Fishing around the Bay in September can be tricky because the water is still quite cold and at times the fish are hard to find. Trevally are your best bet as they seem to thrive in the cooler water.

Trevally can be found in all their usual spots, like along the runways, the container terminal, oil wharf and the Drums in the middle of the Bay, the main thing is to get that light berley stream going and fish light.

I find salmon can also turn up in September, working the surface in large schools, so keep an eye open for them because they can turn a tricky day into a ripper. Small metals and light spin gear are ideal and the fly fishos just love a good school of salmon.

This is also a great time to hunt flathead in the Bay because it’s not long before they’re starting to school ready to spawn. Make sure all the larger fish are returned to get on with this.

Spinning with soft plastics along the Brighton-le-Sands drop-off is a favourite and I have also found good numbers hanging wide from Towra Point. But moving about the Bay fishing the shallows or drifting the deeper water will find you some. Keep changing your plastic size and colour until you hit on the right one.

Trolling can be tough but I have often found the odd big tailor hanging about this month so work deep-divers along structure for best results.

Try a small skirt trolled in the middle back behind the bubble trail of the motor, big tailor are suckers for this and the odd salmon may strike it, too.

I love this time of the year as the cold weather is now behind us and the days on the water are great so head out and give it a go.

As a charter boat operator, especially with the weather like we have just experienced, there can be quite a bit of down time and for the past three years good friend Paul Breheny and I have been working on an idea to put together a TV show – well, that’s what it’s turned into.

It all started when I received a phone call from Paul looking to join my monthly fishing school at Hunts Marine. He said he was keen to learn a few tricks to fishing around Botany Bay and he also had this idea of putting and DVD together showing people how to cook fish. Paul is the owner and chef of Fratelli Del Mare, a top Italian restaurant at Cronulla.

Paul watched in horror as I destroyed a tailor with chilli sauce (well, that’s his opinion) in the DVD A Day on the Bay that Gary Brown and I shot a few years back.

Paul came up with a plan to have me hook the fish and he would cook them. It sounded like a great idea and simple to put together – we were both wrong.

Three years and six months later, we have gone from the simple idea of a DVD to a full-blown TV show called The Hook and the Cook, which will go to air shortly.

The show will take you along on a journey to different locations highlighting great food, top fishing and the magic and natural wonders of each location. Visit www.thehookandthecook.com to get a taste of what’s to come.