Lockdown Luderick

With the virus situation in NSW getting steadily more gloomy, the thought was, keep it all in the family. Son Chris (and his fiancée Connie) and son Jeremy (and his girlfriend Christina) joined me at Turrimetta Head, between Narrabeen and Mona Vale:

This is a famous northside blackfish spot, which hosts one of the most perfect gutters imaginable:

The issue being, only access is by rope down a cliff:

The climb is quite a challenge, especially for first timers. But when you get down there, it’s all worth it. The gutter is fringed with flat level rock shelves so, no chance of being caught by a backwash rebound wave. And you’re standing on top of your bait and burley:

Which is why I couldn’t believe we never turned a reel! It all looked so good but, for the two hours we were there, not even a touch. All you can do when this happens is shake yourself off and try again. The next opportunity came on Tuesday 13 July, by which time Sydney was in full lockdown. I headed out solo straight down to Middle Head, and got the squid jigs working. Squid came from everywhere – and so did law enforcement. First up, an inspection by Maritime, while I was still on the squid grounds:

Maritime Inspection

Next up, NSW Fisheries. Because there was almost no-one on the water - excepting regulatory authorities - I was attracting a lot of attention! Seeking some peace and quiet I headed round to South Head. Kicked off by downrigging live squid around my favourite humps and bumps. This arrow squid was installed on a squid slider rig - which can be adjusted, for the length of the bait you’re downrigging:

With this setup the bait trolls straight and level, from the main hook inserted at the top of the hood. But for short strikers there’s a treble level with the head. Most fish hook up on the stinger. Like to give it a try? Here’s how. Please don’t use a small treble! Because smaller kings can take it down their throats, and getting it out often proves fatal:

Another inspection, while I was at South Head. This time, the Water Police. They were the only authority enforcing virus regulations. Their primary concern being that I was no further than ten kilometres from home:

As it turned out, I was twenty five kilometres from home. But the police accepted I was there as part of my employment. It’s a tough job, fishing. For a bigger explanation of how the virus rules relate to fishing in lockdown, check our Facebook page. Back inside the Heads to my neverfail fallback option. Sow & Pigs reef, in the lower central Harbour. This time of year we’ve had some amazing days there. And when the tide and a light winds are in the same direction, on a runout tide, the luderick fishing can be absolutely fantastic. But on Tuesday it was dead as a doornail. The only interesting development – if you can call it that – is myself and a nearby inflatable getting inspected by Fisheries:

Busted

Couldn’t believe it! Anybody can have a quiet day every so often. But at five star blackfish spots – like Turrimetta gutter, and Sow & Pigs reef - that was a shocker. So when Cory called, suggesting we hit Balmoral wharf on Thursday morning (today) I said yes as quick as I could. Surely I couldn’t strike out, three times in a row? We met down there at the gentlemen’s hour of 9.00am:

The blackies feed on weed growing on the huge net surrounding the swimming pool. And, use the pilings for protection. What this means is I couldn’t get a lot of pics or video today. Had to watch my float like a hawk because, if you’re not paying attention, a fish will have your line wrapped around the pilings in a heartbeat. I was paying attention:

We caught some nice ones, up to 38cm. Had a great couple of hours with the best part being tangling with quality fish, after two previous failures. At one point, the Fisheries boat pulled into the wharf and recognised me from my last inspection – on Tuesday. They found an illegal crab trap, baited with a smelly chicken. So the visit wasn’t wasted:

Big thanks to Cory for the invitation. I can’t recommend chasing blackfish too highly. They fight great, they taste great, and they’re pretty much everywhere – excepting maybe Turrimetta and Sow and Pigs. Pick up one of our blackfish combos? They’re ready to go, all you need is the weed:

blackfish combo ready to go

And give me a buzz if you want some tips on when where and how. Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

Also in Tackle News