Weighing Up The Options

By Dan Trotter on May 27, 2015 in Other

Are you wondering what you should fish for this May? There are plenty of options to choose from, so plan wisely. It is a challenge at almost any time of the year to decide what you should target. As with everything in life, though, there are exceptions to the rule, such as tuna time, the marlin run and the period when the winter kingies settle on to the wider grounds and not much else is happening. Unfortunately (or fortunately – depending in how you look at it), May is a month of options, and decisions need to be weighed up for what they are.

A good way to start the decision making process is to consider which species’ seasonal presence on a certain structure or depth belt may be about to begin or end. All species have their own truly unique seasonal cues; signals that trigger movements in populations and changes in predatory behaviour.

Looking across May, the last of the large schools of solid inshore kingfish will be on the move to who knows where. Almost simultaneously, the now grown school kingfish ranging in sizes from 60-100cm on average will be arriving in large numbers on the 70-100m hard profile offshore reefs. Expect bonito, tailor and Australian salmon along the headlands and ocean edges of the eastern estuaries, and watch the end of the month and the lead-up to the full moon on June 2 for a calm day for the run offshore to fluke that first early-season tuna out around Browns Mountain.

Along the beaches, whiting, bream, Australian salmon and tailor should be around for an early dawn or a lucky dusk session. Blackfish and drummer are also very worthy targets as the days grow shorter and cooler. Always be mindful of the conditions; rock fishing is dangerous at the best of times, so if the conditions are at all risky do not venture out.

On the topic of fishing locations and decision-making processes, a young girl named Sienna recently sent me a request to support the banning of all fishing in Clovelly Bay. I know this sounds like a contentious idea to most fishermen, because when I was first introduced to it I was skeptical about the need and reasons behind it too. Then I received an email that was so logical and made such great sense that I thought I would share the story here and allow all the readers to decide for themselves.

Consider this: Gordons Bay and Clovelly Bay are basically oversized coastal rock pools adjacent to our country’s largest metropolis. They provide a destination for Sydneysiders and visitors alike to begin to experience, firsthand, what life under the surface of the ocean is like – a location where the consideration, care and respect of the ocean can be borne from.

For those of you interested in reading more, there is an online petition that can be found by googling ‘Ban fishing inside Clovelly Bay’.
Tight lines!