This month I concentrate on bream, silver trevally and leatherjackets in Botany Bay and Port Hacking but there will still be kingfish, bonito, salmon and tailor on the surface so I won’t forget to have a couple of outfits rigged up with small metals and soft plastics for them.

If the wind is coming from the north-east I tend to anchor and berley up at the end of the Third Runway, the Old Runway and the Sticks, especially if the tide is coming in.

If the tide is falling and the is from the north-east I anchor and berley on the south-western side of Bare Island, Molineaux wall or along the southern-eastern side of the drop-off at Henry Head. All these spots have a drop-off from broken reef to sand and shale and I always put out a bait for a king there.

I use pilchard tails, pink nippers, blood and tube worms, fillets of garfish and strips of squid. If the water remains a bit discoloured I use chicken gut, mullet gut or strips of striped tuna or bonito. I also berley with a combination of chicken pellets and mashed leftover pilchards.

I always use a pair of baitrunner-style threadline outfits rigged with leaders from 1m to 2m long and if there is not a lot of run in the water I also try a rig with a small ball sinker running directly down to the bait.

While chasing the bream and trevally this way I always have a live squid or yellowtail set just off the bottom for the kingfish. A strip of squid or a soft plastic does the job if I don’t have any livies.

There are usually a number of surface fish around this month so you could also try trolling a few lures around. Places worth a shot include the end and the northern side of the Third Runway (follow the yellow markers), Foreshore Drive, the northern side of Trevally Alley and from Henry Head to Shakey.

If the wind is coming from the south you will need to stick to the southern side of the bay and fish places like Sutherland Point, the Oil Wharf, the Hot Water Outlet, the Kurnell Groynes and Towra Point.

If the wind comes from the west you can always work the shoreline from Dolls Point to the entrance of the Cooks River.

If Port Hacking is more to you liking and the wind has popped up, there are a number of places to get out of the wind and you won’t have any trouble finding a place to fish.

There are thousands of leatherjackets in Port Hacking so don’t forget the paternoster rig, small snapper sinker, No 10 to No 12 long-shanked hooks and small pieces of fresh squid or peeled prawns.

The Port Hacking kingfish tend to hang around moored boats and off the deeper points so try trolling lures, casting soft plastics or setting live baits.

If you are after a feed of whiting, concentrate you efforts over the shallow sand flats off Towra Point, Brighton Le Sands and Silver Beach in Botany Bay. The Georges and Woronora rivers will also hold a number of whiting during the cooler months; find areas with patches of weed and sand such as those on the western side of the Como bridge.

Best baits are beach, tube and blood worms.

At this time of the year it would also be worth a shot for salmon and tailor off the southern beaches like Stanwell Park, Coalcliff and Garie with whole garfish or pilchards on ganged hooks. Email me for more information or visit www.garybrownfishing.com.au.