FISHING for luderick has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Sitting for hours, on a hard rock, staring at a float, wishing for it to disappear under the surface. Luderick fishers are a different breed. On one thing they all agree – Don’t tell anyone where you collect the bait of precious […]
Nelson’s Bay Wharf, as it was then known. Photo: Supplied by John Clarke.
BEING a fishing historian, I am always on the lookout for any information on how fishing was in the early days in and around Port Stephens. Can you imagine how good it would have been? Through my research I have uncovered many articles that give an insight into recreational and commercial fishing as far back […]
IT was back in 1974 when I arrived in Port Stephens to take up an appointment as PE Teacher at Nelson Bay High School the following year. Having no knowledge of the area I was fortunate in that I knew Ken McCray, a teacher at Anna Bay Public School. My wife Ella and I were […]
WHAT is it about snapper that makes catching the fish a high priority on our angling bucket-list? Could it be the magnificent fighting qualities of snapper, together with the quality of the fillets in the kitchen? Maybe the attractiveness of the fish itself, with the reds, crimsons and brilliant opal fleck that shines brightest as […]
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 […]
