01Feb 2026 by Warren Prior No Comments
First Fish Off the New (Old) Boat

First Fish Off the New (Old) Boat

Lure Fishing
Exploring Cowan Creek Thanks to Nick and a little elbow grease, my new tinny had finally been serviced and was ready to hit the water. Yes, we'd given it a few quick runs while working on it, but nobody had caught a fish off of it yet. Thankfully, that all changed on Sunday morning when my sister and I headed out for a quick fish on Cowan Creek. We'd originally decided to give it a miss due to recent heavy rains and strong winds, but conditions were better than expected in the morning and so we made a last minute call to head out. We boiled a few eggs, made a flask of coffee (which we forgot), packed the rods, and headed for Apple Tree Bay. We had the boat…
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24Jun 2023 by Warren Prior No Comments
Bonito off the Kayak in Sydney Harbour

Bonito off the Kayak in Sydney Harbour

Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
After months of diving, focused primarily on my divemaster training as well as gaining experience teaching and guiding, I decided that it was time to get back onto my kayak with a fishing rod. The plan, a calamari catch and cook. This meant the usual early morning start. I even managed to beat the sun to Tunks Park boat ramp. The parking lot was thankfully empty, which meant it was easy for me to offload my kayak and kit up for the day. I launched at sunrise, and immediately started paddling towards toward Spit Bridge, and my secret squidding location. Behind me I trolled a small Rapala, hoping to pick up a kingfish or Aussie salmon en route. Sunrise at Tunk Park boat ramp Heading out on my kayak on…
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29Jan 2022 by Warren Prior No Comments
Kayak Fishing Cowan Creek…Again…

Kayak Fishing Cowan Creek…Again…

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
Somehow December was all about the diving, and I didn't manage to get in any fishing while on leave. Hell-bent on righting this wrong, I loaded my kayak onto the roof and headed down to Cowan Creek. To be honest, my expectations weren't high; I'd visited Bobbin Head the week before to fly my drone and the water looked like a mud-bath. But you can't catch a fish without a line in the water, and a day spent paddling through a nature reserve is never time wasted, so I headed out anyway. When I arrived at Bobbin Head I was pleasantly surprised - the water had cleared up nicely despite the ongoing rain, and so my hopes lifted. I was quick to get onto the water and decided to paddle…
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25Sep 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments
Kayak Fishing Cowan Creek (Bobbin Head)

Kayak Fishing Cowan Creek (Bobbin Head)

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
After far too many weeks in lockdown I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was still allowed out on the kayak. Amazingly, I hadn’t used it since moving into our new house, so I was itching to get out there and explore my new local waterway. I loaded my kayak on the ute’s roof the night before, saving me the effort of doing so in the morning. I then set about kitting up my rods and locating all my fishing gear, some of which was still boxed up from the move. At 6am the next morning I headed for Bobbin Head Picnic Ground, making my way carefully through the Ku-ring-Gai Chase National Park. The roads were packed with cyclists, slowing my trip down to the boat ramp.…
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03Apr 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments
Bonito on Fly in Middle Harbour

Bonito on Fly in Middle Harbour

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
December Brisbane trip...cancelled due to Covid...April Brisbane trip...cancelled due to Covid... And so, on a beautiful April morning, I launched my kayak from the Tunks Park boat ramp, fly rod in hand. The plan for the day was to go after some pelagic species on fly, specifically the Sydney harbour kingfish. I wasn't sure what to expect, as Sydney had experienced mass flooding the prior week. And as a result, the water was murky brown, with a lot of suspended debris, as I paddled out towards the rising sun. Sunrise in Middle Harbour I opted to head towards the harbour mouth, hoping the water would be cleaner closer to the ocean. As it turned out, this proved to be a good strategy. The water colour quickly changed from muddy brown…
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17Jan 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments
Aussie Salmon on the New Rod

Aussie Salmon on the New Rod

Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
For Christmas I was gifted an Okuma Azores jigging spin rod (Z-S-602M) and a Daiwa Saltist 4500 spinning reel, and was itching to put it to the test. This despite the fact that it was intended for a deep sea fishing trip (that was cancelled due to Covid) and was definitely overkill for my fishing in the Sydney Harbour. None the less, I loaded up my kayak and headed out with the new rig, hoping to get into a decent kingfish, that would really put it to the test. I launched my kayak at Tunks Park boat ramp, and started trolling my way towards Clontarf. Normally I would focus on fly fishing the likely holds, and troll a single rod as I moved between spots. However, since I was out…
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24Dec 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments
Tailor on Fly in Middle Harbour (and a Few Squid)

Tailor on Fly in Middle Harbour (and a Few Squid)

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
Sunrise at the Tunks Park boat ramp 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But whilst all this was true, there were fish to be caught, so I loaded up my kayak, and headed to the port... I launched from my usual, Tunks Park boat ramp, to a glowing orange sky and started paddling towards towards Clontarf. To kick things off I stopped off at my squidding spot, where I quickly landed a few southern calamari for dinner. The nice thing about the squid is that they're either there or they're not...and today they were there. With dinner sorted, I packed away the squid rod and got down to some fly fishing. I fished around the Clontarf area,…
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28Nov 2020 by Nick Nortje No Comments
Marlin Mayhem!

Marlin Mayhem!

Deep Sea Fishing, Lure Fishing
Sunrise off the coast of Brisbane With my freezer running low on fish, I decided to head out off Brisbane in search of some Spanish Mackerel, that were being caught in good numbers. I loaded the boat the night before, fueled the tank, re-tied all my leaders, made the wire traces, and with all the admin done, I called it a night, ready for the 3:30am start. The alarm sounded, I snuck out of bed not to wake the wife, made a quick cup of coffee and was out the door heading to the boat ramp in no time. The plan for the day was to head to South Passage Bar and cross it on first light, and then pull high speed lures around the local reefs. It was a…
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10Oct 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments
A Few Tailor in Middle Harbour

A Few Tailor in Middle Harbour

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water
On Saturday morning I decided to try my luck for some early season kings on fly. While they are generally much harder to find this early in the season, it's well worth the effort as the fish are usually larger. I decided to launch from the Tunks Park boat ramp, predominantly because it's close to home, and is a decent venue as it offers access to most of Middle Harbour. There was a beautiful orange glow on the water as I paddled out at 6:30am, brimming with anticipation. Sunrise at Tunks Park Boat Ramp As is the case with many of my trips, I forgot one key item. This time it was my polarised sunglasses which, as all fisherman know, are invaluable both in terms of spotting fish, as well…
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