NSW
Encouraging signs for the season ahead SWANSEA
Jason Nunn
Lately we have started to see some better-quality water out wide, with a bit more bait and more life in it. It’s a sign that we may be in for a good start to the spring game season, which would be very welcome, following on from the deplorable season last year. Of course, we can’t be sure, but the way it’s stacking up, it’s definitely encouraging. We could do with some encouragement! In recent weeks we’ve been seeing small yellowfin around 25-30kg being caught off the shelf out around the 500-fathom line. At the time of writing this report, the current is a tad wider than that, but over the next few weeks the big upwelling that’s currently to the north will hopefully start to push down and will find itself well placed off Swansea. I have also had a couple of reports of striped marlin being spotted tailing, and one of the guys recently lost one on the shelf. In the deeper reefs such as The Farm and down towards Texas, there have still been some good kingfish and some really nice snapper and longfin perch getting caught in that deeper water, when the weather has permitted. Unfortunately, we have seen a little bit of barracouta trouble lately. These unwelcome southern visitors have been a bit problematic down on that deeper water, and sometimes even on some of the inshore reefs. In some areas they are thick, while in other areas they’re not too bad. If you run into them, you’ll need to move at least 500m from that location to try to shake them. Interestingly, we have had a few northern visitors come down as well over the past month or so. A big pearl perch was caught by a lucky angler, and someone even speared a coral trout off Sydney! Last year, when the water was particularly hot, there were reports of spotted and Spanish mackerel. It goes to show that you just never know what might turn up. On our inshore reefs we have had a really good run of small snapper, which has been very well received. There have been fish caught up to around 60cm, with most fish being around that 1.5-2kg mark. I suspect the reason the inshore snapper fishing has been so good is that there’s no real commercial trapping on the inshore reefs anymore. It’s because the commercial
A feisty salmon caught around this time last year. value of snapper has declined due to the market being flooded with NZ snapper and the like. It’s a good example of what can happen to fish stocks when commercial pressure eases. While on the subject of snapper stocks, it’s possible that a slot limit would benefit them as well. A lot of the bigger fish are caught on the inshore reefs, often on soft plastics in just 15-20m of water, and these fish are likely to release well. There is a lot of fishing pressure on snapper in NSW and Victoria, and we can’t risk having the fishery collapse like it did in South Australia. In SA, the 2019 collapse of snapper stocks was sudden and unexpected, and the result was a 3-year ban. If we are sensible with bag limits and other regulations to preserve the good fishery that we have, we can avoid that fate. The inshore snapper fishing should continue into October as the water warms up. There are also plenty of trevally and quite a lot of blue-spot flathead, which are a typical catch at this time of year. Bluespot flathead are a beautiful, great-eating fish, and you can catch them in around 30-40m of water on the drift. They can certainly range in size –sometimes you’ll can catch lots of undersize ones, while on other trips you’ll be pulling in nice 50cm fish. The fishing from the beaches and rocks has been just a little bit patchy. We’ve
had a cracking salmon run, but that is tapering off now, as you would expect. There have been a few snapper being caught off the rocks around this way, but this month the focus will be on drummer and luderick. Both species seem to like the change in season. Black drummer (aka rock blackfish) hit like a steam train and they’re very good eating, particularly the smaller ones, i.e. fish around that 1-2kg mark. A lot of people assume that black drummer taste like luderick, but they actually have a completely different flavour. If you want to catch a drummer, all you need is a small ball sinker straight to the hook on 15-30lb (7-15kg) line, depending on how big the fish are. You will lose a few, but you’ll catch more than you would with heavier line. While chasing drummer you’ll want to use berley to keep them in the area, whether it be bread or laying pellets. I prefer to fish on the rising tide because the drummer tend to go up onto those shallower ledges that are exposed on low tide. The preferred baits are peeled prawns and cunje, or even just bread. Peeled prawns are probably the number one bait because they are durable, and it’s best to use Australian prawns because we don’t want more whitespot outbreaks. You can also use crabs, which can attract a
bycatch of groper. Finally, when you’re fishing off the rocks, remember to wear a lifejacket and ideally fish with someone else. Moving to the estuaries, we’re seeing tailor build in fairly good numbers, and they should start to move out of the estuary as we head into October. We should see a splash of them along the beaches as they move away. We should see an increase in mulloway in the lake itself in the coming weeks. We are also starting to see flathead, which have been in the deeper bays,
now start to spread out. Those fish are moving into warmer, shallower water in the 2-5m depth range, after spending most of winter in deeper water around the 9m mark. We will also see more baitfish for them in the shallows, and a few more whiting there as well. That should gain momentum this month and beyond. Prawns will also start to resurface in the warmer, shallow waters. A few blue swimmer crabs have been getting caught in recent weeks. We saw great catches last year in late spring and early summer, and the way it’s stacking up at the moment it’s looking like we’ll get another good NovemberDecember for blue swimmers. Naturally, that will depend on whether we get rid of that rain and get more sunshine. Whiting will start to build in numbers in estuaries in the coming weeks, and the best bait to use for them is live tube worms. We usually fish with a running ball sinker from 1-3 size, onto a swivel (use black instead of brass to reduce glint), a size 8 swivel, 3kg mainline, and fluorocarbon leader from 2-3kg. It must be fluorocarbon, not mono leader. Hook size is generally no. 8 to no. 6. No. 6 is preferred because gape is bigger. The best reel for this, in my opinion, is the Baitrunner. It’s perfectly suited to fishing for whiting in the estuaries. The estuary whiting bite differently from the beach whiting. The beach whiting will bite like bream (i.e. abruptly) whereas the estuary whiting are very timid and will tend to play with the bait a bit longer, often picking it up and dropping it. These
wary fish can get spooked by someone who is fishing in gear, which is why the Baitrunner is so useful. The EPA has released its findings regarding the fish kill in the southern end of Lake Macquarie. Hundreds of fish died, including flathead, bream, mullet, trevally and tailor, plus a couple of 60-70kg eagle rays. Many people suspected that the power station was the culprit, but the EPA said it couldn’t find any supporting evidence of that. Their conclusion was that the fish kill was probably caused by a combination of rain, temperature changes and wind shift rolling the water over, exposing deoxygenated water. Many anglers remain unconvinced of the EPA’s verdict, because these conditions have occurred before without resulting in a fish kill. In any case, hopefully it won’t happen again anytime soon. Next issue I should have more information on tailor, bream, whiting and the prawn run, and also flathead in shallower water. • 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 secondhand boats. The friendly staff are all experienced local anglers, 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.fishermans warehouse.com.au.
Kane Fairchild holds up a beautifully marked cod.
OCTOBER 2022
69
