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The trevally have stayed with us later this year than normal. They are more a winter species in our metropolitan estuaries and we expect them to be moving out of the harbour by late October or November.
However, anglers are still catching good numbers of the fish around North Head. The lads from the Drummoyne RSL presented 72 fish at a recent weigh-in, with the majority of the catch trevally, caught at Old Mans Hat.
Flathead have been in good numbers right through the harbour. A drift between the Heads will get you a mix of duskies and sand flathead. Watch out for the shipping traffic, though. In North Harbour, the drift from the aquarium to Fairlight Point has also been productive, with lizards to 2kg taking whitebait. The top end of the harbour also has flathead, with the drift from Spectacle Island to Snapper Island a productive area, and the Birchgrove side of Cockatoo Island also producing fish.
Tailor schools have been working around South Head. They are easy to find, as the birds are usually working over them. Trolling around them or spinning through them should get you a hook-up. The tailor are feeding on very small whitebait but will generally take any metal lure thrown at them. If you troll a little wider and deeper with minnow lures, you may find a bonito or two.
Night anglers are doing well on bream around Chiswick and Putney, using nippers and worms. Daytime anglers, trolling small minnow lures around the edges of the bays, are also catching fish. Five Dock Bay and Hen and Chicken Bay have both been productive. Trolling between the shoreline and the boat moorings should get you some hits. Generally, these are not big fish, but the trollers are usually there for the sport and tend to release most of the fish caught. There have also been some bream caught on fly, by those wading the mud flats early of a morning.
The Lane Cove River has a reasonable population of flathead being caught on whitebait and lures, and there have been a few mud crabs caught there, too.
Hawkesbury River
The flathead drifters have been getting a feed in the river. Catches of half a dozen or so are common from around Milson Island, with whitebait or Hawkesbury River prawns the preferred baits. The drift between Juno and Flint and Steel is also producing. Ernie Wessel and a mate caught eight flathead and some flounder there.
Bream are being caught in the oyster leases in Mooney Mooney Creek, Mullet Creek and Berowra Creek. Bret Schumacher had a session around the racks in Mullet Creek for four bream on lures with the best fish going 1.3kg, which gave him a real workout trying to get it away from under the trays. Six other fish got the better of him, so it was a pretty expensive day with the lures.
The Vines has started to fire for bream. The prawns are running and the big sweeping bend in the river, from the wreck of the Parramatta to about 1km down-river, seems to be good place for the fish to hold and feed on the prawns coming down with the tide. Hawkesbury River prawns are therefore the best bait to use, although chook gut is always a good standby.
Jewfish up to 12kg have been caught at Flint and Steel. The railway bridge has also produced some jew, but mainly schoolies around 3kg. The best bait, as always, is squid, and the fresher the better.
Tailor schools have been working around the mouth of the river, with salmon often mixed in with them. The tailor are a reasonable size, with fish averaging 750g to a kilo. The fish are feeding on tiny baitfish, about 20mm long, and the salmon in particular are not interested in any lure or fly that’s any bigger than the baitfish. Bait fishermen, using pilchards or whitebait, have been getting a few salmon fishing on or near the bottom. The tailor are not so particular and will take just about anything thrown at them.
Botany Bay
Towra has been one of the more productive spots in the Bay, with flathead the main species. It’s also worth putting down the witch’s hats in the same area while you are drifting for the flathead. These nets have been snaring reasonable bags of blue swimmer crabs, and they are a good size and full of meat.
Early morning land-based anglers have also been doing well from the rock groynes between Monterey and Sandringham. Flathead, bream and tailor are the predominant species, with prawns and pilchards the preferred baits.
Off the end of the third runway they are catching bream and small snapper. Watch the minimum size on the snapper, but you will get a few keepers. Similar catches are coming in from Molinaux Point, with the odd kingfish reported. For the boat angler, try fishing the deeper water in the channel in front of the Port Botany reclamation wall. Line up the red channel marker with the western marker at the Sticks and fish in about 15 metres of water, and you will be on the spot.
The Captain Cook Bridge has been producing mixed bags. All of the pylons seem to have fish around them, with bream, flathead and school jewfish caught on the run-out tide.
There have been a few jewfish coming out of the river, with the best reported an 18kg specimen landed by Alex Cox. Alex was fishing for bream at night at the Moons, using prawns for bait, when he was more than a little surprised to hook the fish and did well to boat it on light line.
Big bream are being caught among the boat moorings in front of the Lugarno Seafood Restaurant. Slack water is the best time, and black crabs are the bait to use for the bigger fish.
Some quality whiting are being caught in the shallow water in the inlet off Jannali Reserve on the Woronora. The first of the run-out tide is the best time and nothing heavier than 3kg line, with bloodworms for bait, will tempt these shy biters.
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