Quick arvo session - Cliftons - 6 Oct 2015

[SgtBundy]

I was careful enough with booking time off to ensure I had a week off after our holiday, so when the kids were back in school I would have some time for a few sessions on my own. I was going to hit some of the harbour spots that are usually no go zones on holidays, seeing as it was a weekday. However with the temps today and after a lazy morning we opted instead to wait for the kids to finish school so they could have a swim while I fished.

Got into Cliftons a bit after 4 and was pleased to find it quiet - just two guys on the end of the pier and a few people having a swim. The water was still that green colour from a few weeks back so I wasn't optimistic. The other fishos said it was quiet and had not seen any baitfish either. I setup a pilly under a float hoping for kings but it was not touched the entire time, while my lighter rod was aiming for trevally using prawns.

All quiet for a while then got a few taps - possibly small snapper, then quiet again. Out of nowhere the rod goes over and whatever hit it starts taking drag and giving the rod a workout - I was on 10lb braid but the drag was light, so I notched it up and after some effort to get it out of the structure I had a fat 38cm trevally that was kindly netted by the other guys there. He was kept for sashimi.

The rest of the afternoon was intermittent taps and every now and then an under size trevally, about 3 in all. No other activity there aside from some later arrivals getting similar small trevs. No bird or bait activity on the harbour either.

With the light fading and the kids over swimming I packed up around 6:30. My wife was not keen on the idea of sashimi so the fillets became crumbed instead and divided up among the family for dinner.

Didn't get any photos of the catch, sorry.

[Krispy !]

good stuff mate 38cm is a nice lump of a trev, id give cliftons another month or two before it really gets going, im only gonna go there for bonito this summer when they come around as ive found some greener pastures for kingys

[SgtBundy]

I have been enjoying targeting trevally for their better fight and the one today was a PB (forgot to mention that).

I should try exploring some new locations while I have the time, just to broaden my options. My last few harbour trips have been fairly limited.

[TRIER]

Pretty quite around the harbour at the moment, for me anyway. I was at Clifton on Tuesday morning trying for whiting, plenty around but weren't interested in the live beachworms. Ended up catching 1 around 30 cm & that was it. Old fellow near the end of the wharf was catching the odd keeper bream & blackfish using unweighted bread for bait & burly. Tried a couple of spots around Balmoral this morning for 2 stingrays & 1 decent trevally off the wharf but no whiting.

Thing I have noticed the last few times I've fished around the harbour there has been no yellowtail around, east & north sides. I think that's one reason for the lack of fish. When they arrive maybe things will get better.

Good luck to all of us next time we're out.

[SgtBundy]

Yup - most of my sessions in the last few months I have not seen yakkas save a few horse ones that pop up out of the blue, but no schools.

[Mike89]

Nice catch. I've been targeting trevally for the last few weeks and have had some pretty good success around Balmoral. Definitely dropped a few though as they are a hard fight!

Also clocked a PB at 38cm about a month back. They can really pull some line!

Do they stick around much when the water gets warmer? I've only been fishing this year so I am pretty unaware of the cycles for certain species.