This month I have put together a list of the types of live bait I use and the local spots where you can catch them.

Live bait comes in many varieties. You can use poddy mullet, yellowtail, slimy mackerel, red-spot whiting, cowanyoung, red or green crabs, soldier crabs, pink nippers, beach or tube or squirt worms, pipis, garfish, trevally, pike, mados, sweep, stripeys, nannygai, cardinal fish, pilchards, whitebait and squid.

More adventurous anglers chasing for mulloway or sharks might use tailor, sand whiting, bream or luderick, as long as they are of legal length. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what fish species you use live, there is always something else out there that is bigger that will eat it.

In Botany Bay boat-based anglers can catch cowanyoung, garfish, squid, slimy mackerel, pike and yellowtail at places like Henry Head; Bare Island; the north-east corner of Yarra Bay; Molineaux Point, the end of the Third Runway, the Hot Water Outlet, the Oil Wharf, La Perouse, Congwong Bay, Watts Reef, The Drums and Inscription Point.

From the shore in Botany Bay at places like Henry Head, Bare Island, Bumborah Point, Yarra Point, La Perouse, Molineaux Point, the Cooks River breakwall, Sutherland Point, Bonna Point, Inscription Point and Point Solander you can catch garfish, poddy mullet, pike or yellowtail . Around the rocks there are red and green crabs and on the sand flats you can pump pink nippers and soldier crabs.

From a boat in the Georges River at places like the Captain Cook, Tom Uglys and Como bridges, Oatley, Bald Face Point, Lugarno and Illawong you can catch garfish, poddy mullet, pike, squid and yellowtail.

From the shore you can get the same species along with pink nippers and soldier crabs around the Georges River bridges, boat ramps at ‘The Hole in the Wall’, Shag Point, Holts Point and Oatley Bay, the Como Pleasure Grounds, Oatley Point Reserve, Bald Face Point, Lugarno, Illawong, Georges River National Park, Picnic Point, Sandy Point, East Hills Park, Kelso Beach, Deepwater Park and Milperra Bridge.

Anglers in boats on the Woronora River around Como, Bonnet Bay and Bangor can catch garfish and poddy mullet while shore-based anglers can forage for gar, pike and soldier crabs around Paruna Reserve, Lakewood City Reserve, Washington Drive boat ramp, Jannali Reserve, Prince Edward Park and down stream from the Needles.

In Bate Bay boat anglers can try for cowanyoung, gar, pike, slimy mackerel, yellowtail and squid around Osborne Shoals, Merries Reef, Jibbon Bombora, Shark Island, Sandshoes, Shelly Beach, Bass and Flinders Point and Jibbon Beach. Shore-based anglers can try around Boat Harbour, Voodoo Point, Doughboy Head, Blackwoods Beach, Windy Point, Port Hacking Point and Bundeena Point for the same species along with crabs and pink nippers.

In Port Hacking the prime bait areas for gar, poddies, yellowtail, pike, squid and pink nippers include Hungry Point, Gunnamatta Bay swing moorings, Cabbage Tree Point, Burraneer Point, Dolans Bay Marina, The Ballast Heap, Costens Point, Attwells Boat Shed, Gooseberry Bay, Scotts Reef, South West Arm, North West Arm, Lilli Pilli, Deer Park, Willarong Point, Yowie Bay Marina, Mansion Point, Grays Point and Audley Weir. Shore-based anglers can include Darook Park, Gunnamatta Bay baths, Tonkin Park boat ramp, Cabbage Tree Point, Hungry Point, Maianbar, The Basin, boat ramps at Port Hacking and Wonga Road, the sandstone wall in Gooseberry Bay, baths at Lilli Pilli and Gymea Bay and at Grahams Point.

You could also benefit from watching A Day on the Bay, the latest DVD by Scott Lyons and me, which covers how to catch live bait for yellowtail kingfish, soft plastics techniques for flathead, bait fishing for bream and trevally and lure fishing for tailor.

To obtain a copy or join my fishing classes, call me on 0422 994 207 or email me.