Central Coast

CENTRAL COAST

Jamie

Robley The weather is probably the topic of the year amongst keen anglers, and it has continued to be a major factor through the cooler months. The good news is that September is historically one of best sporting fish to chase with lighter, more sophisticated tackle. Some anglers, including myself, still enjoy catching a few using old-school beach tackle and pilchards for bait. When they move in close to the rocks or beach or within casting range wherever you’re fishing, they respond well to thin-profile larger surf gutters.

Although considered as a rubbish table fish, they do actually come up quite well if treated properly. That means bleeding them immediately upon capture and then cutting out the darker parts of the flesh along with the skin, after you fillet them. Cut the fillets into smaller pieces and lightly

A few flathead will be kicking into gear as water temps start to rise. This one took a metal vibe, but it’s hard to go past soft plastics for flathead in our waterways.

a dry month in our region and secondly, we’re heading into a warmer season, so at this stage there’s certainly nothing to complain about!

Along with August though, I still rate September as one of our more challenging months as far as local fishing goes. So, it’s a good idea to try to chase species that you’ve got a reasonable chance of catching, rather than pushing your luck and trying for something that’s more likely to end in failure.

Let’s get straight to the main species you are probably going to succeed with if you target them. That means salmon. Yes, I know they’re not for everyone, but some of us enjoy hooking into a few and they are soft plastics, slim metal lures and fly casting with lighter coloured Deceivers or Clousers and other baitfish imitations. They’ll also smash surface poppers and stickbaits at times.

Sheltered shore-based spots can be easily accessed at Norah Head, Terrigal and Toowoon Bay, where casting lightly-weighted plastics or fly fishing is effective and fun. It’s largely a matter of being there when conditions are favourable – that generally means a calm surf, no wind or a light offshore breeze – and the sambos are more likely to be in close early in the morning or later in the afternoon. They commonly move in very close, seeking shelter overnight in bays or Love them or hate them, salmon are going to be the main species showing up on our local beaches over the coming weeks.

season or marinate prior to pan frying or throwing them on the BBQ. You may be pleasantly surprised if you take a bit of care before cooking.

Within the lakes and Brisbane Waters, luderick are still one of the best options this month. Providing the weather behaves itself, they should be around and taking baits just as they did in the previous months. A key factor at this time of year though is to be sure you’re using the best weed for the job. I would suggest trying to bring along at least two different varieties of weed. I’ve often found that the luderick bite more readily on weed that grows right near where you’re fishing, so scan around and see if you can spot any weed that can be used for bait near your intended fishing spot.

As water temperature begins to warm just a little, flathead become more active. While I wouldn’t be expecting

The entrance bridge is one of the more reliable flathead spots for Tuggerah Lake anglers. Brisbane Water locals may be better off heading to Woy Woy, downstream of the Rip Bridge or even Patonga. There is also a chance of finding them in the deeper parts of the feeder creeks this month, if it remains dry. any miracles just yet, the second half of September is normally a reliable period to score a couple of flathead for the pan. As always, The Entrance and Woy Woy and good starting points when it comes to local flatty areas.

It’s not exactly the best month for offshore fishing in our part of the world, but there should be some days this month when it’s nice and calm and the wind holds off enough to make it worth launching. Head wide for kings, tuna or snapper or stay in close for salmon, trevally and pan-sized reds. If the water is particularly clear in close, I’d be heading a bit wider or alternatively, trying to cast baits closer in towards rocks or reef where there may be a bit of white wash to attract fish.

This isn’t a bad time to hit the rocks, but be very sure of the sea conditions before heading off fishing. Although we get a lot of dead flat days at this time of year, we’ve also had more than our share of big seas this year, and I mean way too big for rock fishing. All going well though, salmon, groper, drummer and luderick are the main species to chase this month.