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Big fish time off Sydney
  |  First Published: June 2017



Now that the ocean temps are decreasing, the colder water species are moving in. Our oceans calm with the turning of the East Australian Current, bringing back all manner of species that headed south for the summer. This, my friends, is big fish time.

We are due for a decent tuna run here off Sydney as we haven’t had a cracker season for a couple of years now. We are seeing some good bluefin and yellowfin captures down south and it won’t be long before these guys move in offshore.

Our inshore reefs are holding good schools of plate-sized snapper and rat kings, with some solid schools of trevally moving in. Brennan Webster went jigging in 40m off Manly and landed a 1m+ mulloway on his 50lb outfit. Brennan was looking to target kings when the big mulloway came along. Plenty of rats were also keen on the jigs during this session.

Kyle Windsor was out chasing snapper in 25 fathoms when a ripper pearl perch snaffled his pilchard bait. After a quick fight the fish was boated and on ice. Some great reports of blue-eye trevalla and hapuka are also coming in from Browns Mountain. The lead up to winter is a great time to drop some deep baits to the ocean floor, but be sure to remember the deeper you drop, the hardier the bait needs to be. Baits like a squid hood with a piece of mullet fillet inside are perfect for deep offshore, and will generally make it past the pickers to your target species on the bottom.

Sydney Harbour is clearing up after the recent rain. Mac tuna, bonito, salmon and tailor have all been trolled up in Middle Harbour during the break, so get lures out and pull them anywhere from Dobroyd Head to Bantry Bay. Some good fish have been taken in this zone.

Kingfish are on the move around the harbour, and live baits of squid and yakkas are accessible in most local bait gathering areas. Ripper flatties are on the chew drifting between Grotto Point and North Head. More hairtail eels have been caught recently on soft plastics, baits and vibes. Manly through to the Spit has been where to fish for these guys. Recognizing horizontal lines on the sounder screen will put you right in the zone for catching one of these sabre-toothed bumper bars.

The beaches are turning it on at the moment. Tailor and salmon are being taken on metal lures cast beyond the breakers in low light times, while the king beachworms purchased here in the shop have been landing cracker whiting, trevally and bream fishing the close-in gutters at Curl Curl, Dee Why and Manly.

After dark the whaler sharks are still causing headaches for the mulloway fishers, but are providing some exciting fishing on quieter nights. Most beaches are experiencing these toothy critters so grab your favourite heavy land-based kit and some wire trace and go and have some fun. Some of these whalers are well over a metre and are absolute drag burners.

Pittwater has been improving since the recent rains but is still a bit hit and miss. One angler who didn’t miss was Zoe Williamson when she landed a ripper 80cm mulloway on a pilchard during a lunchtime session. Mike Kelett from Kayak Fishing New South Wales has been getting into the live squid and converting them into kings. Some fish have still been a torrid struggle on the yak due to the general territory of the hook-up.

Narrabeen Lake has schools of small chopper tailor taking all kinds of bait, and many bream and flathead fishos are finding these little guys an absolute pest. A few flatties have been taken down the back on small vibes and plastics.

The rocks are fishing well for plate snapper and luderick as well as all the pelagics that are on offer. Julius David caught a nice king from the stones, while other species worth chasing this month are bonito, salmon and tailor. When these fish are on, metal slugs and surface poppers are very popular lure choices in this application of high speed knitting from the crowded ledges. PFDs and rock cleats are recommended, and can be viewed and purchased in store at Fish Outta Water Tackle World. Good luck and safe fishing.

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