NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater

PITTWATER Peter Le Blang

plfishfingers@bigpond.com

What a month it has been! We have just about had more water fall from the sky than what is in Pittwater. I am joking of course, but when you have unbelievable amounts of rain for an extended period it does seem that way.

With all the extra fresh water that has been running into Pittwater, our normally clean, clear, blue water is a chocolate brown instead. It just means you will have to approach fishing a little bit differently to get the rewards.

For most of my life I have been told to get the freshest bait possible to maximise catch rates. Now, however, there is a different avenue to take, and that is to introduce smells when fishing dirty water as well as bright colours or noises when using lures.

When we fish Pittwater in the deeper water, that murky brown will disappear usually a few metres from the surface, and clean water will be at a depth where the water is colder, they won’t bite as often. In these cleaner water areas, by using live baits and fresh baits you should be able tempt some larger fish such as jewfish, flathead, and a variety of midwater species such as kingfish and tailor.

Throwing out the anchor and using a weighted berley bucket of oily, finely-ground fish to disburse sparingly should see some success. By using lightly-weighted fishing rigs and floating baits down into the berley trial you should see a great deal of success providing you have the patience.

Live baits such as yellowtail or squid should attract any midwater pelagic species that are in the area to have a look. By placing these baits midwater, cruising pelagic species should find them irresistible. Quite often when using yellowtail in deeper water I will splash on a bit of glow bait on the yellowtail. This fluorescence will make the offerings stand out and hopefully be seen from a greater distance, or become a target when fishing around a larger school of yellowtail.

If you are going to fish the shallower areas, I would suggest using smellier types of bait such as strips of pike, slimy mackerel and even granddad’s old recipe of cheese and garlic mixed with bread and cat food tuna. If you use this recipe, you’ll go home smelly after a day’s fishing but you should have a few bream to feed the family.

When using granddad’s recipe, you will also attract a lot of other species whilst fishing the dirty water. Using a float and a small amount of the bread mix recipe should see many different species being attracted and getting caught such as bream, leatherjackets and even flathead or flounder.

For the lure fishers it’s time to break out those freakishly, brightly coloured, noisy lures to use. In the brown water, brightly coloured lures with a rattle will attract the attention of species such as bream and flathead as well as jewfish.

Direct your efforts to the edges of weed beds or drop-offs like the ones you will find up and down Pittwater. Holes up the back of many of our bays will see larger fish waiting to ambush smaller prey coming from the shallower waters or soon-to-becomebare mudflats. Some of these larger holes will house monster flathead, and there should be some nice bream and even a jewfish or two to tangle with.

Both hardbodied lures and soft plastics will work in these scenarios. Soft plastics will put vibration through the water, which is exactly what noise will do as well. If you have S factor or Halco paste in your tackle box, don’t forget to coat your lure with a smear.

Another small lure to try in the shallower, dirty water is a popper. By causing splashes of activity on the surface of the water there are quite a few species that will be excited by this, and the commotion may trigger a whole school of fish to become active. There are many different types of lures on the market, and fishing dirty water can be a wonderful place to try them all out.

For those anglers wanting to catch larger fish, fishing offshore may be the better option once some cleaner water has been located. When I mention the cleaner water, I’m not referring to the colour of it but more the amount of debris that is travelling along the coast. With many rivers that have been flooded along our New South Wales coast, there have been lots of logs, garden furniture, plants and a host of other objects to annoy you.

I am hoping the next month should see good snapper and reef species being caught in water depths around 60m, and as per usual try to find baitfish before lowering your baits or throwing out the anchor. We will quite often use pilchards or frozen squid when fishing 60m of water, but we will also use yellowtail or other baitfish that are caught whilst fishing these areas.

Our headlands along the coast will also see kingfish being caught and targeted by many anglers. Downrigging yellowtail or slimy mackerel will normally see you catching a few but do not forget to cast lures out as you are travelling along. By casting lures out the sides of vessel you will give fish a chance to chase lures to the boat, and if they do not smash your lure there will be live baits to tempt them anyway.

Long Reef attracts a lot of attention nowadays, but with a little study of maps you will also see there are many other reefs that will attract these fish and you will not have to deal with a lot of the crowds.

So, as you can see, even though we have had a lot of rain, catching fish is still possible – and by using new methods, heaps of fun can be had by all.

I hope this report sees you dry and excited to get out fishing with your mates and loved ones in the near future. If you have difficulties catching fish, remember to call your local charter operator and book a day in with them. Most of us are quite happy to share the information that we have gathered over many years, and this alone will increase your knowledge in a short period of time. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters .com.au

Flatties like this one are ready to pounce on lures around the weed beds.

Unfortunately, for some species it’s not ideal but there are a lot of other species that can be targeted. below that. The area of the cleaner salty water will be where a lot of larger fish will congregate, but being

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It’s fun for young and old once the kingies are found.

With the calmer autumn weather along the NSW coastline, now is the time to get offshore and chase your favourite sportfish onboard a licenced NSW charter fishing boat.

Whether it be mackerel on the north coast, or marlin down south, one of the best ways to catch those elusive gamefish species is onboard a NSW charter fishing boat.

Licenced charter fishing boat operators bring a wealth of experience, expertise and are well equipped and capable of putting you on the spot to potentially have a once in a lifetime sport fishing experience.

Book your next charter trip by finding an operator on the DPI website and searching ‘Go Charter Fishing NSW’ use the interactive map and following the links to book your trip.

Did you know that sea turtles can drown in crab traps?

Unfortunately, they can force their way into the trap or become entangled and are unable to return to the surface to breathe. Here are some handy tips to make your crab gear safer: • Reduce the entrance size of your crab trap to lessen the chance of a turtle entering (this is particularly important for large mouthed rectangular crab traps). This can be done by simply using either twine or an electrical cable tie to close the entrance in one or two places. It is considered that a maximum entrance size of 30 - 32cm is appropriate to prevent turtle entry. • Convert your witches hats to hoop nets. To reduce the probability of entangling non-target animals, witches hats can easily be converted to a lift net by removing the float from above the mesh and re-attaching the float line with several lengths of lines directly to the ring. • Check your crab gear regularly. Reducing set time for any fishing gear reduces the chances of harm to accidentally caught aquatic animals such as unwanted fish or protected species such as turtles. It also reduces the loss of gear which can sometimes move in tides and current and become marine debris if left in the water.

For more info visit the DPI website and search “responsible fishing, crab traps”.

Autumn is a great time of year for a family getaway or a fishing trip with mates. We’ve made it a little easier to explore that new fishy destination.

The “Go Fishing” series of handbooks are packed full of useful information with easy-to-read maps detailing popular local fishing spots, tips and techniques for common species plus rules, regs, and other relevant info. The great news is the series covers a range of many popular locations in both fresh and saltwater.

More great news is that we’ve added two new guides, The Great Lakes region on the mid north coast and Burrinjuck Dam in the state’s south west. These new guides are packed full of all the mentioned information with a bonus feature focus on how to catch whiting on bait and topwater lures and Murray cod on lures in the Burrinjuck Dam guide. Both are ready for download on iPhone and Android or in hard copy from fishing retailers and tourists centres.

There are now 17 guides available: Thompson Creek Dam, Burrinjuck Dam, Blowering Dam, Snowies Trout Waters, Lake Windamere, Botany Bay, Jervis Bay, St Georges Basin, Bermagui, Coffs Coast, Hawkesbury River, Tuross Head, Lake Macquarie, The Great Lakes, Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers Wharves and Parks, Middle and North Harbour Parks and Reserves, and Sydney Harbours’ Wharves, Piers and Parks, head to the DPI website and search, “fishing information local fishing guides”, to view them all and download your favourite ones.

The DPI “Go Fishing” guides are a great example of your fishing fees at work.