Out on Friday 20th December for a late arvo session on Manly Dam, near home:
Gear was our 602 rod and reel combo, with the lure being a black cicada popper. Couldn’t believe it! Not one strike, and that’s the first time ever. At least I was able to get some pics of the kayak I’m selling for a mate with medical issues! It sold in a couple of hours after posting and I’m very grateful to everyone who’s supported the sale of his tackle on the Facebook page:
Out again the next day – Saturday. Excited to fish with son Chris because he’s so busy with career and young family. This time we were in my little Atomix 4.2:
We’ve had some fantastic action in the little boat with the light 602s over the years:
Launched at Roseville ramp, and headed straight for Bantry Bay in Middle Harbour. Big king tide happening:
Once again we were both using our 602 combos, but this time the target was flathead. So 3” Gulp! Paddleshads. Results came pretty fast, but the flathead were pretty small.
Further down the harbour to a new spot. Note to new players? Avoid the bays where there’s a steady slow slope into deeper water. What the flatties really like is a plunging sandbank, where they can lay in ambush:
It was great to get a few – even if they were on the small size. Small flathead pretty common in Sydney Harbour, it’s a bit of a nursery for the species. Crazy Christmas rush but Chris and I figured we could fit in one more session. Once again chasing flathead but this time, with bait. Chris bought some gear at Bunnings and made up a floating sieve to hold the nippers we pumped. It worked great:
Rig was simple – as you can see in the pic. A ball sinker running down to a swivel then a short trace, to a long shank hook. Always find long shanks good for flatties because 1. they’re so good at sawing through the leader, especially you lift their heads out of the water and, 2. you can sometimes remove the hook without grabbing the fish – which involves a bit of risk because of the sharp spikes on the end of the gill covers:
So no big fish to report but really enjoyed family fishing over Christmas. On the topic of Christmas and tackle, I saw a bloke picking up a combo from Anaconda, guessing it’s for junior’s Christmas present:
Please don’t, lads. These el cheapo blister packed combos are absolute trash. You might remember my winter posts about the blackfish lessons? Saw a few of these then and I was honestly shocked. One of the worst things about them is their horrible hard curly too-thick mono nylon line. In some ways, you need to have better light gear than you do, heavy gear:
Graphite super responsive two piece rod
3000 size reel with
Carbontex drag
Full size handle
Your choice of 3 kilo or 6 kilo colour change braid
Here’s my best fish on the 602 – a 12 kilo longtail tuna at Scotts Head: Off to Cooktown next week, chasing GTs. Will report in on return – if anything interesting happens. Best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful 2025
Andrew Hestelow