Last 2 weeks on the Harbour

[ACJ]

G'Day Ladies and Gents,

I've been pillaging these forums for hints and info for so long that I've felt it only right to start sharing back a bit of detail, be it useless or otherwise. 

I haven't been on the water much this year, but finished work and study around 2 weeks ago and have hit the harbour hard over the past two weeks. 

All in all, there were certainly kings around, but in general and compared to say last season they were hard work to both find and make bite. 

On the positive side all the standard locations were forthcoming with live squid (I don't really take bait, or lures, out fishing) and in basically ten days straight I didn't not get a decent quorum of willing (later very unwilling) team-mates in a short time. (This season most shops stock yamashita 1.5s and they're the bomb, throw your 2.5s away) 

I hit the water for the first time on about the 11th of Dec, and for three or four sessions straight couldn't find a king to save my life inside the heads despite lots of big action on the sounder. All charter mates reported good action on the inshore reefs but almost nothing inside (save one or two secret big successes which i daren't repeat in public). Temps inside were over 23c but just outside the heads were only 19c... Anyway i must have dragged thirty live squid and cuttles around for nada. depressing. A few days of big surface action between the wedding cakes, clearly kingfish, but live squid and strips were obviously not on the menu.

Late dec got better, from the 15th to the 25th i didn't fish the harbour without boating a king (55-78cm no hoodlums) except the 23rd which after a long kingless day i was dragging the last dead remnants of my last livey over the bottom of some deep holes (sweep and pinkies have been angry in the lower harbour, killing and chewing all little live squid to bits in seconds and just leaving you dragging a mantle around) I had the strangest hit I've ever experienced, combination of real violence and total dead weight (thinking monster lizard? ray?) ended up being a Jew which went 95, very happy. (at like 11am go figure) Ive never caught, or targeted, Mulloway in my life but iIsuppose of you drag that many live squid around our estuaries one will show up eventually. Certainly can claim any Jew skill. 

Also had a small live squid ambushed at the south wedding cake by the biggest calamari I've seen in NSW. Have caught bigger in TAS but never here, this unit prob went 30cm mantle, a relic of last spawning. He came home for dinner. 

Anyway, there were fish around last few weeks but the kings were very hard to tempt, and live baits very very hard to get past the pickers. (Perhaps I should give more time to finding slimies and yakkas, at least the sweep and pinkys won't eat them.) Also, heaps of tailor to a very good (High 40s plus) size in middle harbour eating anything moving.

Thanks for all your tremendous help over the years, I've taken so much info off you all i decided it was time to start feeding back. Have a good summer ladies and gents. 

On an interesting note after a week straight of good fish in the harbour, i went up to Pittwater to visit some family and fished every day for a week for nothing except a few choppers (again with good live squid baits every day.)  Hard going up there with all the pros still at it i think. 

Edited January 2, 2017 by ACJ

[blackfish angler]

Some real top Kings mate well done all so nice Jew

Edited January 2, 2017 by blackfish angler

[Scratchie]

Great report and good to see you giving back some information to the fishraider community! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

[codymanly]

Thanks for the report, mate - and also, sublime use of the word  quorum !

[Sigma]

Well done mate, at least you got some action.

Nice Jew and Kings.

Were you downrigging?

[Krispy !]

Good stuff mate welldone

[NBFisho]

Couple of good kingies there mate.. my all time fav sports fish.

Mark.

[The Rev]

Thanks ACJ for the report.  I  have been trying to catch some kings in the harbour on my few trips out pre and post Christmas and had no luck.  Seems like it is a bit tough at the moment.

The Rev

[plankton]

Thanks for that. I thought it was just me not catching them easily. They are very hard atm. Was out last week with live yeakkas, squid and slimies but couldn't find them anywhere. They have been about though - only a month ago we landed a couple of 85's just ion front of the gap and a dozen other legals, but for some reason they have gone off the bite. I'm going to give it another go this Saturday.