Dolphin Fish
I have been fishing for Dolphin Fish around the FADs (Fish Attracting Device) with limited success. One day we caught heap the next day you have to work for them hard. The last trip out to the FAD we could see the fish eating the pilchard cubes but the fish completely ignored our unweighted baits. After an hour without a fish we lengthen and lighten our leaders to 4m of 6lb fluro carbon leader and use smaller hooks that could be hidden in side the pilly cube.
We cast our unweighted pillies as far as possible and fished with the bail arm open feeding line as we drifted. When the fish took the bait we let them take a few metres of line before closing the bail arm and setting the hooks We also found by lightening and lengthening our leader on our lures and having them long way back when trolling produced fish.
The FADs of Sydney are fished heavily and the Dolphin fish can be difficult to catch but I have found it pays to be patience and try a few different bait, lures and lighter leader’s will work on most outings
Kingfish and Bonito
The saltwater pelagic have been on the quiet side this month with only the odd salmon, Taylor and King making a showing around the marker poles. Most of the Kings that I have caught have been deep trolling small live yellow tail around South Head and the Colours.
The bonito have turned up in good numbers around the headlands, most falling to trolling lure and deep water jigging. Often when hook fish trolling and it being fought back to the boat that if I cast small metal let it sink and rip it back I often will hook another bonito. Another way is to keep the boat moving forward after hooking up often you will get multiple hook ups. But you can also end up with nothing if pull the hooks on the fish that struck first.
Bream, Flathead and Jews
Plenty of bream, flathead and jewfish have been caught on bait and lure all the way from Pittwater to up above Wiseman ferry. Soft plastic worked around the rocky points have working on the bream. Deep diver trolled in the same areas have been catch there share bream flathead and odd school Jew to 8 kilo it’s also a good way to find were the fish are located and then working area over with soft plastics. I have also been getting the odd Jewfish in the Harbour while trolling live baits for Kingfish
Winter Bass and Estuary Perch
Winter is my favorite time to target big bass and estuary perch. This is when these fish school up to move downstream to spawn. Over years that I’ve been guiding on the Hawkesbury I’ve had learnt how to target these fish all year round and have found that on most winter trips that we catch as many as we do on most summer outings.
We also catch most of our bigger bass in winter. A lot of these fish are caught in deep water in back eddies. In these areas there is a lot of floating debris builds up and any prawns or bait fish hang around or under debris, and so are the bass and eps. We’ve found that sinking fly and soft plastic work the best. It’s important to have a good sounder and know how to use it as these fish can hold in a small area and certain depth. So take your time to sound these areas. Surface lures and flies worked in these areas and will catch their fair share of big bass. Keep your eye open for any surface movement. Or just work over these areas with your surface fly and lure you will be surprised how many big bass are caught using surface lures and flies
Scout Boats, Inc. Brings New Australian Dealer On Board
Summerville, SC – Scout Boats, Inc. has added another new international dealer to its current roster: Sportsfishing Boats Australia at 105 Batt St Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. This brings the total number of dealers in Scout’s growing network to 77.
Dean Hayes Sydney Sports Fishing Tours and Peter Jacovides of Australian Bass Angler are bringing Scout Boats to Australia and will have the first Scout Boat to arrive at the National 4X4 Show and Fishing & Outdoors Expo Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park Homebush Bay Friday, June 23, 2006 to Sunday, June 25, 2006 for sale to public and will be seeking regional and interstate dealers interested in selling these outstanding boats for more details give Dean 0408334892 or Peter 0247210455.
Scout builds Sportsfishing, Fish ‘n Ski, Walk Around, Flats and Bay boat models ranging from 14’ to 28’, and will be debuting its largest model to date in model year 2007: the 350 Abaco. Since it’s founding over a decade ago, Scout Boat’s goal has been to manufacture the best-built boats in its distinctive Sportsfishing niches. Each Scout hull is a true original, as the in-house research and design team works closely with engineering to take concepts from blueprint to production more efficiently, growing the company’s world-class reputation for quality, strength, durability and value.
For more information on Scout, visit www.sfba.com.au
