Sydney South

Good fishing continues

SYDNEY SOUTH Gary Brown

gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the past few months, the fishing in the southern areas of Sydney has been going off and I feel that this will continue into the next couple of months. My theory as to why this has been happening is that the weather has been fairly stable and the water temperature has been great inshore and offshore.

Sure, you may have to put in the hard yards to get the fish on the chew, but that’s what I like about fishing – the challenge to get the fish on the bite.

You don’t need to own a boat to get to the fish, as there are literally hundreds of land-based spots that you can easily get to. One of the best tools I use to find new fishing locations is Google Maps. All you need to do is think of a place you suspect will hold fish, and Google it.

To give you a bit of a start, I have listed four spots that you may like to try. I have thrown in suggested times, tides, baits, rigs and techniques. SPOT 1

There is a small break wall and a rocky point situated east of the Yarra Bay sailing club that is worth a shot for bream, flathead, whiting and squid. Salmon and tailor can also be caught from here. It’s a great place to fish in a northerly wind.

This would have to be one of my favourite squid spots at the top of the tide. Once the tide has gone halfway out, I change over to using soft plastics for flathead. Then, when the tide is just about all the way out, I will switch to using blades.

The best baits by far for the bream, flathead, flounder and whiting would be bloodworms and pink nippers. You could also use pilly tails, strips of mullet and tuna. Chicken breast also goes well here.

It’s also a great place to work the shoreline with soft plastics and blades, as there are very little snags. Cast out as far as possible and slowly work your lure back to the shoreline. Small 20-40g metals work well here for the tailor, too.

Early morning and late afternoon seems to produce the better catches. If it is overcast you can fish right through the day. Night-time fishing from the break wall can be brilliant at times, you just have to keep an eye out for the water rats, as they can steal your baits. SPOT 2

There is a stretch of sand at low tide on the downstream side of the Georges River Sailing Club that can be fished during the day and at night. It’s a great place to take the family for a fish. There is a small nipper ground adjacent to the sailing club.

If you are fishing at low tide, be sure to keep an eye on the water as it can rise around the back of you. Maybe take two rods and set one up in a PVC rod holder for whiting and bream, while you work those lures for the flathead and bream that can be caught here. The odd flounder can be caught here during the warmer months.

At low tide, you could try pumping a few pink nippers here. If not, I would try either blood or beach worms for whiting, bream and flathead. It’s also a great place to have a go with soft plastics and blades because you can cast out wide into deep water. Remember to work them back to where you are standing in small, slow hops. SPOT 3

Both the northern and southern side of the Tom Uglys bridge can produce fish during the day and night. The main thing I would worry about at night is the big bait- and fish-stealing rats that live here.

On the southern side, there is the old ferry ramp that is now a boat ramp that can be fished from, but you will need to take care as it can be extremely slippery. There is also a wharf that extends out towards the bridge pylon.

The best rig to use here would be the paternoster, as the bottom is very snaggy under the bridge and on the upstream side. A running ball sinker down onto the swivel and a long leader would be OK on the downstream side.

Pink nippers, blood worms, pilchards and strips of squid, mullet and tuna would be the go here. All these baits can be purchased from Mac’s Bait Bar on the northern side of the bridge.

You can fish here during both the run-in and run-out tides. You will just need to position yourself so that your lines don’t run across the boat ramp. SPOT 4

Every suburb needs a great family park, a place where you can take the kids for a day of fun in the sun. For residents of Bonnet Bay in Sydney’s south, Lakewood City Reserve is just such a place. This small reserve has a number of small sandy/muddy beaches from which you can cast out into deeper water.

This is one of those places where at high tide the water level will be up and in amongst the mangroves, while during the lower tide you will find that you have a small sandy beach to fish from. There are a number of spots dotted along this shoreline that you can fish from.

A rod length between 1.8-2.1m is ideal here. Try using a running ball sinker down onto the bait or the running ball sinker down onto the swivel with a long leader.

The best baits by far for the bream, flathead, flounder and whiting are blood worms and pink nippers. You could also use pilly tails, strips of mullet and tuna. Chicken breast also goes well here.

It’s a great place to work the shoreline with soft plastics and blades, as there are very little snags. Cast out as far as possible and slowly work your lures back to the shoreline.

At low tide, you will see a sand bank that is about 30m from the shore. Remember where this is at high tide and direct your casts towards this, as the water is fairly deep between you and the bank.

Try casting blades and soft plastics (I like Switchblades and ZMans) to the shallow areas out in the river and then slow hop them back to the shore. This can be done in an umbrella fashion so that you can cover a wider area.

For those of you fishing out of a boat in Botany Bay, you may have come across some patches of cold dirty water. If you are not getting any bites, I suggest moving to find some cleaner and warmer water.

The usual places like Trevally Alley, the drums, the oil wharf, Towra wide and the end of the third runway will be producing trevally, dusky fathead, whiting, bream and a few crabs. If you don’t know the areas too well, I would suggest that you drift until you have caught a fish and then mark it on your sounder so you can come back time and time again.

If you don’t have a sounder, you could always drop a heavy weight over the side with a milk container tied to it. This will then mark where you got the fish and you can come back to it.

The beaches off Maroubra, Coogee, Wanda, Boat Harbour, Cronulla, Garie and Stanwell Park have been producing bream, whiting and dart during the day and at night. Beach and tube worms would be my first choice, then live nippers, followed by half pilchards.

In conjunction with Australian Fishing Network, I have put together my sixth book. It has 60 land-based fishing spots in the southern Sydney area. AFN are putting the final touches so that it can be published. Keep an eye out for it in your local tackle shop.

Port Hacking has been producing some quality bream. Both lures and baits have been working, so pick what you like to use and give it a go.

There have been plenty of kingfish about in both Botany Bay and Port Hacking of late. Try trolling, casting, jigging, live and dead baiting for them.

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