The past month has sure been tricky, cold weather, rain and windy days making it tough for all anglers.

But the Hacking and Georges rivers are both producing plenty of luderick. Good numbers of these weed-eaters move into the rivers each Winter and these are a top species to target and great fun on light tackle.

Luderick can be caught on rising or falling tides but many anglers love the run out, finding it more productive, and I think it comes down to spots you fish.

Work this out for yourself over time and you will find good run-in spots and good run-out spots.

I have been running luderick classes on the Hacking River mid week teaching anglers how to target these great little fish, and in the August issue I also explained many of the details so if you’re keen for some fun and some fillets, get out and have a go.

Over the next two months is a great time to gear up for snapper and morwong over the deeper reefs north from Botany Bay.

I head to the grounds wide from Coogee and anchor in 65m after sounding around and finding fish right on the bottom.

Most trips I find anchoring better than drifting over these areas. Once anchored, we fish the bottom with a two-hook dropper rig and 8oz-10oz of lead.

I now tie all my rigs with the new fluorocarbon from Schneider and use 15kg braid main line, by far a better way to go when fishing deeper water.

For this style of fishing I like tough baits like squid, salted tuna and salted slimy mackerel, which hang on better than a pilchard. But still give pilchards a try because some days they work well and snapper love them.

If you’re keen on trolling along the coast, the next two months will be a little quiet because the bonito have thinned out. Salmon are about but can be tricky and the odd small king may be hooked working lures in close.

Anchoring on the shallow reefs can be quite good and any were in 20m along the coast is worth a try.

We proved this only last week as I anchored in a spot I had never fished before and after 10 minutes with a good berley trail running trevally turned up in numbers. There were loads of smaller fish and a few good ones mixed in.

Snapper, sweep, pike, kings and bream are other species that can be caught in these depths by floating baits down the berley trail.

As long as the wind is from the west and the sea is flat, it’s time to head offshore and find a few good fish.