The Australian record for BlackBream I beieve is around 6lbs... here's one I caught at the TamboRiver which is where I wanted to go last weekend with my mates, that tipped the scales at just over 8lbs.:big grin: I couldn't care less about records and comps as I take a different approach to my fishing than that. To me, a fish is a fish and I like catching and eating them - SALTWATER ONLY though. All my mates said I was crazy not stuffing it... I did one better though... I stuffed myself with it.lolol
Here I am grounding a 14lb Jewfish out the front of my house. I first moved in here the neighbours told me that all I could catch here was 1/2 pound Mullet and an occasional pound or two flathead...lolol I love doing what others tell me isn't possible.
Here I went to Portsea Pier to catch some Squid for bait and to eat. As soon as I arrived a large school of Australian Salmon exploded the surface of the water just outside the pier. I pulled out a 2oz metal lure and 40minutes late here I was ready to clean them up and go home. The old time Italians and Greeks at he pier that day fising only for squid with handlines were gobbed smacked.lolol
Here's well over 20kilo of prime melt-in-the-mouth Southern Calamari caught off Portsea on another occasion. The 2 large ones on the right were over 3kilos each.:big grin:
At $30 per kilo, which is what they go for nowadays in this fresh a condition, there's over $600 worth of squid there... kept me fed for a few days at least.lolol
Here's nice mixed bag I got off Werribee recently... flathead, Calamari and Garfish. The bait board they're sitting on is 1 metre long... over 1 yard wide.:big grin:
Here's a Flathead that was over 10lbs in weight. IT was a female in full season. Her belly was full of roe. When I realised it was, I didn't have the heart to keep such lovely breeding stock, so I released her. Here she is moments before cruising back into the depths she came from on the banks of Snake Island in the marvellous Port Albert eusturine system.
The envy of all Victorian Fishers... our most prized and sort after tablefish...Snapper.
Here's one that tipped the scales at 16lbs, but it is one I willnever forget. I have pics of others I have caught that were much bigger, but this one was more memorable. If you look at my rod sitting on it, you'll notice it's not a snapper rod, it's an ultra light Whiting/Bream rod. I caught this Sanpper by complete suprise whilst fishing for Whiting 100yards off the shore straight out off Dendy St in Brighton. I was sitting there merrily catching soem nice Whiting, when without warningm they abruptly stopped biting. I couldn't work out why becasue the tide was steady and conditions were stable and my endless burley trail normally assures they stay once they come. I was just about to up anchor and move when 1 of my 4 rods explodes is a manner I had never heard it go before. Like I'd hooked onto a small locomotive. After 55minutes of struggling on 6lb breaking strain line, this was the result.:big grin:
Andrew X,
Wow, just amazing, and such an assortment, it is easy to see that you are truly passionate about fishing. So what do you do with all this fish you catch? I can only imagine the freedom you feel while out there in the open sea, it must just give you such a boost to your spirit, thanks for the pics, they are fantastic.
Passionate alright, but I never ahve enough time to do it as much as I'd like. I catch what I do, and when with friends, they take their equal share home with them... even though I catch 80% of the fish.lol What I keep, I store and eat at a great rate of knots. Until I'm almost out of stock(in my fridge) of a particular species, I release what I catch of the same species in subsequent trips.
The way I make it work most of the time Karen is I keep a good catch and eat it till its all gone...then I target the same species again if they are still in season. If not, I wait till their season comes again, and start all over.
I really do go through it fast though. Not uncommon for me in a week where I've had a friend or two over 2-3times in the week to go through over 12kilos of pure fish fillets/slabs for dinner. The way I prepare and cook them my friends can eat over 1.5kilos of fish each per sitting... along with everything else, salads, bread and the like. When hungry, I can down what origianlly was 4lbs of raw fish BUT cooked properly in a sitting myself.lolol Sorry, no Sushi here. I don't like raw blood in anything I eat, be it fish or meat. Yep, it isn't uncommon for me to eat 3-4lbs per sitting... and that's over a period of time of course... about 3-5 minutes... I have to breath you know.LOLOL
But no sweets and no alcohol with such extreme protein... otherwise you'd be asking for trouble weight wise...not that I haven't already got it, but it would be far worse if I compounded the proteins with alcohol. A litre of mineral water each sees us through just fine... Sometimes I add a bit of Cottees cordial into it...rasberry's my favorite.lol I love following it all up with a few cups of Ceylon or A-grade English Breakfast that I buy from the specialty tea house in Sassafras up in the Dandenongs. It is the best Tea in Australia without doubt. They mix their own EBreakfast, IrishBresky and ScottishBrekky. A mixture of 10 parts English, 1 part Scottish, and 1 part of their EarlGrey will add years onto your life.
You can order their divine Teas via their homepage on the inet, but I go there personally as it's cheaper and the atmosphere is really nice.
Their worst tea is better than the finest Twinings EnglishBreakfat and Ceylon we buy here at our supermarkets for a higher price than theirs. I stock up for 6months and I cannot notice a drop in quality even down to the last teaspoon 6months later. With Twinings, if it is not consumed in a month, sometimes less, it loses its taste and quality dramatically...by 6months it has become mulch.
Then there's the firewood oven sourdough bread I buy at Nicholson St Nth Carlton, a few doors down from Park St...Iv'e had the finest country breads in my time, but you should try this stuff...it is out of...
