SYDNEY HARBOUR PELAGICS

By Craig McGill

Sydney Harbour manages to attract more than its share of pelagic fish species. Craig McGill applies his local knowledge and presents techniques you can use to catch them, whether in Sydney or elsewhere.

Finding food is number one priority for any fish. Very occasionally their attention turns to other needs, but whatever the distraction, their thoughts must soon come back to food.

The one thing that does vary between the different species is volume of food that they require. Flathead are a classic example of a fish that can 'sit' on a decent feed for days. The nickname 'lizard' was derived from their appearance but flaties actually have a lot more in common with their namesake than just a hideous head.

Pelagic fish are the opposite, requiring a continuous turnover sustenance. The reason for this is that they are constantly on the move and burning energy at high rate.

Just because you are not catch­ing flathead does not mean that they are not there. With pelagics is reasonable to assume the opposite. If you are actively fishing for pelagics for more than a few days and not catching them, then whey are probably elsewhere.

The lower reaches of Sydney Harbour are pelagic heaven. This is mainly because it is also baitfish heaven.

Sydney Harbour is a harbour and not a river. This might sound like a bad case of stating the obvious, but the differences are often overlooked.

The Hawkesbury River has the depth and the baitfish, but not the pelagics. This is because the Hawkesbury pumps huge volumes of fresh water into the ocean. This creates two conditions unfavourable to pelagics - lower salinity and turbid, low visibility water. Pelagics are physically less able to deal with fresh water than estuary fish like bream or mullet for example. They are also visual hunters so clear water is an obvious advantage.

The harbour, on the other hand, has a tiny freshwater catchment when compared to the Hawkesbury and, except in times of severe flooding, remains clear.

Why depth is so important to pelagics is not so obvious. It certainly gives them another option when fleeing from predators, but mostly it gives those sensitive, lidless eyes a break from the midday sun. Coastal harbours are a baitfish magnet being warm, still and clear. They obviously supply the nutrients they require as well.

So Sydney Harbour has it all masses of food and clear, deep saline water.

What is a pelagic fish? I don't know. The dictionary defines them as being 'of the deep sea'. My fishing encyclopedia defines it as being 'free floating or free swimming' as opposed to living on the sea bed. Another says 'surface fish of the open sea'. And yet another fishing refer­ence describes them as being ‘any fish that spawns free float­ing eggs'. Editor? (Gee, thanks, Craig. My Collins biology dictionary describes 'pelagic' thus: "Swimming actively in the mass of sea water rather than living at the bottom.")

I'll list the fish I'm talking about. Common fish of the harbour that I think are pelagics and are of interest to anglers include kingies, tailor, bonito, salmon, stripies, mack tuna, frigate mackerel and trevally. Less common pelagics are rainbow runner, amberjack, samson fish, southern and northern bluefin, yellowfin tuna, marlin, Watson's leaping bonito, spotted and Spanish mackerel and cobia.

With a list that long you can be sure that at least a couple of the species will be present all year round, but the bulk of the action happens when the water is warm. Around 19 to 21 degrees is optimum in an average year, but occasionally it climbs as high as 25. When this happens the kings clear out, but the compensation is in the form of an influx of tropical species. Salmon, trevs and bonito are comfortable some where between 16 and 20 degrees, making them a good winter standby, although any of the pelagics can show at any time.

Even within the pelagic group there are variations in the type of food and the quantity required. The tunas (with the exception of bonito), appear to never stop swimming, whereas the likes of kingies, tailor and trevally, and to some extent bonito, will 'hold'. It appears that these less active pelagics can 'switch off’ for short periods when conditions are not favourable.

The Harbour's true tunas, northern bluefin, striped, mackerel and frigates are always swimming and always looking for a feed. If things become unfavourable for them they simply move elsewhere.

Bonito and salmon are some­where in between these two. They are always swimming, but often only in low gear. For example, tailor and kings will hold stationary, swimming just enough to hold their position in the current. Bonito and salmon will hold in an area, say along a reef edge or around a hole, but they rarely hold stationary.

If conditions are bad enough for long enough any of the pelagics will move.

What does all this mean to we fishos? Well, when things turn bad for the tunas you are probably wasting your time persevering with them. They have moved to another area and probably won't come back until condi­tions are good again. It is generally no good deciding that you are going to work hard for these fish because if they are not there then you can't catch them. With the fish that 'hold', perseverance will eventually pay off  they are still there waiting for more favourable conditions. Even in bad conditions these fish can be tempted with the right bait or lure put in the right place. The fish are still in the system and as long as they are there you have a chance of catching them.

Although most of the pelagics make much better table fish than they are credited for, they are primarily sought after as a sportfish. I don't intend to do recipes or preparation of individual species, but there are a few golden rules for pelagics if they are to be kept for the table.

Bleed, gut, gill and ice asap. Fillet and skin just before you intent to cook them.

Most pelagics don’t freeze well, although trevally, kingfish amberjack and samson are okay for a few months.

The species that don't cook up too well will probably be good sashimi; frigates stripies and mack tuna.

Fillets are best cooked as you would a rare steak. Overcooking will dry them out.

Australian salmon are the exception and fully deserve their reputation as revolting.  My mate Stinker from Port Stephens reckons he has a recipe for salmon, but it must be remembered that Stinker thinks that 'mud' is one of the five food groups.

All the pelagics will readily accept lures. Trevally are not regulars on artificials, but when they do switch it on the same rules apply.

Trolling lures is a great way of finding some species. It works exceptionally well on bonito, tailor and spotted mackerel. It's only average on salmon, stripies, mack tuna, frigates and trevally. Its success rate on kingies is poor. I am aware that trolling for some of these species is far more successful in other areas, but this article is based specifically on my experiences in the Harbour.

Trolling the headlands, particularly North, South and Middle Heads, is the preferred option when the fish or the baitfish can­not be visually or electronically located in open water. Different species prefer certain locations. North and South Heads produce lots of bonito but we hardly ever get tailor there. Tailor are much more common along Middle Head and the run between Grotto and Dobroyd Points. Of course with their highly mobile nature any of the pelagics can be expected to turn up anywhere.

In fact strong concentrations of baitfish have been known to lead some of the more oceanic orientated pelagics well up into the mangrove country. This year, while filming a segment with Phil Atkinson for the Fishing Australia show, we took a mack tuna in front of the Opera House. A few seasons back bonito, frigates and kingies were thick as far up as Bantry Bay, well above the Spit Bridge. Don't discount the shallows either. I've seen mack tuna and frigates raid baitfish in 18 inch­es of water. And while on the subject of fish out of water, this year's phenomenal run of spotted mackerel in Sydney Harbour will go down in fishing history. Between Christmas and Easter, Fishabout Tours took just over 100 spotties between its three boats.

Trolling is best done with minnow style lures. Metal baitfish profiles and skirted type lures the likes of Christmas Trees are good when the fish are high up in the water. Those types of lures will ride high at the trolling speeds required for pelagics (4-8kts). Minnows offer deep diving capabilities or at least reliable depth control. My favourites are Rapalas CD7 and 9 and Producer lures Barra Mauler No4 and 5 (after an upgrade on the Producer's hooks).

A trolling pattern must be established in order to locate the concentrations of fish. This usually involves a close run first and then moving a little bit wider on each run after that. Troll both directions on each run because it's common to find fish biting in one direction and not the other. Keep an eye on your sounder for baitfish concentrations, other boats trolling to see where and what they are catching (and so you don't run into them), birds working the surface, current lines and most importantly gnarly waves, bombies and so on.

Most people I know would rather cast to pelagic fish than troll for them. What do you do though if you want to cast a lure or fly to pelagics, but can't visually or electronically find them? Troll until you find them and then cast. Elitist fly fishermen who refuse to carry conventional gear on principal are doing themselves a disservice in this respect. Trolling lures is a legit­imate fish finding tool, even if you do not like or intend to catch them this way. This will probably get him tarred and feathered, but Sydney Harbour's most experienced and probably best fly fisherman, Leong Peli, has been known to troll a fly on fly gear in order to locate fish. Once the fish are found he casts to them as is his preference. Hoohaa aside, it’s just a smart tactic for practical fly fishers who won't let elitist's ideals get in the way of a few more fish. You can locate fish by blind casting to likely looking spots, but on average it will be a slower process.

All the pelagics, even silver trevally, will work bait on the surface at one time or another. At these times they can be visually located, often kilometres away, by looking for the accompanying flocks of seabirds cash­ing in on the leftover baitfish. Not every surface feeding school has birds, but even those can be visually located just by looking for the surface disturbance. Obviously good sea conditions make the job a lot easier.

There are times when the erupting schools will be heard before they are seen.

When the time comes to approach the school there's a few things to keep in mind. Don't charge right up to, and never into, the feeding school as this will almost certainly put them down. There are exceptions to this where a rapid approach is essential. Certain species will, at times, feed in very short bursts and if you are not there quick you will miss your shot. You must approach fast but keep your distance. The obvious distance to pull up is at the extremities of your personal casting range.

A classic example of fish that feed in quick bursts is northern bluefin or stripies. A common mistake made in this situation is for anglers to take a slow, cautious approach to these schools. Most fishos conclude that the fish disappear when their boat approaches as a result of the fish being spooked by the boat. Occasionally this is probably true, but if you sit back for a while and just observe their feeding pattern it soon becomes apparent that they are feeding in short bursts regardless of whether the boat approaches or not.

It’s generally just coincidence that the time you take to get to them is roughly about the same time as their feeding bursts.

This short burst feeding pattern could be the result of the fish trying to avoid becoming prey themselves, (to sharks or marlin etc) or it could be linked to loosely schooled baitfish or even a herding tactic. When they are feeding like this the slow cautious approach will gain nothing but frustration. Drifting in the general area and waiting for the fish to come by the boat occasionally pays off. I've found the best approach it to get just with­in casting distance as quickly as possible and let fly. Speed is the essence in this situation.

You must consider your boat shadow, as this will put fear into your school long before the engine noise. Shadows are the early warning sign of a large predator where engine noise is unfamiliar and fish have proven to be to be far more wary of dangers that they are familiar with. The basic rule is to never get between the sun and the fish. The lower the sun is in the sky, the more this applies.

Try to anticipate the direction that the fish are moving and be sure not to put your boat in their path.

In windy conditions you can use the wind to make a quiet approach to a school, but position your drift to take you along side the school and not over the top of it.

With experience it becomes possible to identify the species by the manner in which they are feeding. The benefit of this is in lure selection and rig. For example, you don't want to throw your favourite soft plastic at frenzied tailor. You might decide to rig a short length of wire ahead of your fly if you know you are dealing with tailor, but would definitely steer clear of wire if you knew they were mack tuna.

Lure selection in these situa­tions is more a matter of size than type or colour. You are all familiar with the concept of 'matching the hatch', but how do we determine the hatch', the term arose in the trout fields where the hatch was quite obvious. It was probably airborne and tangling in your big mous­tache or tweed hat. It's not always that easy when your hatch is under water.

Seabirds help a lot. They won't even show up unless it's worth their while. A birdless patch of feeding pelagics usually indicates that the prey is very tiny. And to the other extreme, the bigger the patch of birds the bigger the prey. Tiny bait inhaled whole leaves little to interest a seagull, but a four inch pilchard chopped in half by a tailor or stunned by a crushing blow from a kingie certainly provides an easy and worthwhile target.

If you are lucky you might even see the prey as it showers from the water in an effort to escape. If all else fails, start with your smallest lure and work your way up. Fish homed in on a certain size prey will regularly eat something smaller but rarely anything bigger.

It is generally accepted that a high-speed retrieve is essential for pelagics, which is true if you are using weak actioned lures Re metal slugs. Strong actioned or slow sinking lures like flies, spoons, minnows and soft plastic stickbaits do not require the same speed to entice a strike. The problem with metal slugs is that they are so unlifelike on a slow retrieve.

My favourites amongst the casting lures include Rapala Minnow Spoon, Wonder Wobblers , Slugos and Raiders.

Never assume that the fish you are seeing on the top are neces­sarily the fish you are catching. In these situations it is not uncommon for fish of different species to layer, i.e. salmon on top, bonito under them and then trevally under them. Your first few casts should be retrieved immediately, but later casts should be allowed to sink to varying depths before the retrieve. Many pleasant surprises have come from this technique.

Silver trevallies rarely feed right on top, but are quite common below the winter salmon. They will take lures at these times, often on the fall. Kings are regulars below tailor and bonito. The first sign of them is when one follows a hooked tailor or bonnie up to the boat.

Kingies are the easiest of all the pelagics to locate, but usually the hardest to catch. Their biggest downfall is their love of shade, but to some extent it's also their saviour. Structure creates shade. Structure is very easy for us to locate, but it also gives the kings something to wrap us around. They will face into the current when they are holding around structure.

Avoid lures that rattle for kingies, and that includes anything with trebles and split rings. Sluggo is no.1, but you will occasionally get away with poppers as the splashing sound helps mask the rattling of the hooks and rings.

Bait fishing for pelagics is highly effective, but generally takes second option to lure fishing. It's far more effective on some species than others. The fish that hold like trevs, kings and tailor are more susceptible to bait fishing, even cut baits, than the various tunas. The major difference between the two is that with the holding fish you go to them, but with roaming fish you must wait for them to come to you.

Berley plays a big role in both styles. With the holding fish berley will be a direct attractor. Although mack tuna or bluefin, for example, are unlikely to be attracted directly by your berley they will most certainly be attracted by the bait fish that have congregated in your berley.

The only thing yellowtail have going for them as a live bait is their abundance. The effort to obtain poddy mullet, slimies, gar, pike, hardiheads and squid will be rewarded leaps and bounds ahead of yakkas. Yakkas under 10cm are a good bait, but they are not common.

Don't always assume that live baits will outfish cut baits. When it comes to chasing kings a squid head or even a squid strip is usually the first and often the only bait to go, despite live baits swimming right along side. As a matter of interest the same applies to jewies (jewfish are not pelagic).

Trevally are targeted with cut baits of tuna, peeled prawn or pilchard and occasionally with live yabbies or worms. Their mouth is too small for most of the live fish baits that we will offer them. Tailor are similar in regards to cut baits, although they will rarely turn down a live bait.

Pelagic fishing in Sydney Harbour just seems to be getting better all the time. Visits from tropical ringins like samson fish, spotties and Watson's leaping bonito seem to be getting more common. In recent years northern and southern bluefin have both been taken between the Heads, which is something that has not been seen for many years. This year there were three reliable marlin sightings well within the harbour and even one small specimen identified after taking a live bait off Clifton Gardens. This year also saw the thickest run of bonito and mack tuna I can ever remember. With commercial pressure eased, kin­gies and salmon are healthier than they have been for decades.