Port Hacking

[Yowie]

Was due to head out to Bate Bay late yesterday (Monday) with a mate, but he pulled the pin at the last minute, as the wind had blown up a bit and his back was not good - the rocking of the boat would have made his back worse.

I was ready to have a fish, so I pushed out my tinny and headed up river. Tried soft plastics along the main channel as it was the start of the run-up. Not a touch except plenty of weed.

Headed up to the mouth of South West Arm and had a look. A couple of terns were moving about, so tried a metal for a while then hooked up for a few seconds, then gone. Hard to say what it was. The water still has a bit of colour in it, and as the fish dropped off near the boat, it was followed off by a school of fish. Hard to see them, but they had greenish backs and maybe were larger tailor, not kings.

No more hits so anchored near the mouth, and dropped a couple of baits over, pillies and salted tailor. Not a bite all night on the bottom. Usually there are small reddies about to take your baits, but none there. None up from Lilli Pilli last week, so the heavy rain has probably flushed them outside, or into an area that I don't normally fish. 

I kept spinning and eventually pulled out the largest tailor after a hundred or so casts. The sun dropped out of sight and a few yakkas turned up. Kept a couple for livies and cut the others into strips. The strips still did not attract any bites on the bottom. One livie was bitten on the head by a squid, and the other attracted nothing.

There were small pillies splashing about in patches, and a few bully mullet jumping about near the shore.

Was thinking of heading home about half dark, so gave the yakka strip a bit of movement, and hooked up a tailor. I pulled up 4 on the yakka strips jigging them back to the boat, and 2 throwbacks, then the bites stopped on dark, so headed home.

 

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Yowie

[hookerbruce]

At least you had a positive  result with something to eat and salt for bait. I don't mind fresh or smoked tailor.

Another week might clear up a bit.

Bruce 

[Yowie]

1 hour ago, hookerbruce said:

At least you had a positive  result with something to eat and salt for bait. I don't mind fresh or smoked tailor.

Another week might clear up a bit.

Bruce 

I had some tailor fillets tonight, and some more in a couple of nights. Salted one of the large fillets for bait.

It is surprising that there are no little reddies about at all, nothing on the bottom at all. The baits are left untouched in my usual spots. All I can suggest is that the bottom feeding fish have taken a big swim outside, that is why I was looking forward to having a fish last night around the mouth of the Hacking.

From now until early April is the time I pick up a few legal reddies inside the Hacking, but nothing there at all.

I fished just after the rain a couple of weeks back, in Gunnamatta Bay, and pulled out some bream and a better than usual reddie for up river. Gunnamatta Bay does not colour up as much as up river after heavy rain, so maybe there are still some fish there. Just a matter of finding the right tide and wind direction.

Good luck for next outing Bruce.

[Welster]

It's always good reading your reports Yowie.   I think tailor are an underrated eating fish when fresh.

 

 

 

[Yowie]

14 hours ago, Welster said:

It's always good reading your reports Yowie.   I think tailor are an underrated eating fish when fresh.

 

 

 

I am happy to eat fresh tailor. Friends of mine are always happy to eat tailor fillets if I have any to spare.