Brassy Trevally (Carangue Mouchetee) from New Caledonia

I'm currently in New Caledonia visiting my family in Noumea.

At the same time, it's a great opportunity to do some fishing as NC is very good for this sport. I took with me a YongSung Power Carbon Alpha 3.9m cargo iso rod.

First day catching 11 garfish with my mate Thai who came with us. This spot is a little jetty at 10 minutes walk from my parent's place.

We also went camping on a remote island not far from my place. What an experience. Lots of mosquitoes but it was so good to be with friends and family out there in the nature. We caught a bream and several fingermarks. The next early morning, we even spotted a shark not far from the shore.

The day Thai's left NC flying back to Sydney, I hooked up with a big fish on a metal slice but the 8lb line was too weak and my drag was too tight, so the line broke. On the second day I hooked up with another one but the fish spat put the soft plastic Kamikaze shad.

On the third attempt, it was a quiet start, it was 3 hours before low tide and the sky was well covered but not raining. I had bought a popper and more metal slice but it was so quiet that I decided to target smaller fish using a Gulp 3" prawn. I lost all my jigheads to the snags so ended up using a regular hook with two splitshots above it. No seagulls or jumping baitfish today, I was starting to doubt I would get any results today. But after 2 hours of persistance, something took my lure. I thought it would be a local grouper but it wasn't heading back to the rocks, instead it suddenly pull my line out to the depth. I could not stop it from going deeper and deeper. The fish just peeled my line from my Okuma Lebra (lever brake reel) 2500 spool which I've upgraded with some 15lb braid line as I didn't want to loose another fish.

After 7 minutes of fight, I managed to bring the fish to the surface, it was a Brassy Trevally of a very good size. Not wanting to take any risk of loosing it, I used my DIY landing net (potatoes net bag) I safely landed the fish.

This was the fishing spot (Port Moselle), I was standing at the corner of the rocky edge on the right.

The fish measured 66cm, but as it was cut at the throat, I think it's more or less 65cm.

I hope I will get the opportunity to get more fish like this before my return.

Hope you guys had a lovely Christmas, best wish for the last days of 2014!

Update:

The brassy trevally could actually be a young bluefin trevally

Nice Drummer in Terrigal

My alarm was set at 5am, but I woke up in panic and it was 6.15am! I set the wrong alarm, weekdays instead of weekend one...

Got to Terrigal at around 7.30. I realised I forgot my bucket and burley box. That's a great start...

I soaked some bread and hand throw them. But I was too lazy today and water plus cold weather is not great. It was also raining but i was hoping it was good for drummers. After an hour walking around I finally got to the end of the first platform, my favourite location. An Iso fisherman was seen on the opposite platform he then went away half an hour later. Two other fishos came and started to burley around with bread, sweet! Free burley for me hahaha. I went around the hole and started to cast around. I was running out of time, so best for me is to chase the fish. After 10 mins I got a spat out, casted again and yoohoo!!! The rod bent as I've never seen! It's a difficult ledge because it's a sort of big amphitheatre with bit staircases and The good spot usually 20 meters away and snagging easily happens. But fortunately for me this time I managed to steer the fish away and brought it back to me. It definitely was a drummer by the feeling on the rod. After maybe 5 minutes I got the beast at my feet and used the net for the first time to land my catch.

A 40cm drummer, I estimated as the Ikiboard was too short to exactly measure it. I left the fish in a pool and went for another quiet 30 minutes before killing the fish using the Ikigun.

I did take some video footage but it was a failure, I switched off the camera in the middle to save batteries and forgot to turn it back on before the catch. I recorded the Iki Jime process but my arm was hiding the action... So next time.

Here are the pics:

Huy

Homemade telescopic burley scoop

I've been using a pen fishing rod for quite a while and just love it. Now that I discovered Iso fishing, I think of the pen rod as a mini Iso rod. It is similar in the sense that it is all about finesse and light tackle.

I have few spare parts provided by penfishingrods.com in case I brake something which mostly happens by human mistake (stepping on the rod...) and very rarely while fighting the fish.

For my Iso fishing I used a small cooler bag from Coles, it has a hard inside which makes it perfect for a portable burley box that I can put over my shoulder and be very mobile and have my hands free for the rod.

Until now I used a kitchen scoop to throw the burley, having lost my DIY burley scoop during a night session.

I didn't build another burley scoop because I wanted it to be able to be stored in the burley box so I can close the lid and not having an extra accessory.

The problem with the kitchen scoop is it is not great for throwing the burley further than 4 or 5 meters away or the burley will spread around.

So I bought a burley scoop head piece and used pen rod spare parts to build a telescopic scoop that would fit in the box but would also extend for distance casting.

Great end of the week with breams and drummers

I'm on annual leave since Wednesday as I have family members coming to visit us in Wyoming. Yesterday morning I went to catch some fish for our diner tonight. So I went to  to Half Tide Rocks, nearly 40 minutes drive from home! I was hoping it will be worth the effort.

After a walk to the point, I went and choose my fishing spot and started the burley ritual and did few cast right in front of me. At first there were small bites and few misses. But then big breams were coming for the burley! It was really cold, 8 degrees when I arrived. I made it 2 hours and kept 3 breams for diner.

I have recorded about 1h20 of the session but used iMovie to make some time shifts effect to fast forward boring parts.

Here is the intro video:

And this is the full version:

The keepers:

Then I went back home and took my wife and boy for a lunch and then drove the missus back home while father and son went for a ride to three different playgrounds. On the way to the third playground Thien-San, my boy, felt asleep so I drove to Narara Creek where I can park the car just one meter away from the water so I can fish and keep an eye on him.I started burleying in the middle of the creek but then nothing, not a single bite. So I decided to burley closer right in front of the little bush and bang bang bang! 4 more breams to end this awesome day, here are the two legal ones but I released them anyway:

This afternoon, I took the cousins to Terrigal beach, as the kids were playing with my wife on the beach, my cousin, his wife and I went on the tiny rock platform on the right hand side. I didn't think well of the location, but it seemed OK to the view of the weed beds and rocky bottom but we didn't want to go too far away from the kids anyway so we stayed around.

Luckily after the burley took effect, breams and Blackfish were caught one after the other until it was time to go back home as the little one was hungry.

Once back home, I posted a report on OzIsoFishing forum and the more experienced members told me the two fish I thought to be Ludericks were actually Drummers! My first pigs on my Iso setup!

What a wonderful week really! I'm not sure if it's because of the Iso fishing technique, or because Central Coast is just the fishing heaven as most are saying or maybe a bit of both, but this week has been really fun and I learned a lot about this awesome fishing technique.

I gave my wife the rod so she can have some fun fighting a large bream, but unfortunately he spat out the hook right at her feet.

Here are some more pictures of this afternoon taken by my auntie:

And of course, we had a great diner. I cleaned up the fish, my wife cooked them and my auntie did the salad, what a yummy diner:

7 hookups 1 landed

Up until today all the Iso sessions I made were just an intro to Iso fishing. What I meant by this is the fish did not put an awesome fight and I felt it was just like fishing with a regular rod. Yeah the rod did bend and all but it was not spectacular.

Until this afternoon, I went to Terrigal, first time on this platform and it looked awesome. The tide was raising and the swell was safe. Not a fisho out there, the platform was for me so I picked my spot and started burleying.

My first hookup happened 40 minutes after the first cast. Something really big was on the other side. Unfortunately my drag was not at 100% so it pulled under a rock and busted me off.

It carried on like that three times eventhough the line snapped too early to be rocks I think it was a big fish and my 8lb was too light. So I switch to 12lb and landed a nice Blackfish.

As the tide went up and sun went down, the fish went mad over the big rock step on top of which the white water was bubbling. Until 5.20pm I lost 3 other big fish. I finally got to learn how to use the lever drag. At the beginning I got busted cuz I was holding the lever and tension was too high. On next hookups, as soon as I recognised the breaking tension I released the lever and the rod straighten up allowing me to fight for around one minute but I always ended up in the rocks at the end of the rock step.

By 4pm some other fishos have been fishing around me I didn't notice them coming, too focused. The sun went down, I casted my last one but not being able to see the float I decided to hold the rod tip high and pulling the line a bit. I noticed the fish were so aggressive that I didn't need to see the float. And bang another big one and another bust off... :-(

So either the fish snapped the line or the line got stuck to deep rocks far in front of me.

Even with just a single blackie and multiple busted ones. I feel that this session was a real Iso one which I learned a lot from.

I now need to get some 16lb fluoro leader!

More bream on Iso in Sydney

After my first visit to Clifton Gardens the other day, I decided, yesterday, to give it another go but went to the rocky bits on the right side of the beach accessing it through the walk path from the beach.
15 minutes after my first cast, the wind went mad, black clouds were forming and a massive dead branch felt off a tree and landed two meters from my feet. That was it for me, I packed up and went to the jetty. But the wind got even stronger and some fishos left for their cars. So did I.

However, I didn't want to waste an afternoon so decided to find a protected area and remembered of place I read from other forums as being more productive. And from memory it's location should protect me from the wind coming from that direction. So I headed there and walk down the path and hill to access the small rock platforms. I chose a group of four rocks and stand on the first of them. As I stepped on the rock, a blackfish got spooked and swam away... Before deploying my rod, I burleyed in front of me. 20 minutes have past and not a single bite, I became impatient as it was around 5pm and the sky was getting darker. So I casted on my left, nada... I casted on my right, trying to reach as the other set of rocks further back, and as the float settled it went down, bang! Smaller fighter, it was the first of three leather jackets.

An Iso fisher man was standing further up by the point, he was on a good location but it was too far for me and I didn’t have a lot of time so I decided to stay here.

I had enough of leatherjacket and they bit through my 6 lb leader so many time I’ve lost about 5 hooks, so I casted again in front of me in the hope the burley had kicked in. Again as the float settled it went for a dive, I strike and hooked up to something good! Letting the Iso rod do the work for me, the fish finally got to the rock and I lifted up as my platform was very low at near water level, my landing net is still a virgin! It was a nice bream, I estimated it to 28 cm. Second cast, a second bream of the same size, third cast got me an undersize bream that went back to the sea.

It then got quiet again, the sky was now at near zero visibility, I used what’s left of burley and made a last attempt, the float was barely visible, but I managed to see it went under for one more time and got me another good bream. That was exciting!

I called it a day and started packing up when $#&&@~!!!, in my excitements I forgot to check the water and my way back is now under water. Oh dear! Quick lets check Google Maps, it seems to be another exit on the opposite side, so I slowly jumped from rock to rock and got stuck again as a stack of small boats and kayaks were in my way and the rock on the side was too far to make a jump.

After some hesitation, I knew the only way out is to climb that bushy slope in front of me, so I looked around and see a low enough edge and used my landing net pole as a probe. Slowly, I made my way up avoiding fragile roots, branches and other obstacles and finally made it up there…

Behind me:

In front of me:

From the top:

Got home after one and a half hour drive and measured the fish. I released one small bream and two leather jacket. Here are the keepers, the breams were all around 29m.

What an adventure...

First bream on Iso

Until Tuesday, I will be finishing work at 3pm. That's a great opportunity for me to practice my Iso fishing skills around the Sydney area. Yesterday I went to discover Clifton Gardens, I've heard of this spot several times in the past but never got to visit it until now. I can understand why it is popular, the view is good, there is a nice grass field for family gathering, the beach is small but nice enough and there is a massive jetty where fishing is said to be pretty good at times.

I arrived at around late 3pm and there were already a lot of fishos. But everyone's bucket seemed to be empty, except for a guy who was catching yakkas. There was another Iso fisherman but he to was getting doughnut.

I've anyhow decided to give it a go and stayed till 5.30pm. I saw one other guy trying to catch a yellowtail for bait for Kingfish, as he was using a hook and bait that was way too big, I offered him a size 12 hook, he still didn't catch anything so I helped him by pulling out my handline and caught him a yakka to play with.

After 20 minutes of berleying and getting my bait stolen by pickers, something decent finally pulled my float down fast. Little fight and I pulled out a 26cm bream, the only good fish for the whole session...

I will be coming and try again.

My first legal Blackfish

As I got into Iso fishing, targetting Blackfish (aka Luderick) was to be expected. With a lot of efforts going to various rock fishing locations, I still haven't managed to catch any decent blackfish (caught couple of baby ones when targeting Bream...).

This morning I went to Bradleys Head, a wonderful location if you are looking for a fantastic panoramic view over the Harbour Bridge, for another attempt. I started on the rocky patches on the left of the amphitheatre but the first hours was pure failure, not a single bite, the tide was at the lowest...

I then decided to change spot and went on the jetty right in front of the amphitheatre where a lot of weeds were growing at the base. All went very slowly, caught couple of Pufferfish, little buggers, but then the tide started to raise and I could see a big school of bait fish swimming in. Very soon after that, my float went for a slow dive so I strike and hookup with a mullet.

A nice by-catch to start the excitement.
As my float drifted away, I saw a big Kingfish chasing some of the bait fish at around 6 meters in front of me. He must have been about 1.20 meters! All I could do was to admire this majestic fish swim by.

Then suddenly there were some noise behind me, a couple of crow were trying to get a feed from the bread inside my bag... I chase them away and secure the bait.

Back to my float, it has drifted past the left side of the jetty and above some weed bed, it sank! Strike & hook up again! This time if feels bigger and the rod was bending nicely. That's when I had an experience of the self pulling action of the Iso rod. Those long rods are extremely flexible and because they are trying to regain their original straight shape, they are pulling the fish for you at the same time, all I had to do is holding the base of the rod straight up and the fish was being pulled towards me by the rod. Quite neat. The fish was swirling around in the water and I couldn't recognise this type of movement, until it started to swim straight that's when I knew it was a Blackfish, and a good size one. I haven't brought a net with me and wasn't too sure about lifting it up. Not knowing my new Iso rod well yet, I didn't want to risk breaking it by lifting the fish out so I worked it back to the stairs on the side of the jetty. On the way the Blackfish was trying to dive under the weeds but thanks to the length of the rod (5.3m) it was just a matter of extending my arm in front of me and the fish was pulled out from below the weeds. Awesome! I then just caught the leader and pulled the baby out of the water.

31cm it was, not too bad for a first legal size Blackfish on Iso rod. It was the first time I saw a legal Blackfish in real life, and I find it very a nice fish.

Both the fish were not a match to a size #2 Iso rod that is designed for Drummers, but it still was a nice fight and seeing the rod bending over is quite exciting. As I was away from home to work on a night shift in Sydney, the fish were released to fight another day.

Hopefully, I will catch more of them soon and looking forward to fight a Drummer too!

A little fisherman

Just a quick post to share this cute video of my nearly 3 year old boy playing with the Pen Rod Goliath on Neutral Bay beach. The tiny rod looks gigantic when handled by this young fisherman :-D

Using Iso fishing accessories with a Pen Rod Goliath

I recently got into Iso Tsuri, unfortunately the weather conditions were not safe those last couple weeks so I'm still yet to have tried my Iso gears on the rocks. Next Wednesday, the OZIsoFishing forum members are organising a members trip in the Central Coast, I will be joining them and hopefully catch my first legal size Blackfish or Black Drummer!

In the mean time, I've been trying my 5.3 meters Yong Sung Naiad #2.0 rod at the local estuaries and find it quite a sensitive rod even though it is a size 2.0 rod. Even an undersize bream feels good on the rod, I can imagine what fight it would be to get a nice drummer on this.

As everything is about finesse in Iso fishing, the terminal tackle and various accessories are actually very suitable for my pen fishing rod.

Firstly, my favorite add-on is the HDF Hook Keeper, Iso fishing rods are thinner than their rock fishing counterparts. Which makes this hook keeper a match for the Pen Rod Goliath. I can now walk about with the rod extended and not having to hold the rig or have it dangling around and getting tangled.

Iso terminal tackle are pretty cool too. Their #8 swivel is very small and ideal for light lines. Their floats (in various sizes) are pre-weighted, you only need to add the equivalent splitshot sinker to neutralise the float's buoyancy so the fish won't feel anything on the bite.

The triangular yellow accessory you can see in the picture, underneath the float is a rear float cushion stopper. This one is shaped like a v-cushion, making it acts both as a bottom float stopper protecting the float hitting against the swivel, also reducing the lost of floats when the line breaks, as the stopper hold on tightly to the line and keeps the float from sliding out, the V shape helps pulling down the rig when by the use of bottom currents.

Above the float is a plastic stopper bead and a float stopper (pink) thread. Those stopper threads are made of a type of wool and it is very soft and slide through the tiny rod's top guide very easily instead of getting blocked like other plastic/rubber stoppers.

I've been testing this setup, targeting creek mullets and it works a treat using a 4lb flurocarbon leader with no splitshot as I needed the bait to float right under the water surface.

Homemade berley scoop

Something I rarely do but I should do more regularly is to use burley/berley. Most of the time the water I'm fishing is very wide, so the chance of a good fish finding my bait is little unless I'm lucky to be in a spot where fish are hanging around. The purpose of a burley is to attract the fish in the neighbourhood but not to feed them.

The subject of this post is not the burley itself, but a DIY berley scoop. I'm planning to explore the world of Iso fishing and burley is one important aspect of it. As you are fishing from the rock, the burley need to thrown accurately and sometimes at a distance, that is why Iso fishermen use a berley scoop with a long handle.

A good burley scoop costs around $30 - $40, the cheapest I've seen is around $19. Alright... fishing is an expensive hobby hey!

I've spent enough and need to save to buy an Iso landing net (it's a lightweight, telescopic 5 to 6 meter long landing net), because an Iso rod wouldn't be able to lift a big fish off the water and from the rocks you have no other easy way to land your fish. So this is another opportunity for a DIY project :-)

So I need a scoop and make it long enough. So I went to Coles and see what I could find and saw this:

OK, it's more a spoon than a scoop but it should do the work. To add length to the handle, I've used a piece of wooden stick I've found in the corner of the garage and used a length of soft rope to attach it to the scoop handle using the same knot as you would use to make a float stopper knot which is similar to a Uni knot. I left a length of rope at the end of the handle to be use as a leash to attach the scoop to the bucket, it's probably be a bit short so I might need to extend it a bit in the future.

The spoon is not very deep as opposed to a scoop, but let see how this homemade burley scoop works. Another option is to use an old ice-cream scoop instead.

Total cost: $3