Sydney North

Beating the lockdown blues

SYDNEY NTH Steve Winser

With water temps still low in the Harbour, it’s been a mixed bag lately. The lockdowns and the diabolical run of weather have been playing havoc with our guiding business, but we have been managing to get out occasionally.

Winter time species such as bream and blackfish have been continuing to go well in the shallow water. Our best bream recently was 44cm, with good numbers of fish in the high 30s. These fish have been in very shallow water often less than a metre. We like to fish for them in a bread berley trail with baits suspended under a small bobby cork.

Kingfish catches have been very sporadic as these lower temps slow their metabolism. Lately they have been feeding on one day out of four. Some good fish around the metre mark are out there to be had, but be prepared for plenty of slow sessions as well. As usual, fresh squid is the key. The squid have been going well over both the ribbon weed and the kelp.

One good session we had was with Peter and Tracey doing a Harbour half-day trip for Pete’s birthday. Usually with half-day trips, the limited hours also limit the variety of species we will target, but this trip managed to vary it up a bit. After a good session on the bream and blackfish in the shallows, I had a little bait from a wash trip in the esky and with conditions good, we went out the front to an area I usually can’t access as it requires a very low swell. Our target species was bluebone.

They were a bit tricky on the bite to start, with soon Pete got his eye in and after a couple of intense battles, he wound up with a matching pair of big blues around the 10kg mark. Even on the 24kg king gear, these things go like freight trains, so for a first effort he did remarkably well! Pete with one of two big bluebone he caught on a half-day guided trip.

These bigger blues are the breeders, so after a couple of happy snaps, they went back to swim away. Nice

What better way to spend your birthday than catching blues. work, Peter!

This month should see a continuation of the great run of the cold water species – bream, blackfish, drummer and groper. In regards to kingfish, unless we see a new batch of fish enter the harbour, I suspect the fishing will remain similar to last month. • Fishing Sydney Tours takes pride in tailoring every trip to the customer’s preferred species, style of angling, and level of expertise, all within a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at competitive rates. There are some excellent fishing spots that can be accessed straight off Sydney, and we will show you where. We offer harbour, wash and offshore fishing for species ranging from kingfish and mulloway through to snapper and mahimahi. For more info go to www.fishingsydneytours. com.au, call 0481 120 600 or look up ‘Fishing Sydney Tours’ on Facebook.

From page 60 from day to day and from beach to beach. You may notice when you’re on one beach that the water on your toes is quite cool, then when you go to another beach that chill is not as obvious; it may be slightly warmer. Some bay-type beaches facing more to the eastnortheast may not get the ocean currents from a specific direction, therefore the water temperature is colder on one beach and warmer on another – something to take note of at this time of the year.

Anglers often ask this question: when does the jewfish season start? They start this month and will continue through until late June next year, or even later. However, I have caught jewfish on every month of the year.

With the abundance of food ever increasing on the beach and the slow climb in water temp, the metabolism of the warmer water species is increasing. They will digest food quicker and will want to feed more frequently. Small tarwhine or whiting are good bait (obviously only use legal size fish for bait), along with big beach worms, live yellowtail, mullet and any of these fish filleted or butterflied. And of course, a fresh squid whole or in strips is always welcomed amongst your bait arsenal.

When targeting mulloway, most anglers prefer the PM period, starting an hour or two before dark. However, if you’re really keen, starting at 3am or even earlier allows you to have a go at a jewfish and there will probably be very few anglers on the beach. Then around dawn or a little after you can start fishing for whiting and bream. You may want to catch some bait or fishing for whiting and bream beforehand and then targeting jewfish on dusk and into the dark period.

Literally all of the surf beaches produce fish throughout Sydney, but some fish better than others. In my area, you can fish Palm Beach, Newport, North Narrabeen to Collaroy and Dee Why beaches for any of the above species.

If by some chance the people of NSW are able to fish this month, I think you will cherish the moments with gratitude, peace of mind, and a sense of calm and relief.

In the meantime, keep researching on YouTube (my channel is youtube. com/c/AlexBellissimo), read this great magazine and stay enthusiastic! • For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www. bellissimocharters. com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616. Shockwave Seat Suspension S5 This suspension module allows boaters to be better protected from the shock of wave impact. The S5 fits on virtually any boat and seat, allowing boaters of any size or design to benefit from suspension seating on the water.

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