Introducing Estuary Angling

Scrolling down through the site you will find it devided into different locations in and around Sydney,the gear we used to target different species and finally navigation, including our ancestory.
At the end of this scroll click on “Earlier Posts” for more pages on Swains Reef,Camden Haven and Lake Macquarie.etc.
These locations and Posts will be added to regularly with a new topic  in “On Stage” which will contain most recent articles on topics such as lures and luremaking,boating,digital photography,navigation and latest product reviews.
On Stage Now-
Dropshotting for Jewies.
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Deep Creek and Middle creek are great launching areas for kayaks , where poppers can be flicked over the sandbanks,polaroiding for whiting.

Half an hour drive North of Sydney, to the beaches, lies this fishos paradise.

The gear we use is a 7ft Shimano Backbone Elite combined with Daiwa Tierra 2500 spin reel,braided with 6lb Fireline and 10lb mono trace for flathead.

For bream a 6ft6 Daiwa imx7 Procaster rod teamed with a Daiwa Tierra 1500 spin reel,braided with 4lb braid and 3lb mono trace.

Growing up on the lakes where a trusty cane rod and small Capstan centrepin reel,loaded with mono was the norm it amazes me how far we have come in the styles of finesse fishing, during the last few decades.
Here’s a pic. of the Capstan and some Alveys!

Someone told me many years ago Golf courses leading to estuarine systems had a great blend of fishing opportunities!

The ramp at Jamison Park.The Bahai Temple in the far background is ever present .

Some pics of Lures and tackle used!Bream S/ps Flattie S/ps,H/bs , Carolina and Texas Rigs.


A picture of Bill Green my Dad in the 60s.Cane rock rod,old Alvey and fishing basket.

In comparison here’s some pics of the gear we use today!in the estuaries.
An improvised cake bowl makes an excellent poddy trap,combined with bucket and aerator.
The flatties love them as a live bait.

Getting a hand to pump nippers is always a bonus!Another excellent bait.A lot of people who are new to fishing ask me “Why don’t I ever catch anything”.My answer is fish as light as you dare and go live,it’s the best!

Launching outa Bayview ramp and heading on around Scotland Is. there’s a mirriad of fishing opportunities to be had.A couple of our favourites are Towlers and Lovett Bay .The latter is fed by a tidal creek with heaps of moorings and structure such as wrecks and reef.Top breamin’ spot using fresh squid strips and S/ps.

Time seems to stop still here.

The above pic. is out wide of Lovetts Bay.As you follow up into the bay towards the creek entrance there’s heaps of sand banks to look for nippers,which are excellent bait. Deep channels with dropoffs.The Kingies get in here and smash up the bait schools ,but come and go,vanishing as quick as they came!Below is a pic of Jono’s Samson and Bel with a nice bream.

Small chopper tailor hit the little River 2 The Sea surface poppers . S/Ps flicked near the older barnacled boats provide great fun on light gear.

Some nice big flatties can be targeted on live poddies and large S/ps.

Launching outa’ Parsley Bay near Moonee Moonee puts you right in the heart of this mighty river near The Road and Rail Bridges where another journey begins.

 This thread will cover from Cogra Bay up past the different creeks/Berrowra,Cowan,Macdonald,Mullet,Webb,Mangrove and finally The Colo.

Leaving Parsley in our wake we ducked out to the left,heading up river,under the rail bridge and on to Cogra Bay.Real “Deliverance ” country but good fishing grounds.Oyster racks and mangroves make a good blend for breaming,and flatties.

On returning to the bridge we tried a hand at Jew fishing near the pylons,which has some nice deep holes.Probably better at night ,several days after the full moon.

 Jewies on light gear will test you out!Big live baits or lures such as the Halco Laserpro-

On to Juno Pt. which is a well renowned big Jew spot and excellent drifting ground for flatties.Proceeding East for the arvo session to Flint And Steel.Boat traffic is a hassel at times!

The Upper Hawkesbury presents some great fishing with heaps of creeks and tributaries.Some interesting reading can be found in “Cruising Guide to The Hawkesbury” by John and Jocelyn Powell.

Bass and Estuary Perch can be found in numbers in it’s upper reaches.

A pic of a Daiwa “Livencicada” from Japan.

Below some Hawkesbury Bass,Hairtail and John Dory

Mangrove Creek a trib. of the Hawkesbury and Weissemans Ferry,Spencer are very special fishing spots.

Spencer “The Hub Of the universe” and a cold one at “the Weissemens Ferry Inn”
Click on maps for zoom!

As an introduction to fishing this area, I will begin with just to the West of The Harbour Bridge around the dock area to Darling Harbour.There’s a major shipping line and deep drop off to set a live squid in search of those ever illusive Kingies!Good bream ground with heaps of structure around the pylons.

We trialled a heap of different lures and found the “Luhr Jensen” in white a good lure in the mid/crank bait range.Berleying up is a must.The small “Vibes”from www.kingstonlures.com.au  were good and Jackal TN50s which all come under the bibless range.There’s endless opportunities around the Harbour.

Our boat “Chilli”

 Coming from the Northern side of Manly, we launched out of Manly,Roseville  and Cammeray dropping out under the Spit Bridge and on to North Head via The Quarrantine Station,Old Mans Hat and Northern Marker,sometimes venturing around the corner to Bluefish Pt.There’s numerous spots to fish on the way out including Pickering Pt.,Balmoral Beach (driftin’ for flatties) and Dobroyd Pt. to name a few.

Gettin’ on to live squid or yakkas when on the move,trolling or downrigging top to mid water produces good results.Gar fish stinger rigs skipped back behind the boat wash work as well.

This Aussie Salmon fell for a metal slice ,using a Daiwa Saltist 15to30lb rod and Shimano Navi PG 8000 reel ,loaded with 20lb braid and 80lb leader.

Aussie Salmon

Somewhere in a rod stack you would have to find an Ian Miller T/Curve.Coupled with a TLD.

Above Yamashita and Yosuri squid jigs.When it get’s hard, try trolling these “River 2 Sea” lures!

Tryin’ to track down squid can be tough at times-try www.squidfish.net/ for some good info.

 Chasin’ Kingies around the Harbour can be great fun and sometimes frustrating !!!Downrigging live squid or yakkas can be worth the wait.Invariably when you hook up,it’s generally near structures or my worst enemy!Moorings!.Here’s a few pics.of our set up and a nice Sydney King.

Garfish rigs can be skipped or weighted accordingly.

Check out www.blackpete.com.au in your tackle shop the Kings rate them as one of there favourites.

We use an Abu Ambass.7000 BG with a 6ft stoker rod that has a bit of give, allowing the tip to load up on the down rig.20lb braid and 80lb trace.Lever drag!

Seriola Islandi the Latin derrivative , is probably short for “bandits” or “Hoodlums”

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Click on maps to zoom in!
Some more of the gear we are using of late is the Daiwa Saltist 5000 spinning reel and Saltist overhead 30.
Penn Slammer and Penn Spinfisher reels.You can’t beat these tough, no nonsense reels.

The 50lb multi coloured depth braid coupled with varying mono leaders of 40 to 80lb does the job well.

Little Narrabeen to Long Reef

The Basin Long Reef

Nth Head

Old Mans Hat

Balmoral Beach

Blue Fish Pt.Manly

You never know what to expect,Flatties,Tailor,Bream,Whiting or Snapper,to name a few.

Click on map to zoom in!
Some pics of medium to heavy gear we employ!

S/ps,hardbodied and live or fresh bait is the go,berleying modestly.

Expect to catch Flathead,Bream,Tailor,Whiting and heaps more estuary species,fishing the right tide and moon phases.

The above pic. is my Avatar from “Tacklebox” a wonderfully informative fishing forum with an excellent cross section of fishing genres.Check out www.tacklebox.com.au

Rock and Beach Gear-

You can’t beat the Alvey range for a tough,no nonsense reel.From Black fishing to beach,with lever drags on the med.sized models.There’s an ol’ Capstan centre pin in the top corner.Some people collect floats or make there own like Mark from Narrabeen Bait And Tackle which is the spot for all your  fresh bait and gear at www.nbtackle.com.au

Click on earlier posts at the end for Lure making,Blackjack,Navigation,Ancestory,Botany Bay and more locations.

 Shadow                                                                                                         

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Heres’ some ideas we had from our files,but ultimately we will build a centre consul down the track!

The above pic. shows a collapsible Targa top that folds down to the bow.
Below is an excellent company on the Nthn.Beaches providing quality makeovers for your boat.
boat-box-the-fisherman-site-for-vessel-accessories
Click on earlier posts for more topics!!!