Sydney North

Interesting conditions

SYDNEY NTH Steve Winser

With the relentless La Niña weather pattern marching on right through summer and into autumn, still with no sign of abating, the traditional fishing seasons have been turned on their head.

Water temperatures in the harbour are up around 22-24°C, but the amount of discoloured water from the ever-present rain has made things interesting. The kingfish in the lower reaches have been consistent, but getting the squid to chase them with has proved more of a challenge, due to the amount of fresh water present.

Having said that, the fishing in general has been outstanding, with some surprising mixed catches due to the aforesaid La Niña conditions. You know it’s a new playing field when you’re catching warm water species like samsonfish and Watsons leaping bonito as well as cooler water species like tailor and trevally in the same session at the same spot.

On a recent trip we had young Yoatan out for his 8th birthday, and he had a great day. We got five different species in one spot just fishing pilchards and squid strips, and he did well on the light spin outfits. Yoatan caught his PB fish, a solid bonito, out-fishing his dad.

Next month is difficult to forecast with this current weather pattern, although if the water temperatures cool off a bit we should see the kingfish continue and start to push into the upper reaches. The bream and blackfish should push down to the front of the harbour in numbers, and the big bruiser black drummer and blue groper will make their presence felt in the washes. • 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.

From page 50 which are good for larger tailor. Upsize your gang hooks to suit your big pilchards, which may be in that 170-180mm length. Big salmon also don’t mind a big pilchard bait on a set of three 5/0 gangs. Sometimes tailor and salmon will eat a big baitfish that’s a third of their weight (while at other times they’ll eat tiny baitfish).

Often you’ll get pecks from smaller fish when you’re using your ganged pilchard. Some of the pecks are larger fish like the bream or trevally that are pestering you when fishing for tailor.

Gang hooks are not just used for whole pilchards and gars – they can be used for baiting up sizeable fish fillets or squid strips as well. Big greenbacks eat smaller tailor, so tailor is a great bait to use. Fillet the tailor, cut it again lengthways, and bait it on the gang hooks. A whole fillet of yellowtail works great too. In fact, most oily fish baits work well on tailor and salmon, and you are in for a real chance at catching a jewfish as well.

May is a great month for (methylated spirits) is 97% alcohol, making it a fantastic preservative for beach worms.

Some beaches fish better for whiting, some fish better for jewfish, and other beaches are all-rounders that yield jewfish, tailor and whiting. Newport, Bungan, North Narrabeen, Dee Why and Manly beaches are good places to try.

Finally, a question: has all the rain stopped you from fishing? It really shouldn’t. If you keep waiting for nice conditions, you’re be fishing less often, and will miss the opportunity to test

This nice king fell for a ganged XL sea gar. The author prefers to use it as a ‘spinnerbait’, similar to casting and retrieving a lure.

bream or trevally, but the gang hooks are generally too big to hook them. To address this, on the top swivel tie on a length of about 30cm of 20-30lb mono or fluorocarbon leader and a 2/0 Mustard 92554 or 92247 bait holder hook. Use a half pilchard or a narrow strip of fish bait like tailor, mullet or yellowtail to suit the size of the hook. Armed with this setup, you may catch whiting and bream. Many whiting anglers put their gear away at this time of year because they think it’s too late in the season for these fish, but I find the whiting numbers to be quite prolific in May. They’re generally good quality fish as well. The top baits are live beach worms and pink nippers, but if you can purchase methopreserved worms from your local tackle shop, they’re a great alternative. Metho your ability as an angler. As long as the conditions are safe, get out there! Rug up, be prepared, and if the sea conditions are too rough, go for a plan B estuary fish. • 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. Yoatan with his first bonito.

The kingfish are consistent in the lower reaches.

REMORA 490 • RATED TO 115HP

490

FIBREGLASS FISHING BOATS BUILT TOUGH ON THE NSW CENTRAL COAST