The mornings here are freezing now so it’s becoming very hard to make the effort to get on the water early.

But at least some fish can be caught later in the day, so you don’t really have to be out at sunrise to catch fish, anyway.

Around our local estuaries the main fish to be looking for are bream and blackfish and both may be biting better of an afternoon after the sun has warmed the water.

The blackfish have been biting at some of the hot spots like Budgewoi, The Entrance near the bridge and the channel at Woy Woy.

These are not the only places you can catch blackfish but if you’re not sure where to go, try these places first.

Green weed is sold at some local bait shops or you could try looking around the edges of the lakes, where it is often abundant.

The bream can be harder to find and catch through July.

I would be looking again around The Entrance and the lower reaches of Brisbane Water such as The Rip or around some of the oyster racks.

Use lighter line down to 3lb if you think the bream are there and you’re not getting bites. Switching to much lighter line can mean the difference between bream and no bream, especially in the depths of Winter.

Don’t forget the Gulps, small vibes or very good fresh bait that bream will more likely take, rather than second-rate lures or frozen service station bait.

Also in the depths of Winter we are invaded by salmon.

Sometimes they can be real pests when you are fishing for bream or other species, but some anglers also love catching them and they certainly provide great sport.

Salmon are good fish to seek out if you want to put your young kids onto something that will pull line out and put up a great fight.

On the beaches, salmon will also be one of the main fish to take bait or lures. Other fish that are a good chance on the beaches this month include bream, tailor and even jewfish.

We may not always think of Winter as a great time for beach fishing but it certainly can be.

Rug up and fish the tides morning or afternoon. Look for good formations and whitewash, because this is where the action can often be.

On the rocks, again the salmon should be around at most spots.

If you don’t like salmon then perhaps try using green weed or cabbage baits to tempt blackfish or black drummer. Salmon will not be interested in these baits and with numbers of blackfish and drummer around our rocks, you can end up with some good eating fish to take home.

Try green prawns, cunjevoi and bread as bait for the drummer. These will also be good for any bream that are around the rocks at this time.

If you are heading offshore then watch the weather and sea forecasts, because this can be a time of strong westerly or southerly winds and large swells.

Plan your trips according to the forecasts and you could do well with fish like snapper on plastics, some silver trevally (which will also take plastics) and kingfish or salmon if they are around.

On the wider reefs, there are kingfish for those who like their jigging but sometimes the leatherjackets are also thick and they’ll bite your line off before you know it.

If you can handle the cold or have the time to fish through the afternoons, there should be some fish around to be caught. I will be keen, having just bought a boat, which is now all wired up and ready for action.