luffyjnr

I love fishing Brissy Waters (BW). It has to be one of the best waterways to fish and access. Lets start at the top. Narara and Erina Creeks: Mullet, flatties, bream. Crabs of course. You may be lucky and pick up the odd tailor, salmon or Jewie. The Jewies used to be pretty plentiful as they would head up the creeks as part of their breeding cycle. OK fishing at the rail bridge, but you have to wait.. Fresh mullet or bonito strips seem to work best. I fish there outa my kayak. Waters between the top of BW and where the Oyster leases start: There are a couple of spots we found which hold fish.. Along the train tracks flick SPs for bream along the rock wall, try and drift along it. You can see where the weed bed starts, depending on the tide either start at the end of the weedbeds up to the rail bridge. There is a lttile deep section in the main bay, sorta head from Iguana Joes towards Sailing Club(I think, on the opposite shore) go about 3/4s of the way and its around tehre, holds small jewies and big bream. Sandflats around Saratoga (north of Paddys Channel): whiting! Lotsa fun on light gear with hawkesbury prawn segments on long shank hooks with 2 red beads or red tube, about a metre of fluro leader and a small sinker. Drift over the weed and sandflats, dropping the bait down into the sand and pulling up when you hit the weed edge. Good fun out of a kayak. Oyster leases: Best fished at high tide out of a kayak with unweighted SPs for Bream. Or anchor up close, and fish next to or between the leases with bait. St Huberts Island, Lintern Channel and broadwater: I've fished around the Island, whiting, bream, flatties, flounder in most areas. Lintern Channel I've fished out of the kayak with SPs and funnily enough picked up a couple of EPs and bream under the boats. I've only even fished the broadwater once, we picked up bream and flounder. Under the bridge to the Island we have always picked up small tailor, the kids love it as they give a really good fight on light gear. We did pick up a 38cm tailor so they are there. Paddys Channel: I reckon Paddys Channel is over rated. I've picked up flatties through there and a few legal bream, but you have to put up with all the lil pinkies and there is much better spots to fish. But that's my opinion. Woy Woy Bay: Little bream and flatties, beautiful area to fish though. Rip Bridge: Pick your spot. BE CAREFUL!! You have to remember there is a lot of water going through this relatively small channel and there is a lot fo current, swell and tidal movement. We tend to fish on the Daleys Point side about 200m downstrem from the bridge on an outgoing tide. Just be careful if you anchor up. Jewies! You have to have fresh bait, tailor strips and squid on a paternoster rig, make sure you have a stinger hook! You will also get tailor, flatties and big bream. If you head over to where the boats are moored, still on the Daileys Point side, you can get some good whiting, just have to put up with the pinkies. From Rip Bridge to Half Tide Rocks: Flattie HEAVEN!! Love fishing this section of water, I normally have a bait out, occy hook, 2 red beads, fluro leader of about 1.5mtrs and an oversize sinker. I've been using the snapper flasher rigs, seem to work well, although I have had much better success in the deeper water in the Hawkesbury with the flasher rig. I find as you drift along the sinker puffs up the sand which seems to get the flatties attention and they will hit the bait. I also have an SP, lifting it sharply as you drift. Try a few different drifts. It's hard to get the same drift each time, if you are heading along the shore at Ettalong Beach on an outgoing tide, there are some good "gullys" off the sandbar, if you're lucky you can see the flattie take the bait. TOP FUN! Half Tide Rocks ettalong/umina side: Jewies.. Same as above, fresh bait. Get some tailor and salmon cruising thru, you can see where the water is deaper and all choppy, try and fish along there. This is only what I have been lucky enough to experience and fish.. I hope it helps. It's such a top area, just love it! Take care on the water, Luffy....

G'day, how are things? Do you still make the yak trolleys? Do the 'arms' which go thru the scupper holes slide along the axle so you can adjust them for differently spaced scupper holes? What diameter are the 'arms'? Also the stopper at the end of the arms, what is the width? One of my yaks has pretty big scuppers. Lastly, how much ?? Thanks, Luffy

That is so kewl! I love it when they get out on the water. We use to take my daughter out when she was lil, catch a coupla small fish, stick em in a bucket, she would watch them, get tired, eat, sleep in the cuddy cabin.. We could take her out for 5 or 6 hours. Now, at 7, she just wants to go fast! My mate was tellin me about how he took his 7 yr old daughter for a fish on the river at Windsor the other night.. They were having a lovely time catchin lil fishies, when he gets a hook cuaght in his hand, gruntin and ouching trying to get it out.. His daughter looks at him and says "toughen up big fella" and goes back to fishin!!!! Luffy...

It certainly opened my eyes up to targeting bigger fish off the hawkesbury and Central Coast.. Just have to get my outboard sorted at Huey's and then I'm going to start setting up for bigger n better fish :-) Still goin out on the Hawkesbury on Sunday morning tho.. Luffy

We headed up to the Gold Coast to hit the theme parks with the kids. We had booked in with a charter for the Thursday which was excellent fun, although a bit slow. The main catch was a 20kg, 5ft + Spanish Mackerel, my mate was stufffed when he ended up pullin it in. I did not hear the end of it for the rest of the holiday! I hooked up the 1st big fish, only to have it at the boat twice and the deckie missed it with the gaf, 2nd time, after a 30 odd minute tussle, it got off. Luckily my mate got his in the boat! Certainly put fighting a bream in the Hawkesbury to shame, these fish pull like trains! We were both absolutely stuffed after pullin in just ONE! The pic of the flattie; was havin a bit of fun of the wharf at Sea World resort one night, took one of the kids with me, said to her she can pull in the 1st fish, expecting a couple of little bream. Dropped over a piece of prawn left over from dinner, BANG!! All I saw was a flash of white, thinkin what the hell is this, then it rolled the other way and I recognised a nice flattie, probably about 70+cm. Which was a good tussle on light gear. Couple of pics and released to grow a lil bigger.. Luffy...

Atomic 3 inch prawn/shrimp for Bream, flatties, tailor (fast retrieve). 4 inch for flatties, deadly just drifting and lifting the rod tip every 7 seconds Ecogear paramax 3 inch grub in the peppered yellow/gold colour - Bream, flatties. Good ole Mr Twister twin tail in pink is still my favourite on flatties.. works even better now with the TT jigheads where the weight is inserted into the body of the SP

If you are after a spin reel, I reckon the abu cardinal or the shimano sedona, if you can get one on special. I've only just replaced my cardinal after 5 years getting bashed around on boats and kayaks, it had a pretty hard time, and was still very smooth, the weird thing was the anti reverse started to slip slightly but when I pulled it apart it still looked fine. Luffy..

I'd go between a 6 n 7ft rod. I bought a small rod for fishing out of the kayak, thinking it would be better to handle and it's worse, as I have to dip the rod tip into the water if the fish wants to go around the other side. It's much easier with a 6'6 rod as you can get the tip around the front or back. I have a rod holder with a plastic backing plate, which I can move the angle of the holder, the basic berkely rod holder. I also have 2 fixed rod holders in the back just behind my hips, easy to get to and great when I am trolling. Luffy.

I probably past you at some stage! I headed out early, picked up my nephew at Pittwater, was very dodgy crossing from Lil Box head to Barrenjoey in the dark. Came back through inot Brissy Waters about noon. We did'nt have much luck. Just looking at the pics of the quinnie, where did you get the clears made up? We could have with a set on our way over to Patonga, we got monstered at one stage with a wave coming up over the windscreen and drenching everyone in the boat. Luffy...

We were out on Hawkesbury Sunday morning, I dunno how many LJ's we cuaght and were bitten off. Scored a nice flattie, but that was about it. I've noticed the last 4 or 5 times I've gone out fishing from Juno Point out to Box Head/Barrenjoey that there are no little bream and squires having a go at my baits/SPs, normally they are fairly prevelant. Did you see the big red buoy? It was a couple of km outisde the mouth, then about 2hrs later it was to the south of Lion Island, not sure what it was or what is was from. Luffy...

I fish out of a yak as well on BW, maybe we could organise a session? Luffy..

I like the suggestion of if you stick your nose out and don't feel comfortable then don't go any further.. I think I'll stick with that practice. She seems to handle the swell pretty well, I have had her outside box head on the northern side of the hawkesbury mouth. I will venture a little further out each time, see how things go. I think I'll be upgrading to a 75 or 90hp evinrude next year, which will give me a bit more comfort. In regards to transom height, I'm not sure if mine is good or bad in a swell. She has a pod out the back that the motor is attached to, with board either side, make a hell of a noise when anchored up in a swell, slappin the water. thanks all for your responses Luffy....

Hey All, confident enough in my new vessel after getting out as often as possible - belting around Brissy Waters and the Hawkesbury. I would like to head offshore for the 1st time. I would feel much better if I could accompany another vessel. I have a Allison BayRunner 5 with a 50hp 4 stroke on the back, 60lt fuel capacity, does'nt fly but gets along well enough and is very economical, just under 5m long. I have used this for reference => http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/sbh/safetyequipment.html#Open Would anyone be heading out from Hawkesbury area in the next month or so and I could tag along for that reassurance on the water. I am not sure how far, she compfortably does 20-25 knots ( think, running of GPS). So if you have any recommendations, suggestions that'd be tops! Thanks, Luffy..

There are heaps of good spots on BW. I have to agree tho the fishin has been slow the last month, think the water temp is colder than usual, I think. We had a good run of whiting at the top of paddys channel near the saratoga sand flats, where the current runs over the weeds. There seem to be a lot in the system. I've never had any luck in Paddys channel other than lil squires. Even on the run out tide near the moored boats south of the rip bridge on the eastern, Daileys Point side. I chucked out a big bait on one side into the deeper water, and out towards the boats for whiting, was good fun. My favourite spot has to be Ettalong sandflats, anchoring up on the edge of the flat on a runout tide, chuckin out Sp, popper, bait onto the sandflat, and letting it drift over the edge into the dropoff, no luck try again. I agree with the little bay out past Little Box Head for bait, even trolling around from box head back to the markers, good chance for tailor, garfish. I was talkin to a bloke who was fishin the Punt bridge at just after East Gosford, and he was pickin up Estuary Perch and Bream. Luffy...

G'day, I live on the coast and fish whenever I get the chance. I've fished most of Brisbane Waters out of a kayak, tinny and now, finally have a nice boat. Fishin outa the kayak is rewarding and if you don't mind the exercise, probably the most effective way to fish in brissy waters. From Narara creek down to Lion island and Patonga, you can fish it all out of a kayak. That said, it is good to be able to zip around in a boat, especially if the spot you pick is not firing. I'll let you know the next time I'm heading out (have the mother-in-law comin out from the UK for a month) but might not be as regular as usual. If you want to know about rock fishin spots, get to know Bob down at West Gosford Bait n Tackle, he's a guru on the central coast, just be ready to listen :-) If you have any questions let me know. Luffy..