I WAS SURFING through chat boards on fishing websites when I came across a posting from someone who said it was a complete waste of time getting up in the morning to go fishing in the Sydney area because there were no fish around in Winter.

How far is this guy from the truth? Winter anglers are in the know catch bream, leatherjackets, luderick, drummer, snapper, sand and dusky flathead, tailor, salmon and whiting. All you have to do is rug up, put in the hard yards and the rewards will come to you.

One of the things that you need to do to become successful with your fishing is to keep yourself abreast of what is actually going on, and reading magazines like NSWFM and surfing the web for fishing reports is a great place to start.

You could also keep in touch with your local tackle shop or check reports on radio fishing shows, all of which will help you piece together information on what is going on.

Here are some websites I use for fishing information. They are fishingmonthly.com.au (fishing reports and competition updates), bom.gov.au (weather reports), sportfish.com.au (fishing reports), fishnet.com.au (fishing reports), fisheries.nsw.gov.au (NSW Fisheries information), softplastics.com.au (fishing reports), bream.com.au (fishing reports), marinews.com, fishsa.com (fishing reports), waterways.nsw.gov.au (Waterways Authority). There are many more but this lot will hopefully get you started.

Last month I said there should be plenty of bream, trevally and snapper about in Botany and Bate bays, the Georges River and Port Hacking. Over the next couple of months we should see more of the same, with the addition of those hard-fighting silver trevally.

Places worth a try this month include Bare Island, Watts Reef, the Oil Wharf, the mooring drums in the middle of Botany Bay, Henrys Head, Osborne Shoals and Shark Island in Bate Bay and the drop-off at Lilli Pilli in Port Hacking. The washes off the headland at Kurnell and at Jibbon Point should also hold a number of silver trevally.

For trevally success you need to fish as light as possible. Best baits are peeled prawns, pink nippers and strips of squid.

You will also need a steady stream of berley going while you are anchored. Use a bait-runner style of reel and no more than 6kg line so you can feel the bite.

A trevally to be kept for a feed should be bled and put straight into a slurry of ice and salt water to preserve its eating qualities.

If you are interested in learning more about how, where and when to fish in the Sydney area, call or email me for more detailed information.

CAPTION.

1.

Ken Newman and the author fished a small reef just off the point at Kurnell using peeled prawns and plenty of berley for a bag of silver trevally.