June. Frosty mornings, crisp clear days ( sometimes ) and rough dirty seas (not always)
We’ve had a lot of rain in HB lately, and anywhere within a few km of a river mouth is filthy muddy water. However, 45 minutes south last week, the sea was clean and flat
Reef fishing can be very rewarding, but at the same time can be very frustrating. You stand a good chance of catching a wide variety of fish, but you can lose a lot of terminal tackle to the rocks and weed.
There are several ways you can lessen the ‘collateral damage’ of fishing over foul ground. I tend to use sacrificial sinkers tied on with lighter line than the main line. This is often referred to as a ‘rotten bottom rig’ and the theory is that when your sinker gets snagged in the rocks the weaker line attaching it will break first and you can at least retrieve the rest of your tackle. Another option is to use running rig, preferably with a ball sinker, which seems to snag up a lot less than a dropper or pulley rig. If you are targeting big snapper you can do away with the sinker altogether, and just cast out a big bait unweighted. An extension of this is to ‘float’ that big bait under a tennis ball or similar. This will prevent it being grabbed by octopus etc and dragged into the weeds.