New to the site and wanted to say hi all

[Dangler]

G,day all my name is Russell and im new to the site,
Hope every one had good xmas and new year.
I,ve just purchased a new boat and have had few days
and nights on the hawkesbury trying to hook me a nice size
jewie but no luck. Ive tryed a few baits live tailor,mullet and squid
strips,(not live) Not real sure what type of rig i need line,leader ect
and have no idea what tides or where to fish :banghead:
if any one has some pointers it would be a big help

Cheers Russ

[xtosea]

Hi Russell and welcome to the site,
Firstly you'll need a good rod and reel, at least 20lb line just i case you hook a big one.Running sinker to suit current, about 1m-1.5m of trace, anything up to 80lb, fresh fresh bait, live or dead, hook size 3/0-9/0 also depending on bait to suit it. Fish many baits out at any one time. Your best bet would be to get a copy of Greg Joyes DVD Jewfish Secrets and learn from there, it is a good instructional DVD.
All the best.
Kamil

[Dangler]

cheers mate

[TomMc]

theres some great places on the hawkesbury like slippery rock and the railway bridges, fresh is always best my advice is try diffrent baits like squid mullet hawkesbury river prawns etc. and maybe some lures
:beerchug:
Tom

[nimrod]

Russell. Welcome to the site, I am also pretty new here.
The Hawkesbury river system is vast and needs plenty of time on it to get to know it. Like any other system there are good and bad times & spots that you will learn over the years. The advise you have been given so far is good and you should practice what has been suggested. Just don't get frustrated if you don't get a result straight away, keep at it.
Nobody can tell you exactly what to do to catch a decent Jewie from the river system, what works for one guy, might be tried and may fail for you, you may be lucky enough to drop a bait over the side and it gets bashed straight away, just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and that is why some fisho's can come in from every outing with good results, cause they know where to be at a certain time of the tide and moon phase etc.
Catching Jews is not hard, they are vastly over rated as a fighting fish ( in my opinion ( if suitable gear is employed )) usually the first run is powerful and it is a matter of timing when to set the hook and start dragging it in ( this will come with practice ) there is an old belief that you should let the run continue for 10 seconds before setting the hook, 10 seconds is a long time, I usually go 1-2 10 then apply pressure, I don't strike hard at this stage, just apply enough straign on the hook so that it sets, if the jewie has not got the bait properly in its gob at this stage it usually lets it go, but will come back for a second go at it. If you strike hard and miss, the chances are the fish will not have a second go at that bait, ( just my observation from my experiences ) others will no doubt dissagree. Once the fish is hooked it's usually all over rover, you may get another short burst, and a few head shakes, but they mostly come in like a wet rag, this of course is size related and a big one will give you lots of enjoyement, but generally once they are propely hooked they are as good as being landed, only a matter of keeping your cool and not panicking.
Hope you get that big one sooner then later.
Frank

[Dangler]

thanks for the help guys some realy good info there, stopped a the railway bridge and fished the top of the tide,Had a bit more luck this time only got 2x small jew bout 2-3ks but it felt good to finally get one,(yay) caught a small hammer head,octopus and some good size bream
Great arvo fishing in all..

[TomMc]

congrats on ya catch
:beerchug:
Tom