Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
August is a great month for fishing, but it’s just damn cold!
The sad news is that the closure for snapper is in place until August 15, which means it’s off the menu for most of this month. But no problem – the whiting, school mackerel, flathead, cuttlefish and arrows will be in good numbers in the bay, so getting a fresh feed should be easy.
The whiting will be in close from Darcy Light, north and west of St Helena and Fisherman’s Gutter, and also in the Banana Banks and in the small ships passage. For bait, worms and prawns will work best.
School mackerel will be around the Hope Banks, Naval Banks, and closer in to shore. I usually have to fight off all the little ones, but the bigger mackerel will be there as well.
There will be plenty of flathead in close on the western side of the bay, and Tingalpa Creek should have some monsters lurking in the shallows.
The cuttlefish and arrows will be slowing down, but try fishing east of Ormiston, all the way east of Mud Island, at 25- to 40-ft depth.
And remember, please, that the big westerlies are not good for small boats, especially on the way back in, and nearly all of our tragedies in the bay in the past have occurred in westerly winds. It’s better to cancel a trip than drown.
