Downrigging The Cliffs
Out last week with the plan being, run 25 miles northeast to the deep reefs where the big kingfish live. Some encouragement with a marlin head right in the middle of the boat ramp:
But as we rounded Barrenjoey it was obvious that the chop was too steep and the swell period too short, for a run like that. All good! The fallback option was chasing small pelagics under the cliffs at South Whale Beach. We ran a few clicks south, and set a small live yellowtail at 8 metres off the downrigger:
The sounder looked promising:
New guy Marcus and old hand Jeremy aboard. Both blokes are super keen on taking bonito for the table:
They have all kinds of barbecue recipes and seasonings to generate some delicious eating and of course, bonito make great sashimi. Here's Jeremy's recipe. I remember back when these were bait only! We've come a long way:
Bonito were in plague proportions:
Only downside being the nasty reverb slop off the cliffs. With the steep cliff drop offs there’s no place for the wave energy to go. Marcus succumbed:
Leaving the actual fishing to Jeremy and myself. Kings were slamming the live baits:
Can’t stand watching seasick cases suffer! So, decided to head east a couple of miles to the Birchgrove Park wreck for some jigging. Usually, the place fires up for kings in spring – not so good, in summer. The sounder showed no kings but at least Marcus was coming good. Note to our clients who fish that wreck? A dive boat has installed a rope and float just north of the wreck. Back into the cliffs, where the action was still hot. The lads buy all kinds of super duper small jigs from Japan, and know how to use them. The fish bag was filling up fast:
Just a short run planned so we headed back mid morning. On the way, stopping at the Valiant wreck. There’s not much left of it now but because it sits in a vast desert of sand it attracts a lot of bait and predators. Lately, the only bait on the wreck are massive yellowtail. All the small ones have bailed because predator pelagics have moved in. The lads dropped their jigs down to a great reception, including nice keeper tailor:
Top morning on the water. The downrigger was the key to our success. Kingfish can’t resist small yellowtail being towed right through their living room. Out there again soon and will report in if anything interesting happens
Andrew Hestelow
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