Sydney
NSW
Fish responding to warmer water temps PITTWATER
Narrabeen Bait & Tackle
In recent weeks we have seen some changes in the water temperature along the northern beaches. The result of this is more fish in close along our rock shores, beaches and our harbours and estuaries. Conditions haven’t been very favourable, but those anglers who have persisted have been rewarded with some excellent catches of quality fish, including good size snapper, kingfish, trevally flathead, and large size bream. Some excellent size snapper up to 4kg have been taken from the Long Reef area, in around the 15-40m mark. The best baits are fresh local squid and large strips of
mullet, with a heavy berley trail to keep the fish in the area. Most of the snapper have been caught at anchor, with some snapper also being caught on the drift in around 15-20m of water off Dee Why headland and Long Reef headland. Soft plastics in the 5-7” size range have been catching their share as well, such as Bite Science Mad Minnows and Atomic Plazos Jerk Minnows. Some nice size flathead have been caught on the drift off Mona Vale Hospital, Palm Beach Surf Club and Collaroy Surf Club in the 40m mark. Most fish have been taken on the drift using fish strips, pilchards or squid baits. Some good size yellowfin tuna up to 10kg have been taken at Broken Bay wide, and around the FADs. Pittwater area has been producing some nice bags of
sand flathead, also good size flounder on the drift between Barrenjoey Head and Mackerel Beach. Some solid bream have been taken on soft and hard vibes, particularly the Daiwa Steez vibes, which have been taking most fish of late. Once again, the spots to try are around Mackerel Beach, Portuguese Beach and Elvina Bay up on the shallows in 3-5m of water. Alternately, you can try Browns Bay and McCarrs Creek Reserve for small to medium size kingfish early in the morning or on dusk. Anglers using small soft plastics in the minnow pattern, or bait fishing with squid strips, have been accounting for nearly all fish caught. Most beaches have been providing good size bags of bream, tailor and salmon, with good results coming from Dee
t
Boa Featured
Ewan landed this great snapper on a squid bait at this time last year.
Marc Ternen with a tasty gemfish. Why Beach, Collaroy and North Narrabeen in front of the lake’s entrance. Most fish have been caught on pilchards or fresh beach worms. Some of the bream have been well over a kilo in size; we have had some really good winter bream this year. The majority of the tailor and salmon have been caught in the afternoon or just on dark. In recent weeks there have been several reports of jewfish from Palm Beach, Freshwater and Manly Beach, with the best one going 7kg. Again, most fish have been taken on fresh squid. The best time to target them is during the late afternoon or evening. Moving our focus to Narrabeen Lakes, most of the water is starting to come alive now. With the water temperatures rising slowly, some nice flathead are being taken from the Ocean Street bridge, and also from the Narrabeen Street bridge area on the western side. Worms and fresh Hawkesbury prawns have been the pick of the baits. Some nice size bream
are being taken from the Jameson Park area early in the morning on small soft plastics, especially curl tail grubs (e.g. 3” Bloodworm Nemesis, PowerBait Crawdad). For bait fishos, beach worms have accounted for the most fish. At the time of writing, it has been too dangerous to fish off the rocks. There were a couple of guys who went to Avalon at the back at the pool and got some nice size drummer and some good blackfish, but there haven’t been many other reports. Fortunately, the wind typically drops off in October, which should provide much better conditions, especially from the beach and rocks. We can expect good rock fishing in the coming weeks, especially for bream and drummer, along with some good size trevally. They’re moving out of the estuary and along the rocks, and with the right conditions they should be biting well, taking peeled prawns (or you can use bread for the drummer). Remember, it’s very important to berley all the time – just throw in a handful
every five minutes. A simple mixture of bread, sand and chicken pellets will do the job. Whiting will start to appear on the beaches later in the month, and beach worms are a must if you want to catch a good feed of these tasty fish. If you start to fish a little bit lighter, you should get the results you are after. • If you need fishing gear, quality bait or a chat about what’s biting, head to Narrabeen Bait and Tackle. Owner Mark, his son Marc and long-time staff member Chris have been local fishermen for 30 years – so there’s not much they don’t know about Pittwater or Northern Beaches fishing, and they are happy to answer any questions you may have. The store stocks an extensive range of tackle, and their live and fresh bait range is renowned as one of the best in Sydney. It is sourced locally and includes live beach worms and nippers. Drop on and see them at 1469 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen boats or phone (02) 9970 bassco 6204.
Built tough for serious anglers • Side console • 5 metres • Large front casting deck • Removable 2nd console • Huge storage lockers • Livewell • Space space space • Fully Customisable
• Casting Deck front and rear • Built-in Livewell • Twin console
bassco boats
ALSO AVAILABLE: bassco boats • Centre console • Small front casting deck
For full pricing & specifications – Contact Michael Boag
0417 545 593 www.basscoboats.com.au or visit:
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OCTOBER 2022
• Centre console • Large front casting deck • Large centre rod locker
LOGO DESIGN
