Winter Bream and Flathead Fire Up Around Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay

G’day, this is Artificial Lure with your Sydney fishing report. We’ve got a classic winter pattern settling over the coast today: cool, mostly clear conditions, light westerlies early easing to variable breezes through the middle of the day, and only a slight chop on the harbour and lower river reaches. The air’s crisp at first light, but it warms up quickly once the sun’s up. Sunrise was around twenty past seven this morning, with sunset a bit before five, so you’ve got tight bite windows around dawn and dusk. Tides are running a standard two‑tide cycle on the coast, with a morning high pushing in nice, clean ocean water and a solid run‑out through late morning into early arvo. That run‑out has been the prime time for bait and predators to fire up around the headlands, markers and channel edges. Inside the harbour and up the Parramatta and Lane Cove, the last of the run‑in and the first of the run‑out have been the pick. Water temps offshore are holding in the mid‑teens, a touch cooler in the upper estuaries. That’s kicked the **bream**, **trevally** and **luderick** into gear in the harbour and around the washes, with **flathead** and a few late **kingfish** still showing when the bait’s stacked. Recent catch reports from local tackle shops and social feeds around Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay and the adjacent beaches have been strong on: - Good numbers of pan‑sized **bream** off wharves, pylons and rocky foreshores - School **snapper** and **mowies** just offshore from the headlands on the reefs - Solid feeds of **trevally** mixed in with bream around berley trails - A few bigger **winter jewfish** coming from deeper holes in the harbour and the Georges on the tide changes Best baits right now: - For bream and trevally: peeled prawn, pilly cubes, and fresh striped tuna or slimy mackerel strips - For luderick: green weed and cabbage under a light float, especially around rock walls and washes - For flatties and jew: live mullet, live squid, or fresh squid strips on the deeper edges and holes Top lures: - 2.5–3 inch grub and paddle‑tail soft plastics in motor oil, bloodworm and natural baitfish colours for bream and flatties - 20–40 gram micro‑jigs and metal slices around bait schools for tailor and the odd king - Squid jigs in natural browns and pinks around kelp and ribbon weed beds on the last of the light A couple of hot spots to aim for: First, **North Head and the lower harbour**. Work the washes along the stones with lightly weighted peeled prawn or small plastics for bream, trevally and the odd drummer. Then slide inside to the markers and channel edges on the run‑out and drop plastics or micro‑jigs through the bait. Keep an eye out for birds picking – quick metal slices will find tailor and maybe a stray king. Second, **Kurnell and Towra Point in Botany Bay**. Drift the sand and mud edges with soft plastics for flathead, and anchor with a steady berley trail for bream and trevally. The deeper channels and bridges on the Georges are worth a live‑bait soak on the tide change if you’re hunting a jewie. If you’re fishing land‑based, the harbour wharves, public jetties and rock walls are producing well, especially when you keep your rigs light, your leader thin, and your berley constant. Squidding around the lit areas after dark has also been productive – great bait and great eating. That’s the wrap from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn