Docklands

Docklands, Southbank, Yarra River Area, The Warmies, Newport, Maribyrnong River
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Brett
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Re: Docklands

Post by Brett » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:58 am

The native rats, also discourage the ferals from establishing in the area. Which has to be a good thing.

sloth
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Re: Docklands

Post by sloth » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:20 am

I don't mind the natives ... but yeah, when its dark and quiet they can put it up you if they catch you unawares.

Worst experience to date. Fishing in winter after dark and caught a bream off a pylon. It had two of the three treble hooks through its upper and lower lip in the corner of the mouth - so it was an absolute nightmare to unhook without tearing its mouth apart. Throughout the operation I had to keep dipping it in and swimming it in the net before recommencing. Anyways ... finally get it unhooked with minimal damage. Happy days.

I slip it into the water. It doesn't float belly up but it kind of listed to one side and didn't kick. I think ... not great..... and just as I reach out my hand to grab the wrist of its tail to swim it ....... a water rat the size of a small terrier emerges from the darkness at my feet ... sinks its teeth into the white belly and in a flash does a u-turn, submerges and disappears under the pontoon.

I fair bricked them. And the ending for that fish always sticks with me. Not my finest fishing moment. Circle of life and all that but didn't really get a fair go :/

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kaotay
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Re: Docklands

Post by kaotay » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:20 am

They also eat cane toads!
"We recently had an enquiry from a member of the public in the Northern Territory. She was fed up with the local water rats littering her pool surround with the remains of cane toads that they had killed and eaten.

"This is particularly interesting," she goes on, "because we know that once cane toads move into an area, native carnivores such as the northern quoll, start disappearing shortly afterwards, owing to their habit of catching prey by grabbing them around the neck, right where the cane toad's poison sacs are located.

"Somehow water rats are either immune to cane toad poison, or they have figured a way to avoid coming into contact with the poison glands."
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/ ... 185999.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Giovanni
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Re: Docklands

Post by Giovanni » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:37 am

The native ones are ok, but it's basically the common brown rat or Norway rat that are introduced which are in large numbers in the water too. I'll never forget when these old pipes were left at the end of Collins street and there were about 50 of them scuttling around. No white tails, just skinless ringy tails. I can't do it lol. It's also a bit scary in the more secluded areas of docklands when you are by yourself at night and cars of dubious people start circling. Not for me but I'll monitor your reports :-)

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Re: Docklands

Post by sloth » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:25 pm

You just have to make sure you're the most dubious person out there :)

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Re: Docklands

Post by Basti » Thu Jan 29, 2015 2:14 pm

sloth wrote:You just have to make sure you're the most dubious person out there :)
This is a pretty accurate statement lol. Not docklands, but has worked for me in other areas

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Re: Docklands

Post by sloth » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:48 pm

Just typing this whilst smacking a ham and cheese sanga.

So headed off at lunch and a colleague asked to come along. No worries. Just need to wait for him to go to the gents. Sure. Oh .. and get a sandwich. Really? OK. Go to café in the office building. Sandwich ordered. Wants toasted. Haven’t got all day you know … yeah, yeah won’t take long. Wait. Wait some more. Café dude - What did you order mate? Toasted sandwich. Oh – we didn’t put it on – we’ll get right on it. Bang, Bang head.

Finally get to the docks, extend the bream whacker, attach a micro vibe in old faithful colour. And then we walk. And walk.

It’s clear today – probably 3ish metres if not more. And not a bream to see on the pylons or the edges. No point even casting – I know these days too well. So I’m only on the NAB stretch for 5 or 10 mins looking. Disappointingly the Alma Doepel ship has gone . … and the bream buffet with it. Still its nice to be out from the office and walk .. so I suggest we walk a bit further and I keep looking, looking…….

Get to one of my honey spots and there they are. The most beautiful sight. Bream rolling on the edges. Did you know that the collective name for a group of zebras is a “dazzle”. They got that wrong. I was looking at a dazzle of bream.

Told my friend to stay where he was. Do not move. Do not speak. Do not rustle that sandwich bag. Do nothing. Engaged the inner ninja and a nice shy docks breambo was brought to hand.

Image

Love beating the odds on sunny days. I thought my friend would be more impressed. Never take a non-angler angling if you want your ego stroked haha.

Mr breambo did some damage though. Trebles mullered. One hook points gone. Ones bent…. Other looks ok. Keep going I say.

Spot some more moochers on a pylon … quick pitch in there and the slack in the line disappears so quickly that by the time I’ve flicked the bail and struck the lure was dropped seconds ago…. Must be old age haha.

Its time to head back to the office. So you know … one last cast … a blind drop on a pylon …. And I’m on. So blue sky, sunny, clear water and I have a beautiful silver slab pulling drag. This fish looked so awesome swirling in the waters that I knew I just had to capture it. So one handed out comes the iphone. Drag goes, wind in a bit, fumble with the lock code, drag goes … …. Photo app open ….. drag goes .. oh he’s a bit deep … I’ll get a pic .. then I'll wind in and get a better one.

Ping …. Oh yeah, forgot about that crappy treble. But I don’t care. All is good with the world and I’m ready for some more excel drudgery to pay for more tackle.

Oh and the picture I sold my bream for ….


Image

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Re: Docklands

Post by Basti » Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:07 pm

abstract art there mate. a more accurate representation of the frustrations of fishing would be hard to find

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Re: Docklands

Post by sloth » Tue Feb 17, 2015 9:13 pm

Had my usual Tuesday night flick. Decided to fish along the river, rather than the harbour. This week coincided with the low tide which always makes things a little bit harder on the bream front. Have a good idea where they are but they have a serious case of lockjaw. Tried my best but tonight was bycatch night - two flatties - 40 and 42cm. Happy to come away with anything as the evening started with all bumps and no hookups.

Best Flattie came on a hooked on plastic grub in "Opal Shad" on a 1/24 #2 jighead.

Image

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Re: Docklands

Post by purple5ive » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:21 pm

do you always rig them upside down like that..

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