January’s a pretty frustrating month, for fishing off Sydney. Especially this year with crazy currents, and unpredictable weather. The one reliable and predictable fishery has been kingfish, in metro bays and harbours. They have basically been on tap. But – it’s hard to find keepers. They all seem to be in the 60 – 65cm bracket. That doesn’t worry me in the slightest because my primary mission when fishing is to be hooked up. And if the fish are small, I just go down a line size, to make landing them a challenge.
Which is why Oscar and myself headed out yesterday (Wednesday 22nd January) onto the Harbour, in the new mini boat. We had some prime intel, as to where kings were smashing bait. And we knew from jungle drums that they were hitting oversized soft plastics. I threw in a packet of 8 inch Eel SPs bought in the States, years ago:
When we arrived at the spot the first job was, get the burley going. It wasn’t long until the kings arrived:
I put an Eel on one of our weighted jig hooks and dropped it down through the scrum. Tackle selected was our 802 Blue combo - with 3 kilo line. Have found that the slower action and the longer lift cycle drives the kings wild. And that was proven once again:
For Harbour pelagics over the summer the 802 Blue been nothing short of sensational. Perfect for our bubble and fly setup, casts our 10 gram jigs out of sight, and delivered the goods on this mission too. i'll be the best $120 you've ever spent:
Oscar was running two rods. One with a pilchard head for bait, and one he worked using a 6 inch SP. Results were about 50/50, bait vs. SP:
Oscar’s mates were nearby, fishing out of kayaks. And they did well too:
One thing to mention? No brand names, no pack drills. But most of the small 2500 reels used for this type of work have horrible reel knobs. Some of the reel knobs are so small you can’t palm them. You have to hold them between your thumb and first finger! I’ve always wondered if reel designers working for the big tackle companies have tiny hands? It certainly seems that way. If the type of fishing you are doing involves a lot of winding – like jigging, spinning, or working soft plastics – upgrade your plastic handle to one of our polished aluminium ball knobs. Mine was so comfortable yesterday:
They look great, feel great, and they’re not expensive:
In many cases it’s just unscrew the old one, screw on the new one. Even when the knob is riveted to the handle it’s not hard to do:
We were only out there for two and a bit hours. Steady procession of fish coming aboard, mostly on the lures. This tailor went 42cm:
Our best king went 62cm - which isn’t even legal. But you know what? I had a great morning. We ended up catching ten:
Planning a return trip this weekend – with the flyrods. Thanks for reading,
Andrew Hestelow
Managing Director
http://www.downriggershop.com
Tel. 0402075000