Fishing tips with Gary Brown

Over the many years that I have been writing articles and teaching anglers how to fish I get asked so many questions. Here's a selection of just a few of them.

Tight Lines - Gary Brown

Greg Simmons from Rockdale asks, "What would be a good lure to use during the winter months to chase trevally and bream?"

Greg, one of my favourite lures to use during winter is a BLADE. Now this is not a brand name, but it is a lure that is pressed out of a piece of metal that has a couple of treble hooks attached to it. The reason that I like the blade is that you can cast them a long way, especially when it is windy and when you slowly lift your rod tip you can feel the vibration they give off.

Peter Roberts from Blacktown asks, "How do you put a prawn on the hook when you are targeting silver trevally?"

Peter, due to the fact that silver trevally only have a series of short tapering teeth in both of their jaws that it is a must that you peel the prawn before you put it on the hook. If you are fishing in the estuaries or bays for them in Sydney I would suggest that you use a No. 1 to 1/0 bait keeper hook, and if you are fishing offshore I would suggest that you may have to increase to a 2/o bait keeper hook. It also pays to do a couple of half hitches over the end of the prawn.

Gotcha: Gary caught this silver trevally while working a blade parallel to the shoreline in about four metres of water.

After reading about the live bait spots in Port Hacking, Theo Kalinderdis would like to know where you can get live bait in Botany Bay:

Sand flats at Dolls Point - Mullet, garfish, nippers
Sandringham Bay - Mullet, squid, garfish,
Northern Cooks River wall - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, garfish
The end of the third runway - Squid, pike, slimies, yellowtail, garfish
Molineaux Point - Mullet, squid, pike, slimies, yellowtail, garfish
Bumborah Point - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish
La Perouse Point - Mullet, squid, pike, yellowtail, garfish
Bare Island - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish
Congwong Bay Beach - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, garfish
Henry Head - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, garfish
Captain Cooks Landing place - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish
Silver Beach - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish
The Oil Wharf - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish
Bonna Reserve - Mullet, squid, pike, garfish
Southern side/Captain Cook bridge - Mullet, squid, yellowtail, pike, garfish

Peter Roberts from Kingsgrove would like to know what is the best bait to use for luderick, and where can he get some.

You can use green weed out of the estuaries and green cabbage off the ocean rocks. Places that you could try for green weed would be where stormwater drains empty into the river or bays, small creeks and backwaters. Kelso Park would be worth a look. Now as for green cabbage you could start on most ocean rock platforms off Cronulla, the Royal National Park, Maroubra, Coogee and Malabar.

David Stokes from Maroubra would like to know what coloured squid jigs I prefer to use?

I tend to have a range of colours; mainly due to the fact the squid may take a particular today and something different next time. In order of preference they are pink, green, orange and blue.

Chris Turner from Port Kembla would like to know how do you stop your hooks from rusting in your tackle box.

It is just a matter of putting a few hooks in a clear film container and then spraying a small amount of Inox into the container after each time you taken hooks out of it. The Inox does not put the fish off from biting and it doesn't affect the line.

If you have a question about fishing you can email Gary at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Gary wears Cyclone:

http://www.uglyfisheyewear.com/product/search-item/id/198/?frame=Aluminum