Things improving??

[big Neil]

Just an observation really! Has anybody noticed a definite "sea change" in reports recently?

I can recall a few months back, as we were all getting copious amounts of rainfall and cooler weather, that there were few taking to the water and even fewer having much success. Now there is a positive spike in the number of people putting in quality reports of some excellent catches. Ok that's the situation at the coast at present, but there have been some good freshwater reports from a few anglers, too.

My local scene is unlikely to improve in the short term, but with a little more patience, the rewards will eventuate. I worry about the potential fish kills of our iconic native freshwater species... nothing I can do about what MAY HAPPEN though.

Meantime I'm going to focus on getting rid of a few Mud Marlin and look forward to a trip to Sydney to get into the action. Can't wait!

bn

[Little_Flatty]

For sure Neil, it wasn’t just the rain, the wind was killing things too, stopping people from going out on their watercraft. And now there’s the seasonal shift in the saltwater fishing.

Hopefully it’s going to be a prolific summer!

[Green Hornet]

Down here on the south coast things always start to fire up as spring rolls into summer and the water temperature continues to rise.

St Georges Basin and Currambene Creek (I know you are familiar with that creek BN) are clearing up nicely after the big wet, but the Shoalhaven/Crookhaven River system is still running like poo soup and unfishable all bar right at the river entrance at the top of the run in tide.

Good luck on the mud marlin (ghetto trout) Neil and enjoy your trip to the coast.

[frankS]

Neil. Wished I could say things are getting better, fished approx 6 hours yesterday for one lousy keeper Flathead and a few Tailor.

Still better to be on the water than just wishing I was there.

Frank

[bessell1955]

I feel for you, it will months before your river systems get back to normal. 

[XD351]

Went out a couple of weeks back and got plenty of flathead ,went out last weekend and got zilch . Same spots same bait same tide but it was shut down and I didn’t see anyone else catching anything either . We got a few yakkas and tried some live bait around the rip bridge but couldn’t lose a bait .

I noticed the temperature on the sounder was reading high 19s but that is on the surface so maybe all those westerly winds we had pushed the warm water out to sea and the water on the bottom is cold ? On the weekend gone we had easterly winds that may have pushed some warm surface water inshore and hopefully things have woken up again .

One thing I do know for certain is that my conversion from being a bait fisho to a full time lure fisho is going to be expedited ! Went to my local tackle store ( big chain store ) to get a packet of prawns and some pillies - 400g pack of Hawkesbury prawns (supposedly ) $19  
That is well over $45 a kilo for crappy frozen bait prawns !

[Yowie]

14 minutes ago, XD351 said:

 Went to my local tackle store ( big chain store ) to get a packet of prawns and some pillies - 400g pack of Hawkesbury prawns (supposedly ) $19  
That is well over $45 a kilo for crappy frozen bait prawns !

The fish shop in Westfields Hurstville quite often has small fresh prawns around $20 a kilo. I've cooked up a few at times, nothing wrong with them.

[Yowie]

BN, 

the water in Port Hacking is fairly clear at present, not much rain over the last month. Mid NSW copped it all (obviously way too much), the big benefit will be S.A. and into the Coorong.

The big floods usually start the freshwater fish breeding cycle, though the blackwater has not helped.

[Rebel]

Central Coast is ok.

Cheers.

[big Neil]

7 hours ago, frankS said:

Neil. Wished I could say things are getting better, fished approx 6 hours yesterday for one lousy keeper Flathead and a few Tailor.

Still better to be on the water than just wishing I was there.

Frank

It is for sure Frank... all that lovely fresh air, gotta be good for you. Cheers mate, Neil

[FrigateMack]

It's been a tough couple of months in around Sydney. I'm hoping that the influx of nutrients from the floods / rain over the last year could make this summer season awesome. As soon as the winds die down and the EAC brings in a bit more warm water. Not quite there yet, but.. almost...

[mrsswordfisherman]

We went to Windang for 3 days to go crabbing. It is a place we usually have success.

We dropped pots out, tried to get some flatties and nothing at all. 
All I got are some nice photos!

Looking forward to actually catching something.

Oh we bought some prawns and had a nice feed  

[big Neil]

Well worth the effort for a delicious feed like that Donna. Shame about the result, obviously the perceived improving conditions were not realised on your trip. I reckon there's a lot of patience being tested at present, certainly mine is.

What's that saying that anglers use? Something about every bad day brings a good day, 1 day closer. Let's hope so.

Yum to the meal though...

bn

[Yowie]

That is not good Donna, would have expected something to be caught.

[Pickles]

Hey Neil, things have gone backwards around Sydney Harbour and offshore. Occasional good day, followed by several days of very little. The Bass on the other hand has been exceptional - prawns are running and they going nuts. Hoping for some warmer water to come in close again, it was 22 a few weeks back, but dropped back to 19. Let’s hope things improve when you come up 

[bessell1955]

Pickles, have you seen anyone selling Hawkesbury River prawns?  Our usual retailer does not have any.

[XD351]

There is a place called the raw prawn at Oxley park that sells them but I have never bought from them - need to get off my butt and give them a call as they are 5 min drive from me .

Did catch a few fish yesterday at my usual ground - off patonga - nothing spectacular but I got a feed . The water has this horrible grey colour to it - very murky and that was at high tide , it gets worse on the run out .

[Pickles]

13 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

Pickles, have you seen anyone selling Hawkesbury River prawns?  Our usual retailer does not have any.

Yep, around the trawlers are working around Spencer - pm me and I can give you some numbers to ring. I got 5kg today - not quite eating size yet, but great bait.

[bessell1955]

OK, thank you, although I do want them to eat.

[Little_Flatty]

I've changed my mind. Maybe things aren't looking better. An hour-long session throwing gulps at Meadowbank in a spot that is normally crawling with flathead yielded only this:

This guy is barely bigger than my lure, or my reel! I might label him a '2000' sized flathead 🤣

On the upside, the water in the upper Parra is clear as it ever gets, and I got a visual on a whole school of these little flatties swimming about, nipping at my lure, but with mouths to tiny to engulf the whole lure (though the unlucky one I caught did give it his best shot). Good to see the babies about, hopefully some of them will punch 70-100cm one day.

[slothparade]

Everything is weird at the moment. Couple of weeks ago, the break were on fire, usually never see or hear of anyone catching anything, instead they were everywhere. Also the mullet have basically disappeared, they're usually a plague, but recently been very quiet. The Jewish have been extremely quiet as well. What's even stranger is the rays have all but disappeared usually see multiple but last few times lucky to see 1 or 2. What's even weirder is that the sharks were around not that long ago, not in large numbers but they were around, now nothing at all. 

It's a bit concerning that everything is changing so much, let's just hope this is a one off 

[noelm]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:57 PM, mrsswordfisherman said:

We went to Windang for 3 days to go crabbing. It is a place we usually have success.

We dropped pots out, tried to get some flatties and nothing at all. 
All I got are some nice photos!

Looking forward to actually catching something.

Oh we bought some prawns and had a nice feed  

Funny thing, up until about a week ago, I was getting decent crab numbers, went out Sunday for 1 crab......no idea where they have gone or what's changed. A few Flathead around though.

[mrsswordfisherman]

3 hours ago, noelm said:

Funny thing, up until about a week ago, I was getting decent crab numbers, went out Sunday for 1 crab......no idea where they have gone or what's changed. A few Flathead around though.

The locals were at the ramp when we came back in and said no-one was getting anything. 
He lived around the corner and said he wasn’t even getting his boat out. 
The water has been too cold. 

[big Neil]

10 hours ago, slothparade said:

Everything is weird at the moment. Couple of weeks ago, the break were on fire, usually never see or hear of anyone catching anything, instead they were everywhere. Also the mullet have basically disappeared, they're usually a plague, but recently been very quiet. The Jewish have been extremely quiet as well. What's even stranger is the rays have all but disappeared usually see multiple but last few times lucky to see 1 or 2. What's even weirder is that the sharks were around not that long ago, not in large numbers but they were around, now nothing at all. 

It's a bit concerning that everything is changing so much, let's just hope this is a one off 

It's a pretty good indicator that if the sharks aren't around, neither are the fish. Sharks don't travel too far from their food source. Hope things improve soon. bn

[XD351]

Been seeing a few pings from the SharkSmart app for great whites off Sydney but not many  bull sharks , many of these white sharks were tagged up in northern NSW a few months back and I would have thought that their southerly migration would have been over with by now and usually the bull sharks are starting to lob into Sydney harbour for the annual  breeding season . Maybe the warm water hasn’t pushed down from up north yet ?