Best lure fishing spot in Sydney

[Tomfisho]

Hi all was just wondering what some good spots for fishing with lures where in sydney. I Haven't been fishing for long and just need some more spots for my inventory. Im using light gear: 2500 reel, 7'3 rod and light lures, targeting bream and flathead. any advice on spots and lures?

[Rebel]

Welcome aboard.

 Contact@DerekDhe is the Guru on the Forum fishing lures around Sydney.

Good luck.

[Little_Flatty]

Anywhere along the bay run (iron cove) is a favourite of mine. There’s plenty of others, but iron cove has an abundance of fishable territory.

Agree on Rebel’s recommendation of Derek, especially if you are new to the sport.

[blaxland]

Not sure where you are or if your land based or in a boat. Start with structure e.g. wharfs, jetties etc. The back of most bays hold flathead. Trial and error and keep casting. 

[DerekD]

Hi @Tomfisho,

Firstly, as others have said, "Welcome aboard". Once I got the hang of lures my joy in fishing increased exponentially. As with most things there is a learning curve and the more you put into it and listen, watch and try the better you will do. Try not to get stuck on conventional advice. Listen to it but think about the why. More about that another time.

You've mentioned some excellent details (outfit and target species) but you are also missing some information in your original query. Are you using monofilament or braid. What breaking strain? Where are you based (there are 4 rather extensive water systems in Sydney (Pittwater, Sydney including Middle Harbour, Botany Bay and finally Port Hacking). I mostly fish the first two. Do you have a car or are you stuck with public transport.

I hope I don't come across as rude with the following but just something to think about. For a lot of my fishing spots I've put a lot of time to work them out. How to fish them is often far more important than where. I also don't like crowds and will walk away from some of my favourite locations if there are too many people there. As such I usually only share my locations with close fishing buddies or people I mentor who have become friends over time and who have earned my respect enough to share the spots. They don't get everything either. 😀

Rather than spot X or Y what I will do is give you enough things to think about so you can speed up your journey.

For locations, Google maps can be your friend for water systems but a better option I found in the past was an old copy of UBD (urban business directory) as they often included paths down to little public wharfs which you often won't see on Google maps. Every 4th trip for me was an exploration trip. The other 3 trips were to get to know existing areas better at different times of the tide as well as seasons. A location might fish better in the summer than the winter. There are plenty of public wharves which are still open to the public. I also like to hit the small bays which don't have a lot of boat traffic.

Think about where bream might be. Watch some of the bream tournament videos. @Niall did this wonderful piece on topwater bream and there is a follow up.

Look at the video link in the article too.

There are plenty of sandflats to fish in Sydney. The inner west has several I fish (look at videos by Shroom).

For most of my fish I like quick drop offs so I can fish various depths.

To be continued.

Regards,

Derek

[noelm]

I agree, exploring can be kind of fun in itself, being told where to fish doesn't guarantee you will catch fish. If I am fishing a new area, I just walk/drive around and look for sand flats, gutters or rocky reef sitting in the middle of a bay or beach. I have caught fish in some strange locations, simply by just trying it.

[Little_Flatty]

Yep, you’d be surprised where you’d find hungry fish. I spent years driving past what have since become my favourite spots on the way to fishing sessions. One day I stopped and gave them a go and found quality fish. Like the others have said, sand flats, gutters and other structure are key and think about ‘why’ fish might be around.

Don’t discount shallows either. Many of my PBs have come from water less than a metre deep.

As for exploring, my favourite trick is to always have a rod and a few lures in the car. That way if I drive past a curious spot doing whatever I’m doing (e.g out with the family, on the way to work etc), I can give it a shot and store the intel collected for later use.

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

The old saying, "it's the journey not the destination." is so true here. Your journey as a fisherman/woman, is about learning to connect with where you live: the weather, the tides, the seasons etc. The only way you can really get this is just to get out there and fish..but, it must be mindful fishing. 

I get really annoyed by people giving away fishing spots that took others years of research, trial and error and constant effort to get wired.

The trend for some to set up a youtube channel to establish themselves as great fishers is particularly annoying. One such person has started up here on the Central Coast with a channel where he publishes spots away from near where he lives but, keeps his local spots quiet! The fact that he has shamelessly copied a couple of NZ Youtubers (including wearing  their colourful tights and pseudo pith helmet hat) speaks volumes about his motivation for this. Needless to say, the locals at the spots he's broadcast on the internet are not impressed.

Again, the personal journey to get your fishing wired is a great deal of fun and, when you get there, the sense of achievement is something special. Go for it and treat it as the journey of a lifetime because in the end, that's what it is.

KB

 

[Bennyg78]

Hey @Tomfisho

Like everyone else says there are plenty of spots, half the fun and frustration is trying places to see what works.

I have gone to the school of @DerekD and learnt a heap from him and others. I’m not sure where you are on your learning of lures but depending on where you live in Sydney I’d be happy to chat with you over a cast or two.

[Mike Sydney]

In Sydney we are absolutely spoilt for choice. I must have fished every available spot on the southern side of the harbour and parramatta. If you can stand there, I’ve probably fished it! You can Google earth the coastline and pretty much everywhere you can access the water has bream and flathead. 
 

To me what makes a “great” lure fishing spot is actually how much ground you can cover walking before you need to get back in the car to change spots. To @Little_Flatty’s point, the bay run around iron cove offers kilometres of waterside footpath to cast lures from. you can walk from Somerville Point to Rodd Point and back around up to Birkenhead Point and be on the waters edge the whole time. That’s a good hour’s walk, or several hours of fishing.
Similarly, Mort Bay from Balmain East you can walk and cast all the way around to Ballast Point.

With lure fishing, I try to cover more ground than stay at one “spot”. If I’ve got 200 casts in me, better to have them dispersed up and down the coastline as I’m bound to find fish somewhere - not always the case if you lock down in one “spot” like with bait fishing.

Further, you’ll find bream and flathead in shallow water - you don’t need to find deep water. Knee high is high enough in my experience, and being prepared to fish in shallower water opens up the entire harbour and estuary systems to you. 

[Rebel]

I lke a lot of other Raiders on this Forum tell people where I fish.

I don't believe in secret spots.

My Moto is live & let live & help people. Life is to short.

Australia is a super place to fish & we are very lucky to live in a great country.

End of lecture.