Fishing Sydney Harbour with Craig McGill

A beautiful morning at The Spit Marina and Sydney Harbour was calling. We were heading out with craig-mcgill of Fishabout tours, the air was warm, I was really looking forward to a day fishing Sydney. We were there for a quick morning fish, arriving a little late due to the traffic, we were all eager to get on the water.

As we motored out to the heads through the mansion lined waterway which is Middle Harbour it’s hard to get one’s head around 4, 5, 6 million dollar houses and million dollar boats by the dozen.

The sad part is that there was nobody on them. As the engine purred and we slid by, I felt like the wealthy one, I was going fishing!.

Pulling into Clontarf Beach to grab half a bucket of sand for our ludderick berley mix, which would be used later on in the day, we continued to North Head. In the distance, close to the base of the cliffs, Craig picked up a flock of gulls working the baitfish being driven up by the Australian Salmon]]. Upon arrival we put on a couple of metal slices and managed a few cast but the school went down, not long after our arrival. There were a couple of battles still going, a few boats that had been there prior and had hooked up. The size of the fish seemed quite good at 3 - 4kg judging by the aerials being performed on the end of one blokes line. Another not so lucky busting off before it was landed.

With the school having dispersed we continue around North Head to Blue Fish Point dropping a couple of Rapala’s to see if we could up troll up some action. The surface was a little sloppy though so we turned to head for calmer waters.

Returning through the heads, passing South Head on our left, then Laings Point before anchoring at Bottle & Glass Rocks off Vaucluse Point. After berleying on a mix off cabbage weed and sand we rigged for Blackfish (Ludderick) and cast out. Watching our floats drift back up against the current due to the eddy we were in, we waited. We were actually fishing with Craig as apposed to be guided by him (point being he was fishing too), so I fully expected him to hook and land the first fish. I was right and after approximately 20 minutes we had our first Blackfish. The rod bucked as a lovely Sydney Harbour Blackfish fought to get back to the safety of the rocks below. It wasn’t long before a 1.5kg fish was eased into the net and gently lifted aboard. After a few happy snaps he was slid back into the water and our day was off to a good start. We knew we didn’t have a lot of time as the weather was set to turn bad that afternoon.

A re-bait, cast and berley saw another nice Blackfish fall for Craig’s subtle persuasions. Brought to hand, then released, it really looked like it was shaping up to be a great day. By the time Craig hooked his third I was wondering what I was doing wrong? I was fishing the rocky shoreline from one side of the boat, while Craig was fishing a rocky bottom from the other.

It was clear of Craig’s experience here and after a few tips I hooked my first fish for the day and my PB (personal best) Blackfish. I must admit I love fishing for Blackfish, due mainly to the fact that for their size they put up such a great fight.

A couple of “YeeHaa’s” for good measure before he was landed, photographed and released. I was on the board. However the bites were starting to wane now, the time between them increasing. As Craig hooked another, this fish was a little bigger again. The elation that is the natural process of hooking almost all fish but especially a nice fish was short lived though, as he managed to kick himself free. One more hook up by yours truly and a couple of dropped fish saw our time come to an end, with 6 landed in around 3 hours it was a top morning. As we lifted the anchor and headed back to the marina, my mind began the stopwatch to the next trip. As when your out there, there is nothing else matters but being on the water and what’s on the end on your line.

Be sure and give craig-mcgill a call to book your next trip out on Sydney Harbour. Bare in mind that the King Fish season is about to begin (mid October) and the beginning of the season means MASSIVE Kingfish. So make sure you book early as Craig books out very early in the season.

Craig McGill
Fish About Tours
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