Out on Thursday with a super keen crew being Corey and Stefano. We had some good intel from Facebook friends reporting solid kings off Sydney:
But I also knew it was very hot and cold – literally. Sea temps – and the current – were going up and down, like a yo-yo. Fun if there was a run but sad if the current was bad. First stop, Centurion wreck:
Loaded up fast on yellowtail but they weren’t what we wanted. So, straight out to the Artificial Reef, where we topped up the tank with slimy mackerel. Good to go:
Up to Long Reef and only the pro had got there before us. Not good! The water was really cold, at 17.8 degrees. Not a breath of current. But worst of all, the place was infested with clouds of micro jellyfish. Kingfish are sight hunters, which is why you don’t catch them at night. These gigantic clouds of jellyfish aggregate when there’s no current – because if there’s a current, they’re washed away with it. We persevered downrigging for an hour or so anyway because I have seen the current pick up and things turn around. But nothing changed. With limited time and having to be back by noon we decided to head for Bluefish Point, where we’ve had some good sessions during Spring. It’s a natural concentration point, which any fish moving up or down the coast have to curve around:
Some gulls were sitting on the water but appeared to be more expectant than bored. The swell had generated considerable white water run off so we started working that with metals and small stick baits. I was marking bait under the suds:
Salmon! Stacks of them, all sizes and all going hard:
We got stuck in:
Fitz using an antique Wonder Wobbler – to great effect:
Short video of the fun here:
I took the chance to try out two of our new lures – the bottom two, in this pic:
Sambos loved them, but I was too busy filming the lads to get any video of my own catches 😊 All good! Just a short fun session that saved the morning for us, with maybe a dozen sambos caught and released. And proving the old sixty minute rule, being if you haven’t caught anything in an hour, change either where you’re fishing or what you’re chasing. That’s worked for us countless times. Tight lines and thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow