Sharpen those hooks and check your drags, it’s time to get out on Pittwater.

The kingfish are on the bite once again. I can’t say whether these feisty fish are Winter kingfish now warmed up and on the bite or a new population of fish. Either way, kingfish to 84cm are being caught at different spots each day.

In the past week we have caught fish at Longnose Point, Palm Beach and Mackeral Beach, mostly fish using live squid on the downriggers.

The kingfish are relatively easy to spot first thing in the morning as they cruise and smash the hapless baitfish at will. Troll around the baitfish and a hit on a freshly-caught squid is almost guaranteed.

Another technique we often use is to throw poppers around among the moorings. We place a squid head or strip over the side of the boat and lower the bait until it can’t be seen.

If you have a fish that chases your popper back to the boat, there is already a bait in the water waiting for it. We catch quite a few fish this way at this time of year.

The moorings at Palm Beach, Sand Point and Mackeral Beach are always worth trying at some stage of the day. The shady side of the boat seems to be the most successful.

As the sun moves higher in the sky, the fish either go deeper or cruise among the moorings

Now place mooring blocks around a metre in diameter in the bays; you no longer have a desert but a patchy reef. Every mooring block in Pittwater has marine growth on it that attract baitfish, squid and many types of fish. This is why these areas towards the mouth attract a lot of fish.

Squid are still pretty hard to get in the river at the moment and are very small. With patience, squid can be found in areas such as Palm Beach weed beds, Mackeral Beach and The Basin. We have had most success on smaller pink jigs with a slow, twitching retrieve in less than six metres of water.

Salmon are still hanging around West Head and kingfish are also there. Troll the headland with lures such as Rapala CD7s in blue or green and you’re in with a chance for either. Trolling white soft plastics with an Action Disc in front is another way to catch them.

Please consider the people already trolling or bait fishing. Sometimes this area is just too busy to troll and Barrenjoey Head may be a better option. Commonsense will prevail, I hope.

Flathead and flounder are starting bite again. Most have been caught between the heads at the mouth of the river. The best bait has been whitebait for flathead and prawns or nippers for flounder. The last hour of the outgoing tide has produced the hottest bite.

Scotland Island has been a little slow on all fronts with many a lap failing to produce a fish. There are a few bream around Tennis Wharf area but with the clear waters they are extremely wary and easily spooked. Mornings have been best.

McCarrs Creek is starting to produce fish again. There are schools of bait in the gutters and among the moorings with tailor, kingies and some of the bigger bream that Pittwater has on offer.

Bread is the best bait for bream providing you can keep the seagulls out of your berley trail of chicken pellets, tuna and bread.

Tomahawk is the pick of the shipwrecks at the moment and is host to quite a variety of fish including kingfish, bream, salmon, tailor, leatherjackets and flathead. Again, berley and fresh bait are the key. I hope this report helps you to catch some fish but if you cant find them, give us a call for a charter.

The kingfish are relatively easy to spot first thing in the morning as they cruise and smash the hapless baitfish at will. Troll around the bait and a hit on a freshly-caught squid is almost guaranteed,