Julie/Graeme, Anglers Warehouse Tweed Heads (07) 5536 3822
anglerswarehouse@shopsafe.com.au
Wayne, Kingscliff Bait and Tackle
Matthew/Charlie, Deep Sea Fishing Charters

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Beaches: Along the Belongil it’s choked with cornflake weed so forget about that. Everywhere else is pretty clear. Tallow Beach has nice whiting, good dart, bream and decent flathead.
Rocks: Around the cape for some very big tailor with heaps of slimy mackerel in the water there. Broken Head for tailor off Flat Rock and the back beaches, along with some school jew.
Outside: Some nice snapper evenings and mornings when the northerly allows.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle 02 66 857 133

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Bruce from Dave’s Bait Shop says there are still good whiting in North Creek near Prospect bridge and in the main river around Pimlico on worms. Flathead and school jew are going OK along the Porpoise Wall. Most beaches have a few whiting and bream. Outside there have been a few snapper and pearl perch out wide.
At Evans Head a few mackerel have turned up, right on cue, but they’re patchy at this stage and biting only on small live slimy mackerel. Not much in the way of snapper although there are a few trag and kingfish around the prominent reefs. The dredge Falcon has been working around the river bar for almost a week but it remains to be seen what sort of good it will do to the bar in the long term, what with the onshore, bar-building season now almost upon us and an apparent ban on removing the huge buildup of sand that is choking the river.
Beaches have been pretty quiet with not much more than a 30cm shore break but there have been a few whiting showing up.
Bream and flathead in the river along with some tiddler whiting.

Dave’s Bait Shop 02 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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This coming week might produce some bream at places like Browns Rocks, Middle Wall, Collis' and the Turkeys Nest as well. We'll have excellent early morning tides from Sun/Mon and getting bigger and better for the following days. These tides, combined with a slightly increased flow of dirty water, should hopefully push some fish down into these lower parts of the river. I'll be spending some time having a serious look.
Off the beaches and rocks there's some keeper tailor, also some bream snaffling the pillie baits as well, evidently not some bad sized fish in there.
Outside and the mackerel season is not happening with only very spasmodic catches. Admittedly the water has got down to 19° on some days and there's a bit of surface dirty water about but I'm still very concerned about whether it will happen or not. It is, after all, the end of January. Remember it was a very bad season last year. The cooler currents are not helping the reddy fishos either. This dirty water might produce jew this coming week as the moon makes towards the end of the week. It might just happen this week.

Glen Porter, 6646 2017
The Bait Place 6646 2017
ports@reeltime.com.au

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Offshore: Water has been pretty dirty and cool outside with little surface activity. Still a few snapper and other bottom fish.
Estuary: Whiting coming on strong with bream and flathead in with them.
Beaches: The odd school jew on the beaches along with whiting and bream in the high tide gutters.

Peter Russell, Fish Tackle Australia 6652 4611
motackle@midcoast.com.au

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Mark and Denise Bird and Paul and Michelle Martin
Rocks Marine Bait and Tackle 6566 6726
birds@tsn.cc

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Great to see a decent drop of rain over the past week, with the Hastings and other systems set to benefit considerably. Although well short of a decent flush, the good rainfall, particularly upstream, has seen some significant colour added to the river. As a result expect to see a considerable improvement in catches throughout the lower reaches, particularly during daylight hours.
In the estuaries flathead and whiting have been the pick of the species, with Blackmans Point and the Maria fishing quite well. Best results on the flatties have been achieved during the last of the run-out tide, while the last of the run in has seen the better whiting action. Bream numbers have been up a little, particularly for those throwing soft plastics, while a few reasonable catches of blackfish have been snared. Crab action has been a little quieter but once this fresh settles, look for a considerable improvement in the muddies, particularly in the lower reaches.
On the prawning front, Lake Cathie has fired again, with great catches of quality prawns anywhere from the entrance to well upstream of the Perch Hole. While the larger catches have been achieved with drag nets, the number of people getting a great feed with scoop nets has been amazing. We simply have not been able to keep up with demand for scoop nets, and on one night last week, I observed 26 lights in action on the ocean side of Cathie bridge alone, not the mention the numbers above the bridge. Most managed a couple of kilos or better. While we are now past the best part of this dark, fingers crossed the action will extend for another couple of months yet.
On the beaches, whiting numbers have been excellent with Lighthouse producing the better results. Best bait has been live beach worms, however pipis have also accounted for some quality bags. Bream should further improve over the next couple of weeks, particularly if we receive more decent rain. Tailor remain relatively scarce for his time of year but a few reasonable bags have been snared from North beach. On the jew front, the recent full moon saw a bit of an improvement over recent months, and with great tides now upon us, chasing a schoolie should be well worth the effort.
Not a great deal of action off the rocks, apart from a few tailor around Point Plommer along with a few bream and blackfish. A few cobia have been snared close in off Plommer and Hat Head, so fingers crossed the action is not too far away for the LBG brigade.
Offshore reports over the past week have been limited given relatively poor conditions, but the continued success of the Golden Lure game fishing tournament deserves congratulations to the committee and those involved.

Jason and Virginia Isaac, Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle 6583 8318
cjisaac@ozemail.com.au

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Offshore: Two local game boats fished wide last weekend and were both rewarded with 200kg+ blue marlin. One of these boats was out again on Monday and provided a first for one angler, a short billed spearfish. In closer small blacks and striped marlin are being reported, but these are mainly sightings rather than hook-ups. The big schools of bonito that normally show up in December are finally here and with them some better quality kingfish. Reefs wide of Five Mile are fishing well but all concerned are complaining about the raging current. A few days ago someone asked me why I never report on the offshore flathead fishing. I replied that monkeys can't read my report! Eventually I explained that we call this type of fishing ‘monkey fishing’ because it's so basic you could teach a monkey to do it. I wonder if he's reading this? Almost forgot, lots of sharks almost everywhere you go. Mahi mahi are not what you expect for this time of the year.
Beaches: Once again the summer beach fishing is less than favourable. Small tailor are available, but quality whiting are not very co-operative.
Rocks: Check out a sea surface temperature chart and any LBG addict will start to shake in anticipation. While the northern bluefin are yet to arrive, the kings at Seal Rocks are unstoppable.
Estuary: While I don't know of any hook-ups, there have been plenty of small hammerhead sharks in the main channel early in the morning. Whiting captures have slowed and the small tides this week seem to have affected the flathead action. Bigger bream have been reported by those fishing after dark. The best of the action seems to be further up the lake and river system.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Estuary: Sand whiting in good numbers Shoal Bay, Jimmys, Middle Grounds. School jew Salamander wreck, Middle Island, soldiers Point and Karuah bridge. A few tailor of an arvo on the breakwalls. Crabs top end of the bay around Tahlee and Carrington. Flathead Bagnalls Beach and the Myall River.
Beaches: Big run of big sand whiting to 500g on Stockton from the rocks down about 8km. A few bream; flathead from the wreck to Stockton. Jew at the Huts, Sandy Point and Yeagon.
Rocks: Kings on One Mile Headland, Sunny Corner; tailor in the arvos same spots. Stacks of bream in the washes around Rocky, a few salmon around Cemetery.
Outside: jew to 25kg on The Vs, trag on The Gibber. Good run of snapper in the shallows of North Island, Cod Rock, Telegraph Point. Water warming to 23° in 50 fathoms, mahi mahi to around 15kg. Small black marlin in 50-70 fathoms, striped marlin on the Shelf and the Carpark, a few bonito Cabbage tree and Broughton. Big snapper on Edith breaker and some fair kings around East head and the two Seals.

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

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Jordan Armstrong,
Tackle Power Fishing Stores,
Jordan@tacklepower.com.au

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Peter Sanderson, Fisherman's Warehouse (02) 4945 8922
enquiries@fishermanswarehouse.com.au

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Gary Oxley Coastline Bait & Tackle, East Gosford ph/fax 4325 4255
kathgaz@bigpond.com
http://www.coastlinefishing.easysites.ws

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Stiff breezes combined with opposing current made offshore fishing mildly uncomfortable during the week, still some good fish caught out wide but the harbour is going off with schooling pelagics. Mick Lyons fished the surface and the reefs during the week, plenty of flathead down deep and on the surface. Mick raised three beakies for two tagged striped marlin averaging 75kg at The Peak. Other marlin reports include 110kg and 120kg stripes both due east of Barrenjoey between the 5km and 7km marks.
Back in the harbour, schooling kings on big plastics down deep, tailor, salmon and bonito up top with a few trevally in the middle. All week this school has been concentrating around Middle Harbour near Balmoral. Mark and Jim Hudson hauled bonito, slimy mackerel and flatties during an early morning session. Des of Hookem Cookem has pulled fish every day from this school with at times as many as 37 boats around, 50-foot yachts trolling through the middle – gee it does make it hard work! Jim Hudson was hooked up on 2kg for 25 minutes, only to be cut off by one of the many wayward cast lures in his direction. Over at North Head Des reports kings to 75cm on squid, while around the front Johnny Newlands hooked kings to 70cm and flatties to 50cm on some small yakkas he got from Manly.
Over to the stones and South Curl Curl for some good captures. Old Joe landed two 6kg jew and lost a much bigger unit on the edge. In the same vicinity a 20kg, 123cm kingfish was hooked and landed by Greg on his own with no gaff and on spin gear and a live yakka.
Pete from Harbour and Estuary Charters in Pittwater says the kings have moved up to Palmy in among the tailor schools, with some choppers are as big as 50cm. Pete reports cobia picking choppers off the outer edge, with a couple of 3-4kg cobes and at least one big dude of 10-12kg. Squid down deep on the rigger or surface poppers are the target methods for these guys. A flounder weighing 1.2kg was hooked on the drift inside Palmy with two good flatties and with water temps at 23.9ºc I’m not surprised the place is so active.

Peter/Kurt
Darren Thomas, Fish Outta Water 9949 9488
captainkurt100@hotmail.com

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Mako Tackle
Gary Brown / Greg Mercedes 9600 6999

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Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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Outside: A few marlin getting around with plenty of snapper around Durras. Kingfish are going well off the Ulladulla kingie grounds, Richmond Point at Durras and the reefs off Moruya.
Beaches and rocks: A fair few jewfish being caught of a night, most around the 10-12kg mark. Heaps of blackfish up at Bawley Point and salmon in most washes.
Rivers: Heaps of flathead on soft plastics with catches of up to 30 fish a day – those guys who are keeping them all should start to think about releasing a few so they’re there for next time. Plenty of bream still in the river but the rain each afternoon is putting them off the lures a little. Same with the perch. Heaps of garfish wherever you go, absolute masses of them.
‘Captain’ Kevin Gleed is helping us on Saturdays in the shop so come in and get some up to the minute information and the latest lure advice.

Rodney Stockman,
Harry’s Bait and Tackle
ph 02 4472 4393, fax 02 4472 3405

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Offshore: Good flathead in around 32 metres. Kings around 7-8kg going pretty solid at the island with on 25kg model boated last week. Plenty of marlin around out wider with one boat tagging five on Wednesday. Lots of striped marlin from 80kg-120kg. Quite a few yellowfin coming in with the run of fish 18-20kg with one 60kg fish the other day. Albacore also working, along with mahi mahi to around 10kg as well.
Estuary: Good fishing in the inlet for flathead and bream, with estuary perch up around the oyster leases. Good whiting on the sandflats. Bream, trevally and plenty of jackets around the walls.
Beaches: heaps of good salmon on the beaches.

Darryl, The Ocean Hut 4476 2278

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Darren Redman and Mark Rose,
Bermagui Ocean Hut and Charter Booking Service, 6493 4688

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