It is freezing cold in Sydney, but the fishing and boating chat is heating up! In this week's episode, Grant and Alan cover everything from massive northern catches and high-speed yacht deliveries to essential winter safety tips and the latest political battles over our marine parks.

Here is what you will find in this episode:

• 🏝️ Swizz Island Adventures: Alan Blake returns from his northern product development trip to share how he landed (and released) a massive 1.3-metre dewfish, Spanish mackerel, and giant GTs on a private island getaway.
• ⛵ Grant's High-Speed Delivery: Grant recounts an adrenaline-pumping, twitchy weekend delivering a Far East 28 racing yacht from Abbotsford to Pittwater.
• 🚨 Crucial Safety & Tech Tips: Why you absolutely must start using your outboard kill-switch lanyards, and a critical breakdown of why keeping too much weight in the bow of a boat when crossing a lumpy ocean bar is a recipe for disaster.
• 🎣 Kieran's Comprehensive Fish Report: Your ultimate guide to what is biting across the state, from hairtail in the Hawkesbury and big dewfish at Tuross to inland yellowbelly and cod waking up after the rains.
• 💻 Steve Bowler Updates: Steve drops in from Tenterfield to explain why YouTube is an underutilized, fluff-free research tool for fishos, plus details on upcoming thermal night vision events in Deepwater and Armidale.
• ⛔ Coral Sea Lockouts: Captain Peter Sayer sounds off on proposed permanent "pink zone" closures to islands in the Coral Sea Territory, arguing against the logic of banning recreational boaties.

🎣 The Hi Tide Fishing Podcast: Wild Weather, Black Mud Crab Pots, and Gulf Adventures! 🌊

🎙️ Episode Overview

Pouring rain and sweeping low-pressure systems have trapped Sydney Metro fishers inside this week, but the Hi Tide crew is breaking through the gloom with an absolute cracker of an episode! Host Grant Boyden and Captain Kieran Reekie check in on the chaotic autumn weather patterns sliding off the east coast, before casting a wide net across Australia's premier fishing grounds to bring you the ultimate weekend intelligence.

From surprising backyard trap experiments on the Mid-North Coast to full-blown Barramundi bags in the tropical north, this week proves that even when the weather turns sour, the fish stories only get bigger.

👥 Featured Guest Profiles

• Captain Kieran ReekieOur regular co-host reporting live from Southeast Queensland. Kieran tracks a series of intense, short-burst downpours dropping up to 40mm in minutes, forcing local race cancellations but driving a surprising run of massive 7-to-8-foot Hairtail and Coobia under the local bridges.
• Craig McGill (Fishabout Tours Sydney Harbour)Broadcasting from Coffs Harbour while house-sitting, Sydney's premier charter veteran shares details from a relentless rainy stint. Craig walks listeners through his fascinating "accidental experiment" where black mesh crab pots systematically out-fished standard orange pots 10-to-1. Plus, he reveals a hilariously humbling story of spending five days aggressively casting at a massive school of fish—only to find out they were Luderick instead of Mangrove Jacks.
• Alan "Blakey" Blake (Blake's Marine)Calling in straight from his tropical product-development vacation on Sweers Island (near Mornington and Bentinck Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria). Alan breaks down the glorious 28°C weather, catching beautiful metered Cobia, 30lb Jewfish, Nannygai, and a bounty of Finger Mark.
• Peter "PJ" Johnson (Lowrance Electronics Expert)The North Coast fishing and sonar legend shares part two of their massive group expedition to Karumba with guide Josh Richards from Odds On Fishing Adventures. PJ shares their secrets to bagging out on King (Threadfin) Salmon and Barramundi using forward-scanning sonar, surviving a makeshift electric frypan mud-crab feast washed down with 15-year-old single malt, and why Alan Blake's trip started with a literal slip-up on a muddy boat ramp.

🗺️ Ultimate Regional Fishing Reports

📍 Sydney, Pittwater & The Hawkesbury

• Mitch from Narrabeen Bait & Tackle checks in with a quiet week due to brown, discolored waters. However, localized hot spots persist: look for Jewfish and Hairtail around the Hawkesbury, and flathead or salmon around Scotland Island. Look out for plague proportions of Tailer hovering west of the bridge up near Drummoyne.

⚓ Sponsoring the Fleet

This episode of the Hi Tide Podcast is proudly brought to you by Blake's Marine. For the absolute best deals on the water, visit them 6 days a week at 02 4577 6699 or browse the fleet online at blakesmarine.com.au.

As sure as yabbies bite your toes, you don't want to miss a single minute of this week's charting adventure!

On todays show, we catch up with Captain Ross O'Brien and talk shark attacks with Max Gleeson.