A few weekends ago I fished with a group of anglers from Windybanks Fishing Club at a place called Bawley Point. What a great weekend, both fish and weather wise.
Dave Steele took out the weekend with a great catch of drummer, silver trevally and Australian salmon. I came in a close second with Aaron Truesdale close behind in third.
Results
Dave Steele
10 Drummer, 10 Silver trevally and 2 Salmon 204.89 points
Gary Brown
2 Silver trevally, 5 yellowfin bream, 4 drummer and
5 salmon 174.48 points
Aaron Truesdale
1 snapper, 2 salmon, 1 silver trevally, 2 yellowfin
bream, 1 silver drummer and 2 drummer 172.42 points
For the full rap up of the fish tally and points for the weekend you will need to visit the Windybanks Web Site at http://www.windybanksfishingclub.com.au/
Carl Dubois reports on his latest banana theory.It’s been quite a few months since Carl Dubois
put the old “bad luck Banana Theory” to the test and Saturday saw Terry and Carl chasing bream on the Cooks River. Carl had loaded up with the biggest banana he had from home and with it sitting right next to him, Terry had a raised eyebrow or two regarding Carl tempting the wrath of the Banana Gods so flauntingly.It was 6:15am and conditions were perfect, with the tide about to start running in which hopefully would put the bream on the chew. Of course, if the banana lived up to its reputation, Terry would bag out and Carl would be returning to the ramp fishless with my tail between his legs. As they made our way to the canals, Carl pointed to a large green channel marker. “We’ve gotta have a cast at that,” I said. “I nearly always pick something off it.”They positioned ourselves either side of the marker and fired out our SP’s.His first cast went about 6 feet. Ooh, a crap cast to start with. Not good. I retrieve and have another crack. This one is better and as the Berkley 6” sandworm in Camo colour settles on the bottom, I feel a bump. I lift the rod and set the hook into what feels like a good fish. The fight is sluggish and I’m surprised when up comes a thumper of a bream that only puts in a few runs once he’s away from the safety of the marker. 40cm’s to the tip (36 fork) and he weighed in at just over a kilo. Woohoo! Bananas Schmananas! If this is bad luck, what would good luck be like? Terry shakes his head as we continue on our way, looking for any old bananas floating downstream...The last time we were up here, the edges of the canals were the productive areas but this time they were pretty devoid of fish. But as soon as we starting searching around the man-made structures i.e. bridges, the fish were plentiful. We both dropped some good fish but after three hours I had a fairly decent 5 bag that went 2.8kg’s.
All the fish came on SP’s today with the sandworm doing all the damage for me and Terry getting his fish on the worms and also 3” pearl watermelon Bass Minnows.As we returned to the ramp, we passed over a spot where it drops from 1.5m into a 5 meter hole. Always on the lookout for jewfish, we both have a cast and Terry is immediately rewarded with a crunching strike. His drag sings out and we’re both hoping for a jewie! But the run is short lived and he eventually lands his best for the day, which measures out at 36cm’s total length.So how is this Banana Theory going? Well, that’s 3 trips where I’ve put it to the test now and each time I’ve had great fishing. Maybe I need to take two or three to really throw down the gauntlet.
Andrew Letho caught himself a 65cm Australian Salmon near Cottage Point boats on 1/12oz
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lure/Squidgy combo on G Loomis 1kg rod with 4lb line!It took 20 minutes to boat after chasing him around everywhere. The fish jumped several times. Thankfully Dave Steele was driving (and counselling) so he didn’t get busted off. Lure was only just stuck in his gills. Just dropped out when Andrew got him in.FISHING CLASSES
My next fishing class will start on Thursday the 5th of June starting at 6.30pm and will run for 2 consecutive Thursday nights and then the following Wednesday night. The cost of $95.00 includes a fish barbeque and the class. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit.
Windybanks Bait and Tackle
523 Pacific Hwy Mt Colah NSW 2079
Ph (02) 9477 1501
Annette, John and Luke
If you can’t make that class I will be running another class starting on Wednesday the 2nd of July and will start at 7.00pm and run for 3 consecutive Wednesday nights. The cost will be $80.00 per person. To book in and pay you will need to either ring the shop or pay them a visit at
Absolutely Hooked
174 Merrylands Road
Merrylands
Ph (02) 9897 3474
Mike and April
Ron Osman from http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ reports he would like to welcome his new sponsor ‘Fly Bridge’ who have put some gear on my boat including my new walker downriggers to replace my old Scotty ones, some soft plastics, one of their Fastnets and some Sea deck along with a few other bits and pieces that they import. You can check out all there products at http://www.flybridge.co.au/ or you ring 02 43538723 and talk to Nathan he will help you out. These guys are the importers so you won’t get it cheaper anywhere else. I will let you all know how these products work in the next fishing report as I have only just got them.
The Fly Bridge Showroom is located at Tuggerah on the Central Coast but they will post anything to anywhere in Australia. The winter fish are certainly here and the summer fish like Flathead and Kingfish are getting harder to find inside. The most reliable fishing is at Lion Island or around the headlands like Middle Head, West Head, Barrenjoey Head and from Big Box to Little Box. With heaps of Trevally to 38cm, Bream to 35cm, Tailor to 45cm, Leather Jackets to 40cm and the occasional Salmon. We fish with a good burly trail, a small running sinker and number 1 hook (a lot smaller if targeting Leather Jackets) and drift it down the burly trail stopping to check for bites every 10 feet or so. Some days the Trevally has been very thick and we have had to move spots to try and find the Bream. But the Trevally fight hard and everyone likes catching them. If they are bled straight away and filleted they are good to eat. For bait peeled prawns are the best but we also use small Squid strips and salted Mackerel cubes which are good for Bream, Tailor and Jackets but the Trevally prefer the prawns but they must be peeled.
His burly consists of chook pellets, wheat (soaked in water overnight), tuna oil, fish mince and plenty of water. Mix until it’s like wet concrete and freeze in ice cream containers. Drop them in your burly pot and it slowly defrosts and you have a constant trail going out the back of the boat. All the Bream we catch have the wheat in their stomach and the Trevally has the very fine bits of chook pellets in theirs. The northern side of Lion Island is the best for this type of fishing. Just motor out until you see the drop off (18ft-32ft) and anchor just on top of it, but beware this place eats anchors.
We have had a few good days on the Jewies but hey have been far and few between. I had one bloke hire the whole boat to himself and we spent the whole day flicking plastics around. First stop the Rip Bridge on the Orange Grove side just drifting around jigging plastics up and down off the bottom in about 35ft of water. I could even see the Jewies on the sounder. Between 6.15am and 9.30am we got 5 keepers (biggest 75cm), 5 or 6 throwbacks and got smoked by 2 big ones and there were a few big Tailor there too. The rest of the day we spent flicking for some Flatties at Hardies Bay, Pretty Beach and Ettalong. It was a great day and it had been a long time since I had caught a Jewie on a plastic and light gear. It was fun to say the least. Ryan my customer said he had never had a better days fishing.
The Blackfish are around but not in numbers in Brisbane Waters we have only fished for them a couple of times and the ones we are getting are close to 40cm so they are good fish. The best spots have been from Half Tide Rocks to Little Box Head and you can get good weed at Avoca Lagoon. There have been a few schools of Tailor in Broken Bay and we always get some trolling bibbed lures. Hopefully the schools of Salmon wont be too far away now the water is dropping.
Just this week has seen the Blue Swimmers come back strong with 4 in 1 witches’ hat. The best spot is in between the road and rail bridges but they shouldn’t be around too long with the water cooling.
Don’t forget the Hairtail down Cowan Creek. They should start to come around at the end of the month or when the water gets down to 16º. Last year they were around for a while but for 2 weeks after a lot of rain the water temp was 12 º and there was heaps of them with over 50 boats (yes 50) chasing them in Jerusalem Bay nearly every night even during the week. Make sure you take your warm clothes as it is freezing down there. So for the next few months it will be Bream, Trevally, Leather Jackets, Blackfish, Tailor, Salmon, Jewfish, Hairtail and the odd Kingfish on the menu.
BREAKING NEWS
Watto’s Fishing at St Mary’s has moved to a bigger location with more parking. You will find them at Shop 1 LOT 9 KURRAJONG AVE ST MARYS NORTH
NSW 2759
NEW PRODUCTS.
This DVD is for the angler who would like to learn more about what type of bait you could use when chasing Spanish Mackerel up at the Gold Coast, whiting and dart off the beach and a bit of offshore fishing for Scarlet sea perch, pearl perch and cobia off Frazer Island.
The baits that are covered in this DVD are pilchards, prawns, sand worms, bonito, squid and mullet.
It is a good DVD, but you will have to tune out to the continual annoying back ground music.
I have decided to leave in these 2 new product reviews, as they are definitely worth having another look at.
TT SWITCHBLADES.
TT Switchblades have not been long on the market (and yes there has been a number of similar types around many years ago), but once I got hold of a few and used them for the first time in the Squidgy Grand Final 2008 they now are one of my go to lures. Actually they tend to be one of the first that I will grab out of my tackle box when chasing yellowfin bream.
In the Squidgy Grand Final Carl and I started our fishing over a set of weed beds in Hen and Chicken Bay. We both were fishing with Berkley 3 inch minnows and managed to get a couple of small, but legal sized bream. I then changed to a TT Switchblade and from them on during the competition I never changed. Well I did change the colours, but I did keep on using the TT Switchblades. I caught fish in water as shallow as 50cm and as deep as 10 metres.
Since that day I have caught sand whiting, dusky flathead, flounder, leatherjackets, tailor, silver trevally and plenty more bream. They are 35 mm long and weight 1/8 ounce. There are ten colours.
Having 3 holes at the top of the Switchblade and a simple and easy to use clip you can change the action of the lure when you are using it.
Front hole is used for maximum lure action when vertically jigging.
Middle hole is used when fishing the flats, banks or schooling fish when a medium to fast retrieved is needed.
Rear hole will give the lure the maximum vibration for very slow retrieves whether fishing the flats or deep water.
I also found that when hopping the Switchblade slowly off the bottom the fish would take the lure on the drop and even some times the fish would pick the lure up off the bottom and swim away with it.
Personally, I wouldn’t leave home with out the TT Switchblade when I am going for a fish, as they work just as well out of a boat or off the shore.
The next time that you are out and about why don’t you call into your local tackle shop and have a look at them.
UGLY FISH Polaroid Sports sunglasses RRP $109.95
When I was up at the Australian Tackle Show at the Gold Coast last year I came across a set of Polarized sunglasses that are not for everyone. These glasses are specially made for anglers like me. I mean the type of angler who needs to have 2 pairs of glasses when fishing.
A set of Polaroids which would allow me to see into the water, cut down the glare and enables me to see the line move ever so slightly when a fish has taken the lure on the drop or the lure has just hit the bottom. You know everything that a good set of Polaroids should do.
The other pair would be my prescription glasses that I would have to use for putting the line through the eye of the hook or lure, putting on bait, reading a set of scales, measuring a fish and even un hooking a fish. It was a complete pain in the butt having to take off one set and then put on another set. That is until I got a couple of pairs of the new UGLY FISH Polaroid Sports sunglasses.
Okay, yes I could go and get a set of very expensive prescription polarized sunglasses, but why should I when Ugly Fish Eyewear has a pair of light weight, polarized,
By-focal sunglasses that I can wear when driving my car, fishing, camping, well doing most out door activities.
Ugly Fish have for types available for the fishing, sports, outdoor angler, 2 of which I have been using for about a month now. They are the High Tide and Cyclone models.
The lens are both in either Smoke, nylon Polarized with anti-Reflective (AR) lenz coating. They are both available with +1.50, +2.0 and +2.50 bifocal lenz. The frame in the High Tides are made of a shiny black, Eight Base TR-9- compound and the Cyclones are a matt black, Eight Based Aluminium frames with spring loaded temples.
Over the past couple of weeks I have given a talk of either lures fishing or bait rigging and I have been able to have these glasses on top of my head and then when needed use them to rig baits, hooks and lures when carrying out these demonstrations. Now this has been inside and at night under fluro lighting.
I have even found that when I am driving my car and I can’t see the dash board as clearly as I use to. All I need to do is look through the bifocals section of the glasses and I can clearly see the gauges.
If you are after more information on these excellent sunglasses you could go to your local tackle shop and asked about them, visit their web site at http://www.uglyfisheyewear.com.au/ or drop me an email and I can let you know where you can go and check them out.
Minn Kota Portable Battery Charger. RRP 198.00
The new MK110PA 240 volt portable marine battery charger is designed to deliver a precise, proper charge to marine batteries without over or under charging as is often the case with standard automotive battery chargers. It utilises a multi-stage charging system; a feature not found on most portable chargers, to charge up to 50% faster than a single stage (bulk) 10amp portable charger, while properly protecting the batteries. Over charging can damage the useful life of the battery. Likewise under charging over time, will reduce the discharge time and shorten the battery life as much as 20%.The fully automatic charging system utilises bulk, absorption and maintenance cycles. It delivers 10 amps maximum charge in bulk mode until the voltage reaches the absorption level, at which point the charger varies the power output to maintain voltage. Once the power output drops to a preset level the charger goes into maintenance mode maintaining the voltage at a lower level. An LED display indicates power on, charging ,full charge and check connection. The unit features short circuit and reverse polarity protection, a safety feature which prevents the charger from operating if improperly connected to the battery. It is suitable for use with 12V/6 cell batteries which are flooded wet cell, maintenance free or AGM type only.Dimensions:Length: 178mmWidth: 229mmHeight: 197mmWeight:2.9kg
MK110PA - 240 Volt input, 10Amp output,
REPORTS
Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours (http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/.) reports this is the best time of the year out on the water, just stick your head out the window today and have a look. Its been much the same for the last three to four weeks. Last Saturday out on Botany Bay had Scotty anchored at Trevally Alley with a good run in tide at 6.30am and the Trevally and Bream were hungry and all the boys caught there share, what a top session.Trolling was next and the tailor finely made a show. Scotty and his crew bagged six nice fish and lost a ripper of a kingie right at the boat, two great sessions on the Bay.
Sunday was a repeat of Saturday but the Kingies made a show sucking down nippers, Live baits and Pilchard cubes. Scotty thought that Saturday was good, but Sunday was even better at Trevally Alley. The Tailor had moved and it took them a while to fine them of Sunday, but this time they were feeding on top so out came the metal slices and the boys had a ball.Give Scotty a call on 0418 169 439. For more information and some great photos you should go to Scotty’s web site at http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/ and have a look.
Scotty also has a WEIPA FISHING IN SEPTEMBER coming up so here is your chance to book now while there are still some spots open.
This is 6nights and 7 days live aboard with to 4metre runabouts. Fish for Barra, Jacks, Finger Mark, Coral Trout, Tuna, Cod, Gaint Trevally, Queen Fish, Mud Crabs and many more. For all details please give Scotty a call on his mobile 0418 169439.
Scotty also has SPECIAL MID WEEK MAY TRIPS from 7am to 1pm $550.00 Botany Bay trips, Deep sea trips for $700.00. That is a saving of $200.00 off each trip.
Ron Osman from Estuary Fishing and Tours on what has been happening in the Hawkesbury, Pittwater and Brisbane Waters area you could have a look at the reports that have been put up on http://www.estuaryfishingtours.com.au/ web site or you could email him at ron@estuaryfishingtours.com.au
Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports that off their beaches at present, there have been some excellent formations developing on all local beaches, which is a pleasant change from the earlier part of this year. Hopefully the bigger seas of this week will not prove sufficient to flatten this long awaited structure. Tailor numbers continue to be sound with Lighthouse and the beaches around Laurieton in particular fishing well, albeit with the average size a little down from those taken during the early part of the month. On the contrary however, bream have been a little scarce although this should improve significantly once the seas settle a little and the full moon phase begins to wane. On the jew front, once again the reports are disappointing apart from the odd whisper from around Dunbogan. For whatever reason, both the schoolies and the better fish have not been around in any significant quantities so far this season. Hopefully this trend will reverse in the not too distant future.
Off the rocks, for those who rise early, a few solid tailor are on offer, along with a continued run of good bream. Best results on the bream were achieved early evening before the full moon really got up. For those content to float a bit of cabbage around the washes, blackfish numbers remain pretty well as good as they will get. On the drummer scene, the season continues to build up nicely with fish now becoming increasingly common from most ledges. Best reports locally have come from both Shelley’s and Miners. Most drummer enthusiasts I have spoken too are quietly confident that the good early season results to date may lead to another decent season over the coming months. In the absence of abalone gut being available this season, best bets will be either cunjevoi, hermit crabs if you can get them, peeled prawns, cabbage or a good old loaf of bread.
In the estuaries, flathead numbers continue to be quite good for this time of year, with Limeburners and around Pelican Island locally giving up a number of good fish, whilst sources from the south indicate the lower reaches of the Camden Haven too is fishing exceptionally well. Bream numbers too have been quite good despite the full moon, with the coming dark expected to see a further significant improvement, particularly for those fishing the darker hours. On the blackfish front, numbers around the break walls have begun to improve considerably, however green weed supply is an issue at present. New regulations recently implemented by the Dept of Primary Industries concerning the commercial supply of green weed have delayed supply thus far, however hopefully it won’t be too long until this is rectified.
Outside reports have been a bit quiet courtesy of last weekend’s winds and the subsequent large ground swell; however those who ventured out when conditions allowed, report some excellent snapper from the closer reefs, particularly off Lake Cathie. Wider out, those plumbing the depths of the shelf continue to report great results, with today’s technology of electric reels and long lengths of strong braid allowing the exploration of depths previously un fishable to most recreational anglers.
The long weekend has seen plenty of tailor off the rocks. They are well above the chopper class on offer for those fishing the more eastern points. Once the current big seas settle, don’t be at all surprised if larger greenbacks start cruising the washes looking for an easy meal. Bream numbers to have been excellent with Point Plommer and headlands further north giving up a few top bags. Drummer numbers continue to pick up and the recent stir will only further enhance this trend. In the absence of abalone gut, cunjevoi will be the bait of choice. Plenty of blackfish still around the washes, with fish to around a kilo eagerly taking cabbage baits by day, and lightly weighted yabbies during the darker hours.
In the estuaries, flathead have been quite consistent with good fish taken on both baits and lures from most points between Rawdon Island and the break walls. Bream numbers off the walls have been consistent if not spectacular, however don’t be at all surprised if the big seas of earlier this week see a significant improvement. Many bream enthusiasts will recall the stellar sessions last year immediately following a big winter sea, and I’m sure plenty will also recall the steady stream of snapper which accompanied them. Whilst not normally a target from many land based locations around Port, the conditions of earlier this week are precisely when you are likely to encounter one of these break wall bonuses. On the blackfish scene, numbers have finally picked up a little much to the relief of local enthusiasts. As with the bream, don’t be at all surprised if the big seas trigger the entry of the masses of bronzies which have been hanging around the rocks for some time now.
On the beaches, the big seas of earlier this week were most unwelcome. To date this season has been punctuated with only a week or so of calm seas at a time. Just when conditions begin to settle and a few real quality formations develop, along comes another big sea to flatten these formations out and generally create challenging conditions at best. Before the blow, tailor numbers were as good as we have seen all year, although by and large most fish were just in the chopper class. Bream numbers and quality to had just shown significant improvement, particularly on the morning tides from Lighthouse and further south. Mulloway numbers however remain disappointing as they have all year to date. Hopefully the beaches settle and reform quickly, as right now is the time of year most beach fisho’s really look forward to.
Offshore anglers have been enjoying some reasonable results when conditions allow, with most fish boxes containing good mixed catches. Bottom bashers have managed some solid snapper together with a few solid pearl perch and mid size kingfish. As is becoming the trend nowadays, plastics are accounting for the better numbers of quality reds. A few leatherjackets are also starting to get about, so either make sure wire and long shank hooks form part of your arsenal for the next few months, or expect to donate a large portion of your terminal tackle to the depths of the ocean.
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.
Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that
this is the time of the year when we have cold crisp mornings and perfect days it’s a great time to be on the water and there are fish on the bite. Cobia are about with reports of catches off Grassy along with a few Jewfish and Snapper. The Gaol Grounds produced Cobia again last week with Mac Tuna still in big numbers. The Dot has been fishing well for Trag and some nice Pearl Perch, while if the conditions allow bigger Pearl Perch and Sampson Fish are out wider giving fisho’s a work out. Bonito are about in close if you want some premium bait.
We have had some good reports from the beaches over the last week with Gap Beach giving up nice Bream and some big Dart. Smoky Beach fished well for Bream, a few Flathead and Tailor. Back Beach has Flathead and some small Bream.
Last week I mentioned we were stocking the TT switchblade lures; they have flown off the wall with unbelievable results on Bream we have more stock coming. We have a good number of small Jews along the walls at the moment taking live Mullet etc and a range of bigger plastic baits. Flathead have been harder to find as the water cools so try the sun warmed shallows. Black Fish have been in the Back Creek in good numbers but there hard to find along the river Break Wall at this early stage. We hope to have green weed over the next week or so.
Most fisho’s were battling again outside to get amongst some fish. With the conditions out wide uncomfortable most fished the close grounds. A few Charter boats found some quality fish a long way north towards Nambucca. Mac Tuna are taking baits off Grassy while the closer reefs off the Gaol are producing small reds. Cobia have been off the Gaol Peak grounds in fair numbers with the best around 30 kilo. Flathead are in good numbers off the Lighthouse grounds if you’re struggling to get a feed. There has been some cracker Bream around Green Island with some nice Tailor as well coming in. Fish Rock has been quite with the odd Kingfish, Mac Tuna and Snapper. There were no reports from out wide last week.
Peter fished Smoky Beach with Bob French late last week for only one Bream; apart from being freezing first thing the beach had a very strong northerly sweep making it difficult to fish. Gap Beach is fishing well for Tailor late afternoon with some nice Bream into the dark. Rock hoppers had some success with the Tailor off the ledges with some classic Bream coming in as well.
There have been a few Jewfish in the river around the 4 to 6 kilo mark along the Break Walls taking a variety of plastic lures and live baits. We have had some good reports of Flathead and Bream around Smithtown. We are now stocking TT Switchblade small metal vibration lures; these are easy to cast and dynamite on Bream and Bass.
The week before the long weekend has seen sloppy conditions and a mongrel bar that has put a damper on blue water fishing last week so reports were few and far between. Before the change we had some good fish on the northern reefs with Trag, Sampson fish and a few good Snapper. The charter guys got amongst big Pearl Perch in about 80 meters. Fishing in close around Green Island some nice Bream were landed with plenty of Tailor and Bonito on the troll.
The word from Port Macquarie is that the Leather Jackets are on their way up for their annual winter run. Big tides and a lot of dirty water and rubbish coming down the Macleay has made fishing the river a little frustrating. The fish of the week: James Hassett and his 3.840 kilo Snapper caught in the river off the Break Wall on a Herring. Black Fish are on the bite, with the Back Creek the hot spot. They are biting better on a black weed at the moment but like green weed it’s tough to find. Bream are about while reports of smaller Flathead and chopper Tailor are coming in.
The beaches have been slow with Smoky giving up a few Bream and Tailor and the odd Flathead in the shallow water taking Pilchard and Mullet strip. There have been a few good Drummer off the rocks with Tailor and Bream coming in as well.
For daily reports and special call Paul on (02) 6566 6726.
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