▲TopRock Fishing & Beach Fishing Sydney - February/March 2007

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Rock Fishing & Beach Fishing Sydney - February/March 2007 WHAT’S ON FOR THE NEXT 2 MONTHS Palm Beach Bilgola Head Narrabeen Beach Collaroy Beach North Dee Why Rocks McKenzies Point Coogee Beach Long Bay Cape Banks Big Yena at Kurnell Shelly Beach Marley Beach North Garie Beach Burning Palms Coalcliff Point WHAT ARE TUBE WORMS? BOOK REVIEW QUESTION AND ANSWER OF THE MONTH WHAT’S NEW TIP OF THE MONTH Botany Bay DVD FISHING CLASSES FOR 2007 CLASS No 1. CLASS No 2.

▲TopWHAT’S ON FOR THE NEXT 2 MONTHS

Time and time again I get asked which beach or rock platform is the best to fish from in Sydney. This would have to be one of the hardest questions to answer. There are so many great spots to fish from the beach and rocks in Sydney. It is just a matter of what type of fish species you would like to target and when you would like to go. Some rock platforms in Sydney can become extremely crowed on the weekend, but not so during the week, especially when it is overcast or raining. I have found that the beaches on the other hand don’t tend to get that crowed over the week end, so during the week you don’t tend to see a lot of other anglers.

So to give you a bit of a head start to the next two months fishing off the rocks and the beaches of Sydney I am going to give you a selection of fish species to target and a few spots that area worth a look at when chasing them. I will start from Palm Beach and finish at Coalcliff rock platform.

▲TopPalm Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopBilgola Head

Fish species: Bream, drummer, snapper and tailor
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, mullet and yellowtail, peeled prawns, bread, crabs and cunji.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto the hook, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising and falling tide

▲TopNarrabeen Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, pink nippers, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig and ball sinker down onto a set of ganged hooks.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, top of the tide if gutters are shallow and bottom of the tide if the gutters are deep.

▲TopCollaroy Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, pink nippers, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig and ball sinker down onto a set of ganged hooks.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, top of the tide if gutters are shallow and bottom of the tide if the gutters are deep.

▲TopNorth Dee Why Rocks

Fish species: Bream, drummer, snapper, Australian salmon, bonito and tailor
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, mullet and yellowtail, peeled prawns, bread, crabs and cunji.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto the hook, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising and falling tide

▲TopMcKenzies Point

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor and bream.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, fillets of mullet, slimy mackerel and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopCoogee Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig. Small bobby cork.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopLong Bay

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopCape Banks

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, kingfish, snapper, whiting, bream, silver trevally and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, peeled prawns, bread, cunji, crabs, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide if swell not too big

▲TopBig Yena at Kurnell

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, drummer, luderick, snapper, silver trevally, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, peeled prawns, bread, crabs, cunji, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a set of ganged hooks or single hook, 2 hook paternoster rig.Bobby Cork or float.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising and falling tide.

▲TopShelly Beach

Fish species: Drummer, luderick, whiting and bream.
Baits: Half pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, pink nippers, peeled prawns, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a hook, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopMarley Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopNorth Garie Beach

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

▲TopBurning Palms

Fish species: Bream, drummer, snapper, Australian salmon, bonito and tailor
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, mullet and yellowtail, peeled prawns, bread, crabs and cunji.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto the hook, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising and falling tide

▲TopCoalcliff Point

Fish species: Australian salmon, tailor, snapper, tuna, bonito, yellowtail, drummer, luderick, whiting, bream and mulloway.
Baits: Ganged WA pilchards and garfish, beach, tube and blood worms, mullet and yellowtail.
Rigs: Running ball sinker onto a swivel with a short leader, 2 hook paternoster rig.
Time: Early morning, late afternoon, rising tide

Now hopefully these few spots and species to target will give you a few places that you can try over the next couple of months.

▲TopWHAT ARE TUBE WORMS?

Aquabait Pty Ltd has been developing tube worms over the past three years to provide a unique fishing bait direct to the fisherman. These tube worms are grown in their intensive aquaculture facility that is situated on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. Aquabait is involved with the research and development of marine worm cultivation for the fishing bait market and was established in 1996 and until today has been developing its own technology within a controlled laboratory environment in conjunction with the best marine polychaete (segmented marine worms) scientists in Australia to provide a sustainable product, baitworms! Aquabait has achieved successful grow-out and has now entered its commercial stage.

After spending about 2 hours looking over the tanks (about 300,000 worms) and chatting to Les, I found out that not only are these tube worms bred for bait that anglers throughout Australia can use, they are also used as food to feed to pregnant prawns in a prawn hatchery and aquarium fish. These amazing worms can be found naturally in up 60 metres of water off the coast from Brisbane in the north and south along the coast through NSW, Victoria, SA and right up to Broome in WA. Where blood worms live in low oxygenated water and mud, the tube worm prefers to live in much cleaner water and sand. The same areas that you will find beach worms.

The worms at Aquabait are farmed worms that are direct descents from the tube worms that are found in the Lake Macquarie system that is situated on the central coast of NSW. The tube or case worm species belongs to the family Onuphidae, which is broadly known as the beach worm family. Even though the tube worm has the capacity to grow up to 1 metre in length in the wild, Les from Aquabait will grow them to somewhere between 20 to 30cm in length, about 5 to 8 mm in diameter and no older than 2 years. This size will give the end user, you the angler about 4 to 6 baits out of each worm to chase whiting, bream, mullet, trevally, luderick, flathead, snapper and dart. If you chase mulloway you may find it much better to use the whole worm instead of pieces. These tube worms can live to be about 10 years old in their natural habitat.

I have used many different types of worms over the years. Worms like beach, blood, squirt, Botany Bay wrigglers, garden, tiger and scrub. All of which I have found to be very successful when I have use them. So what do I find is different when I use the tube worm? Well, firstly Les and his crew from Aquabait have developed a series of techniques that will allow me to keep the worms alive at home in an aerated shallow sandy substrate for about two weeks at a time without much fuss. Secondly you can buy their preserved tube worms from tackle shops that have been dipped in their specially developed non-toxic solution. This will allow you to store them in the freezer for up to six months, so that you can have them on tap for that time when you get that urge to go for a fish.

Not all bait shops supply tube worms, but the ones that I have been buying them from have been lasting longer, have not broken into small and un-useable pieces and if I have had any left over I have been able to bring them back home and store them the next day or two fishing.

Ace Fishing Tackle and Bait (02) 9821 4109

BAITS-R-US (02) 4334 3219

Belmont Marine Sports (02) 4947 9101

Big Catch Fishing Tackle (02) 9790 6674

Bohm Bait and Tackle (02) 9913 7878

Cast Wide Arncliffe 0404 655 068

Chatswood Bait and Tackle (02) 9417 3988

Drummoyne Bait and Tackle (02) 9819 6278

Ettalong Bait and Tackle (02) 4341 3044

Iluka Bait and Tackle (02) 6646 6622

Kyeemagh Bait and Tackle (02) 9599 3075

Narrabeen Bait and Tackle (02) 9970 6204

One Stop Bait and Tackle Shop (02) 9758 0571

West End Sports and Tackle (02) 4962 4266

Windybank’s (02) 9477 1655

At the time of putting together this review the shops listed are currently selling tube worms. If you would like to find out if a bait and tackle shop near you is stocking tube worms you could contact Les at Aquabait on (02) 4973 5505 or send him an email to

The only worm farming that has existed previously was the earthworm farm, which is mainly known for its composting capabilities and use in fresh water. The tube worm plays a very important role in the food chain in the ocean and the estuarine waterways. Many commercial fish require tube worms as part of their diet. Now that Les and his crew have been able to cultivate these tube worms in a controlled environment and not have that process cause any environmental disturbance is a definite positive to both the environment and the recreational angler.

If you would like to learn more about the tube worm you could always look up the web site for Aquabait, www.aquabait.com.au (www.aquabait.com.au)

▲TopBOOK REVIEW

The Anglers and Journal Almanac.

Now that the New Year has just dawned and you are thinking of going fishing you should also think of recording what you have caught, where it was caught, water temperature, wind direction and much more. For years this information has been written down in my diaries, and believe me that’s a lot of diaries over the years. Australian Fishing Network has got together some of the experts from their Freshwater Fishing and Saltwater Sports Fishing magazines and come up with a diary that has been designed to hold all the details necessary for you to keep a log of your fishing trips. Whether they were good or bad. It is this information that will provide a valuable reference for you in the years to come, and maybe it will put you into that top ten percent of anglers who catch ninety percent of the fish.

This almanac features tidal information, suggested fishing calendar, essential State Regulations, an estimated Fish weight to length from the NSW Fisheries, Basic Knots, Fish species and rig guides and Predicted Peak Fishing tides and times for QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS and WA from October 2005 to December 2007.

I started to use mine from the 4/10/05 and due to the fact that I do a lot of fishing I filled the first book up by the 21/8/06. My second almanac is close to being full as I only have enough room for 6 more entries. This compact journal will make the recording of your fishing trips a lot easier, as you will be able to have just over two years of fishing information in one book. That is if you don’t do as much fishing as I do. Maybe AFN could come up with a book that has just the Fishing Journal part that you could just add to the original book.

Released August 2005. RRP $24.99

The Journal Almanac can be ordered from your local tackle shop. For information on the closest stockist to you contact AFN ON (03) 9761 4044, Email: or visit their web site: www.afn.com.au (www.afn.com.au)

▲TopQUESTION AND ANSWER OF THE MONTH

Peter Roberts would like to know how do you stop your terminal tackle (hooks, swivels etc) trebles on your lures and jig heads from rusting in your tackle box.

For many years I use to just lightly spray all of the above with WD 40, and NO it did not stop the fish from biting, no matter what you have been told. I actually sprayed a whole block of WA pilchards with WD 40 and still caught fish with them. Since those early years I have changed to a product called Inox, mainly due to the fact that it contains no silicon, acids, dieseline or kerosene’s. It will not harm metal points, surfaces, plastics, paints, enamels, fibreglass and neoprene seals. It is also non-conductive, non-static, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-staining.

For the storage of your terminal tackle it is just a matter of putting a few hooks or swivels into a clear film container and then spraying a small amount of Inox into the container after each time you have gone fishing. The Inox does not put the fish off from biting and it doesn’t affect the line. The same goes for my jig heads, and as for my hard bodied lures I just wash then off with fresh water, allow them to dry and them spray the trebles and spit rings with Inox before putting them back into my tackle box.

▲TopWHAT’S NEW

There are two new tackle shops in the St George and Sutherland Shire areas. They are Cast Wide on the corner of Wollongong and Forest Roads at Arncliffe; Contact Ali on (02) 9599 3603 and Yabbie Marine at 2a Toorak Avenue Taren Point; Contact Mick on (02) 9542 7712. Also The World of Tackle has moved to a better location. They are now at 1081 Victoria Road West Ryde; Contact Ross on 0411 898 110

▲TopTIP OF THE MONTH

How many times have you gone down to the beach, only to find that there is a current that runs parrel to the beach and every time you cast out the sinker and the bait ends up back at the edge? I find that if this is happening I will cast out and allow the rig to hit the bottom. Once this has happened all you will need to start walking in the direction of the flow of the water. This will keep you bait out in the strike zone and not bring it back up onto the beach, but you won’t be able to do this if there are a number of other anglers fishing the same hole. That is unless they are doing the same thing.

▲TopBotany Bay DVD

During the early nineties I teamed up with Scotty Lyons and started running on the water fishing classes at Hunts Marine, and it was during that time that Scott and I decided to put together a DVD called “A Day on the Bay”.

The DVD covers how to catch live bait for yellowtail kingfish, techniques on how to target dusky flathead with soft plastics, bait fishing for yellowfin bream and silver trevally and lure fishing for tailor, places where to fish on Botany Bay and even how to clean your catch. It also covers what type of baits to use and how to rig them, the type of gear we used, plus much more. There is 55 minutes of running time, plus 20 minutes of extras.

If you are interested in getting hold of a copy you can contact me and I will let you know where you can get one.

▲TopFISHING CLASSES FOR 2007

In the New Year I will be running fishing classes on “How, Where and When to fish the waterways of Sydney “from both the shore and the boat. The areas that I cover in these classes are the Port Hacking, Georges, Woronora, Parramatta, Lane and Iron Cove and the Hawkesbury Rivers, Middle and Sydney Harbours, the northern and southern beaches, as well as the Pittwater.

▲TopCLASS No 1.

Due to the success of the first class that was run at Windybank’s the next class will be run at Windybank’s Bait and Tackle. This class will start on Thursday the 15th of March 2007 and run for 3 consecutive Thursday nights. To confirm your spot you will need to book in and pay at the shop. The cost will be $ 95.00 per person. This includes a fish barbeque.

▲TopCLASS No 2.

There will also be class at Otto’s Fishy business at their new shop at 74 to 76 Victoria Road Drummoyne NSW 2047 Tel (02) 9819 6522 on two consecutive Sunday mornings. (29/4/07 AND 6/5/07). The coast will be $ 80.00 per person.

I will also be running a fishing seminar with Alex Bellisimo at the new Amazon Superstore at Liverpool on Thursday the 15th of February 2007.

For further information and to secure your spot and guarantee that the class will run you will need to either book in or pay at the shop, send me an email at or ring me on 0422 994207. The cost will be $ 80.00 per person.

Gary Brown

Author of

• Fishing Guide to Sydney – Hawkesbury
• Beach and Rock fishing Australia
• DVD - A Day on the Bay