Sydney Heads, North Harbour, Middle Harbour
Report by Des"Pirate" Toms, Hook'em Cook'em Fishing Charters

FISHING REPORT by DES TOMS HOOKEM COOKEM fishing charters
Ph 94012787 or 0416177411 April 2006

FISHING REPORT June 2007
DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM Fishing Charters
Ph 94012787 or 0416177411

Kingfish in June and some nice fish are amongst them! How good is that?
The bigger fish are up the Harbour Bridge end of the waterway and there was plenty of 60-70-cm fish in North Harbour but by far the most were found in Middle Harbour as far as Roseville Bridge.
The Colours also held fish at times but Bluefish point has been disappointing although it usually fires up after big seas so all is not lost.
The huge amount of rain will have a severe cooling effect on the Harbour and it will take up to a week to settle down.

This will make catching live bait very hard and tend to put the Kingies off the bite. They will still be around but just harder to catch in numbers

I believe in going with the flow of the conditions and the seasons. One of my faviourite sayings is “there is no point in driving past fish to try and catch others”.
John Dory are already being caught as well as Snapper and some decent ones at that, mostly on prawns.

Bream and Tailor are more abundant than ever and bigger, but the fish I wait for in winter is the humble Australian Salmon. The heavy weight boxer of the sea, what this fish lacks in eating quality it makes up for in fighting ability.

Salmon can at times be almost impossible to catch but this is part of the challenge. If it were always easy there would be fifty boats running around in all directions like chooks with their heads cut off.

The classic example of this was when I was sitting off a school of salmon throwing lures. A boat drove up and threw their anchor right in the middle of the school. They then started fishing for them but with no luck.
Surprise surprise.

I offered them some lures but they also declined them.

There was a suggestion that these magnificent schools of fish should be used for cat food. Let’s hope the netters don’t get their way.

There is one more fish, a prized catch any day, which is also increasing in numbers Yes you guessed it, the Mullaway or Jewie.

Anytime you are anchored up near structure in the Harbour get yourself the biggest bait you can find, a whole tailor, slimey, luderick or any big fillet and pin it on the bottom. The chances are you will eventually get yourself one of these silver trophies.

Structure, deep water and big baits are the key to your success.

Anyway bye for now and remember
Fish light
Fish hard
But above all Fish often and you will be rewarded

WINTER SPECIALS
Every Winter Hook ‘em Cook ‘em offers a cold weather discount to encourage enthusiastic and hardy anglers.
We charge 10% less than summer prices until the water temperature reaches 19 degrees and the Kingfish come on hot

FISHING REPORT May 2007
DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM Fishing Charters
Ph 94012787 or 0416177411

Well there has been plenty of hooking and cooking these past few months.

You know the fishing is good when you land kingfish, snapper and flathead as well as other fish and know instantly there is no need to measure them. They are all easily legal size. Kingfish in particular have ranged from 64cm to 87cm with only an occasional 59cm rat.

At this late stage in the season I start to vary my baits. As well as live or fresh squid, which was the most effective bait this year, live yellowtail and live garfish have done as well lately.
Large peeled prawns and fresh tailor fillets floated down a burley trail have nailed plenty of kings, as well as some nice snapper.

Water temperature is still great at 20.5 degrees with parts of the harbour being crystal clear while other areas are murky.

Scattered patches of good size tailor and bonito are harassing bail balls. There are also huge salmon which have been taking deep live baits.

The one disappointment has been jewfish which have been around for the last six months but have gone quiet. I really thought the recent rain and good moon would have stirred them up. I will have to put some time and thought into these elusive and secretive mullaway.

The one secret about consistent catches lately has been to fish lots of spots. It is not unusual to get big kings one day and nothing the next at the same spot. How long you give a spot depends on many factors including tide, tidal flow, water clarity and what your fish finder tells you. It would take five pages to go over all the factors involved.

Anyway Bye for now and remember
Fish light, fish hard but most of all fish often and you will be rewarded.
Especially now there is no commercial fishing

FISHERMAN OF THE MONTH

This month’s top fisherman is John Stretch who is a highly skilled angler and a great bloke as well.
He fishes hard, he fishes light and he fishes as often as his busy schedule allows.

We headed out from Balmoral at dawn and as I already had some squid we went straight out and filled the live bait tank with some lovely yellowtail.
From there we headed to a secret spot a short distance past the coat hanger. We arrived at the spot and initially the fish finder was blank but I decided to do a couple of drifts using the live yellowtail and a whole squid. After our first drift a good school of fish moved into our spot holding close to a channel marker. Having seen this I thought this is going to be Christmas but despite doing several drifts and jigging soft plastics not a bait was touched.

Well the plan was an ambitious one….to fish five spots this day………. so we headed off back under the Harbour Bridge.

Originally my second spot was going to be near Shark Island but my gut said try and drift an admiralty buoy near Bradley’s Head.
The fish finder said ‘fish’ so John sent down a live yellowtail on his Thunnus loaded with 20lb braid. Before he could even throw the bail arm he was slammed and snapped.
As quickly as possible I dropped over another livey which was also walloped for six.

We decided to put down the anchor and work this spot. I knew there were some big kings there. Despite having whole fresh squid in the zone, the yakkas were in for a pretty tough day and John’s next bait was smashed.

After a tough fight including a run around the anchor rope he landed a nice 83cm king which made the 52cm tailor we caught earlier look like a sardine. This was done on a bait runner with 20lb mono and a 40lb trace.
Soon after this John’s Thunnus was pole axed and that fish gave him a real work out. It measured 88cm but was really built for power.
As you can see from the photos you couldn’t wipe the smile off Johns face with a brick.
I look forward to fishing with John again, it is always a pleasure.

FISHING REPORT JANUARY 2007

By DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM fishing charters
Ph 94012787 or 0416177411

The weather might be erratic and dramatic but the fishing has been great.
With Kingfish action in the morning and cricket on the box with a beer in the arvo,
life is good.

Salmon and Kings have been around Dobroyd and in North Harbour.
Kingfish and more Kingfish are being taken from Shark Island to the Harbour Bridge although you will need a sharp eye to find them.

Poppers and plastics are working around Rushcutters Bay but fresh or live squid reign supreme at Clifton Gardens and Quarantine.

Kingfish are always the prize. They are the fish everyone wants to catch and we have landed fish on every trip with the best days catch at 24 and many days over 10 fish.
The key is to locate their territorial zone and use varying techniques to turn them on.

FISHERMAN OF THE MONTH

This month’s title is shared by Tom and Rob who are both great young anglers.
Of note was Tom’s 60 cm Kingfish caught on 4lb fireline with 4lb mono trace. Here are the photos to prove it.

Bye for now and remember fish light fish hard but most of all fish often and you will be rewarded.

*********************************

Report March - Apri 06

Firstly I should say that I am thinking of changing my name to Hookem but watch out which fish you cookem, as we all eagerly await further dioxin test results.

I sit here counting my blessings as I realise that fisheries could just as easily banned fishing guides as well as commercial fisherman from operating in the harbour. It must be a terrible feeling to wake up one day and find out your lifestyle and your way of life gone.

Let’s hope they are well compensated for their loss. With them will go a treasure trove of hard earned knowledge.

Well I’ve said all this before that every year is different.
We had to wait a long time for the warm water this year and I personally found that the Kingies didn’t really come on until we had 21 degrees C plus water in November.

Downriggers were the flavour of the month this year with the strategy of going out to find the fish by covering large areas of ground down rigging live and dead squid and live yellow tail.

Apart from a good run of fish in February I can’t say it has been a great year for Kingfish but the bonus was a wider variety of fish being available.
For example I have been catching some nice squire over the last couple of months and in most cases these fish have been caught on live yellowtail baits set high in the water for Kingfish.

Last week saw some nice John Dory come aboard and I have caught more Bream in the last month than I did in the previous 3 years (pity about the Dioxin!)

There have also been a few nice salmon in deep water spots around North Head.

Good size Taylor have been marauding around the Rose Bay area usually with Kingfish underneath them.

Squid have been good up until recently and yakka’s are everywhere. Can somebody tell me where are the slimies this year?

In general the amount of small baitfish is quickly building up in the more sheltered areas of the Harbour.

Trolling has been disappointing lately and surface action almost non-existent.

Easter is fast approaching and with water temperatures still good at 22 C it should be a great time for mixed bag fishing.

The catch on my last trip included Kingfish, Salmon John Dory and Squire so it pays to be flexible and fish various depths and put out a few lighter outfits.

Squid remains the gun bait so it is worth the time and effort to chase these slippery customers.

Anyway bye for now and remember Fish light Fish hard but above all fish often

Mid May FISHING REPORT by DES TOMS HOOKEM COOKEM fishing charters
Ph 94012787 or 0416177411

Some jobs can become routine when done year after year and you can fall into a pattern of doing the same thing at the same spots each time.

Fortunately I can say that this season has been anything but routine. It has been a tough season and I have had to constantly re think, refine and adapt techniques drawing on my years of experience and knowledge of fish behaviour.

Kingfish are always the prize. They are the fish everyone wants to catch. The key is to locate their territorial zone and use varying techniques.

I would have to say that my favorite way of catching kingfish this season was by using small free-swimming yakkas on 6 kg mono with a 10 kg trace. Unfortunately you can only use this technique in relatively shallow slow flowing water because the yakka won’t go down into the feeding zone.

Kingfish aside there have been plenty of other fish in the sea including an early showing of good-sized John Dory. Over the last month I have boated 12 of these delicious fish 10 on live bait and 2 on cut bait. As well as that there have been good numbers of big Tailor again taken mostly down deep on live yellowtail.

Bonito after disappearing for several years have shown up in small numbers as well. Trevally, which are usually only small, and can be a nuisance, have been large in size but small in numbers in the burley trail. Huge Cowan Young yellowtail and horse size Slimeys have been around for several months now if you know where to go. They provide great fun on very light gear.

As for Aussie Salmon I have heard there are some whoppers around South Head. I am really looking forward to the arrival of these heavy weight boxers for the early morning exercise. I now have plenty of pairs of thermal gloves and beanies for the early morning starts.

As I sit here watching the grey clouds move on my thoughts are fixated on one word, Mullaway and I am planning some trips targeting these fish because of the recent rain and approach of the full moon. From now and for the next few weeks I will be remembering every Jewie I have ever caught, what rigs, hook sizes and baits did I use?. Where will I go?

Fishos who regularly catch big Mullaway are a secretive lot and have learnt that if they reveal their spots they will soon have company. I know blokes who will pack up and leave a spot rather than be seen there.

All I will say is that on my next trip out I will be using yellow fin tuna fillet and whole bonito for bait. Also hopefully big live squid and live yellowtail rigged with lots of hooks. I will sneak out before dawn and fish till about 8.30am.

All fish caught will be photographed and released because I never had anyone tell me what a great feed they are, only what a great fight they gave.

Before I go I should promote my winter specials, which apply until the kingfish show up again;
Weekends 10% normal prices and Weekdays 20% off normal process
Short morning trips 6.30-10.30 morning troll and spin $100 per head maximum 3.

Bye for now and remember fish light fish hard but most of all fish often and you will be rewarded.

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE HARBOUR
As you may have found it has not been a great season on the harbour. Finally we now are seeing a better variety and some good quality fish in the pond. By far the most spectacular arrival was the vast schools of large Frigate Mackerel, which ranged from Balmoral to Bradley’s Head including Watsons and Rose Bay. These fish can be finicky feeders while fixated on tiny prey.

We had reasonable success using my favourite green 10g Raider but even better results using Power Baits Mullet in Cajun Pepper and Squidgy Flickbait 70mm Shrimp fished on 6lb line. As well there has been several large Cobia taken around the Spit Bridge and a few Mullaway scattered around the place. Bonito either small or very big have been racing around North Harbour, Middle Head and wide off Clifton Gardens.

I caught some big Australian Salmon and Bonito on fly, off Middle Head. I also caught some frigate mackerel in Watsons Bay. Middle Harbour still has some big Kingies cruising around both sides of the entrance of Sugarloaf Bay and I have heard that Bantry Bay has fished well later in the day. The trick here is that the fish are moving with the tide so once you’ve had a few hits pull up your anchor and run downstream ahead of them, take up position and wait for them to pass by again.

Squid are in reasonable numbers but still not easy. Small yakkas are around the wharves at Balmoral, Watsons Bay and Rosebay.

As well as my harbour operation I provide skippering services on other vessels. On recent trips aboard Peter Roberts Noosa Cat The Black Pig we landed more than 115 squire, mostly just under size. To Peters credit he only kept 5 fish. Last- Saturday while trolling Bluefish Point we landed a small Yellow Fin Tuna. We also caught an even bigger Kingfish which Peter tells me was sensational on the BBQ.

Anyway
Bye for now and remember
Fish light, fish hard
But above all fish often
and you will be rewarded.

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE HARBOUR: 28 - January - 05
Binoculars are what you need to keep an eye on the Harbour these days and although I have always regarded them as essential when fishing the Pittwater they have proved invaluable on the Harbour this summer with small patches of fish spread out in every corner of the waterway and in most unusual places and not always signposted by birds.
All seasons are different and after the fantastic winter we just had I was expecting an equally fantastic summer. But as I often say fishing is a cruel sport [to the angler]and nature has chosen to torture us this season.
The warm blue tropical current has teased us time and again coming closer and closer but never quite dumping its rich bounty upon us.
Day after day I would go to Harbord Headland and watch the deep blue water travel past and I would say to myself “tomorrow will be on big time, its here” ,only to have a strong southerly push it back north.
Regardless of this some fish have gradually trickled in bit-by-bit but not in numbers.
The fish that are missing from our waters include Mack Tuna, Frigate Mackerel, Spotted Mackerel, Cobia and Striped Tuna but fortunately I have been catching and releasing quite a few of our old friends the Bonito of between 2 and 5 Kilo as well as the odd Amberjack
It has taken a few months but I recently recorded water temperature of 23.5 degrees in the
harbour at the Eastern Wedding Cake

We can hope and wish for good numbers of fish but at the end of the day we must accept the situation and plan our fishing tactics accordingly.
Perhaps the most significant thing I have noticed this season is that the fish have been in unusual places. I have caught fish this season in places I have never hooked fish before.

Take Balmoral for example, Kingfish, Salmon and Tailor have all been caught in 1-2 metres of water on the northern shore.

The Spit Bridge is another example where fish are being caught way out in the middle of the waterway and not around the mooring buoys. Look at Rosebay Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay. When was the last time you fished near the Harbour Bridge for Salmon and Tailor?

In all these places the fish have been moving about covering large areas of water both deep and shallow. One tactic to use when the fish are spread out like this is to troll with deep diving lures. I have found Rapalla to be the most successful. Once you locate the fish you can either continue to troll or start to spin with medium 15g size metal or weighted soft plastics.

Although not in numbers, Kingfish are in and about the Harbour. Squid as always are your best bait. Although in good numbers through November and December they are now scarce as a result of being hammered by so many boats over January.

I love squid especially salt and pepper but I much prefer Kingfish. One squid can equal up to six kingfish so I only take what I need. There are times when I have raised 20 squid and after catching 3 each we left them for another day. We could have bagged the lot and had a feed but that to me is a shortsighted waste.

At the end of the day squid are a hard-pressed precious resource but let us not forget the humble yellowtail and slimy mackerel which are abundant at the moment.

Some days squid fishes best and on other days yellowtail are best. This season my catch ratio has been is 60% squid 40% yakkas with the yakkas being best in deeper more exposed areas.

The major benefits of using yakkas are;
• The pickers don’t turn them into swiss cheese.
• They are available in numbers
• Kingfish and particularly fish that have just moved into the Harbour love to kill them.

Over the past weeks it seems that a lot of rats have moved into the Harbour and although you can’t keep them just scale down your gear and get stuck into them. A light rod and some 6 lb Fireline and these tough fish will give you a run for your money and some will blow you away. After all its not the weight of your box but the smile on your dial and the ache in your arm that brings you back for more Kingfish fever.

Whether it’s the peace of fishing alone or the mateship of your best friend or more and more these days fishing with our wives or girlfriends a day on the water nourishes the soul.
And I could never live without it.

Bye for now.
Fish light, fish hard
But fish often and you will be rewarded.

November Report
It has been a while since my last report. Outsmarting the fish has taken up all my spare time and has me racking my brain.

Kingfish fever is upon me and the only cure is to eat a couple, something my family has keenly awaited for some months.

The recent torrential downpour really stirred the possum. Kingfish had just started to move in and the water temperature had just reached the critical 19 C mark only to be cooled off by the rain which sent the fish and, equally importantly, the squid packing.

Anyway now that things have settled down a bit and the warm tropical current is slowly edging its way down to us it will soon be on for young and old.

This season is off to a very late start but the fish have so far been big although not large in numbers. So far I have landed 7 kingfish over 10 lb and others not much smaller as well as being done like a dinner on 15kg tackle on several occasions.

Squid have been scarce and the yellowtail not much easier but it has been worth the effort.
The Spit Bridge is the pick of the spots at the moment just as it was in November last year.

Anyway Bye for now and remember…..

Fish Light Fish Hard but above all Fish Often.
Des Toms.
Hookem Cookem.

September Report
This winter rates as one of the best as far as I am concerned with some great fishing being had by those prepared to brave the at times bitter cold.
Running along at 25 knots in the hours around dawn is both exhilarating and brain freezing, but arriving at a school of boiling Salmon with Trevally and the odd small Kingfish and at times huge Kingy underneath and being the only boat there makes getting up in the dreary dark all worth it.

During the months of July and August we have had some awesome fishing days.
Technique wise I have been starting my day trolling a pattern of deep diving Rapalas and have caught some whopper Tailor in the very early hours and in particular in the most discoloured water I could find with Clifton Gardens out wide the best spot.
Once I move away from areas holding Tailor I then drop in some large soft plastics into the pattern and continue to troll until I locate one of the many small schools of Salmon that have been spread throughout the harbour. The reason they are spread all over is because some weeks ago a huge school moved in and shortly after they were absolutely hammered and scattered by a pod of Dolphins. It was a spectacular sight.

Salmon can be a very easy fish to catch or they can be totally frustrating.
One thing is certain though that the more they are hunted the harder they are to catch.
Recently I had a boat drive up in front of me and throw the anchor into a school of boiling fish. They didn’t catch any using this method.
I have been using a variety of methods depending on the particular conditions.
We have all had those days when you could catch a fish using a curtain rod with a length of venetian blind cord and an old rat trap for bait but generally you have to vary your technique to match the conditions.
When the fish are boat shy or when the wind is blowing hard my choice is metal slugs and poppers. My favourites are Searock and Snipers up to 15 gram and my favourite popper is Dean Hayes new range, which has been braining them. When the fish are working harder and you can get closer to the pack with wind less than 15 knots soft plastics are the go. My favourites are the Gulp and Squidgeys, which I rig on weighted jig heads.
Lure size is not as critical as is technique.

Lets not forget that these same conditions are ideal for Fly Fishing.
I am very well equipped for this type of fishing and my boat is an excellent platform for chasing these tough and tricky adversaries. These days 30% of my business is on fly.
There are days when only fly will work and this can be true for Kingfish as well particularly early in the season.

Just a couple of further comments on Salmon before I move on.
No 1 The schools are not always signposted by diving birds.
No 2 The schools are affected by tides much more than fish such as Kingfish and will often fish better later in the day for example take last Saturday 21st when they were on early for an hour but very finicky then all but disappeared only to work up big time ay 2 o’clock in the afternoon for the benefit of only a couple of boats.
No 3 Some say Salmon aren’t good to eat but to me that is like saying Kylie cant sing.
Most people who say this have never eaten one, and have certainly never eaten my BBQ whole Salmon or Thai fishcakes.
No 4 These fish fight hard, try catching a few on 4lb Fireline. They jump like Barra and dive deep and hard and slug it out to the end. They deserve to be released at the end of such a tough fight.
No 5 If you are having no luck with a patch of fish try another as some schools will take lures more freely than others and will also be different sizes.
No 6 The lure is certainly important but it is your technique that will make the difference
The exception to this is fly-fishing where the appropriate set up is as important as casting skill.
So now you ask what else made the winter so good Des? Well my answer to that is I can happily say that this has been my best ever John Dory season and I would have seen a lot more of these delicacies if big Tailor hadn’t kept eating my hard earned live baits.
As well quite a few legal Squire jumped into the boat looking for a frying pan.
Trevally although not in huge numbers made up for it by their size as did Cowanyoung Yellowtail and horse size Slimey Mackerel which are a ton of fun on light line.

On the down side Porcupine fish and Sweep made life difficult at times with the crystal clear water and temperatures which are currently between 15 and 17 degrees also not helping the bite particularly in the case of baitfish which I am only finding in very deep water.

My best results recently have been at Neilson Park Watson Bay and Dobroyd Head in the deepest water I can find and don’t forget the burley or you may have to take up knitting.

This winter I have been running specials with 30% off normal rates and a morning troll session from 6.30 to 10.00. for $90.00 per head. I will continue these specials until the Kingfish turn on and start dragging me around the boat.
Anyway Bye for now and remember…..

Fish Light Fish Hard but above all Fish Often.
Des Toms.
Hookem Cookem.

Keeping an Eye on the Harbour

HOOKEM COOKEM 07/05/04

Some fisherman will fish the same spot with the same rigs and baits all year around and at times get great results But at the end of the day the size of the catch is not the penultimate indicator of our success Being on the water whether by ourselves or with our mates is an experience that nourishes the soul .
As a guide never a day goes by that I don’t remind myself of how lucky I am to be on the water and doing the job I do. I still get just as exited every time a fish comes on board as I did on my very first day guiding.
Anyway lets look at the current conditions we have on Sydney and Middle Harbour at the moment.
Firstly water temperature has dropped quickly to 19. 2 degrees all over the system, which is unusual because there is normally a variation of up to 4 degrees between say Roseville and the main harbour..
Water colour has been unchanged in Middle Harbour whereas parts of the main harbour have 7 metre visibility.
Personally I have found Middle Harbour very quiet with the exception of some bruiser Bream from the Rosevillle boat ramp and bridge to well upstream and the odd Tailor and King in Sugarloaf Bay and around Seaforth Bluff.
The sounder has been showing good fish cruising around but despite trying many methods they continue to tease me.
Moving further down the harbour I have heard of Kingfish being caught around the Spit Bridge but not in the usual spots. They are being taken on the inland side of the bridge.
This fits in with my current tactic of fishing new spots, which have not been flogged. This has brought me some good catches recently.
As well I have been looking in places with good structure that are not normally fished.
So if you see me in an unusual spot for more than hour you can bet I’m on reasonable fish.
Moving further down still Balmoral has been holding considerable stocks of Garfish and Yellowtail, which are attracting small numbers of Salmon, Kingfish, Tailor and around the wharf itself, John Dory.
By far my most productive fishing has been in areas of dirty water in the area around North and Middle Head with catches of Tailor, Bonito and the odd big Salmon on the troll. Yes those old hard bodied diving lures, Rapalla’s, being my favourite, still work.
As well Trevally Sampson fish Watsons Leaping Bonito, Bonito, Salmon, huge Slimey Mackeral, Tailor, Leather Jacket, the odd bream and, although they have been in my burley trail, only a few Kingfish
I have been fishing very light line with very little lead these days but it has done the trick.
Anyway bye for now and remember
Fish light Fish hard but above all fish often and you will be rewarded.

April Report

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE HARBOUR
With Des Toms from Hook ‘em Cook ‘em Charters

Well what a great month this has been for fishing Sydney Harbour I caught my first John Dory of the season, some big Bream, plenty of Trevally, some monster Bonito, some fair sized Flathead, a smattering of tailor, and I still managed to boat my fair share of Kingfish and Amberjack. Throw in a few Salmon and some nice Dolphin Fish caught on my days off fishing with Nat Linville on fly off Long Reef.

The only thing I missed was a few decent Jew which I intend to target this month especially seeing that the recent rain has flushed a lot of mullet into the main part of the harbour It will be a contest to see who gets to the mullet first, with my money being on that it'll probably go to that big Seal that’s been hanging around North Head.
Some unusual catches for the month include Watsons Leaping Bonito and believe it or not Dolphin Fish being caught within 500 metres of Bluefish Point courtesy of some close in fish traps.

So the story is and continues to be Mixed Bag fishing is the way to go .Sure it will mean that the Kingies will run amuck destroying your bream gear but what I intend to do is to fish lighter for the Kingies reducing my trace down to 25 lb and to use large top quality baits that the Kingies just cant refuse.
Most people that have fished Kingfish with me would have heard of the Pelican Theory regarding baits for big fish it is something I learned from Greg Joyes and I will explain this theory fully in my next article.

Anyway bye for now
Fish light Fish hard, but above all fish often and you will be rewarded
Des Toms

Late March report

Hi all, hope you all enjoy this report.
There have been some areas of the harbour with exceptionally clear water over the past few weeks and I have to report that apart from baitfish I have been catching most of my fish in the dirty water. This week there has been a wide variety of fish kicking around including BIG BREAM at Grotto Point on the run out tide, TREVALLY, BREAM and KINGFISH at the buoys around Dobroyd Head and believe it or not JOHN DORY at Balmoral Wharf; not that this is unusual it is just very early in the year. Both Wedding Cakes are holding KINGFISH but they are getting trickier to get into the boat. Middle Harbour from the Spit Bridge to Bantry Bay continues to be a hit or miss affair. There are certainly plenty of Kings up there. There was a great run of AMBERJACK around Seaforth Bluff for a while, and there continues to be the odd SNAPPER, JEWFISH, BIG FLATHEAD and some BREAM which have mainly been by-catch at spots where I am targeting those cunning hoodlums. It is my observation that the two single spots which have produced the most Kingfish this season are the yellow marker buoy near Quarantine or the area around the Spit Bridge, the tricky part about the Spit is that the fish are to be found in different spots. Once you find them they will be there for between a week and a few months before moving.

After reading Greg Joyes most recent report, I can only agree 100% that fish do change their habits constantly, which means you have to keep an open mind and be on the ball to consistently put fish in the boat. As fishing guides we need to be hitting or finding the new hot spots first and applying the appropriate techniques to suit the particular conditions Then through word of mouth and web sites we tell other fishos the locations of these hot spots You may have noticed that you don’t get much on exact locations, specific rigs and best tide times and that is because at the end of the day these locations change the way the fish minute by minute. Some spots you need to fish regularly for several weeks to get it down so you know exactly where, when and with what to put the fish in the boat and make it look effortless.

Now for next weeks tip .You may remember the rain we had a few weeks ago, Normally you would expect this to flush the fish out into the harbour and make the clean run in tide the best to fish. Well the thing that happened was that the fish moved quickly into the dirty water and the browner the better. There were kings being caught opposite the Roseville boat ramp and they hung around Bantry Bay for several weeks afterward, not only Kings but Big Tailor and Bonito. So my tip is although we have not had as much rain as the last time I will be spending time on every trip working all the areas that produced fish last time paying particular attention to the edges of Bantry Bay where the predators will be herding baitfish against the shores.

Bye for now and remember fish light fish hard but most of all fish often and you will be rewarded.
Des.

DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM FISHING CHARTERS
Ph: 9401 2787 or
Mob: 0416 177 411

FISHING REPORT FROM
DES TOMS
HOOK'EM COOK'EM CHARTERS SYDNEY

DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM FISHING CHARTERS

Ph: 9401 2787 or
Mob: 0416 177 411
Web: www.hookemcookem.com.au

Des "Pirate" Toms provides exceptional and friendly charters for small parties throughout Sydney, including North Harbour and Middle Harbour. He chases big Kings whereever they are, and takes them on fly as a specialty. Check out DES TOMS HOOKEM COOKEM fishing charters.

DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM FISHING CHARTERS

Ph: 9401 2787 or
Mob: 0416 177 411

DES TOMS
HOOKEM COOKEM FISHING CHARTERS