3 minute read

Bread and butter on the chew

from Fishing Monthly Magazine | May 2023

by Fishing Monthly

from Fishing Monthly Magazine | May 2023, page 118

Article from: Fishing Monthly Magazine | May 2023

GEN III

SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Even though the weather has started to cool down, the fishing in the southern areas of Sydney will still be firing. Whether you are fishing off the beach or rocks, out of a boat or off the shore in the estuaries, you will still be in with a great chance of getting a few fish.

On some days it will be increased in numbers off the rocks, as well as luderick off the rocks and in the estuaries. ones that are about 3cm in width and 5cm long will do the job. To check out how I rig my floats for luderick and drummer fishing, hop on YouTube and search for ‘Gary float fishing’.

In the estuaries I prefer to use a 4kg mainline and a leader of between one to 3kg breaking strain. When fishing from a boat I find that a rod length between 2.4-3m will do the job fine, but if I am targeting luderick from the shore in the estuaries I prefer to have a rod length between 3-3.6m in length. When I am fishing off the ocean rocks for luderick, my rod length is no shorter than 3.6m.

Of late Yarra Bay has been producing bream, trevally, snapper, flathead and tailor along the break wall, Bare Island and the Fisheries marks. The best way I have found to fish these areas is to anchor up, berley and fish as light as possible. Peeled prawns, live nippers, strips of working these areas, so try drifting for squid, flathead, bream and trevally.

While you are out there I would keep an eye out for the schools of luderick as they will be working the weed beds, edges of the drop-offs and rocky shoreline looking for a feed.

It would also be worth trolling a few deep diving lures around the area of Lilly Pilly for tailor, salmon and the odd kingfish.

I did have a couple of reports (no photos) of bream, dart, tailor and the odd mulloway being caught off the beach at Stanwell Park in the later part of the day on a rising tide.

FACT 3

Here is the third fact in my series of fishing tips (the first two facts can be found in previous issues of Fishing Monthly).

When fishing for whiting you will need to get the timing exactly right, otherwise you will find yourself going home with an empty bag. As the tide starts to rise, whiting tend to hang around the edges of the sandbars waiting for the water to flood up on top.

Once the tide has flooded deep enough on the sandbank that the whiting feel safe, nice feed of bream and flounder caught by Glenn just a matter of putting in those few extra yards into thinking of where and what to target. For example, drummer and luderick can be caught throughout the year, but right now is one of the better times to target them. Drummer numbers will have

The floats that I use in the estuaries for luderick are a much slimmer style, while the floats that I use off the rocks have a much fatter body and are much longer. When I am targeting drummer off the rocks and I have to use a bobby cork, I find that the bonito, tuna and squid have been the best baits by far.

For those fishing from the shore, you could try Bare Island, the rock break wall in the back of Yarra Bay and the small beach located up the back. Bream, trevally, whiting and flathead are worth a shot.

Tailor, salmon, bonito and the odd kingfish will still be schooling up in the bay.

The break wall at the entrance to the Cooks River is worth a shot for luderick, bream, flounder, flathead and trevally. The run-out tide seems to be producing more fish. Also try casting out a few whole pilchards on ganged hooks or metal lures for salmon and tailor.

Flathead and flounder can be caught while drifting wide off Silver Beach at Kurnell, The Patches and between the Captain Cook and Tom Uglys bridges. Half pilchards, prawns and squid are getting the most bites.

Further upstream, both sides of the old ferry at Lugarno have been fishing well from the shore for bream and flathead. I have had a couple of reports of anglers getting busted up by some big salmon.

Have you ever tried flicking a live nipper at the edge of a boat or pontoon? Try it the next time you are out and you may be surprized as to what eats it.

The Port Hacking has had the sand dredge working the main channels making it easy for boats to get around. It most probably has finished they will scour the flats in search of any pink nippers, worms and small crabs that are on offer.

This young angler caught a couple of flounder while drifting the patches in Botany Bay while using a running sinker onto the swivel, a long leader and prawns for bait.