Tailor seem to be our most reliable species at the moment , so early in the morning keep an eye out for surface action or look sky wards for feeding birds.

The wheeling gulls and terns are a dead give-away to some great action and keeping an eye on them can greatly improve your catch. Try trolling small Rapala minnow lures around the edges of the surface action as your first approach. Then stop and drift into the school , spinning with small chrome lures on light tackle .

This month we should see the surface action continue to improve with salmon, bonito and kingfish keeping things interesting.

Bream are one species to target during Summer as they move into the Bay. Try anywhere from the third runway to Towra Point and from Brighton to the Sticks near the Oil wharf and back into the mouth of the Georges River.

As long as the tide is running, you will be in with a great chance to catch a feed of Bream. Whiting and trevally will also feature in the make up of your catch. Early mornings and late afternoons are the go and Blood worms or Nipper are the two gun baits.

For tackle, I suggest something like a Shimano Taipan 6’6” light spinning rod with a 3500 BaitRunner loaded with Schneider 4kg to 6kg line. I find this a great combo for this type of fishing. The rig is fairly simple: A No 5 ball sinker, a small swivel, about a rod-length of trace and a Mustad 9555b No 1 hook.

Finish the day jigging for flathead with soft plastic lures around the weedy drop-offs. I have found the Slider Grubs and the new range of Squidgies very productive in Botany Bay for flattie..

February should provide some great fishing in ‘The Port’. Bream and whiting are high on my list and the fast-running water of The Port is ideal. Try the last two hours of the rising tide and the first two hours of the ebb using small pink nippers fished on the rig mentioned above.

Drifting across the sand flats at night can be very productive for quality bream and whiting.

Salmon and bonito are great chances from the mouth of Port Hacking right across Bate Bay. Early mornings are going to be your most productive time with light spinning gear and small chrome lures.

Try trolling around the Jibbon bommie, where early morning will provide you with a good chance of a kingfish. Continue trolling south and you should find the odd bonito, salmon and kingfish in close to the cliffs.

Large dusky flathead are worth targeting around the mouth of the Hacking River right through February. Use live mullet or yellowtail, fish back into the deeper holes and allow your bait to drift into the hole with the tide. Remember that all large fish are females and should be released

I find spinning the drop-offs around the countless sand bars a good way to locate large flathead. Caught on lures, these fish are hooked in corner of the mouth 95% of the time, making them easy to release .