Botany Bay - Sunday 9th November

[suttonscurse]

Hi Guys

Headed out at sunrise on sunday morning chasing bream in Botany Bay . Tried all the usual spots but very quiet. Only ended up with one Bream and a medium sized flathead ( strangely even the small pinkies , which usually make a nuisance of themselves weren't around either).

Nice day to be out on the water , also noticed that the NSW Martime officers were fairly busy in the Bay.

There was a school of fish on the surface near the runway about 9:30am (probably tailor?) but by the time we got close they had sounded so wasn't able to positively identify . Most boats that we spoke to were also having a quiet time - no Bream only a small number of flathead around.

regards Bill

[james7]

G'day Bill

Sounds like a typical report for a day on the Bay for me , not that I fish the Bay very often. Anyway, I'm sure it was great to be out on the water. I'm sure you had a better time than I did mowing the lawn and gardening!

Were you fishing bait or sps?

Cheers

Peter

[Dan]

Hi Guys

Headed out at sunrise on sunday morning chasing bream in Botany Bay . Tried all the usual spots but very quiet. Only ended up with one Bream and a medium sized flathead ( strangely even the small pinkies , which usually make a nuisance of themselves weren't around either).

Nice day to be out on the water , also noticed that the NSW Martime officers were fairly busy in the Bay.

There was a school of fish on the surface near the runway about 9:30am (probably tailor?) but by the time we got close they had sounded so wasn't able to positively identify . Most boats that we spoke to were also having a quiet time - no Bream only a small number of flathead around.

regards Bill

We headed out into the bay at around 7:00am... Dropped a few hats in for some crab off the beach at Brighton.

Checked the pots a few times in the first hour without a single crab!!!

We then hit Towra point for some flats and picked up a 62cm flattie... (One of the nicest flats we have had onboard for a wile)

Not a lot of other action so we decided to move up the George to grab a few crabs and fish for some bream, no luck and only picked up some small bream..

Pulled the hats and headed back out into the bay, fished off bear for a bit and only picked up a few snapper that were nothing to write home about. - A few rock-cod also that where fun to catch on light gear.....

(BTW: I have fished the bay for a few years now and never noticed that at times large waves break in the middle of the bay just off bear island. A small-ish boat was hit a few times before he moved on. It took us all by surprise)

We moved around the bay a lot yesterday and I must say (I didn’t fish the bay at all last year but have fished it since 2003) the bay is fishing like CRAP!!!!

We didn’t even bother to chase kings as I have heard you have to really work ATM to get them…

I know of the all the work that is going on in and around the bay, and I must say it’s killing the recreational fishing!!!

There are still good fish to catch but in comparison to two years ago........ It’s rubbish!

(And it’s even worse when you don’t eat fish like Trevally or Taylor)

I would be interested if anyone has some advice to getting better results in the bay now that it’s fishing a little harder.

Does anyone chase crab in botany bay/Georges? I have only tried this twice now with only one crab onboard We use hats with fish frames, slimy mackerel and mullet as bait.

Also what was the bay like this time last year guys?

Dan.

[andrewau]

it was the bombora where you seen the waves crash

i have heard a few boats have been sunk when they have been caught by suprise

[suttonscurse]

Hi Guys .

I am probably imagining it , but I am thinking that the Bay is a lot quieter this year than last ( and I always thought that with the end of professional netting it would really liven up) - And there is certainly a lot of new construction work going on.

Yesterday we used peeled prawns , worms , squid , Mullet , and mussels - the Flahead was caught on prawn and the Bream took a worm. Didn't put any crab traps out yesterday , saw plenty of floats but no reports on any crabs being caught yet

Next time I go out I will have a try with SP's and try and get some flathead around the smaller bays.

Edited November 10, 2008 by Suttons Curse

[Keflapod]

Hey guys,

I too fished the bay. I went out BOTH Saturday and the Sunday. The most amazing thing was that i was able to con, er, I mean convince the wife that a feed of bream and crabs was DEFINATELY on the menu...

Well, saturday I tried for jews up the river early morning - no luck.

I used the crab traps at the mouth of the river at three different spots (1.5 hours at each spot) - only got one large femal crab in full roe so she went back in to have her babies.

Didn't do too much serious bream fishing saturday but only managed 2 bream, 35 and 38cm.

Sunday, just did the bream thing - I fished from 6:00am until 1:00pm for only 9 bream and 1 nice sand whiting. Bream were 29 - 38cm with about 6 fish borderlining that went back in.

Also got about 6 sting rays - when the fishing is quiet, the rays have time to find the bait and take it before the bream so it's very annoying.

The water was 19 degrees but the baits were cold to the touch. I'm unsure why the fishing was so slow - the water did not appear to be dirty so I can't say the dredging is doing it. The weather was so nice - it was good to be out there. The prediction for saturday was really bad but the apprentices that predict the weather get it wrong so often that it's hard for me to take them seriously. I go anyway and just keep an eye on the clouds, the horizon and Ch88 on the radio.

As for the crab baits, I just use the fish frames of the fish I fillet - whiting and bream (the bream between 27cm and 30cm I will fillet and use the frames for crab bait). I do not have a strategy for where to deploy the traps - I'm still learning that one, but if I get a few in a pot, I'll ping it on the GPS !

Apart from that, the only spot I know where there's lots of crabs is 454 nautical miles off Dutch harbour in the Bering sea - the deadliest catch - I need a bigger boat and be lobotomised before I go out there !

[Pafisho08]

Hi

I have to agree with most of your comments regarding how bad the Bay & G/river are fishing at present as I

have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks flicking plastics from my many chosen landbased spots.

CAN ANY ONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE THE FLATIES ARE HIDING .

Regards Bob

[Kruzenvax]

I also believe that the bay is very quiet... whcih makes me very worried. I'd appreciate if people here - with mych more experience and knowledge than me - can comment on it - e.g. what is the reason, is there any hope, etc. After all the Bay is just few km's from the harbour which fishes much better, right? Would pocking the nose out of the heads make any difference?

On a positive side - I went fishing on Sunday. 1st of all during my last fishing trips I was not able to catch ANY live bait. Fortunatelly this time I managed to get enough yakkas, though the were much more picky than last year. While fishing for the bait a legal sized trevally took the bait - it took some fight to bring it on a 4lb line.

I started trolling and have noticed what seem to be a baitfish on the sounder... one school, next, etc and than I burried my brand new shark bomb straight into the reef. I managet to free it bit it has a funny nose now. Also I have spotted bird working right in the middle of the bay. Started throwing slugs into them, got some rasonable taylor... and my kid lost 2 bigger fish one after one near the boat... looke like salmon to me.

So it was better than nothing after all.

[Keflapod]

Hey Kruzenvax,

I fish the bay a lot - almost every weekend, but I have only been doing it for about 6 years.

It seems a bit more hit'n'miss this year. Often I see the conditions as being good, but the fishing average.

My guess is that if the water gets to 22 degrees and we still don't get much (ie < 10 bream), then we need to worry. At the moment the water has just been nudging 20 degrees, with most times only getting to 18.5 or so. My guess is that the water is still a bit cold.

Some weeks ago the whiting were preparing to spawn so they may be spawning now and not eat while spawning - I don't know their life cycle well enough to say for sure. As for the bream (my main quarry), they are more prevalent in the warmer water, but even then, when you find them, they have been more picky.

I don't chase tailor, trevally or salmon, but kingies get a look-in every now and then, mainly oceanfront and beyond. Too many people crowd around the known spots and send them down. Jewies are as usual hit'n'miss, in the river and bay and I will fish for them occasionally so I don't have a lot to offer there.

I wouldn't worry just yet - but when the desal outlet pipe gets built and starts discharging the heavy brine into the bay, expect to be fishing in the dead sea. Then it will be 100% fishing on the ocean, beginning at the 80m line, if you want to find fish. Leatherjackets may end up being a godsend...