Pittwater

PITTWATER Narrabeen Bait & Tackle

In recent weeks we have seen some changes in the water temperature along the northern beaches. The result of this is more fish in close along our rock shores, beaches and our harbours and estuaries. Conditions haven’t been very favourable, but those anglers who have persisted have been rewarded with some excellent catches of quality fish, including good size snapper, kingfish, trevally flathead, and large size bream.

Some excellent size snapper up to 4kg have been taken from the Long Reef area, in around the 15-40m mark. The best baits are fresh local squid and large strips of mullet, with a heavy berley trail to keep the fish in the area. Most of the snapper have been caught at anchor, with some snapper also being caught on the drift in around 15-20m of water off Dee Why headland and Long Reef headland. Soft plastics in the 5-7” size range have been catching their share as well, such as Bite Science Mad Minnows and Atomic Plazos Jerk Minnows.

Some nice size flathead have been caught on the drift off Mona Vale Hospital, Palm Beach Surf Club and Collaroy Surf Club in the 40m mark. Most fish have been taken on the drift using fish strips, pilchards or squid baits.

Some good size yellowfin tuna up to 10kg have been taken at Broken Bay wide, and around the FADs.

Pittwater area has been producing some nice bags of sand flathead, also good size flounder on the drift between Barrenjoey Head and Mackerel Beach. Some solid bream have been taken on soft and hard vibes, particularly the Daiwa Steez vibes, which have been taking most fish of late. Once again, the spots to try are around Mackerel Beach, Portuguese Beach and Elvina Bay up on the shallows in 3-5m of water.

Alternately, you can try Browns Bay and McCarrs Creek Reserve for small to medium size kingfish early in the morning or on dusk. Anglers using small soft plastics in the minnow pattern, or bait fishing with squid strips, have been accounting for nearly all fish caught.

Most beaches have been providing good size bags of bream, tailor and salmon, with good results coming from Dee

Ewan landed this great snapper on a squid bait at this time last year. Marc Ternen with a tasty gemfish.

Why Beach, Collaroy and North Narrabeen in front of the lake’s entrance. Most fish have been caught on pilchards or fresh beach worms. Some of the bream have been well over a kilo in size; we have had some really good winter bream this year. The majority of the tailor and salmon have been caught in the afternoon or just on dark.

In recent weeks there have been several reports of jewfish from Palm Beach, Freshwater and Manly Beach, with the best one going 7kg. Again, most fish have been taken on fresh squid. The best time to target them is during the late afternoon or evening.

Moving our focus to Narrabeen Lakes, most of the water is starting to come alive now. With the water temperatures rising slowly, some nice flathead are being taken from the Ocean Street bridge, and also from the Narrabeen Street bridge area on the western side. Worms and fresh Hawkesbury prawns have been the pick of the baits. Some nice size bream are being taken from the Jameson Park area early in the morning on small soft plastics, especially curl tail grubs (e.g. 3” Bloodworm Nemesis, PowerBait Crawdad). For bait fishos, beach worms have accounted for the most fish.

At the time of writing, it has been too dangerous to fish off the rocks. There were a couple of guys who went to Avalon at the back at the pool and got some nice size drummer and some good blackfish, but there haven’t been many other reports. Fortunately, the wind typically drops off in October, which should provide much better conditions, especially from the beach and rocks. We can expect good rock fishing in the coming weeks, especially for bream and drummer, along with some good size trevally. They’re moving out of the estuary and along the rocks, and with the right conditions they should be biting well, taking peeled prawns (or you can use bread for the drummer). Remember, it’s very important to berley all the time – just throw in a handful every five minutes. A simple mixture of bread, sand and chicken pellets will do the job.

Whiting will start to appear on the beaches later in the month, and beach worms are a must if you want to catch a good feed of these tasty fish. If you start to fish a little bit lighter, you should get the results you are after. • 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 on and see them at 1469 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen or phone (02) 9970 6204.

• Centre console • Small front casting deck

The latest edition of the “RAP Report” (DPI’s Research Angler Program newsletter) has been released and focuses at all things mulloway. Ageing, growth rates, tagging and even some exceptional recaptures are all covered in the latest edition. You can also find out about great catches from the monthly winners, as well as some important program updates.

The RAP report is produced from information provided by everyday fishos like you. Your fishing successes help us to learn about fish growth and movements.

If you’re interested in learning more, including the location of your closest drop-off points, check out the DPI website and search ‘Research Angler Program’. Be sure to donate frames from your mulloway, snapper, kingfish, pearl perch, dusky and blue spotted flathead, Spanish and spotted mackerel catches to be in for a chance to win some great prizes including RAP merchandise or $50 gift vouchers.

Keen angler Rod Bursill (pictured) submitted this interesting catch!

This rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) was recently caught offshore of the Illawarra region south of Sydney NSW. Rod got quite the surprise when this rainbow runner ate a lure that was intended for a dolphinfish. Rainbow runner, like other carangids such as yellowtail kingfish, are attracted to inshore islands, reefs and offshore floating objects like FADs and fish trap floats.

Rainbow Runner are quite common in northern Australia and are often taken as by catch while targeting other species like kingfish, spanish mackerel and cobia. They are a highly pelagic fish that are easily identified by their two striking blue stripes that run the length of their body. The Australian Museum reports that rainbow runner have been recorded as far south as Montague Island, however, they are not a common catch south of Port Stephens, NSW.

We are always interested to hear about your catches! Let us know if you have encountered any weird or interesting fish lately and send us photos via the DPI Facebook page!

Thank you Rod for sharing.

Anglers are now once again able to take Australian Bass and Estuary Perch in rivers below impoundments and estuaries from Thursday, September 1, following the end of the annual spawning closure.

When fishing in these waters after this time, total bag limit of two (one or more species) per person and a total possession limit of four applies (one or more species), with only one fish over 35cm in length permitted.

The four-month zero bag limit protects schools of fish during spawning season in estuaries, with the opening marking the period after which most Australian Bass and Estuary Perch will have returned to feeding grounds higher in the catchment.

Fishing laws are designed to protect, conserve and improve our fisheries resources for future generations. Information on freshwater fishing rules can be found online on the DPI website.

Any suspected illegal fishing activity can be reported through the FishSmart app, the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536 or via the online report form on the DPI website.

Snapper are one of the most popular oceanic sport and table fish targeted by anglers in NSW. However, many fishos now choose to release larger reddies to give the breeding stock a helping hand.

Up until recently, it was assumed that Snapper weren’t a particularly good catch & release option as they can display symptoms of barotrauma when caught from water over 10m.

However, research by NSW DPI and other fisheries agencies around Australia has revealed that Snapper are very resilient to barotrauma impacts, provided they can get back to depth.

If you wish to give your released Snapper the best chances of survival, ensure you release the fish ASAP to minimise barotrauma effects. If the fish is displaying significant barotrauma symptoms (such as an inflated abdomen, distended intestines and even the stomach pushed outside the mouth) and is clearly unable to submerge by itself, a release weight should be used to re-pressurise the fish back to depth.

Check Youtube and search ‘maximising fish survival’ for how a release weight works.

Due to the inherent risk of further injury or infection, venting – ie, piercing the fish to release trapped gas - is not recommended as a normal response to barotrauma symptoms in fish.

Also, please note that slowing down the retrieval of fish to the surface has been found to not help with the severity of barotrauma.

It is important to understand that keeping fish in live wells after they have been caught from deep water can increase the effects of barotrauma. As detailed above, it is best to release the fish as quickly as possible after being caught, particularly from water over 10m deep, to maximise survival.

If you love fishing for reds, do your bit to help ensure that those fish you release have the best chance of survival - carry a release weight on your boat and get to know those catch and release tips!

This is all part of ‘Fish for life – Building a healthy fishing future’.