I AM asked at times: “What is the biggest fish you have caught?” I immediately think of a thumping cobia I caught off the rocks off Cabarita headland some years ago. Kingfish, snapper and mulloway come to mind. Then I think of the monster I caught off Fingal. It was when I had Graham Duffy […]
What once was a typical catch of squid that could be caught in all the quiet bays from Broughton Island to Boat Harbour. Photo: Supplied by ‘Stinker’.
I WAS reading through some old articles I wrote years ago when I came across this story of squid. I can clearly recall when catching squid did not offer a challenge. Anywhere from Kiddies Corner in Fingal, south to Big Rocky, squid could be found in every protected bay. Simply by tossing out a squid […]
Battered and bruised, ‘Stinkpot’ comes home.
MY wife Ella and I arrived in Fingal Bay in 1975. My first impressions were how beautiful the beaches, conical mountains, islands and rocky headlands were. Coming from a fishing family in Tweed Heads, I weighed up the fishing opportunities inside the port, along the beaches and the offshore reefs. The reefs off Fingal come […]
'Nowadays, if anyone sees a shark, it always is a great white.' Photo: freepik.
Part 3: See earlier editions of NOTA for Parts 1 and 2. “In 1945, my first year in the Narrowgut Crew, I earned £450 in two months. That was a lot of money for a young bloke,” said Ken Barry. “Did you ever come face-to-face with a great white shark?” I quizzed “Probably have,” replied […]
If you’re fishing off the rocks, wear a lifejacket and try to fish with a mate.
FROM recent reports black drummer, also known as rock blackfish, are keen to rumble off the rocks anywhere between Fingal and Rocky Point. Best baits include fresh or salted cunjevoi, or bread and prawns tossed into a bread berley trail. A 2/0 hook and just enough lead to get you into the strike zone, which […]
I AM sure you have heard it before. About two years after purchasing a new boat, just about everyone starts to think that they should have bought a bigger one, with a bigger motor, to presumably catch bigger fish further out to sea. Let me tell you my tale, which is something akin to a […]
Commercial fisherman Greg Tarrant struggles to hold a monster tailor.
WITH the availability of AI and other means of distorting photographs I was a little skeptical when these amazing images landed on my desk. This is the biggest tailor, a Jumbo, I have ever seen! Netted off the beach, this huge fish estimated close to 10kg, by local Greg Tarrant and his commercial fishing crew […]
The northern face of Broughton Island looking toward Seal Rocks. Photo: Supplied.
RECREATIONAL fishers are forever seeking the ultimate fishing experience. Fishing Utopia, the jewel in the crown. Well, I have found it! Two kilometres off the coast between Port Stephens and Forster sits an island wonderland where the fishing opportunities are endless. Three kilometres long and two kilometres wide, Broughton Island is the only island off […]
Crayfish hole before 1973 when the boat shed and wharf were destroyed.
ON the northern aspect of Fingal Island, facing Broughton Island, is a small cove known by fishermen and islanders as Crayfish Hole. It was on the rocky shoreline of this natural harbour that a wharf and boathouse existed in 1918. Here the government department kept two boats: a whaler of 20 feet and a double […]
ROCKY Point is one of the best kept fishing secrets in Port Stephens. Accessible by both 4×4 and boat, this rocky outcrop and the surrounding beaches and bays have a fascinating history of fishing, lobstering and the mining of shell grit. Big Rocky, as the name suggests, is a big rocky outcrop just far enough […]
