Central Coast

CENTRAL COAST

Jamie

Robley Hopefully by the time you’re reading this we are starting to enjoy some more freedom, after months of lockdown imposed upon us. Luckily, many of us in our coastal region have avoided the worst of it, and a large percentage of local anglers live quite close to the water, so fishing has remained within travelling limits.

Last year I relocated to a different suburb and now live in a spot surrounded by water, some of which is incredibly close to my front door. So obviously this makes things easier. Although I do feel sorry for a few mates in Sydney who’ve not been able to get out of their local government area for months on end and I know how keen they are. There’s no real bright side, although I’ll say that if anything, this has mainly occurred during our slower fishing months.

Looking ahead now, things are definitely opening up as far as fishing options go. The lakes have been gradually warming since late August and fish like bream, flathead and whiting are much more active now. Typically though, weather at this time of year can be a bit unpredictable and

The channel running straight past the town at Woy Woy is an excellent place to look for flathead this month. A few bream and whiting can also be expected here. changes quickly. So as I often say, keep an eye on weather forecasts to plan your fishing to coincide with potentially productive slots in the weather. Don’t forget to factor in the moon when planning ahead, as generally the darker moon phase and the week leading up to the full moon is better than the first week after a full moon. The worst period is often the few nights when the moonlight is strongest, and particularly the first few mornings just after a bright full moon. Keep that in mind and I can assure you, failed trips will become less common!

As mentioned last month, flathead kick into gear in September and October and this is very much what I’ve encountered in recent weeks. Like many of us, I really enjoy tucking into a feed of flathead and I’ve been finding a few in the lower reaches of the local feeder creeks and the southern end of Lake Macquarie. But I can highly recommend hitting Woy Woy and The Entrance for those living in the southern or middle sections of the Central Coast. Both places are pretty easy to fish, although weed drifting along with the tides

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stragglers, but not the vast numbers that you get in the cooler months.

Most of our attention this month will be focussed on the estuary, because the lake has a fairly consistent water temperature, as it’s protected from the brunt of the cold currents along the coast. In the beginning of the month we could see the first of the prawn run. Admittedly in previous years the October run hasn’t been great, but this year we did have a warmish finish to winter, and we’re already seeing quite a few juvenile greasy back prawns. That may indicate we’ll get an October run (7-10 days after full moon), although the better run will be in November.

Bream and whiting numbers increase in conjunction with prawn run. When the whiting build in numbers, live prawns and tube worms will be very effective, and you can expect a by-catch of bream. Through October and November, we get a spawning run of bream, with travelling fish move back in. We can expect a lot of school size fish between 23-26cm, which will be on the sand flats where the whiting are, particularly when the prawn run is on. Over time the fish have learned they can get a feed there while they spawn. A few bream will be in and around Belmont Bay and Swansea Flats, but the channel will be better during the prawn run.

Swansea Bridge always good as well, and most anglers use bait here, because the current runs so quickly. It’s best to time your trip around the tide change.

Salts Bay is better for targeting bream on lures. You can get good results on 2-3” soft plastics rigged on 1/12oz or 1/8oz jigheads and nice light line, around 3kg fluoro and 3-4kg braid.

While you’re targeting bream on lures, the flathead won’t be too far away. A lot of guys will start targeting the flatties in these shallower areas, as they are moving out of the deeper water where they’ve been holding up during the cooler months.

Anglers are still catching plenty of luderick but in the coming weeks these fish will thin out. A fair few schools that were in the estuary will move out and be caught from the rock platforms along the ocean.

Depending on current, we’ll see the whiting and bream numbers along our coastal beaches increase in October. The mulloway guys fishing the build-ups to the full moon should also be rewarded. Along the beaches we’ve seen some really nice holes and little gutters forming, which bodes well for the fishing in the coming weeks and months. The condition of the beaches should further improve as summer sets in, as the prevailing northeasterlies will form the beaches up a bit better.

In October we traditionally see an increase in blue swimmer crabs – just remember that you can only use witches hats or drop dillies in the lake. Closed round or rectangular mud crab pots are illegal.

We are starting to see some squid already. They are patchy though; some guys have been going out there catching 12-14 in a quick session while others are struggling. Regardless of the brand, small jigs (1.8-2.5) are the most effective jigs in the lake. Natural colours (blues or greens) are always productive during prawn run, but it’s still good to have something with a bit of colour, such as orange or pink, in case that’s what the squid want on the day.

A few kingfish have been getting caught in the lake in recent weeks, generally by page to keep abreast of the latest restrictions, see our fishing reports, product news and competitions. You can also visit our store to buy bait, you’ll just need to collect your order at the door rather than going inside. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and accessories. They also sell and service outboard motors, and have a competitively-priced selection of new and second-hand boats. The friendly staff are all experienced local anglers,

A monster Swansea Channel tailor.

anglers targeting jew with live squid or live yellowtail. Some of the kings have been over a metre long, which is a great size for the lake.

Hopefully some restrictions will have eased before the next issue of Fishing Monthly, and I’ll have more to report. In the meantime, you can check out our Facebook and they’re always happy to share their knowledge, whether you’re a novice or experienced angler. Drop in for a chat at 804 Pacific Highway, Marks Point, or give them a call on (02) 4945 2152. You can also find them on Facebook, or check out their website at www. fishermanswarehouse.com.au. October is normally a prime time for flathead. This Tuggerah Lakes flatty was kept for the dinner table.

can be a bit annoying at times.

Aside from that, there are plenty of spots for shore-based anglers around Woy Woy and The Entrance. When fishing close to major towns like these though, keep any COVID-19 restrictions in mind, if they are still imposed.

Beach fishing starts to years off our local rocks at this time of year.

Unfortunately though, October can also still have some persistent westerly winds which flatten out the sea and generally make rock fishing more challenging. This is particularly so when winds turn more northwest, which

Although salmon are the main species likely to be encountered at the beach now, you can still catch other species like bream and tailor.

pick up a bit more now. While salmon are very much still the main player along our beaches, I’ve been finding a mixed lot of species in recent weeks. One night I picked up a couple of solid tailor, with no salmon at all and another afternoon I found heaps of bream up past Budgewoi, with no salmon either. So although I keep mentioning salmon as being common at this time of year, it certainly doesn’t mean that’s the only thing you’ll catch.

The rocks tell a similar story, with a number of different species quite possible this month. Chances are if you cast out a whole pilchard you will end up finding a salmon. There’s also every chance a decent tailor, bream or silver trevally will pick it up too. While October isn’t regarded as a good month for bream off the rocks, I’ve certainly caught plenty of good bream over the they often do during October. Like a bright full moon, a northwesterly wind is another thing fish don’t like.

Offshore fishing can still be quite patchy this month and it suffers similar problems to rock fishing, with westerly winds. As well as the seas becoming flat, the water also clears up more. When this happens, the two best strategies are to go out wider and fish deeper or, if you’re in a smaller vessel close to shore, try casting lightly weighted baits close in around any washy spots near shallow reef, bommies or headlands.

It’s very important to remain vigilant and sometimes keep the motor running when fishing very close to shallow reef or headlands, but it can provide some action if there’s some whitewash to cast towards, as this is where species like bream, trevally or tailor like to feed.