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Apr 28th 2010

The days are getting colder but the fishing is still good with heaps of flatties and crabs, a few jewfish and Kingfish if you are lucky.

This summer has been the best Jewfish season I have experienced. We haven’t got one over 20kg in the boat but we have lost a few that were around that size and we have had plenty over 10kg with the biggest 18kg. Some days there are heaps of throw back Jewfish with the occasional keeper and up to 60cm (3kg) then the next day there are only a few big ones around. We have caught them everywhere so if you go out move around. I usually give a spot an hour and if we haven’t had any good hits or caught any we move on. We have been fishing Juno Point, Flint and Steel, Gunyah Point, Wobby Beach, The Bridges and a few other not so secret spots. Fresh squid is the best as always and the 18kg Jewie took half a squid. Butterflied yakkas are getting a few too. I prefer a butterflied yakka than a live one as long as it’s fresh they seem to work better.

We are getting heaps of Flathead on soft plastics at the moment with the occasional Jewfish as well. You can really tell the difference between them when you get them on. We are getting about 8 keeper Flathead an hour with heaps of throw backs. I use gulps when flicking for Flathead because you could catch a Flattie with a piece of string but if you use the gulps you will get other fish to. We have caught Jewfish, Bonito, Watsons Bonito, Salmon, Mack Tuna, Kingfish, Bream, Pike and a lot of crappy fish all on plastics. The only problems is the Leather Jackets and Tailor love them too and at around $1.50 each it can be costly. I like the 4 inch Minnows and the 3 inch Shrimp in any colour. It doesn’t matter for Flathead. I am not sponsored by anyone so I am not trying to flog something that doesn’t work. The best place to get them is Big W or Kmart as they are $7-$9 a pack and tackle stores sell them for $10 plus.

If your after Flathead just drift past any of the beaches down the Hawkesbury or Pittwater flicking plastics as you drift. Once you have covered the area go to the next one. It’s 90% luck with Flatties. They are just sitting there waiting for something to go over the top of them. We have also taken some huge Flathead while fishing for Jewfish mostly on butterflied or live yakkas. The biggest lately was 88cm and these big ones are mostly pregnant femailes and should be released unharmed. The big ones don’t taste as good as the smaller ones anyway, around the 45 – 55cm mark are the best eating and flatty filets are my favorite eating fish.

We had a great time on the Kingfish over Christmas but Pittwater has been dead for the last month on the Kingie front. We have been catching a few around the bommie at Barrenjoey but they are there one day and gone the next. We usually give it one run and if we don’t get any hits we leave. There has been heaps of Garfish around West Head and Iron Ladders and if the Kingfish are there they will take them everytime or you can take the Gars home to eat as some have been huge.

As I said Christmas was the best we even caught 2 Cobia although they were small they were good to see and we caught heaps of AmberJack as well. It wasn’t rare to catch Kings and Jews in the one day around Christmas and we did just that plenty of times. With the Cobia one took a live squid off the downrigger but the other took a piece of squid of the bottom at Flint and Steel while we were fishing for Jewfish. I thought it was a shark at first because he came straight to the surface and we have been catching plenty of Hammerheads to 4ft around the same area.

Blue swimmer crabs have been funny over summer being thick one week and none the next but at the moment we are getting around 10 keepers a day in our witches hats from between Juno and Croppy Head or the mouth of Mooney Creek. If the tides are big put your traps out in a bay somewhere out of the current or your traps will be sucked out to sea.

There are heaps of Mullet around at the moment with the pros beach hauling them at Iron Ladders and Little Patonga. We have been getting a few on real small metals or plastics but the fly fishos do really well. Mullet fight really well, they are great bait and they are pretty good eating too with plenty around at the moment.

There are still schools of small Mack Tuna around Pittwater and the Hawkesbury but most days they are in very small schools just popping up here and there and you have to be very quick and lucky to get them. But some days the small schools join up and they stay on the surface a lot longer and are easier to chase around. We catch them on very small metals and with 6lb line are great fun.

I have been seeing heaps of good size blackfish hanging around wharfs and pylons everywhere lately and I will be pulling out the Luderick gear soon but at the moment there are too many other fish around.

A quick tip if someone is anchored and fishing don’t anchor up behind them as that is where there lines are. Anchor up beside them but not to close. I have had this happen a few times lately and we have had to move spots after being there first. Some people are very rude when you ask them to move. They think people are fishing straight down when anchored. We fished Flint and Steel a month ago and this happened. The guy was very rude to us after doing 3 circles around our boat and then anchored up right behind us. So we moved spots and got a 4 and 5 kilo jewfish in the first 15min of being at our new spot. Must be karma.

Ron Osman - Captain, Estuary Fishing Tours

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