Pittwater

PITTWATER Peter Le Blang

plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Over the last 12 months our part of the world has seen an amazing amount of rain fall from the skies. Records show that we have seen over 2.5m of rain since the same time last year. This is a huge amount of fresh water that I have not seen in my 55 years. With that said, it’s just not my area that has seen these huge volumes of rain – it’s been falling all up and down our eastern coast of New South Wales. Unfortunately, we are still seeing along our coast lots of debris and sporadic fishing because of it. Some mornings we can head offshore in glass Mona Vale.

Some friends of mine have been catching large snapper off the rocks, and these areas are all accessible and easily fished in a boat. Squid seems to be their preferred bait, and anchoring near the weed beds will see quite a few being caught. Floating your baits down a berley trail early in the morning should see smiles on faces by lunchtime.

On Pittwater we are still seeing surface activity first thing in the morning. Most of this activity has been seen between Rowlands Reserve and Scotland Island. Most of the surface activity is from bonito and tailor, but there are still patches of kingfish roaming the river system.

Casting 20g metal lures usual, live squid or squid strips should tempt any hungry kingfish that are found, but the dynamite bait at this time of year is small, live cuttlefish. These little ink machines can be difficult to catch but they are definitely worth the effort.

To catch cuttlefish, find some of the rocky, weedy areas along Pittwater and start casting small squid jigs. Jigs in the 1.8-2g sizes are perfect.

Cuttlefish rarely seem to rise more than a metre off the bottom so unfortunately you have to let your lures sink deep to have a chance of catching them. This can equate to many hook-ups on the bottom so make sure you have a heavier leader to give yourself a chance at getting your jig back.

If you want to try One of the luckiest anglers, this mulloway was his first ever fish!

A great fella, and a great fish, thanks Andrew.

conditions with little debris evident, whilst other mornings you can’t drive in a straight line for more than 100m without hitting a log, branches or even trees.

On those mornings that you can get to the reefs there have been a few fish to catch. There have been a lot of snapper being caught at Long Reef in recent times, as well as Newport Reef and the rocks at is a great way to tempt most of the species but you may be better off casting some soft plastics if you find the kingfish. As the morning progresses the kingfish seem to visit most of the bays on the western foreshore.

There doesn’t seem to be much surface activity after the sun rises from kingfish, so downrigging and covering ground is the way to go. As to catch squid, head to the weedy areas such as Palm Beach weed beds, The Basin, Mackerel Beach and Careel

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Bay. Find the areas that have the drop-offs and you’re off to a good start. An aggressive retrieve with natural coloured jigs will hopefully see a few being caught.

Bottom fishing along Pittwater and Broken Bay is still producing, but on those days where the cold water is evident, fishing becomes slower. I find that drifting to find fish is better than anchoring and berleying.

The drift from Patonga through to Lion Island is always a great place to try for flathead and flounder. On this drift on many occasions we have also seen squid being caught or following our baits back to the boat. For this reason it’s always good idea to have a squid jig on the spare rod, ready to go.

This same drifting area in recent times has seen quite a few hammerhead sharks being caught. Please be aware that these sharks are protected and must be released unharmed.

If are really lucky there are still some jewfish (mulloway) around, and most of these have been encountered on the drift from Juno Point through to Walkers Point. Fresh squid strips, heads and pilchards have been the downfall of quite a few of these fish. Most of these jewfish have been undersized but at 65cm they put up a good fight.

Whilst you are out in Broken Bay keep an eye out for tailor working on the surface. The schools of tailor have also seen some jewfish lurking on the bottom underneath them, as well as the odd flathead and flounder.

If all else fails, areas such as Flint and Steel Reef, the pressure wave between Juno Point and Eleanoras Bluff are great places to try whilst anchored and using berley to attract fish. Both of these areas are not difficult to find, just look for the floating carparks.

When fishing Flint and Steel it’s important to anchor upcurrent of the reef and berley back towards the reef. By doing this you will give yourself the best chance at attracting decent fish toward your boat, and importantly you will not lose your anchor and chain to the reef.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my articles over the last 19 years, and sadly this will be my last article. I may in the future write a couple of feature articles, so keep your eyes peeled.

Over the many years that I have done chartering I have enjoyed the company of many wonderful people, and am grateful to have had the chance to show them a river system that I love. I still have a deep passion for the sport of fishing and expect to be fishing for many years to come. Instead of watching and helping others catch fish I can now have some fun and get a few myself.

I can leave the industry feeling proud of my achievements, having introduced catching kingfish on downriggers, my 2-hook adjustable squid rig (can be bought at Narrabeen Bait & Tackle) and variations on micro jig retrieves. I have named many now-famous fishing areas of Pittwater such as The Supermarket, The Carpark, Aisle 10, The Kingfish Highway, The Wrecks and many more.

I am now selling my boat and fishing licences and have closed my business. I have been very lucky to find a new job that pays well no matter what the weather or government throws at me.

I hope that I have been able to help many of you readers with ideas, tricks and techniques over the years, and if you see me on the water don’t hesitate to give me a smile and a wave. May every fishing trip bring you happiness and a good feed. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

The trophy flathead tagging program has been powering along in a selected number of estuaries along the coast since early 2016. With a small team of dedicated and passionate anglers, there have been over 1,230 dusky flathead tagged and 170 reported as recaptured. While many flathead recaptures are often short term (less than 60 days), the program has now started to receive more longer-term recaptures which adds to our knowledge base and understanding of this popular recreational species.

One particular dusky recapture has set the bar for the longest time at liberty (days) and overall growth in cm. This fish was one of the first tagged under the “trophy flattie fishery” concept. The fish was originally tagged on 9 December 2016 by passionate angler and local fishing guru Peter Dugan, who owns and operates South Coast Estuary Charters. The fish was tagged in the Tuross River and measured in at 63.8cm.

On 7 February 2022 the tagged fish was then recaptured in the Tuross River by angler Brian Rowley. After the initial excitement of catching such a quality fish, Brian quickly got the details of the tag, measured the fish on a wet brag mat and then took a few quick snaps before re-releasing the fish in excellent condition. While the fish had moved less than one nautical mile from its original release location, it is the other data obtained that made this recapture exciting. The dusky had been at liberty for over 5 years and 2 months (1886 days) and had grown an impressive 23.2cm to 87cm during that period!

Each reported recapture contributes to our understanding of particular fish species. If you are lucky enough to recapture a tagged fish, please ensure you report it using our online recapture form, which can be found here on the DPI website by searching “Game Fish Tagging Program”.

The Game Fish Tagging Program is a great example of your license fees at work! is in the database. The data and information on every individual tag card plays an important role in understanding the movement and distribution of game fish and pelagic species.

As a bonus, all tag cards received from now until the end of June 2022 will go into the draw to win a Game Fish Tagging Program T-shirt!

Also if you are lucky enough to catch a tagged fish, be sure to report it online by using the online recapture form, just go to the DPI website and search “Game Fish Tagging Program”.

These stockings of larger fish are part of an initiative developed by DPI in close consultation with key stakeholders such as MAS to enhance fishing opportunities and boost the socio-economic benefits of trout fishing to regional communities.

As noted, a key aspect of the stocking events involved the support and assistance of anglers in distributing the fish to key habitat locations around the lakes to maximise survivability.

These stocking events are a great example of your fishing fees at work!

Murray Crayfish may only be taken during the months of June, July and August in the Murray River between Hume Weir and the Tocumwal road bridge including Lake Mulwala and in the Murrumbidgee River between the Gundagai Road bridge and Berembed Weir, excluding Old Man Creek.

The daily bag limit for Murray Crayfish is 2 and the possession limit is 4. The minimum size limit for Murray Crayfish, measured from the rear of the eye socket to the centre rear of the carapace is 10cm and the maximum size limit is 12cm.

Recreational fishers must also not take berried females and removing heads, tails or claws in, on, or adjacent to waters is prohibited.

It’s a highly anticipated time when the Murray Crayfish season opens for the winter months, and we want to ensure fishers can enjoy the season while abiding by the rules to make sure we can sustain this species for future generations.

Any suspected illegal fishing activity can be reported through the FishSmart app or to the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536.

As the warm water game fishing season has wound down, now is a great time for all anglers and boats to return their completed tag cards to their local game fishing club or directly back to the tagging program. All tag cards have a replied paid on the back so they can simply be placed into your closest mailbox. Alternatively, completed tag cards can be emailed to gamefish. tagging@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Many reported tagged fish captures are still awaiting the original release information from fishers and boats tagged fish from past seasons. Please send back your completed tag cards, even if they are several years old as they may still match up with a recaptured fish that

For the second year running, the iconic Jindabyne and Eucumbene trout fisheries have been boosted with mass stockings of “advanced” rainbow fingerlings.

Bred at DPI’s Gaden Trout Hatchery, the fish measured about 15cm and were produced using the hatchery’s heater/chiller technology to maximise growth rates. A “standard” trout fingerling is usually stocked at about 4-5cm. These larger sized fingerlings are expected to have excellent survival rates and should reach legal size of 25cm within 12 months.

Crews of enthusiastic anglers organised by the Monaro Acclimatisation Society (MAS) and the Jindabyne Fishing Club assisted DPI in stocking 10,000 advanced sized rainbows into both Eucumbene and Jindabyne.