5 July 2005

Wind: N/NE 5/10 knots.
Sea: about 1 metre.
Swell: SE 1 to 1.5 metre.
Tide: 0148:0.45, 0735:1.21, 1257:0.58, 1939:1.75
Barometric pressure: 1028
Water temperature 22.5 degree C
New Moon
Location: Wariwood
Not too much bite
Black Fish: Seen an Vietnamese caught several at low tide
Drummer: Caught about 10 drummers, only 1 legal size, others released. Half hooked twice big ones but could not land them.
Groper: No bite
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Well there’s plenty of cold water out there, especially after the recent fresh flush, causing the fishing to slow down considerably. Offshore conditions seem to be providing some respite, with a little remnant warmish water and temperatures hovering around 18 degrees. Inshore however is markedly different. The beach water temps are still the warmest of the waters close to shore, hovering around 17 near the Joey, but as soon as you get around the corner and inside the mercury drops off the scale. Pittwater was measured at twelve degrees earlier this week, and the harbour struggles along, only reaching above 13 on sunny days.
Pittwater struggles along, with the exception that it adjoins the largest moving body of fresh water in Sydney (Hawkesbury River) and therefore may take a day or two longer to recover to it’s usual levels of salinity. Fish are often highly sensitive to changes in salinity and may be put off the bite or forced to move out of the area for several days.

The beaches are still fishing pretty well, especially in comparison with our estuaries. Nice Black Drummer are still firing for the ledge brigade, getting stuck into Ab Gut and occasionally fresh bread. Salmon are off the front of most headlands, including at Curly and Dee Why, where they can be spun up with small metals or just baited. Jewies have been about in good numbers lately, but there is a run of massive Eagle Rays at present, some up to 25kg, that is making find-the-jewfish look more like where’s Wally, and causing plenty of bust offs. But if you are persistent, the Jewfish are still there, and big.