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 on the Local Reef and up around Wooyung, with an odd mackerel around
Rock and beach: Bream, whiting and dart on South Beach. Tailor, bream and dart on New Brighton Beach, South Wall for bream and some jewfish; bream and tailor North Wall.
River: Bream and blackfish around the boat harbor and Spur Wall. Bream, flathead around the highway bridge, flathead around the Ferry Reserve Caravan Park. Whiting, trevally, mangrove jacks and mud crabs up-river.

Joe
BP Discount Fishing Tackle Brunswick Heads (02) 66851268
brunswick-fishing@netspace.net.au

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Offshore for plate-sized reddies and tuskfish.
Beaches not brilliant in the cornflake weed but whiting, a few fair bream and the odd flathead in the clear patches. A few jew from the headlands and a few big tailor from the cape and Broken Head. If you’re heading to Byron over the next week or so, it’s best to turn up before dawn to get a parking spot anywhere and then don’t move for the day!

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle (02) 6685 7133

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Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop says whiting have been pretty fair in North Creek, the lower river and up to Pimlico Island. Better fish at night from the RSL to the sailing club on yabbies and bloodworms. Big flathead still along the Porpoise Wall and up around the ferry. School flathead on the flats on soft plastics. Mud crabs around the Teven double bridges and from Wardell upstream.
Beaches fair for whiting and dart but no sign of the summer choppers yet.
Outside: Not a lot of reports due to onshore winds but good mixed boxes on the wider reefs with snapper, pearlies, samson and parrot.
At Evans Head the river is full of bream with some real horses in among the undersized rats. The odd whiting over the sandbanks and some corkers of muddies upstream around back of the golf course. Airforce Beach and Chinamans Beach have had the odd nice whiting and a few dart but no tailor around.
Offshore there have been some trag, squire and tuskfish along with a few rat kings and just the odd cobia around Kahors Reef. Better catches out around The Patch and wider but the current is kicking in.

Dave’s Bait Shop (02) 6686 2481
&
Tony Zann

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Spotted mackerel and some Spaniards along with a few baby black marlin off Woody Head and Angourie. A few nice snapper, pearlies and tuskfish as well.
River: School jew from Iluka to Maclean. Whiting in the lower end with plenty of flathead with some good ones in the lower river along Middle Wall. Jacks going well around the bridges and rock walls. Heaps of sharks
Good tailor off Plover Island at Sandon River.

Paul Kneller
Big River Bait and Tackle, Maclean (02) 6645 1834

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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 estuaries, flathead continue to dominate with fish virtually throughout the Hastings. Best baits continue to be whitebait and prawns, while lure-tossers have been spinning the sand flats around Pelican Island and up the Maria and Limeburners. Reasonable numbers of whiting are being taken around Blackmans Point, while those with boats well up the Maria have been scoring some bumper fish. Lake Cathie is still firing well and we are now seeing improved flathead, particularly from those fishing live prawns at night. Whiting remain excellent day and night.
Elsewhere in the Hastings, a few good bream are on offer around the breakwalls early mornings and evenings. Blackfish are patchy with a few fish to around a kilo from the North Wall. One angler last weekend managed two jewfish to around 9kg on yabbies well up-river.
On the beaches, salmon remain abundant despite an increase in water temperature. Whiting numbers remain solid on Lighthouse, particularly the northern end, while the odd few chopper tailor have been taken from the deeper gutters further down the beach. Bream have been reasonable on North Beach and the tides from this weekend will be excellent for those chasing mulloway.
Off the rocks, drummer numbers remain excellent. A few bream over a kilo have also been on the chew around Point Plommer and the odd school mulloway has been taken during the late arvo high tides. Tailor are improving slowly but there is little surface activity.
Offshore, things are really looking with some warm water beginning to filter down. The action is yet to really hot up but we have had reports of a couple of marlin encounters as well as few solid mahi mahi and striped tuna. Snapper remain excellent with plenty of fish in the 2 to 7 kilo bracket along with a few mulloway, kingfish and other assorted reef species. We have also had another couple of long-fin perch taken by a few delighted anglers.

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

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Offshore: The wait is nearly over as the mahi mahi are out wide and the smaller ones should be established closer in any time soon. The water on the shelf is 25° and in the bay off Forster/Tuncurry a very nice 23°. Striped tuna are common in deeper water and with them are a few marlin. The boys on Seaquest had a happy crew on Dec 23 when they caught a tub of quality snapper, a few pearl perch and a few daytime trag. Of an evening the trag are well and truly on the chew on reefs north and wide of Five Mile. If you have your own secret trag spot closer to home, now’s the time to be out there.
Beaches: The summer tailor have been slow to arrive but reports over the last few days give hope for those coming this way on holidays. Diamond Beach over the last few days has produced bag-limit captures of tailor, all of which were happy to take metal lures. The whiting fishing is fair but could be better.
Rocks: Chase those tailor.
Estuary: The silly season is here and with it shoulder-to-shoulder anglers all wanting a piece of the breakwall. The good news is that the estuary is full of flathead although quite a few are under the legal size limit of 36cm. Big bream are on offer for those that fish after dark or get up with the sparrows. Whiting numbers remain steady, as does the crabbing situation.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Estuary: Heaps of whiting Manton Bank, Middle Ground. Flathead Corrie Island, Myall and Karuah. Run of blackfish on the breakwall. Bream on the breakwall and around Cromarty Bay. Blue swimmer crabs Mud Point, Taylors Beach, Pindima into the Duck Hole. Muddies in the top of the Karuah. School jew Salamander wreck and Middle Island at Soldiers Point.
Beaches: Ben Doolan caught a 24.5kg jew off Fingal during the week. Some jew over 20kg on Hawks Nest and at the wreck on Stockton. Stacks of whiting Fingal, One Mile and Stockton. A couple of good schools of tailor on Stockton and One Mile. Salmon on Stockton, of course.
Rocks: Colesie caught a 12kg jew Tuesday night on Rocky. Good squire Fishermans and Boat Harbour headlands. Blackfish cemetery point. Bream in the washes Fingal Island and Fingal Point. Good pigs around Honeysuckle and Rocky, believe it or not.
Offshore: Heaps of eastern blue spot flathead to a couple of kilos on the back of Mungo, Little Island and the Lighthouse Drift. A few school jew on The 21, the Vs, the Tank. Trag coming on the Gibber and The 21. Snapper in the shallows at Broughton, Fishermans, Boat Harbour, Uralla. George Trinkler caught a 24kg king at Broughton on Wednesday. Lot of rat kings on the Big Tommy, Looking Glass and Uralla. Mahi mahi on the shelf to 15kg and striped marlin picking up with 6 tagged last weekend. Water 24° on the shelf.

Graham Duffy, Salamander Bait and Tackle 02 4982 0711

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

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After weeks of fruitless nights trying without success, Joel and Josh went to the pub instead of catching jewies and Dave got a 15kg jewie in Brisbane Water around 9pm after berleying up some mullet for bait. He also got a flattie around 7kg, proving that you catch a lot more real fish when you keep trying and you catch a lot of fictional fish at the pub!
Offshore boats have found things hit and miss, with plagues of undersized kingies and only a few around the legal limit. There have been some good catches, though, with local Brad decking an 8kg snapper off Terrigal not long ago. Massive schools of 15cm slimy mackerel are working out wide and the marlin and mahi mahi should be here any day.

Aaron / Joel
Freddys Fishing World (02) 4367 5555
Shop 1/ 229 The Entrance Rd Erina

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Its arrived, that time of the year where the majority of the anglers actually get a chance to not just wet a line but have a good go over a few days.

Those that are allowed to go fishing or that just risk it should be in for a bit of action. There are reports from the harbor of good size kings, but they are a little shy so presentation and light leader is essential, however the rain today might dirty up the water a bit. Also in the harbour around the spit were some of the biggest slimeys that any of Santa’s helper have ever seen. The Yakka s seem to be in most well known haunts as well as a few garries. So with all that bait around the big ones shouldn’t be to far away.

Out wide the Tuna have given way and the beakies are being caught more often all the time. With the increase in boat traffic over the next few weeks we might get some indication of what sort of season we might have before us. Keep those fingers crossed.

Probably the most common fish caught and enjoyed at the table at this time of year is the old Flatty. Repots of fish in the harbour of Balmoral as well as good numbers out on the drifting ground starting at 30m.

From everyone at FOW we hope you have a wonderful Xmas and a happy new year.

Cheers

Dan Kennedy

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

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Lake: Flathead anywhere between the drop-off and the entrance. Try the mud flats at Mt Warrigal and Berkley boat harbour for flathead and bream on whitebait and soft plastics. In the channel for good numbers of whiting at the drop-off, southern breakwall and the entrance on bloodworms and squirtworms. Prawning set to improve on the next dark around New Year. Size is good so when they run there’ll be some fun. Crabbers at Lake South and Mt Warrigal having success with traps.
Beaches: Whiting plentiful at Windang Beach, Port Kembla at the northern end, Coniston and Macauleys Beach at Thirroul. Bream at Coniston and Minnamurra on strip baits.,
Rocks: Kings and salmon and tailor on live baits, which can be collected easily around harbours and headlands,. Drummer around Windang Island and Flagstaff Point.
Offshore: Plenty of activity on the reefs from 70m out with good numbers of squire on squid and fresh strip baits. Morwong and jackets around Wollongong Reef and South East Grounds at Shellharbour. Most flathead drifts are productive.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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River: Flatties galore in the Clyde. Garfish and whiting going well with the whiting really coming on the bite. Try the entrance to Tuross for the ultimate whiting spot locally. Absolute stacks of bream through the leases and snags. Moruya River fishing well for tailor to a kilo as well as bream, whiting and flathead. Still the odd jew caught in the river and from the beaches.
First marlin of the season was tagged by Murray Wallace and there have been some large yellowfin poking about as well.
Rock and beach: Flathead in the corners in abundance and some good salmon.

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

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Outside: Kings very patchy and plenty of undersize but bottom fish OK. Plenty of flathead on the 30m mark. Out wide running hot for albacore and yellowfin, with smaller school fin as well as some trophy captures.. Marlin are also kicking in nicely.
Estuary excellent for plenty of school flathead, jewies going well, lots of nice squire and good bream. Tailor a little quiet but whiting on the sandflats have really kicked in on bloodworms and squirtworms. Nippers working near the fisheries office on the run-up tide.
Beaches a bit patchy but salmon and tailor are there at times.

Darryl, The Ocean Hut (02) 4476 2278

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Darren Redman and Mark Rose,
Bermagui Ocean Hut and Charter Booking Service, (02) 6493 4688

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