With the cold water now upon us, some outstanding captures are still being reported, particularly of fish that should be well and truly outta here by now. Big inshore kingfish and Watsons leaping bonito should have evacuated the area, as too should the mahimahi, while the flatties are also usually in hibernation by this time of year. If this keeps up, the warmer water temps will be back before we know it, and when spring hits it’ll be game on again.

It seems as though every year now the kings are staying around longer and longer. Sydney Harbour still has schools of kings taking all sorts of baits, from pillies to squid strips and livies to micro jigs. Oliver Evans has been jigging the Harbour this season with great success on the micro gear, fishing Middle Harbour with the light kit. Olly’s been hooking some good fish around structure on the jigs when the bait just hasn’t been working. It is often that kingfish aren’t hungry, but they just can’t resist a small fluttering jig on a slow pitch retrieve. Jigs in the 30-50g range are the key, with some fish hitting them on the drop. Be ready with a handful of cubed pillies to go over the side, as these small offerings really seem to get the fish fired up.

Some good flatties are coming out of the Harbour at the moment on baits and plastics. Peter Roberts landed fish to 62cm using strip baits of yakka and squid, while I fished the other end of the boat with Gulp Shrimps in 3” and had some good success as well. We landed 8 flathead in a 2 hour period, with tailor and salmon to 60cm also hitting the deck.

After anchoring in 3 spots previously and having consistent berley trails at each location with minimal success, the option to set up a drift was a positive move. Sydney Harbour has plenty of bait, with schools of yakkas holding deep at regular grounds, and a bit of berley will get them up. Some solid winter squid are popping up now at locations like Bradleys and Middle heads, and Balmoral Beach near the island. These guys are only going to get bigger over the next few months, so be sure to use heavier jigs like 3.0 and 3.5s on 15lb string to secure your capture.

We have this lagoon up the road at Narrabeen that every now and again produces a cracker fish on a lure. Well this time Hooked and Hunted’s Joe Emmerton locked into a solid mulloway on a hardbody during a night-time land based session. The fish gave him some curry on the light outfit, but was eventually subdued, and after a few quick pics it was released. This is becoming very much the way of the lure-caught mulloway in this lake. With the water being quite dirty after recent rain, a big noisy lure is a good option. When these bigger fish are out hunting using the brown water for cover, they can often be less hesitant about attacking bigger offerings.

The local reefs inshore are holding various species of good fish at the moment, including schools of trag and rogue kingfish. While the seas are down it seems you don’t have to travel too far to get into the action. Brad Kearns and Rod Phillips headed out off Long Reef to the 20m mark and Rod dropped a live squid over on the 80lb gear, only to hook a monster king in unwelcomely shallow water. Rod subdued the fish after a wicked fight and the guys dragged aboard a 26kg model. Sweet capture fellas, and something most anglers would have to head overseas to achieve.

Inshore reef fishing is a mainstay for the small boat fishermen at this time of year. As the snapper season kicks in and our seas back off and level out, another species that pops up in the colder months is the teraglin. This fish is also prevalent at local reefs well within reach. Zane Levett fished with his dad aboard the Oceanhunter Sportsfishing boat, and the guys caught reds, kings and some good trag in 40m of water off Manly, plum-bobbing baits on paternoster rigs. So be it bottom bashing, trolling or even micro jigging, this boat and outfit are very successful. Give Vic a ring for the trip of a lifetime on (0414) 906 569