Rockledge information. Nth/Sth Curl Curl, Dee why, Whale beach

[faker]

So rather then fishing today, i went on a little excursion across the rocks to explore potential rock fishing spots.

swell today was 1.4 SSE and i started excursion around 12pm during run out tide. swell period was 9 seconds

First ledge was freshwater. place was dodgy as heck and wave kept splashing up on left hand of where man was

 

Then I moved to South Curl Curl ledge below. This is not my photo

but even on a low tide this spot was too dodgy for my liking but 2nd picture was more to my liking

I then moved to north Curl Curl

Surprisingly North curl curl i felt was more safer then south in a south swell. No Pictures today

but i had at least 2m clearance from the highest rockledge

Dee why was the next ledge but I saw one guy go even further down with rock fishing gear. I know my limits so i only sussed out this ledge then retreated. retrieving lure out of water may get it snagged.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25 by faker

[faker]

My last beach visited was north whale beach. water constantly slammed through the trenches at this end but never reached the corner rock. I am guessing the side ledge is possibly fisherable on a eastern swell. was watching people drone fishing and catching bonito

 

Hope this information is useful for those who are interested in rock fishing

[noelm]

The first picture looks like the perfect Blackfish spot, good water, lots of Green Weed growing there, seems to be made of them (in my opinion) 

The second and third pictures would be where I would have an unweighted Royal Red Prawn and just cast here and there right on daylight for Bream and Drummer. 
The last picture is classic Bonito/Tailor spinning territory. All that said, never been fishing at any of those places, but from the photos, that would be my chosen methods and target species.

[faker]

Just now, noelm said:

The first picture looks like the perfect Blackfish spot, good water, lots of Green Weed growing there, seems to be made of them (in my opinion) 

The second and third pictures would be where I would have an unweighted Royal Red Prawn and just cast here and there right on daylight for Bream and Drummer. 
The last picture is classic Bonito/Tailor spinning territory. All that said, never been fishing at any of those places, but from the photos, that would be my chosen methods and target species.

i think its prudent to just take pictures of what swell is like in spots so people know how dangerous and not dangerous they are in certain conditions. i sat at a ledge for almost 20 minutes watching sets and lulls but i am certain now that north curl curl is fishable on low/high tide of a southerly swell(1.4 on low and <1.4 swell on high).

Norther whale has way too many jellyfish at the moment. the guy i was watching kept thinking hits were bonito when i pointed out amount of thick jellies in the sea

[Bryant fish]

I used to fish the ovens at whale beach over 30years ago had to go in between 2 houses and use a rope to get down also got hit by a large wave one morning before we even got a line wet and lost half our gear 

[faker]

1 hour ago, Bryant fish said:

I used to fish the ovens at whale beach over 30years ago had to go in between 2 houses and use a rope to get down also got hit by a large wave one morning before we even got a line wet and lost half our gear 

I am not going near ovens with 50 foot long poll

[Burger]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

The first picture looks like the perfect Blackfish spot, good water, lots of Green Weed growing there, seems to be made of them (in my opinion) 

Have to agree with Noel,  my pulse jumped looking at that spot!

2nd photo too in the right swell…. Lots of good washes and cabbage there too by the looks.

[PaddyT]

Harbord-good spinning ledge on the very tip on a low swell on low tide (on the right side of the bloke)-also a very good blackfish spot, North Curly pretty safe but dont fish in a big swell as you can get ttrapped. North Whale-OK the spot where the guy is the safest spot-the eastern side can actually be pretty dangerous-the low ledge to the north is also good but again on low swell-also a good blackfish spot.

[Fried Rice]

I used to fish that spot at South Curly a fair bit. Also the ledges south of the piccy at Dee Why. Had to grab the handholds cut into the rocks to get around the headland.

Like any rock fishing, common sense has to prevail. I lived at Dee Why at the time so it was easy to cruise around and go back home (or fish Narrabeen Lake, Manly Dam etc) if conditions were at all dangerous.

Unfortunately a lot of people drive a couple of hours from somewhere else & will fish the rocks at all costs. I saw a lot of very risky behaviour in my time there.

[faker]

11 minutes ago, Fried Rice said:

I used to fish that spot at South Curly a fair bit. Also the ledges south of the piccy at Dee Why. Had to grab the handholds cut into the rocks to get around the headland.

Like any rock fishing, common sense has to prevail. I lived at Dee Why at the time so it was easy to cruise around and go back home (or fish Narrabeen Lake, Manly Dam etc) if conditions were at all dangerous.

Unfortunately a lot of people drive a couple of hours from somewhere else & will fish the rocks at all costs. I saw a lot of very risky behaviour in my time there.

what tide would you recommend for south curl curl?

 

Dee why got dodgy after first platform.

Edited February 26 by faker

[Fried Rice]

42 minutes ago, faker said:

what tide would you recommend for south curl curl?

 

Dee why got dodgy after first platform.

I found that time (early morning or late arvo) seemed more important than tide. Obviously be wary of a rising tide/swell. Dee Why actually seemed safer as a lot of the ledges are higher above sea level. I must admit that I didn't enjoy the scramble, always suss of sandstone giving way and would hate to fall metres onto dry rock. In saying that it is a pretty well established path, just look for the handholds.

Dunno how Wazza used to do what he did, would scare the beejesus out of me.

[Steve0]

6 hours ago, noelm said:

The first picture looks like the perfect Blackfish spot, good water, lots of Green Weed growing there, seems to be made of them (in my opinion) 

The second and third pictures would be where I would have an unweighted Royal Red Prawn and just cast here and there right on daylight for Bream and Drummer. 
The last picture is classic Bonito/Tailor spinning territory. All that said, never been fishing at any of those places, but from the photos, that would be my chosen methods and target species.

I wouldn't mind tossing some weed out at any of the locations. They all have weed.  Maybe not as much around the 3rd. 

Edited February 26 by Steve0

[Steve0]

Has anyone fished Turimetta headland?  With limited time and no fishing gear exploration,  I took a wander up from the beach to about 15m from the point. It has a nice looking platform but looks a wet feel location.  Apart from walking under all the loose rocks on the way in, there seems to be no place to escape if a larger wave heads your way, but I didn't go around the point. Are there dry spots to escape there and an alternative way in? 

[faker]

1 hour ago, Steve0 said:

Has anyone fished Turimetta headland?  With limited time and no fishing gear exploration,  I took a wander up from the beach to about 15m from the point. It has a nice looking platform but looks a wet feel location.  Apart from walking under all the loose rocks on the way in, there seems to be no place to escape if a larger wave heads your way, but I didn't go around the point. Are there dry spots to escape there and an alternative way in? 

That place is a death trap. My initial boots on the ground indicate that you can't get back if tide starts rising. There is one safe spot 2m up but you have to walk along cliff to get there

[wazatherfisherman]

4 hours ago, Fried Rice said:

I found that time (early morning or late arvo) seemed more important than tide. Obviously be wary of a rising tide/swell. Dee Why actually seemed safer as a lot of the ledges are higher above sea level. I must admit that I didn't enjoy the scramble, always suss of sandstone giving way and would hate to fall metres onto dry rock. In saying that it is a pretty well established path, just look for the handholds.

Dunno how Wazza used to do what he did, would scare the beejesus out of me.

Hi Fried Rice- We first did the cliffs when we were about 15 or 16yrs old and used safety gear the first 3 times down. The 4th time down without safety rope attached it WAS really nerve racking, however, by about the 6th or 7th trip we were doing it in the dark. The places your feet go never change (bar erosion) and I can close my eyes now- near 48yrs later- and still 'see' every step of the big climb and remember the nervous anticipation that came about 10 seconds before taking hold of the ropes

[XD351]

12 hours ago, Bryant fish said:

I used to fish the ovens at whale beach over 30years ago had to go in between 2 houses and use a rope to get down also got hit by a large wave one morning before we even got a line wet and lost half our gear 

We used to do overnight trips down there ! I think it has been closed off now . 

[Bryant fish]

Yeah xd that wouldn’t suprise me i never knew if was a public track to get down there i cant say we caught a lot either 

[XD351]

10 hours ago, faker said:

I am not going near ovens with 50 foot long poll

There are two ovens platforms, inner- access from the beach and outer - down the rope , I believe this is no longer accessible. 
you also have a few options at south palm beach , on low swell you can fish off the front , if it is a bit wild you can go around to the side where the baths are . 
when you are looking for spots think about your egress or retreat path - if you have to beat a hasty retreat because that really big set is about to smash you the last thing you want is to have to clamber up a ledge . Also plan for the worst- if you get washed in how would you get out ? Many places on the northern beaches have angel rings fitted - think of this as part of your personal safety equipment and if it is missing report it and give the area a miss until it has been replaced. I would highly recommend you do at least one trip with either a guide or someone that you are 100% certain has some extensive experience fishing off the stones . The reason for this is they have spent the time on the ledges and understand the nuances of each one intimately- the ledge you fish today and it was safe to do so could take your life tomorrow because of a swell height or direction change .

[XD351]

7 minutes ago, Bryant fish said:

Yeah xd that wouldn’t suprise me i never knew if was a public track to get down there i cant say we caught a lot either 

I believe it started out as a track to a lookout then someone clambered down behind the end house and put the peg in . I remember the bloke who owned the house used to hate people going down there as it was eroding the ground around his support pillars for his house . Iirc the last straw was someone fell off there and they cut the peg off and fenced the area off . We mostly got tailor and bonnies but I have seen few 1m + kings caught in there - buggered if I could get one to eat my live though !

[Bryant fish]

Yeah did ok on the tailor looking back

[Steve0]

8 hours ago, faker said:

That place is a death trap. My initial boots on the ground indicate that you can't get back if tide starts rising. There is one safe spot 2m up but you have to walk along cliff to get there

Thanks. That saves a second trip with spikes added.

 Luderick fishing gets me onto some low shelves, but I don't fish them unless they have high ground I can get to quickly when a wave heads my way or a wide shelf that dissipates the waves. 

Next on the agenda becomes Narrabeen headland. I walked around about six years ago, but was not thinking about it as a fishing location at the time.  

[faker]

1 hour ago, Steve0 said:

Thanks. That saves a second trip with spikes added.

 Luderick fishing gets me onto some low shelves, but I don't fish them unless they have high ground I can get to quickly when a wave heads my way or a wide shelf that dissipates the waves. 

Next on the agenda becomes Narrabeen headland. I walked around about six years ago, but was not thinking about it as a fishing location at the time.  

It's rather shallow not sure any pelagics past by

[faker]

They banned blue fish point and old man hat. 

[faker]

@Steve0do you have any method of storing luderick weed for a month?

[Steve0]

18 minutes ago, faker said:

@Steve0do you have any method of storing luderick weed for a month?

Sorry, no idea.  I go for soft, and at my feet and only what I need (includes scratching some loose as burley).