Hacking Sunday 17/2

[jacobvz]

Hi Guys,


Anyone else thinking of doing Hacking tomorrow morning?
I know quinnie is going, so I'll keep an eye out for him.

Anyone else?


Jack

[quintrex101]

yea i was gonna go, but we have had some last min plans so i gonna go for a night fish, have you got lights on your boat yet jack ???

[jacobvz]

I was hoping for a nice report, but all I managed was some underaged snapper and whiting. I haven't been having much luck lately.
Anyone willing to show me what I am doing wrong one of these weeks?

Jack

[quintrex101]

i did not go and will not be going tonight .....

[It'l do]

I was hoping for a nice report, but all I managed was some underaged snapper and whiting. I haven't been having much luck lately.
Anyone willing to show me what I am doing wrong one of these weeks?

Jack


I will be buggered, I was out there last night and must have caught the same fish. Hard to get the kids organised so we started too late. My little girl caught 2 small snapper and after they fell asleep all I caught was a small whiting. Fished around the ballast heap. Saw a few guys but over all pretty quite. By any chance were you near there as well?

Grant.

[jacobvz]

I was just in front of north west arm as someone told me there would be nice whiting there

Jack

[Haji]

What were you using for bait Jack and what sort of rig/hook etc?

I used to live just opposite the Ballast Heap and kept an ally dinghy on the rocks there. I found that in the summertime fishing the flats from the BH down to the deeper water at the first channel marker heading West was good for Whiting and Bream using Nippers or if targetting Bream only Mullet and/or Chicken Gut. Also if you are pumping nippers at Mainbar (in water up to your knees and using a sieve to blow the pumped sand in) you will see Whiting nosing around the clouds of sand/mud generated by the pumping. I have caught some horses of Whiting with a rod left in a holder stuck in the sand whilst I pumped for nippers.

Port Hacking is a very pretty and pleasant place to fish but in my experience Botany Bay beats it hands down for good consistant catches of Bream, Trevors, Tailor etc.

Cheers

[It'l do]

Haji,

Started a different thread in the general section relating to the size of bait/nipper pumps.

I would appreciate your comments.

Grant.

[jacobvz]

What were you using for bait Jack and what sort of rig/hook etc?

I used to live just opposite the Ballast Heap and kept an ally dinghy on the rocks there. I found that in the summertime fishing the flats from the BH down to the deeper water at the first channel marker heading West was good for Whiting and Bream using Nippers or if targetting Bream only Mullet and/or Chicken Gut. Also if you are pumping nippers at Mainbar (in water up to your knees and using a sieve to blow the pumped sand in) you will see Whiting nosing around the clouds of sand/mud generated by the pumping. I have caught some horses of Whiting with a rod left in a holder stuck in the sand whilst I pumped for nippers.

Port Hacking is a very pretty and pleasant place to fish but in my experience Botany Bay beats it hands down for good consistant catches of Bream, Trevors, Tailor etc.

Cheers

I use yabbies or lures at the moment. Lure when not with wife and kid.
Yabbies go on a running sinker rig on a medium size baitholder hook.
The lead ball sinker is a small as I can get away with and get the yabbie on the bottom in decent time.

<showing ignorance>
Where is ballast heap?
</showing ignorance>

Jack

[It'l do]

<showing ignorance>
Where is ballast heap?
</showing ignorance>

Jack


Opposite the suburb of Port Hacking.
It is the sand they dumped when they dredged.
Last time I saw them dredge (about 4 months ago) they pump it aboard and take it some where else which I assume is out to sea.

Grant.

[Haji]

JACK

I HAVE ATTACHED A VIEW OF THE BALLAST HEAP IN PORT HACKING.

TO ORIENTATE YOU VIA A STREET DIRECTORY I HAVE SHOWN "KOROKAN ROAD" AT THE TOP OF THE PICTURE.

THE BALLAST HEAP WAS CREATED BY SAILING VESSELS TRAVELLING BETWEEN PORT HACKING AND OTHER COASTAL AREAS DUMPING THEIR ROCK BALLAST IN THIS LOCATION.

I HAVE NOT FISHED IT FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS BUT THERE USED TO BE ENOUGH WATER OVER THE FLATS TO FISH IN A TINNIE EITHER SIDE OF THE BALLAST HEAP AT MID TO HIGH TIDE.

LOCATIONS ARE AT NUMBERS 3 AND 4. ALSO A GREAT SPOT TO NET BLUE SWIMMER CRABS AT NIGHT USING A CHICKEN WIRE NET AND A BIG SPOTLIGHT.

THE OTHER WAY TO FISH IT IS TO ANCHOR IN THE DEEPER CHANNEL ABOUT 20 METERS FROM THE BALLAST HEAP. APPROX ON THE LINE BETWEEN 1 AND 2. (NO 2 ON A RUN UP TIDE.) USE PLENTY OF BURLEY TO DRAW THE FISH FROM THE BH TOWARDS YOU.

I FOUND THAT THE BH FISHED BEST TOWARD EVENING ON A RUN IN TIDE.

I HAVE ALSO MARKED HOW TO GET TO THE NIPPER GROUNDS WHICH ARE FAIRLY CLOSE TO SHORE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ARROW. I LIKE TO PUMP MY NIPPERS IN WATER UP TO KNEE DEEP USING A SIEVE. THE PUMP IS DISCHARGED INTO THE SIEVE, GIVE IT A GOOD SHAKE AND THE SAND/MUD WILL WASH OUT LEAVING ANY NIPPERS IN THE SIEVE.

IT TAKE TWO PEOPLE TO PUMP NIPPERS THIS WAY BUT IT WORKS A TREAT. AND IT WILL OFTEN BRING WHITING RIGHT INTO THE AREA WHERE YOU ARE PUMPING.

THE PORT DOES SILT UP A LOT AND FOR THAT REASON MY INFO MAY BE OUT OF DATE BUT HAVE A LOOK AND IF THERE IS A REASONABLE DEPTH OF WATER OVER THE BALAST HEAP AT HIGH TIDE THE ABOVE COMMENTS SHOULD STILL BE AOK.

YOUR RIG SOUNDS OK BUT MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE LIGHT LINES. I USED TO USE 4 TO 5 LB LINE MAX WHICH WAS PLENTY TO CATCH BREAM, WHITING AND THE ODD FLATHEAD.

HOPE THIS HELPS

CHEERS AND GOOD LUCK.

:luck:

[jacobvz]

Haji

Thanks for that. I am using 6 pound braid and a 3 meter fluorocarbon trace also 6 pound.

I have seen those rocks the other day when I passed there. They were on dry land at low tide

Jack

[It'l do]

JACK

THE BALLAST HEAP WAS CREATED BY SAILING VESSELS TRAVELLING BETWEEN PORT HACKING AND OTHER COASTAL AREAS DUMPING THEIR ROCK BALLAST IN THIS LOCATION.


:luck:

I stand corrected, you learn something new every day. Makes more sense.

[Haji]

Hi Jack
I imagine that the area of the Ballast Heap war originally in deep water that was gradually filled up with rock ballast. Over time that probably helped to silt up the area between the BH and the shore to the point where the water depth is now quite shallow.

Looking at Google Earth it still looks as though there is enough water over the flat either side of the BH to fish it in the way that I described earlier in this Thread.

I have always enjoyed flats fishing, you can berley to bring the fish to you and when you hook one you know that there is nowhere for the fish to cut you off or hook you up on the bottom. It can also be highly visual fishing if you use Polaroids. You do have to be very quiet however as fish on the flats tend to spook very easily. Even putting your anchors over without great care to be quiet can drive the fish off the flats over a considerable area. If that happens they sometimes take a fair while to come back.

Cheers

[Dog Catcher]

So that's the Ballast heap huh !

See you've started using snagit Haji, remember you can crop the edges of the pics can see your task bar etc.

May be down there tommoro arvo if the back behaves itself no boat just a spin rod & some poppers.

Give the flats @ Gudjamaja a go for some whiting

[Haji]

Give me a call as you are leaving home DC, I may join you or take some pics.

Cheers

[quintrex101]

Give me a call as you are leaving home DC, I may join you or take some pics.

Cheers

good luck if you go mate :beerchug: i going to have to try that spot in the boat :red party: