HNBAA-Dean Hayes September 2006 Scout Boats Sportsfishing boats Australia

	October 2006 Fishing Report By Dean Hayes
	We have been catching plenty of Salmon around the head lands in Sydney Harbour and Broken Bay. Most of Salmon have been caught on 4” and 6” Mojos and twitches and small poppers worked very slowly through the school. I have seen most other boats using small metals with out much success. Slugo Mojos and twitches can be hard to find some of the stores that stock them are Australian Bass Angler, Complete Angler, Angles World, and Windsor Bait and Tackle. If you’re not sure how to rig them ask the boys in the shops to show you. All the Guys that work in these stores are fishermen are will point you in the right direction. October is the time of the year when saltwater fly fishing will out-fish most other methods if the pelagic are feeding on small baitfish. Why? Because you can cast a small fly that is the same size, shape and colour as the bait the fish are feeding on. You can also work a fly a lot slower than most lures or you can let the fly just sit in the middle of a feeding school .One of the most important skills of saltwater fly-fishing getting the fly to the feeding fish as fast you can. So get out on the lawn and practice your pick-up, haul and shoot in one motion. If you are new to fly casting or can’t double haul spend a few dollars and get some lessons its will give the advantage when you are working the feeding schools of pelagic fish. The Kingfish have also started to turn up around Blue fish and the closer reefs I have been picking them on Small Trolled skirts and 9” slug tossed around the wash. I also heard of a good catch of kings in the Harbour near the channel markers. The best way to target the kings around the markers is trolling live bait or use weighted Slugos cast close to the marker let them sink down and work them back up. With a stop and go retrieve. The bream anglers have been catching plenty bream around the Harbour around the moored Boats casting bass minnows close to the keel and letting it sink watching there line for any movement. Most of the floating pontoons are also holding fish. Flathead have been caught up around Middle Harbour on larger soft plastics around the drop offs. Some of the locals have been catching plenty of bass and Eps fishing from the shore around the Lower Portland using sort plastics and Taylor Made Surface lure and Small poppers and fizzers in the late afternoon and evening. Fly fishing for Estuary Perch and Bass I like to fly fish for the estuary perch and Bass when the tides are big and running Out hard. This is when the fish will hold in the quiet water or the eddy. The inside of a corner that has a drop off. This where the estuary perch will wait to ambush any bait that swims into these areas. Any area that you can find that has quiet water with current running past it is a good area to look for estuaries. I use an extra fast sink fly line with a sink rate of at least 100mm per second and preferably 150mm. We use the fastest sinking line to get down to the depth where the fish are holding quickly. . It is also important to know the sink rate of your line so you can count down so your fly is at the same depth as the fish are holding. The flies that I prefer are dark coloured clouser made out of rabbit strips these have a life like action when retrieved. The Leader is nothing fancy 8kg mono about 1.5 to 2m long with the fly tied on with a loop knot allows the fly to move more freely thus adding action when stripped. When you find an area with fish showing on your sounder cast, count your line down to the depth the fish are holding and strip back and cast again varying your retrieve. I like short sharp strips with a pause every two or three strips and a long slow strip in the middle. It is easier if you have two or three people fishing as you cover the area better and can use different flies and retrieves. When an estuary does hit strike by pulling your line and not lifting your rod until you feel the weight of the fish. When fishing for bass on surface flies I like to fish the rising tide early morning and late afternoons. I have found that the bass will be looking up on the rising tide for any small crabs or insects that inhabit the tidal zone between high and low. This does not mean that only fish the rising tide I have had plenty of great days on surface fly on a falling tide. I use weight forward floating lines with a leader 8kg, 2m long and tie a small Popper or The small fizzer flies that Eddy Studman Koolabung lures makes. Cast your fly a close to the shore line, weed beds or in and under any over hang or snags. When the fly lands on the water let it sit for a second or three Before retrieving and bass will often strike just after the lands or the first few strips. Fly-fishing can be the most deadly way to catch estuary perch and bass if you know how, where and when to target them.
	Dean Hayes owns and operates: Sydney Sports Fishing Tours and Sportsfishing Boats Australia

Site Updated
As often as possible