Currarong

Marine Parks

Accomodation

GPS Marks

Location:       Currarong to Jervis bay.
This coast line is rugged with cliffs up to 50 metres high coming straight down to meet the pacific ocean.   Along this coast is plenty of great structure and at places the water depth is over 25 metres deep straight off the rocks.
The water is usually clean and a bit warmer  here as it’s fairly close to the edge of the continental shelf.   
About 6 -8kms North East of Currarong is a place called the Banks.  This is a series of reefs which come up from fairly deep water and is famous for big Kingfish.   I’ve been there a few times on the Yak but it can be dangerous with strong currents.   Sometimes when the current is raging you’ll actually get waves forming around the reef.  Not recommended for the novice yaker.
These reefs continued most of the way to Currarrong and the Kingies and Snapper will be right along this series of reefs and out the spectacular rock ledges which run all the way from Currarong to Jervis bay.   There are some marine parks along this coast so check before you fish.  (Click on link-Marine Parks)
There’s plenty of good structure, drop offs and reefs along this coast which is ideal for Kingfish.
During the winter months along this coast you can expect to catch Kingfish, Salmon, bonito, Snapper, Morwong the odd shark as well as having a chance at cracking a Yellow fin tuna or even a blue fin.
Tuna are caught along this coast from the rocks still but nothing like it used to be 30 years ago where battles with these speedster’s were common along this coast.   They area still caught along this coast and in recent years it appears the stocks of yellow fin and blue fin have started to increase again so you just never know.  If you put in the hours you just may be rewarded..
I usually launch from Currarong in which is on the North end of these cliff lines about 15 km’s from Jervis bay.   You can either launch at the boat ramp or drive right to the end and do a beach launch.  This beach is usually very protected and you rarely get any waves here so it’s a great place to launch your kayak.
The Bait
Once in the water I start fishing just off the rocks around the corner of the beach for squid using a Squid Jig.  Right along this area from the beach out to “little Beecroft” which is about a 30 minute paddle, holds good bait and squid.
I work along this area till I have a few squid for bait (or a feed)   I always put my first squid out as live bait and usually use shimano 80 pound wind on leader and have a 8 0 gamakatsu circle hook which I put through the top of the hood area of the squid.
The Kingfish can’t resist live squid early in the morning.
The key to catching good kingfish is fresh live bait and get out there early.   The big Kingies move in near the rocks early in the morning around the wash and ambush their prey.   If you can add a change of tide to correspond with sunrise then you increase your chances greatly.
The best time to catch Kingies is from 30 minutes before sunrise to about 8-9am.    If it’s an overcast day or raining you have a much better chance of getting them throughout the day as well.     
If you can’t get squid then the next best thing is some yakas (Yellow tail)  You can catch these along this area as well but I you’ll find big schools just on the inside of  Little Beecroft where the water is still fairly calm.   
I burley them up using chicken pellets soaked in tuna oil or cut up small pieces of slimey mackerel or any other fish you have left over from your last trip.  You need a really small hook and put a small bit of bait on it as they have fairly small mouths, and use light line about 2kg as they can be wary of heavier lines.   You can also use jigs which work really well once your’ve berleyed  them up.
Gar fish are also an excellent bait and can be caught using light line and a really small hook.
Gar fish love bread so you burley them up using really small pieces of bread and then put a really small piece on your small hook.  I generally don’t use any weight and let the bread sit on the surface without any float weight or swivel.   Gar fish can be really finicky so the less gear you have on the more chance you have of catching them.
If your lucky enough to have a live bait tank like my Prowler Ultra 4.7 then you can usually keep about half a dozen or so alive for a few hours.     
Always try to handle you live bait with a damp cloth as they will last a lot longer.   Make sure you use a chemically sharpened hook like the Gamakatsu range.  This will ensure you can put the hook into the yakka easily (between the back of the head to the dorsal fin) and when a big fish strikes it you’ll have a much better chance of a successful hook up.

    Once I’ve got my live bait out I usually go for a slow paddle around the rocks.  If I find good fish arches on my humminbird finder then I’ll work that area and try getting the bait down using a sinker attached with a elastic band to my swivel..
Same if I find some good bait congregating I’ll just work that area for a while.   I often have the live bait set down and then start to flick some lures around for some salmon.  There’s usually heaps of Australian Salmon around this time of year and they are really good fun on light gear.
If you’ve promised your wife or family a feed then cut up the fresh squid and go for some snapper.   The snapper will often be in close early in the morning along this area and if you cast out towards the rocks and let the bait slowly sink down.  You’ll often find the snapper in mid water around this area.   If you didn’t get any squid then do the same thing but use soft plastics like squidgies.   If things are a bit slow then I cut up some fish for burley and start a constant burley trail to get the fish on the bite.
I don’t use a berley bucket on the Yak just in case a shark decides to eat it while it’s attached to my  yak..  Instead I have a cutting board  and cut small cubes of fish and flick them out.   You can use a berley bucket but you do run the risk of a shark coming up for a feed.  If you don’t want any chance of this happening then I’d suggest you use a cutting board.   I keep my cubes no smaller than about 1.5cm.  This way you give the cube a chance to drift down in the water longer before it gets hammered by small bait fish.
I usually use a graphite catana rod and about 6-9 pound line when I’m fishing for snapper.  I do loose some good fish, but find when I’m using the lighter gear I get a lot more strikes then if I’m using 15 to 20 pound line.  In saying this if I get busted of by a few on my light gear I will use my bigger out fit loaded with 15 to 20 pound line.    You can still get good size snapper on light line though.  I caught a few 5-6kilo snapper on a recent trip to New Zealand using my Shimano Calais bait casting reel with 2kg line.   Snapper aren’t as ruthless as Kingfish in getting down to the reefs and dragging your line over the sharp edges breaking you off.   If you are using light gear and using bait it’s a good idea to use circle hooks so the fish get hooked in the side of the mouth and there isn’t as much chance for the fish to bite through you line.
There are often good Kingie’s hanging around  just off the point at little Beecroft where the water drops off.  There is usually some good wash in this area to where there is a small ledge where the waves break.    If you don’t feel like going to far this is the perfect place to fish.   There is a constant supply of bait and if you want to have some breakfast it’s only a short paddle to the bay in side Lobster rock where you can park you yak have a stretch and a feed before going out again.
Mako sharks
Mako sharks are on the cards along this coast in  early winter and are a fantastic sharks to catch but be warned, these sharks are extremely quick and have a tendency to jump out of the water once hooked.  Mako’s can easily clear the water by a few metres and often go nuts which make this shark a well regarded game fish but you don’t want one landing in your kayak.   They grow to over 400kg although most of the Mako’s caught in close to shore are between 30 and 100kg.  They are closely related to Great White Sharks and have lots of sharp teeth, so be very careful!
You’ll catch Mako’s using live bait or dead bait loaded with tuna oil.   A good constant burley trail helps as well.    I’m not recommending everyone to  target these fish thought, as I mentioned, it can be very dangerous to catch these fish especially from a kayak.