Weekly report 31/12/07

Well I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and are looking forward to a safe and prosperous New Year. I've been out a few time between Christmas and the New Year and the results have been very varied. I have managed to get a couple of small jewfish from the Port Hacking on whole Hawkesbury River Prawns, bream, flathead, whiting and Australian salmon on a variety of soft plastics in the upper parts of the Port Hacking. I have also been out on the bay (trying to get away from the crowds) and managed to get a few silver trevally, dusky flathead, bream, tailor and Australian salmon.

Carl Dubois and Terry hit the HWO again and caught a few small kingfish on soft plastics. They also fished the drums and the oil wharf for a couple of bream. Terry had been out on the Bay earlier in the week and cleaned up on Aussie Salmon. These fish are there one day and then gone the next, only to be back again the next day.

Remember when using your local ramp, they will be crowded at this time of the year. So don't dilly dally when launching and retrieving your boat.

Molineaux Point has been jam packed with boats over the past few days, so you will need to get out early. I fished with a neighbour up the road and even though there were a few boats at Monoilex Point we did manage to get a few bream, silver trevally and heaps of slimy mackerel.

Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/ reports that last week the weather has just about hit us from all directions, Rain, Wind and sunny patches along with a little cold water current the fish have shut down, I have worked hard most outing to put fish in the boat, Scored one nice Kingie around 70cms from a mooring drum on a live bait.

Trevally are around the drums in the middle of the Bay but only in small numbers there are lots of Slimmy Mackerel hanging around the drums as well. Bream are slim pickings I have found a few along the Third runway and in the Middle of the Bay and just wide from Towra Point along with a few Whiting. Also scored a few Flathead while anchored for Bream on plastics.

Early Morning trolling has produced Tailor and Salmon in Yarra Bay. The water is just starting to clear up so next week is looking rather good, The surface action should return as there is loads of bait fish around and the good water will turn turn the kingies on and the Bream will follow.

Well a few days without the bloody wind blowing was great Friday Saturday and Sunday and the fishing was rather good, The water was still a little dirty after all the rain and is slowly clearing up so the Kingies should be back, I did find a few over the last few days all around 60cm and lost a good fish right at the boat on Sunday that sucked in a Nipper on light tackle.

Trevally in good numbers on Friday, Saturday but had trouble on Sunday around the drums but then the Mackerel moved in and all hall hooked up, Big Mackerel to, top bait and top tucker cooked fresh, Well I like them. Bream a little slow but found a few in the middle of the Bay on Nippers and worth spinning this area for Flathead as we caught a few on Plastics. Nathan had the boat with a crew and found Tailor around Watts reef.

So if you would like to catch a few fish every time you are out on the water the fishing School can show you how just give me a call 0418 169 439.

Darren from Bermagui Ocean Hut Fishing Tackle, Dive and Charter Fishing Service
mailto:%20(%20enquiries@bermifishinghut.com.au reports that there have been a number of great catches over the past week or two.

Reef
Most of the reef complexes have got good stocks of fish with species varying from Flathead to Morwong, Snapper and Perch. Up around Montague Island King fish are showing up in reasonable numbers and look to be on the improve. Sand Flathead are also out from most beaches and are easily obtained in 28 metres of water.

Game
We have now had our first Marlin of the season caught and this trend looks like continuing. There are still schools of Albacore and Yellowfin Tuna being regularly encountered. Various Shark species are also frequenting the area and things are looking real hot on the game scene for the next couple of weeks.

Estuary
As we start to lead into the dark of the moon the good news is the amount of prawns in most of the lakes. This also has the fish all fired up making for good angling for most species. Flathead and Bream are especially in good numbers around the Bermagui River and Wapengo Lake with many other species also on the chew.

Freshwater
Brogo Dam is producing mixed results mainly due to the varying weather patterns. When anglers strike a good hot evening or still morning the fish are being taken regularly on both lures and bait. Warm steamy still evenings are producing best when the fish are feeding on the insect activity.

Now is the time after some recent rains to start looking at evening fly activity over the flats in both Eucumbene and Jindabyne. Water levels are staying consistent due to the little rain we have had which is allowing fish to feed in the shallower water. Trolling and bait fishing are also producing good results in most of the alpine lakes.

Rock and Beach
Recently there has been lots of large Tailor especially around the entrance of Bermagui Harbour which are being taken on both lures and bait. Mixed in have been some terrific Salmon which are frequenting the beaches as well as the rocks. Whiting and Bream have also been in good numbers on most beaches, being taken on beach worm.

If you are planing a trip down Darren’s way check out his web site at http://bermifishinghut.com.au/aboutus.htm You could also give Darren and the boys a ring on (02) 6493 4688 to find out what is coming up in the next week or so.

BOOK REVIEW – Steve Cooper’s Snapper Secrets 3.

Steve Cooper has been catching snapper for more than 30 years in Australia, New Zealand and beyond. His fascination with and depth of knowledge of the habits and manners of snapper will become apparent when you read this book. As the title states this is the third snapper book that Steve has had published through AFN. All of which I have.

Now if you already have Snapper Secrets 1 and 2 you will find a very similar resemblance to Snapper Secrets 3. There are sections on life cycle, food, migration, tagging, tackle, rigs, bait, boat and land based fishing, fishing with artificial, keeping records. Charter operations and places to go in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South and Western Australia.

I don’t want to seem negative here, but as a reviewer of books I need to let you know that of the 150 photos that are in Snapper Secrets 3, 60 of them have been used before in Snapper Secrets 2. Now to most anglers this wouldn’t make a difference, but I for one like looking at the photos, mainly because I can pick up a lot from just looking at the photos. Also the Location section (which has 240 GPS marks in it are the same in each book), so if you are looking for new GPS marks don’t bother.

Then on the other hand if you haven’t already got this book it would be a great one to have in your library as you could learn so much from it, that I am sure that it would improve your snapper fishing.

Once again AFN have brought out a great book that id definitely worth having in your library. Try your local tackle shop or call up Joy at AFN on (03) 9761 4044.

Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that
there has been a fair bit of dirty water coming down from the upper reaches of the river which is making it a little tough to find fish. Some nice yellowfin bream have been hugging the walls around Jerseyville, as well as dusky flathead and whiting on the flats. The Break wall has been fishing well for yellowfin bream and the odd GT but the jewfish anglers are still struggling. Flathead have been coming out of Spencer’s creek, Stuarts point and Rainbow Reach.

Paul has had reports of a few mangrove jack around the charter boat moorings. The beaches are still producing good whiting with Smoky the pick of the beaches. There have been some nice sand flathead coming in out of the drop offs. Bream and sand whiting are off Gap beach.

There has been some warm water coming in closer now that hopefully will produce the sports fish we are famous for. Legal dolphin fish are around the FAD with some yellowfin tuna to 6 kilo in a little closer. Fish Rock is loaded with rat kingfish with a few good snapper around Fish Rock and Black Rock. Grassy and Scotts have been slow with better results out in the deeper water. Expect a high presence of inspectors on the water during the holiday so check your safety gear and take care on the bars.

For daily reports and special call Paul on (02) 6566 6726.

Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au
Reports that in the estuaries, the recent rains have added a fair degree of fresh to our rivers which is always welcome. Bream have responded well to the added colour, with plenty of solid fish taken from the lower reaches, particularly around the coal wall and the lower section of Limeburners. Flathead too have been excellent, as they have been for some time now, with both baits and lures working well. Best results have continued to come from around Blackman’s Point and Rawdon Island, although the break walls are always worth a look when the river is dirty. Blackfish numbers remain reasonable throughout the lower reaches, however as has been the case for a few weeks now, results are somewhat patchy from day to day. Whiting numbers on the other hand are down significantly as often is the case when the river is dirty; however expect a sharp increase once some warm and clean water begins to push back upstream.

Sometimes it is so hard to get away from those soft plastic stealing leatherjackets. Tackle shops must love them.

On the beaches, conditions have not been kind, with larger than desirable swells and constant winds combining to erode the vast majority of formations and generally make life somewhat difficult. Best results have come from those fishing the more protected corners, with whiting and bream the primary species. Live worms have been the bait of choice. Whilst conditions have not been ideal for chasing tailor, there has been a significant increase in bird activity which is a sure sigh of the presence of baitfish. Furthermore, with the majority of the salmon schools now on their way down south, the chances of picking up a few tailor are looking somewhat brighter than they have for several months. The other great news for beach fisho’s has been the distinct lack of red weed in comparison to recent years. I hope I’m not tempting fate, but the combination of good rainfall and the absence of prolonged nor easters appears to have had the desired effect of keeping the weed away. Fingers crossed it will remain this way for the rest of the summer season.

Off the rocks, tailor numbers are improving which is good to see. Whilst the numbers are not significant as of yet, there have been some solid greenbacks on offer which is a little unusual, but of course most welcome, at this time of year. Bream numbers remain solid as they have been pretty well all year, whilst those chasing blackfish during the bigger seas have been reporting solid catches. Still a few pigs around for those willing to put in the time seeking the few remaining washed out gutters. No news as yet on the pelagic scene, however with the warmer currents gradually moving both south and closer to the coast, from now on you will see the land base game and high speed spin addicts begin to dust of the gear for the summer action ahead.

On the offshore scene, things are looking up with some warmer water now beginning to filter down from the north, although the conditions on most days have been challenging to say the least. On the pelagic front, marlin encounters are becoming more frequent when you can get out and chase them, which is good news with the golden lure not too far away now. Bottom bouncing in close has produced some nice snapper, pearl perch and a few small to medium kingfish when the currents have been reasonable. Plenty of solid offshore flatties to around 60cms have been on offer from around the 55 metre mark straight off the bar for those simply keen to score a great feed

When you are next up in Port Macquarie call into the shop and have a look at their great selection of tackle and bait they have on offer. You could also ask Jason and Virginia for their daily report on what’s happening on the fishing front. Call them on (02) 6583 8318.

Weekly report 18/12/07

Well, where do I start. I have found the fishing over the past few weeks to be great. I have managed to get silver trevally, yellowfin bream, snapper, sand whiting, mulloway, kingfish, tailor, australian salmon, flounder, leatherjackets and even the odd luderick or two.

The Pittwater has been producing kingfish, silver trevally and bream on the run-out tide. Places to try are Scottland Isl;and, the entrance to Carrell Bay abnd the flats at the back of Palm Beach. Palm Beach is producing australian salmnon, tailor and bream on the rising tide. Try using whole yellowtail for the mulloway and whole pilchards and garfish for the salmon and tailor. There have also been a few bream and whiting caught off the beach on beach worms.

Bream have been feeding around a few of the rack in Mullet Creek and there has been a few rather large dusky flathead been caught in Cowan Creek on live yellowtail.
Bar Point and Bar Island are worth a shot on the run-up tide for bream, mulloway and dusky flathead. Hawkesbury River pranws, nipper and bllod worms are the go for bait.

This is how they launch and retriev their boats over at Norfolk Island.

Sydney Harbour has plenty of silver tevally, bream and kingfish on the chew. Try fishing Sow and Pigs, Bradley’s Head and Luna Park. Work the drop offs into the deeper water. Lane Cove and Iron Cove Rivers are producing the odd yellowfin bream, there has also been a few kingfish being caught under the boats.

Botany Bay has silver trevally, yellowfin bream and dusky flathead on offer. You will just need to work the areas that have clearer water. Pink nipper, peeled prawns and bllod worms are the go for bait. Kingfish, tailor and Australian Salmon have been trolled up on the Kurnell Peninsular side of the bay.
I was over at Norfolk Island for work last week, but I only managed to get a couple of hours fishing in. This is a shark that was caught off the nrothern side of the island. I did manage to hook, play for about 10 minutes and loose some giant silver trevally. Estimated size of about 15 kilos.

Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/ reports that a few days without the bloody wind blowing has been great. Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the fishing was rather good, but the water was still a little dirty after all the rain and is slowly clearing up so the Kingies should be back. Scott did manage to find a few over the last few days all around 60cm and lost a good fish right at the boat on Sunday that sucked in a Nipper on light tackle.

Trevally in good numbers on Friday and Saturday, but had trouble on Sunday around the drums, but then the slimy mackerel moved in and all the crew hooked up to some big slimy mackerel. These are great bait and top tucker when cooked fresh. Well Scott likes them.

Bream a little slow, but found a few in the middle of the Bay on nippers and worth spinning this area for dusky flathead as we caught a few on soft plastics.

Friday Nathan had the boat with a crew and found tailor around Watts reef and a few tailor and Australian salmon in Yarra Bay trolling.

Wednesday morning and the bream had moved from the sticks so Scott deceide to head to the Third Runway and boat a few not a big run but plate size fish, The wind was still blowing from the south at 15 to 20 knots so it was one of those days. Trevally save the day at Kurnell Point on the run in tide, a kingie proved to be a little tough today as the water was dirty from the rain we have had in Sydney of late.

Wednesday afternoon trip proved rather good with Bream from the third runway on the end of the run out tide, We then caught a few live baits and headed towards Kurnell Point to fish for Kingies after trying Trevally Alley with no results but still no Kingies in the dirty water, this weekend might be the same but should improve soon once the weather improves.

Scored well on Trevally around Kurnell point again and all were a good size up around the 750to 1kg. Just on dark we headed to the Bridge to target Jew Fish all looked good once we anchored and the wind had drop off, Slow to start but we we finished with a nice Jew of 65cms around 3kg that took a live yellowtail at about 10.20pm good way to finish a big day on the water.

So if you would like to catch a few fish every time you are out on the water the fishing School can show you how just give me a call 0418 169 439.

Darren from Bermagui Ocean Hut Fishing Tackle, Dive and Charter Fishing Service
mailto:%20(%20enquiries@bermifishinghut.com.au reports that there have been a number of great catches over the past week or two.

Reef
Flathead are the dominate catch offshore on the bottom. Both Tigers and Sand Flathead are around in good numbers, the Tigers are most predominant out in 50 metres plus while the Sand Flathead are closer in out from most beaches. There are some nice Morwong around and a few Snapper although not in great numbers.

Game
Yellowfin are featuring as a regular catch for anglers trolling over the Continental Shelf. Fish have been averaging around the 25 Kg with the odd bigger specimen being encountered. Trolling is producing most fish and by doing so is also producing many Albacore Tuna and there has been a couple of Marlin hooked but not yet captured.

Estuary
Just about every species you could think of you would like to catch there is happening at present. Recent rain has got the estuaries fishing as well as you could ever expect. Wallaga Lake has plenty of Prawns in it which has the fish on the chew while the Bermi River is fishing well all throughout. Large Flathead and Bream are being the dominate species while there is plenty of other species to keep anglers occupied.

Freshwater
The 2007 BBB has been run and done last weekend under difficult conditions. There was lots of rain making the comp difficult although the competitors still managed 296 fish to 38 cm. The dam level is well over 100% capacity which due to the recent increase in water levels has made fishing difficult. Most impoundments within the Monaro area are on the increase due to recent storms. Fishing is extremely good for which ever form you wish to choose. This meaning trolling on the lakes, bait fishing from the banks, or fly fishing whether it be in the lakes or streams.

Rock and Beach
There are plenty of schools of Salmon moving along the coast at present providing good angling on most of the beaches that have reasonable gutters. Also on these beaches Southern Yellowfin Bream are moving around and can be captured on beach worm or striped tuna. Whiting and Mullet are also being taken on worms in some of the shallower gutters and are of good size.

If you are planing a trip down Darren’s way check out his web site at http://bermifishinghut.com.au/aboutus.htm You could also give Darren and the boys a ring on (02) 6493 4688 to find out what is coming up in the next week or so.

BOOK REVIEW – Australian Fishing and Lure Encyclopaedia

Over the years AFN have brought out a number of Lure Encyclopaedia’s (which I have every one). Lures and How to use them was the first one. It started back in 1991 when a group of anglers decided to conduct test on 265 different lures to give you a lure description and size, trolling test results, best boat speed, lure action, some diver comments and a clear picture of each lure. This meant that if you had a lure in your tackle box and you didn’t know what it was and what it did you would most probably find it in this book.

Since then AFN brought out Lures in Depth (1995) which had more information and many more lures. 661 to be exact. They gave you lure description, size, some weights, the depth the lure would go to when trolled, speed range and boat speed, lure action, some diver comments and a clear picture of each.

Then they brought out Frank Prokop’s Lure Encyclopaedia (2004) with 1065 lures that where put through the same test. Now AFN have update the Australian Fishing and Lure Encyclopaedia (2007), still with 1065

Lures, but with plenty more information on How, When and Where to use them. It has a state by state guide, knots and rigs; Australian fish guide, bait rigging, lure and fly fishing, beach and rock fishing, plus much more.

Once again AFN have brought out a great book that id definitely worth having in your library. Try your local tackle shop or call up Joy at AFN on (03) 9761 4044.

Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that they are struggling to get good conditions outside so it’s going to be bumpy out there. If you are heading north expect Snapper and Pearlies out in the wider reefs, in close is full of Red Rockies and other nuisance fish. Heading south has been productive with good kingfish around Fish Rock with some around the 8 kilo mark.

Local Troy Eddy and his mate Julius from the Central Coast had their best session down there with Troy hooking a 5 kilo plus snapper from Black Rock on a 65gm Raider metal lure then fished Fish Rock for kings and snapper. Dolphin Fish are around the FAD in fair numbers.

Those small Cobia are still lurking along the Break Wall attracting the interest of the early morning fisho’s on the wall. Some nice bream and flathead are coming out of the same location. Whiting are on the flats in the shallows attacking worms, nippers and those poppers I have been raving about. Smithtown, Kinchela down to Jerseyville have been quiet with the water very dirty. Flathead and whiting are coming in towards Stuarts Point.

If you like the solitude of fishing the 14 or 15 kilometres of Smoky Beach now is the time with sand whiting so thick you won’t have a chance to appreciate the view. We can dream but you should get a feed anyway. Find a nice gutter and you should find Bream and Dart. Front Beach has had some Whiting towards the Jail.

With only 1 week till Christmas the shop will lay-buys for that perfect Xmas Gift.
For daily reports and special call Paul on (02) 6566 6726.

Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports in the estuaries, flathead continue to star however whiting numbers too remain excellent. Best results on the lizards are now coming from further up the Hastings, with whitebait, prawns and lures of all types each proving successful. Both break walls and the coal have also produced a run of large females, with a disappointing number regretfully destined to disappoint on the plate. The sooner regulations are in place to prohibit this annual breeder removal program from the walls, the better. For the whiting, beach worms and yabbies remain the pick of the baits, with Limeburners and around Blackman’s producing the better results.

To date, the Maria has not fired as well as anticipated, with the consistent flow of dirty water no doubt contributing to the better action being confined to the Blackman’s Point end. On the bream scene, numbers remain above average, with lure tossers in particular enjoying good action, with surface fizzers and the like now beginning to come into their own. Blackfish remain scattered and are simply a day to day proposition, with a feed rather than a bagful the best realistic result. Plenty of muddies and a few blue swimmer crabs are also about for those keen on a feed of these tasty crustaceans.

On the beaches, conditions have been challenging which is not unusual for this time of the season. One day you will have some nice warm water kissing the coastline, with whiting and bream numbers quite reasonable. The next however often sees one of the last pockets of cold water being pushed southward, and in it, most species significantly shut down, except of course the remaining schools of salmon whose appetite is endless. Once these cool pockets of water have disappeared, look for more consistency with the whiting and bream action, as well as an increased presence of baitfish. Once this happens, tailor numbers should improve noticeably, hopefully in tandem with a reasonable showing of mulloway.

Off the rocks, the odd tailor has shown up with Lighthouse and Blueface locally producing a few reasonable fish, whilst Plommer and surrounds have fared a little better. At present, the bite is brief with a pre dawn start, of an after dark session a must. On the drummer front, there is still the odd fish about, however the diehard pig chasers tell there is plenty of water between them. Cunjevoi has been achieving the better results. On the land based game scene, little to report locally as yet, however keen LBG addicts are quietly confident of a much improved season for bluefin, cobia and even Spanish mackerel.

Offshore reports have been quite good as far as bottom bouncing is concerned, with snapper to over 5 kilos on offer; whilst pearl perch, kingfish, big flatties and other mixed reef species have features in most boxes. As has been the case for some time now, the majority of the better quality reds are falling for soft plastics. On the pelagic front, the currents are consistently warming each week, however as yet the colour has not turned that deep cobalt hue game fishos are looking for. When that happens, look for a significant increase in the mahi mahi, marlin and other pelagic numbers.

When you are next up in Port Macquarie call into the shop and have a look at their great selection of tackle and bait they have on offer. You could also ask Jason and Virginia for their daily report on what’s happening on the fishing front. Call them on (02) 6583 8318.