Sydney Harbour Monday 14th September 2015

[fragmeister]

Hi Raiders,

I decided to have a day out in the harbour today but I started out a lot later than usual and I had no intention of venturing outside.

Got some livies in the tank at the quarantine station so I moved around to North Head and put one down deep and one under a balloon.

I was hoping to tuck myself away under the headland the get away from from the Nor'easter that was increasing in intensity.

Sat there for about an hour with no takers on either livies so I headed off to check our some bird action I could see further around north head.

As I suspected it was big schools of salmon feeding at the surface. These were pretty significant boils but of course I have forgotten the fly rod and true to form they were in no mood for any lures or at least very reluctant to take what I was throwing at them.

I was at the corner of North Head now and I persisted in spite of a wind chop and swell combination that had me near fall out of the boat a couple of times. II hooked up half a dozen times only getting one to the net which went back in the drink. It seems that when they are feeding on larvae they do not take a lures very positively if at all and throwing or pulling the hooks seems to be the norm at least for me.

Eventually the boils subsided so I headed to cover inside the harbour and moored up over near the Zoo. I have often marked up some serious looking fish over this spot but never fished it. It was out of the wind so I sat back with a livie our and set up a burley trail picking up a couple of tailor and a kingie on a rig more meant for bream than anything else.

Anyway the day was more about relaxing than anything else so I just sat back and soaked up the sun and headed off home at 1pm.

Cheers

Jim

[Razzell]

Glad you had a good time out there, that wind was brutal today! Those bays round by the zoo produce good fish occasionally. My only problem is, being in the kayak and in the path of ferries, it's like being in a washing machine at times.

[GoingFishing]

Sounds like u had a better day than most over the weekend jim , at least u got some fish to the boat ! I spent 6 hrs on Saturday for one lonely trev!

I've had similar experience with the salmon schools and I have suspicions that most of the time my lure has foul hooked a fish on the retentive hence why so many "spat hooks"

[Yowie]

The sambos are feeding on microbait, no more than 2cm long, so tiny lures are needed. Found that in Port Hacking over the last few weeks.

[Krispy !]

if theyre picky an unweighted cube of pilchard will do the job, but you've gotta be fishing 4lb or less

[fragmeister]

The sambos are feeding on microbait, no more than 2cm long, so tiny lures are needed. Found that in Port Hacking over the last few weeks.

Yes, Its interesting to watch... slowly swimming near the surface mouths open almost like mini whale sharks sucking the microbait in.

They are so thick that I suspect a lure passing by just jags one in the open mouth and lip hooks them explaining why the are so easily lost in the fight.

I'll take the fly rod next time.

Cheers

[fragmeister]

Sounds like u had a better day than most over the weekend jim , at least u got some fish to the boat ! I spent 6 hrs on Saturday for one lonely trev!

I've had similar experience with the salmon schools and I have suspicions that most of the time my lure has foul hooked a fish on the retentive hence why so many "spat hooks"

Yes, I think you are spot on.

[fisho.sid]

i saw these schools and they didnt take a soft plastic about 3 inch my mate was throwing at them.

What was the size of King you got at the Zoo?

[fragmeister]

i saw these schools and they didnt take a soft plastic about 3 inch my mate was throwing at them.

What was the size of King you got at the Zoo?

Yes, its hard to get them to take a lure when they are feeding on krill.

They will take eye flies quite freely though and if you are not confident with a fly rod then I have caught them using an eye fly under a bubble float a bit like the way you might

fish for trout with a mudeye or grasshopper.

The kingie I caught near the zoo was just under legal size. I was drifting a pilli cube down a burley trail for the bream I could see coming up from the depths.

Another king a little bigger followed a live bait I reeled in to check. I stopped the retrieve when I saw it but it took off.

Cheers

Jim