Northern Beaches and Offshore Previous Reports 2005
Reports by Stefan Hansson, Fish Outta Water Fishing Tackle Store

Fishing Report 14 -12 - 04
Hot days, hot water, and hot action on the fishing front, you gotta love summer in Sydney. And to top it off, the Kingies are starting to turn it on, with more than a few decent size fish taken around the mouth of the harbour this week. Marker buoys around Neilsen Park and Quarrantine are the go, especially for the stickbait jiggers. Suprisingly, these still seem to be working better than live baits. White is the gun colour. Rapala CD-7’s and 9’s have also done plenty of damage trolled around the same areas, as well as out the front of South Head. Livies have accounted for a few fish, mostly out the front around Bluefish, but in general there is a bit of a bait shortage in the harbour. There are a few slimies around quarantine, and some other baitfish including Yakkas around the inside of Old Mans Hat, but you only really need to bother if lures aren’t getting results. Some remnants of the winter Trevor population are working inside the mouth of North Harbour, and Bream are starting to warm up all over.

Pittwater has seen a few gear busting Kings itself lately, but the fish are starting to spread out and the most aggressive lure smashing fish now seem to be rats, under the legal 60. Small skirts like the 5” Mcgoo’s are working inside Mackerel Beach and toward the Basin moorings, and Rapala’s are also working a dream. Pete Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary Charters says the odd larger fish is out there for the patient, but you can only get em on live Squid by drift trolling the moorings on the eastern shores. Some good flatties are about on the Careel Bay flats, mixed in with the odd flounder. Whitebait’s the key to a decent haul. Whiting have also been taken from the shallowest Careel sand flats, on the old standby, beachworms.

Offshore conditions still aren’t anything to write home about, with no great masses of bait, but that didn’t stop Bill Martin from picking up his first Marlin, onboard “Mud Crab II”. 82.5kg for your debut first Stripey ain’t bad. Well done Bill. Dollies are also here, but most of them are rougue individuals and they haven’t taken to holding on any of the FADs yet. Plenty of Mowies on the gravel grounds are helping the reef fisho’s get by while we wait for bigger and better summer fish.

Fishing Report 05 - 12 - 04
Sydney’s Offshore fishing scene picked up considerably over the last week, and with the arriving thermal currents from up north came plenty of fish of various species eager for a feed, and no shortage of sharks either.

Jamie Ward of Broken Bay Game Fishing Club reported some results including the game boat ‘Diversion’, which tagged 12-14kg Yellowfin, while ‘The Pump’ tageed four to 26.5 kilo’s on 24kg. ‘Sabotage’ tagged five fin and one Mahi-Mahi. ‘Short Black’ landed one fin and five Albacore. For the shark boats, ‘Avanti’ lost an approx 300kg Mako on 15kg and landed an 87kg Mako on 6kg. Reputed shark boat ‘Rampage’ tagged a Mako , lost an unknown, and lost about a 500kg Mako all on 15kg. A few Marlin were sighted to no avail, and a few killer whales were sighted out as far as the canyons.

For land based and small boat fisho’s the harbour water temperature is rising encouraging more fish to have a chew. Middle Harbour has quietened down, while bluefish, dobby and the wreck laid on trevally, squire yakkas and more john dory for Peter Roberts on both Saturday and Sunday, fishing unweightedb whitebait down the berley trail.

Pittwater Kings are quite active and preferring live Squid, Gars or Yakkas. Early morning start is best, just start over at Towlers and be prepared to try lure tossing or even Fly. Keep your options open because the fish are. Blue Swimmer crabs are mobile so go the witches hats, Pete from Harbour and Estuary Charters caught four in five hours on Tuesday behind Scotland island over the flats.

Northern Beaches are worth a shot since the shake up mid week. Darren Lewis fished Longy Beach Saturday arvo hooking 3 salmon and a nice bream on beachworms before a respectable Jewfish took a preference to a hooked salmon mid fight, putting a big bite across the back of the fish and a tug-o-war battle for the angler.

This early in the season a troll can prove fruitful as Steven and Gary Lodge proved, towing Mcgoo lures at Winky Pop. An abundance of Tailor and Salmon kept both anglers busy with some XL Kingies busting 10kg string like twine. Mcgoo lures is running a comp and you receive a free entry into the draw to win over $500 of Mcgoo product. Your only entry requirement is to buy something Mcgoo, so pop in and stock up early, cause there are ample fish on the lookout.

Fishing Report 23 - 11 - 04
Wild, windy conditions greeted most anglers head on over the past week with Saturday and Sunday the peak days, before conditions turned for the better. With conditions like that you would expect a quiet weekend, but Yellowfin love activity and plenty of them were on the chew taking small trolled skirts, deep divers, and tremblers. Chris Goodbar and John Holmes fished the milder Sunday conditions in Johns maxicat for two great fish on 15kg, chris weighed a 38kg fin and john a 28kg. Not bad at all as it would have been about lunchtime. We hung them off the scales out the front of the shop to an ever increasing audience. The guys caught their fish past Browns Mountain, approximately 45kms out, and were justly rewarded for a solid effort.

Closer in at Long Reef, Pete Roberts was doin the trevally thing, using unweighteds in a light trail. Pete caught two Trevs 2kg plus, and a few legal Reds headed west that arvo too. Be aware of plague proportioned sweep in this vicinity. They of course eat everything dangled in front of them. A few rat kings ended boatside including a feisty little sucker for Doll Face (Petes partner), making this her first captured King. Well Done!

Sydney Harbour has hit the wall in the past couple ‘o reports. Things are improving but slowly, with heaps of berley and light lines assisting fisho’s. Some days are much better than others.

Pittwater Pete has water temps up there reading 21.5 degrees on average. On average his clients are encountering Kingfish around 70cm. Pete downrigs live squid with unmatched success. His largest King to date is 95cm. The Kingies are pretty mobile at the moment and most places around Pitty, including Soldiers Pt and Longnose Pt and even around the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Scotland Island. Any bait school sounded out is worth a very slow lap or two with a deep fresh bait worked close. And the key word here is slow, even less than walking pace. Often wind and current are enough propulsion. Hit the right spot and baits are a plenty. The Joey and West head are the most popular with Squid and Yakkas. Garfish are also about on the surface and are a third live bait the kings are finding it hard to resist. Careel Bay has bait stealing Salmon and Tailor, so before that hard earned livey hits the drink try throwing out a few metal slugs. If you can clear whatever loners are about, the capture chances on a Kingfish become much higher. A few Blue Swimmers are moving about and Pete recommends the Bayview sand flats are productive but fresh bait is a must. With 29 kings this season there must be no shortage of frames on the ready in Petes freezer.

Next time conditions aren’t fishable come and try some retail therapy. Fish Outta Water has a “Stock Up For Summer” Sale underway so a little bit of Christmas shopping done now could mean a whole lot more fishing done later. Remember to always utilise your conditions accordingly!

Darren Thomas
Fish Outta Water

Fishing Report 16-11-04
Sydney Harbours water temperature has risen to 19.4 degrees during the week but action down there is still winter quiet with a with a few species showing interest and some bait rocking up. Hookem Cook’ems Des Toms reports a school of Slimies and Yakkas at Dobroyd Point in deeper water taking fillet strips. This same bait is working at Sow and Pigs for Bream and Trevally. There appears to already be two aggressive Kingfish schools holding fish from 8 – 10 lbs, one currently around Rose Bay, with Watsons and Double Bays also being frequented. The second pack roams west of the Spit Bridge in Middle Harbour. Best results for these have come from live baiting down deep around popular structures.

Small boat fisho’s worked inshore reefs for Flatties and plenty of Trevally to 60cm. Pan sized Reds and Big sweep invaded Longy swiping baits with bigger intentions. The bait station out past Browns Mountain fished well for Mick Tess aboard ‘Yakatoon’, jhooking 20 Yellowfin to 10kg on diving lures of the VIB variety.

Some Beaches fished well for Tailor, Salmon and Bream particularly in the afternoon session. Jeff Yorsten fished Narra and Dee Why for the above fish with fillet baits of Mullet and Bonito too tempting in the surf.

Pete Le Blang reports Pittwater as a hive of activity with Kingfish results on every charter. Live Squid, Yakkas, and fresh squid heads downrigged around Stokes pt, Longnose point, and the Basin are resulting in hook ups of fish to 90cm for Petes clientele with bigger fish bust ups quite common and par for the King course. West Head and the Joey are working for squid, yakkas and pencil gars. A live squid over the edge doubles your hook up ratio straight up.

Fishing Report 21/09/04
If you felt like a drowned rat this week it’s no surprise. We’ve had three times the average monthly rainfall so far this October, and the murky water has sent the Pittwater Kings into a spin.
You’d think a fresh like this would have sent them out toward the sea, instead of busting up all day like they have been. Must be something to do with the schools of tiny squid about. Stokes Pt and Careel are firing on the primest fresh squid, strips being more successful than livies it seems, which is nice cos there aint much in the way of catchable squid yet.
Plenty of baitfish though, and live yakkas are working a treat fished into the berley trail. Pete Le Blang has been getting busted up by Tailor and Kings, with even the odd tail walking Salmon to 65cm.
Plenty of Trevs at the mouth of Pitty chowing into whitebait schools. Out into Broken Bay there are a few nice flounder. Close round West Head and over toward the flats off Lion Island have been working the best.

The harbour is slowly getting over what has been a dismal last couple of weeks. The water out the front is finally warming up a bit and there’s a bit of bait in the harbour. Yakkas and smaller baitfish are getting balled up and nailed by Kings around Dobroyd, and Salmon have made a few runs in around Quarrantine chasing one inch baits. Plenty of Trevs still holding around the schools of bigger fish.

Offshore and Pete Roberts had a decent weekend. Long Reef threw up a few Trevs on the drift, with the occasional ‘what was that’ bust off. Big sweep were harassing around causing a bit of pain. Bluefish also worked well for him with another half dozen nice Trevally and 2 rat Kings, one over one under, taken on peeled prawns in the berley trail.

Fishing Report 21/09/04
One solid day of heavy rain over the weekend was enough to bring a few fish on the bite and stir things up a bit. The rather large swell that coincided made offshore fishing hard work, but plenty of guys did well in closer on the local reefs. John Newlands hooked reds to 2kg at Long Reef. Trevally of similar size and Morwong were a plenty, with pillies the bait of choice. Andrew Parkes fished 1.5kms off Bluefish Pt on Tuesday for Trevally Morwong and Nannygai. Nearer the stones he found a Massive John Dory taken on a livey, and plenty of rat kings just undersize.
Those Harbour Salmon copped a thrashing over the long weekend and are the most boat shy I’ve ever seen. The existing schools are rapidly diminishing in size due to the ‘Driveova’ factor. Some big squid are still being caught, and Yakkas are still obtainable in the deeper water locations.
Up the other end of town Pittwater charter specialist Pete Le Blang says a pod of dolphins is nightmaring the local Salmon schools behind Lion Island, creating plenty of on edge fish including some larger Tailor beneath the surface. A 2 degree water temperature incline earlier in the week has Flounder taking baits drifted around the ‘Joey on the flats, and some super big Squid are still accepting jigs cast over the weed beds. Pete has sighted some HOODLUM Kings at various spots, not quite on the eager chew as yet but it won’t be long.

Fishing Report 21/09/04
The arrival of a good size swell in conjunction with hammering rain & 30+ knot souwesterly breezes, these 3 ingredients certainly stirred up plenty of fish cause they was bitin everywhere.
Offshore fishing had the first marlin report for the season Broken Bay gameboat ‘The Pump’ hooked a 100kg striped marlin, the yellowfin have gone quiet again with only one 30kg fin captured, although the Woolongong boys did weigh an in comp capture at 48kg, so it may not be over just yet.
Sydney Harbour has an abundance of surface activity including the previously reported salmon & schools of trevally, the salmon are ridiculously fussy in their acceptance of lures & baits , not like the trevally that took just about anything teased before them. Fishing just inside Nth Head we found in preference to herding,
A silent drift was equally as productive with 3 inch soft plastics a good selection for catching either species, a quick look around had me witnessing up to 6 boats all with single or double hookups & trevally seemed to be on the menu at a few households tonite.
The bottom bashing brigade had been busy on trevs, leatheries & some worthy snapper averaging 2-2.5kg with James Thackeray of Black Pete Marine drifting Longy producing a 4kg model using the ever reliable pillie.
The rugged conditions kept local rock fisho’s fairly quiet, a 4.25kg drummer enticed with bread berley & hooked on a red crab during an arvo session earned Tim Mondzheyously a spot in the running for the Fish Outta Water/Weekender Winter Foto Comp, Tim will score a FOW cap with the major prize fishing charter to be drawn in Oct/Nov generously donated by Pete Leblang of Harbour & Estuary charters up Pittwater way. Pete tells me more signs of activity are noticeable with salmon boiling & taking small slugs with tailor to 45cm moving about, some 4-5kg sambos have these tailor inclusive of their stomach content, Pete has had catches of bream & good flounder this week, some good sized kings have been sighted on the move & not quite in the zone yet.
Fish Outta Water’s inhouse Fish’n’tips talk has the bye this week but next Thursday nite(30/09/04) resumes with Mike Felton holding the floor discussing all aspects of fly including local pelagic saltwater species & the outfits req’d, Mike is the proprietor for Felty’s Flies & reels used by all types of fly guys including Team Strudwick who are very generously offering yet another ‘sic stic’ rod as the evenings prize, valued at $189 these rods are rippers so ring ahead on 99499488 for your free booking & I’ll c u at 6pm next thurs nite.

Latest Report 31/08/04
The mild stirring received during our most recent rains have various bait species on the move and chasing a feed. Visual signs of increasing appetites are obvious to regular fishos, after nearly 2 months of dormant activity in moves whitebait, yakkas, arrow squid, big eastern calamari and over sized cuttlefish back to there local haunts inside the harbour and along the stones.
Offshore fishing continues to surprise with more yellowfin encountered east of Browns Mountain. Mick Lyons of Allie Hunter Charters jigged the 12 Mile for good size and numbers of fish including mowies, flatties and some very healthy leatherjackets to 65cm and no shortage of them, with all the carnivorous sets of razors sharps getting about – wire becomes an absolute necessity. After hearing a yellowfin report out wide of Browns Mick ran the extra 15 mile out for a shot at em, Sydney game skipper Steve aboard “Angry” reported 3 fins onboard to 30kgs, upon arrival a good fish hooked up and ran hard spitting the hooks soon after. The ensuing tide change soon had these hi-speed eaters vacating the area and the guys turned for home, not bad days fishing…..almost a perfect reef trip.
Sydney Harbour bait species came alive with much more bait moving into the shallows. Chris Tudehope fished Manly for trevally and nearly managed a flounder on a squid jig, its purpose for attacking the prawn style lure was its mistaken identity for a whitebait which had a breakaway school had escaped from. The current salmon reserves and temps moved into manly earlier this week bringing all sorts of squid and fish within range. Des from Hookem Cookem reports the schooling salmon have been as far west as Clifton Gardens and at times small choppers are leading the pack; North Head (inside) and Bluefish Point has em in the wash and small rat kings are knocking off any trev intended strip baits on 3kg but are refusing any heavier line classes. Plenty of yakkas wide of Balmoral Island and so too is Manly Point a popular spot. Middle harbour and the Spit are holding more fishos than fish with plenty of boats working the area for minimal results, one could assume an over abundance of squid in the area.
Last Thursday nights Fish ‘n’ Tips talk by Alex Bellissimo was a great success, thanks Al. This week Matthew Clarke-Bruce from Topspin Sportfishing Charters is going to hand over some if his hard earned knowledge about Sydney Harbour soft-plastics from bream to mulloway, where and when. Bookings can be made on 99499488 or email fishon@fishing.net.au, talk starts at 6pm in-store and once again there is NO CHARGE for the evening – just book ASAP to get a spot. To find out more about upcoming talks and events check out the forum at www.fishouttawater.com.au/forum.

Fishing Report 28 – June – 04
Howling westerlies, plenty of rock and roll, no fish in sight…… or do you just stay home and wear another weekend off the water ‘cause of the stiff conditions out wide.

Plenty of bottom species interested in a passing meal down deep, with Blue Eyed Cod and Gemfish encountered both on the shelf as well as further inside around the 50-70 metre mark. Mick Lyons of Allie Hunter Charters fished for plenty of keeper ‘Reds’ and legal Flatties drifting the bottom with pillies. Two Shark reports from Micks regulars included Sydney game boats Wahoo and Gambit weighing in Mako’s at 160kg and 120kg respectively.

Sydney Harbour fished pretty well through the week, including two big squid taken in two minutes off the Manly boat ramp. Both were downrigged from Quarrantine Pt to North Head proper and back for some big kilo Tailor from the depths. No signs of surface Salmon, with plenty of birds about but none really holding near or over the fish. Further west around The Spit, Andrew Parkes berleyed up some solid 35-40cm Bream on light unweighted gear and prawns and plastics. Plenty of Garfish in the trail.

Up to Pittwater where the action is either on or off. You either get ‘em or you can’t find ‘em. There seems to be no shortage of Tailor on trolled lures and plenty of Dory in around Careel Bay/ Taylors Pt area. West Head is holding plenty of bait still, Yakkas, Gars and Squid.

The Weekender/ Fish Outta Water winter photo comp was won by Bob Sankey with a 43cm whiting landed at DY. Bob goes into the October November major prize draw for the Fishing Charter on Pittwater/ Hawkesbury with Pete Le Blang from ‘Harbour and Estuary Charters’ (Ph: 0410 633 351).

The Annual Fish Outta Water/ Shimano stocktake clearance sale starts at 8am this Saturday (july 3rd) and will run till the following Sunday (july 11th). The store is open till 5pm weekends, 6pm weekdays and 8pm Thursday.

Sale includes: 49.00 12ft rock and beach combo; Shimano TR200G overhead reel only $99.00 – that’s HALF price; Free Simano Aernos reel with Steve Starling spin rod purchase.

The Sale For REEL Fishermen.

DON”T MISS IT.

Fishing Report 15/06/04

With the fishing scene moving into winter status locating species in pristine clear waters isn’t so hard but taking home more than a feed is proving a harder challenge for boat and land-based fishos on the north side.
More uncomfortable conditions over the long weekend prevented many skippers from taking to the sea so those very wide yellowfin reports were simply nonexistent. Mick from Allie Hunter Charters fished wide for fin with no success but did satisfy his clients when an 80kg mako swam up the trail and swallowed a baited tuna fed his way, mako’s are very acrobatic once hooked up and an airborne 8kg dude is a sight worth seeing, in closer waters of 50-60m; flathead 15-60cm and platey snapper are on the bottom and if move to the gravel and off the reef good morwong will also be around. Just off North Head schooling salmon and deeper rat kings are accepting small slugs and you should use the shorter fatter units to assist in long cast as these fish are extremely boat shy. In the Harbour water temp has plummeted to 14.6°c at Rosey and to 18.8°c at South Head just 20 mins from each other.
Hookem and Cookem’s Des Toms reports Middle Head as the best spot for success with tailor, the odd king, cowan young and big slimies activating the place and even john dory on livies. Plague proportions of baby sweep are scoffing anything so catching yakkas aint easy but small the sweep are an equally if not better live bait for the dory being a much slower target than the designated bait fish. Lastly on the Harbour when conditions and species make it hard shoot over to Sow and Pigs Reef and chase luderick, these fish are a winter mainstay and when centralised in deep water don’t seem as hesitant to eat as others, plenty of small berley (small, small pieces) is required on every outing as it does make a huge difference.
Moving further north to Pittwater F.O.W. manager Peter Keep fished the front Joey wash for 20 tailor to a kilo while Pete Le Blang from Harbour and Estuary Charters says try the topside of Scotland Island to long Nose point near the moorings for plenty of chopper and more dory on sweep behind palmy near the moorings also try around Bayview and Church Point for luderick – water temps are way down to 16.5°c so fish with plenty of berley and depth. F.O.W. customer Nev Tailor christened his new 4kg baitcaster outfit on a school mulloway up the Cowan river, the jewey threatened to weigh 5kg but depends on who you ask and who’s scales you use.
The Weekender/Fish Outta Water winter photo comp hasn’t exactly been inundated with entries so we’ve upped the anti a bit and in conjunction with Pete Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary charters we are giving away a Pittwater Fishing Charter to the over all winner with a value of $300-400 in Oct/Nov! The weekly prize is still a F.O.W. Cap so get your entries in and make em good ones, You can email them to darren@fishouttawater.com.au, drop them in to the store or bring your catch by the shop on your way back and we’ll take a photo for you.
This week’s winner is young Max Rawlinson from Balmain with this nice kingy taken off Dobroyd Point, congratulations Max!

Fishing Report 01/06/04

After last weeks positive report this week seems to have gone nearly backwards with most species off the chew and pretty much playing hard to get.
The offshore fisho’s had some pretty bad conditions to tolerate and not many fish on the scene, our offshore current is roaring north and water temps have dropped to just under 20ºc. Most dolphinfish will be looking to catch that free ride north in search of warmer bluer pastures, so to speak. From Port Hacking to Port Stephens only 2 reports from the weekend, Gavin Jago hooked a 20kg+ yellowfin trolling on an ugly Saturday near the shelf and game boat “Avanti” hooked a tiger shark on 6kg gear.
Sydney Harbour shutdown during the week with only a few fish keen on a feed, Peter Zurita fished around Manly for trevally, bream and john dory, live yakkas and soft plastics did the job. Thousands of small dead leatherjackets floated around the Harbour on Sunday and Monday from North Head to Vaucluse, There could be a few reasons for this and infection is possibly one of them so don’t use them for bait and definitely DO NOT EAT them!
Further north Pittwater has had the most action with salmon and tailor taking trolled lures near the Joey and while your out there try the drift over the Palm Beach sand bar near the red marker buoy to chase some flatties and bream - try some boiled wheat for berley. McCarrs Creek has produced a few john dory; slow moving livies are your best bet. A school of 5-7kg kings are roaming the southern end but are refusing all offerings including stickbaits and fly but may be enticed with an unweighted peeled prawn, you have to be quick on the strike though as they’re even spitting these out!
A quick reminder that the Warringah Anglers Club will be holding its Auction Night on this Thursday at the Dee Why Bowling Club in Fisher Rd so if you have some fishing gear you want sell or are just looking for some 2nd hand bargains go check it out plus there’s even a giant raffle, registration is at 6pm & the auction starts at 7.30pm and all gear to be sold must be in working order.
Now for something new to the weekly report - Fish Outta Water and the Northern Beaches Weekender will be running a “fish of the week” comp so photos are required and can be either dropped into the shop or emailed to fishon@fishouttawater.com.au Attn. Daz, each week we’ll give away a F.O.W. hat worth $19.95 and you’ll get your photo in the paper - so good luck and good fishing.

Fishing Report 24/05/04

After the first wave of cold water came through 2 weeks ago most species of fish shutdown but how things can change once seasonal adjustments are complete.
Offshore fishing & Yellowfin reports have tripled in the last week with plenty of captures in the 20-40kg range with some fish as heavy as 70kg. Fishouttawater staff had a trip out to Browns Mountain(continental shelf) during the week , not so comfortable conditions made cubing a trail near impossible so we trolled skirted lures at about 8 knots & just this side of the mountain a triple hook-up threw everyone into gear, after 10 mins of controlled mayhem 3 yellowfin approx 25-35kg’s each graced the deck . We didn’t sight any working birds or schools of bait yet each fish had between 4-7 slimies in their stomach contents & it didn’t stop them hammering anything green that was dragged before them. More reports from the shelf include Ron Kovacs two Yellowfin - going 29kg and 38kg – and Gavin Jago who headed out after ‘fin only to tag a striped marlin off a double hook-up and raise another the following day. All of the action has been around Brown’s Mountain.
A bit closer to shore Mick Lyons says the bottom fishing at the twelve mile is producing legal snapper, 70cm leatherjackets, morwong and flathead. All good sized fish with pillies being the chosen bait.
The beaches showed positive indications of hungry fish. Jef Yorsten landed flatties at Narra while DY mid week had flathead, salmon, tailor and bream eager to chew all offerings. The run up tide and early evening sessions proved to be the most productive.
Sydney Harbour came to life with schooling salmon taking pillies on gang hooks and trolling lures. Some good 2kg tailor amongst them. Some of these salmon are 3-5 kg. and giving attached anglers a great fight – visual aerobatics antics chucked in. Peter Zurita fished North Harbour for 3 good John Dory and some good sized squid. Rat kings have been sighted at Nth.Head and Dobroyd but no hookings. Yellowtail are easier to find than the last two weeks but plenty of burley is required to fill the livey tank.
Even Pittwater improved immensely since last week. Pete from Harbour & Estuary charters reports flathead up to 97 cm. and Jewies on the chew - preferring white bait At the Vines plenty of bream are biting – approx. 60mtrs. out with most captured fish having small pippies in them. Further east near the entrance amberjack and salmon have fallen to trolled lures. Small schools of frigates from 4 to 20 per head continually pop up – but are proving worthy opponents by not wanting any offerings coming their way.

Fishing Report 18/05/04

A decrease in wind during the week coinciding with some warmer sunshine a few species to shed last weeks pre-metabolic state and pursue a feed. Rock fishing awoke from the dead providing good fishing with descent numbers and species available, Louise Classon fished “the edge” chasing luderick in the wash, her largest fish pulled the scales down to a kg and she got 10 all up. Ernie Wilson landed salmon and flathead while Dave Pennings hooked 14 bream in the wash on very lightly or unweighted baits.
Offshore reports gathered more Yellowfin momentum with hook ups and sightings coming from beyond the shelf with 40kg being the average weight, trolling and cubing the preferred method.
Mick Lyons reports plenty of platey snapper, morwong and flathead in 60m off Bondi with an abundance of extra large leatherjackets to 70cm accepting all baits with wire trace an absolute necessity to stay connected to these guys.
Des from Hookem and Cookem says South Head has salmon and trevally with slimies scattered throughout – lures, bait and fly are all working and even ganged hooks and pillies are accounting for plenty which is most unusual this early in the season for these fussy pre-winter species. The yellow marker buoy inside North Head has provided rat kings and john dory for his clients but once live bait catching can be quite frustrating. For a more casual approach grab your lightest lure chucking stick and you favourite bream and flatty lures and head down to Bantry Bay in Middle Harbour, FOW staffer Bryan Lynch landed tailor and flathead during a morning session on Monday.
Pete from Harbour & Estuary Charters in Pittwater recommends Smiths Creek up in Cowan for a feed of bream or try Flint and Steel reef for big tailor and the odd salmon. Water temps have increased 1-2ºc after last weeks major decline and a bit more sunshine with the upcoming big tides might just bring a bit more action our way.

Fishing Report 11/05/04

Early taste of what’s to come during the week with very nippy winds and cold clear water making angling for any species much harder then expected, I did manage 4 trips during the week for not many fish and through no lack of trying, most spots had little or no activity to visualise even with a heavily ladened berley trail in place, bream and trevally were resident at Harbour locations as were the stray larger tailor. Pittwater mornings has been more successful than any night sorties with bream again the only semi clean player. Morning sessions have found tailor at Mackerel Beach with the odd frigate popping up, hoodlum kings have been sighted and targeted yo no avail with all the usual methods, only 1 hook up reported on a peeled prawn and light tackle. Blue swimmer crabs have gone in to hiding as have squid and yakkas at night but day trips are much more successful.
Offshore conditions played up on the weekend with Saturday being the only fishable day off, Yellowfin have showed up wide of the shelf and are averaging 40 odd kg and blue and striped marlin have been encountered in the spread. With the Yellowfin arrival mako sharks aren’t too far behind, Mick from Allie Hunter Charters hooked 2 on Saturday at 170kg and 120kg apiece.
Sydney Harbour is showing distinct signs of seasonal changes with most fish appetites in limbo but still plenty to be caught, just got to work harder. Harbour kings are still prevalent with most bait grounds attracting rats, keep your lures handy as hooked yakkas have been aggressively followed up – particularly around the Wedding Cakes, Dobroyd and South Head.

Fish Outta Water Fishing Report … 27 - 04 – 04

The fishing bonanza that has been the Harbour this season has slowed down a little over recent days, coinciding with a drop in temperature of a bit over one degree in the water. The Kings that have been so good to all this summer are finally tailing off the bite. While there are still a few about they are much harder both to come by and to entice into feeding. Des Toms of Hook’em Cook’em Charters reports he has been able to bring quite a few up to the boat around the Quarrantine marker buoy, but that only a small percentage of these would take the bait. If you’re still keen to persist, live Yakkas are having the most luck. Bonito are also about in the same area, as well as around South Head towards the Gap. Trolling Rapalas such as the blue mackerel in a CD-9 size will get you smashed up on the South Head run, whilst inside the Harbour especially around Dobroyd bombora, live baits such as Yakkas, Squid and Slimies are doing the trick. Plenty of all these baits are available through the Harbour. The bait grounds off Balmoral are holding both Squid and Yakkas at the edge of the kelp, and in North Harbour there are still good schools of Slimies. Plenty of Tailor are also about hitting these baits. Good Bream are still about in all parts.

The Northern Beaches have thrown up a few nice bags recently. Big Salmon and some massive ‘greenback’ Tailor are being taken from Dee Why. Pillies are the major weapon of choice. Solid winter Bream are taking up a fair proportion of the catch off Curly. Bonnies are being spun up from the rocks with metal slugs.
Offshore and Mick Lyons of Allie Hunter Charters has spent the last while indulging his customers in large numbers of Dolphin fish. They can still be occasionally patchy but it is well worth the effort to try out a few different FADs and markers, as whilst the Dollies might not be biting on one, they may well be going off at the next. Some decent Autumn Kings can also be found around a few of the close offshore reefs. East Reef is a great example with some biggish fish taking live baits fished on the bottom.

Pete Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary Charters reports the drop in water temp has hit Pittwater as quickly as it hit Sydney Harbour, and with it has come the same drop in feeding intensity, especially from the Kings. Occasional Rats have come into his berley trail around Scotland Island and when found they will take baits if they are very well presented and very fresh (or live). Tailor have been hanging around Pittwater taking lures, baits and pretty much anything thrown at them. The average size is pretty small but can be good fun on light tackle. Bream have finally made it up to McCarrs creek in some better numbers, loving fresh squid bait, and when good berley is used some Trevally can be brought in around the boat in the same area. Blackfish are having a quiet feed off the rocky foreshore around Bayview. Don’t forget your crab traps as Blue Swimmer Crabs are still around.

Broken Bay proper is fishing well for Jewies at the moment, though not all of them as big as the massive over fourty kilo monster taken last week from Juno pt. Numbers of fish in the 3 to 5 kg range can be found from Lion Island to Spencer. Bar point reef has been a good producer of late, as have the road and rail bridges. Most success is being had on live Yakkas, live Squid, or the whitest of white fresh Squid. Deep holes on the edge of the main current or rocky reef outcrops that cause large eddies for these lazy fish to wait in, ready to ambush. Plenty of live bait available from bait grounds around West Head, with a few Slimies and even the odd Garfish being taken from amongst them. Squid can be found around Cowan Creek. Search out a shallow sandy bay with good seagrass cover. Flatties are still chowing down on those small sweet little live Yakkas where ever they spy one drifting past. Likely drift spots include Refuge and Americas bays, around Dangar Island, the Pittwater drift, and the entrance to Brisbane Waters. Plenty of Bream in the deeper holes and around structure all throughout the Bay, seeming to prefer fresh squid over fish baits at the moment. Soft plastics like the berkley powerbaits ‘3inch Bass Minnow’ are also doing damage.

Fishing Report – 13/04/04

Sydney Harbour has turned on some extraordinary things in the last week, including a very large seal that has taken to the waters of North Harbour in around Manly. Currently this seal is quite friendly, but recommendations are firmly in the DO NOT FEED THIS CRITTER bag, especially as it may attempt to board small boats and with its bulk could easily sink one. It may well have come in to the area to feed on the schools of Slimies that have popped up in North Harbour. Plenty of this fantastic bait can be found in pockets of the harbour and they are relatively easily berleyed up. Most of the fish are in the 20 – 30cm range, ideal for taking out to the Dolphin Fish, or just trying your luck for some of the bigger Kings inside. Alex Bellissimo landed a big King during the week off the rocks, which took the scales up to 11kg, so there are still some big ones about. Des Toms Hook’em Cook’em Charters reports Harbour fishing has been a little on the mixed bag side, with plenty of mainstay winter fish such as John Dory, big Bream and Trevally being the major catches. Middle Head seems to be a fair bit quieter than it has over recent weeks, with most fish now in the harbour proper. The troll around North Head has thrown up a few decent size Salmon and some Bonito for his customers, mostly to slightly larger lures around the size of Rapala CD-9’s. Start around Old Mans Hat and work around the point. Plenty of big mullet have also been spotted, the recent rains having flushed them out into the more open parts of the harbour. This can only mean one thing; plenty of Jewfish must be lurking about nearby. A night fish with some live mullet or fresh mullet strips tossed in around the deeper holes near Dobroyd pt should put you on the track to one of those elusive big Jewies.
Offshore and Mick Lyons of Allie Hunter Charters has been targeting and bagging plenty of Dolphin Fish in the last week. Most of the FADs and marker buoys are holding fish, though some are biting more readily than others. Live Yakkas are doing the trick, but if you can get hold of some slimies all the better. Most of the fish are around 1-3kg. Kings have been nailing the yakkas closer in around the rocks, especially around Bluefish. Most of the Kings caught have been in the region of 60-70cm, but if you have the patience to sit out with a very large live bait for long periods of time, fish up to a metre are there for the taking. A couple of lucky boats notched up four Yellowfin between them when running out wide in the recent Sydney Game Fishing Tournament. The fish weighed in at around the 60kg mark. Closer in and the gravel reef grounds have been fishing well for Flatties and Morwong. The Morwong especially have been of good size.
Pittwater Pete (Le Blang) of Harbour and Estuary Charters has been taking Kings from inside Pittwater and around to Barrenjoey. Look out for surface activity, (baitfish, birds and boils), to get yourself into a school. Live Yakkas or Squid are doing the trick. Big sea mullet are schooling out amongst the moorings and around marinas in Pittwater, which is allowing the Kings to cruise in and help themselves. Getting a live bait out around one of these schools is a brain tearing bust up waiting to happen! For the less pelagicly minded piscatorist there are plenty of Flatties to be had on the sand flats all around the Bay, including into Pittwater and Brisbane Water. Start by searching out the western side of the bays. Don’t forget the crab traps either, as plenty of blue swimmers still abound. Throw the traps out as you leave and you can come home to a feed no matter how the days fishing went!

Fishing Report – 06/04/04

Off shore conditions certainly were in favour of the fish during the week with most days too uncomfortable for boaties out wide, the inshore fads copped a hammering with plenty of juvenile dolphin fish in the 1-3kg range being captured. These mahi mahi are quite temperamental at the moment and can be very fussy from day to day, flies; slugs and slimies are popular when the dollies are on the chew.
Sydney Harbour has quietened down during the rain but still has plenty on offer, Rob Jenkins and Johno Shales landed 10 bonito and a king off Bluefish point all on fly and in the rain, a solid berley trail was required and interestingly enough none of the fish captured wanted fresh squid. Various bait schools are working in and around Balmoral and Chinamans in Middle Harbour, anchoring on the edge of the weed bed and berleying will attract enough yakkas to fill the livey tank with plenty of bait, harbour squid are proving to be a tougher opponent to capture and even more tough to locate. Sow and Pigs Reef and the Wedding cakes are holding kings while schooling chopper tailor are holding around most rocky headlands and fishing these washes with lightly weighted prawns could see you eating bream for dinner.
Further north in Pittwater, charter operator Pete Le Blang reports good size bream at the mouth of McCarrs Creek and flathead in the same area, up near the Royal Motor Yacht Club rat kings are boiling up early mornings. Salmon and tailor are working off west head taking metal slugs, the odd frigate mackerel being caught as well and blue swimmers and plenty of squid are making their presence felt this week.
Fish Outta Water is open everyday over Easter so hop in, pick up and fish on.

Fishing Report – 29/03/04

Platey Reds have moved into some of our close local reefs according to plenty of small boat fisho’s who got amongst them during the week. Tim Roberts fished the Dee Why hotel comp for Bream up to 1.45kg and Snapper to 4.2kg. Beach fishing held its own with Bream, Whiting and Flathead reports filtering through, Narrabeen beach has whiting to 45cm and Flathead to 3kg while Dee Why beach gave one angler 6 ripper Bream, fishing the surf club gutter with beach worms. The odd shark is roaming the breakers after dark and many an angler are being accosted by these guys so be prepared to lose a rig or 2.
Warriewood rocks has rock blackfish and some decent Groper, Rob Penman landed an 8kg model, while brother Dave fished North Curly for rat kings, salmon and small jews.
Pittwater Pete reports an absolute abundance of bait stealing leatherjackets right through Pittwater with some good trevally working the trail; blue swimmers can still be caught if you can keep the occys away from your bait. Rat kings are an early morning and late afternoon affair, livies still the bait of choice – Pete recommends Lovett Bay for a good drift targeting flatties and bream, unweighted baits and soft-plastics proving the goods.
Offshore Mick Lyons of Allie Hunter Charters reports masses of slimey mackerel in around the 50 to 55 fathom mark and there’s still plenty of Dolphin fish lurking around anything that floats.
Now a turn up for the books; when you want em you can’t find em and 11am on a sunny day trolling a Rapala Shad Rap across the back of Lion Island isn’t how
I’d deliberately target Hairtail out of season but for one lucky Fish Outta Water patron this method worked hands down.
Lastly Fish Outta Water would like to congratulate Fishabout Tours Mike Collins who took out first place in last weekends A.B.T. tournament, which took place in Pittwater and the Hawksburry, Mike had a total of 10/10 fish at the end of the 2 day event with the total weight pulling the scales down at 6.88kg.
Apparently the “Storm 2 inch Rattle Grubs” played a big part in obtaining impressive live well of bream.

Fishing Report 23/03/04

It’s been a fairly slow week on the fishing report front lately with the weather gods throwing an assortment of conditions our way- mostly unpleasant but that’s no reason not to get out there and have a go.
The dollies have finally starting to get there act together according to Mick Lyons of “Allie Hunter Charters” with reports that almost every offshore fad and fish trap are holding decent numbers of fish in the 2-4kg range and with this late start we could expect them to be around for a while yet. Earlier in the week whilst trolling a few skirts around Mick boated a pair of nice Yellowfin, weighing in at 22 and 24kg with a couple of striped marlin taken the next day as well. As far as bottom bashing there are still plenty of flathead on the chew in there usual haunts.
Back inside the harbour Des Toms of Hookem Cookem Charters says this recent rain should start to mix things up a bit, there’s been good numbers of Bream, Trevally and Kings around the cardinal markers off of Dobroyd Point which is always worth a look and very often overlooked by anglers. Up inside the harbour things are becoming very hit or miss with kings smashing bait within casting distance of Rosey boat ramp one day and then joining the piscatorial witness protection program the next but when they are making there presence felt you need to be on the ball if you want to get amongst it, they’re mainly feeding on smallish gars and herring so your leave your big’uns in the tackle box and try some of the smaller plastics available now like the 3 inch “Berkley Drop Shot Minnow” rigged on one of the Squidgy Finesse jig heads, these have to be one of the most effective and versatile lures I’ve seen in a while, taking everything from Snapper and Bream to Kings and Dolphin Fish and that’s coming from a hardcore S/W Fly fisho so they must be doing something right! There are also reports of masses of nice sized bream spawning throughout the harbour, try any of the rocky out crops or moorings with some lightly weighted plastics or small SW flies to see if there’s anyone home.
Not much to report on the beaches this week except that there’s been a fair few sharks taken from a number of the local beaches, so chuck some wire in your bag before heading off after some Tailor or Whiting and you might be bringing home some flake and chips.
So get out there and chase a few while we still have some remnants of summer hanging around!

Fishing Report 16/03/04

During these warmer months while the fishing is at its peak some quite unusual captures are reported with one capture taking place during an inshore trolling session for David Lucas, a 2.3 meter Black Marlin took a liking to a 5” skirted McGoo lure trolled on an 8kg snapper outfit and with only 250 yards of line and a good size black leaving town, the boys set off in hot pursuit. An hour or so later in not so comfortable conditions the small Marlin was released, other species picked up included Striped Tuna to 2kg and Mahi’s to 65cm, all in all a splendid days effort – well done Dave!
Mick Lyons from Allie Hunter Charters reports Mahi’s at the local fish traps and buoys, Marlin reports have eased up during the week, John Bennit had 1 report of a captured 100kg blue.
Des from Hookem Cookem has Amberjacks lurking around most floating marker buoys particularly Middle and North Harbours, Des records Sydney harbour water temps at 23ºc and recommends the eastern wedding cake as his “spot of the week”. David Haughton landed Trevally behind North Head using prawns and berleying a trail; other species caught were Flounder and Flathead with plenty of unknown bust offs thrown in, quite a good way to christen a new outfit.
Sydney Northern Division had round 2-estuary on the weekend with Geoff Sutcliffe cleaning up with 9 species including a 4.3kg leaded Flattie.
Pittwater Pete of Harbour and Estuary Charters says some big kings are lurking around the Joey while Leather jackets have moved in to many a spot hindering Bream fisho’s by scoffing baits, Blue Swimmer crabs are on the move again and plenty of yakka’s can be caught at local live bait venues.

Fishing Report 08/03/04

Disregarding the monstrous conditions on the weekend, the fishing hasn’t been all that bad throughout the week. The Offshore scene lacked a few Marlin but plenty of Dolphin fish (mahi mahi) have moved in to the wave rider buoys and other offshore fads.
Mick from Allie Hunter Charters fished with F.O.W. staffie Stef for fish in the 3-6kg range, the larger fish preferring live slimies while small yakkas accounted for the smaller fish to 3kg. Striped tuna were also trolled up between the current lines aprox. 10 miles out on Christmas trees and 5” McGoo lures.
The bigger than usual swell kept most rock and beach fisho’s indoors, we did receive reports that D.Y. and Harbord rocks produced kings to 4kg on livies (floating) and Bruce Dancaster fished Freshie beach for salmon to 2.5kg (70cm) on pillies.
Sydney Harbour is still producing kings and amberjacks for Des of Hookem Cookem Charters; some fish were also caught on fly. Dan Kennedy and myself christened the new boat at the inner north head marker buoy with Samson fish and kings on live yakkas, the biggest Samson was in the 6lb range measuring 61cm, we left them bitting at 5pm and first bait over the side was 3pm. For a mid afternoon session the action was pretty hot.
Fish Outta Water’s newest Andy Ings fished middle harbour drifting unweighted pillie baits around the edges for flathead to 6lb.
Fish Outta Water’s End of Summer Sale starts this Saturday at 8am and will end the following Sunday at 5pm, so don’t miss out as there will be plenty of bargains throughout the store!

Fishing Report 29/02/04

With last week’s wild weather down came the barometer and up came the swell. How big was the surf!! Best part - down came the rain and washed big jewie out! All week we’ve had reports of solid jewfish. Mulloway from murky Wiseman’s Ferry down to Broken Bay into Pittwater and up into Brisbane Water -from wild beach gutters all along the coast and up into the Harbour reaches. Big baits got the best results - with whole or butterfly mullet and big fresh squid most popular. Big live Yakkas scored a few beefy Jews as well.
Reports all week of chunky Bream all over as well. Live nippers and fresh Hawkesbury prawns are best baits and expect a lot of big fish on small softies around the moorings and structures. Top examples coming from around Scotland Island, Yeoman’s Bay and also under the railway bridge.
From Narrabeen lakes we hear of good flathead all along the Parkway shore. Soft plastics again – bloodworm and Gary Glitter colours fairing well. Amazing report of a huge Mangrove Jack from a secret backwater on a poddy mullet! Another report of two monster mud crabs from a deep lake hole. Mmm tasty!!
Looks like the swell has been sliding down over the weekend. Expect the stony boys to safely get back to work on the rocks. We should hear of some big fish this week. All that stir up should see heaps of bait around and a great week’s fishing. Murky water from the big flush hasn’t put the Kingfish off up in Sydney Harbour either. They’ve been herding baitfish all the way to Roseville with some great action around Bantry Bay all week. Stick baits in most colours - especially pearl blue and olive which have been most effective. Also had reports of fresh squid baits producing mixed bag of legal kings and jewfish in the same area. Fly fisho’s have been in on the action with silver/pink clousers going hot when the bait schools surface. Larger than usual greenback Tailor have been are being caught around North Harbour, across to Grotto Point and in around Sow and Pigs. Clifton Gardens for example has been going off with Tailor and small Kings early and late each day last week – along with some large Leather jackets – all despite the rain. Flathead continue to be taken throughout the harbour in large numbers with most fish around 60cm. Small fish baits such as whitebait and anchovies are the pick. Shallow sandy shell grit slopes will provide the bigger female flatettes as they settle into breeding territories over the next month. Big deep diving lures trolled slowly to “plough” the bottom gently or larger fish baits drifted deep will give best results.
In Pittwater Pete from Harbour & Estuary Charters is still hooking kings on the downrigger, the surface action has eased up so find a school or some working birds and fish baits deeper and make a heavier then usual berley trail by using bigger fish bits. Church Point has also been quite successful in the evenings during the past week.

Notice little mention of outside boat fishing? Good to see our readers aren’t completely insane with the huge swell we’ve had. Maybe this week a smaller swell will let a few boats get out and safely fish. Look forward to hearing your reports.

No excuses this week – go get ‘em!

This Report 02/01/04

Just as the holidays are winding up the fish are biting all over. Don’t you hate that! Perfect mornings followed by afternoon storms, along with some warmer water and reports of baitfish all over the place. Des from Hook’em & Cook’em charters reports bait schools around the harbour have continued to go off. Tailor, Salmon and Bonito chopping on the surface with a few hard fighting trevally. Also lots of Kingies caught – mostly staying deep around the bait – mostly from live yakkas - with big soft plastics (Squidgy drop bear and green/yellow) and deep Rapalas also bringing some big fish. Large surface schools have been reported going off around Middle Harbour heads. Big Slimey Mackeral schools inside south head and outside from Bluefish point to Long Reef. Tailor and Bonito in good schools right up the main harbour. Chrome/blue metal jigs fast retrieved or trolled have brought best results.
The light flush of rain has also brought lots of reports of bream on the bite in the upper reaches. Pat from Newport fished the light murk ‘round the moorings in Careel Bay for three hot morning sessions this week. His biggest bream just over 1.5kg. on a Squidgy ‘Bloodworm’. The stormwater flush has also brought the jewies on the bite in the Hawksbury system. Most Jewfish reported are 4-8Kg with the freshest squid as best bait. Kris from Marsfield caught three fish around 7kg each.
The outside drifters are reporting flathead in good numbers-with a few big 80cm plus- along with some good size mowies. Best results on the drift 1-2 km off North Head. Around Long Reef some solid kings have come in between the XL sized bonito. Be prepared with some solid trace !
Pittwater/Broken Bay has seen much the same high level of activity. Charter skipper Pete LeBlang has had a huge week with solid kingies inside the ‘Joey smashing surface soft plastics. His only complaint was so many the tailor chomping the bums off his softies. Also few good Cobia up to 10kg around the same schools.
Out wide Mick Lyons from ‘AllieHunter’ Charters has continued his good form on billfish . After seeing good numbers of striped marlin every day - averaging 70 -90kgs – he said “why would you go flathead fishing when it’s been easier to catch a billfish !” Similar reports from lots of boats – ranging from Botany Bay up to wide of Terrigal - including a 120kg striped near Broken Bay wide and another called over 130kg wide of Long Reef. Various F.A.D.s along the coast have attracted good schools of Dolphin Fish. Most caught fish are around 4-6kg but the more wary big ones are there if you can separate them. A pair of monster bull Mahis -17kg. & 21kg.!- were taken from one club FAD last Wed.

Previous Report 27/01/04

Stiff breezes combined with opposing east coast currents made offshore fishing mildly uncomfortable during the week, still some good fish caught out wide but the harbour is going off with schooling pelagics. Mick Lyons fished the surface and the reefs during the week, plenty of flathead down deep and on the surface Mick raised 3 beakies for 2 tagged fish both striped marlin averaging 75kgs and both hooked at the Peak. Other marlin reports include an 110kg and 120kg stripes both due east of the Joey between the 5 & 7km marks.
Now back in the harbour and those schooling fish, Kings on big plastics down deep, Tailor, Salmon and Bonito up top with a bit of Trevally in the middle. All week this school has been concentrating around Middle Harbour near Balmoral. Mark and Jim Hudson hauled Bonnies, Slimey’s and Flatties during an early morning session. Des of Hookem Cookem has pulled fish every day from this school with at times as many as 37 boats have been on em including 50 foot yachts trolling through the middle, gee it does make it hard work, Jim Hudson was hooked up on 2kg for 25 minutes only to be cut off by one of the many wayward cast lures in his general direction. Over at Nth Head Des reports Kings to 75cm on squid, while around the front Johnny Newlands hooked Kings to 70cm and Flatties to 50cm on some finger lick’n sized yakkas he got from Manly.
Over to the stones and South Curly for some good captures, old Joe landed two 6kg Jews and lost a much bigger unit on the edge and in the same vicinity a 20kg-123cm Kingfish on a live yakka hooked and landed by Greg on his own with no gaff, and on spin gear – a millenious effort!
Further north Pete from Harbour and Estuary Charters in Pittwater says the kings have moved up to palmy in amongst the Tailor schools, some choppers are as big as 50cm, Pete reports Cobia are picking choppers off the outer edge, a couple of 3-4kg cobes working with at least one big dude of 10-12kgs- squid down deep on the rigger or surface poppers are the target method for these guys. A Flounder weighing 1.2kg was hooked on the drift inside palmy with 2 good flatties and with water temps at 23.9ºc I’m not surprised the place is so activated.

Previous Report 05/01/04

First thing first- Happy New Year to one and all, hope you found time to wet a line in the past two weeks cause there’s been plenty of fish on the chew.
The offshore scene has picked up tremendously with warm blue water just off the coast holding baitfish schools and the Marlin are never too far away, a new years trip outside had us trolling lure out past Browns Mountain in bumpy seas with no success but in closer we found a large bait school and 4 or 5 laps had 3 beakie's in the spread, a couple of small finicky grab and spits but no hook ups, still its good to see the deep blue alive and well.
Also out wide this week, Jason Olivey scored a nice 14kg Mahi mahi on a live slimie whilst fishing about 6 km off of the northern beaches and says you need to find the blue water before you’ll find the dollies.
Off the stones cold green water has replaced the nice blue stuff so most fish have slowed up a bit, Bonnies have been spun up from Whaley, Curly and North Head ledges with a few rat kings taking to the metal slugs, this is good to see the Kings not being so picky for a change.
Alex Bellissimo pulled some Reds from the wash and the live baiters have landed some good Kings to 6kg off North Head, most if not all the action needs the blue water present.
Sydney Harbour is holding good form considering conflicting water temps, down as low as 18ºc and green through to 23.9ºc and blue. Middle Harbour has consistently held bait and Kingfish in the deeper water while the sand flats and drop offs are producing Flathead and Bream in good numbers on strip baits, worms and plastics. Over to central harbour as far down as the bridge bonito have been spun up in amongst the Salmon and Tailor as they herd there days feed, Squid have been caught near and around the weed beds but not too many, still worth a throw at your local yakka spot, you only need one or two to maximise Kingfish attention. Peter Le Blang of Harbour and Estuary Charters in Pittwater has water temps from 24.1ºc to 25.4ºc, the extreme upper reaches with all the action means lees travel and more fishing, Kingies are hitting live and dead squid on the down rigger and taking live baits and trolled Rapalas, if you get a school up to your boat they’ll even scoff a whitebait unweighted. Surface trolling any metal lure will get you Tailor to 50cm while most Bream grounds are holding Squid, use your jigs to get em. Blue Swimmers are quite visible in the clear water with 4 meters as deep you would set any trap, another monster just under 100cm from nipper to nipper was caught during the week, sort of explains how your trap can relocate itself 30 meters away sometimes!

Previous Sydney Beaches Fishing Reports....

January - December 2005
January - December 2004

FISHING REPORT BY
FISH OUTTA WATER

Check out FISH OUTTA WATER for all the best and latest tackle, and the best service in Sydney.
FISH OUTTA WATER
263 Condamine st. Manly Vale
or check them out online at
www.fishing.net.au


FISH OUTTA WATER



Darren Thomas (Southern Calamari)

Matt Elkan and Friends (Yellowfin Tuna)

FISH OUTTA WATER