On The Money

By Dan Trotter on March 26, 2013 in Other

What a start to the year it has been: bushfires, floods, political upheaval and economic uncertainty. Thankfully around here we’re blessed with the beautiful bays and beaches of the east. When it’s hot, there’s a beach a hop, skip and jump away and when it’s raining for days on end we’ve got the funds to afford flatscreen televisions to satiate the boredom. How lucky we are to enjoy the luxuries of life in a First World country: running water you can drink from the tap, electricity at the flick of a switch, a great coffee and pastry just around the corner, safety in our homes and jobs to go to. And yet it seems there are so many people out there who just like to whinge and moan about the small things. I guess we all have our crappy days.

On the fishing front, I’m pretty stoked to say that my predictions for the last few months have been bang on, and for the most part I anticipate that March will be a repeat of February. The harbour will be full of active resident fish and plenty of northern visitors. Wharf fishing will be at its best across the next 31 days, so if you fancy dangling a hand-line off a local pier, pick the tide and get down for a fun few afternoon hours – you might even catch a feed.

On our beloved beaches, if you put in the time during the half dark when the hordes are asleep or enjoying their dinner, whiting, bream, Australian salmon and the occasional sand flathead should be around to taste your bait.

With the EAC in full swing and El Nino feeling a little confused about his orientation, the warm waters we’ve all been basking in should be around for a few more months yet. With such a great showing of bait and warm water close to the coast, there hasn’t been a better opportunity to catch a billfish off the ocean rocks or near shore reefs in years. In fact, local mates of mine have been hooking fish off the stones off one of Sydney’s well known deep water rock ledges, and a few lucky larrikins enjoyed the somewhat frustrating but breathtaking experience of spending a good twenty minutes with a sun-baking black marlin in water so shallow they could see the kelp and boulders below whilst seated in their kayaks.

On the inshore menu, yellowtail kingfish, school mulloway, teraglin and snapper have been enjoyed by clued in anglers.

Further afield, the whole east coast continues to fish well and weekend trips north are keeping adventurous anglers smiling with captures of cobia, Spanish mackerel, wahoo and smatterings of reef species.

In the fresh water, bass fishing has been great, with high water levels, plenty of terrestrial insect life and warm afternoons making surface fishing the go-to technique. For those trout bums amongst us, the fishing available has been pretty top notch too, although you will need to travel to find the colder streams holding decent numbers of fish.

Enjoy the month of March, smile, count your blessings, and remember that we only get to go round once so it’s best you make the most of it!