Sydney South

SYDNEY SOUTH Gary Brown

gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

As I sit down to put together this report, Sydney and some surrounding areas are still in lockdown. I feel for all of those anglers who can’t get out and have a fish due to the ruling that it’s either out of their LGA or more than either 5-10km from their home. Fingers crossed, restrictions will have eased by the time you read this report.

I am one of the lucky ones as I can still get out and fish some of the close waterways of the Port Hacking and the Georges River, but I can’t get to the rocks and fish for drummer, trevally and bream – and it’s killing me. I’m sure they would be on the chew for those of you who can get there. Places that would be worth a try would be the Kurnell Peninsula, Bare Island, Boat Harbour and Jibbon Headland.

Going to the beach and trying for whiting and bream during the day is another thing that I miss; they too would be on the chew early in the morning or late in the afternoon on a rising tide. In the past I have had good results using king worms. You can buy them from tackle stores such as Fergo’s Tackle World.

A few of my friends that live out Camden way who usually fish the Georges, Woronora and Parramatta rivers, Botany Bay and the Port Hacking have been restricted to targeting carp in their local ponds and waterways. This is a great way of having fun with those hard-pulling carp and helping get rid of a pest out of our waterways.

I teamed up with Scotty Lyons to chase luderick while he was using fresh green weed and I was using saltwater flies that I brought from the BCF store at Taren Point. The only thing that he didn’t tell me was that the small track down to the spot was not a simple hike. It wasn’t meant more for a mountain goat.

To check out whether the fresh weed or flies came out on top you can go a check out the video clip on The Hook and the Cook You Tube Channel. Scotty has already put a couple of clips together on how to make a float and how to get your weed.

I have received reports that Botany Bay has been fishing well for bream, whiting and trevally at the end of the third runway, the Cooks River break wall, Bare Island, the drums, the oil wharf, and the groynes along Brighton and Dolls Point. The best baits have been a mixture of chicken breast, prawns, half pilchards, mullet gut, strips of mullet, tube and king worms.

Luderick have been schooling up at the Captain Cooks and Tom Uglys bridges. Fresh green weed and a steady stream of berley will get them going.

Offshore, snapper, leatherjackets, morwong and sand flathead have been the mainstay of the catches that have been reported to me. Most fish have come from the 30-50m depth while drifting, using pilchards and striped tuna for bait.

The Port Hacking is extremely clear and cold at the time of writing, and by the beginning of September I hope that the water temperature has started to increase.

Pink nippers, tube and king worms are the go for bream, trevally and whiting at the Ballast Heap, the Lilly Pilly flats, Yowie Bay and Bundeena.

Luderick are still schooling up along the rock shorelines. Try either fresh green weed or cabbage, or – if you are after a challenge – why don’t you try weed flies, like I did? You don’t need to use fly fishing gear – just substitute your hook and green weed for a fly that is suspended under your float.

Don’t forget to keep those reports coming into gbrown1@iprimus.com. au. And if you are looking for some more fishing tips and maybe a laugh or two, check out my YouTube channel called Gary Brown Fishing.

A quick squid session off the rocks before our lockdown. The combination of the Egilicious squid jigs, Okuma gear and Alvey reel helped to get the author a couple of nice squid for dinner.

Brad Chin with a 45cm silver trevally he teased up with a 2.5cm ZMan Slim SwimZ on a 28oz HWS from Tackle Tactics.