Harbour Observations

[kingiemaster]

Howdy,

Like the stockmarket, but in reverse, I reckon the fishing, and more recently, the surface action in Sydney harbour is arguably the best it's been since the great depression.

I catch the Manly ferry everyday, in addtion to sailing Monday's evenings and of course fishing on the weekends.

With few exceptions I have witnessed surface activity almost everyday for the past three or four weeks, even in howling southerlies or nor easters. Some days are better than others and the schools spread out but Bradleys Head and 500 metres either side of it seems to be the most consistent area. Either way there appears to be plenty of bait and predators keen to eat them. Interestingly I am yet to see anyone hooked up despite three or four boats floating around the schools most days.

Of course last Spring saw similar levels of activity east and west of the bridge. This activity only died down when unseasonal low pressure systems persisted throughout December.

It could be an anomaly but I dont think I'm alone in saying that the each season just seems to get better since the absence of commercial fishing, of any kind, with the baning of Kingie traps and the closure of salmon canneries kicking it all off some years ago.

Over the last week or so, as I did around this time last year, I have also spotted decent sized Kings cruising under Manly wharf amongst big sureons and blackfish. Not sure how'd catch them but with the jetcat service no longer running I'm sure I could get away with sneaking the canoe nice and close on the east side of the wharf for shot at them.

Anyways, good luck to you all on the weekend and happy Oz day.

Dave

PS For the record I only got two rats at the Kingie social last weekend downrigging squidies around the western wedding cake. The smallest was barely 30 cm long, a PB of sorts I guess.

[werris]

I don't want to sound negative or refute your claims, but Tailor up to 100lbs used to be caught from North Head around the 1900's. The figure was confirmed 3 times by the person doing the article for Fishing World more than a few years back.

The harbour still got a long way to go before it is anything like it used to be, if ever again. It's not in most humans interests to clean up polluted waterways, the evidence for me being how many people look at you like an idiot for say fishing in Manly Lagoon, rather than looking at the roots of the problem and trying to address them.

When I hear people say "ooh it looks really dirty" I ask them how they think it got that way? It's not the fish or lagoon/rivers/oceans that are the problem.

Unfortunately for man, he will not realise till to late and until all the rivers, lands and oceans are polluted, and all fish and animals are to dirty to eat...that you cannot eat money, shares or property.

Edited January 23, 2009 by werris

[squid hunter]

I don't want to sound negative or refute your claims, but Tailor up to 100lbs used to be caught from North Head around the 1900's. The figure was confirmed 3 times by the person doing the article for Fishing World more than a few years back.

The harbour still got a long way to go before it is anything like it used to be, if ever again. It's not in most humans interests to clean up polluted waterways, the evidence for me being how many people look at you like an idiot for say fishing in Manly Lagoon, rather than looking at the roots of the problem and trying to address them.

When I hear people say "ooh it looks really dirty" I ask them how they think it got that way? It's not the fish or lagoon/rivers/oceans that are the problem.

Unfortunately for man, he will not realise till to late and until all the rivers, lands and oceans are polluted, and all fish and animals are to dirty to eat...that you cannot eat money, shares or property.

100lb tailor?

surely not

regards

Squid Hunter

[Josh88]

I'd probably agree with you Dave.

The 'best' can be different to everyone i guess, whether it be the amount of fish, the type of fish or a combination of both. At the moment there seems to be a lot of fish with kingfish, salmon and tailor all present in numbers, only thing missing are the bonnies which add in that different element. I'm hoping that this keeps going right through march/april once the sub-tropics are in like the frigates, samsons and amberjacks. The frigates normally make an appearance on the surface but are fast and fussy whereas the samsons and amberjacks tend to only be caught as kingfish bicatch.

Are there restrictions for fishing around manly wharf? and What time do you usually get the ferry Dave?

The last few times i've been out there the fish haven't seemed to pop up before 630-7 and usually stay up until 9-11. When i was out yesterday i managed about 25 fish before 9am off the surface, i have found which lures seem to do the damage and then i have successful ways for when they are fussy as well.

I'd agree with werris' claims though as well in that it could be better and we only have fellow man to blame as to why it isn't better. I reckon we are heading in the right direction though in the harbour and it will continue to get better. If we really wanted it better for the long term then increased size limits and decreased bag limits may anger some but would see more quality fish in the harbour like the kings that were through the harbour in spring before the rats.

Just my thoughts

Josh

[luderick59]

100lb tailor?

surely not

regards

Squid Hunter

maybe 10lb would be more like it

peter

[whi7eindustries]

maybe 10lb would be more like it

peter

I got a 6lb one that screwed my Rapala and stuffed my leader, and they still taste like week old sashime, but a 100lb would be pretty intense.....

[tuna1]

One hundred pound tailer, would,nt surprize me given enough time to grow there pretty aggressive eaters imagine what he would do to your lure,s.

Lets hope things keep improving.

[pjbink]

I think about 15kg is the maximum for Tailor. The largest recorded on the East Coast have come from Qld to a weight of 14.5kg. The IGFA record has stood at 31.8 lb (14.4kg) for a North Caroliner USA fish and has stood since 1972.

Regarding the Harbour there is some interesting research about what the fishing 'used to be', titled The Good Old Days? Historic Insights into NSW Coastal Fish Populations and Fisheries. Done by Dr Julian Peperell (see his column in Dec MF), he starts with the earliest accounts of Capt Cook and the First Fleet. Fresh fish was intended to be the food supply of the 1300 or so colonists and many accounts of fish and fishing were written during this period. The prevailing theme was that while the occassional good haul was caught (when identified usually Aust salmon or snapper), catches were very unpredictable and long periods of relatively scarcitiy of fish, especially in winter, were repeatedly noted. Certainly catches of fish were never bountiful enought to produce a glut or to permit smoking or preserving on any scale. In fact the colony came close to failure with even some cases of death by starvation. The conclusion of this part of the study was that fish populations, at least in the Sydney area, where nowhere near abundant as one might imagine.

[Frantic]

I've seen a photo of a tailor which was the width of the front end of a comby van "it was tied to the bullbar"

id say its was about 20kg at a guess but not from sydney ,WA i think shark bay and it was a really old photo.

Edited January 25, 2009 by Frantic