G’day guys,
Sorry for the gap in blog posts but I’ve been busy guiding, attending meetings and doing the occassional talk at clubs and tackle shops of an evening plus coping with the challenges of becoming a new dad to our awesome son Cohen Jack selby born on 31/12/16.
MULLOWAY MEETING
I was recently invited to attend the Mulloway recovery program meeting along side other keen stakeholders and DPI recreational fisheries managers to discuss how the recovery plan has been working/not working over the last 3-4 yrs and how these prized fish are to be managed more effectively in the future. Unfortunately conclusive evidence suggests they are in dire straights with their estimated current bio mass sitting around 7% of their estimated unfished virgin bio mass. This to me screams that we need to take imediate action on all forms of fishing for Mulloway from quantifying and observing trawler bycatch to mesh netting practices and their net set times to tighter or slot limit type bag limits and/or closures for recreational and commercial fisherman.
At times the red tape of dealing with several governmental departments and peoples lively hoods will surely get in the way and delay what really needs to happen to allow this valuable species to return to its former glory, naturally. We can all do our bit in our daily lives to ensure that the rivers and their tributaries remain healthy so that it can support the amount of fish we would all like to see thriving in our estuaries and oceans. Be it picking up some rubbish when at your local fishing spot or park to watching what you put down your drains to containing all sediment run off from a buiding site you may be working on. All of these small things we may look past on the daily have a major impact on the vunerable, fragile ecosystems most of sydney builds its ever expanding (not so) ‘affordable’ housing on and in turn when it rains it all washes into the creeks and rivers displacing and in worst case scenarios killing all the waters inhabitants from macro invertebrates to the major predatory species we humans like to target.
TALKS
Recently i have been invited to do some talks on lure fishing for Mulloway at local tackle shops and fishing clubs and to be honest i have been overwhelmed with the turnout at these evening talks. Some have exceeded 120 attendees and other have been capped at 100 due to lack of space to accommodate them. I’d like to extend my gratitude to the the staff at BCF West Gosford, Fishing Station at Mona Vale and Windybanks Fishing club at Hornsby for putting on such great talks. Keep an eye on our facebook page for future talk dates and locations.
Great turn out at the Fishing Station talk. Pic courtesy of Fishing Station
FISHING
The fishing over winter on the Hawkesbury was patchy one day and fantastic the next! Some great Mulloway have come to the net for a quick pic and release but they have been a bit thin on the ground compared to other years. I’m assuming the rain earlier in the year in early autumn has had a bit to do with the unusal patterns i have seen this winter. This will all turn around over the next few weeks as we see a definite trends towards spring with the wattle trees in my local area already in full bloom. Live baiting trips will be on the cards from around september to late november for those not keen on a big day casting and retreiving lures. Get in ealry to avoid missing out on the good tides/dates and learn how to fool Mulloway in Sydney’s busy waterways.
Lindsay’s first ever Mulloway on a lure! This fish measured 118cm and was caught on a Prolure 105mm fish tail soft plastic in pearl sardine. It was successfully released.
We experienced some fantastic blackfish/ Luderick sessions this winter with one session producing no less than 12 stud specimens over the 40cm mark with the best nudging 46cm!! I can’t stress enough how much this style of fishing helps anglers develope the fundamental elements that all fishing revolves around. A must for beginners to pick up the basics and experienced anglers to rehone and focus their skills. They will be about for another month or so if you are interested in learning this style of fishing and harvesting a nice sustainable feed of fish.
Big Blackfish like this will test your tackle and your angling skills!
Bream have come back on the bite in recent weeks after their noticible absence over winter after what i assume was an early spawn run triggered by the aforementioned autumn rain. They have been falling victim to small vibes, soft plastic grubs and creature baits. Im sure a bit of bread berley in the washes will pull a few too if lures aren’t your thing. As spring progresses some exceptional fishing will be on offer for clients wanting to learn how to effectively use soft plastics, you can expect mixed bags of bream, Estuary perch, tailor and flathead when on board a guided trip.
Big bream will be a feature this spring on our guided trips
It’s a bit early for inshore Kingfish despite there being an extended bite that went well into the start of winter for those fishing in sydney harbour. A couple of my clients were lucky enough to get one on a soft plastic hopped down deep over a wreck in july whilst we were targeting demersal species. Anyone keen on targeting Kingfish this spring/summer i will be taking bookings for the seson starting at the beginning of November. Get in early to secure good dates and tides.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming Kingfish season!
If you’re interested in a half or full day guided trip or one of our Fishin Tuition classes please contact Dan Selby via the contacts page not this blog’s comments section. Call or TXT 0405 196 253 or E: dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au