Gary Brown's Weekly Reports

Sydney Report

DVD RELEASE No 1

Well, it has finally happened. After almost 3 years of fishing, filming, editing, re filming, re editing and more fishing, the Port Hacking “The Jewel of the South” is now available in the following tackle shops;

Amazon Outdoor Centre 1273 The Horsley Drive Wetherill Park

Bass Angler Batt Street Penrith

Beverley Hills Bait and Tackle 410 Stoney Creek Road Beverley Hills

Complete Angler 938 Woodville Road Villawood

Fish and Dive Warehouse 238 Taren Point Road Taren Point

Gabe’s Boating and Fishing centre 1a Somerset Avenue Narellan

Gabe’s Tackle and Bait Shop 4 Princes Highway Sylvania Waters

Macs Bait Bar Princes Highway Blakehurst

West Engadine Newsagency 121 Anzac Avenue Engadine

and by Friday the 16th of October will be available in the following tackle shops;

Ace Fishing Tackle 3 Newbridge Road Milperra

Anglers Leisure World 3/2 Garling Road Blacktown 2148

Anglers World 1 Lawndale Avenue North Rocks

Botany Bay Bait and Tackle 1a Jacobson Street Kyeemagh

Brighton Bait and Tackle 285 Bay Street Brighton-lee Sands

Cast Wide Cnr of Wollongong and Forest Road Arncliffe

Campbelltown Fishing Scene 6-12 Dumaresq Street Campbelltown

Chatswood Bait and Tackle 342 Penshurst Street Chatswood 2067

Complete Angler 938 Woodville Road Villawood

Compleat Angler 3rd Floor Dymock’s Building

438 George Street Sydney 2000

Drummoyne Bait and Tackle 104 Lyons Road Drummoyne

Equipped Fishing Bait & Tackle 115 Railway Pde Canley Vale NSW 2166

Fish Outta Water 263 Condamine Street Manly Vale 2093

Freddy’s Fishing World Cnr Griffith and Broadmeadows Roads Newcastle

Freddy’s Fishing World Erina

Hunts Marine Princes Hwy Blakehurst

Kyeemagh Bait and Tackle 164 Bestic Road Kyeemagh

Mako Tackle and Bait 201 Newbridge Road Moorebank

Matraville Bait and Tackle 548 Bunnerong Road Matraville

Narrabeen Bait and Tackle 1469 Pittwater Road North Narrabeen 2101

One Stop Bait & Tackle Cnr of Waterloo Rd Greenacre

Otto’s Fishy Business 139 Victoria Road Drummoyne 2047

St Mary’s Fishing Tackle 229 Queen Street St Mary’s

The Big Catch 12 Chapel Road Bankstown

Windybanks Bait 523 Pacific Highway Mt Colah

Windsor Bait and Tackle Cnr Baker and Macquarie Streets Windsor

In the Port Hacking “The Jewel of the South” Scott Lyons and I show you our techniques we use when targeting squid, what to do when blue swimmer crabs come up to the back of your boat in your berley trail, what rigs and techniques to try when chasing luderick, leatherjackets, how to target flathead on live bait, different ways to catch poddy mullet, techniques on how to pump for nippers, bream on soft plastics and some light offshore and estuary fishing for Australian salmon and bonito.

We have also put in 30 different fishing locations on easy to read maps to fish from the shore, boat and where to go to get your live bait.

Scott also explains, with the use of a white board the details of the rigs we used throughout the DVD.

We also go through the types of outfits we used and how to set them up.

Now even though this may be a DVD that has been filmed while fishing in the Port Hacking River in Sydney’s south, the types of techniques, bait and lure types, tackle and rigs can be used in the same way anywhere throughout Australia.

While you are at your local tackle shop you should also look out for our first DVD “A Day on the Bay” In this dvd we cover how to target yellowfin bream in fast running shallow and deep water, silver trevally while using small amounts of weight, how to get live squid and yellowtail, target kingfish around structure, cast and troll for tailor, soft plastic fishing for dusky flathead and even a little bit on cooking your latest catch.

There are also maps, techniques and tackle covered in this DVD.

If you find that when you go to your local tackle shop and they are not there yet, get them to give me a ring on 0422 994207. RRP $24.95

DVD RELEASE No 2

It has taken Carl Dubois and Adam Ford about the same time as Scott and I to put together a great DVD on Kayak Fishing in Sydney.

I had the chance last night to have a look at this great dvd and I thing that I found was the amount of information that both Carl and Adam has put into this dvd in terrific. It wouldn’t matter if you had been fishing for a long time or was just starting to get into kayak fishing there would be something that you pick up.

Carl, Adam, Mick and Terry target Australian bass, yellowfin bream, silver trevally, Australian salmon, dusky flathead, kingfish, tailor and mulloway using different techniques and lures.
Everything from soft plastics, surface lures and hard bodies is discussed and backed up with some great footage of fishing from their paddle and pedal powered kayaks.

Carl also takes you through what type of fishing structure they target these fish at and how to set up your sounder on your kayak.

Now even though this may be a DVD that has been filmed while fishing in Sydney the types of techniques, lures, tackle and rigs can be used in the same way anywhere throughout Australia while fishing out of a kayak. Maybe you would like to try some of the techniques and lures when you are either fishing off the shore or out of your own boat.

For more information on how to pick up this great DVD you can go to http://www.kayakfishingsydney.com/ or email Carl at cdubois@cdm.com.au
RRP $24.95

FISHING CLASSES FOR 2009.
WINDYBANKS BAIT AND TACKLE

The next Fishing class will start on Thursday the 15th October 2009. It starts at 6.30pm and will run for 3 consecutive Thursday nights. 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
Contact Annette and John.

WATTO’S TACKLE SHOP

The Fishing classes at Wattos are run on 3 conconsective Wednesday nights. The class will start at 7.00pm and finish at 10.00pm. For further information you will need to ring or pay them a visit at the shop. The cost will be $80.00 per person.

For further information and to book in and pay you can contact Sean at

Email: wattosfishing@gmail.com

Address: shop 1 & 2 LOT 9 KURRAJOMG AVE ST MARYS NORTH
Phone: 0416 203 507
Contact Shaun
And while you are at it you could go to their web site and see what special they have on at the moment http://www.wattosfishing.com.au/

LATEST REPORTS.

Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that the fishing has all but got pretty well blown away last week with the southerlies keeping some of the blue water guys land based. Hopefully this week will be much better weather wise.
The river has been fishing alright you just need to find somewhere protected from the wind. Good numbers of Flathead are about if you can get into the shallows around Clybucca, not many bigger units but some nice fish. Whiting and Bream have been about in the same location. A few of the Kayakers are doing well around Jerseyville for Whiting and Flathead around the trawlers. Small Schoolies and Bream are biting around the bridge pylons. The Break Wall is producing some nice Bream on the run out tide with the odd Flathead, Salmon and Sting Rays. The mouth Spencers Creek has had some nice Flathead and School Jew.

Before the blow Back Beach was fishing well for fair Whiting and Dart on a fuller tide. It has been slow on Smoky Beach for a few weeks now with really no change apart from the odd Bream, Dart and a few lonely Salmon. Gap Beach had a few small Tailor on the northern side with a few Bream and Whiting. Rock hoppers have had problems with the swell but there has been some Drummer, the odd Tailor and Salmon with a few Bream.

Horrible conditions at the end of last week made it tough to get reports. Earlier in the week Fish Rock was very productive for King Fish with a good number over the legal requirement. There were Flathead on the gravel in front of the lighthouse and out wider to Rocks in Line has Morwong and a few Pearlies coming in. Snapper were on the bite off Scott’s Head where good numbers were caught in fairly shallow water floating pilchards down a nice burley trail.

Paul Martin
rocksmarine@tsn.cc

Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports that in the estuary, flathead continue to improve with excellent numbers of fish beginning to show up from most locations. Best results however continue to come from the section of the Hastings between Blackmans Point and Rocks Ferry on both baits and lures. This action should continue over the coming weeks as the water warms, and the food and the flatties become more active. Lower down, some reasonable whiting are beginning to show up at several locations downstream of the Dennis Bridge, with live worms and yabbies being by far the best baits. Bream remain quiet however will pick up if the river gains a bit of colour. Best results in the clearer conditions continue to be achieved with both soft plastic and hard bodied lures. Blackfish numbers continue to be average at best, with even the keenest weed soaking exponents having to work for average results. Those fishing yabbies on the weed beds a faring a little better.

On the beaches, tailor remain elusive at best however hopefully once the tract of cold water hugging the coast moves on, it shouldn’t be too long before the summer run of choppers begins to show up. Plenty of salmon still about providing top sport fishing in the interim. Love them or hate them, there is no denying that the big salmon that now regularly visit this part of coast provide a great battle, particularly when using light gear.

School mulloway remain a viable option for night time anglers, however the ratio of throwbacks to keepers remains high. Thankfully most fisho’s completely disregard the size limit currently legislated by NSW Fisheries, and have set their own personal limit well above the paltry 45cm presently in place.

Off the rocks, tailor remain quiet although a few reasonable fish have been snared upon daylight from around Plommer. The odd bream has been also extracted around the same location. Drummer reports continue to be quiet however a few anglers continue to manage a fish or two each outing. By all reports, heading south of Port is the way to go if you are keen on tangling with a few late season pigs. We have also had a few reports of groper being around Diamond Head and Point Perpendicular in solid numbers, although getting the sea flat enough to access the better locations is likely to a bit of a challenge until we get a period of settled weather.

This past week’s windy weather has made offshore access awkward, with quite a few days of late seeing conditions simply not viable. The good news however is that snapper and pearl perch continue to fire quite well, albeit mixed in with increased numbers of sweep, morwong and other assorted reef species. Water temperatures remain a tad cool at around 16 to 17 degrees in close, although wider out some nice blue 20 degree plus water has begun to show up. To complement this good news, we understand the NSW Fisheries FAD is due to be re deployed next week. I will confirm GPS co ordinates when known.

Ron Osman ron@estuaryfishingtours.com.au reports that the jewfish are around at the moment.

Just last week we got a 22kg model from Juno Pt and a 12kg one from near there. Both Jewfish were caught on cut squid baits.

If you want to see the footage of the 22kg one my customers have put it on YouTube.
Both Jewfish were taken in the middle of the day and we only fished for them for about one hour and they were caught in the first 15 minutes of getting there. So if you were to spend a day chasing them I’m sure you would get them.

A few places to try on the run in tide would be Juno Pt, both bridges, The Vines, Barr Point and the mouth of Mooney Creek. Some run out spots are Flint and Steel, Gunya Pt, the shell beds between Juno and Eleanor Bluff, the wreck at Wobby Beach, both bridges and The Vines. Go to all these spots in a day and spend one hour at each and I am sure you would get some or pick one spot and sit there all day for a chance. I would go for the first option. Take heaps of fresh squid as I have caught 90% of my Jews on squid. Plus take livies and dead baits like yakkas, tailor and pike. I usually run 4 rods with 2 squid, a livie and a butter flied dead bait. Some people run 6 or even 8 rods but 4 is plenty if I do put out more it’s usually 2 small bream rods with squid or prawns for the smaller fish and I keep these lines close to the boat and the big lines out the back to stop tangles and to get the small lines out of the way fast once we get a big one on.
Kingies have been around all winter in Pittwater but it is only now that they are getting easy to catch. We have got them to 75cm over winter but now a lot of smaller ones (60cm) are turning up. Best spots are the various wrecks in Pittwater with Clareville and Scotland Island the best. Towlers Bay has had them feeding on the surface some mornings and taking lures but these are only the smaller fish.

Small squid are getting easier to find now with the Basin the best. During winter all we could get were real big squid which make great calamari rings. If you fish Pittwater and can’t catch Kingfish or Squid or don’t know where the wrecks are come out on a charter and I will show you all the good squid spots and a heap of wrecks that you can fish for years. Most people that know where they are keep them a guarded secret so they aren’t going to tell you unless you’re a good friend of theirs.

Salmon and Tailor schools have been great fun over the last month. The Tailor haven’t been on the surface much but are taking metal slices around the washers at Big and Little Box, Lion Island and Barrenjoey. We have caught Tailor to 50cm and one bit us off at the boat that must have been 60cm. I thought it was a Salmon until we saw it.

Salmon have been at the same places as the Tailor but have been on the surface most days. They just pop up here and there and if you can cast into the school you get one every 3 to 5 casts. Most have been in the 2.5 to 3kg range but one went 4kg.

Flatties only had a couple of weeks off during winter. We caught them all the way through on plastics with a bad day getting 3 keepers an hour and a good day getting 10. Not bad for winter and they should pick up even more now the waters up to 17’ and rising.

The Hawkesbury has been the best for Flatties with Croppy Head to Juno, Patonga Creek to half way to Lion Island and Little Pittwater to White Horse Beach has been the best spots.
In Brisbane Waters Lobster Beach has been quiet but we have got some from the Rip Bridge and around Paddy’s Channel, mostly towards the Gosford end.

You can just use the cheap plastics for flatties but if you use the Gulps you will get the odd Jewie, Bream or Whiting as well. I use the 3 inch shrimps and the 4 inch minnows and I don’t have a favourite colour, they all work just as good as each other for flatties. Try to get the biggest Jig head with smallest hook possible. The extra weight helps to get it down there when fishing deep and when it’s shallower you get a faster retrieve. I use a 10grm jig head with a short shanked 2/0 hook. Flatties on plastics in summer is a sure thing and is better than baits as you cover a lot more ground than dragging a bait along the bottom.

Bream and Trevally have been the main catches during winter. I usually tell the customers what we have been catching lately and ask them what they want to catch but most of the time I get the same response – “I don’t care as long as we catch fish.” So it’s off to Lion Island to fish a burly trail for Bream, Trevally, Leather Jackets, Tailor and lots of small rubbish fish. Good fun on light gear and during winter you are almost guaranteed a feed. Peeled prawns are the best but the small peckers make light work of them. Squid and cubes of Tuna are good too and last a bit longer than prawns. Remember burley is a must. Bream to 40cm, Trevally to 42cm, Leather Jackets to 45cm and Pike are there along with the odd Port Jackson to test you out. Lion Island is usually the best but big and little box, west head and Barrenjoey are good at times too.
Good Blackfish in Brisbane Waters and Pittwater but not many down the Hawkesbury. We got them to 38cm in Brisbane Waters with heaps of small ones and up to 42cm in Pittwater with not many small ones at all.

have just started putting the crab traps (witches hats) out in the Hawkesbury again for blue swimmers in the last 3 weeks, with the best day 10 keepers and the worst 2. Some are huge and some are tiny or in jenny (pregnant) and must go back, pretty good crabbing for this time of year. I reckon we are in for a good season with the water only just starting to warm up now, hopefully we can get 20 plus a day like the last 2 summers.

It is too easy just drop them off on your way out and pick them up on the way back. When you put them out put them in a straight line. It makes them easier to see for other boaties coming along and if you get back and they are all over the place you know someone has raided them. I catch a few people every now and then, mostly hire boats on weekends and tell them nicely to put out their own traps.

Funny story of the month; we were fishing Juno Pt for Jews and got a huge Port Jackson Shark on a squid bait and it swallowed the hook right down it’s throat so we cut the line took a few photos and threw it back. No more than 3 minutes later one of the other lines goes off and it’s the same PJ and when we pull him in he coughs up the other hook. He must have been pretty hungry.

Lastly just a reminder about the Jewies, get out there now or come out with us. If you want to land that big one now is the time!

Next time you get a chance go and visit Ron’s web site for more information about his charters http://www.estuaryfishingandtours.com.au/