That Ol' Black Magic

Old mate Warwick D has been flying planes around the world for years. But with the virus pretty much shutting down international air travel he’s kicking back in Sydney until things pick up. Kirribilli, specifically. And the lucky dog has a spectacular waterfront location:

He had some of the old crew over for a barbecue last week and what a top night it was. But as well as the snags, the beers, and the conversation there was something else which caught my attention. Being the fantastic private fishing spot he had at his back door:

The place is super strategic:
It’s at a pinch point in the Harbour, where the current flows stronger;
It’s just west of Government House, where there is no fishing for security reasons;
The bottom is a good mix of kelp, rocks, and sand patches;
And most of all
The cement dome (in the red circle) forms an eddy when the tide runs hard.

That last one is important. I called up Warwick and asked if I could stop by for a session – bringing gear for him to use, too. No problem!

Fish choice – blackfish
Time choice – mid week afternoon, to avoid busybodies
Tide choice – halfway out, so we could fish with the wind and the tide at our backs

Stopped by McMahons Point wharf on the way over last Thursday because it’s a great spot to collect green weed for bait. There’s this elderly Asian gentleman fishing there. He’s got gear everywhere, rods and reels lying on the cement and the like. One wacky outfit was a rod 8 or 9 feet long with no reel – just the line tied to the tip and maybe ten red ball Styrofoam floats holding up a hook (which you can see in the pic.) I’m lying on my stomach reaching over the edge collecting weed, when I see the ferry pulling in. Stand up and move back out of the way when suddenly I hear, ‘Hey, Andy!’ It’s my old friend Steve S to whom I’m deeply indebted for our great Barry White fishing promo video. He’s the deckie – for want of a better word – on the ferry. Steve expertly drops the rope over the bollard on the wharf. At that moment, the old gentleman casts his rig off the wharf – straight onto the laps of two passengers, sitting on the lower deck! Why anyone would do that, I don’t know. But the captain – two decks above – opened the window and gave the bloke a well deserved attitude adjustment.

Over to Warwick’s place where we found the cement dome was out of bounds due to the seawall being rebuilt to the east – with divers in the water. No problem! Moved 50 metres west to another spot – with public access, you can see the rock pier on the map above - where I broke out my tabouli scissors. Yep! This handy six blade tool cuts up cabbage into tiny little pieces. The idea being that blackfish would be swimming through a cloud of their favourite food, with none of it big enough to supply a decent feed. Two of our 802 blackfish combos ready to go. With a cloud of burley drifting downstream and cabbage baits set at three metres it wasn’t long until the floats started sliding under:

I was using our 802 combo, which I use for just about everything inside the Heads now:

It delivered great results on Thursday afternoon. Here’s the first fish of the session, 38cms:

Now lads I’m just gonna mention something about blackfish tackle. I’m always ranting about how there’s thousands around, how they fight like little demons, and how good they taste if you bleed them and get them on ice, fast. Can’t count the number of times blokes have said to me, ‘I’ve got an old whippy rod in the garage and some of dad’s floats somewhere! Will give it a go.’ But that’s not the way it works. With blackfish, the right tackle is ESSENTIAL. And once you crack the code and are hooking up every second drift, you’ll know it’s true. Here’s how we set up our $155 blackfish combo. Cutting corners will only cost you fish:

1. Our high carbon 8 foot 2-piece 802 Blue rod, shown above
2. Our Lesson 3000 reel with carbontex drags and a full spool of 3 kilo CC braid
3. Last 20 metres of braid wiped down with line floatant so it doesn’t sink
4. Correct size float with adjustable depth stopper and bead on the braid above
5. A 3-way swivel with 2 droppers on 6-pound fluorocarbon line
6. Top dropper, weed fly on size 8 Sneck hook
7. Bottom dropper, real weed on size 8 Sneck hook

All supplied pre rigged, correctly weighted with split shot, and ready to fish:

This setup will save you so much time and so much fiddling around trying to get things right. It’s all ready to go. Buy this combo, head down to your local wharf, breakwall, rocky point or whatever and get into them. It’s all been done for you:

BLACKFISH COMBO $155 INC DELIVERY

Warwick’s never fished before and he was having a ball:

Now’s the time. Blackfish are everywhere this time of year. Give it a go! You’ll be glad you did. Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

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