Need to find a better place to fish

[fishing_in_israel]

We had a routine power shutdown on our kibbutz on Sunday morning (to clean all the main switches on the various main power boards). So I decided to take the day off work (Sunday's a normal working day in Israel) and go fishing with my oldest boy and his friend (they're on Holiday for a week - Succot [Feast of Tabernacles]).
We got up nice and early and got to Hertzelia marina (near Tel Aviv) just as the dawn was breaking. Clambered down the boulders of the breakwater and had a good morning's fishing. Well my boy caught 2 small wrasse and his friend, instead of watching his float was intrigued by my different Rapalas that I was fishing with - so he missed all the bites.

I tried all sorts of lures - Husky Jerks, X-Rap, Skitter Pop and even some other non-Rapalas.
Nothing - nada. But I enjoyed the experience and the experimenting.
I did learn one thing: I was using an X-Rap Deep 10 and a couple of times it got caught on the submerged rocks. Instead of getting all frustrated and pulling to try and free it, I just waited a bit and as it is a suspending bait (in fresh water) it gently floated up and away from the snag. Fresh water suspending baits will slowly float to the surface in salt water.
So I learned quite a bit of patience - waiting for the lure to unsnag itself (twice)and spending 4 hours without even a sign of a bite. I wonder if there any fish in the Mediterranean
Which brings me to a pet peeve: It would seem that Israeli anglers don't care about conservation. There was this guy and his kid fishing quite close to us catching really small sea bream and keeping them I suppose they could probably make soup from them but what about thinking about the fish stocks! These folks thing that there is an endless supply of fish in the sea and you can just keep taking them and everything will be OK.

A friend of mine that has been fishing these waters for many years told me that there just isn't the quantity and quality of fish anymore. I think it is really sad when people can't think further than their own little world.

[fishfingers007]

hi nridley, i've not yet used the x rap but i think i will try them when the river level rises, we have had very little rain and the rivers are on low , you're right about people killing every thing they catch, but we can't do that now as we are on daily /wky limits on the rivers, but sea fishing is crazy free for all , when the numbers drop enough the stock will crash,

[Fishooked]

It really is true that no matter where you go, there are a-holes everywhere.
Just because you can take the fish, doesn't mean that you should.

There are some people who will just keep everything they catch, just because they are too friggin cheap to go out and buy their own food.

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 5, 2009 12:35:28 GMT -4 fishfingers007 said:

hi nridley, i've not yet used the x rap but i think i will try them when the river level rises, we have had very little rain and the rivers are on low , you're right about people killing every thing they catch, but we can't do that now as we are on daily /wky limits on the rivers, but sea fishing is crazy free for all , when the numbers drop enough the stock will crash,

I think the stock has already crashed.
Not only do most anglers take everything they catch, we also have inshore commercial fishermen that are also hammering the stocks.

Oh well, I plan to go fishing again this coming Saturday with my oldest boy again and a friend's daughter (same age as my boy- hey stop that thinking - they're only 12).
I'm planning on taking them to that real nice place that I posted a photo of a couple of weeks ago - you know what? Here it is again:


Maybe the next time you all see a photo of this place will be with yours truly, or my boy, holding a fish or two

Nigel

[tobi]

omg...this is my vision of paradise!!!!!

[walter]

that place is great!!!

[fishing_in_israel]

Well we're all set to go fishing in a couple of hours or so. The weather forecast is good:
Air temperature : 29°C
Sea temperature : 27°C
Wind direction: North West to North (that's coming from the top of the photo in the thread)
Wind speed: 20-30 (km/h)
Waves height: 60-140 cm
Sea status: Slight to moderate

The wave height might be a problem - I hoping and praying that we will still be able to get onto the plateau without getting too wet.

Will let you know how thing go

Nigel

[Fishooked]

Oct 10, 2009 1:13:12 GMT -4 fishing_in_israel said:

Well we're all set to go fishing in a couple of hours or so. The weather forecast is good:
Air temperature : 29°C
Sea temperature : 27°C
Wind direction: North West to North (that's coming from the top of the photo in the thread)
Wind speed: 20-30 (km/h)
Waves height: 60-140 cm
Sea status: Slight to moderate

The wave height might be a problem - I hoping and praying that we will still be able to get onto the plateau without getting too wet.

Will let you know how thing go

Nigel

Bring towels, extra clothes - good luck!

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 10, 2009 1:41:38 GMT -4 Fishooked said:

Oct 10, 2009 1:13:12 GMT -4 fishing_in_israel said:

Well we're all set to go fishing in a couple of hours or so. The weather forecast is good:
Air temperature : 29°C
Sea temperature : 27°C
Wind direction: North West to North (that's coming from the top of the photo in the thread)
Wind speed: 20-30 (km/h)
Waves height: 60-140 cm
Sea status: Slight to moderate

The wave height might be a problem - I hoping and praying that we will still be able to get onto the plateau without getting too wet.

Will let you know how thing go

Nigel

Bring towels, extra clothes - good luck!

Got back a couple of hours ago. Will post some pics tomorrow.

We didn't need the towels or extra clothes -- with 27 °C water and warm sunshine, who needs towels and things
We did get a bit wet from the waves, but only up to the crotch; we dried out on the way back to the car.
Didn't manage to catch anything on the Rapalas (or the Yo-Zuris) but my boy was bringing them in no end on his 4 meter fishing pole (only small things but it was good fun).

Nigel

[fishing_in_israel]

Here's the promised pics:

This is the place - the waves were a bit higher than I would have liked


Eldan (my oldest boy) with his first fish


Yours truly with wave splashed cut-offs. No comments about the hat!


And a scenic view from where we were fishing.
You can see the ancient ruins of 'Dor' [Tel Dor]

I'm still waiting to catch something on the Rapalas/Yo-Zuris - perhaps later in the fall when the bigger fish come closer inshore.....

All in all, a good day out

[casey10]

Nice clear water. Can you see the fish coming for a bite?? When I was fishing fri the water temp was 46F

[Jason]

I no you asked for no comments LOL .... But maybe that hat scarred all your fish away

Sorry I couldnt resist

[Fishooked]

All posted pics are fair game

Use better judgement next time!




Very cool pics, looks like a great day

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 11, 2009 15:21:14 GMT -4 casey10 said:

Nice clear water. Can you see the fish coming for a bite?? When I was fishing fri the water temp was 46F

Certainly can see them! As soon as the baited hook goes in the water you can see all the small guys suddenly appearing from the surrounding rock crannies.
What's 46F? Ours was 27C - comfortable to stand in for 6 hours only wearing sandals

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 11, 2009 16:21:50 GMT -4 Jason said:

I no you asked for no comments LOL .... But maybe that hat scarred all your fish away

Sorry I couldnt resist

I'll have you know that I've caught loads of fish wearing that hat. It's a bit of a legend.
Every summer we take a bunch of kids (about 35) ages from 5 - 14 on a summer camp and yours truly is the fishing counselor [?] - that is I'm in charge of taking those that want to, fishing every [early] morning. We have a bunch of fishing poles and I run around taking the fish off the hooks and taking the customary photo. I tell you it aint easy. Gets pretty tiring quite quickly. Anyway the kids really enjoy themselves and slowly they are learning to deal with their own fish and tackle.
And the hat is what I always wear - it kinda stands out so that they know where I am. It's also good at keeping the sun off the back of my neck - important in this part of the world.

[casey10]

46F is 8C, not very comfortable at all. You would get hypothermia very quickly!!

[Jason]

Oct 12, 2009 10:46:42 GMT -4 fishing_in_israel said:

Oct 11, 2009 16:21:50 GMT -4 Jason said:

I no you asked for no comments LOL .... But maybe that hat scarred all your fish away

Sorry I couldnt resist

I'll have you know that I've caught loads of fish wearing that hat. It's a bit of a legend.
Every summer we take a bunch of kids (about 35) ages from 5 - 14 on a summer camp and yours truly is the fishing counselor [?] - that is I'm in charge of taking those that want to, fishing every [early] morning. We have a bunch of fishing poles and I run around taking the fish off the hooks and taking the customary photo. I tell you it aint easy. Gets pretty tiring quite quickly. Anyway the kids really enjoy themselves and slowly they are learning to deal with their own fish and tackle.
And the hat is what I always wear - it kinda stands out so that they know where I am. It's also good at keeping the sun off the back of my neck - important in this part of the world.

Ah to each his own we say ....

But if I got caught with that hat LOL even my niece's would probably give me a bad time .

JK

[muskiehunter]

Very nice pics Nigel ;D

Watching all those kids fish is ALOT of work,I have all I can do to fish with my 2 kids.Between taking the fish off,getting lures un snagged and tangled ,and playing referree when the fight with each other .Makes a cold one when your done sound good.

Even though it can be a chore at times its worth it when they catch fish ;D

[walter]

great place, and great photos

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 13, 2009 0:17:32 GMT -4 Jason said:

Oct 12, 2009 10:46:42 GMT -4 fishing_in_israel said:

I'll have you know that I've caught loads of fish wearing that hat. It's a bit of a legend.
Every summer we take a bunch of kids (about 35) ages from 5 - 14 on a summer camp and yours truly is the fishing counselor [?] - that is I'm in charge of taking those that want to, fishing every [early] morning. We have a bunch of fishing poles and I run around taking the fish off the hooks and taking the customary photo. I tell you it aint easy. Gets pretty tiring quite quickly. Anyway the kids really enjoy themselves and slowly they are learning to deal with their own fish and tackle.
And the hat is what I always wear - it kinda stands out so that they know where I am. It's also good at keeping the sun off the back of my neck - important in this part of the world.

Ah to each his own we say ....

But if I got caught with that hat LOL even my niece's would probably give me a bad time .

JK

First of all I didn't mean for the post to come over 'heavy' - sorry.
About the hat - here in Israel men think nothing of using any umbrella that comes to hand - it's very common to see guys with flower patterns on their umbrellas! No it's not their wife's, it's theirs!
I remember whilst in England a guy wouldn't be seen dead with an umbrella other than black.
So the hat is colorful, but here in Israel its 'cool' and it is becoming a legend (at least amongst the kids in the summer camp

[fishing_in_israel]

Oct 13, 2009 6:11:32 GMT -4 muskiehunter said:

Very nice pics Nigel ;D

Watching all those kids fish is ALOT of work,I have all I can do to fish with my 2 kids.Between taking the fish off,getting lures un snagged and tangled ,and playing referree when the fight with each other .Makes a cold one when your done sound good.

Even though it can be a chore at times its worth it when they catch fish ;D

The first morning of the summer camp we used plain flour dough for bait and the kids caught a few fish here and there. The owner's helper (we used a local fishing park for our 4 day summer camp) suggested that I try their special bait, made from the fish farm's fish food - this is what the fish are used to eating. So the next morning we used said bait - man was that ever one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made The fish loved it and I was caught between 12 or 15 kids all catching fish at the same time I was literally running between the kids helping them land the fish, taking a photo, taking out the hook and putting the fish in the keepnet . I remember yelling every so often " OK I'm coming, keep the fish in the water until I get there, let me take this one off first!".
It really was hard work and I needed loads of patience.... But like I said before, the kids loved it

[bluefishbuster]

Oct 5, 2009 11:52:14 GMT -4 fishing_in_israel said:

I wonder if there any fish in the Mediterranean
Which brings me to a pet peeve: It would seem that Israeli anglers don't care about conservation. There was this guy and his kid fishing quite close to us catching really small sea bream and keeping them I suppose they could probably make soup from them but what about thinking about the fish stocks! These folks thing that there is an endless supply of fish in the sea and you can just keep taking them and everything will be OK.

A friend of mine that has been fishing these waters for many years told me that there just isn't the quantity and quality of fish anymore. I think it is really sad when people can't think further than their own little world.

Where I live many people don't care about the regulations. I live right near a park where I catch bluefish and stripers and others also catch porgy and fluke. Striped Bass have to be 28" or bigger in order to keep and each angler is allowed 2 per day. Doesn't matter how big the bluefish are but you're allowed 10. Porgy have to be 10.5" or bigger. Fluke have to be 19.5" or bigger. You get tons of people out there who keep many stripers even as small as 10 inches. Many love to load up with porgy as small as 6". Even seen anglers with 2 buckets full of snapper bluefish.