With that horrible cold weather all behind us, some ripper fishing is to be had this month out here on Sydney’s north side. You can expect the kings to become more prolific and the snapper bite to head into full swing, not to mention the flatties waking up and the arrival of the marlin offshore.

October is generally the month when the warmer season fishos dust off their kit in preparation for the summer bite. Although fish have to eat all year round it’s commonplace in Sydney for many anglers to stay tucked up inside during the colder months thinking that the fish go off the bite. They don’t! All you have to do is apply different techniques and change species. Some terrific fish can be caught all year round.

The offshore scene has been improving dramatically after the lacklustre tuna bite during the winter. I say lacklustre because we had some very high expectations after last year’s season due to the high capture rate of yellow and bluefin, but conditions were harsher this year and the colder currents were just too far offshore for some boaties to venture.

The 12 Mile Reef has been a fairly solid boat park this month, with the early arrival of schooling kingfish taking all sorts of baits, from slabs to livies, and jigs as well.

Zane Levett has been into the fish again recently, fishing with the Oceanhunter Sportsfishing guys using medium to light gear. Some great fish have been tagged and released. Zane uses the Shimano OC4000 reel loaded with 30lb braid on the 15-30lb Terez rod and landed fish to 93cm. The bait of choice was unweighted slabs set on a 5/0 octopus hooks. Keep an eye out for this young fella in the future as he’s absolutely nailing it, and at just 13 years old he has a species list as long as your arm. The guys aboard Oceanhunter tag all of their released fish, so if you want a piece of the action call Vic on 0414 906 569.

The kingfish have been around all year and are becoming more prolific as the years go by. Andy Young and his crew got amongst them on a recent trip to a local reef off Curl Curl in 50m of water. After recognising schooling bait on the sounder the guys dropped a variety of jigs over the side to immediately get a multiple hook up (the jigs were from 50-250g). The fish soon trekked up the water column where eventually a surface bite kicked in on poppers and stickbaits. Strange things often happen, and on this day none of the fish would take any type of live bait! Hmmm. It pays to have a variety of styles available because bait fishing doesn’t seem to work as consistently these days, and sometimes the target species just need a little firing up.

Springtime allows us to chase the bigger model squid before they shoot through, as well as catch some of the smaller kingfish candies we love for bait. Dane Marcell often chases the big fellas for a feed using the 3-3.5 size jigs down at South Curly off the stones, and landed five during an afternoon session recently. It was quiet for the first hour until someone thought to spray on some Stimulate attractant.

If you’ve never tried beach worming, you have to give it a go. Young Bailey O’Brien headed down to Manly Beach and plucked a 6ft+ worm from the soft sand. Beach worms are a terrific bait as Bailey also found out after converting that one worm into a great session whiting and bream. Beach worming can be difficult so if you’re keen on learning how call Alex Bellissimo (0408 283 616) for a charter. This guy is an absolute master at catching them.

Sydney Harbour’s waters are warming now with all manner of species on the chew. Schooling salmon are visible on the surface (just look for the feeding birds) while down deeper the trevally have finally arrived in numbers and are taking soft plastics and strip baits lightly weighted to slowly sink in the current. Anglers are still catching the odd mulloway, and they might remain all summer. I couldn’t resist the urge to head downstream again targeting these fish on the yak, and got lucky on another good soapy. I was fishing in 14m of water using a River2Sea Flexi-Babe vibe with a bit of S-Factor attractant when that little mulloway hit the lure. Being towed in the yak is quickly becoming my favourite pastime, and using the light kit ensures you’ll get a quality battle.

If you require any info on this type of fishing just give me or one of the boys a ring in store on (02) 9949 9488 or contact us on the Facebook page Fish Outta Water Tackleworld. Happy spring fishing!