The value of good timing on the beaches

Alex Bellissimo

alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

As we move into autumn, basically everything is on tap, with all manner of species on offer. To maximise your chance of success, my advice is to pursue the seasonal species. I’ll discuss this in more detail below.

Rock Fishing

At some of the rock ledges I take my clients to, I can see luderick, rock blackfish and big blue/ brown groper cruising below. At the same time, I may be targeting kingfish and other pelagics. When targeting the pelagics you can take the option of fishing for these other species, but I recommend keeping your focus on kings, bonito, frigate and/ or mac tuna. These species are only going be here for a limited time, especially the tuna species, whereas the groper, luderick and rock blackfish can be caught year-round in Sydney. Generally, by mid-May the tuna species will thin out, and you will have the winter/spring period to focus luderick, rock blackfish and groper. That said, as a fishing guide that doesn’t apply to me because I have to go for the target species that my clients have booked. It’s still enjoyable and I’m happy to do it, but ideally, I want you guys to really get the most out of the warm water species when they’re in season.

The smaller pelagics can be targeted in several different ways. Definitely one of the most effective ways to catch them is using metal lures. If you’re fishing tiny metals from 10-20g with a strong wind you will find the casting distance can be reduced significantly. In this scenario it’s good to downsize your outfit to 6kg braid and 15lb leader with a med/fast action 10ft rod. This can help you get the smaller 20g lures out 50m+, and even the 10-15g metals can manage a reasonable distance.

Why use such small metals, if they’re a hassle to cast? Simple – it’s because the baitfish the predators are eating are as small or smaller than what you’re casting out. At times, if you cast out 40g+ metals you may miss out. It can get pretty frustrating when you see the fish zapping around the surface and refusing your offerings.

When fishing the lower ledges you can use as light as 4-6kg gear, and if you hook a sizeable fish you can wash it up. You can punch out 10-15g metal a decent distance on that gear.

However, when fishing the higher ledges you need a heavier line class because to the sabiki hooks. Berley up with bread and pilchard mush to concentrate the baitfish in your area.

One you have your live baits, you can get good results suspending them under a float, between 2-10m deep, depending on the water depth you’re fishing.

While fishing for pelagics at these deeper water rock spots, you can possibly distance cast for snapper or catch them in the whitewater washes. With the water temperature being pretty hot at this time you need to lift up your fish. That also means that you may need to up the size/weight of your metals. Casting out tiny metals on heavier line is not practical.

Kings and other good fish will be mixed in with the tuna as well, so having a heavier outfit on standby is always a good idea. I like to use a 7” Bait Junkie Jerkshad coupled with a Bait Junkie 6/0 to 7/0 size 1/4 to 3/4oz jighead.

Live yellowtail can be a great way to fish for kings off the ocean rocks. If you’re arriving early, at dawn or before sunup, you can catch your yellowtail, sea gars or, on occasion, slimy mackerel. Small pieces of prawn, small pieces of bonito strip, or an oily fish cut into 3-4cm thin strips will catch live baits. A sabiki rig works well, but if you’re not having any luck, try adding the small fish or prawn baits the year,you can also catch some tropical species. One type caught every year by some rock anglers is the samsonfish. Generally, the juvenile ones are caught in this part of the world. They’re normally between 3/4kg to 1.5kg, and they’re great fighting fish. Superb on the plate, too.

You can pick up a bycatch of snapper while fishing the wash zone. Occasionally they are caught distance casting. Snapper can also be caught on plastics. I have had good success fishing the Bait Junkie 5” Jerkshad in pilchard glo and camo UV, or 4” Grubs in demon blood and pilchard glow, matched with a 3/0 jighead ranging from 1/8oz to 3/4oz in rougher conditions. The way the snapper smash the plastics is bloody awesome! Spots to fish off the rocks for the above species include Bluefish Point and Little Bluey – the first square ledge both of these spots in the suburb of Manly. Then there is North Curl Curl from the swimming pool approx. early in the morning or late in the evening, the beach traffic reduces. You should also get more consistent results with your catches. The prime times fishing near the crowds, but I have my limits. When the nippers, SLSC comps or surfing comps are on I tend to give these areas a wide berth. It’s way too chaotic, with literally several hundred people around, and it’s just not practical.

It has long been said that you have to fish the right time of the day otherwise you will have poor results. This is not necessarily true. I have YouTube videos where I was fishing the beach for bream and whiting and did quite well fishing that period between 10am to 3pm. There’s also the chance of catching some salmon and flathead, and possibly manage a feed.

Of course, I’m not actually recommending that you fish in the middle of the day. I’m just saying that if you aren’t able to fish at dawn or dusk, you shouldn’t give up on fishing altogether. Just get out there and have a go, in the knowledge that you still have a reasonable chance of catching a feed, even if the sun is high in the sky.

90-100m north of North Whale ledge. The ledge can have restricted room to fish and is a popular spot. There is more room to fish there in flatter sea conditions.

Beach Fishing

Catches of beach whiting and bream have been variable. The tides and sea conditions have to be right for a better outcome. Beaches that are crowded, especially on a weekend, can be a bit difficult. If you fish to fish the beach are at dawn to a couple of hours after sunrise, or a couple of hours before sunset to the twilight period, or after dark.

If you want to fish gentleman’s hours and escape the crowds, it’s not as easy. You can look for a spot away from people, but in doing so you may miss out on the better gutters and beach structure, which can be close to areas with more human activity.

I usually don’t mind

Bream, whiting and big dart to 40cm are being caught using pipis. There is a limited population of these molluscs off the Sydney beaches. Remember if you’re harvesting pipis, they have be used on-site and not be taken off the beach that you have harvested them. This is in the DPI rules for NSW.

Beach worms are a terrific bait for these species. A good alternative is pink nippers, also known as yabbies, which can be pumped on the low tide sand flats in estuaries.

The larger tailor are starting this month, more so towards the latter part of March. It’s a great month for jewfish (mulloway) as well. The dusky whaler sharks are still in pretty large numbers; rigging up 30-40cm of tripe or 7-strand 50lb plastic-coated wire will reduce the loss of rigs from these toothy critters.

Manly is a good beach to start. If you want to fish Manly, preferably fish the night or early/late light periods, because this is the most crowded beach in this region. Curl Curl, Dee Why, mid Narrabeen, ‘Cooks Terrace’ at Mona Vale in front of the old Mona Vale hospital, and Newport beaches are worth fishing as well.

• For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www. bellissimocharters. com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616.