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Fishing around the Bay is hotting up after the rains. Tailor, dart and bream are on Seven Mile Beach in good numbers.
Bream and tailor at Broken Head at Jew Point, Snapper Rocks and Flat Rock. Whiting and tailor at Suffolk Park, with tailor and dart at Cosy Corner.
Around the cape there are tailor, jewies and trevally. At The Chair there are dart, bream and tailor and at Wategos beach, whiting in good numbers.
There are tailor, dart and whiting along Belongil and sunrise beaches.
Offshore there are snapper and yellowfin tuna on the bait reefs at Wilsons, and cobia and kingfish around the Julian Rocks. Some snapper and trag on the Four Mile and Seven Mile reefs.
Simmo and Dave, Byron Bay Bait and Tackle 6685 7711
byronbaitntackle@yahoo.com.au
BALLINA: NSW Fisheries has closed the Richmond River from Coraki to Ballina and the beaches and headlands from Lennox Head to Broadwater Beach to all recreational and professional fishing for at least the next three weeks. This is as a result of the most massive fish kill ever seen on the river system, after the floods of early February. Fisheries has decided that the fish which managed to escape the killer ‘black water’ should be given enough time to get back and try to repopulate the system unhindered.
While there have been considerable fish kills after each flood event on the Richmond system over the past 10 to 15 years, there has been nothing to rival this one in terms of total devastation. Kills in the past have been blamed on acid run-off from areas of disturbed acid sulfate soils, or on dissolved oxygen ‘crashes’ brought about by the decomposition of inundated streamside vegetation. The bacteria which break down the plant matter take all the oxygen from the water.
It’s the lack of oxygen in the water that has been blamed for this latest widespread kill. The February 3 flood has been assessed to cost the Lismore community about $2 million in damage but I’m afraid the long-term environmental/fisheries/tourism bill to the lower Richmond will exceed that by a long way. Everyone has tales to tell about thousands on thousands of dead fish of all species, from bream to bass and mullet to huge mulloway, that line the banks or drift downstream in massive, stinking rafts. It’s worse on the bottom, where everything, from crabs, oysters, yabbies, worms and any life that depends on oxygen, has died along about 30km of estuary. The stench is still unbearable.
The upper Evans River is separated from Rocky Mouth Creek, a tributary which joins the Richmond at Woodburn, by an inflatable rubber dam which is lowered during heavy rains to prevent Woodburn from being flooded. The backed-up Richmond water is diverted down a short canal and into the Evans to the ocean. A mate from Southern Cross University and I took a Hauriba multi-meter up the Evans River on February 10 for water testing. Even on a 2.0-metre high tide, we didn’t have to go too far upstream (about 3km) between the rafts of rotting fish before the Hauriba readings told the sorry story. The dissolved oxygen level was zero, while pH readings were close to normal. Anything that remained alive, mainly prawns, shrimps and small mullet, was gasping at the surface for air. Why they haven’t closed off the Evans to fishing as well as the Richmond is beyond me – it’s all Richmond water at the moment, anyway.
Almost all the Richmond catchment is devoted to intensive agriculture, horticulture, crop or pasture production. There are many hundreds, probably thousands, of drains leading to the river and hundreds of flood gates, none of which are ‘managed’ with any welfare of the river in mind. After a century of clearing the Big Scrub rainforest and 50 years of draining wetlands for agriculture and cropping, it looks like the once mighty river has had enough.
Just what is going to be done afterwards is another story. Fisheries is saying the kill was a ‘natural’ phenomenon. I guess it is caused by a naturally-occurring cycle, but in earlier times this water would have remained locked up in wetlands to gradually filter into the river. But allowing poor quality water into estuaries through haphazardly managed agricultural drainage is definitely not a natural occurrence.
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The Richmond fish kill: This is bigger than Ben Hur, but more I'm sure from Tony Zann. It will take a little while for the end result to sink in to most, but at the end of the day this is a MAJOR catastrophe. All I can say is thank Christ that it didn't occur on the Clarence to the same degree that it did on the Richmond. For these two rivers to suffer to this degree would certainly have sounded a very nasty death knell to tourism on these two most famous rivers for we really don't know how long.
I am really glad that the Clarence didn't suffer as much as our northern neighbour but at the end of the day, one has to admit that there were a certain number of fish kills on our magnificent river in the recent floods. Credit must go to NSW Fisheries and their scientists for being on hand in the past week in order to carry out their research and to gather the results.
I am only a lay person, but I think that at the end of the day we must ask ourselves one question: "Is this result man-made?"
Why do I ask this? Well, quite simply, I ask those who have been around for 40 or so years, “Have we seen this much of a disastrous result in the past?” I know a lot of blokes who have derived income from this river for many, many years and they are all quite categorically saying that this is a result of a whole lot of previous management programs, such as control (?) of flood gates. The end result is that we have a real disaster here on the Northern Rivers.
But I feel sure that the good water making on the good tides will ensure that anglers can enjoy good fishing in the lower Clarence estuary from now on. Bream and whiting fishing is the best but hey, there's a great lot of mud crabs around and everyone is enjoying the feed. James Mc Lachlan, the son of a great mate of mine from Canberra, boated a monster muddie, which we enjoyed with a magnificent VB.
Glen Porter, The Bait Place 6646 2017
ports@turboweb.net.au
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Things have cleared up nicely with a return to normal conditions. The zip-and-tear crew have arrived, with longtail and mackerel terrorising the baitfish schools. The eastern end of Muttonbird Island is looking a bit like Pitt Street but good fish are being caught along the South Wall and the back of the Quarry. Personally, I'd rather leave the tuna and mackerel alone and concentrate on the huge schools of garfish – much better eating!.
The beach gutters are still fishing well with whiting, bream and the odd jewfish turning up along with the usual dart and a few very small tarwhine. A high tide just after dark is best.
The estuaries are coming back on line particularly after the big tides of late. Thank heavens all that rain did not coincide with the spring tides as Coffs would have been in big trouble. You still need to follow the tide up, with the better fish being caught on the front of the good water. Bream, whiting and of course our usual run of summer flathead.
Offshore has been very good, particularly on the inshore reefs. The big seas stirred things up and put the snapper on the bite with some good pearl perch and morwong thrown in. Some very definite tide lines exist out there with the dirty water edges making for perfect mackerel trolling conditions.
The way it sounds, you may need to hide in the bottom of the boat just to put your bait on. Stay tuned...
Peter Russell, Fish Tackle Australia 6652 4611
motackle@midcoast.com.au
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OFFSHORE: The stir-up from the recent flooding and big seas has produced some of the best fishing action seen in the past few months. The hot news is that cobia averaging about 12kg are showing up on all the bait grounds and at Black Rock. One lucky angler landed five fish from 6kg to 20kg. There are also yellowfin tuna, trag, jewies, kingfish, snapper and a few spotted and Spanish mackerel being taken.
River: The Macleay is fishing well for big flathead, bream and especially jewfish. In one outing, NSW Fishing Monthly local correspondent Phil Bennett hooked five jewies on lures, landing fish of 13kg and 16kg. A couple of cobia were also taken during the week.
BEACH AND ROCK: Good catches of whiting and the occasional big bream are still coming from most beaches and the tailor catches around the headlands are steadily increasing.
Peter & Amanda Jordan, Rocks Marine Bait and Tackle 6566 6726
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Those cold currents keep reappearing from the south, so the water is warm as toast one day and freezing the next. This makes it hard to predict fishing and makes it even harder for fish. How is your tolerance ? Fish have a temp range that is 80% less than humans can tolerate.
The Mid North Coast is a relatively short section of coastline, the varying water temperatures you would not believe.
The big mud crab ‘rush’ in the lower estuary is over, the water is beginning to clear and conditions are once again almost normal. If you are looking for mud crabs now, you had better look upstream.
I cannot remember last when the water was so clean. Offshore, on Monday, the ocean crawled with stripies, all around the 30 cm mark. The 10 20kg boxes that I saw at the co-op were destined for the Sydney market.
In between the ocean cold currents, whiting and bream are biting their heads off. Blackfish are prevalent around the rocks and with them of course are drummer. The best pig I weighed at the weekend was caught locally and tipped the scales at 4kg whole.
The Hastings River continues to give up good-sized flathead, but that is normal for this time of year. What is not normal are those cold southerly currents. Maybe they are Nature’s way of warning us that this winter may be a proper (cold) winter.
I have not spoken with any loose-lipped Spanish mackerel fishos since the weekend, when conditions were good – they must have caught fish. Prior to the weekend I heard that a spearfisherman shot a 75 lb Spanish, the biggest in a school which consisted of about 20 fish.
Bream along the south breakwall are for dedicated fishos only. The catch results are about one legal bream every half-hour. I talked to a guy who fished using nippers all night for only 16 bream, a flathead and a few whiting.
Lloyd and Helen Hewens, Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle 6583 8318
nedsbandt@bigpond.com.au
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BLUE-WATER: Big schools of bonito have moved into the area. Mulloway are still in good numbers at the Pinnacles but kingfish remain slow. Trag and flathead can be relied on for a feed.
BEACH: Tailor are not consistent on all beaches but whiting and dart are in good supply.
ROCKS: LBG action is nil. Some tailor from the washes on most headlands. A few travelling bream making an appearance.
BREAKWALL AND ESTUARY: Continued captures of big mulloway are being reported. A one-off cobia came from the main channel in the past week. The prawn run is just starting and will be in full swing by the weekend. The estuary is fishing well. Don’t forget to bring your garfish or mullet gear.
Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 6554 9541
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No report this week.
Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 4982 0711
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Starting next week
Russell, Tackle Power Newcastle 4947 8388
tacklepower@pigpond.com.au
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A few large jewfish reported at Walker Point and Flint and Steel, with lots of surface fish, mainly bonito, at Lion Island. Bream at Spencer on Chicken Gut and peeled Hawkesbury prawns, as well as good catches of bream on small Salmo lures and small Rio prawns. Plenty of good size muddies landed around Berowra Waters.
Around the harbour there have been reports of tailor running early morning around South Head and anglers using small Raider lures are succeeding with them. Kingfish have been caught on mullet fillets at Wedding Cakes.
Craig from Windybanks caught a rainbow runner around North Head on Tuesday (his day off!), as well as dolphin fish at the wave-rider buoys.
This week you can expect better tides. With plenty of prawns schooling around The Vines and Berowra Flats, there should be good catches. Use prawns as bait and have a great week.
Windybanks Bait and Tackle, John & Anne Windybanks 9477 1501
windy@tig.com.au
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As I write this, one of our fish Outta Water staff is wandering around Queenscliff lagoon among thousands of dead fish. Paul O’Hagen, our fly-fishing staffer and local lagoon fly-fisho, said the banks looked as if they were covered in snow, there were so many dead fish – bream, big-eye trevally, giant herring, blackfish, bass, mullet and flathead, just to name a few. What’s the cause? No one has positively identified it yet.
On a more positive note, the great summer fishing continues on the beaches, harbour and offshore. Whaler sharks are taking live mullet baits destined for other species but the big bities are proving a handful, as Paul ‘Luck of the Irish’ O’Hagen found out. After a one-hour fight with a 1.7-metre whaler off Queenscliff Point, Paul was pulled down a ledge trying to trace and photograph the bitie The shark won its freedom and Paul ended up with a sprained ankle, torn ligaments and cuts to his arm and back. Michael Torok and friends also caught whalers at Curl Curl on Monday night on light tackle and had plenty of fun.
Flat Rock at Curl Curl is producing good-sized blackfish on string weed. Bruce Olsen saw a local land three fish in 20 minutes.
The harbour surface activity has slowed down from previous weeks but the kingfish are now being caught down deeper in a berley trail. Craig McGill still managed 15 kings at Neilson Park on Monday but had to work hard for them. In North Harbour there is no shortage of good flathead, flounder and tailor, as Bruce Olsen and Ray Seaman discovered. Drifting with striped tuna baits during the middle of the day was the key. Quarantine Bay is worth a try for fresh squid, with one angler pulling in 10 nice specimens early this week.
Long Reef is producing bigger kingfish, as Jason Ogilvy and his father found out. After losing a few on the reef earlier, they upped the line class and landed fish to 4kg. Jason rigged up a smaller one as a live bait and sent it out behind the boat, only to have an unstoppable predator take his line towards New Zealand. David then caught a 4kg drummer to add some variety to the day.
Farther offshore, Tiger’s Charters’ Mick Lyons filmed a marlin attacking a dolphin fish five metres from the boat in 80 fathoms. On the way home, Mick had a 200kg hammerhead chase his marlin baits for two minutes and that’s all on film as well.
Peter/Kurt, Fish Outta Water 9949 9488
fishon@ozemail.com.au
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Georges River: There have been quite a few bream caught on mullet gut in, and at the entrance to, Dora Creek, despite the amount of fresh water still in the river system. Unweighted and lightly weighted baits are getting the best results. Now that the height of the high tides has come down a lot, there is not as much flow in the water. Places worth a try are Como Bridge, Bald Face Point and Captain Cook Bridges. All these places can be fished from both the shore and a boat.
Botany Bay: Scott Lyons from Southern Fishing Tours reports that his clients have been catching undersized and legal-sized kingfish around the markers and Port Botany wall on live yellowtail and pink nippers. The live yellowtail have been lowered to the bottom and the nippers have been floated out with the berley trail. You could also try floating some live yellowtail back towards the oil wharf for jewfish on both the rising and falling tides, but remember that you have to stay at least 100 metres away from the wharf at all times. Bare Island has been producing some silver trevally and prawns on the outgoing tide.
What’s On: On March 31 and April 1, the St George Motor Boat Club will be hold a massive fishing competition to support the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation. There will be tackle talks, an auction, sporting personalities, media, entertainment, BBQ , free stuff, lucky ticket draws, raffles, refreshments and, of course prizes for the heaviest, snapper, flathead, luderick, whiting, bream, mulloway and sharks,, as well as a tag-and-release comp. If you would like to enter you can come into Mako Bait and Tackle get your ticket for a $20 donation to the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.
While you are there you might also like to book into one of the series of fishing classes to be run at the shop on ‘How, Where and When to Fish Port Hacking, Botany Bay, George’s and Woronora Rivers. I will be covering types of techniques, baits, rigs and fish species over three consecutive Monday nights, starting from March 12 at 7pm. For further information contact Greg or John at the shop on 9600 6999, email me at gebrown@sia.net.au or phone me on 0417 690 508.
Gary Brown/Greg Mercedes Mako Tackle 9600 6999
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No report this week
Darryl, The Ocean Hut 4476 2278
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We thought it might be good to tell you a bit about Wonboyn Lake.
It’s about half-way between Sydney and Melbourne; 33km south of Eden in the lee of Greencape Lighthouse and surrounded by vast ares of national park and state forest. The lake nestles among heavily timbered hills at the southern end of the Sapphire Coast of NSW. Wonboyn Lake and its tidal river system traverse a winding course for over 10km before running through a narrow channel into the sea at Disaster Bay. Secluded and unspoilt, the lake is a special haven for fishermen, bushwalkers and birdwatchers and is renowned for its huge flathead and catches of bream, luderick, whiting, trevally and tailor.
Wonboyn Lake is adjacent to the nationally acclaimed Nadgee Wilderness area, with its tracks and walking trails leading to magnificent wilderness rivers and beaches.
Now to this week’s report:
The good high tides have been well received by all anglers, however, the changeable weather patterns and the cooler currents coming through at the moment have been quite challenging to read.
BEACHES (Greenglade, Middle Beach, Baycliffe and North Beach): This week has seen some excellent catches of salmon to 3kg, tailor to a kilo, bream and whiting. Best baits: pilchards and beach worms. Surf poppers have accounted for a number of salmon.
DISASTER BAY: A few anglers have been across the bar this week, resulting in good hauls of flathead and some nice gummy sharks.
LAKE and ESTUARY: The good catches of flathead continue, with lizards to 2.5kg and bream to a kilo. There a lot of juvenile snapper in the system at the moment, with the odd 'keeper' being caught. Best baits: Live mullet, nippers, prawns, striped tuna.
Bruce and Dawne Grant, Wonboyn Cabins and Caravan Park, 6496 9131
wonboyn@asitis.net.au
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