Trevally proved to be a winner right through Summer and on most outings we seemed to catch trevally from most spots.

Bare island has fished well lately and should fire as we head into April. I have found a good berley trail of pellets and chopped pillies has brought good results. Trevally should keep you keen as you fish around Bare Island this month but now if you allow your bait to drift out onto the sand just off the island, the odd legal snapper and bream is also a great chance.

Strips of slimy mackerel are the top choice as bait. Cast wide to fish the end of your berley trail. I find that the bream and snapper seem to hang a little wider than the Trevally, so make sure you cast well down the trail.

* Trevally have no size limit and a bag limit of 20.

* Bream have a minimum length of 25cm and a bag limit of 20.

* Snapper have a minimum length of 30cm and a bag limit of 10.

Keep only the fish you intend to eat and release the others. Trevally at times will mass under your boat and every bait that hits the water is swallowed by a hungry trevor. I keep only the plate-sized fish and return the smaller ones to the water. These trevally, with a few bream and the odd snapper, will provide you with a nice mixed bag of quality table fish.

There are other spots worth trying as we roll into April. Watts Reef is a great spot at this time of the year on a run-in tide. Anchor your boat out on the sand and fish towards the reef. If the tide is running out, anchor up on the reef and fish back down onto the sand.

Watts Reef is also a top spot to find bream and trevally and it will pay you to hang a live bait over the side as the kingies are still around in good numbers at this time of the year.

* Kingfish have a minimum legal length of 60cm and a bag limit of five

The Oil Wharf is a great spot on the run-out tide all through April. Here you must anchor at least 100 metres away from the wharf. Anything closer is a no-go zone due to the shipping requirements. Berley is a necessity and a good, steady stream of chicken pellets and chopped pillies works fine.

Again, trevally and the odd bream are the main catch. If you fish the bottom here with fresh strip baits or whole pilchards on ganged hooks, you may find a few quality flathead as well on the sandy bottom. Small live baits will increase your chances to nail a good fish.

* Dusky flathead have a minimum legal length of 36cm and a bag limit of 10. Only one fish longer than 70cm is permitted. And remember that all large fish are breeding females and should be released. Keep the smaller fish for a feed.

If you would like a day out fishing on Botany Bay or maybe you would like to learn more about fishing, come along to the Hunts Marine Fishing School at Blakehurst, where Gary Brown and I will show you how and when to target all types of fish in Sydney waters. Phone me on 0418 169 439 or 9526 7431.

1

Stud bream like this Bare Island special are rewards for laying out a good berley trail and using fresh slimy mackerel fillets.

2

Another Bare Island customer, this trevally fell to a peeled prawn in the berley trail.