Luderick Lessons
I get pretty cynical when I see on Youtube that someone is ‘testing’ their new lures. Especially when they go to some expensive and remote spot swarming with fish, for the testing.
‘Hey, our stickbaits work great on GTs at Lizard Island!’
‘We tested our new jigs on kings at the Ranfurly Banks!’
that sort of thing. We’ve assembled a new blackfish combo, and I wanted to test it in Sydney Harbour – where luderick get a hammering already. This is the best season for blackfish in years and if you’re not part of it, you’re missing out on something special. Social media pages focused on luderick are going off, reporting bag limit catches right up and down the coast:
If you haven’t fished for them before, now’s the time. Pound for pound blackfish will pull a bass or a bream backwards. They taste great on the plate and right now there are millions of them in east coast estuaries:
Here’s just some of the reasons I love chasing them:
No boat required
No fancy or expensive tackle required
Bait is free
They’re not time sensitive
Being vegetarians, they have to eat all day – like cows or sheep
They taste great
Fishing off the shore so you can take the kids, or
That relative who gets seasick on the boat
CAN IT GET ANY EASIER 😊
Which is why Corey and I headed for Middle Head in the Harbour, taking some of our new blackfish combos to try out:
Burley is very important, and can make the difference between success and failure. You’ll need sea cabbage, wet sand, and a $12 cutter from K Mart Kitchenware to turn the bite on. This is the one that cuts horizontally, spotted it on Sammy Hitzke’s blackfish Youtube video. Super easy to cut your cabbage into tiny pieces, which you then mix with wet sand to burley your blackfish spot. Can’t recommend this little slicer dicer too highly but be careful with the sharp blades:
Corey was first to hook up:
Corey reviewed the new combo:
We kept ten for the table:
But something happened last week which made me realise it’s time for me to put something back into this lifestyle we all love. Here’s the story:
Yesterday – Saturday 27th July
At 3:00PM had an urge to go fishing
Decided to go to Bradleys Head near the Zoo
Had to get to South Curl Curl for weed and sand first
Bradleys Head not even in my top ten spots
Very hit and miss fishing there but the tide was right
Parking is good and it’s a short walk from the car
Get down to the stone jetty and it’s chockers with fishos
Two sets of dads and lads, three young blokes all fishing
No one is catching anything excepting tiny cockney bream
Usual story – heavy line, big sinkers, big hooks, servo prawns
They’re casting way out into the channel
where good fish are hard to find
Cut up weed with my $12 K Mart slicer dicer, mix with wet sand
Lob some burley balls in where reefy rocks and sand collide
Rig a dark green cabbage leaf on a size ten Sneck
Cast out and let the float drift through the burley line
Second drift, float goes under, fish on
Just sad, the way no one else was getting anything
BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT FISHING FOR WHAT’S AROUND
Luderick Lessons start next weekend
No charge – not a charter – no liability – just mates fishing
I’ll bring the tackle and the bait and burley for you
Let’s give it a try and see what happens
WHEN – next Saturday morning 3rd August Forecast is good, tides are right WHERE – to be decided, somewhere around Mosman Sorry this will only work for Sydneysiders Send me an email if you want to join us or want to know more? Kids and family welcome Will report back on how it goes And how the new combo works for fishos who’ve never targeted blackfish before Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow
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