HawkesburyParadise

Why gang hooks?

Hi all I started my journey around October last year and with all of your help and comments, I am now averaging at least 1 fish per session. Along the way, I've changed rods, added new line(braid and mono) to my reel, learnt about tackle and fished in a number of positions learning about tides and depth. Most of the fish I've caught have been under the legal limit, vast majority being babies. I would like to catch bigger fish at least legal size and I would like to have some tips. - Time of day - Tides - Is it necessary to have a boat? - Heavier rods/reel? - Avoid bait and use lures? - Specific baits Finally, feel free to suggest If I should change nothing and just keep having a go. HP

Nice report. What part of Berowra Waters do you fish in? I've seen gars around Bobbin Head. Are they edible? and what tackle/bait did you use for them?

Last day of holiday in Lake Macquarie before heading back to Sydney. I broke my rod in the car due to incorrect storage so handline is all I had left. Twilight at the lake with a bit of rain around. Two baby snappers and 1 undersize bream the result.

Staying at Lake Macquarie this week with wifey and baby. We hired a runabout for 2 hours. First time boating, it was quite hairy with a bit of wind and waves. Baby was initially cranky and crying to have to wear the life vest. Wifey was happy being there enjoying the Sun with a few beers. I threw local squid into the water which I bought from a shop at Swansea. Initially, being closer to the middle, no bites. Eventually, we moved the boat closer to shore and got a bite and a hook with a baby snapper. I was a little confused over how far to sink the bait. The lake is deeeeep so unsure if I was sinking too deep or I was at the wrong place. Pretty happy though to have boated and caught a fish. Cheers HP

I'll be close to Cams Wharf, for info.

Hi all, I will be spending a week at a resort on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie over Easter. The place has a jetty which I am hoping to fish off. I am unfamiliar with the fishing in Lake Macquarie. Species, Time of the year, tides, etc, give me all you info you have. I have light gear(2-4KG) so won't be targeting anything too big. Kind regards, Manish

Are you sure that's not this knot - https://www.animatedknots.com/trilene-knot With the Uni, I wasn't doing an loops at all. Just once through and twist then back through the head again.

Thanks. I must be doing something wrong with the Uni then because it slipped a couple of times.

I've been fishing on and off the last few days. Not too many successful sessions but lots of learnings. 29/1 - Tom Uglys point After dropping my Dad off early in the morning, I headed out to a popular spot - Tom Uglys point under the bridge. Lots of bites, lots of snags and the current was way too strong for the 00 sinkers I had. Moving to the other side, I managed a tiny Silver Trevally. Bit of a waste but the sun rise made up for it. 31/1 - Morning session with Little Flatty Great to learn about soft plastics from our man Little Flatty. No bites on it for me(Fish can sense a newbie :p) but great experience. 1 big bite on Chicken bait from a resident Bream who disappeared after that. 31/1 - Afternoon Harbour Bridge Session Little Flatty asked me if I was going to be fishing all day. I had to be somewhere in the evening but who can resist throwing a line at the harbour bridge at Ives Step Wharf. Not a very successful session, I now get what someone said about the current at Milsons point. No matter where I threw the line, it would always end up towards Circular Quay. Again lots of snags even when I threw the bait straight down using paternoster rig. Some kids were throwing big baits and they said they caught a snapper. Eventually, I moved a bit to Hickson Reserve with clearer water just to see what was happening with my bait. I could see fish in the sea weed beds but they weren't interested in my Squid bait. I think I even noticed a few flatheads take a look and decide to ignore. One thing I noticed as I left was 2 old fishermen at the start of Pier 1 at Hickson Rd on the boardwalk. They had caught a few fish and were descaling them. Lesson learnt - Don't try to be cool, fish near structure. 2/02 - Morning session at Berowra Waters Incoming tide, new moon and overcast - Should be perfect for Fishing right? Not as much as I would have expected. Perhaps, I was there a bit earlier than I needed to be at 6.30am when high tide point at nearly 10.30-11am but I had to be at work. I was actually quite surprised as I had 0 bites in the first hour. Eventually, things picked up a bit and I managed to land a 15-20cm bream. I say this without measurement because when I pulled it up the knot went lose on the hook. There's a fish swimming with my hook now. If anyone has tips of tying better knots than uni for hooks, please let me know. Having said that, I am not disappointed, my record at Berowra still stands - min 1 fish in a session.

Wow, you learn something new everyday.

Nice one! Isn't Barramundi a fresh water fish? How did it survive in the salt water? Also, What community releases fish in rivers? I know that We(Indians) release birds for astrology but I've never hard of anyone releasing fish.

Yep, 10 inches from head to tail so I may have taken it home if I caught it at Bobbin Head or Berowra.

I thought I'll give night fishing a try tonight. Meadowbank wharf is where I ended up at midnight with a plan to fish for an hour and then head back. As I arrived the wharf itself was full of kids and not with fishing roads. Not a good sign. Being alone at night is not a good place to be around a group of drunk teens. I walked under the bridge to the Meadowbank park side and a whole family was fishing. Ah, my people! I'm safe now. I used bait with 00 sinker. Chicken went first, the fish liked it but the hook came back empty. A few times with this and BAM! A legal bream. First bream, first midnight outing! As this is Parra river, it was released back into the river. As I had no significant bites after this, I assume it was the same bream.

Thanks mate. All released!

So Squire IS baby snapper then?

Morning session at Bobbin Head this morning. There's a coastal warning so I hope everyone's safe particularly in Tonga. The tide was unbelievable this morning. Started at 6am and finished at 8.30am. It started a bit slow, I was targeting Bream on dough which has worked here in the past. Eventually I switched to chicken and I started getting hits left right and centre. Thawing the thigh fillet last night worked well. This was the first time I could see the fish putting the entire piece in its mouth and get hooked - A big event for me. Catch - 2 Tarwhine? 20cm each 8 inches, 1 chopper tailor. They had a red hue, originally I thought baby snappers.

You're not wrong there mate. Been a tough place for me too.

Hawkesbury has very few places with your requirements but I would say 2 of them are: Bobbin Head and Brooklyn. BB: You can fish off the rock wall on the western side nearby the bobbin head cafe. You're able to hammer in the rod holders(may require a mallet if it hasn't rained lately. I have heard you can fish all sorts of fish there but I can't confirm about mulloway. Brooklyn: Again rock wall at McKell Park. There's a car park near the play ground. Best to avoid public holidays as it's incredibly busy. Hammering the rod holders possible. Pretty close to the main branch of Hawkesbury so the possiblity of fish are endless.

Thank you @DerekD. You're wisdom in fishing is too damn high. Thanks for correcting my technique. I'll keep at it! Sorry for all the questions Thanks for taking me out and the pic @Mike Sydney

You can catch bream with size 10 hook?

Location- Berowra Waters Berowra side Time - 8-10am Tide - Runout tide, started 1.5 hours after High tide Summary I've been trying early fishing during holidays but not having much luck at Bobbin Head. I thought I'll wait til a bit later(instead of 6am) and try Berowra. My plan was actually to chill a bit and run some lures but no success was had with that. Eventually, I switched to bait with size 6 long shanks but kept having bait taken. To avoid frustration, I switched to circle hooks. Eventually, Something worked and I caught a baby tailor and a big tailor just undersized(26cm) then the legal limit. Caught on weightless, circle hooks on squid bait. The area is a little like bush bashing with rock ledges as seating over the berowra creek. Easy to lose lures but I suppose stealthy and worthwhile too.

Based in Hornsby Shire so Bobbin Head and Berowra are local. Closest Parra river is probably Putney/Meadowbank.

In the video it seems like Shrooms hard body hits the bottom by itself. I can 100% guarantee that's not the case with mine, it has a tiny weight. Having said that, Yes I'll try lowering the rod and running it slow.

Any particular areas in Sydney where it should work well?