It’s easy to turn off the alarm and pull the doona up on a fresh July morning, but be warned – you could be missing out on some top fishing this month if you don’t get out of bed and switch the kettle on!

The fishing has been very good lately, with the local rivers producing good bags of bream, luderick and school mulloway. Beach fishos can target tailor, salmon, bream and mulloway while the rock fishos can catch these as well as the drummer that have come out to play with the cooler water temperatures. Offshore crews will be looking at snapper, teraglin, pearl perch and other reef fish to get their winter fishing fix. Let’s have a look at where and how we can get into some of this winter action.

Every time I look at my beach rods hanging in the shed it takes me back to a time when the beach was a much bigger factor in my fishing life. To be successful on the beach it really helps to know your tides and formations and what species you are likely to encounter at differing times of year.

Bream will be around in reasonable numbers on North Beach, Lighthouse Beach and Dunbogan. Don’t dismiss some of the smaller beaches closer to Port. Remember to check the formations and call in to the local tackle store for up to the minute information on which location is firing and what bait is best. At this time of year I like mullet strips for bream.

Tailor and salmon can be caught on these beaches and the old faithful pilchard on ganged hooks is as deadly as any method to catch them. Look for a high tide on the beach around daylight or in the evening from dark to a couple of hours after for a good chance of encountering them.

This leads me to most beach fishos’ favourite – the mulloway. This month is as good as any to tangle with them. I prefer to fish around the full moon, and the reason for this is the high tides fall at dark and a few hours after on these phases, which means you can fish the light and tide change and still get home before midnight. You will catch them at other times, but let’s make it easier.

Taking a couple of rods is practical. Take one for catching fresh tailor and one for your mulloway rod. The fresher the bait, the better. If there are mulloway present or travelling through your gutter, it will be hard for them to resist. For those anglers who put in the time to check the beaches it won’t be long until the rewards come.

The Hastings has been fishing very well, with bream and luderick the main species being encountered. School mulloway have been up river and some bigger models down the front have kept the mulloway guys happy. The south wall of a night has been producing bream. Mullet strips and nippers are the preferred bait. If you have the time, it pays to pump your nippers. This way bream, luderick and flatties will become part of your night time catch.

Through the daylight hours the luderick fishos are easy to spot, with the town jetty and the bend in the wall being top spots to try using the more traditional float rig. Winter can see you getting some great bags of these top table and sportfish.

On the lure front, bream have been taking plastics and vibes. Rock walls have been heavily targeted, as it’s well known at this time of year that bream gather in the deep.

I like to find deeper holes away from these main locations. Often bream will be in these and they are not as pressured. Many anglers would be surprised at some of the locations away from the usual spots that hold good quantities of bream. Use your sounder; you may find one of the many honey holes that are in the Hastings and have it to yourself.