Range of pelagics in harbour

from Fishing Monthly Magazine | April 2023

GEN III

Steve Winser

This has got to be the strangest season we’ve seen for a long time. For a long period of time, the water was cold and we were beginning to think the warm water was never going to come. Now it’s super warm and the overall zeitgeist of the season has been turned on its head.

A multitude of tropical species have been turning up, including cobia, spangled emperor, Watsons leaping bonito and a host of other visitors, especially in the harbour. Strangely enough, the dolphinfish (mahimahi) have been poor to non-existent.

And to address the elephant in the room, the high numbers of sharks have been beyond annoying. The amount of fish we’ve lost to them is infuriating, not to mention the hot bites that have been shut down. This sort of thing is now happening every trip, and we’re often having to move around a lot and adjust our approach to beat the taxman.

The harbour has been fishing very well, with many different species to be had. That said, the aforementioned shark problem means you need to be quick on your feet.

This month you can enjoy some good fishing on surface species, including salmon, bonito, tailor and kings in the upper harbour reaches. You can catch them on metals in the 10g size, or on soft plastics in the 75mm to 100mm size range.

The kings are present at the moment, with some big fish among them. Unfortunately, again, the shark issue has made it a challenge; the razor gang with good-size snapper and morwong (the odd big jewfish can also show up). The standard rig is a 2-hook or 3-hook paternoster, and I like to use oily tuna baits such as bonito or striped tuna.

The Colours area is fishing well for solid kingfish. I’d be taking a heavy rod and fishing a good size bait there, as I’ve seen some brute kingfish come from that area. It doesn’t take them long to duck down into that reef. You may also encounter the odd big snapper or samsonfish as bycatch.

The Japanese midget sub wreck is producing kingfish, teraglin, good-size snapper and some beautiful jewfish. Try to get your drift line as close as you can to the structure without drifting directly over it. Baits of tuna and squid are effective here.

The Myola has been fishing well for trag, and the best times are at first light and at sunset into the night. These fish like a big tide and will often bite right though until the next tide change.

The lake has been closed for development around the Ocean Bridge area. Areas to target this month would be around the Middle Creek and tends to turn up right on cue after a couple of fish have been hooked. Again, your ticket to these better fish are fresh squid. The kelp beds have been fishing the best for squid, with jigs in the 2.5 size working best.

Deep Creek region, and the Pipe Clay Point area. Soft plastics are your best bet given you’ll be fishing a vast region in that back end of the lake, continually moving and casting. 3” plastics are the go (e.g. Berkley Shimma Prawns), in colours that resemble the local bait, e.g. smelt, motor oil and pumpkin seed.

I have seen some excellent bream taken around Middle Bridge and behind the Narrabeen Kayak Club. Most have been caught on small grubs and peeled prawns, and fishing light is key.

• 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 in and see them at 1469 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen or phone (02) 9970 6204.

If you want to know what the fishing will be like in the coming weeks, well… it’s pretty much anyone’s guess at this point! A lot will depend on the settling of the water temperatures/ conditions, so having an open game plan and being quick to adapt that plan will be the key to catching consistent bags.

Tight lines all.

• 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.