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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Outside: Snapper and jewfish from the Local Reef to Wooyung
Rock and beach: Chopper tailor around Seagull Rocks, whiting on New Brighton Beach, bigger tailor in patches from South Beach to Grays Lane to Tyagarah. Bream north and south walls.
River: Blackfish on all the river walls, bream around the traffic bridge and the traffic bridge over Simpsons Creek and near the bowing club. Whiting up-river with the odd jewfish as well up towards Mullumbimby in the deeper holes.

Craig Wraight
BP Discount Fishing Tackle, Brunswick Heads
ausie_28_red@yahoo.com.au
Phone (02) 66851268

Good fishing at the moment. Tailor from Broken Head, Cosy Corner and the Cape on bait and lures. Good catches of jew from Broken Head. Whiting, bream and dart from Suffolk Park to Cosy Corner. Belongil Beach is quiet. Too windy outside.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle 02 66 857 133

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Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop says there are a few bream along the town reach, mainly at night, although they’re not setting any records. The odd flathead has been taken right up to Wardell. Blackfish are quite reasonable with catches often close to the bag limit at the usual spots like Prospect Bridge, the Porpoise Wall and the old ferry ramp. A few whiting starting to show nice and early, with some good sized ones around. Maybe the night tides on the run in should be really good.
Around the walls there are a few bream in the wash and tailor to 4kg around the headlands from Black Head up to Lennox Head. Big soft plastics are tempting the big tailor but you’d better have a few of them. Heaps of leatherjackets outside but there are snapper on the closer reefs.
Having been in Brisbane putting out the September issue of NSWFM for most of this week, I can’t say much about what’s been happening at Evans. Earlier in the week there were a few blackfish and some rather nice bream poking around the walls and those bait schools with the feeding whales and gannets were still out in the bay. Some snapper and trag had come in from the close reefs but I hadn’t heard much about what was going on up the beaches and was too busy to go myself.

Dave’s Bait Shop 02 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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A few tailor early of a morning from the beaches and headlands with better fish on the Iluka side. Salmon also from the beaches and even a few in the river. Good whiting in the surf on Main Beach.
The Broadwater flathead appear to have closed down.
A few reef fish outside.

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

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Beach gutters still fishing extremely well for tailor, bream and any amount of salmon. Good bream also turning up around the rocks with fish to 1.8kg from the South Wall this week. Good tailor also from the rocky washes. Windy conditions offshore have slowed things down but those who braved it have returned with snapper, morwong and the usual reef fare.
Estuaries have gone a little quiet with very clear water – so clear that the fish can recall the rego number on your boat.

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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In the estuary, blackfish numbers remain reasonable with the north wall and coal walls fishing quite well. Bream numbers remain solid, albeit frustratingly shy in the clear water, but those fishing the night tides will enjoy far greater success. On the positive side, some nice lizards have been caught over the past week, with whitebait proving the premier bait. Lure-tossers have been enjoying great success for this time of year, with bream and flatties still eagerly scoffing soft plastics despite the cooler temperature.
Off the beaches, bream numbers remain steady with North Beach being the pick. We currently have a reasonable run of good-sized whiting, unusual for this time of year, especially considering they are being extracted from same water as plenty of salmon. School jewfish have been reasonable and should improve with favourable tide and lunar conditions now upon us. Tailor, on the other hand, have gone AWOL with scarcely any decent reports off the sand during the past couple of weeks.
Off the rocks, drummer continue to improve with most ledges now producing rather consistently in comparison to the past two years . The key, as always, is to seek the more washed-out ledges, particularly those with a good supply of cunjevoi and cabbage nearby, and a reasonable coverage of stirred-up water. Abalone gut or cunjevoi, together with some robust tackle, are the only other requirements. Tailor numbers have remained steady as have bream, with Point Plommer fishing well over the past week. Have also had a couple of reports of good numbers of blackfish off the rocks, while the odd groper has been encountered by those tossing a crab around.
Outside, the consistent westerlies have made fishing wide quite uncomfortable most days. However, for those who have ventured wider out, rumours are circulating of a few small yellowfin tuna while one local boat managed a successful off-season marlin encounter. Closer in, flathead remain excellent with most who have drifted the flattie grounds commenting that the quantity and quality are as good as they have been for a few years. Small to medium snapper and a few pearl perch are also on offer for those keen on hitting the reefs off Point Plommer and Lake Cathie.

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

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Offshore: Few if any recreational boats have been to sea due to ongoing wind. Commercial boats have not reported yellowfin tuna in numbers at this stage. Inshore reefs would be the most likely spots fishable over the coming weekend which is predicted to deliver 20 to 30-knot offshore winds.
Beaches: The situation is little changed from last week’s report.
Rocks: If you want to catch drummer, be prepared to fight your way through the schools of blackfish. Tailor are more likely to come from the rocks than the beaches.
Estuary: A few mulloway have been reported along with some quality bream off the Tuncurry Breakwall. Big tailor have been taken around the bridge and The Step. For those after bream on lures, the lower reaches of the Wallamba River have been working best.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Looks like another cold front coming and it’s pretty quiet, really, but there are some fish around other than masses of salmon.
Estuary: Bream on the co-op wall, on plastics on the racks at the back of Soldiers Point and North Arm Cove and over around the wrecks in the Duck Hole. Plenty of crabs in 9 metres in front of the Anchorage. Blackfish on the co-op breakwall. Good squid on Little Beach jetty, tailor off Tomaree late afternoons and some good flatties in the Karuah above the bridges.
Beaches: Salmon and more ^&*#$*^ salmon! A couple of jew on Stockton around the Huts, reasonable bream 11km down and good bream on Fingal and Grannies beaches. Tailor on Box and One Mile.
Rocks: Pigs galore Boat Harbour, Rocky, Honeysuckle. Bream in the washes around Cemetery, Fingal. Tailor One Mile Headland, industrial numbers of salmon at Sunny Corner with a few rat kingies among them. Stacks of squid in any of the little bays around the front.
Offshore: A showing of yellowfin tuna in 80 fathoms off Stockton Bight. Kings at Looking Glass, The 21 and Seal Rocks. Snapper on Edith Breaker and a few on Bulahdelah Wide, Outer V and The Tank. Trag on The Gibber and Uralla, heaps of tailor around Cabbage Tree. Pigs also in the Broughton washes. Sand flathead on the drift at the back of Mungo and wide of Little Island. .

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

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With the windy weather over the past week most anglers have decided to either stay in bed, do home duties to earn Brownie points for upcoming fishing trips or undertake repairs to fishing equipment. Now is a good time to have those broken rod guides replaced or service that favourite reel in anticipation for your next fishing adventure. Most quality local tackle stores carry a range of rod and reel components and spare parts and have staff knowledgeable in these areas to either assist or undertake these repairs.
Beach fishing for Australian salmon remains popular with large schools of these fish freely available from Stockton and Blacksmiths beaches for those willing to use ganged pilchards. Further north around Birubi Point and along the Hawks Nest to Mungo, good bream have been reported with most fish falling to beach worms or pipis. Reports from the Blacksmiths breakwall of some tailor, trevally and whiting but the bream have been very quiet.
Lake Macquarie is also reportedly very quiet with local Fisheries inspectors checking large numbers of anglers over the weekend with minimal catches of flathead, tailor and luderick. But others who are concentrating on certain species using certain techniques continue to get results, with John Balcomb catching and releasing a near 5kg flathead as well as numerous bream using soft plastics while fishing with Ron Ashman. The team of Chris Russell and Grant Mackenzie have been getting similar results from their efforts.
The inaugural presentation of the Blackbutt Hotel`s Fishing Club was held over the weekend with Stewart Fowler receiving the club’s angler of the year award from a hotly-contested field. A great night was had by all with the clubs friendly relaxed atmosphere, under the guidance of president Ross Ward and his committee, offering a good starting point for those who are looking to be involved in a fishing club.
Good luck to our local anglers contesting this weekend round of the ABT Bass series at Lake St Clair. Live weigh-ins are held on both days of competition, 11.30am and 4.30pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.

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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Offshore fishing out wide was absolutely sharkarama last weekend with makos aplenty, no yellowfin to be found anywhere and I don’t blame them for shooting through – about 25 boats were out wide and all of them got sharks. The boys on Malolo caught five from 100-130kg with action and acrobatics on tap. All the action was around Browns Mountain.
Mick Lyons from Allie Hunter Charters reports gemfish biting very well and these may be contributing to the makos’ diet. With heaps of food around, the sharks will hang around at 400 metres and hooking them up isn’t too hard – just start a berley trail.
Sydney Harbour remains fairly quiet with a few salmon and tailor still active, yakkas are biting and so are the big calamari squid, and I do mean big.
Up north, Pete from Harbour and Estuary Charters reports squid around the rocky headlands taking jigs, john dory and trevally off the bite and with water temps as low as 11.9°, a good berley trail is required.

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

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What a top week it has been on the water. Not only has the sun been out, but so have the fish. The breakwall at Port Kembla is worth a try for salmon, tailor and bream in the early morning. Try using whole and pieces of WA pilchards and garfish. Try jigging for squid on the inside of the southern wall.
If you are chasing either drummer or luderick you could try the point at the northern end of Fishermans Beach. Abalone gut and peeled royal red prawns are the go, but make sure that you have a steady stream of berley going out in the wash. North Beach, adjacent to Gloucester Boulevard, is worth a try when the sea has been pumping for a few days. Bream, salmon and tailor frequent this small beach. You can also try there in the afternoon for sand whiting. Blood and beach worms are the better baits.
I have had a couple of reports of solid mulloway being caught at night off Coniston Beach. You will need to locate a likely looking gutter before the sun goes down and then just play the waiting game. Anglers are also getting the odd ray and shark. Fresh half-fillets of luderick, mullet and squid are the go.
Bellambi Point is worth a try either early in the morning or about an hour or so before the sun goes down. Drummer, bream and tailor have been caught here on peeled prawns, pilchards and garfish. During the day you could always try here for luderick and silver trevally.
Eric Banner fished off the point at Coalcliff early in the week for two legal snapper on fillets of yellowtail he caught at his feet.
Port Hacking is still producing plenty of luderick and squid. Botany Bay has plenty of silver trevally. Scott Lyons and his crew caught 28 while berleying up on the eastern side of the Port Botany Breakwall. The salmon have gone a bit quiet off the entrances to Botany and Bate bays.
Further north the salmon are still feeding on the schools of baitfish from Sydney Heads to Broken Bay. You will just have to search them out.
Silver trevally are worth a go on the run-out tide at the western Wedding Cakes and the Sow and Pigs.
The offshore scene is producing morwong, pinkies, leatherjackets and the odd legal snapper for those fishing the lighthouse off Kurnell, the Plonk Hole and the north side of The Peak. You could also try trolling for striped tuna and bonito, which make great bait for the bream later in the season.
Classes at Mako Tackle on how, where and when to fish the waterways of Sydney from the shore and boats will run for three consecutive Tuesday nights for $80. Email me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au or phone 0422 994 207 or next time you are passing the shop come in and book.

Mako Tackle
Gary Brown / Greg Mercedes 9600 6999

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Lake: Plenty of whiting in the channel near the bowling club but lots of throwbacks. Blackfish on worms on the southern side of the channel near the bridge, with weed working best between the islands. Mullet in Macquarie Rivulet and bream at the entrance to Mullet Creek.
Beaches: Salmon and tailor on Windang Beach near the radio towers. Good bream on Warilla Beach towards the island and on MM Beach on worms and pipis. Corrimal Beach for bream and tailor in the afternoons.
Rocks: Port Kembla Honeycomb for trevally on royal reds. Off the eastern front of Windang Island for groper on crabs. Blackfish and the odd drummer for on Barrack Point. Salmon off the large Kiama Blowhole with berley working the schools up enough to throw in a lure.
Offshore: Nice snapper and mowies around Pig Island, nice mowies off Wollongong Reef on prawns and strip baits. Troll around Shellharbour for salmon and tailor. Nice bream around the Shellharbour Church Grounds.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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A few snapper but they’ve quietened down a little. Best spots still around Durras. A few jew turning up on the beaches and plenty of salmon and tailor. Flatties also on the chew on the beaches on lures where the rocks join the sand. On the rocks themselves there are plenty of pigs and wherever you go, there are salmon, even in the estuaries.
Estuaries have some good trevally and I scored a 2.4kg tailor not long ago. Bream should start to move back into the river soon.

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

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Pretty slow, even for the salmon from the beaches. No swell, flat and clear but very scenic!

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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