# NSW: Longy Lessons Learnt



## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Great roll out this morning. A busy trip for me - learnt heaps.

Only yakked one species this time, but they all looked a bit like this:










Report to follow.

Cheers


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Lessons:

#1. Gathering liveys is worth the hassle. Rnmars made me "waste" good king-fishing time before sparrow's this morning.

#2. Rnmars has great ideas, but he is crap at catching liveys. Score was 12 nil in 30 minutes of muscle burning yakka action.

#3. Rnmars is crap at keeping livies live. Score was 3 out 12 by the time we launched (less the one that escaped between the bucket and the bait tube).

#4. If you see Wigg on the water, make sure you say g'day. Guaranteed to hook up the moment you see him.

#5. Bigger kings smash livies, then try to rip your arms off (I always suspected this was the case, but nice to have it confirmed).

#6. Leash rods at all times. A bandit thrashing around in a yak can be pretty hairy when stuff isn't tied down. One (leashed) rod in the drink (but who cares!).

#7. Kings spurt an amazing amount of shark attractant (i.e blood) over your legs, lap and into your drive, when you slit their throat to quiet them down.

#8. Downrigging livies from a yak is a pain in the arse.

#9. Dowrigging livies is awesome fun.

#10. Leash rods at all times. If you forget to reset your rod-holder angle from downrigger to a weighted jig, and a rat takes your squid on the surface when you're farting around and not paying attention, your rod can shoot strait of the holder, and you have to start the fight using your leash as a handline.

#11. SBD, Karnage, and Paulb are all crap at catching kings. I didn't see them catch any bigguns today.

#12. The Mexican pie at the Collaroy pie shop is delicious.

#13. Yak fishing is FUN!


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## Davebeat (Aug 17, 2007)

And Mr X where abouts did you catch the livies??????

Cheers.

Dave


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## johnny (Aug 12, 2007)

smeXellent slimeys n kings..goin tomorrow


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## Grantos (Jan 28, 2008)

Ya gotta be happy with that! 

Nice fish, Man with 'X'-factor. ;-)


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Solid King Tom! I'm heading out on Pittwater early tomorrow morning before a picnic over at the Basin, might pop down to the wharf tonight and pick up a few livies :twisted: ...


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## Marty75 (Oct 23, 2007)

Excellent kingy Tom. Just rewards for the effort you put in. How big did she go?

Many fish caught by the troupe today?

What sort of downrigger set up have you got on the Revo? I bought a second hand Scotty lake troller over a year ago but am yet to mount it. Still undecided as to which way I'll go.

Keep up the good work mate and how to see you on the water some time soon.

Marty


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## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

Well done Xman. I only got a rat from a school of about a gazillion kings I paddled over while coming in - the sounder showed them as a 'solid midwater reef' they were so thick.

Time to sort out my livie gear now.


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Looks like a screamer there Tom. Top effort sorting out the best fish.


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## yakattack (Jan 12, 2008)

Good work Tom livies are the go for longy for sure

Cheers Micka


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## garyp (May 30, 2008)

Great fish Tom,

How did she taste - hmmmmmm fresh king!

Gary


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## breamfish (May 19, 2009)

Nice fish would of been a workout


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Look smearing blood all over it doesn't fool me, that's a big kingfish mate and definitely no rock cod. You'll have to do better than that! 

Downrigger bombs can be a bit of a pest, from the boat we've used a big snapper lead looped a few meters up on the braid main line with an elastic band as a really poor man's downrigger. You can sort of guestimate the depth with coloured braid or with permanent marker marks at 1m intervals. I haven't tried it from a kayak but there's no reason it wouldn't work I guess.

I almost made it to longy yesterday but decided to have a day out with my father in law in the end. For what it's worth yesterday the deeper reefs were dead with only one half hearted hookup on a jig at the Peak and a pulled hook. Same for most others too so all the action seems inshore and in the bays at the moment. There were heaps of undersized dolly's at the FADS so that bodes well for the February and the blue water was right in close at the Tank. One pro worked all the way from botany heads to long reef yesterday for one keeper kingfish. We ended up bottom bashing for lots of big Mowies and Blue spot flathead so the feed was sorted in the end but I can't help wondering what it would have been like to tussle with a bandit at longy (jealous sigh).


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

An excellent effort from Tom, no argument that livies are effective.

Not much happening on jigs yesterday, couple of small fish but not jumping on the jig despite clouds of fish in the water. Same story with plastics, follows but one take in ten - very different to earlier in the week. They were on the surface in droves but fleeing from poppers, even casting them well beyond the fish & retrieving back through them. Shows how little we understand what's really happening out there sometimes. There was a huge pack of dolphins around at one point, quite possibly a good reason for the fish to be skittish.

I kept a couple of 40ish snapper got early, a nice trade off for time I'd otherwise have spent gathering livies.


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks fellas.

Davebeat - livies came from Rod's secret livey spot. I could tell on here, but Rod would have to kill you. Sent pm.

Marty, 80cm on the mat. 
There were quite a few rats landed (and SBD took home a feed, as usual). At best, my bloodied specimen was the third biggest from a yak on Saturday. Also, ogled at a meter-plus jewie at the cleaning table. 
My downrigger is an old alvey reel loaded with braid marked with texta, on half a two piece rod shoved under the paddle bungies, with a 3lb bomb hanging off the end. The most expensive part of the unit is the brand new rubber bands. Your scotty lake troller sounds far more sophisticated!

Jim, I've tried a few methods to get them down deep, all of them give me the shits. Your snapper-lead breakaway would be worth a try.


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## PhilC (Oct 10, 2008)

Well done Mr X! Chunky King!


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## rnmars1 (Feb 21, 2008)

Nice fish tom, well done. although we do need to work on keeping the livies "alive" for a bit longer. hence the name, "livies".   ten caught but only 4 keepers by the time we hit longy, not good.  

rodney


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