Nomad Samson Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hey all, New member and first post so please be gentle Im staying on the western forshore of Pittwater in Sydney. I have the luxury of a jetty, and wondering what I might be able to catch (with some luck) with a hand line and lots of patience. I have reel, line, sinkers, hooks and absolutely no experience. Any kind advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Clain Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Head down to a local tackle shop. Species on offer are bream, flatties and maybe a tailor if you have a more oily bait like pilchards. Prawns work well. Or you can get the local tackle shop to set you up with a light soft plastics fishing setup. That might be a stretch though. Pittwater is pretty good. I have caught all of the species listed above and there is plenty of room for improvement there as you progresse. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Sounds exciting! I've had my eye on a couple of AirBnBs in that area, just waiting on the kids to be water safe before we consider it more seriously. I'd follow James' advice. Also, the fish will likely to hold close to the jetty for protection and food, so no need to throw your line too far out. Also keep your sinkers as light as possible. If it's not windy, you can often get away with no more than a pea sized sinker. If it's windier or the water is very deep, maybe a slightly heavier sinker may be necessary. Generally you want your bait to be close to or on the bottom. Drop your line in and keep feeding line out until you can see that the line has gone slack - that's then you have hit the bottom. Then wind in, or pull on the line until the line is taut and you can feel the weight of the sinker/bait, that's how you can react when a fish takes the bait. For the species James mentioned, no need to use too big a hook, maybe a size 2 for a cutlet of pilchard and a size 6 or size 4 hook for a piece of prawn. As a general rule of thumb, use just a big enough hook to ensure your hook point is exposed after putting the bait on. Google up how to bait a hook with prawns and pilchards to give you an idea. Nothing wrong with a handline, there's a couple of members on this forum who use them regularly to score some quality fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Welcome aboard. You will have a lot of fun. I used to fish off the jetty where the the Arms pub is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Samson Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Thank you sooo much for your advice and information. Being so new its just taking a punt on something while im here. Its a beautiful location, and such a hidden gem I knew nothing about until coming here. So thanks again!! Much appreciated. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Samson Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) Oh maybe just one last question. When might be the best time to fish off the jetty. Morning or night, high or low tide? Excited about giving it a go!!! Thankyou!!! Edited September 8, 2020 by Nomad Samson Didnt finish the message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazatherfisherman Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 34 minutes ago, Nomad Samson said: Oh maybe just one last question. When might be the best time to fish off the jetty. Morning or night, high or low tide? Excited about giving it a go!!! Thankyou!!! Hi Nomad Samson the best time is whenever you can give it a go! Low light and higher tides generally good times, but just get out there and good luck! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Samson Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 5 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said: Hi Nomad Samson the best time is whenever you can give it a go! Low light and higher tides generally good times, but just get out there and good luck! Thankyou so much! Much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazatherfisherman Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Just now, Nomad Samson said: Thankyou so much! Much appreciated It's well worth soaking some white bread in a bucket until it's saturated, then "squishing" it up so it's reasonably small and mashed, add a little oil (even a spoon of olive oil if you don't have any "fishy" oils)- a tin of sardines mixed through is simple to mix in and just drop about a spoonful off the jetty every couple of minutes while you are waiting- you might be surprised what is attracted to the mix, but usually Bream will be scooting around in this burley, particularly towards high tide 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Samson Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 3 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said: It's well worth soaking some white bread in a bucket until it's saturated, then "squishing" it up so it's reasonably small and mashed, add a little oil (even a spoon of olive oil if you don't have any "fishy" oils)- a tin of sardines mixed through is simple to mix in and just drop about a spoonful off the jetty every couple of minutes while you are waiting- you might be surprised what is attracted to the mix, but usually Bream will be scooting around in this burley, particularly towards high tide Oh thats great advice to. Thankyou. I do have some white bread and some sardines in a tin, so that is perfect timing and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAKSShark Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Yeh mate ive caught countless fish in pittwater n especially fishing off a wharf is fun n easy to do, if u struggle with rigs just have a sinker sliding straight to your hook put a peice of bait on there that is just bigger than the hook and you will be AG, one thing to remember is the bigger the hook the less fish you will catch (in general)...so only use smallish sized hooks Good luck n maybe post a report when u have a good days fishing😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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