Sydney Harbour fishing report In Sydney Harbour the transition from winter fishing to summer fishing has definitely thrown up some challenges for anglers. The fish are there in big numbers, salmon, tailor, bonito and kingfish are smashing the surface everywhere. But some days you can literally be surrounded by fish on the surface for hours and not get a single hookup. At least its not me, I get to watch everyone thrashing their lures and flies around and no one can hook up - it's like the fish are on to us! After trying to work out what they're into (eating) the next challenge can be hooking up in a transit zone and having to fight a kingy while you're travelling six knots in the opposite direction! But whether you hook up or not, either way it’s great fun to be out there witnessing the amazing urban fishery in Sydney Harbour. On fly. It’s been a challenge over the last month. I’ve spent hours watching schools busting up in the harbour and aside from some special spots I haven’t been able to really figure out what they're eating... one though is the last new moon got the jelly prawn running - and that’s all they would eat. Even the salmon have been a challenge. If you haven’t hooked up before the sun gets up good luck trying. It seems like they're super line-wary after 2 months of being smashed. I’ve had better luck drift-trolling/swinging flies than constantly casting and retrieving... that being said if you are there at the right time you can hook up one after the other. How fickle is this fishery! On bait. Live yakkas are killing it right now. There are plenty about and they have definitely been on the menu for the bigger fish hunting the harbour. The squid have been slow most days but always a great bait when all else fails. Jewfish seem to be everywhere right now. And it seems a few anglers have been losing a lot of fish! I’ve seen lots dead jewfish floating between Garden Island and Clark Island, some with long lengths of of line attached. And all good size fish around the 80 cm mark. I wonder why they died? Maybe they're breaking off set lines? Anyway it’s very important to fish the tides and have your well presented baits out for the golden hour before and after slack water. With fresh or live baits there is a very good chance of picking up a good jewfish right now. Look for bait fish on the sounder and the larger predators won’t be far away. On lures I've come to respect the humble vibes fish-catching ability. From large flathead to jewfish the 100 mm 20 g Samaki vibes are just awesome right now. Fished vertically on a slow drift the fish really can’t seem to help them self’s. Just make sure you set that hook hard on the initial hookup or you discover just how hard a jewfish mouth is when it spits the hook and gets away mid-fight. Get in touch now to book your fishing day out on Sydney Harbour. It’s going to be a great Christmas season so don’t miss out. Contact Flyboat fishing charters today.

Try a Sydney Harbour fishing charter - nothing quite like it! Its been an interesting few weeks on the harbour. The school holidays didn’t live up to expectations weather wise with rain and strong winds an unwelcome feature. If you did manage to get out on the days when the weather took a break then you could expect to find mixed results. After the king-highs of winter, coming back to water level has been a bit tough! But, silver lining wise there have been loads of salmon around the heads, and good schools of trevally, bream and flathead on every sandy drop off. But where were the kings? What had once been as easy as turning up and dropping a fly near a school, was now a real challenge. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A TRADE OFF - ASK TRUMP! The trade off, the few remaining fish were all serious trophy fish and best of all, on the surface. You needed a keen eye and nerves of steel but if you got your fly in front of a hoodlum there was an excellent chance it would be engulfed! Overall, it feels like we are in a state of transition. Schools of bait are building around structure and drop offs and the water temperature is on the rise varying around the harbour - a balmy top today of 20.5 degrees c (on the surface). Kingfish on fly As I said before it isn’t as easy to find the fish as it has been through winter. Every day, they're in a different spot. What produced and worked one day was stone dead the next. If you did find the fish there was a good chance you would have the spot to yourself - for just a while anyway. I'm a big fan of the whoop whoop when I'm onto good fish which always attracts the pond dwellers. But a good Sydney Harbour fishing charter operator is always happy to share the love! Anyway, goodbye sinking lines and hello floaters and nice tight loops. It feels so good to throw a whole line with a tiny surf candy attached. And the smile when a great cast transforms into an amazing hook up. Fly choices range from small surf candies to over-sized articulated squid patterns. Again, what got fish yesterday won’t necessarily catch today. Mini-clousers in natural colours are a great way to start, but if you aren't hooking up swap flies until you get the bite (as Dracula says). Salmon on fly There are literally football-field-sized schools of salmon around the heads right now. Best to get there early, as they can go off the bite after a few hours of merciless harassment by countless boats. These fish range in size from 1-5 kg, but whatever you hook will test your gear. They are real mongrel fighters. Floating or intermediate lines with 20 lb leaders are the go-too combo, with small surf candies your best fly option. I found a slower retrieve got more hooks ups - on average. But mix it up if you're not hooking up - or if you're only getting small fish. Another trick is to get in front of the fish and cast in front of the approaching school. This gets a pack of fish chasing your fly. Just remember never to drive through a school of fish on the surface - eek! If you get bored of chasing salmon, try a sinking line for the chance of kings and trevally swimming below them. And keep an eye out for porpoising striped tuna which are never far away from the same bait. Bait and soft plastic This is such a great time of year. Fresh squid, pilchard and chicken are my go to baits right now. As always location, timing and burley are the key to success on the harbour. Fishing the tides, an hour before and after each tide is a great start, with different fish preferring either a low tide or a high tide. The most important thing you should remember is to fish as light as you can get away with. You won’t catch much using a 1 ounce sinker and 40 lb line. But a small split shot on 4 lb fluorocarbon will get you non-stop bites. The trade off is you're going to struggle when those pesky kingfish take your bream baits. ? Yee ha! BURLEY BURLEY BURLEY! If you've got a burley trail going you would be mad not to have an unweighted bait drifting down your trail. The largest trevally are often caught this way along with numerous kingfish. We watched some guys doing this from their boat a few weeks ago using a 20 foot pole-rod with a bubble float and hooking heaps of kings. A few of these were rats and definitely didn't get returned. Don't get tempted into that lark folks, our small fish are our future fish. If you're cubing stripeys or pilchards keep the bait the same size as the rest of the burley and you should hook up. I've been a bit slow to get onto using "vibes" but they are quickly becoming my favourite on the secret sandy drop offs hidden everywhere in Sydney Harbour. Working them the same as a regular plastic produces heaps of good size flat head . And in the deeper water a slow jigging motion can hook kings, jewfish, and almost anything else down there. As with all plastics fish the lightest jig head you can for the conditions. And watch your line for those gently gently soft sneaky annoying takes!

Sydney Harbour fishing report. Fly Fishing Sydney Harbour and the full moon. Every month I promise I will never again fish for Kingfish on the full moon. Fly fishing for kingfish is painful, the fish were there, but too shy for even the best fly. First thing in the morning you have a chance. But as that day drags on the only hint of hope comes from the occasional school showing up on the fish finder. You keep telling yourself that the next cast can change everything. Even as the other fisherman power past on the way back home. You hold on to the belief that your fish is just a cast away. But as that sun sets so does the fire inside you, leaving you nothing but the same question you asked yourself last month.... I’m not claiming to know for a fact anything solid about Kingfish and moons, or to even try to understand the ins and outs of their behavour. But the anecdotal evidence from all fly fisherman I spoke with over the weekend. Tells a tale of long hours for nothing more than the occasional tap. There were some very experienced anglers amongst the mix and a wide variety of flies and techniques tried. So I’m going to be bold and call out the full moon. I don’t even think it’s anything radical like the moon's gravity pulling on the fishes otoliths, causing them to lose their appetite. No from my very simple amateurish observations and discussions I think the fish can simply feed all night. Therefore by sunrise the bellies are full and instead of being ravaging hunters of the oceans, they simply become picky, choosey and a pain in the you know where. Maybe the bait just turns off on a full moon. Maybe they just fast. I know from experience that bait has a slightly better chance than fly but even the best guys with the best techniques said their bites were all very subtle and the hook up rates were definately down. That being said I saw some amazing fish being caught and released by guys down-rigging fresh and live baits. I guess i'm writing this after my least succsesful day fly fishing all month. And just to throw a 16 ounce sinker at my theory, I should also mention that the week before a full moon can be amazing fishing. Which brings us back to the many questions and theories that come up every time we have a full moon. Sydney Harbour Fishing Report In this week's Sydney Harbour fishing report... There’s loads of good size trevally in the harbour at the moment. Just find a wreck or nice sandy drop off, get a burley trail going, send some unweighted pilchards down the trail and you should hook up in no time. You can use a sinker to get it down faster, but unweighted baits will land the bigger fish. Be prepared for a battle because this fish has some serious power. They also are great for sashimi. Still plenty of oversized kingfish inside the harbour, but what’s lurking just outside the heads has me excited! There are large school of baitfish and small slimies everywhere. These fish are being harassed by striped tuna and bonito up to 1 meter. They can be taken on surf candies or small stick baits. But hold on these fish mean business. Then there’s the schools of salmon working from Shelly Beach all the way to Old Mans Hat. Just spectacular amount of life out there. Things are looking good for summer. For tide and weather information check out Willy weather. The water temp is creeping back up with the harbour averaging 17c and slightly warmer just outside. Should be exciting times ahead as it gets back into the low 20’s. So, up for a bit of charter boat fun?