rjc123

Don't bother with the bought stuff. 99% of the time the kings/jews won't touch it... Especially in summer when food is more plentiful. Yakkas go okay as a slow-trolled bait and downrigged is fine also. Another effective technique with yakkas is to slowly drift or EXTREMELY slowly troll them unweighted behind the boat. Best in late arvo/early morning when the kings are higher up in the water column. Hit up places like West Head, Barrenjoey Head, Mackerel Beach, Palm beach wharf and Scotland Island and you should find a few. A secret spot of mine is right down near Bayview. The Eastern shoreline opposite bayview almost always produces a few squid for me! Good luck! Tom

Completely agree with BUTCH. Shuts down in the cooler months so best bet is to grab some poddies (try the reserve along the wakehurst parkway) and fish them in the "hot spots". If i were a betting man my money would be on the woolies bridge, run out tide with live poddies for some flathead.. Fresh prawns would probably be next on the list. Don't be affraid to try some SP or blades though. They have done a lot of the damage lately! Cheers, Tom

ripper of a snapper for cowan

Curado's are a tough little reel! However, i have the Okuma V-System low profile BC and its FANTASTIC! Comes with two spools so i have one with 10lb (for bass, big flatties and rat kings) and the other with 20lb for jew, kings (under 80cm) and barra up north. They go for around $270.. Have a look! Also comes with a lifetime warranty! Cheers, Tom

Thanks for the kind words mate I enjoy writing the responses so its a win win situation! Starting to lose sleep thinking about the yak! Can't wait !!!!

Having said that, a mate got a 70cm fish landbased today in middle harbour!

Not cheap mate.. $3350.. I hope its worth it though! Good alternative to a boat!

Mix of 2" Gulp Shrimp and 80mm bloodworm wriggler. The wriggler was the only one that got a fish today.. I had a look at the revolution! Top yak! Ended up spending a little more and going for the new pro angler 12.. Can't wait to get into a few kings during summer!

Hi raiders, Haven't posted a report in a month or so.. Got out last weekend to roseville and picked up a few bream and trevally on prawns... Murphy's law, forgot the camera ... No worries! Headed out again today. Started off at my favourite honey hole.. Not a single bite after an hour.. Switched to SP and nothing so eventually headed elsewhere.. Headed to another spot i have caught good fish at before.. Around 50 meters to the right of the ramp.. Straight away hooked up! Turned out to be a lovely 31cm bream Gave me a fun fight on 6lb and was very fat for its length.. Around 20 mins later same thing and pulled up another good bream. This one going 30cm.. Both bream were released to fight another day! Just before calling it quits i nailed another 27cm bream on SP.. Unfortunately only got one photo as the phone ran out of charge shortly after the first fish... All in all a nice day! Even though it was EXTREMELY tough going.. 5 hours for 3 fish.. Ah well.. Only a few days til i can FINALLY pick up the new yak! Hopefully that all goes well Cheers, Tom

Worth a go but i'd be waiting til maybe mid october.. They should be biting hot around then. Well done on a balmoral SP flattie.. Only ever got them on baits there.. Cheers, Tom

Yepp, lovely black bream

No problems ! Hope you get a few

Hi mate, if i were you i'd definitely invest in a new set up. The positive is that the reel you buy can be used for jews and big kings as well... It sounds like your more after smaller sharks (6' and under) so a 12 000 - 20 000 reel should be what you want. This will knock over the small sharks very well and have enough grunt to stop a biggen too. Braid would be ideal but for sharks isn't necessary. It would be a good idea though as you can get much more braid on a reel than mono! Large mullet slips and bonito strips can be good too. Especially when fresh. If you are approaching the bridge from the south/roseville side then take the first RIGHT a km or so after the bridge and turn around. Then after turning around if you come back down towards the bridge from the north the turn off is on the left.. Can't miss it. Good luck!

Great report buddy! Super fish In winter too! I've noticed a similar thing with bigger flatties. I've had no trouble releasing fish under 50cm but i've had a few fish (ranging from 60cm - 75cm) that basically died when i tried to put them back... I handled them with care, had them out of the water for less than 2 mins and supported then fish's body weight. The main thing is that you tried to release it! Well done on a great catch mate Tom

If you are after bull sharks then during summer there's no shortage of them in Middle Harbour. Landbased you can find them all the way from balmoral to well past the roseville bridge. The key is plenty of burley/chum and a big bait. Things like salmon heads, live big mullet/tailor and big butterflied baits are best. If your looking for a spot then there are a few. Balmoral Wharf at night during summer for bronzies and the odd bull... Most think this isn't a very sharks area but i HAVE caught bronzies (to 6') at night here in the past. Chuck out a big livie or salmon head under a balloon... 30cm live yakka got me most of my sharks here... don't expect to get MANY sharks here.. but if you persist you are in with a chance. Roseville bridge are has a few bulls in summer but they aren't easy to catch... Night time with a big,smelly bait is your best bet here... Anywhere near sugarloaf bay and pickering point are good also.. Parra has plenty of sharks in summer too.. Basically fish similar areas as you would for jewfish and you might get lucky! Make sure you have the gear to stop them though.. I'd also consider a wire leader if i were you.. Depending on shark size, for a 2m shark i'd probably want 80-100lb mainline (more if in tight structure like bridges etc.. 120+ mono/fluro leader and at around 2 foot of 120+lb wire... Go lighter if you want but be prepared to lose plenty if you do.. Good luck! Cheers, Tom

The hawkesbury is at times the hardest estuary in the Sydney are to fish.. Given its shear size, the fish are VERY spread out. During winter i only fish the mouth of the hawkesbury around flint n steel and juno... sounds like it may been just bad luck.. Squid and tailor are top baits for jew.. In summer places like Bar Pt and Pumpkin Point are great for schoolies as the fish seem to head up stream with the warm water.. Think of it this way.. If you have the right bait/lure, in the right place, at the right time.. then its only a matter of time until you get a few.. Keep at it mate! Cheers, Tom

Unfortunately i think you'd need some sort of watercraft to fish it properly... Issues with yak shipping but "apparently" ready to pick up next monday

Yeah, always a few good flatties around in summer.. I have to say the bridge certainly is a "vibe eater". I reckon i've lost around 7 there in the last year or so... 2 of them were jackall transams which go for around $27... I only use lightly weighted SP and HB there now... I heard from a friend that the mangroves on the roseville side upstream of the bridge are one of the best big bream spots in the harbour at the top of the tide! He pulled 3 45cm fish from there last summer.. Might be worth a look

Not saying the spit doesn't have good fish, it certainly does... BUT, if you know when and where, Roseville "Does produce big fish".. Roseville is a much better option for jews and big bream when the water warms up.. No shortage of schoolies in jan/feb with a few bigger fish (10kg+) turing up October-December... Fantastic spot for a few bream and trevs on unweighted prawns/lightly weighted SP's too atm.. If squid is what you want then certainly go spit instead.. I suppose kings are more "abundant" around the spit too though.. Tom

Nice haul mate! Not long before the kings come inside! You'll be eating well tonight Cheers, Tom

Bad luck buddy.. Got a few 30cm bream and 33cm trevs there sunday arvo.. Took a while but burley brought them about on dusk.. Certainly not as many fish as there were in june/early july though... Tom

Best bet is a thresher or mako i think... In summer it COULD be a Monster Spanish Mack but unlikely to be big enough to strip 350m of braid off your reel.. Know a few people who have pulled 20kg+ macks from Sydney in the last few years.. Wishful thinking about one being able to spool you though.. Cheers, Tom

Roseville still has some nice bream and trevally around the top of the tide near the boatramp. The odd flathead in the channel too. I have caught squid at roseville, but not very many. Not really worth targetting... Spit is much better for squid.. Roseville should turn on in month or so... Tom

Bad luck mate! Never know, could've been a jew.. Best bet is oversized ray or maybe a bronzie.. Chuck one of the barracouta out live if they arent big like the one in the above pic.. Might be wrong though as im not sure of the legal sizes.. Might get something special on it though

Hawkesnest, Port Stephens. Great salmon, tailor and jews from the beach, bream, flatties and jews in the river, whiting off the port side beach (jimmy's beach) and loads of kings, snapper and reefies offshore.. Give it a look..