The dreaded taxman strikes

Steve Winser

As the East Australian Current finally kicks in with a vengeance, we see a real rise in water temperatures, and the fishing changes accordingly.

A large amount of bait is moving in along the coast, and with it has come a change of species and targets.

Snapper have been fishing well along the inshore coastal spots, with numbers of fish to be had in that 8-30m zone on a combination of baits and plastics, mostly fished into a pilly cube trail.

Plenty of bonito are falling to trolled shallow running lures in that 150mm range along the cliff fronts also.

The harbour has just been on fire! It’s chock full of bait and a variety of species, including some northern species that have come down on the current. Watsons leaping bonito and sweetlip (emperor) are among the northern visitors.

The summer staples of flathead, whiting and so forth are around in numbers on just about all the shallower sandy areas of the harbour, from Rose Bay though to north harbour.

However, the real story has been the long-awaited arrival of the summer run of kings. There are some absolute crackers in there just now, with fish well over a metre not uncommon, and profusions of smaller fish there also. Once again, the key to catching the kingies is to use fresh squid. The squid have been plentiful, and the arrow squid in particular have been super reliable over the ribbon grass beds. We typically use smaller jigs in the 2.5 size for these.

One negative with the arrival of all this bait – and of course, the kingfish – has been the sharks. We have been seeing some sizable sharks, and plenty of them. As you can see from the photos with this article, there are some real big ones prowling around down there. Have a look at the bite mark on the king in the photo –there’s no circular mark, just a straight cut indicating a big shark. Anything that can cleave a 10kg+ king in half in one chop is for real.

If life was fair, this shark would have chosen one of our smaller fish to steal. But no, it had to take the best one of the day! Gawd, I hate sharks.

The most alarming thing was that this happened near the eastern suburbs shoreline in the harbour – and some guys were diving not 50m away. I have surfed this area my whole life, and I would not swim in this harbour for a bet. Stay cautious, folks!

• Fishing Sydney Tours takes pride in tailoring every trip to the customer’s preferred species, style of angling, and level of expertise, all up a great fight on 2kg line.

In the front region of the Hawkesbury River, with the fresh combining with the salt, I would place all bets on the jewfish being there. Try areas like Flint and Steel, Hungry Beach, Brisk Bay and Pacific Head. Anchoring on the top or bottom of the tide will give you the best chance of success. The best bait is obviously squid, but don’t discount bonito, live legal tailor, or strip baits.

Speaking of tailor, there have been plenty in those regions too, especially in Brisk Bay and around Croppy Point.

• 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 in and see them at 1469 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen or phone (02) 9970 6204. 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.

Nice king! Well, half anyway.