Sydney
NSW
Swinging temperatures PITTWATER
Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com
Once again this last month we experienced some very sporadic fishing. Some mornings the water would be 23°C, and that very afternoon, all of a sudden it could be as cold as 17°. This colder water has come from Warragamba Dam; they have been letting out large volumes of water as the dam has been full.
flathead and flounder, and occasionally jewfish as well. All these species have been caught whilst drifting using a paternoster rig with a variety of baits. I have found the last part of the run-out tide to be the most productive right up until an hour into the rising tide. We have been using fresh caught squid strips, prawns and pilchards, and recently we were lucky enough to find slimy mackerel. Slimy strips can produce some very nice fish.
Will with his first ever fish. He travelled from way out west to tangle with this flathead. All the freshwater can be seen out in Broken Bay, where there has been a distinct current line and change of coloured water. The distinct current line is where we’ve been fishing, and with great reward. Along this line there have been tailor, decent
Other areas to catch jewfish at the moment around Broken Bay seem to vary from day to day, but Juno Point, Flint and Steel and the pressure wave at the entrance of the Hawkesbury River will put you in with a great chance at tackling one or two silver ghosts.
Fishing along Pittwater has been great one day and tricky the next, but the bottom fishing hasn’t been too bad. Once again, drifting to cover ground has been required, and the better area to do this at the moment is towards the mouth of the river. The drop-off that runs from Mackerel Beach to Palm Beach Ferry Wharf is a great place to start. On the run outside you will drift from the deeper water up the large drop-off and into shallow water. You have to know what part of the tide you are fishing to make sure that the wind is not blowing in the wrong direction. Most of the action in this area is again happening near the tide change. Another area to drift in Pittwater is the hill located behind Scotland Island. This area can see keeper snapper, whiting as well as kingfish that pass through, and flathead. In this area it really doesn’t matter what part of the tide you fish as there is very little current, and a light breeze is required to cover ground. For the whiting fanatics the shallows at Mackerel Beach can be a prime location to catch a few of these shallow water species. Using very small poppers can also be a great way to locate and catch a few, especially around the edges of the weed beds. The shallower grounds can also be fished by anchoring and drifting unweighted lines with the current. I have found over the years a breadcrumb berley trail can work well to bring these fish close to you, and it will also bring in
These fish put up a great fight on lighter tackle at Barrenjoey Headland area. bream and other species as well. The better baits to use are live ghost nippers or blood worms, and both can be purchased from Narrabeen Bait & Tackle most of the time. For the kingfish fanatics like myself there are still a few to be caught. Most of the activity has been happening around the mouth of the river and towards Barrenjoey Headland. As usual, squid has been accounting for most captures, but outside on the ocean side of Barrenjoey Head, yellowtail will work quite well, and so do squid strips. Some bigger fish have been showing up on the odd day and cruising the Kingfish Highway, so this is an area that needs to be targeted as well. Catching squid at the moment is a lot easier than it has been in previous months, which is a blessing
for us all. The better areas to target them have been Careel Bay, Mackerel Beach as well as the large ribbon weed beds near Palm Beach. The better colour at the moment seems to be orange but make sure that you have a few other lures ready to go in case you find a few tentative squid. I have found over the years a lot of the time if you find wary squid to reduce the size of the lure. This can have a profound effect on those smaller timid ones. Once you do have enough squid, the usual technique of downrigging will put you in with the best chance of catching some of the bigger kings. So, as you can see, there is still is quite a bit of activity along Pittwater and Broken Bay to enjoy. Fishing offshore the moment has seen some pretty good captures of
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56
MARCH 2022
Kingfish are still attacking downrigged squid at Pittwater.
blue-spot flathead as well as nannygai, snapper, kingfish and morwong, just to name a few. This still seems to be a lot of current offshore so our areas have been differing from week to week. I would love to be able are say to go to reefs in 50m of water, but unfortunately strong currents can make it impossible to fish. I have been starting in 30m of water and working my way out to the deeper water until I find the stronger currents. Once the stronger currents have been found, I know to go back into shallow water and fish those reefs along the coast in that particular depth of water. It really can be difficult to fish strong currents, and 8oz sinkers have not been enough to keep our baits on the bottom to target anything. For those of you who want to target snapper, try early morning starts and go to areas that have plenty of kelp beds and fish the edges of these areas whilst berleying and floating down lightly-weighted lines. You will find that as the morning progresses, bites will be harder to come by. Usually that is when we go out to the deeper water to target them. If you can’t seem to catch any fish on Pittwater or Broken Bay, give me a call on 0410 633 351 so we can book in a charter for you to target your chosen species. You will gain a lot more knowledge in a very short period of time. I hope this report sees you excited and grabbing your fishing gear to enjoy our wonderful part of the coastline. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters. com.au
