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Try the northern end of Seven Mile Beach for chopper tailor and dart, with choppers and some nice bream off the rocks around Broken Head along with some school jewies. Tallow Beach from the Broken Head Caravan Park to Cosy Corner for bream, dart, whiting and choppers, with choppers and dart off the rocks at Cosy Corner, The Chair and the Stepping Stones on the cape once the sea dies down. A few bream off the rocks behind the Pass. Choppers and dart off Belongil and Sunrise beaches.
No one has fished in the bay since Wednesday but there were decent snapper before the big blow came through. Darren Birch scored a 20kg northern bluefin off Cocked Hat Rocks at Broken Head on a live slimy.
Simmo and Dave, Byron Bay Bait and Tackle 6685 7711
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In one of my recent summer articles I suggested to visitors that they keep an eye out in the lower estuary and slightly further upstream for pelagics or the like during these warmer months. Primarily I was referring to Spanish mackerel, possibly a small bluefin or two and some of the other smaller tunas – great sport on light gear and especially in such a vast lower estuary as we have here on the Clarence. It affords the angler with only a 12- or 13-foot tinny to get in there and mix it with some of the speedsters. One of my good friends successfully boated a 23kg cobia at the Harwood Bridge (that's the Pacific Highway bridge across the Clarence) in the past week and on Wednesday morning, I had an angler in my tackle shop who lost a good-size jew as he was fishing off the bank just downstream from the bridge. Lack of a net caused his misfortune.
Other reports of some sizeable bream at Browns Rocks (to 43cm) leads me to think that I will be spending some time there very shortly with a favoured few bream lures. Fish the northern side in water to 2.5m if you want to try it and a definite chance of a good lizard on any of the rocky ledges there, too.
Some of the country visitors who invade Yamba and Iluka for the next week or two will enjoy some very good whiting fishing on the beaches with the occasional sizeable bream thrown in. Tailor on the north side at The Bluff and also Lovers on the Yamba side, definitely of keeper size. Vast schools of small tailor still inhabiting the lower estuary, along with big schools of white pilchards.
Visitors have been disappointed with the reef fishing in the past week but the water is quite cool and we think this is the reason. Spotted mackerel can be boiling at Woody Head one day with nary a hit the next – very mixed fortunes there at the moment but things should stabilise.
Glen Porter, The Bait Place 6646 2017
ports@turboweb.net.au
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Peter comes back from holidays next Monday, no doubt with some tall tales to tell!
Peter Russell, Fish Tackle Australia 6652 4611
motackle@midcoast.com.au
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Things are slowly picking up after the rough seas. Outside there has been a good showing of bait schools, with a small number of spotted mackerel caught over the reefs. Marlin, dolphin fish, Spanish mackerel and cobia have been caught in numbers and there are kingfish and jewies at fish rock. There are reef fish on the bottom for those willing to put in the effort.
Large flathead to 5kg have been caught in the Macleay on live and dead baits, with some jewfish caught along the South Wall. A few trevally have come from the end of the South Wall.
There are whiting on the sand flats in the river and along Smoky Beach, where there are also plenty of bream.
Peter & Amanda Jordan, Rocks Marine Bait and Tackle 6566 6726
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Hot summer weather with afternoon north-easterly winds have been the daily pattern. While these prevailing winds have been active each day this week they have also blown all night on some occasions, cancelling the following day’s fishing offshore.
Fog covered the ocean on Australia Day and from the roadway you could not see the water – not good for offshore navigation and obviously the fog was a result of hot and cold ocean currents coming together. Once the fog cleared, small black marlin were seen jumping profusely in the Point Plommer area, close to shore. The latter was where anglers scored numbers of dolphin fish. Further south, at Lake Cathie, cold water prevailed, fishing
shut down and beach worms were hard to find.
Flathead continue to bite, with most of the bigger fish now in deeper water and hungry for live baits. We weighed in several flathead to 5kg this week, caught on livies in the lower reaches of the Hastings and from the south breakwall. The same action is occuring in the Camden Haven River system.
Now that school is back, the whiting season is in full flight. Remember, small fish lead the migration with bigger fish appearing towards the end of this event. Good catches have been had from all beaches north and south of the Port, with fish to 38cm caught on worm bait. Good bream are travelling with the whiting. There are still no prawns coming out of Lake Cathie and it is almost full
moon time again. This moon phase in February is the time to be in Barries Bay if you are targeting Spanish mackerel. Expect your by-catch to be cobia.
Lloyd and Helen Hewens, Ned’s Bait and Tackle 6583 8318
nedsbandt@bigpond.com.au
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Offshore: Water quality has deteriorated in close. ‘Athaldo’ boated one small black marlin on Sunday from well out over the Shelf. Mulloway have been caught in big numbers from The Pinnacle after dark. First reports of samson fish came from Five Mile Reef last weekend. Bonito and kingfish numbers are on the improve and trag and small snapper remain in good numbers.
Beach: Whiting and dart remain the most common species caught. Tailor are patchy. Tuncurry Beach will produce some big dusky flathead close to the estuary mouth. Bronze whalers are plentiful after dark on most beaches.
Rocks: LBG yet to fire. Some bigger blackfish still coming from the rocks south of Blueys Beach.
Breakwall and estuary: Mulloway from the breakwall on any run-out tide, day or night. Reasonable bream coming in from both walls. Flathead in the deeper parts of Tuncurry Channel from the bridge to the Co-op Wharf, with the last of the run-out tide the best. Big numbers of smaller bream and whiting throughout the lake as well as some excellent flathead, Blue swimmer and mud crabs in good supply.
Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 6554 9541
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The end of the holiday period has seen visitor numbers abate, but fish numbers are still good. Plenty of smiling anglers with good catches of whiting/bream off the beaches and in the estuary. The offshore boys, however, have done it fairly tough, with a lot of fluctuation in water temperatures.
Estuary: Flathead to a kilo along from the ramp at Shoal Bay to the hospital, with Corlette groynes and Bagnall Beach going well. Whiting/bream/flathead at Corrie Island, Jimmys Beach and Little Beach. Good-sized bream around the oyster racks off Soldiers Point, Rocks Awash and Bundaba Creek. Good squid off Sally Jetty at Soldiers Point. Blue swimmers on the move, Cromarty Bay the best, with muddies farther up the estuary.
Rocks: Local Wayne Coles has a good couple of hours off Fishermans with six drummer to 2kg, bream and a nice bluefish on bread baits. Drummer and luderick still biting off Fingal Island to Birubi. Kingfish turning up on One Mile Head and Sunny Corner. Squire all along the rocks from Fingal to Birubi.
Beach: Running hot, with sand whiting to 500g on beach or blood worms. Fish early mornings-late afternoons on the half-tide in or out, with Stockton the best. The occasional jew to 10kg coming in. They should really take off coming up to the full moon this month and next.
Offshore: Variation in water temps has led to patchy catches, but dolphin fish have moved in around the traps at Uralla and wide of the Gibber. School jew appear to be running all over the place with all inner reefs producing well. Bill Bardsley got a 16kg beauty off the wreck at Little Island on a live yakka. Good schools of trag on Gibber. Snapper appear in short supply but reefs around Broughton are producing some fair fish to 4kg. Squire off Fingal Light and the boat harbour.
Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 4982 0711
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coming soon... (If anyone can help with regular reports please contact t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au)
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Large school of surface fish spotted on Tuesday at mouth of River between West Head and Lion Island using small silver spinners. Phillip T and cousins, after an action-filled morning, brought in seven 2kg salmon with the odd trevally and tailor (releasing five more salmon for yet another day).
Thursday between the road bridge and Bar Point there were solid kg bream and small jewies caught using Windybank's Hawkesbury River prawns and chicken gut. Reasonable numbers of 2-3kg school mulloway on the run-out tide. Early morning proving the best, before the sun gets too hot.
Many local school children enjoyed the last week of school holidays, catching a variety of leatherjackets, bream and catfish down at Bobbin Head.
Windybanks Bait and Tackle John & Anne Windybanks 9477 1501
windy@tig.com.au
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The fish feeding frenzy continues this week with awesome reports from all the major waters around Sydney. In Pittwater, acres of striped tuna are boiling up baitfish from Terrigal Point to Box Head, only 200 metres from the shore. Anyone with a small tinny or better can get into the action. Darren Thomas from FOW reports of a friend having a red-hot bite near West Reef, catching eight different species from 5am to noon on Australia Day: whaler sharks to 1.8 metres, jewies to 4kg, rat-sized kingies, trevally, salmon, striped tuna, bonito and bit tailor, all succumbing to fresh squid, pilchards and yellowtail. The fly-fishing guys were in action in the same area, hooking tailor, kings, tuna and the like on blue and silver Cotton Candy flies.
Sydney Harbour is as good as it was last Summer, according to Craig McGill. Although the kingfish are quieter around the marker buoys, they can be tracked down feeding on the surface in the shoals of bait fish. Use stickbait lures or cast flies to hook up. Craig’s biggest king went 6.35kg on a large (25cm!) stickbait. The Dobroyd area is still holding heaps of bonito, tailor and the odd salmon and stripey.
Under the jetties there are some big bream at night, according to Reece Cliff, but you must use live nippers and light line. You can bag out, but you’ll lose a few around the pylons.
Mick Lyons of Tiger’s Charters caught a 4.5kg kingfish from the Whale Reef, four miles from Dee Why, and got busted up on 30cm fresh squid.
Further offshore, striped marlin pods have been causing havoc, with double and triple hook-ups occurring south of Sydney Heads in the AIBT tournament. The tournament saw most competitors raising fish but you were lucky if you found a pod of fish and experienced those multiple strikes. Four captures over the two days of fishing won the tournament for a Sydney Gamefishing Club boat.
With all the pelagic ation at the moment, now is a good time to learn fly-fishing. At Fish Outta Water, our Irish fly-casting champion, Paul O’Hagen, holds weekly lessons – drop in and talk to our staff.
Peter/Kurt, Fish Outta Water 9949 9488
fishon@ozemail.com.au
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Botany Bay: Plenty of surface activity from tailor, salmon and mackerel tuna in the early hours of the morning at the entrance to the bay and off the container wall at Botany. Try using the small Raider lures, Halco Slices and Mann’s Stretch 5s. Kingfish are being caught at the hot water outlet on flies and skipped garfish and pilchards. Try using a pink squid skirt over the front of the pilchard or garfish. Drift for flathead from the ends of both runways, using whitebait.
Georges River: Bream and flathead have been caught on the run-up tide at Baldface Point, Alfords Point and Milperra bridges on Hawkesbury prawns and strips of mullet. Bream on lures at the back of Warwick Farm.
Port Hacking: Bate Bay is still producing tailor, salmon and tuna in the early mornings and late afternoons. The trick is to use lures or flies of about 30mm to 50 mm long. There have been some good catches of whiting on blood worms and nippers in the channels at Maianbar and the sand flats just off Lilly Pilly baths.
Gary Brown/Greg Mercedes Mako Tackle 9600 6999
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Darryl, The Ocean Hut 4476 2278
No report this week
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Bruce and Dawne Grant, Wonboyn Cabins and Caravan Park, 6496 9131
Starting next week
wonboyn@asitis.net.au
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