Niall

Thanks for reading everyone. Got this one yesterday - Was the biggest of three that I caught before I basically melted. Middle of the day, stinking hot, people everywhere and this one still couldn't resist. They're not a shy species as far as I'm concerned. Hope everyone gets onto one soon!

Hi All, I've learnt a lot from this forum over the years so thought I'd share a few tips on what's been working for me when targeting Sydney Harbour bream on topwater lures. It's an extremely addictive and accessible way to fish if you live in the city. Once you've cracked the code you'll be hesitant to throw much else for bream when targeting them with lures. Most of my experience is based on my local waterway which is Blackwattle Bay / Rozelle Bay. I also have no boat or kayak so fish exclusively from the shore. The same bream rules apply for where to find them - look for structure, bait and current (pretty sure this works for all fish FYI). The foreshore along BW Bay is full of bream at all times of the tide - don't be discouraged by what time of day either. I've caught them at all times, but in a place that gets as much foot traffic as BW Bay, you'd probably be best to start on early morning / late arvo. Obviously fish when you can, don't wait for the right conditions. You'll learn stuff even when you're collecting donuts 😉 The lure I've had most success on is the classic Bassday Sugapen. I use the 58mm and the 70mm - less hits on the bigger models but they work as well. Try to stick with the clear colour ways but a darker silhouette would go well on an overcast day. Also got them on the Berkley Scumdog (cheaper) and the MMD Splash Prawn but neither of these get the same nibs as the Bassday. Whatever you choose USE SCENT! It works. I don't care what anyone says. Also beware of touching the lure after you've applied sunscreen. Bream hate sunscreen. You can change out the rear trebles for some assist hooks (make your own or get the Atomic or the Ecogear ones). Bear in mind if you change to assists on the 58mm it'll sink a bit and go sub surface more often. Keeping your rod tip up on the retrieve alleviates this mostly. Still works but it's better with a smaller no.10 Treble. The 70mm handles the assist hooks just fine but if you wanna save a couple of bucks just change down to smaller trebles. You'll want to have a light setup for this - I fish 4lb braid and 4lb leader on a 6.5 to 7.5ft 1-3kg rod and a 2500 sized reel. I don't think the fish care what brand your fishing gear is. To nail the retrieve you need a really soft tipped rod. As wippy as you can get. The retrieve seems to be the key for getting them to bite. The slow and steady method is NOT what you want. I'm finding a really erratic walk the dog retrieve with lots of pauses is what gets them interested. Wind steadily and shake your other hand until you see the lure flipping side to side really fast. Retrieve for about 2-3ft then stop suddenly. A lot of the time you'll have a boil behind the lure or a hit straight away. If the fish just has a swipe then keep twitching until he hits it. I've had bream come up 5-6 times before they smack the lure - gets the heart pumping way more than it should for a bream 😂 Another invaluable nugget of info came from this vid. Don't bother casting to the same fish or in the same spot over and over. If a fish has a look and then leaves the lure, he ain't coming back. Move another 10m away and cast somewhere else. This is part of the advantage of BW Bay and Rozelle Bay. You can walk for a good km or two along the water and cast the whole way. Keeps it interesting casting in new territory and structure all the time. Trust me 99 times out of a 100 that bream that boiled behind your lure 10 casts ago is not coming back for another enquiry. Move on. Anyway hopefully that gets a few folks started. I'd been fishing the same area with plastics for ages without a lot of success until I started doing the above. I've caught more bream in the past month on topwater than I did in the past year on plastics. Whether that says more about my fishing ability than anything else remains to be seen. Have fun ladies and gents. Seeya on the water! If you're down by the bay and see a bloke fishing with a red baseball cap it's probably me. Say hi! Niall

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses fellas. It's definitely a tricky prospect getting these fish to fall for a lure. I'd imagine they've all seen a fair few Zman grubs in their time. If I go many more donuts at Blackwattle I may well resort to the bread bait option - not to disparage my bait fishing brethren 😉. Bait is just generally not my thing. I've nicked an idea for a rig off the Windsor Bait and Tackle guy on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQdYKIDfoBL80jb5-idH_Q) where I'm running an unweighted yabbie or prawn plastic on a No 1 worm hook. Casting it parallel to the wall over the rocks. I've yet to do a proper session with it but if I can be patient enough to let it sink and drift about I reckon it'll be killer - The Pro Lure yabbies look really realistic on the sink. I had a little sesh at Darling Harbour this morning and managed to pull a couple of decent ones out from under the boardwalk next to the aquarium - so much fun battling them out from all the pylons. It's a real shame you're not allowed to fish freely in the Darling Harbour (though I can understand why they won't allow it). There are some truly monstrous bream cruising around all that structure - one of the fish caught this morning had a larger one follow it that would've easily been in the late 40's possibly 50's. I understand the waters of Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay are open to fish from a boat. If anyone on here ever heads in there for a light tackle bream session from their boat, I'll happily pay for lunch and buy all the beers if I can tag along. Thanks again lads, Niall

I've recently moved to the Forest Lodge area and am within walking distance on Blackwattle Bay - Been trying to fish the bay for a few trips now without much success. It seems the bream down there are plentiful but extremely wary and I'm having a fair bit of difficulty cracking the code to getting them on lures. The past week of very high tides has seen them grouped up in large numbers all along the wall from Bridge Road up to the point where the bay turns toward Rozelle. I've been mainly fishing with plastics - ultralight leader (6lb max), Zman curlytails, Slimswimz and some unweighted Pro Lure yabbies. Mostly casting parallel to the wall and just past it where the oyster-covered rocks meet the weed and mud. I've managed a few little guys but haven't picked up much of a pattern yet. Anyone got any advice on how to crack this code? Apart from "get a boat" and "use bait?"

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess it's a style/culture thing as well as a practical thing. Seems like it would take a little bit of the enjoyment out of it though. Cheers

So I've been watching a bit of American bass fishing on youtube lately and I've never been able to figure out why they - 1. Strike soooooo hard on the fish 2. Fish seemingly full-locked drag at all times and water-ski every fish in as quick as possible Do large-mouth bass have concrete mouths? I suspect the strike might be something to do with how they rig plastics on a weedless hook with the hook-tip buried in the plastic. You'd need a fair old strike on that rig. Any Americans on here? What's the deal guys?

Hey Mate, I stayed at Mungo Brush Campground / Bombay Broadwater with my mrs a few weeks ago and had a great session one day catching nothing but big fish over the course of about an hour or so. Two big flathead over 60 and three big bream all over 30. On the first day I'd struck out throwing blades and soft vibes around - I'd spent most of the session cleaning grass and weed off the lures. These were pretty small lures as well - I figured that was my best shot at the time. That night though, just on last few minutes of light, I convinced the mrs to let me have a couple of throws to see if my gold Double Clutch would manage in the grassy bottom. Second cast and HWABAM! Something massive grabs the lure and takes a big run. I fought it for a few more seconds and POP - lure and fish gone. I didn't sleep much that night. Next day I tied on the only other gold lure I had - a shallow diving trout sort of pattern and profile with mainly gold and some white. It was also about 1200mm with big hooks. This didn't deter the fish at all and, if anything, I think they were chasing it down. I found ripping the lure through the water really fast between 1-2 second pauses worked best. I've been wondering ever since if it was a fluke because all other reports say it's extremely average. See if you can prove it wasn't mate. They're in there. In short my advice would be - 1. Big Lures, preferably gold 2. Long casts - aided by the bigger, heavier lure. 3. Fast retrieve 4. Stay off the bottom. Go for shallow diving lures. Good luck, Bro! PM me if it's worth a trip back!

Truer words have never been spoken mate. I'll let you know how it goes!

It's happening regardless of my misgivings and I'm pretty pumped for another session. I guess if it's not happening we can head for closer to Port Stephens - only a short drive from the camp site. It's just weird that the online consensus seems to be "Don't waste your time."

Hi Everyone, I had an excellent couple of days fishing in Bombah Broadwater a couple of weeks back and am heading up again in a couple of weeks for round two. I managed to get two big flathead (60+) and two massive bream (35+) in the space of a a couple of hours last time - I was with the Mrs so couldn't fish all day. I just waded in and was casting a big 12cm shallow swimming hardbody. It was probably some of the best fishing I've had. So how come everything I read says that the area is rubbish for fishing? Have I just fluked it that day? Am I possibly wasting my time going back? Also this time round I was thinking of bringing a couple of crab traps. Anyone had any success on the Bombah Broadwater with crabs before? Cheers, Niall

I'm gonna wade the flats at Pittwater/Palm Beach area tomorrow if anyone's keen. Park on Etival Street and walk down the end to the water. I'll be the dude with the green hat. I know it's a bit last minute but you never know. Last time I went I caught a 78cm Flathead. High tide's at 0830. I plan to get there about an hour before. Warning - It will be ****in' cold in the water. I don't wear waders : )

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/harbour-precinct-open-to-the-public-for-the-first-time-in-150-years-20170830-gy7omf.html Was looking through SMH this morning and came across this. Looks like there'll be a few land based spots in here if they'll allow it. That's a big "if"... Loads of structure from the look of the photos and it hasn't been open for 150 years. There's gotta be some fish round there. What do you guys think?

There's occasionally some blokes out there trying their luck with varying results. I don't think you'd be in any danger of crowding anyone out. It would have been perfect with the southerlies over the weekend. You'd only have to drop your float in the water and wait as the wind pushes it over to the fish. I've never seen a blackfish anywhere even near the ferry wharf. I've never tried my hand at blackfishing before. If you ever head that way I'd love to tag along and learn the ropes. Looks like a good winter fishing pursuit.

Ozzybass - they're all along the wall but they seem to like any of the spots where trees are overhanging. They're pretty easy to spot if you've got some polarised sunnies on. You spot them lurking out the back at the edges of the weedbeds. Thanks for the replies everyone. Roll on spring!!

Just wondering if it's me, the weather or the time of year, but I've just been out fishing 3 days running this weekend (shore based, lures, mainly harbour bays) for a big bag of sweet FA. Thought I was gonna be all over it now my exams are over, but the fish just seem to be ignoring my lures. Rose Bay is teeming with Blackfish on the high tide these days. Pity they don't eat lures. Pretty sure the flathead I've managed to catch this winter have been flukes. I reckon my lure has fallen on top of their heads. I was down at Wooloomooloo today fishing off the wharf and round Harry's and there's loads of bream but they're just not interested. The only thing I've been noticing is the amount of little bait fish in the water. Pretty sure they're called "eyes". The water's full of 'em. Are the fish just feasting on those all day? Anyone else had rotten luck this weekend or is it just me?

I just got back from Rose Bay after venturing out for a couple of hours this morning. Probably the most rewarding session I've had down there and I only managed one fish! Got down a couple of hours before the high tide and started fishing the drain that runs off the golf course. It was a bit early for much action and I could barely even see anything swimming around. Not a great sign. I walked around to the other side of the sea plane terminal and fished the big hole for a while with no luck. I was throwing around an Ecogear ZX40 in brown and gold hoping I'd get into a flattie or a bream. The water was very clear and we've obviously had a lot of rain. This combined with a relatively small tide made me think it might be slim pickings. I was starting to feel pretty despondent by this stage but persevered and decided to try somewhere different. Walked over to the wharf which I normally never fish. Too many other people and I get sick of the ferries coming in and out. Does anyone else get a bit self conscious when there's people watching you fish? Anyway, so I cast in from the ferry wharf and land a cast right next to a bunch of pylons. Before the lure hits the bottom my line starts screaming and there's some power there I've never felt before. It swims around in circles for a bit and I manage to tighten my drag a little before it goes for a huge run out towards open water. I'm struggling to keep it under control and I have to pass my rod over a couple of pylons and stand right on the edge of a little platform jutting out from the wharf. A boat comes cruising past and I'm screaming at them to stop before they get caught in my line. My rod looks like it's practically folded back on itself and I'm wondering if my 8lb line is gonna be able to take this. The blokes in the boat stopped and watched while I kept fighting. By this stage I've got my drag on as tight as I can get it and he's still pulling line off the reel, plunging for the bottom. Finally I manage to turn the tables and start to gain some line as the fish tires. One of the blokes in the boat says he reckons it's a king but I don't believe him. Low and behold when I get him to the surface it's my first king ever! On a Bream vibe!! Problem. No net. Shit! I was only expecting to get a flattie (maybe). I couldn't reach down low enough to scoop him up with my handand I'm so excited I can barely hold the rod my hands are shaking so much. Stupidly I grab the leader and try to pull him up. Snap. There goes my first King with a twenty dollar lure in his lip! Gutted! Small consolation in that he wasn't anywhere near legal. If I had to guess he would've been 50cm or so. What a fight though! I've never had anything like it. So there you go - Kingfish on 8lb line with a bream lure. I think that might be a one in a million casts fish. Pretty disappointed I didn't land it and get a photo. Hope you all had a great long weekend fishing. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face with a baseball bat at the moment. Tight Lines!!

I started fishing last year and have learned the ins an outs of lure fishing at Rose Bay. West of the wharf is a long promenade where you can cast in from high up and just walk along the wall end to end. There's plenty of Flathead, whiting, little bream etc. Fish a couple of hours either side of the low tide. Use reasonably strong leader as more often than not you'll end up dead lifting a fish over wall. East of the wharf is the beach, which can be fished pretty successfully on the falling tide. You'll have to wade in. On the low tide you can walk out almost 100m along the sand and cast into the dark water where all the boats are moored. Fish get pushed off the sand flats at low tide and they take refuge in this deep hole. Again - Flatties, bream, whiting on the sand flats. People aren't kidding when they say be careful of stingrays around here. Shuffle those feet as you walk through the sand and you'll be right. Happy to go with you if you're after some company. I'm no expert but I've put in a fair few hours since I started and learned a lot. Niall

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for land based fishing spots in Sydney that fish well on a low tide. I fish at Rose Bay fairly often as it's close and the beach side fishes well on a low tide in the hole. However, with it getting to winter, I would love to find some places where I don't have to wade in. The sting ray and numb ray stories from this spot don't inspire me much either. I'm probably a bit green to heading for any ocean rock platforms so unless anyone's willing to take me out and show me the ropes I'd rather avoid the rocks for now as I mostly fish solo. Any ideas?

I'll be there from about 1530 till it gets dark. Come say hello!

Neil is spot on. That's all good advice that I'm sure he's given to me at some point. I'm by no means an expert. I just recognised I was in your exact position at this time last year. Around Rose Bay I wouldn't be too worried about current. It's pretty easy going along the foreshore. You can afford to go really light without any issue. However too light and you won't be able to cast far at all. There's always a bit of a trade off. Being up high on the promenade helps with casting a lot. I normally fish a 1/8 or 1/12 with Berkeley Prawns or Squidgy wrigglers. Colour matters sometimes. I'd wager that the action you impart to the lure is waaaaaay more important. Stick to natural colours at first as a general rule. These days I mostly fish the area using blades or vibes. I prefer the resistance you feel when you lift up your rod to make the lure hop. I use most of the Ecogear ZX range. The zx35 and zx40 are brilliant but at 17-20 bucks a pop it's a bit of nightmare when you lose one (or two). I lost one to a 50+ cm flattie at Rose Bay last weekend. Absolutely gutted! I'll be down there this arvo from about 3pm if you wanna have a chat.

Rose Bay can be good but you'll have to be persistent. It helps if you live nearby. I usually fish all the way along the promenade along Old South Head Road. Fish the last couple of hours of a rising tide and make sure to put a good few casts in at the eastern end where drain from the golf course comes out on the harbour side. There's always loads of little fish around that and usually a flattie or two hanging about. Fish the whole wall end to end. There's barely any snags and it's a good place to get the hang of plastics. There's been plenty of decent flathead caught around there. Lots of people wade in on the other side and fish amongst the moored boats. It'a stingray central around there so watch where you step if you're wading. That should get you started. If you see a bloke with a green Coopers hat that'll be yours truly. Good luck!

I was in and around Berry over the weekend for my cousin's wedding. I managed to get down to the mouth of the Crooked River in Gerroa for quick flick on the run up tide. No joy unless you get your kicks from toadfish. I also lost a Cranka Crab lure to the oyster covered rocks on the bottom. There's twenty bucks I'll never get back. So I stewed on that all the way back to Sydney and, in spite of being hungover and pretty over it, I headed down to the Rose Bay promenade to see if there was flattie waiting in front of the big drain that runs off from the golf course across the road. No one was home in front of the drain but I was enjoying the sunset, so I walked the whole promenade throwing an EcoGear ZX 40 over the weeds and onto the sandy bottom. It's a great lure and I much prefer using it to soft plastics. Especially the way you can easily feel if the lure's got weed on it. It seems to work well whether you slow roll or flick it. Everything goes for it, even the occasional whiting. I ended up bagging two flathead going 48 and 45cm. Also got my first ever pike, which I threw back. It's taken me a long time to figure out how to catch fish over the past year but I'm finally getting to the point where I catch something almost every time I go out. Niall

Der...Cheers lads. ?

Why do they call it a 'donut' when you don't catch any fish?

I went down to Jervis Bay over weekend with my missus, my brother and some friends. We stayed in a house in Vincentia just next to the south end of Collingwood beach. Fishing was pretty sporadic as I was the only one who's really keen and the others were more interested in sunbathing and drinking. I'm also (admittedly) partial to these pastimes, which could partially explain my relative lack of success. However success is a subjective thing and my weekend was objectively fantastic, so I've got that to take home with me in place of a fish. THURSDAY The first day I tried for beach worms for the first time on Collingwood beach with my newly purchased worm pliers. I'd been looking into how this is done a lot and was looking forward to the results of all my research. As usual, I found out that watching Youtube videos doesn't make you even remotely competent at this understandably frustrating venture. I waved the reeking leg of pantyhose in those waves for over an hour, scouring the water for the telltale "v" of a worm. They were everywhere! I kneel down and hold the bag over the worm and pull it out only to find over and over again a tiny hermit crab waving his little claws at me like he's giving me the finger. Bastards! Nothing left to say. No worms. I was defeated. I attempted to cast a line into the surf against the wind to no avail. I went home with the group to drink my disappointment away with plans to hit the shoreline early the next morning. FRIDAY I'm up early as promised and head straight down to the rocky shoreline that leads to Orions Beach. There's a bloke down there with three rods setup who doesn't look pleased to see me. I walk up the shoreline without a word. I've got some pippies I'd bought the day before for bait and my new 10ft rod to try out. I'm casting a double paternoster rig out but get bored pretty quickly as I haven't eaten anything yet and am in dire need of coffee. I reel my line in and just as I'm packing up I see three dolphins cruise past about ten metres away. Just that was enough consolation for the day before's worming escapade. We head as a group for Hyams beach and I (stupidly) leave the fishing gear at home. Big mistake as there's loads of whiting cruising the shallows while I'm swimming. Decent size as well. We head up to Chinamans and I snorkel around the rocks at the north end spotting more fish that I can't identify in the gloom of the rocks. That afternoon we headed for Moona Moona Creek to swim and flick plastics round in the shallows. This was a lovely place to fish and my brother pulled in a tiny 25cm flattie near the bridge on a 2" bloodworm wriggler. Cheeky bastard got his first fish on plastics his first time trying it! I've been at this for months! I consoled myself with the thought that the whole plan, choice of lure and spot was mine. Another fisho kindly gave us his half dozen or so nippers that he's dug as they weren't enough for what he needed. I couldn't be bothered re-rigging with hooks and sinkers so rigged up a nipper on the end of the small jigheads we'd been using with the plastics. First cast into the little channel that connects the creek with the surf and I'm onto a little whiting. Finally a fish! Beautiful little spot. I love this type of fishing. Knee deep in crystal clear, warm water. Watching the bait fish swim around your legs. Spotting little whiting in the distance. It's magic. SATURDAY We did the Booderee National Park loop walk starting and ending at Murrays Beach. It was overcast all day and the hot weather the day before seemed to have woken up all he flies. We pushed on, swiping at our faces throughout the day. The only respite was swimming. I had a little flick with the plastics around the eastern end of the beach where there's a couple of inlets with over hanging rocks. Really beautiful place but I only managed to get toadfish striking at the lure. There didn't seem to be anything around at all. We headed back to Moona Moona Creek in the arvo and fished till sundown over the runout tide. We had the whole place to ourselves and it was so quiet. It was here that I managed to catch my first flattie on soft plastics. The bloodworm wriggler struck again! I was out almost waist deep when I hooked him and had to walk him into shore to get set him loose. He would've only been about 30cm - I was elated. I inherited a bunch of fishing gear a few months ago when my grandad passed away. He was the one that first took me fishing when I was a kid. I'd not even thought about fishing until he died and my Nan said I could have all his old rods and tackle. We'd always fished with bait when I was a kid, so I was surprised to see some old lures among some of his stuff. Nan said he was just getting into lures when he started succumbing to Alzheimers. I always said that when I finally catch something on them, I'll let it go for Papa. So it was nice to see the little guy swim away unharmed while I thought about my Grandad and all the laughs we had catching fish up at the Entrance together. I know there's no tales of marlin or mahi mahi in here, but I get a kick out of hearing everyone's fishing adventures no matter how successful or experienced they are. Thanks for reading, Niall