Sydney beach fishing

[Jersey PL]

Hello.

I'm planning to visit Sydney in November. My favorite thing is fishing from a sandy beach by wading. Can you recommend a beach where there is a chance to catch a nice fish? Is there a chance for kingfish from the beach?

Will a set of a 9`6 70g rod with a 4000 reel and a 30lb line be sufficient for such fishing?

Second thing - can you recommend a company that organizes kingfish charters in Sydney?

Greetings from Poland.

[Little_Flatty]

 @Jersey PL!

Your outfit should be fine for fishing off the beach in Sydney, but may be too heavy to have real fun with some smaller species (like whiting etc). Kingfish are caught off the beach, but either not targeted or not there often enough. I'll leave the rest to the real beach fishing experts here to fill in the gaps.

We can't promote non-sponsor businesses here, but I'll send you a few guides websites by PM for starters. There's a few who are very hard to miss, with just a cursory search. I'll also direct you to one well known guide who guides off the rock and beach. None of them are cheap but how often do you get to visit the other side of the world? I would recommend booking yourself in asap as they can get very busy (in spite of the cost).

As for offshore charters, I will leave it to others to PM you with details.

We have a few valued European members here, the most prolific of whom is @JaniFIN. Have a look at his posts. We'd love to hear more about your own fishing adventures at home.

[XD351]

Kingfish off the beach - no  , off the rocks - yes ,i sent you a pm with a name and link for both kingfish boat charter and a beach / rock charter .

You can get away with a 9’6” rod - should be ok for flicking lures and fishing the shore gutters with bait . Sydney beaches are not very big beaches compared to what is up the coast and the fishing can be tough but if the guide for beach fishing I sent you can’t get you a fish or two then nobody can. If you go on his charter he supplies everything you need . 
With charters you need to book in advance so you should be doing that now . 
 

[Jersey PL]

@XD351, @Little_Flatty

thank you for your replies and suggestions!

 

[Volitan]

To get advice on Sydney locations it’s best to tell us where you will be staying, how much free time you will have, and how you will be getting around. Then we can point you to nearby fishing opportunities. Sydney is a big city with a 100km long coastline so we need to narrow it down a bit.

I’ve sent you the details on a kingfish charter that operates just north of Sydney. I have no connection with them but have been out with them several times and they always go the extra mile to get people fish.

Another thing to consider is hiring a boat.

or perhaps a Sydney based Raider can put their hands up for having you fish with them.

Cheers

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Volitan

[Jersey PL]

My place in Sydney will be North Epping. Gonna rent a car, but would not like to spend more than 1,5 hour driving in one way.

 

Is the Sydney Opera area good place for kingie? Is fishing down there permited?

[DerekD]

Hi Jersey,

I'm at Lane Cove North which is an easy drive from Epping towards Sydney harbour. How long are you out here? What dates?

Reach out a few days before you get here and depending on my other commitments we may be able to organise a fishing session or two. The kings will have hopefully started moving into the harbour in numbers giving us a chance from the shore. You will need a fishing licence which you can sort out on line.

We should also be able to get in some shore based jigging with your current outfit. Beach fishing on the other hand is not my thing.

Regards,

Derek

PS. If we head out early enough in your stay then you can use what you learn from me to head out by yourself.

Edited October 5, 2023 by DerekD

[DerekD]

Hi @Jersey PL

I assume this is your first trip to Sydney (at least for fishing). I'm also guessing this is your first time for kingfish.

In that case some pre-reading so you can plan your gear and tactics. The fishing guide is an excellent idea as you will learn a lot by paying attention to the how and why but it can get expensive. There are a lot of opportunities for kingfish from the shore in Sydney harbour. They will cruise around looking at things and often do loops several times. Essentially you pick a spot that they are likely to cruise past and work it for a while (say a few hours) and if not successful consider another location. Ferry wharves are an excellent option as the proximity to shore often funnels them past but the water is deep enough to set your baits or work your lures. Don't get fixated on spots as just a day apart at a particular location could be all the difference between the donut and best fishing session ever. When I had a boat I used to sit on a mooring for up to an hour. If we hooked up I worked on the theory they were cruising past that spot that day and would probably come back so then I gave it a bit longer. Those loops could be 15 to 20 minutes apart.

Some observations I made about kingfish behaviour years ago to someone asking about fishing for them amongst the moorings. Most of this can be made to work from the shore. Read this one: https://community.deckee.com/topic/86184-how-to-fish-sydney-harbor-moorings-for-kingfish/

With your gear you can fish bait or lures. First consider bait. One gentleman I know that is pretty consistent on kingfish heads down to our local wharf before dawn and gets a lot of yellowtail scad on light gear and keeps them alive in a bucket. He then puts them live under a balloon and then fishes the rest of the morning away. Pretty well every time I run into him he has caught salmon or kingfish or tailor. Effective but I don't do it as I don't eat fish and fish for the joy of it and consider this too much work.

If using bait I prefer self caught squid. I can put them (whole or strips) under a balloon so they hang in the water (I prefer mid water column thus making it easier for the kingfish to spot the bait and it keeps it away from the pickers) or I can use them like a plastic by casting out and then letting them sink through the water column in a saw tooth type pattern. I prefer to use them in strips as I can get multiple baits out of a single squid. For further reading on catching squid read this one: https://community.deckee.com/topic/91551-article-squidding-and-suggestions-on-how-to-use-them/

NOTE: Squid in the harbour since the heavy months of rain in early 2022 have resulted in them being a bit harder to find. My personal theory was that a lot died to starvation. That year I heard from a lot of people that they were struggling to catch them as easily as they had in the past. There are places which are more consistent for catching them but most are better accessed by boat. They can still be found throughout the harbour.

Lures (generally my favourite way of targeting them).

They can swim much faster than you can wind in a lure but speed often helps because it forces that flicker of interest into a bite or risking the food imitation getting away. One of the people I taught took this literally to heart and spent a summer fishing halco twistys in silver in 30 and 40 gram with a similar outfit to what you are bringing. All he'd do was rip out a cast as far as practical. Let the lure hit the bottom and retrieve it as fast as he could. A lot of work but it was extremely effective that year. He was frequently catching kingfish, salmon, tailor and several of the mackeral species we see in Sydney harbour.

A little bit less taxing are the flutter jigs which you will be learning if and when we catch up. Essentially using sweeps of the rod you can create the impression of a shiny and darting snack sized baitfish. I teach several different ways of working these. The more they can't hit the lure the harder they try for it. I know plenty of people (me included) that behave the same way. Fear of missing out is not just a human behaviour and we can use it against these species.

Some of my favourites are the Sluggo/Slapstix type lures. Some people prefer using these with a wormhook but I prefer a weighted jighead as it casts a little further and allows me to work the full water column more efficiently. I can make that lure dance. I can get the following movement out of a 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 inch minnow or slapstix type profile. Change speeds, throw in some pauses, accelerate it away and it becomes an extremely effective retrieve for the pelagic fish which stalk our magical harbour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGS6SjfDUs

Then we have the hard body lures but that is another lesson.

Just some things to think about when planning your trip out here. A trip to a local fishing shop should be included in your schedule.

Regards,

Derek

Edited October 7, 2023 by DerekD