Sydney Harbour Offshore

[puddlejumper]

Hey all,

New to fishraider but have been reading forums here for a while now...

For the next few winter months i'm keen to broaden my horizons from the harbour and try out some of the offshore spots within a few km's of the head's. I'm familiar with the likes of the colours, the gap, northerners, the artificial reef and a few wrecks from a couple close mates but wanted some input about the reliability of these spots + different species that can be caught and technique, as i'm pretty unfamiliar with them. I'm keen to hit up northerners for a day soonish with live + cut squid - looks pretty good.

Cheers, Puddlejumper

Edited July 17, 2021 by puddlejumper

[Pickles]

Hey puddle jumper - looking forward to some reports of your exploits in the future.

Sydney offshore has some brilliant fishing, but like most “spots” it can be brilliant one day and ordinary the next. Not sure what size boat you have (mine is 5.1 m, so a little restricted by swell and wind), but if you can get out wider and head north (don’t know much south of the Trag Grounds) there are some really productive grounds like Texas and Esmerelda, but a long run and conditions need to be good (don’t want to get caught in a Southerly on the way home).

I mostly target Kingies, Jewies, Snapper and Mahi Mahi (summer). if conditions are good I like to try 12 mile and The Peak as these reefs can be consistently good then work my way back in for flathead drifts and then troll around the heads. I’ve had a lot of success around Ben Buckler this year.

Im sure other more experienced Raiders will give you the heads up also - Zoran (ZMK), Yowie, Wazza, Frank S, Derek, ………. - there are lots of experienced fishos happy to share that have deeper and richer knowledge than me.

As an aside, I reckon it’s always worth a charter a few times a year with a good operator (there are some dodgy ones so ask around) as I always learn lots of stuff each trip.

feel free to pm me if I can help further

Bob

Edited July 17, 2021 by Pickles

[mrsswordfisherman]

Welcome to fishraider @puddlejumper

Look forward to reading your contributions 

[puddlejumper]

Thanks for welcome and help Bob and mrsswordfisherman I run on a 4.2 metery and tbh wouldn't be prepared to go further than 2nm from sydney heads, so 12 mile, peak etc are probs a bit far until I get an upgrade. Thanks for help and welcome again tho looks like a good community here on fishraider!

[GoingFishing]

Welcome aboard Paddlejumper.

There is some good fishing to be had off Sydney. I have been fishing the reefs off Sydney for a very long time and like to think i get some consistency in my results.

With the type of depths your willing to go (2nm) you will notice some very clear and distinct features of the Sydney coastline.

South head to Coogee - Empty sandy bottom and very minimal reef opportunities, particularly in the depth range you've restricted yourself to.

North head to manly - lots of reef, mixed with sandy bottoms.

Manly to Long reef - lots of reef mixed with sandy bottoms.

When the flatties are on the chew - it is worth giving it a go around the sandy bottom infront of the lighthouse off Watsons Bay/Vaucluse - rosetta in the 30m to 50m line.

otherwise, bottom line advice from me, go north. explore the reefs between Manly and Long reef as in my experience, the north side of Sydney heads is significantly more productive than the south.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by GoingFishing

[puddlejumper]

3 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

Welcome aboard Paddlejumper.

There is some good fishing to be had off Sydney. I have been fishing the reefs off Sydney for a very long time and like to think i get some consistency in my results.

With the type of depths your willing to go (2nm) you will notice some very clear and distinct features of the Sydney coastline.

South head to Coogee - Empty sandy bottom and very minimal reef opportunities, particularly in the depth range you've restricted yourself to.

North head to manly - lots of reef, mixed with sandy bottoms.

Manly to Long reef - lots of reef mixed with sandy bottoms.

When the flatties are on the chew - it is worth giving it a go around the sandy bottom infront of the lighthouse off Watsons Bay/Vaucluse - rosetta in the 30m to 50m line.

otherwise, bottom line advice from me, go north. explore the reefs between Manly and Long reef as in my experience, the north side of Sydney heads is significantly more productive than the south.

 

 

 

Thanks for ur help mate.

Due to how much fuel my runabout can hold I probably wouldn't go much further north than parallel to manly beach offshore, so I'll probs have a look at some sonar charts and try and find some reefy looking areas to give a go around the north head-manly area. I've had my eye on the whales/northerners area for a while now do you know much about it in terms of species etc?

Cheers

[GoingFishing]

Just now, puddlejumper said:

Thanks for ur help mate.

Due to how much fuel my runabout can hold I probably wouldn't go much further north than parallel to manly beach offshore, so I'll probs have a look at some sonar charts and try and find some reefy looking areas to give a go around the north head-manly area. I've had my eye on the whales/northerners area for a while now do you know much about it in terms of species etc?

Cheers

Northerners is a great spot, its difficult to fish properly without a spot lock or without anchoring up. 

During warmer months at northerners ull find snapper, trag, kingies. 

Fish the edges for flathead.

Might be worth investing a few hundred bucks to get a spare fuel tank added to the boat.