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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Gone pretty quiet. The usual big dart and stuff from the beaches and the occasional big tailor but you have to work for them. Still pearlies and snapper out wide and the occasional mackerel hanging around in the bay. Some big patches of bait still on Seven Mile and the mullet netters are active and when the mullet aren’t there they’re hammering the flathead and other stuff on the beaches.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle 02 66 857 133

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Bruce at Dave’s Bait shop says the tailor have gone off a bit around the headlands but there are still a few to be had early and late on lures and a few better ones on cut bait after dark. The Bream Hole at Lennox has also gone OK.
In the river the bream are improving with a fair run of fish around 600-800g. Still flatties along the Porpoise Wall and a few in North Creek with school jew from Burns Point up to Wardell. Blackfish OK along the Porpoise Wall and at Munsies in North Creek. No outside reports.
At Evans Head there have been some bream up the beach and around the headlands. A few bream and flathead in the river. Not many boats going out in the mornings because of the wind but a few are hitting the reefs of an evening for the odd good bag of reds or jew. Trag and cobia also getting about.

Dave’s Bait Shop 02 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Glen is away.

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

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Rocks, beaches: Good tailor on the headlands, school jew on the beaches on worms and squid.
Offshore: Still a few spotties to 10kg around in 12-14 metres of water but they’re patchy, there one day and gone the next. A few snapper hanging around the islands and catches are improving.
Estuary: Good bream in the creeks on soft plastics and the odd flathead.

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
rocksmarine@dodo.com.au

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On the beaches most anglers are finding the going quite tough for what is generally considered about the best time of year. Apart from chopper tailor, which remain in good numbers, bream, mulloway and whiting have proven quite challenging targets. Many good anglers I have spoken to have reported fishing for several hours in good water, over optimum tides, without so much as a bite – most unusual. The good news is that beaches further south have seen a significant increase in action over the past week, so fingers crossed this should flow onto our part of the coastline in the near future.
Off the rocks, tailor continue to dominate, with most local ledges giving up good feeds of choppers. Ledges to the north around Crescent Head and Point Plommer are producing a better class of fish. Drummer remain quiet as do the bream. Last weekend saw a few reasonable bags of good quality bream taken from Plommer. Blackfish numbers and quality remain excellent for those keen to toss a float from the stones.
In the estuary, bream reports have picked up a little with the better results surprisingly being scored well upstream. This is a little unusual for this time of year but if we get a decent drop of rain, look out for full-on action in the lower reaches. Flathead numbers remain excellent, with the Maria fishing well for fish to around two kilos, while the odd larger specimen has been snared from around the walls. Stacks of baitfish also remain in the lower reaches, with the masses of slimy mackerel still present, which is quite unusual, while heaps of garfish and chopper tailor have provided some entertainment. Blackfish remain a little quiet but should improve considerably over the next few weeks.
Offshore, mahi mahi continue to inundate the NSW Fisheries FAD, with plenty of fish in the 2kg to 6kg bracket on offer. The continued maintenance of this FAD is largely dependent upon the level of feedback provided to NSW Fisheries. Log books for this purpose can be obtained from NSW Fisheries or by calling in to our shop. This project has been a resounding success and a huge bonus for local anglers, so if you enjoy the benefits this project has to offer please do your bit by providing the appropriate feedback. Elsewhere offshore, bottom-bashers have been scoring mixed bags of snapper to around 4kg and plenty of other mixed species. Make sure you take plenty of wire and other terminal tackle as the jackets are back in good numbers again.

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

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Offshore: Quality mahi mahi are holding up around the wider of the two FADs . The water temperature and quality is unusually high for this time of the year. The reefs generally are not fishing well and remain plagued by leatherjackets that bite off anything going past. Some big kingfish have been caught (and lost) but you'll need big live baits to play with these brutes.
Beaches: Over the last week the beach fishing has been at its best. Big tailor have come from the Seal Rocks and Pacific Palms areas. Over the last few days Seven Mile beach has also improved as these fish migrate north. The best of the bream still seem to be to our south. Small mulloway have been reported from most beaches.
Rocks: Traditional rock fishing has been firing with big tailor, bream, drummer, blackfish and a few grouper being reported. Once again the Seal Rocks and Pacific Palms areas are the place to be. Janies Corner is worth a try but remember that it’s easy to access so don't expect to be alone. Those spearfishing off the rocks tell me there are big numbers of mulloway on offer.
Estuary: The Breakwalls continue to produce mulloway, although they are down in numbers and size on past weeks. Those chasing bream have done well on bait but the lure-tossers have found the going a little slow. Last Sunday saw me feed half a packet of 3” Bass Minnows to the leatherjackets before changing to the ever-reliable hard-body Attack lure and nailing quality fish. Flathead by-catch when lure fishing for bream remain common.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Pretty brisk westerly blowing.
Estuary: Bream Rocks Awash, Boulders, Co-op, Anchorage Wall. Flathead Karuah River, Tilligerry Creek. Squid on the moorings and jetties in Shoal Bay and Little Beach. Blackfish Co-op wall and Tomaree jetty.
Rocks: Tailor One Mile, Cemetery, Fingal Head. Pigs Boat Harbour, Rocky, Honeysuckle.
Beaches: Plenty of tailor and salmon on Stockton. Travelling bream Stockton, Fingal.
Offshore: Snapper in the shallows at Broughton, Sisters, North Island, Looking Glass. Trag on The Gibber.

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

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Offshore conditions have allowed many boats to venture to their favourite spots with reports of excellent catches of flathead and tailor. Flathead to 3.5kg have been caught from Stockton Bight with Wallsend`s ‘Racing’ Ron Taylor and his mate bagging out using pilchard pieces and Keith Roberts and his grandson catching flathead, squire and trevally off Newcastle Beach last weekend. The best tailor catches are coming from the Redhead bluff to Swansea area with big catches offshore of the Belmont pipe. Reports of good numbers of snapper continue from anglers who have visited Broughton Island over the last week with fish to 8kg caught on floating pilchards and soft plastics.
Our beaches are offering a range of species with tailor, salmon and bream being caught as well as a mighty mulloway caught by Jacko of the Burwood Fishing Club from Dudley Beach while targeting tailor.
Chris Blanch reports of good numbers of luderick available from inside Port Stephens with the co-op wall and Little Beach Jetty two hot spots. Those pre-fishing for upcoming bream comps are catching large numbers of bream from the oyster leases and rock walls of the port.
Lake Macquarie is providing catches of flathead, tailor and bream but clear conditions are making the lure fishos struggle for their fair share. Pilchard baits around Pulbah Island are the best bet and more good-sized squire are being caught by anglers targeting flathead or tailor.
Don’t forget the free information night on at Tacklepower Charlestown on Monday, May 31, from 6pm. With the Tacklepower Bream Pro being held on Lake Macquarie in mid-June this night has been arranged by NSW Pro Bream to assist in informing potential lure and fly competition anglers of previous successful techniques, areas, and tackle. Call the store on 49438780 to register your interest.
Unfortunately another tragic rock fishing death occurred last weekend from our local area and we are all reminded to follow basic safety guidelines to try to reduce this all to frequent occurrence.

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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As I file this week’s report a storm has swept in across Lake Macquarie and is dumping the first decent rain we have had in months.
The estuary systems on the Central Coast are suffering from gin-clear water, making for very timid fish. The Hawkesbury River and Brisbane Water need a good flush out and soon.
Fishing in Brisbane Water is difficult at the moment because of the clear conditions but a few fishos are still catching fish. These tough conditions usually sort out the good anglers from the average fishos and those good fishos have been scoring good blackfish, whiting, bream and leatherjackets. The bream are not monsters but some of the leatherjackets in the system are huge. They’re falling to peeled prawn baits fished on the high tide. Those thumper winter whiting are biting in the creeks but you do need live bloodworms for bait. If you can’t find the bloodworms, live pink nippers will also work.
I fished down in the Hawkesbury River last weekend and bagged some quality bream from the oyster leases fishing the rising tide about mid-morning. Again, the main river is gin-clear so the better fishing is up in the backwaters. Areas like Mooney Mooney Creek, Mullet Creek, Porto Bay, and up past Bar Island are all worth a look. I fished the leases with small hard body lures while my wife was soaking some baits. She landed the bigger bream and we both got smoked by some monster bream which were unstoppable
in the leases. Several other fishos had been spinning the racks up in Mooney Creek and reported also running into some of these express big bream.
Out in Broken Bay the salmon are starting to school up for winter. These line-burners will make great light-tackle sport in the next few months.
Offshore, out on the deep reefs those tasty snapper have been on the chew. They’re not in big numbers but they are good quality reds. Mahi mahi have also been caught around the fish traps but most are only small. Closer to shore the trevally have started to show up for winter. This usually means the water is starting to cool down. Big leatherjackets have also been active. Some of these are well over 2kg and along with the green toads have been biting off a lot of rigs.
Sadly last week we lost another rock fisho. The visiting Sydney angler was swept off a low ledge at Catherine Hill Bay while fishing alone at night. Several other people fishing nearby went to his aid but he drowned within minutes and could not be revived by the local rescue crews. That’s two deaths in three months from rock fishing in our area and both were visiting fishos – not a good way to end the report.

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

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After the first wave of cold water came through about three weeks ago, most fish shut down but how things can change once seasonal adjustments are complete.
Offshore, yellowfin tuna reports have tripled in the last week with plenty of captures in the 20-40kg range with some fish as heavy as 70kg. Fish Outta Water staff had a trip out to Browns Mountain (continental shelf) during the week. Not so comfortable conditions made cubing a trail nearly impossible so we trolled skirted lures at about 8 knots and just inshore of The Mountain a triple hook-up threw everyone into gear. After 10 minutes of controlled mayhem three yellowfin from 25-35kg graced the deck . We didn't sight any working birds or schools of bait yet each fish had from four to seven slimy mackerel in its stomach it didn't stop them hammering anything green that was dragged before them. More reports from the shelf include Ron Kovacs’ yellowfin of 29kg and 38kg and Gavin Jago, who headed out after ’fin, only to tag a striped marlin off a double hook-up and raise another the following day. All of the action has been around Brown's Mountain.
A bit closer to shore Mick Lyons says the bottom fishing at the Twelve Mile is producing legal snapper, 70cm leatherjackets, morwong and flathead. All good-sized fish with pillies being the chosen bait.
The beaches showed positive indications of hungry fish. Jef Yorsten landed flatties at Narrabeen while Dee Why mid-week had flathead, salmon, tailor and bream eager to chew all offerings. The run up tide and early evening sessions proved to be the most productive.
Sydney Harbour came to life with schooling salmon taking pillies on gang hooks and trolling lures. Some good 2kg tailor were amongst them. Some of these salmon are 3-5kg and giving anglers a great fight – aerobatics antics chucked in. Peter Zurita fished North Harbour for three good john dory and some good squid. Rat kings have been sighted at North Head and Dobroyd but no hook-ups. Yellowtail are easier to find than over the past two weeks but plenty of berley is required.
Even Pittwater improved immensely since last week. Pete from Harbour & Estuary charters reports flathead up to 97cm and jewies on the chew, preferring whitebait At the Vines plenty of bream are biting about 60 metres out, with most captured fish having small pipis in them.
Further east near the entrance, amberjack and salmon have fallen to trolled lures. Small schools of frigates from 4 to 20 per head continually pop up but are proving worthy opponents by not wanting any offerings coming their way.

Darren Thomas
Fish Outta Water 9949 9488
fishon@uunet.com.au

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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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Offshore: The annual Yellowfin tournament had pretty dismal results last weekend, with not one yellowfin weighed in. As the water was between 20° and 21.5° it held quite a few marlin. Good numbers of snapper around with a lot of boats catching their limit, with fish to 6kg coming in. Loads of salmon and trevally about.
Beach: Beaches are holding good flathead and bream through the day with plenty of salmon and tailor morning and evening. The odd jew after dark.
Rocks: Pretty similar to the beaches with salmon, tailor, bream, trevally and snapper. Some good reds from the stones but it’s a problem keeping a snapper bait in the water because of the salmon are hammering them. This is a good time of year to target hoodlum kings off the rocks, with a mate dropping a nice 12kg model the other day. Pigs aplenty off most rocks.

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

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Offshore: Yellowfin to 40kg have been on the chew with bibless lures and Laser Pros working far better than cubing. A lot of fish off Bunga Heads. Kings good at Montague with a range from just legal to around 14kg and bigger ones lost. Jigs, live bait and Laser pros going well. Bonito also there but the seals are stealing plenty.
Beaches, rocks: Plenty of salmon and tailor. Quite a few drummer most places. Try next full moon at night for beach jewfish. Whiting and golden eye mullet on the beach.
Estuary: Heaps of tailor to 60cm along with some kingies as well. Flathead have acclimatised and are improving. The odd salmon and snapper in the estuary along with good bream.

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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