Bradleys head

[SickWolf]

I heard that bradleys head is an alright spot but i couldnt figure out where to fish or what I could catch there. any chance of squid? thanks

[tommtomm]

been going every week for the past month ... not having much luck.... but having been experimenting with chicken heart lately...

been getting plenty of nibbles but no takers...   havent really seen anyone have much success there...shame beautiful spot.  

[wazatherfisherman]

G'day mate fished the shoreline of Bradleys Head area for over 40yrs, from childhood and whenever it was too rough to go ocean rock fishing.

The old stone wall near the mast of The Sydney facing up harbour is a reasonable spot for casting out wide(abt 70 mtr's to channel) for bream with a long rod, big lead and long trace- only bait to use is live worms due to long cast as they don't come off. Closer to the wall are a few flathead & lots of leatherjackets. It has also long been a top luderick spot,even after the destruction of the old wharf. Flathead caught here have often had heaps of small seahorses in their gut, so I guess there are plenty of them as well.

 There is a much better spot on the eastern front between Bradleys Head and Taylor Bay with access from either end. To get there from the Southern end,go down the road past the fort and the road turns left  then back towards the city, you'll see a railing with steps. At the bottom of the steps you will be looking towards Sydney Heads. If the steps lead to a lighthouse you've gone too far,go back up and towards the heads. At the bottom walk to your left and about 250-300 mtr's north you will see a low platform  Walk along the shoreline and there will be a white cliff face behind you  when you get to the spot. This is "white rock or white wall" and it a great spot for many of the harbour's species.

From the other end there is a track down that is adjacent to the entrance gate,walk straight down, don't turn left at the bisecting track as turning left  it goes all the way around to Clifton Gardens and right goes to Bradleys Head, Just go straight ahead past the bench seat and follow the narrow track down to the water, which is the mouth of Taylor Bay, then go back towards the city. This way is a bit harder and you need to clamber around a huge boulder at high tide but quicker once you've done it a few times. 

Looking towards the water, the spot is made up of 4 main flat ledges covering about 35-40 mtr's of frontage with about a metre wide 'gutter' dividing these from the shoreline, to simplify things, from left A,B,C,D. 

SPOT 'A'- Only fishable from far left end as visible reef in front. Leatherjackets,Black Trevally(Spinefoot) in close and few luderick and odd Rock Blackfish at high tide. Long cast towards the heads with big sinker lands you on sand in about 5 mtr's of water. Mainly Bream off this end. 

 SPOT"B'-  Largest rock with a small pool on left end. This is the main spot for general fishing,with kelp patches on a sand bottom. You can either fish with small ball sinker(size 0,01,1)straight onto hook or a large sinker above a half mtr trace(leader) and 'long-cast' to marginally deeper water-roughly 6-7 mtr's at high tide. There are 3 chiselled rod holes on this rock and the small pool will accommodate about 4 yellowtail(live-bait) which can be caught here also. From this spot you can get Bream,Legal Snapper(Feb-May ) Flathead,Tailor,Trevally and Leatherjackets. I have caught and seen others catch Spangled Emperor here plenty of times & Live-bait on the bottom has produced Mulloway,Kingfish,Salmon.bigger Tailor and some good sized Flathead. Also the odd Hairtail and John Dory. Spinning here early morning often produces Tailor with occasional visits from Bonito and Frigates(Feb-Apr) I caught my largest (harbour-shore based) lure-caught Kingfish here also. 

SPOT 'C' - Not quite as big a rock with kelp covered 'slabs' on bottom both left and right with a 2 mtr wide 'gutter'  in the middle.3 rod holes(2 in pools) on this rock. Long cast from here for Bream,Trevally,Flatties and Tailor. Odd better size Luderick and some mean Sawtail Surgeons behind kelp slabs. This is best Leatherjacket rock use paternoster rig size 6-10 longshank. Small Silver Drummer and heaps of Black Spinefoot usually spoil this as a Luderick spot. 

SPOT 'D' "The crack"- the far right-hand rock slopes into the water with a kelp-covered ledge only about a  mtr lower and only half a mtr out. The "L" shaped gutter here is only 3 mtr's long and 2 wide. It is under 3 mtr's deep at dead low tide, but both kelp ledge and rock you stand on are 'undercut' and the entrance to a labyrinth of unseen cracks,gutters and holes. This is an excellent Luderick spot on the run-out tide only. The run -in see's BIG "EVIL" Surgeonfish "muscle" the Luderick away along with a few Rock Blackfish(Black Drummer). Night fishing here you can get same species plus Bream Red Morwong and a variety of 'crack dwellers'. Only drawback to this spot is you must stand in the water to fish the crack and most fish are there while water is thigh-deep-to-ankle deep. I've had some epic battles with Surgeons here and landed a couple of dozen over the years including a beautiful all blue one and plenty of Sawtails, although you lose about 9 out of 10 due to the terrain.

Also if Luderick fishing here DON'T USE BERLEY! There's no need to as the fish are almost always in the crack on the outgoing tide and berley will penetrate the underneath Labyrinth attracting plenty of less desirable species, particularly Spinefoot(Black Trevally) Surgeons and both varieties of Drummer.- If you are new to Luderick fishing, the Bradleys Head stone wall is a much "friendlier" spot as there aren't any obstacles like at the "Crack" and there are heaps more fish. Although (Sept-Oct)- see's some trophy sized fish, you'll only get 4 or 5 maximum and importantly The Crack only fishes 2 guys if luderick fishing. The spot is so small, twice I've caught the same Luderick as the guy I've been fishing with when the fish took both our baits! 

 GENERAL- The area of White-Wall/Rock fishes best from just on high tide until just before low tide, it isn't a run-in tide spot(except for evil lurking Surgeon's!) and if you fish the run-in you'll be disappointed. The only 'drawback' to 'The rock' is you have to get there at high tide which is ok on smaller tides,but anything over 1.5 mtrs you'll get your feet wet- it isn't at all dangerous but a little slippery in places. The spot goes just under water on tides of 1.65 mtr's and above, meaning ferry waves will flow over also, however these tides are generally more productive here due to this area is not affected by current. 

Other things of note are the Black Drummer can be numerous sometimes but always smell and taste like kelp, not at all tasty like their ocean brothers, but are always challenging to catch. There are crayfish along this shoreline in September-October, but as fishing laws have changed, they should be returned to the water if line-caught(we used to hand-line them back in the seventies) In May-June Tailor often school up out from here of a night and whole ganged pillies fished on the sand bottom will get a few.  I hope this information is useful to you & anyone venturing to the area.

Edited December 27, 2023 by wazatherfisherman

[masterfisho7]

4 hours ago, wazatherfisherman said:

G'day mate fished the shoreline of Bradleys Head area for over 40yrs, from childhood and whenever it was too rough to go ocean rockfishing. The old stone wall near the mast of The Sydney facing up harbour is a reasonable spot for casting out wide(abt 70 mtr's to channel) for bream with a long rod, big lead and long trace- only bait to use is live worms due to long cast as they don't come off. Closer to the wall are a few flathead & lots of leatherjackets. It has also long been a top luderick spot,even after the destruction of the old wharf. Flathead caught here have often had heaps of small seahorses in their gut, so I guess there are plenty of them as well. There is a much better spot on the eastern front between Bradleys Head and Taylor Bay with access from either end. To get there from the Southern end,go down the road past the fort and the road turns left  then back towards the city, you'll see a railing with steps. At the bottom of the steps you will be looking towards Sydney Heads. If the steps lead to a lighthouse you've gone too far,go back up and towards the heads. At the bottom walk to your left and about 250-300 mtr's north you will see a low platform  Walk along the shoreline and there will be a white cliff face behind you  when you get to the spot. This is "white rock or white wall" and it a great spot for many of the harbour's species. From the other end there is a track down that is adjacent to the entrance gate,walk straight down, don't turn left at the bisecting track as turning left  it goes all the way around to Clifton Gardens and right goes to Bradleys Head, Just go straight ahead past the bench seat and follow the narrow track down to the water, which is the mouth of Taylor Bay, then go back towards the city. This way is a bit harder and you need to clamber around a huge boulder at high tide but quicker once you've done it a few times.  Looking towards the water, the spot is made up of 4 main flat ledges covering about 35-40 mtr's of frontage with about a metre wide 'gutter' dividing these from the shoreline, to simplify things, from left A,B,C,D.  SPOT 'A'- Only fishable from far left end as visible reef in front. Leatherjackets,Black Trevally(Spinefoot) in close and few luderick and odd Rock Blackfish at high tide. Long cast towards the heads with big sinker lands you on sand in about 5 mtr's of water. Mainly Bream off this end.   SPOT"B'-  Largest rock with a small pool on left end. This is the main spot for general fishing,with kelp patches on a sand bottom. You can either fish with small ball sinker(size 0,01,1)straight onto hook or a large sinker above a half mtr trace(leader) and 'long-cast' to marginally deeper water-roughly 6-7 mtr's at high tide. There are 3 chiselled rod holes on this rock and the small pool will accommodate about 4 yellowtail(live-bait) which can be caught here also. From this spot you can get Bream,Legal Snapper(Feb-May ) Flathead,Tailor,Trevally and Leatherjackets. I have caught and seen others catch Spangled Emperor here plenty of times & Live-bait on the bottom has produced Mulloway,Kingfish,Salmon.bigger Tailor and some good sized Flathead. Also the odd Hairtail and John Dory. Spinning here early morning often produces Tailor with occasional visits from Bonito and Frigates(Feb-Apr) I caught my largest (harbour-shore based) lure-caught Kingfish here also.  SPOT 'C' - Not quite as big a rock with kelp covered 'slabs' on bottom both left and right with a 2 mtr wide 'gutter'  in the middle.3 rod holes(2 in pools) on this rock. Long cast from here for Bream,Trevally,Flatties and Tailor. Odd better size Luderick and some mean Sawtail Surgeons behind kelp slabs. This is best Leatherjacket rock use paternoster rig size 6-10 longshank. Small Silver Drummer and heaps of Black Spinefoot usually spoil this as a Luderick spot.  SPOT 'D' "The crack"- the far right-hand rock slopes into the water with a kelp-covered ledge only about a  mtr lower and only half a mtr out. The "L" shaped gutter here is only 3 mtr's long and 2 wide. It is under 3 mtr's deep at dead low tide, but both kelp ledge and rock you stand on are 'undercut' and the entrance to a labyrinth of unseen cracks,gutters and holes. This is an excellent Luderick spot on the run-out tide only. The run -in see's BIG "EVIL" Surgeonfish "muscle" the Luderick away along with a few Rock Blackfish(Black Drummer). Night fishing here you can get same species plus Bream Red Morwong and a variety of 'crack dwellers'. Only drawback to this spot is you must stand in the water to fish the crack and most fish are there while water is thigh-deep-to-ankle deep. I've had some epic battles with Surgeons here and landed a couple of dozen over the years including a beautiful all blue one and plenty of Sawtails, although you lose about 9 out of 10 due to the terrain. Also if Luderick fishing here DON'T USE BERLEY! There's no need to as the fish are almost always in the crack on the outgoing tide and berley will penetrate the underneath Labyrinth attracting plenty of less desirable species,particularly Spinefoot(Black Trevally) Surgeons and both varieties of Drummer.- If you are new to Luderick fishing, the Bradleys Head stone wall is a much "friendlier" spot as there aren't any obstacles like at the "Crack" and there are heaps more fish. Although (Sept-Oct)- see's some trophy sized fish, you'll only get 4 or 5 maximum and importantly The Crack only fishes 2 guys if luderick fishing. The spot is so small, twice I've caught the same Luderick as the guy I've been fishing with when the fish took both our baits!   GENERAL- The area of White-Wall/Rock fishes best from just on high tide until just before low tide, it isn't a run-in tide spot(except for evil lurking Surgeon's!) and if you fish the run-in you'll be disappointed. The only 'drawback' to 'The rock' is you have to get there at high tide which is ok on smaller tides,but anything over 1.5 mtrs you'll get your feet wet- it isn't at all dangerous but a little slippery in places. The spot goes just under water on tides of 1.65 mtr's and above, meaning ferry waves will flow over also, however these tides are generally more productive here due to this area is not affected by current.  Other things of note are the Black Drummer can be numerous sometimes but always smell and taste like kelp, not at all tasty like their ocean brothers,but are always challenging to catch. There are crayfish along this shoreline in September-October, but as fishing laws have changed,they should be returned to the water if line-caught(we used to hand-line them back in the seventies) In May-June Tailor often school up out from here of a night and whole ganged pillies fished on the sand bottom will get a few.  I hope this information is useful to you & anyone venturing to the area.

That's some advice 

[Novicefisherman]

Great write up there. Very informative.

[wazatherfisherman]

There are a few other spots in the area,not as diverse as "White Rock" but worth a mention. If anyone is interested I can put the information on here also.

[Mutch22]

That is a great write up! I'm very interested in some of the other spots Wazathefisherman if you don't mind cheers!

[wazatherfisherman]

Hi Mutch 22  I posted 2 more bits of info in the last few days, both in relation to Luderick fishing, in answer to a post by Turtletown on Luderick fishing near the Spit. One is on Luderick at Cremorne Wharf and Bradleys Head stone wall, the other is on Luderick at "The Crack" at White Rock.  I didn't talk about other species that are found in the vicinity of the stone wall, except to say that bream are caught with a long rod, casting heavy lead, metre long leader and using worms(as they stay on in the more 'violent' casts necessary- about 70 + metres -to reach the deeper water and are what the Bream take readily and constantly in daylight hours) Cast towards the city on the run in tide and on retrieve raise your tip high and reel swiftly to avoid snagging on the closer kelp.   As the water around the end of the wall is generally around 4- 5 metres deep at high tide and there is plenty of visible kelp, there are plenty of Leatherjackets, a few Bream and Surgeonfish and at times some good Flathead. Many years ago there was a wharf  which is now long gone, but when there provided really excellent fishing for both the 'jackets and Luderick. Both species are still present in relatively good numbers. Both 'paternoster' and float fishing work on the 'jackets using peeled prawns in the daylight hours, from half tide up.  When using live yellowtail set about 3.5 metres under a bobby cork we caught some good Flatties here also, drifting all around the wall, however you need to take the yakkas with you as it isn't much of a yakka spot. An interesting thing was often the flathead caught in this vicinity would have small seahorses in their gut, so I'd say there must be a fair few around the wall. There are 2 other spots  worth mentioning on the Zoo Wharf side of  the Head.  If you look on Google maps satellite images you'll see Athol Beach below Athol Function Hall. Take the short track down, about 3 mins walk from the car park adjacent to the entrance of the park. When you get to the bottom go around to your left. This is the first spot. I know it doesn't look that likely a spot, but throwing out here onto a predominantly sand bottom yields a few nice eating fish,  Bream, Trevally, Small Reddies, Flatties and the odd Tailor are caught here by setting up a couple of rods and throwing out towards the Zoo Wharf.  I've often caught a single large whiting here, for some reason never more than one(similar to Clifton Gardens Wharf's Whiting, often 1 but never 2) It isn't a spot to catch a lot of fish, but totally sheltered in N/E winds and pleasant for a quiet fish during the week. A swimmer was bitten on the calf by a shark here a few years ago, so bear that in mind if you consider a swim. On weekends quite a lot of boats can come in and moor, making it a bit noisy for land-based fishers. The other and better spot is accessed via the same way, just keep walking around at water level towards Bradleys Head. Roughly 250-300 metres further along there are 2 rocks about 15 metres out from the shore it's only shallow out to them and quite safe. funnily enough we've  always called this spot "2 Rocks" as they are the only fishable ones along this section. The water has a nice drop-off all the way along this shoreline and 2 Rocks is the most comfortable spot along the whole stretch. Throwing a pilchard out onto the sand bottom produces a few Bream, Tailor and some nice Flathead. My favoured method here was to use a pilly under a small bobby cork, set about 6-8 feet deep.This set up has caught me plenty of nice sized Flatties there and at times Tailor school up and sit on the bottom along here also. When I was much younger you were allowed to fish the Zoo wharf and a few times lugged half a dozen small live yakkas caught from the wharf  to 2 Rocks. This usually resulted in at least a couple of Flathead, again, not heaps but worth the trouble. Bobby cork, small sinker,swivel and 40-50 cm leader then 2 ganged 3/0 or 4/0's was the rig. On bigger High tides say over 1.4 metres you get your feet wet walking there, but again it isn't at all dangerous. I'm getting a bit 'weary' tonight so I'll put the other spots on tomorrow. Good luck if you go, Cheers  Waz