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

Top

No current and the cornflake weed is just coming in and out as the north-easter blows up each day.
Nice bream to 1.6kg in the clear patches along Tallow Beach. The odd big tailor here and there, but just too much weed. Nothing offshore because of the cold water.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle 02 66 857 133

Top

Mandy from Dave’s Bait Shop says there are whiting and flathead through the river from about Wardell, with whiting best around Pimlico with a few also in North Creek. Nice tailor off the beaches. School jew at night behind the RSL and along the Porpoise Wall. No reports from outside. Water clearing up at high tide but pretty murky on the tide falling to low.
Dull green water at Evans Head along the beaches and inshore, although it’s fairly warm. A few whiting along Main Beach and smaller ones in the river, where there are also a few decent bream. Outside lads have been doing it pretty hard with the northerlies for a few snapper and trag. We need clear water and some small slimies to bring the mackerel in.

Dave’s Bait Shop 02 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

Top

Fishing in the river remains fairly quiet. There are some good-sized garfish, though, and these can be very tasty. The rocks and beaches are probably the best bet at the moment with tailor, bream and blackfish being taken.
Offshore, the better mackerel are coming from the southern grounds. The northern grounds still seem to be quiet, due mainly I suspect to the currents that are running. Snapper and other reef fish appear to be in quite reasonable numbers on both grounds Good water in the very lower estuary now with still a little bit of coloured water upstream, suggesting that night time could be good for bream and jew at places like Browns Rocks and the Middle Wall. Flathead are quiet.

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

Top

Big bream weighed in this week – 2.34kg, 1.95kg and quite a number between a kilo and 1.5kg. Most of them are coming from the surf between Red Rock and Coffs. Beach gutters turning up whiting to 700g, along with a run of jewfish 6-8kg.
Offshore: Good snapper with a few kingfish and the odd cobia. Water has gone cold, shitty and green. Spotted mackerel are therefore scarce but those that have been caught are a good size – up to 12kg. Spanish mackerel are yet to put in an appearance in any numbers.

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

Top

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

Top

On the beaches, tailor numbers have shown some improvement and not before time, with North Beach fishing well. While not thick, the bream have been of good quality for this time of year. Also on the beaches are a few nice whiting together with the odd school jew and a few very late season salmon which appear to be following the occasional pocket of cool water.
Off the rocks, tailor numbers are reasonable with Lighthouse and Point Plomer producing fish on occasions, but the lack of swell has seen the action fall well short of what could be expected should there be some decent white water about. A few bream have also been on offer although primarily during dawn sessions, while the recent full moon saw just the odd schoolie extracted from ledges to the north.
In the estuary, flathead have once again been dominant, with several solid fish to around 3kg taken on bait and lures. Also in the estuary, some nice bream have been on offer around the breakwalls and Settlement Point, while a few nice whiting have been snared in the Maria on live yabbies and worms. Lake Cathie continues to produce excellent whiting, with the better catches coming from right at the entrance or right up the lake. Some nice blackfish being taken from the Coal Wall as well as places further upstream such as Limeburners and the Maria. Also on offer are good numbers of garfish, with most locations in the lower reaches and up to around Rawdon Island producing well. Light lines, a small float and a size 10 hook baited with either bread or peeled prawns and fished on or near the surface the go for these fun little fish.
On the prawning front, we are again entering another dark, and early indications are numbers and quality are excellent. With the lake still open, both scoop nets and drag nets will prove effective, however with the entrance now snaking south and the flow rather minimal, water clarity may make scooping rather challenging.
Offshore fishing has been quite good, with John from Ocean Star Charters reporting of several solid days bottom-bouncing, with plenty of good pearl perch to 4kg, some solid snapper and kingfish in reasonable numbers. A few good mahi mahi to around 15kg are still on offer although a slight cooling of the water has seen numbers thin a little. This hasn’t affected the mulloway, however, with several nice fish being boated. Small black and striped marlin in close, and some big blues wider out

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

Top

Offshore: Close-in reefs are still proving difficult to fish with a raging north-south current making getting to the bottom a challenge. Water temperature in close is lower than you would expect for this time of year, but this is only a coastal effect with much warmer water a few extra miles out.
More traditional summer fishing is now being experienced off Crowdy Head with quality kingfish and mahi mahi being taken around the wave rider buoy. Off Forster there have been a few notable captures, namely a 28kg cobia by an anonymous shark fisho and a 70 kg black marlin by someone trying to jig bonito.
Beaches: The miserable summer beach fishing season continues with red weed being reported on most beaches at some time over the last week. If you find a patch of clean water the tailor, whiting and occasional bream will make the effort worthwhile.
Rocks: Some northern bluefin were seen busting up a bait school of Boomerang Head last weekend but generally the LBG season is yet to take off.
Estuary: Mulloway have been in good numbers off the Tuncurry Breakwall. Better quality bream are being reported in the lower parts of the lake. Flathead are far more active on the late run-out tide, having been chilled earlier during the run-in tide by the patch of cooler water just off our coast. The prawn run is about to get under way so fishing in the estuary will be at its best after dark.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

Top

Estuary: Flathead Myall River, Corrie Island; jewfish Salamander wreck and drifting the deep channels at Middle Island. Sand whiting on Jimmys Beach and the Middle Grounds. A few kingies on the Anchorage and Co-op walls – to 15kg if you can stop them. A few bream around the racks in North Arm Cove and at Rocks Awash.
Rocks: Kings on Fingal Head, Sunny Corner. A few tailor at Cemetery, Boat Harbour northern headland. A few reds off the rocks at Fishermans. Plenty of squid in sheltered bays everywhere.
Beaches: Plenty of sand whiting on Stockton, One Mile, Fingal. A 22.5kg jew off Green Hill at Fingal during the week. Some big flathead on Stockton between the Wreck and the Huts. A few tailor Zenith and Box.
Outside: Trag on The Gibber, Uralla and The Tank. School jew in the deep stuff off Bulahdelah Wide. Some surface species turning up – bonito around Cabbage Tree and East Head at Broughton. Water out in 80 fathoms is around 23° and warmer as you get out to the shelf. Rat mahi mahi on the FAD – and a big white pointer shark! A few striped tuna in 50-60 fathoms, little black marlin around 70 fathoms and striped marlin on the shelf.

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

Top

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

Top

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

Top

Outside: Some nice snapper from the close reefs with a few 4-6kg kings taking live baits. Flathead south of Broken Bay on the gravel patches with plenty of bag limits.
Brisbane Water: Nice bream on soft plastics, some tailor near The Rip bridge and a small cobia was caught in the bay this week.
Freshwater: Nice bass in St Clair and Glenbawn in about 5 metres on deep ,dark lures, especially purple.

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

Top

Unsettled summer weather above the water and unpredictable currents beneath – the serious fish season is truly with us. Along the coast we’ve had mild green water one day, warm clear blue water the next. One thing’s for sure – when it did switch on this week the fishing has been red hot ! Last Friday Broken Bay/Pittwater had a big influx of 25º warm, blue water. Peter LeBlang turned his charters on with plenty of solid kingfish off Mackerel Beach by trolling live squid on the downrigger. All were legal and there were a few real beasts. Nearby, around West Head, good catches of flathead and some good flounder on the drift.
Outside: Boultons and Newport reefs had a full mixed bag for Big Pat and his boys with good action on morwong and a few big bream on whitebait.
Along all the northern beaches good runs of whiting and bream have been reported – best baits beach worms and pipis. Big girl flathead are in numbers as well – usually on ganged pilchards. North Curl Curl gutter produced a 19kg mulloway one night about a week ago. Luderick have been plentiful off Warriewood rocks, along with some very porky drummer. Similar lively reports from Long Reef – young Jake’s 4.5kg pig a good example. His Dad lost a 15kg-plus kingie the same day trying to wash it on to the rocks – bad luck, Pete. Bluefish Point continues to provide plenty of action with salmon, bonito, tailor and kingfish on live baits. Pete Keep and Rob Jenkins got into the big royalty with XOS live yakkas. Unfortunately, there are too many reports of boats and rock fisho’s keeping kingies under 60cm – c’mon, guys, let ‘em go !
Des from Hook’em & Cook’em charters reports warmer water moving back in. Bait schools around the Heads and Harbour are again working hard to survive attack from tailor, salmon and bonito chopping on the surface. Also plenty of kingies caught – mostly staying deep around the bait. Live yakkas, big soft plastics and deep minnows are also bringing some big fish.
Mates Jono and Frick had a great weekend around Dobroyd and Middle Head fly-fishing. Their Surf Candies and Epoxy Minnows cleaned up on bonito, salmon and a few big greenback tailor. Surface popper flies in the early light had the big greenies going crazy. Jono said the dead drift technique was deadly with a whitebait minnow. we hear lots of reports of small leatherjackets in Middle Harbour – plagues of them stealing baits and mauling soft plastics.
Mick Lyons from Allie Hunter Charters has seen crowds of mahi mahi around the traps and markers – go deep with small lumo River 2 Sea jigs to get to the big ones. Billfish have continued to keep the boys busy with 80-100kg striped marlin regular as clockwork on Pakula Pinkies and Lumos.
So, boat, rock, beach or wharf – get out there !

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

Top

Mako Tackle
Gary Brown / Greg Mercedes 9600 6999

Top

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

Top

Outside: Kingies are on, with good reports from almost everywhere from Ulladulla to Moruya of fish up to 10kg common. Tollgates and off Richmond have been good and they’re close, so there’s no fuel to be burnt in getting some action. Not much else outside but who cares?
Beaches: Plenty of whiting, salmon, tailor and some school jewies of a night, try Durras area, around Tuross.
Rocks: Bream, tailor and salmon evenly distributed.
Estuary: Garfish galore and they’re off the rocks and outside as well. Flatties, flounder, bream and some pre-fishers for the BREAM event in the river.

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

Top

Offshore: A few marlin over the past few days stripes mainly with the odd black. Kings at the island occasionally with fish up at Potato Point to 7kg and bigger on jigs, livies or squid. Snapper and mowies reasonable on the inside of the island around the Fowlhouse. Quality sand flathead.
Rocks and beach: Good drummer and blackfish with quality tailor and good salmon on the beach. A couple of jewies off the beaches to the north on the full moon.
Estuary: jewies fired up on the full moon with schoolies and the odd fish to 17kg. Nice flatties in most of the lakes with the inlet going well for them, Corunna good. A couple of nice estuary perch up the back of the lake with one 48cm fish released this week. Bass taking surface lures way up the creeks in the thundery weather.

Darryl, The Ocean Hut 4476 2278

Top

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

Top