Prospecting the Spit West Reserve

Having moved to Sydney just under a year ago, it was truely amazing to realise that I had not flicked a fly into the abundance of water available right at my doorstep. Eager to put a stop to this poor behaviour, I grabbed my fly rod (and the 6 salt water flies I own) and headed down to Spit West Reserve.

On a previous visit (to the park) I’d seen a few trevally shoot out from under a yacht to chase some baitfish in the shallows. Unfortunately, fishing this part of the reserve was near impossible due to the many joggers, walkers, kids, dogs, and so on. I was therefore forced to fish the southern end of the reserve, closer to the rowing club. On the up side, the water was generally deeper here, and I did see a lot of surface activity as the evening progressed.

I fished predominantly Charlies and Clousers, using varying retrieves, from a near dead drift to a rapid double handed retrieve. I also fished the water column from top to bottom. Sadly none of this helped, and I was forced to leave fishless, with the sunset being the highlight of the trip.

A subsequent, short trip produced similar results; lots of visible surface action, but no fish. Perhaps I still need to work Australia out? Or perhaps I’ve just been unlucky? But there are definitely fish around. And it was a great was to spend the late afternoon on New Year’s Eve, prior to heading out to the famous Sydney fireworks display.