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The flathead are certainly on the chew despite the ever present leatheries. On Saturday, ten of us landed 38 flatties and 18 mowies off South Head and drifting to Rosa Wide. A few nice snapper and pigfish came on board as well. A seal kept us entertained for a while but not one fish came on board while he showed off his swimming skills. It was a great day on the water and our most productive outing this year. Never underrate fishing off Sydney in winter!

Our last two trips close in off Sydney (both north and south) have witnessed the worst plague of jackets we have seen. Swarms of the little buggers follow your lines up to the boat. On Sunday we managed to get a few flathead and morwong but it was hard going. Ten of us lost thirty sinkers and countless rigs. With so many jackets around, do the other species get a chance to have a feed? Do leatherjackets prefer cold or warm patches of ocean? I have heard all sorts of theories about this but have not been able to detect any pattern given that they always have been around in the past five years or so.

Nine of us went up to Long Reef on Saturday to experience our worst catch rate for about five years. Unless you got your bait down to the bottom and hit a fish on the head, the swarm of jackets got you. We have never seen them so thick and that's saying something given they have been with us for about four years now. The sea conditions were great but little wind and hungry jckeat make for a most frustrating day.

We copped the big jackets off Long Reef on Sunday as well but found very few lizards. The conditions were great but the fish were not biting apart from the leatheries. Fishing in 60 metres plus, the sinkers felt a lot colder than the 20 degrees reported surface temperature. Just before Xmas, we normally we take home a good haul like the ones in the photo but this year we have done much better overall in the cooler months. Such is fishing!!

We also had our slowest day of the year on Saturday while fishing The Leads and drifting south from The Heads. Caught five sharks and were pestered by small jackets. The reefs gave us little joy and only a few big flatties made the count at least reasonably respectable. In fact, during this year we have found winter to be the best period for catch rates off Sydney.

On Sunday south of Sydney Heads, we encountered the marauding Aussie salmon and landed eight of them while bottom fishing. Very unusual for us to catch them on the bottom in 60 metrers of water!! Birds were everywher joining in the action. The biggest specimen went over 2 kilos. Apart from that, the fishing was spasmodic but at least the jackets were not too prevalent. If the salmon can keep gorging on those young jackets they will go up in my estimation. The cat will get my salmon over a number of meals this week because they're a bit tough and tasteless for me. The flathead and gurnard were great tucker last night.

We were up there the previous weekend at Long Reef and The Whale. The jackets were back in form biting off rigs all day. We were able to get a few other species in amongst the carnage but I suspect that when we go out this weekend it will be a similar story!

We also started at a 45 metre mark yesterday off Long Reef but could only land sweep and large jackets. However once we moved out to the wider grounds, we had great success on the flatties (42) and also picked up a wide variety of reef fish. Because the jackets were big chinaman, we did not lose too much gear at all. However, one poor old flattie was chewed up before he got to the boat with the jackets leaving the head and spine for all of us to admire. Seven of us averaged almost nine kilos each (cleaned). However we can't catch any keeper snapper. This gives us something to complain about in an otherwisw excellent day on the water.

Three miles or so off Sydney it was a very fresh 15 to 20 knots until about 11.00am when as predicted on SEABREEZE the wind dropped right away and eventually went to the S/E at a gentle pace. Glorious day on the water , sealife everywhere (birds, whales, dolphins, sharks, rays) and heaps of flathead brought on board. Thankfully the jackets were at a minimum.

On Sunday, we picked up plenty of slimies for bait south of the heads.The flathead in particular could not resist them. Despite the fast drift south and the rampaging leatherjackets, we had our best day's fishing this year. You can catch fish in winter off Sydney!

Yes it was most likely us!

Went out outside from Sydney Harbour on Sunday to the close in southern reefs. We picked the right day for sea and weather conditions but the reefs were alive with leatherjackets stripping off our bait. Surprisingly little gear was lost however. We could not catch one reef specimen! So, the old standbys at the Stink Pipe and Rosa Gully were tried and at last quite a few healthy flatties came on board with the best weighing in at 1.5 kilos cleaned. We couldn't remember the last time that only two species came on board. Lately we have been spared these toothy rip off merchants but they seem to be back as thick as ever.

On Sunday we were plagued by the little buggers just south of The Heads. We inevitably hooked one and that seemed to make them less persistent. Since we were drifting and not putting out berley, they were not impossible - more of a nuisance than anything else. I'll put up with the birds as a trade off for getting rid of the line snipping jackets that at long last were barely in evidence . Now that they seem to have gone south, the reef fishing will be much less frustrating. And the lazy flatties will have a fair go at the baits.

On Sunday, we found the jackets to have just about gone as well. South of the Heads, this gave us a chance to get to the reef fish and especially the flathead when we got to the sand. The Bureau of Mythology got the forecast wrong again with the seabreeze site once again proving to be far more accurate.

It may be winter but there are still plenty of flathead around Sydney. Offshore is doing very well for us.

You should have been out there on Sunday when seven of us caught 73 sweep and then moved further north to Long Reef where we got 25 flathead and 5 snapper and a few sundries. The Bureau of Mythology got it wrong on the swell forecast as we encountered only a one metre bump. The best news was that we encountered very few leatheries - about time!!

If you want to catch some sweep, get out to The Whale (north of the Heads). Seven of us caught 73 yesterday before moving off to the flathead grounds off Long Reef where we landed 25 good sized lizards. At least the sweep don't bite you off as have the jackets for the last 18 months!!! Also got a few snapper as well.

Spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights hauling in the prawns at Sussex Inlet. Easily got 4/5 kilos each night ( 2 or 3 of us with hand nets) with reasonably good sized specimens among them. Schoolies are the sweetest prawns although a test of patience and endurance in the shelling department! 60% of Sunday's catch have been frozen down and hopefully will be converted into fish before too long. This was the best run I have seen for about 8 years or so down there.

Rock cod spikes are the most painful I have encountered. We usually get them on the gravel and reef areas off Sydney. Our recipe is to boil them in water with half a potato, leave them in the fridge overnight and you have poor man's lobster - really!

You certainly can catch flathead during winter. Two weeks ago I landed five flathead off Rosa Wide including one beauty at 1.4 kilos cleaned. Perhaps the estuaries are colder at this time of year than the inshore areas.

I fish with a local RSL Club off the close in reefs and sandy bottoms and have also found flathead to be unusually scarce for this time of the year. We are finding that the bags have been very mixed and the good news is that we are continuing to pull in a few plate sized snapper.