Few Beginner Questions

[Royalstar1]

Hey all,

I must have read every post on this forum twice in the past few months, reason being Myself and two mates have just started fishing. I've a few questions though

1) If you go out and catch 20-30fish like i've seen in some pics, do you keep them all? or will the fish n chips shop buy them off you. (Ok so we've only caught a half dozen fish so far, but im not going to catch more if i just waste em)

2) If your in (for example) the first hour of your day fishing and you catch a monster fish, too big for the esky ;), would you have to head straight in?

and finally... 12 Mile reef (off sydney)... Is the sea bed there rough? (Can you tell your on it by just looking at the sounder) As im not sure we were on it, but the bottom rose up from 125m to 105-110 with a few steep 1m rises but no fish on the sounder?! and it was a long bloody way to get out there, turn around and come back in :(

Cheers all, im sure i'll post up plenty more questions that have you all shaking your head, ;D But theres really no one to give you advice when theres nothing but ocean in every direction!

[fishingnottake]

ok ou can;t sell them, you can always throw back what you don;t need, limit your catch don;t catch your limit etc, as for the monster fish, alot of the times the really big fish are no good eating.. so take a photo and send it back, or just get a bigger esky :P as for the 12 mile reef, wouldn;t know never fished sydney, but sounds like you found some sort of drop off so might be worth fishing.
ash

[snakecatcher]

Hey Royalstar,

First thing you should do is check your size and bag limits for NSW and always stick to them. If you do catch loads of fish you don't have to keep them all - catch and release is a good thing to get into and only keep enough for a feed. Haven't looked into it but ii is probably illegal to sell fish without a commercial license.

If you do catch a monster - take a couple of photos and let it go. A lot of the very big fish are the breeders and tough as old boots to eat so not much point in keeping them.

Can't help you with 12 mile reef as I am based in QLD

Good luck with the fishing.

[Royalstar1]

Cheers guys, 8-)

Now alli need is a new south welshman who'se been to 12mile. Theres gotta be one?!

[Cheech]

I agree with the other guys. The biggest snapper I cought and cooked tasted pretty average. The next really big snapper I catch I plan to release it. The smaller sizes are way better.

The first thing you have to do if you plan to do a bit of fishing is log on to the fisheries website and download/print the size and catch number regulations. You are better having a fair idea of sizes and numbers before you head out rather than trying to read it when out an the fish is flapping on the floor of the boat.

Nothing better than a fresh feed of fish. I freeze a little of my fish as I do not always get to go out the next time we want a feed of fish. But don't overdo it. They are now where near as good after being frozen.

Cheech

[onionpants]

I catch eel-tailed catfish in Robina Lakes. When I catch a few extra ones, the local McDonald's will buy them from me to use in their filet-o-fish sandwich.

[Fishin_Dan]

Royalstar - If you catch more than you need, definately take some photos and release the rest. If you can't eat them, then they just get thrown out, and that's a complete waste!

No you can't sell them legally! You will find that nearly every shop (Apart from very dodgy ones) won't buy from you as they get into a lot of trouble as well... It's not a matter of IF you get caught, but more a matter of WHEN... ;)

12 mile reef used to hold some VERY good fish! I fished it a bit when I was younger (Much younger than I am now, and before I moved to QLD!) Your best bet is to be there fishing about an hour before sunrise, and fishing until about 2 hours after sunrise. The same goes for sunset, but reversed (ie 2 hours before - 1 hour after). You can either anchor up and berley, and drift until you find where the fish are holding, and keep repeating the drift.

[Royalstar1]

Thanks Dan, will have to try it out this tuesday.

Could you (or your dad) tell when you were over the reef though? Or does the bottom show us as flat? :question

[Feral]

MY old man keeps the street supplied with fish, (he's out every day since he retired) he cant bear to think someone's going with out a feed of fish (and mum flat refuses to eat one more piece of fish!)

[snakecatcher]

Hey Onionpants stop posting bullshit - no way maccas buys fish from you. Apart from being illegal all their stuff is supplied ready made.

[brett_rokesky]

Hook, line and sinker snakecatcher. He got you with a good one there :o

[Fishin_Dan]

Thanks Dan, will have to try it out this tuesday.

Could you (or your dad) tell when you were over the reef though? Or does the bottom show us as flat? :question


Keep your eye on the sounder... You will know when you're over it! ;) There will be rises, drop-offs, bumps, etc... But most of all you want lots and lots of "arches"!!!! ;D