well ,

we had a clown attack today ,

son and I went south today to check pots ,

arrived at the beach , could see our mate diver dan right near one of our pots, very swelly and sloppy heading out towards our gear , arrived at the first pot,to find two divers getting back in their boat & to find the clown owner of the boat , free diver 1 is actually anchored right over our pot, within 3 metrs of me as I pull the pot rope up,no dive flag I asked him what he thought he was doing right on our gear , and it looked bad for him and his mate like that ?told him looks suss mate ??

he said nah we haven't touched your pots , he reckoned we had 6 crays in our pot, just you wait till you pull it and see , we would not rat your pot mate, ........

anyway , we hit his boat several times as we pulled the pot,no choice as he was anchored that close on it , our pot even became jagged on his still set anchor rope ,finally we got it onboard after untangling it from his anchor rope anyway yep six crays in the pot , he also had 2 on the floor of his tinnie that we could see ,

both where free divers , no air, after 10 mins he pulled his anchor and motored off ,

4 of the crays where keepers , 2 went back
next 3 pots produced nothing ,

last two trips out have had all 4 pots catch , total of 41 crays potted , today , 3 pots empty , same ground , one pot with 6 in ,was imo about to be emptied when we rocked up on it in the boat

now question is did the divers rat em ?? imho absolutely yes, given what we have been getting , there is no way we lucked out so badly,...what can we do about it ??....sfa

to all the divers who don't use flags , you bloody well should , to those who want to anchor on someones pots & dive there be prepared to be blamed if the owner comes along & find his catch rate has suddenly dropped right off the radar low,

for the honest guys morally you know it aint right , how about raising the bar and using peer pressure to stamp this shite out hey ?, make it your code to not anchor on set pots ?? can it be that hard to move elsewhere ? when the crays are about like now ?

this bloke today thinks where stupid, however experience tells me he did rat our pots ,

he will keep for now

hezzy

hezzy

Anyone getting into them yet?  I had a crack around the Como Scout Hall over the weekend but it's still very weeded up through there.  Further north towards the city starts to clear out a lot more but I haven't fished up there yet, I've just noticed it when I'm riding to work.

Not surprisingly I didn’t see any fish other than a chaotic amount of blowies... need the weed to clear out.

 Anyone been catching anything down cottesloe way? Planning on going for a fish there on Sunday.

Recently went for a short trip up to Denham. Sadly didnt take the boat but was amazed at the quality or the boat ramps and fish cleaning facilities.

There was 2 fish cleaning stations within 100m of each other both the same as the photo below. Bins for fish carcases and lights for night cleaning. Each also had numerous taps on it to wash down and large drain hole in the middle. Top quality and shade too!!!

Got me wondering where our $7+ goes?? i can only gather these facilities were council funded and good on them. But as you all know if you go to Hillarys, Ocean Reef, Mindarie or Two Rocks on a nice weather weekend there would be an average of 100+ boats at each. times this by 100 nice days fishing a years = $$$$$$$$. Why can they not provide quality facilities like these ones? Jurien also has fantastic facilities and one 200th of the population of Perth.

I can only hope some of the money goes to Sea Rescue?

Enjoy

 Hi is their anyone that you could recommend to fix my Daiwa reel that is good and honest and not too expensive?

 Hey guys is their many good catches of sambos of two rocks?

 Gedday fellas. I ve got a trailcraft that have the self draining deck. They are supposed to be fully sealed but mine has started taking on water. Not alot about 5-10 litres in a few hours. Filled the hull and found no obvious leaks. Tried tightening the motor bolts. resaeled the inspection hatch and regreased the inspection oring. as I mentioned nothing leaked out of the bung when I filled the hull???

Has anyone who has a similar boat got any clues where the water might be getting in.?

Thanks

Advice/opinions please..
Forgot to take a popper off my rod and it was flying around and hitting my rod while traveling. It has left a small chip in the blank.
Is this fixable or has the blank been compromised?

I've just bought my first boat, and have no real previous fishing experience. I've gone out maybe a handful of times and love it so any hint or tips..... specific to Warnbro Sound would be the best, as thats my local beach.

Angler reels in mythical tunicorn 

A Northern Australian fisho got the shock of his life when he reeled in a tunicorn - a Tuna with a large horn protruding from the centre of it's forehead.

Then the real story unfolds...

www.perthnow.com.au/news/tuna-caught-with-sailfish-bill-protruding-from-its-head/story-fnk1w5xw-1227098979747

Does anybody know anything about Tradewinds boats. There is a ocean master 7.2 on gumtree Seems to have a huge amount of deck space for a boat that size. There doesn't. seem to be anything on internet about them. The guy that owns it fish's off Hopetown would think it would get fairly rough down there Any input would be appreciated Cheers

 hi guys I'm looking at getti ha new rod for trout and other light game I'm looking at the hearty rise trout guider  rod was wondering if any ones used this rod or any recommendations I'm using a stradic ci4 1000 

 Hi guys,

just wondering if anyone has been or heard of people getting into some tailor in the Swan recently?

Might give it a bash on Saturday :)

Also what's a probable by-catch when trolling?

Cheers!

Hi All
Im looking at getting my Master<24m NC (master class 5)and need to get some commercial sea time.
if there are any commercial cray fisherman willing to help me out I am happy to work for nothing to get my hours up.
I am located in Mandurah so idealy a Mandurah vessel would be ideal but will travel if someone is willing to help me out. I work a 7on 7 off roster and would be available most of my days off I am a hard worker so not looking for a free ride will be more the happy to pitch in and give 100% on deck.
if you would like some more info give me a pm and I can give you a ring.

regards
Rod

 TO ALL THE BOATIES OUT THERE CAN YOU HELP ME GET MY BOAT BACK IT WAS STOLEN FROM MY FRONT YARD IT IS MORE SENTIMENTAL VALUE AND I LOVE MY TIME OUT  IN THE OCEAN I FISH BY MYSELF WHICH IS HALF OF MY LIFE  I AM OFFERING   A $1000 REWARD TRAILER REGO ITHP238 BOAT REGO DO380 WHICH IM SURE WOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED BY NOW RING IF YOU CAN HELP 0438594192...NEIL

 The rig has a big infestation, any idea how to get rid of it?

4 freedivers at Rotto today - loads of tarspot and a few seatose and berried.....Jumbos were too clever

 Have the scalies turned up in numbers anywhere yet? 

Got a trip coming up and want to stock up.

Havent been down to woodies or eshed for 4 weeks and they were very patchy then.

Any info would be great.

Paul

 My Dad iscoming to Australia for a visit ( from South Africa) in April next year - he has bought himself a second hand daiwa saltiga loaded with 80lb braid and he is keen to do some jigging.

I hope to introduce him to soem sambo and ytk action in our local waters.

I am looking for some tips at to where to locate these fish launching Bunbury ( preferable) or Port Geographe marina.

Thanks for all comments.

 Toying with the idea of having a go at crayfishing. Boat is in a pen at Mindarie marina. My proposal is that I provide the boat and you provide pots and muscle. ..we share the fuel bill....anyone interested ?

 Wanting to know if anyone has caught billfish behind Rotto, i am interested in taking a trip out there but I have never fished that area.

What/when is the best time to go?

 DOes anyone know where we can get good cray bait around Rickingham and Mandurah?

Prefer Orange Roughy

Mike

 Anyone seen any bargins on a new epirb? After a GPS type.

Cheers

As a scientist by training, I really appreciate the work that is done by Fisheries WA.  I genuinely believe that the regulations will create a long term sustainable recreational fishery in WA and Fisheries should be supported wherever possible.

On arrival in Perth I learned of the Send Us Your Skeletons program (http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/send-us-your-skeletons/Pages/default.aspx).  What a good thing!  Fillet your fish and take the skeletons of the desired species down to Fisheries at Hillarys and get stubbie holders with Dhu and Emperor on them, or hats and water bottles if you are into that (there are plenty of Fisheries locations to drop them off around the State).  The fish you give them aids in valuable research about fish stocks and it is really not that much of a hassle to drop the frames off every now and again – plus they give you the bags and labels, and said stubbie holders (my mates over east have really appreciated getting them).  You can even ask for Fisheries Research Report No 242 2013 which provides an excellent insight into “Biology, stock status and management summaries for selected fish species in south-western Australia”, and go in the draw for other prizes.

Anyway, I have been doing this (minus some whole pinkies, tailor and KGs that have been used for other purposes) whenever I get the chance.  I met up with a Fisheries lady who recently confirmed that my donations had topped 100 for the year.  This was the same lady that home delivered t-shirts, stubbie holders, hats, bags, size guides and other associated paraphernalia once she realised what obsessive donators we were – how good is that.

I was pretty pleased when I was informed that the past usual yearly donation at Hillarys was about 300 frames, and our contribution was very significant.  With our 100+, we have provided a lot more data to aid in research and I encourage members to do the same.  Minimising fish waste by using it for a good purpose is worthwhile (make burley and/or donate the frames).

 has anyone hooked any blue eye trevalla,bass grouper etc from two rocks this year ,just interested to know cheers.

Went out and pulled the pots with not many keepers today.. Mostly tars etc..  So we shifted them to another patch..

After that we (Dad n Myself) decided to try catch a whiting for lunch.. Only problem didnt have any bait..

But I did have some Maggot, look a like soft plastics in the tackle box which I have never used on Whiting before.. (Only Herring)

First drop over the side and BAM it was on.. Full quota done and dusted within the hour..  

Back home to clean some for lunch.. Yummo 

I'm heading to Walpole in a few weeks and was wondering what bait people have the best succes with when fish fishing for Bream and KGs. i have heard many just use coral prawns with decent success but thought there maybe something else that poeple had tried. i have heard ox heart for bream ?? any ideas ?? an older mate i have goes down and uses the coral prawns and swears by them and wont use anything else but i am thinking soft plastics, maggots.....just thinking of something different.

 Hi fellow fishers.

im going to cockburn sound tomorrow and would like some advise where to go ?.

im going to be targeting KGs and squid. I've heard Parmilia Bank is a good spot for these KGs and Squid but not sure which part to fish.

if anyone can give me some good information I would very much appreciate it.

cheers.

Hi Fellas,

A mate and I are off to DHI on Wednesday and at the moment the wind is up to 17 knots at its worst (According to seabreeze) and the swell is below a metre. I wanted to know if anyone has been up there with similar conditions and could let me know if I will still be able to get to the island from Denham comfortably in a 7 metre ally or is a 17 knot wind up that way too rough? It sucks because I have been watching all these videos on youtube and in the videos its glass!! haha just my luck that the wind will blow up

Its our first time going up there so just want to get some information. so any information on conditions etc would be appreciated!! I have searched for info but cant find too much!

Cheers guys

I have written a number of posts about how our burley has undoubtedly increased our catch.  I believe the key element is creating a burley “cloud” that the fish can smell but they can’t eat.  Make your bait a food option for the “interested” fish and it seems to work ok.

After extinguishing our last batch, it was time to make some more.  We have kept fish from the comps and a whole range of tasty bits from other trips and today was the day to “go again”.  We had secured a mate with an industrial electric mincer and a band saw and had 60+kg of fish that had been stored for the purpose.  Our recipe for today was cray, squid, whiting, old snapper fillets, skippy, snook, herring, prawns, mulies, scailies, yellowtail, mullet, sgt baker, bonito, sambo fillets, sambo egg sacs, 10kg of chicken pellets and 12L of tuna oil.

Getting a consistent mix was fairly complex as we had such a volume of base material.  In the end, we did a primary mince of all the lower grade fish, and then a secondary mince to ensure the mix ratio of the different fish was consistent.  The high quality stuff was minced separately to produce about 5kg of “premium”.  We then did the tertiary mince with the known ratio of low grade and high grade, at the desired consistency, and bagged it straight from the mincer.  118 bags of excellent burley, that will fit directly in the burley cage, are now freezing down for use over the next 6 months.

Yes, it took a lot of work between 5 of us but it is a good use of material that might otherwise have been thrown out.  Nice to spend half a day with the mates as well as doing something that can “potentially” benefit all our families and friends.  With this volume, we should only need to do it a couple of times a year.