I love summer time in Sydney. The kingies start to appear on the inshore reefs and in the estuaries while the warmer water brings other speedsters plus a general increase in fish activity.

The kingies have been copping a hammering around the usual haunts inside the Harbour - they're still around but much more readily spooked and less willing to play with lures.

I've tangled with quite a few inside but have had greater success on the inshore reefs fishing a variety of lures and jigs. A few weeks back saw the kings running hot with the activity subsiding in recent times - the classic "you should have been here yesterday" scenario although there are still a few fish about if you're willing to invest the time and effort.

Sami with a solid 98cm king caught just outside the Harbour. Pic: Mick Fletoridis

I've also managed a few jewies inside the Harbour, there was a run of smaller fish recently with plenty of schoolies taken. Most of the fish I caught on plastics have been suffering barotrauma even in water that isn't overly deep so I have stopped fishing for them after catching a couple because they haven't been releasing too well - no complaints though because school jewies taste pretty good!

The baitfish are prevalent both in the lower and upper reaches of the Harbour and most mornings I'll see some form of surface activity when I'm at work or out on the water so keep an eye out for schools of salmon, tailor, bonito and kings working the baitfish. There have been some bigger kings lurking about too so it might be time to pull out the heavier gear and target a few Harbour hoods on bigger baits - realistically though most fish will be in the smaller category with many of the fish I've landed inside falling short of the legal 65cm mark which are still great fun on light gear.

There's plenty of bait also on the inshore reefs, sometimes a little too much for my liking. Interspersed with the bait and kingies have been a few dreaded leatheries. I like leatherjackets when I'm targeting them but I hate leatherjackets when I'm jigging. That's pretty much the story from my end of town, see you out there!

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