoon a solid hour of bent rods on high tide
Quieter just before dark

I lived at Fraser Island for a few years and tailor fishing was big in winter, i tried it a few times but never got the fuss, their okay to catch but not great eating.

I always preferred to target whiting on light gear and get dart as by catch, i always looked at it that i won either way in that if i caught whiting they were good eating and if not around normally the the dart were and they were super fun to catch, id keep them sometimes and steam them remove the bones and make Thai fish cakes.

Plus there was always plenty of beach worms or pipis around and getting fresh bait is kinda primeval satisfying especially when you then get a feed of fish from the effort.

I think tailor are great eating- as long as they are treated properly.
Got to kill them (iki jima), bleed them, and get them chilled as quickly as possible.

Really, really healthy fish to eat too.

Might have to drive up your way Saltman.

Nada down here- too much dirty water out of the river.

Yeah done all that even skinned but not my thing i dont like Aussie Salmon either.

Im betting you are like a mate i have up there super keen fisherman fishes almost every day and eats and loves anything that lives in the ocean, no fish to him is off the menu, he even use to try all these ways to try to eat pipi's.

Was a great place to live fishing wise though, surf beach fishing, great offshore reef fishing, then a variety of creeks, flats low cliffs on the other side to fish and mud crabs and prawns at times in creeks.

Got a tailor off the beach just before last light. Ate it within an hour of landing it. Good eating.

And a super fun surf this morning, 2ft and super clean. Had it to myself.

Not a bad day.

For me, I really love crispy skin tailor and sea mullet, and much better for you than skin off.
I do find it better leaving both those fish in the fridge overnight though.

tubeshooter wrote:

For me, I really love crispy skin tailor and sea mullet, and much better for you than skin off.
I do find it better leaving both those fish in the fridge overnight though.

Totally TS, love some crispy skin on tailor fillets and they have been on the bite lately.

Same same. Shallow fried mine tonight, dusted in seasoned flour. crisped up nicely.

Gotta get the skin crispy.

tell me about skin on tailor please guys??
I am only Pank crumbed fillets, Curry, and Thai fish cakes
Oh and have smoked the fillets as well

^ toss in flour with a pinch of salt n pepper, put in fridge for 1-6 hours (let the flour absorb the oils and juices)
fry, skin down, in preheated, hot! pan (olive oil, butter)
flip the fillet over when skin has the required texture, remove from heat and allow to sit in the pan for 5 mins.

Bleed em, gut em, and cook em whole any way you like. I’m a big fan of whole fish. Sure it’s a pain to eat but you can get your fingers into it. Fish cheeks and all those sticky icky bits in the frame. Insert Homer drool here.

freeride76 wrote:

I think tailor are great eating- as long as they are treated properly.
Got to kill them (iki jima), bleed them, and get them chilled as quickly as possible.

Really, really healthy fish to eat too.

Might have to drive up your way Saltman.

Nada down here- too much dirty water out of the river.

Steve closer to home for you
Brunz has been producing some decent tailor sessions the last few weeks

North of the Cape though (your fish)?
I'm happy to take a mission to Brunz.

Yep up at Kingscliff
Do occasional midweek trip to Brunz north wall just to mix it up

Just saw a picture of a nice Jew caught at Ballina yesterday

Yeww there coming in closer in numbers now under the new swell
Took a handful in 40 minutes this morning

+ Bagged out this morning
Threw 5 smallish Tailor back, gave 4 to a friend who was late to the party, took home 10
5 for a Neighbour and 5 for me
Incoming tide throwing 40gm hardbody on medium light 10ft rod, 30lb Braid 20lb leader
from 6.30 to 9.30am.
It was fun adapting the different bite patterns and locations as the swell and tide changed

Damn, you are killing me Saltman.

Must be some action down your way Steve

Haven't caught a tailor this Autumn.

the crispy skin tailor worked a treat
Dart recipes please?
this morning landed 15 dart, kept 10 of them, all over 35cm
casting a 20gm metal into the swells as they crested and retrieving it slowly as it sunk

gee they pull hard

(p.s. scoring the skin before flouring stops the curling..)

Dart are great used in fish patties due to the strong flavour, and yeah tough little fighters.

saltman wrote:

Dart recipes please?
this morning landed 15 dart, kept 10 of them, all over 35cm
casting a 20gm metal into the swells as they crested and retrieving it slowly as it sunk

gee they pull hard

I use to make Thai fish cakes with them, its been 15+ years but from memory i kind of steamed them whole in a big deep fry pan with lid which meant you could peel the skin and lift bones out of them in pretty much one piece easily leaving just meat. (cant remember if i even bothered scaling first, but of course gutted)

Then id get all the meat into a big pot and just get my hands into it and kind of mash up the meat and remove any bones etc that might has slipped through.

Then id mix in some Thai curry paste, some chopped coriander and chopped shallots, and some eggs to hold it all together from memory i just did it with my hands (well washed) and then just roll up into patties fry in a pan like you do rissoles, dusted in flour if needed.

From memory i often froze them before frying if i had too much, either wrapped in glad wrap or folded greased paper to ensure they didn't stick together in bags suitable just for one feed.

Always went down good dipped in sweet chilli sauce.

And yeah heaps of fun to catch especially in the surf in shallow water on whiting gear.

Been building a few rods for mates over the last few years. This one is for an old boss whose shed burnt down last year taking with it all of his toys including fishing gear. 7’5 graphite 30lb spin rod for chasing snapper and coral trout on plastics and tuna/mackerel on slugs up to 40grams.

Nice work Andrew P, Looks tidy.

Nicely done AP. Brought it back to life.

Deluxe AP.

What blank did you use?

Nice thats cool.

BTW. Is there such a thing as a half decent telescopic rod?
(ive always thought of them as just novelty toys)

Traveling to Indo with just a back pack as have boards etc all over there and thinking of getting a telescopic rod mostly to just to get some squid off this little jetty with quid jigs or flick some soft plastics around for a bit of fun on lagoon edges just a lightish gear set up.

Edit: just googled and found these look alright.
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/shimano-telescopic-rod-reel-combo/

They work fine .

I usually take a 2 piece rod in a board bag.

freeride76 wrote:

Deluxe AP.

What blank did you use?

Thanks FR. Blank is a United Composites bass blank. They are more of a Cadillac than a Ferrari but can fish above their rating with very little risk of failure. Haven’t had one blow up to date touch wood

indo-dreaming wrote:

BTW. Is there such a thing as a half decent telescopic rod?
(ive always thought of them as just novelty toys)

Traveling to Indo with just a back pack as have boards etc all over there and thinking of getting a telescopic rod mostly to just to get some squid off this little jetty with quid jigs or flick some soft plastics around for a bit of fun on lagoon edges just a lightish gear set up.

Edit: just googled and found these look alright.
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/shimano-telescopic-rod-reel-combo/

I use 3 or 4 piece travel rods. You can break them down to fit in a regular sized poster tube and take on carry on. 2-4 kg should handle squid and small fish. Never touched a telescopic rod in my life but I’m sure they work fine - Big in Japan!

Nice work Andrew P. Looks well crafted.

A telescopic rod will be fine for squid ID. But, in case you aren't aware, if you're only taking a backpack as carry-on luggage then you can forget about packing hooks, jigs etc. Even fishing line, either on a spooled reel or in a sealed packet is considered dangerous as carry-on on most airlines.