Sydney harbour fishing report 24/03/2019
Marzo 24, 2019
Sydney
3 fotos
Yellowtail Amberjack
Flathead
Bonito
Trip Summary
Trip Summary
This Sydney Harbour fishing report is of a week of highs and lows. We saw the tributaries and drains spewing out storm water and debris and the fish have moved from their regular haunts – maybe towards the food, or away from the fresh water? We had the best fishing in North Harbour and the main harbour.
I’m sure the fish were still in Middle Harbour, but getting a line through the debris is a painful experience. The noise of branches and who knows what else working their way under the hull and into the prop is exruciating. But like a lot of keen fishers we ventured out to be rewarded with numerous spots holding good kingfish, as well as bottom and reef fish. Even with the full moon, large tides, and dirty water, Sydney Harbour showed why it’s a world class fishery.
Bait fishing - Sydney Harbour fishing report
I have to say that the best bait of the week once again was squid. Live, freshly caught, frozen, cut into strips and dare I say it even shop bought squid were getting slammed by kingfish. It seemed like every boat using squid (in the right place) was in for non stop action. We found the best times were early morning until lunch. Also on the bite were the ever-reliable flathead.
We used whole pilchards on a single 4/0 hook to catch good size fish on just about every sandy drop off. My tip for good presentation is to use cotton string (or you can buy a super stretchy equivalent from any fishing shop). I feed the hook through the eye, pull it through and pin it back into the body about 30 mm from the tail then pull the line tight and wrap the pillie firmly with the cotton string.
Sydney Harbour fishing report - lure and soft plastic fishing
We found lures and soft plastic fish wasn't as successful this week, maybe partly due to the coloured water. Throwing out 9 inch white slapsticks and other large bait imitations got some follows from the kings. I also had a report of hard body vibes fishing well for jewfish in very dirty water, with patience and persistence the key special ingredients.
Fly fishing - Sydney Harbour fishing report
I saved the best till last this week. Firstly, the surface action has completely vanished. In 4 days on the water I saw only one small king fish bust up and only a single sighting of frigate mackerel darting around. We saw nervous bait balls on the sounder but all the action remained deep below. Which left us with fast sinking lines as the only viable option. We had to throw grace and beauty out the window; casting these lines isn’t as enjoyable as the surface gear.
But when needs must… and hauling up vertical lines caught all the kingfish (bar one) this week. Fly selection wasn’t critical but larger bait patterns in darker colours – especially dark greens - with large profiles were hit on most drops. In the shallows on a run out tide, we used blue and white clousers on an intermediate line to nail flathead, bream and even one kingfish. We found the key this week was to find the fish on the sounder and get the fly in front of them. So check your spots, if your sounder shows arches or bait, then fish - if not then move on.
– winter bookings for Sydney Harbour salmon-on-fly now being taken.