Sydney flathead are still taking bait and lures

SYDNEY SOUTH Gary Brown

gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the past couple of months there have been heaps of bonito in Botany Bay, the Port Hacking and off the rocks from up north at Palm Beach and right down to past Wollongong.

These fish have been caught while trolling, casting and trolling lures. Even though they started showing up a couple of months ago, they should be still around, just maybe not in as many numbers. I have been catching a few, taking a couple of fillets off them and salting them down for bait. Just about everything that swims in the saltwater loves a feed of bonito.

If you are fishing from the shore in Botany Bay you could try Browns Rock, Bare Island, the beach in Yarra Bay, the break wall at Foreshore Drive ramp, the entrance to the Cooks River, anywhere along the beach from Brighton to Dolls Point and both the Captain Cook and Tom Uglys Bridges.

On the southern side of the bay, you could try Silver Beach and Sutherland Point for flathead, bream, trevally and whiting.

Those of you with boats could try Trevally Alley, the end of the third runway, The Drums, The

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Stick and the oil wharf. Just remember if you are fishing while at anchor it is much better if you have a berley trail going.

Further upstream in the Georges River, the flathead, bream and whiting have been on the chew. Places to try are the Moons, Lugarno, Picnic Point, the Milperra Point and Chipping Norton Lakes.

The Woronora River may be the smaller river compared to the Georges, but it will still produce plenty of bream, flathead, whiting, mullet and the odd mulloway or two. Due to most of the river not being that wide, I would tend to stick to the sides while anchored up and bait fishing. If you prefer to lure fish, just work the sides where there are pontoons, wharfs, jetties and rock walls. Further upstream you could try lure fishing for bass and estuary perch.

The beaches in Bate Bay have been producing good catches of bream and whiting. The best baits by far have been either beach or tube worms for the whiting, and half pilchards for the bream. Those anglers who have been using whole pilchards on a set of ganged hooks have been getting amongst a few tailor and Australian salmon.

A mate of mine has been targeting mulloway at night with freshly caught squid, but has been mainly getting into a variety of sharks with only the odd small mulloway.

Squid of late have been hard to come by. If you are struggling you could always try buying some from Max Bait Bar at Blakehurst. The only problem is, it’s around $60 a kilo.

Further south at Stanwell Park Beach there have been a few salmon and tailor caught either very early in the morning or just before sunset.

Once again, those anglers using beach worms have been getting into a few whiting and bream.

As I stated in the March issue of Fishing Monthly ,

I will discuss a different fact each issue that will hopefully help you to get amongst a few more fish. It may be something as simple as a suggested hook to use, how to put a bait on, what type of technique I use or what rig that I use. Here is my fact for this month.

Fact

How many times have you had a bream, drummer, snapper or groper take your bait and before you know it the fish has wedged itself under or between a couple of rocks, and you can feel that it is still attached?

Sometimes violently jerking on the rod (not too hard or you’ll break the rod) will cause the fish to swim back out. However, if this doesn’t work, you should just let the line go slack and leave it for a while. Many’s the time I have done this and had the fish swim out from where it was. Once you sense this, you should lower your rod tip while winding in the slack line. When you feel the pressure of the fish you should take hold, and step back a couple of steps while winding in some line at the same time. Before you know it, the fish will be flapping at your feet. That’s it for this month. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

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GRAND FINAL: 15th October

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Fishcraft Snoop Pop 80 1

The big brother of the Snoop Pop clan is aimed squarely at bigger fish including barramundi, yellowtail kingfish, dusky flathead, mangrove jack, tailor, saratoga and Australian salmon, just to name a few.

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Daiwa Tanacom 800 2

2022 delivered a reworking of the Tanacom electric reel platform with the release of the Tanacom 1200, and new for 2023 is the smaller Tanacom 800.

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Bone Focus Colours 3

The Australian Bone Focus colours have arrived, and all have been designed to appeal to Aussie species.

There are six new colours that will feature in the ongoing colour range: CP (carp), FE (femur), FAB (fat Betty), PL (pearl), SK (skeleton) and MC (Murray cod).

The Focus has a well-earned reputation as a producer of great glide-bait fishing, winning biggest fish of the day honours at the Lake Mulwala Cod Nationals, catching Andrew Hart from HLS his first metre-plus cod, dominating flathead catches over the flats and finding their way into plenty of barra mouths int eh impoundments and rivers.

It’s the 130mm size that makes the Bone Focus such a well-accepted lure. This size allows anglers to use lighter tackle that is easier to cast for longer periods. The really big swim and glide baits on the market require specific tackle, whereas the Focus can be used on tackle most of us already own and that’s a massive plus.

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Lime Kershaw Shuffle 5

The Shuffle is one of Kershaw’s most popular models, and how there’s one that won’t get lost in the bush or the back of your ute. The new lime green version really stands out, bright lime green handles make this Shuffle stand out. Other colours are purple, teal and black.

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Shimano Curado Dc 200

The Curado DC 200 is an expansion to the Curado family of low-profile reels. The Curado DC 200 provides anglers up to 40% more line capacity for added versatility and performance using a wide range of baits and techniques, especially those looking to leverage heavier line, larger lures or maximize casting performance.

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