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Previous
Reports October 2004 - December 2004
This
weeks report: ( 26 - November - 2004 )
Hawkesbury
A couple of weeks have passed since the big fresh and the Hawkesbury is
slowly starting to return to normal. With such a large catchment area
it is affected to a greater degree than any of Sydney’s other waterways,
and takes longer to recover, but the local fish populations are used to
these flushes and often appreciate the boost it gives to the system. Upstream
areas have recovered most quickly, with plenty of Bass around Yarramundi.
Trolling 3m diving lures close to the bank has been working a treat, or
alternatively you can cast spinner baits with plastic tails around weed
and overgrowth. The most aggressive Bass are still quite small this early
into the season; however you can catch yourself a cricket score each time.
In general the bigger ones seem to be caught at the downstream end of
their range closer to Wisemans ferry. There are also enormous patches
of mullet all throughout the river, both Bully and Pink Eye, which are
great fun especially for the kids. Look for an area you can see mullet
jumping and berley it up with bread. Once the mullet are feeding off the
surface, throw a small ball of dough squeezed onto a tiny hook and set
under a quill float into the maelstrom.
Sydney Harbour
The harbour has been very quiet over the last few weeks, with the fishing
tailing off after winter and the water not quite warm enough to encourage
a summer restart. The first good sign has been schools of baitfish at
the mouth of the harbour. Large numbers of Slimy Mackerel and some small
new season Yellowtail are in pause mode as they await warmer water inside
the harbour. Once this arrives they will use the harbour as their summer
sanctuary, but until then larger predators such as Kingfish will be in
short supply and hard work. There are a few decent Trevally still around
quite late in their season, usually somewhere around the deeper holes
off Middle Head, Neilsen Park, or around the North Head bait grounds.
Un-weighted baits floated into a berley trail will do the trick. Smallish
Bream are being taken the same way from areas further upstream, both in
Middle Harbour and West of the Harbour Bridge.
Sydney Offshore
Conditions out wide have been up and down lately, but that hasn’t
put a dampener on the fishing, with nice sized schools of Yellowfin Tuna
with equivalent numbers of Albacore between the continental shelf and
Browns Mountain. Huge quantities of bait are holding them in the area.
The Tuna have been in the eight to fifteen kilogram range in the majority
of cases, but there are a few schools holding much bigger fish from twenty
to fourty-five kilograms. Albacore are a smaller fish in general. Those
around at present are around 7 – 10kg. Small bibless trembler and
vib style lures are wreaking most of the havoc, however surface lures
including lumo trolling skirts have accounted for a few fish. Cubing is
proving less successful. Warmer temperatures and northerly currents are
slowly starting to arrive, and will eventually put pay to most of the
fin, but should bring some small Black Marlin, as well as a few big bull
Mahi-Mahi.
Pittwater
Water temperatures are on the rise around Sydney and Pittwater has been
no exception, with warmer Northerly currents combining with beautifully
hot days to bring the waters up as high as 21.4 degrees, with the average
around 20.5 degrees. This should, in all usual situations, bring on an
absolute Kingfish bonanza; however all it seems to have done so far is
turn the Kingfish off the bite. There is still the occasional King being
taken, but the work required to get one on your line this early in the
season can be somewhat frustrating. For a start the only baits that are
working with any degree of success are live squid, and just catching them
at the moment can be a chore. The majority of the squid in Pittwater at
the moment are of the Southern Calamari variety, which are usually very
territorial. It is therefore unlikely you will catch more than two from
any one spot. Once you have your bait it is a matter of either drifting
it along likely moorings and other areas, or simply anchoring and berleying
for long periods. Towlers Bay and Longnose point have been two reasonably
active areas. Live Yellowtail have had the odd success as have pencil
garfish but should only be used as extra baits to the live squid.
Broken bay
With high tides and large amounts of runoff in the lower reaches of the
Hawkesbury river, the start of the seasons jewfish have appeared in good
numbers. Over the past week several jewfish over the magic 25 kilo mark
have been taken in Broken bay. Along with these monsters large numbers
of school jew in the 2 to 7 kilo range are available to those anglers
who are prepared to collect the right fresh baits that are required to
attract this elusive species. Prime jewfish baits that are available at
this time of the year in the bay are firstly, the local esturine squid,
the Goulds squid. The Goulds squid spends its entire life cycle in the
esturine habitat of Broken Bay and therefore is a natural food source
for the mulloway in the systen. These squid are readily available in the
bay, and can be caught over patches of sand and weed along the foreshores.
Squid jigs in the smaller sizes in orange and green colours are the best
at this time of the year. Other prime baits at this time are mullet, tailor,
slimy mackeral, yakkas and pike. The mullet are still in very good numbers
and easy to obtain using bread as berley and bait. It is essential that
the mullet is fresh as the jew will not readily accept any bait that is
less than perfect or been frozen. Tailor is another great bait and these
can be used as either a live bait or butterflied. The remaining baits
are all best as live baits. Jewfish baits are best placed on the upstream
lip of holes that that are in fast moving tidal waters. Many of these
holes are found around headlands that concentrate the flow of water and
the baitfish.
This report: (18 -
November - 2004 )
Sydney Harbour
Sydney Harbour is turning on some quite magnificent Bream this week, ranging
up to and over the 1kg mark. In the relatively open waters from Nielsen
Park and Middle Head toward The Bridge, wharves and piers are holding
the biggest populations, the best of which have well established kelp
and crustacean growths. Float un-weighted baits, on light line, into a
scarce berley trail adjacent to the kelp. Trevally are often a welcome
bycatch. The Parramatta River is also firing around most structures, and
soft plastics have accounted for the bulk of the good size fish. Pumpkinseed,
bloodworm and darker colour combinations such as black & gold are
the perfect choice for these slightly murkier environs. Grubs and minnows
are working with equal effect. Plastics are working in the clearer harbour
waters, but more patience and more naturally coloured lures are required.
For fly casters, black bulky flies such as foam spiders are getting hammered,
especially in overcast conditions. Long light tippets are the key.
The occasional Flathead
has taken a liking to the Harbour of late, sunning themselves in shallower,
warmer spring waters. Most of the current influx are at their most delicious
eating size, namely between 55 - 60cm. Drifting a few strong smelling
oily baits such as Pilchards, Anchovies or thin Tuna strips over any of
the shallower sandy regions in the harbour will give you a great chance
of a feed. The drift from North head to Clontarf via Grotto Pt is working
well, as are the flats around and behind Fort Denison. The two hook Paternoster
rig is the most useful way to rig for a Flathead drift, and allows you
to experiment with a greater variety of baits. A strong trace of about
20lb will ensure you don’t lose fish at the surface, where the Flatties
are renowned for shaking their raspy jaws. Jigging or drifting soft plastic
squid imitations is having mixed success, with some flathead and the odd
flounder falling prey.
Pittwater
There are a few strong Pittwater Trevally around at the moment, to 55cm
and more. At this size they start to become extremely tough opponents
on light gear, often fighting like mongrel dogs and trying to bury you
into any nearby structure. These guys are not too fussy either, fairly
devouring any un-weighted or lightly weighted baits including, pilchard
slices, prawns and squid. Berley heavily in about five to eight metres
of water, and lay your bait into the berley, feeding out line as it is
required to maintain a natural sink rate. Smaller pieces of bait often
get a better hook up ratio. 7-10gm metal minnows, chiefly in white, have
produced Trevally, Salmon and more when jigged, or cast and retrieved,
through the berley trail. Some big fish of unknown origin have been lost
this way in the last couple of days. Long Nose Point and Woody Point are
the two most prolific locales. There have been a few Flatties in these
areas as well lately and they sometimes come over to investigate your
berley trail, if it is a good one. It can be profitable in those circumstances
to weigh a slightly thicker line to the bottom with fresh Slimy Mackerel
fillets as bait.
This report: (11 -
November - 2004 )
Hawkesbury
A break in the dirty water and some warm weather
have combined to the delight of Bass living under the more overgrown banks
of the Upper Hawkesbury. Windsor has been firing, most particularly from
the bridge up toward Clarkson Island. The mouths of small tributary creeks
are great areas to start. Continual jiggling of surface lures under suitable
overgrowth such as well established trees, is almost always producing
multiple strikes. Most of the fish are within 2.5 metres of the bank,
with bigger fish sometimes out as far as 3 metres. Gold, green and red
are the colours of choice at this phase of the moon. The odd decent size
Estuary Perch is also being taken on gold soft plastic spinner baits in
deeper, more open waters around the same area.
Sydney Harbour
After a few weeks of remission, with hardly a sight of the Salmon schools
on the surface that had been so prevalent early in the spring, we have
somewhat of a return. There have been a couple of schools in recent days
feeding at the mouth of the harbour, but there seems to be little or no
pattern to their rising, other than the usual necessity of a high barometer
reading. It pays to keep a few small metal slices, around 7 – 10gms,
on you, as you never know when you will be lucky enough to happen upon
a school or two. Silver and White are the best performing colours. Remember
these fish have been targeted by every man and his dog this season, and
are understandably extremely skittish around boats, so be as quiet as
possible when approaching. Cutting your engine and drifting into casting
distance is the best way to get at the fish.
Northern
Beaches
Whiting are the talk of the town at the moment with some of the biggest
fish seen in a while coming on in the slightly warmer waters of Sydney
Beaches. The Northern Beaches have been the highlight area, with fish
up to 800gms and over 35cm long showing up between Manly and Warriewood.
There is no shortage of them either, with up to the bag limit of 20 fish
at times being caught in one session. Most of these are thankfully returned,
with anglers usually taking only what they need for a feed. Beach worms,
Bloodworms and if you can find them, Squirt worms, have been the key ingredient
to a good session, especially when fished in the very close gutters. Occasionally
peeled prawns will also tempt a fish or two. Some Tailor around the 50cm
mark are also about on most of the same beaches, and will take pilchards
fished out around the second gutter if the whiting are slow.
Broken Bay
Fishing in Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River is slowly returning to
a more normal routine, after the copious volumes of fresh water scattered
fish far and wide and put many of them off the bite. The best news of
all is the return of some pretty darn large Jewfish, including three really
noteworthy catches. A 17kg fish took out the annual Hawkesbury Classic
over the weekend, and two other fish, one topping twenty and the other
closer to twenty five, were both boated on Monday by a couple of ecstatic
anglers on a charter boat. Butterflied Tailor accounted for the biggest
Jewie, just downstream of the Brooklyn rail bridge. The 20kg specimen
wolfed a live Yakka (yellowtail). Patience is an absolute necessity at
present, with many hours of dead air often occurring between bites, particularly
when fishing big baits. Smaller ‘soapies’ are about in slightly
greater numbers taking fresh and live squid, as well as mullet and slimy
mackerel fillets.
Sydney Offshore
The last month has seen a gradual increase in water temperatures off Sydney,
with the sporadic influence of northerly currents. Licks of warm water
up to 22.5 degrees have finally made their way down to Sydney, bringing
some colossal quantities of bait, including some of the larger Stripey
Tuna schools to be seen for a few years. Now that the swell has subsided
it is well worth investigating these schools, as there are more than a
few predators circling. Striped Marlin are around in small numbers, particularly
on bait schools just off the continental shelf, south west of the Sydney
Heads. Black, gold and blue patterned 6” to 8” pushers are
the pick of the lures. Troll the edges of likely looking bait schools
for best results. The odd Yellowfin is still about, with catches up to
30kg lately, but they are a little patchy. Cubing with pilchards is the
most productive method, as it is with many Tunas. Albacore up to 20kg
have popped up occasionally, a most welcome bycatch.
Broken
Bay / Hawkesbury River
Berowra Bream have started to turn it on in the past few days, as the
murky waters slowly start to filter out. Most of the structure including
wharves, pylons and mooring markers are all holding fish, most around
the just legal mark. On the last of the rising tide there are also a few
fish to be found feeding high up into the intertidal zone, principally
where there is a good population of oysters. Most fresh fish and pudding
baits are working well. In the dirtier water it will pay to use oily baits
like chicken gut, mullet gut, or Slimy Mackerel. Fish as light as the
current and or wind will allow for best results. Un-weighted baits, floated
into a small pilchard berley trail, on a clear 6lb fluorocarbon trace,
will start you off in the right fashion. Soft plastics are also catching
their fair share of small but legal Bream, providing plenty of entertainment
for the spin fishing brigade. 3” Minnows in a bloodworm pattern
and 2” pumpkinseed coloured grubs are a perfect match to the current
Berowra River aquatic environment.
Sydney Harbour
Kingfish are back in the harbour! It sounds great but the harbour has
been behaving weirdly with wild variations in water temp throughout. Yesterday
it was 17 degrees at the mouth and 19 at Seaforth, and the Kings are moving
with different water patches, usually holding in the warmth. It is a case
of searching for them around usual haunts in the harbour, till you find
them. Yellowtail are a great bait if you can find them. For some reason
the harbour is devoid of any small yakkas at the moment. Live squid are
also in short supply but are a gun bait at present. Surface trolling is
not performing as it had been in recent weeks. Keep a white plastic slug
handy, as they are working fished as bait about two metres off the bottom.
Most of the Kingies are of legal size around 65-70cm, and there are bigger
fish present, peeling off 30-50lb line and smashing people into structure.
Hawkesbury
River
Finally some warm weather and a high barometer reading to brighten things
up after an indifferent last weeks fishing. Insects have taken their cue
and are emerging for the new season, providing plenty of food for Australian
Bass and Estuary Perch. The Upper Hawkesbury around Webbs Creek and Wisemans
Ferry is fishing well on surface lures, such as fizzers, walkers or poppers,
for bass in particular. Working lures close to the bank, under any overhanging
vegetation or around snags, is essential as the Bass are a bit gun shy
and will only come out a metre or so from cover. Slow twitches, with just
enough movement to disturb the surface, are the ideal form of retrieve.
Un-weighted soft plastics in insect patterns, rigged on Aberdeen style
hooks, are also accounting for their fair share of fish from the same
areas.
Broken Bay
Another week of fickle weather has seen some inconsistent reports around
Pittwater, though sunshine is on the horizon. Salmon are still schooling
up just outside the mouth of Broken Bay, predominantly around Barrenjoey,
hitting schools of small bait about 3cm long. Birds on the water are usually
the most positive lead to any schools around the surface. The fish are
very boat shy. If you can’t get close enough for a cast under power,
try getting well up wind of a school and drifting back towards them with
your motor off. If you are lucky the school will swim right around the
boat for you. Most fish are being caught on metal lures 10gm or less,
with anything bigger often being ignored, however large blue soft slugs
have accounted for their fair share. If you can’t find any schools,
try trolling the ‘Joey headland with blue and silver hard bodied
lures.
Pittwater
The sharp fluctuations in water temperature throughout Pittwater during
the last week or two have led to some pretty inconsistent fishing. 20
degrees is the mark, with fishing exponentially better in waters of or
above that. Kingfish are particularly influenced, and were busting up
on the surface for hours on end when the warm water was about early in
the week. There are still plenty of Kings around in Pittwater, from ‘rats’
to enormous ‘hoodlums’, and they are sure to go back on the
bite the minute better weather arrives. A salmon hooked early this week
inside West Head was three quarter inhaled during the retrieve by a monster
kingfish, before being forcefully rejected. Maybe it didn’t like
the taste, or just couldn’t fit the whole fish in. Regardless it
was too late for the unfortunate salmon. Fresh baits have gone a little
off the boil with these finicky Kings, and live squid is once again the
culinary choice. Downrigging the squid and berleying heavily around Stokes
Pt should provide results, if a school can’t be found on the surface.
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is fishing well after the big wet, with all and sundry looking
forward to the next few weeks as the fishing should get extremely interesting.
There are a few fish to mess with already, including a few schools of
Salmon, one of which was not even slightly perturbed by the brown and
dirty water early in the week. They were seen herding bait on the surface,
just out from the light house on the Northern side of the bay, right in
the middle of the muck. The clearer water has since brought other Salmon
schools to the surface, and they can be taken on small metal slices of
around 10gms. These fish are great sports fish, jumping acrobatically
and fighting hard, and the action is so hot at the moment that triple
hook ups are commonplace. High tide is supporting the best of the action.
There are a few Tailor chopping around on the edge of the Salmon schools,
which are often taken in the same manner.
This
weeks report: (30 - October- 2004 )
Sydney
Harbour
After a few weeks of remission, with hardly a sight
of the Salmon schools on the surface that had been so prevalent early
in the spring, we have somewhat of a return. There have been a couple
of schools in recent days feeding at the mouth of the harbour, but there
seems to be little or no pattern to their rising, other than the usual
necessity of a high barometer reading. It pays to keep a few small metal
slices, around 7 – 10gms, on you, as you never know when you will
be lucky enough to happen upon a school or two. Silver and White are the
best performing colours. Remember these fish have been targeted by every
man and his dog this season, and are understandably extremely skittish
around boats, so be as quiet as possible when approaching. Cutting your
engine and drifting into casting distance is the best way to get at the
fish.
Northern Beaches
Whiting are the talk of the town
at the moment with some of the biggest fish seen in a while coming on
in the slightly warmer waters of Sydney Beaches. The Northern Beaches
have been the highlight area, with fish up to 800gms and over 35cm long
showing up between Manly and Warriewood. There is no shortage of them
either, with up to the bag limit of 20 fish at times being caught in one
session. Most of these are thankfully returned, with anglers usually taking
only what they need for a feed. Beach worms, Bloodworms and if you can
find them, Squirt worms, have been the key ingredient to a good session,
especially when fished in the very close gutters. Occasionally peeled
prawns will also tempt a fish or two. Some Tailor around the 50cm mark
are also about on most of the same beaches, and will take pilchards fished
out around the second gutter if the whiting are slow.
Broken Bay
Fishing in Broken Bay and the
Hawkesbury River is slowly returning to a more normal routine, after the
copious volumes of fresh water scattered fish far and wide and put many
of them off the bite. The best news of all is the return of some pretty
darn large Jewfish, including three really noteworthy catches. A 17kg
fish took out the annual Hawkesbury Classic over the weekend, and two
other fish, one topping twenty and the other closer to twenty five, were
both boated on Monday by a couple of ecstatic anglers on a charter boat.
Butterflied Tailor accounted for the biggest Jewie, just downstream of
the Brooklyn rail bridge. The 20kg specimen wolfed a live Yakka (yellowtail).
Patience is an absolute necessity at present, with many hours of dead
air often occurring between bites, particularly when fishing big baits.
Smaller ‘soapies’ are about in slightly greater numbers taking
fresh and live squid, as well as mullet and slimy mackerel fillets.
Sydney Offshore
Getting out wide hasn’t
been easy lately with the wind, rain, and swell all hindering, but there
has been the occasional day of comparative bliss, and those who have made
it out felt like they’d travelled through Alice’s looking
glass. The tip of some 20 plus degree northern waters managed to just
kiss Sydney before dispersing, carrying in its wake massive schools of
bait. It has been going off ever since. Yellowfin are on the bait and
at times huge numbers are busting up the surface like gleaming torpedoes.
Albacore to 25kg are often on the same schools of bait. Both can be found
between 35- 55kms outside. Early season Striped Marlin have been tagged
and released after they harassed blue, black and gold skirted lures. Troll
around the larger bait schools west from the continental shelf about 8-10
miles in from Browns Mountain. Patches of warmer water are holding the
most fish.
Sydney Harbour
It’s amazing how much fishing
can change when the weather gets that little bit better. The sun comes
out, the warms the water just enough, and the fish go nuts. Even the gale
force winds haven’t stopped the fish feeding, though it most likely
stopped anyone from fishing for them. Flathead have been around in varying
numbers offshore since late winter, half buried in patches of sand heavy
with shell grit, between the six and twelve mile. Recent days have seen
them start to move into Sydney Harbour, giving everyone a chance to pick
up a feed of succulent fish to 55cm. Flathead are one of Australia’s
most underrated eating fish, particularly delicious when barbequed whole.
Baits, including fresh oily fish such as Stripey Tuna and surprisingly
also fresh Squid, are working well drift fished between South and Middle
Heads as well as toward Balmoral. Flounder are a welcome bycatch from
the same areas. Dark patterned soft plastic insect imitations, worked
slowly over mangrove flats around Lane Cove, are getting plenty of hits
on high tide. Open areas and sandy bays around the Harbour are hot and
cold, but still working. Use gold and black plastic minnows, and a lift
and drop technique.
Sydney Harbour
Kingfish have been making a few sly appearances in the
last couple of days, showing themselves in small schools everywhere from
the Wedding Cake markers out to the Harbour mouth. Some smaller Kings
have even made the journey into Middle Harbour and up past the Spit Bridge.
They are not feeding as aggressively this early in the season as they
will when the water is warm, so at present it can be painful trying to
target them on lures. Lots of work is required, and often flies are the
only thing they will hit. Bait fishers however, rejoice. Squid strips
well presented have been snaring more than a few springtime Kings, and,
strangely, so have fresh Pilchards. A good berley of pilchards will keep
the fish around the boat and interested.
In the first three and a half weeks of
this month we were pelted with three times the average October rainfall.
It has given a good refresher to the system, sparking hopes in fishing
circles of a more than productive start to summer. The water is already
a little less stirred up, and some beautiful Black Bream are roaming up
into Parramatta River to take advantage of the extra food. From Cabarita
Point and Abbotsford around to Five Dock Bay, fish up to 1.2kg are being
tempted out from under wharves, or deceived while hunting over the flats.
Pudding baits, heavily scented with aniseed or fish oil, are working well
in areas poorer visibility, especially on the rising tide. Soft plastics
become particularly devastating as patches of slightly less murky water
appear. Work these with pumpkinseed patterns or red rattle grubs, on 1-2gm
jig heads.
Substantial rain, a low pressure system,
and water that is a lovely shade of unfiltered coffee. It really is no
wonder not much is happening on the fishing front. Conditions like these
affect fish behaviour enormously. Usually any Kingfish in the Harbour
are not overly impressed, and decide to head toward or out of the harbour
mouth to escape the colder fresher water. Jewfish on the other hand, especially
the larger ones, often choose these conditions to move into the estuaries
and upstream knowing they will be well hidden in the dirty water. It can
be a good time to set out live baits deep into likely holes up river.
Lane Cove River upstream of the Figtree Bridge, as well as the Parramatta
River beyond the Gladesville Bridge, both hold likely areas.
Broken Bay/ Hawkesbury
Crabs have been on the move for a few
weeks now but have become particularly ravenous since the rain. There
are quite a few in the system, some quite large and usually delicious,
so it is worth taking some witches hat nets out on your next journey.
Blue Swimmers are most frequent from the Hawkesbury Road Bridge down,
but are found as high up as Spencer, where the crossover area with Mud
Crabs traditionally occurs. The Muddies around at the moment are predominantly
upstream of here toward areas of mangrove. Fish carcasses are a Crabs
delight. Make sure you tie them down well to the net.
This
weeks report: (24 - October- 2004 )
Offshore
Massive swells have made fishing offshore impossible at best these last
days. It is a pity because there are still some reasonable schools of
Yellowfin Tuna out around the 20 mile mark. Southerly storms, that have
been so effective stopping the warm north currents reaching us, have also
pushed pools of quite frigid Victorian water up toward Sydney. As long
as this remains the case and there is bait around the Yellowfin schools
should remain. Early this week, before the storms arrived, some good fish
up to 50kg were deceived by seven inch green and yellow pushers.
Sydney
Warmer weather over the last few weeks has done plenty to improve bait
stocks in and around Sydney. Pittwater has filled up with small baitfish
around 2-3 inches, giving plenty of reason for predatory fish to turn
up. Some very small new season squid are also keeping the resident Kingfish
schools happy. Sydney Harbour is following suit with schools of Hardyheads
around Clifton Gardens and down toward The Spit enticing the first Kingfish
of it’s season. Small yellowtail, the perfect live bait size, have
started schooling inside North Harbour, as well as Watsons Bay.
Sydney Freshwater
The few hot days in a row prior to this rain were just enough to heat
up the surface layers of dams and freshwater rivers of Sydney. Suddenly,
it was as if a light switch had been thrown. Insect activity increased
at the edge of previously more frigid waters, and Bass and Estuary Perch
began to feed on the unlucky from the surface. They were hitting poppers
with venom, and it felt like summer had arrived. Fear not. The rains that
are here now will if anything only enhance insect numbers, promote weed
growth, and intensify fish activity, as long as we get some hot days consecutively
post.
Sydney
Harbour
Enough water has fallen so far this month to really stir up the system,
which gives a nice kick start summer food cycle. Jewfish are enjoying
the rains particularly and are out on the munch in Sydney. Those willing
to face the weather have found fish up to 8kg in the deeper holes on both
sides of the Harbour Bridge, as well as a few schoolies up toward Gladesville.
Spend time sounding out a few likely areas as the fish can still be a
little patchy. Oily fish fillets are putting runs on the board in the
discoloured water. Live baits are working with limited success.
Kingfish
have been making a few sly appearances in the last couple of days, showing
themselves in small schools everywhere from the Wedding Cake markers out
to the Harbour mouth. Some smaller Kings have even made the journey into
Middle Harbour and up past the Spit Bridge. They are not feeding as aggressively
this early in the season as they will when the water is warm, so at present
it can be painful trying to target them on lures. Lots of work is required,
and often flies are the only thing they will hit. Bait fishers however,
rejoice. Squid strips well presented have been snaring more than a few
springtime Kings, and, strangely, so have fresh Pilchards. A good berley
of pilchards will keep the fish around the boat and interested.
Substantial
rain, a low pressure system, and water that is a lovely shade of unfiltered
coffee. It really is no wonder not much is happening on the fishing front.
Conditions like these affect fish behaviour enormously. Usually any Kingfish
in the Harbour are not overly impressed, and decide to head toward or
out of the harbour mouth to escape the colder fresher water. Jewfish on
the other hand, especially the larger ones, often choose these conditions
to move into the estuaries and upstream knowing they will be well hidden
in the dirty water. It can be a good time to set out live baits deep into
likely holes up river. Lane Cove River upstream of the Figtree Bridge,
as well as the Parramatta River beyond the Gladesville Bridge, both hold
likely areas.
This
weeks report: (15 - October- 2004 )
Broken Bay
Warmer waters have improved the fishing
generally around Sydney, and although Broken Bay is taking a little longer
to heat up, the fishing is still on the up. Smaller “soapy”
Jewfish, mostly in the 3-6kg range, are showing up in Cowan Creek. Fresh
squid strip baits or tailor fillets have been working well, fished with
the current on the waning tide around the mouth of Jerusalem Bay. Use
enough weight to guarantee your bait is on the bottom.
Pittwater
Some good Flathead have been taken this week by those drift fishing around
the mouth of Pittwater. The shallow grounds around the sea plane taxi
way have been productive as has the drift from Barrenjoey to West Head.
Pilchards are the bait of choice, but any good fresh fish baits, especially
oily fish such as Anchovies or Slimy Mackerel, will do the job nicely.
Reasonably strong trace line of around 30lb will ensure you don’t
drop too many fish. Flathead have a very raspy jaw which can make short
work of lighter lines.
Sydney
Harbour
The Salmon that have been schooling off the heads, accompanied by Trevally
and Cownyoung, have moved north and are now roaming off Long Reef, feeding
on 1 inch baitfish. The schools are more greatly dispersed and much smaller
than they have been during the spring, and still as fussy as ever. Small
metal slices or clear silver soft plastics that imitate the small thin
baitfish are the best bet. If you are keen to get into a few of these
high jumping, gill flaring, sports fish, be quick, the warmer waters on
the way down the coast will probably put pay to them.
This
weeks report: (11- October- 2004 )
Sydney Harbour
Luderick
fisho’s have been having a ball this week down at Balmain. Find
a nice area of weed rock and sand, and berley up with a mix of green weed
and sand. Plenty of fresh cabbage weed can be found on the rocks at present
and this is the Ludericks favourite food.
Hawkesbury
Plenty of Bass are
being taken at from the mouth of the Colo river at present. Surface lures
are giving great results, as well as beetle pattern spinner baits. Fish
structure around the drop offs. Some brackish water Bream and Flathead
have been taken in the same way from the same areas.
Botany Bay
Big
Bream are providing Bay anglers great light tackle sport fishing at the
moment, as well as nice tasty fish for the dinner table. Fresh peeled
prawns or fresh fish strip baits will give you the most success. Try the
hole 200 metres off the end of the old runway.
Plenty of Trevally around
the 1 to 1.5kg mark are being taken currently. Scotty Lyons recommends
the best place to find them at the moment are areas like Sutherland Pt.
Fresh prawns are great bait for these strong fighters, however soft plastics
may even be out fishing bait at the moment. Light line of around 6lb is
the key.
This weeks report:
(08- October- 2004 )
Sydney
Harbour
The recent big fresh in Sydney, with the
accompanying dirty, cold and less saline harbour waters, has not done
too much for the fishing in the short term. Kingfish that had been hinting
at feeding in the upper reaches of the harbour have gone right off the
bite. Tailor have been harder than usual to find, and even Trevally are
less voracious. The pleasing part is that the one fish that really loves
a big fresh are Jewfish, especially the larger varieties. Downstream areas,
such as the deeper holes between Middle Head and Sow and Pigs reef, or
around Nielsen Park, are good places to start laying a fresh Mullet or
Tailor strip. Adjust your weight depending on the current, using just
enough to get your bait to the bottom and hold it there. Night fishing
is best.
The Salmon out the front
of Sydney Heads have been very skittish of late, with schools surfacing
only for short periods leaving large intervals between. This is mostly
due to a combination of stormy conditions, fresher water, and being hammered
by many a boat on the long weekend. They can be extremely frustrating
at times like this, submerging as soon as they hear a boat nearby or simply
refusing to take any but the most perfectly presented lures. Try to cut
your engine about 20m from the school and drift toward them, or watch
their direction and let them come to you. Then using clear silver fleck
soft plastics about 5cm long, or 10g metal slices, will put you in with
the best shot.
Offshore
The
action is hotting up offshore with strong currents close inshore. The
massive schools of salmon have several species of large pelagic fish following
the schools. On Sunday schools out of Broken bay out to Broken Bay wide
have been menaced by Kingfish around the 10 kg mark. These larger Kings
have been successfully hooked by letting larger metal lures and weighted
stickbaits sink down through the schools, though it does pay to gear up
and fish heavy on these hoodlums as they have a lot of pulling power.
Further out hooking salmon has been relatively easy, getting them to the
boat however has not been as easy as Mako sharks are smashing the salmon
on the surface as they jump, it makes for very exiting fishing. Around
the edges of all of this action as if it were not already enough, marlin
are jumping and have been taken trolling lures within 100 meters of the
salmon schools. Drifted live baits are also taking there fair share of
marlin and mako’s.
Reef fishing has been
consistent offshore with good catches of flathead and morwong on the drift.
Best baits are squid, pilchards and slimy mackerel fillets. Plasic jig
em rigs sweetened with pieces of squid are also accounting for good numbers
of morwong, flathead and a few snapper, although the latter are not as
frequent as they have been. The past few days with the stronger current
have nictitated heavy weights though to keep the baits on the bottom.
Hawkesbury
The
warmer weather has turned the fish on in a big way over the past week.
Good catches of bass and estuary perch are being taken daily from the
weir at Penrith to Lower Portland. One bass landed by Mick from the Penrith
Bass Angler, at the weir, measured a verified whopping 503mm at the fork
on Monday evening, this fish was taken on an Eastcoast pop and fizz .
Local fishing identity Dickie Woods, who has fished the river for over
50 years has said this is possibly the largest bass he has seen taken
from the river.
Other good catches along
the river include large flathead at the Windsor bridge, jewfish at wisemans
ferry and at lower Portland. Tailor have also been prevalent along the
river up to Lower Portland.
This
weeks report: (01- October- 2004 )
Sydney
Harbour
Tailor
are not always the most sought after fish, but at the moment it seems
like they’re always there. From trolling bibbed minnows around middle
head to shore based soft plastic fishing in upper middle harbour or lane
cove river, everyone has a chance of hooking a nice size fish. Even if
sometimes it comes at the expense of a few chopped up plastics. Low tide
is fishing best, especially on the edge of deeper holes. 7-9cm silver
and blue hard bodied lures are working in more open areas, with similar
size soft plastics in silver, watermelon, or bloodworm working up river.
It can be hard to watch
the large pools of 24 degree water holding offshore just north of Coffs
Harbour. Several times in the last month a large lick has tried to run
down the coast, only to be blown out to sea or stopped in its tracks by
strong southerlies. The warm currents bring with them schools of pelagic
fish, such as Kingfish and Mackerel, following the bait schools as they’re
drawn down the coast. By November these currents should have reached Sydney,
with a resulting increase in the temperature of the Harbour. Schools of
Kingfish will be close behind.
Flathead fishing is coming
on in the spring weather. Solid fish are hunting for a feed all throughout
the harbour, as well as up and down the northern beaches. High tide, sand
flats and fresh fish baits provide the perfect combination. Fishing the
edge of sandy drop offs works to a lesser degree on lower tides. Soft
plastics are devastating in all tides. Try wrigglers in 2 and 3inch gold
or red, with a lift and drop retrieve.
Sydney
Fish Finder
www.sydneyfishfinder.com.au
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