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: The bar hasn't been good all week but is now improving. Spanish mackerel and nice spotties around the Local and Wooyung reefs with Halco Lazer Pro 190s catching plenty. The mackerel are making life very hard for the snapper fishermen with bait getting chopped and chewed and rigs bitten off.
Rock and beach: Some nice whiting on South Beach in front of the surf club up to the sign but the small dart are making it hard to get the bait to them. Chopper tailor are hanging around Seagull Rocks and look to be staying there with plenty of bait in the corner of North Beach. Bream around the walls.
River: Flathead around the traffic bridge and bream around the co-op
walls. Plenty of blackfish on all the river rock walls. Jacks around the spur wall and the boat harbour. Whiting and jacks-up river. Still
good mud crabs in the river

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

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Plenty of mackerel everywhere in the crystal-clear bay with yellowfin tuna as well. Longliners are out in the bay each night netting all the slimies and bonito. Reports of hordes of good dart in every wave on Tallow Beach on Friday morning. Some very good tailor around the rocks and on the beaches in the deeper gutters at Suffolk Park and the northern end of Seven Mile. Good bream and whiting and the odd nice flathead in the beach gutters as well.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle (02) 6685 7133

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Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop says there are still a few nice flatties in the lower reaches. Whiting a little slower but still a few around and once the tides start moving again they should come good. A few school jew persisting upstream of the Burns Point ferry with the odd GT. Mud crabs are showing right up the headwaters of the creeks.
The odd good tailor to 4kg from the headlands and walls – not that many but the quality is certainly there. Whiting and bream are going fairly well on the beaches. Mackerel look to be heading south and a few boats have headed out on Friday morning to test their luck – the first time in a week they’ve been able to get out.
It’s the same scenario at Evans Head with the first boats venturing out this morning after a week-long blow and they should come back with some sort of pelagics, at least. There have been slimy mackerel in the bay most days this week and I’ve seen small mack tuna working them and I thought I saw a genuine mackerel swirl one morning earlier this week. The beaches have some great-looking gutters which should hold decent whiting and the odd bream and there should be some tailor around the headlands. There are some fair bream in the river and the odd flathead with whiting further upstream.

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

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Plenty of fresh in the river, just about a perfect one, and muddies are abundant between the Broadwater and Palmers Island with Palmers Channel also good. Flathead biting well in the lower river on bait. Top of the tide is not too bad at Maclean and at Palmers Island visibility is about a metre with trawlers ripping into the prawns. Jew and jacks going off in Oyster Channel with some jacks around 4kg and some unlandable ones. Heaps of trevally and some giant herring as well. School jew galore in the lower reaches but further up it’s all fork-tailed catfish. Some nice tailor off the Iluka wall and out at the Bluff with poppers working well. All mackerel reports are north of the entrance..

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

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Plenty of bream in the creeks on poppers, some good whiting on the beaches improving every day after the rain, with high-tide and low-tide gutters both working. A few jewfish still in the surf.
A few northern bluefin sighted off the local rocks.
Some marlin up north around the big island but no word of mackerel since the rain.

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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Red weed and bluebottles are back to test the patience of anglers throughout the area. The weed has been evident in patches mostly to the north and around the breakwalls, while the beaches south around Diamond Head have been covered in bluebottles. Good fish can be extracted from areas where the weed is sparse. The bluebottles, while annoying to everyone, form part of a bream’s diet from time to time. Whether it is due to a lack of alternate food sources or whether they simply enjoy them is something I guess only a bream knows. I can’t see them taking off as a viable bait source!
On the beaches, whiting remain solid with Lighthouse and around Lake Cathie fishing particularly well. North Beach has a few bumper bream, highlighted by Les Raishbrook’s 1.51kg fish. While not in numbers, the bream have been of better than average quality. Also on the beaches are the odd school jew and a few very late salmon which appear to be following the occasional pocket of cool water. Tailor remain most disappointing and will most likely remain so until the schools of baitfish move to our coastline.
Off the rocks, rough seas have ruled out many traditional spots but the odd jew has been snared from the more protected ledges, along with bream and chopper tailor. Best results have come from around Point Plommer, Lighthouse and Diamond Head. Drummer anglers continue to report some reasonable catches while blackfish enthusiasts have had a ball from the washes.
The Hastings has benefited from a decent drop of rain with a small fresh coming down from the hills. Flathead have been dominant with plenty of solid fish to around 2kg taken from the lower reaches. The fresh also stirred up some good blackfish with the co-op producing some great action last weekend, when green weed out-performed the mystical black weed. While the fresh was not quite enough to really stir the mulloway, a couple were had off the south wall and larger soft plastics accounted for a few schoolies. Darren Williams managed a 25.8kg fish.
Lake Cathie continues to fire with great catches of whiting near the entrance on worms, prawns and yabbies. The Hastings has some quality fish, with Grahame and Bradley Dick managing some terrific fish to 570g along with plenty of blackfish and flatties. There 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 bread or peeled prawns and fished on the surface is the go.
Little to report offshore scene, with few boats able to set out courtesy of the rough seas and persistent winds. When conditions allow, there have been plenty of mahi mahi to 10kg around the FADs, while bottom-bashers continue to score good mixed bags of flatties, snapper and other mixed reef species. Once the seas settle, look for a continuation of the good snapper run, particularly on the closer reefs, whilst hopefully the warm currents will see the pelagic scene really take off.

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

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Offshore: Another week of fickle weather but the fish are active and the weekend forecast looks like this could be the one we have been waiting for. Lee Turner on Dream Catcher braved less than ideal conditions and again raised quality striped marlin including one of about 150kg that was fought on a stand-up 24kg outfit for two hours, only to be lost at the back of the boat. Chief deckie Mark Mac is wearing some battle scars from this fish, which he had on the trace several time but couldn't hold. Local charter boats are having a ball on mahi mahi with Justin on Seaquest also providing his crew with lots of quality snapper and pearl perch. Bonito are in good numbers around Latitude Rock and The Pinnacle. A spearfisho last weekend hit the jackpot at The Pinnacle with two kingfish, one 18kg and the second a whopping 30kg. There are a few small black marlin around and the only thing missing are some cobia.
Beaches/Rocks: Very little to report.
Estuary: Mixed reports on mulloway, but the fish are there and should fire up this weekend as the prawn run gets under way. The lake system is holding some excellent whiting, lots of flathead and plenty of above-average bream for those that go looking for the fish. Surface lures are still working well on bream up the rivers or over cockle weed beds in the centre of the lake.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Estuary: School jew up to around 12kg on the wreck in Salamander Bay, also at Middle Island and the breakwall. Flathead on the Corrie Island cut-through with a few on Shoaly Beach and Baggies. Bream Rocks Awash, Oaky, the racks in North Arm Cove. Flounder on the bar at the heads and Middle Ground. Sand whiting on Jimmys, Shoal Bay. A few muddies up Karuah and blue swimmers along Pindima into the Duck Hole.
Rocks: A few kings Sunny Corner and One Mile, good schools of tailor at the same spots. Blackfish on Tailor Rock at Birubi. A bit of a show of bluefin at the Tomaree platform.
Beaches: Stockton for big jew to 24kg around the wreck, whiting on the bite on Stockton, One Mile and Fingal. A few tailor schools on Stockton and Samurai late arvos.
Offshore: Plenty of sand flathead on the Lighthouse and Little Island drifts, jew on The 21, The Vs, Tank and Uralla. Heaps of trag on the Gibber. A few bluefin off the Gibber headlands, cobia from around Seal Rocks to 15kg. Mahi mahi to 15kg on the FAD, Minefield and Boulder Wide. Water in 50 fathoms is 23°-plus with little black marlin to 60kg, striped marlin to 40kg-plus.

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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Offshore: Pretty ordinary with the big swell but some good catches of snapper, nice kings and a few nice marlin captures when conditions have allowed. Heaps of bait and good salmon, tailor, bonito and frigate mackerel in close in the sheltered bays and up the estuaries. A customer caught a 70cm king in Brisbane Water the other day and there have been reports of cobia. Flathead typically good, especially on lures. Try Flint and Steel and Juno Point for big jew.

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

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We could have all been forgiven for thinking we would never see blue water off Sydney again. Not that too many of us have a mathematician’s understanding of fluid dynamics, but having seen not even one week of consistent northerly current by the start of February can induce cataclysms of worry in the calmest anglers. Now at last we have the blue water around close to the coast and although there are only a few fish in it yet, there is hope on the horizon. Warmer waters still will push down once the current is freely flowing and that’s when things will hot up.
Bonito have been the most noticeable species to arrive closer to shore, with plenty of good-sized fish off the rocks and inside the Harbour. The beach spinning brigade have pulled a few lately from Manly to Whale to add to their kingfish. The South Head troll round as far as Ben Buckler is keeping boat fishos rockin’.
Des Toms of Hookem Cookem Charters has had success with metal slices about 40-60g around Middle Head. Kingies are unfortunately not quite reaching the heights of last year’s bonanza and the fish that are here can be skittish and they are pretty heavily belted. Mornings are really the only time to get stuck in, before every man and his dog has a go and the fish go off the bite. Toss a live yakka or a strip of fresh squid towards the channel markers. The new fisheries FAD off Bondi is also worth a shot, as it has been holding a few smaller kings.
Mahi mahi have been the real arrival offshore, with fish now moving in around plenty of FADs, including the Broken Bay waverider, where a few fish from 5-8kg have come in this week. The Dee Why waverider is on holidays in Fiji after apparently having hitched a ride with a tanker. I guess if my summer was as cold as its I would go, too. By all reports it should be back soon, and the requisite mahi mahi with it. Still no major marlin action with the only fish seen so full of bait they are almost unfeedable.
Pittwater Pete Le Blang is landing plenty of kingies, turning almost every squid into a kingfish. The few that do get away inevitably end up being monsters that run 100 metres before busting off. Bonito are also about in Pitty, with The Basin going nuts with surface fish in the mornings. Metal slices or silver Rapalas are working on them a treat. So what you waiting for?

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

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Lake: Plenty of whiting at the lake entrance on blood or beach worms with the bridge on the back channel side worthwhile for flathead and flounder on whitebait. Further up the channel and into the drop-off soft plastics are working. Small metals are catching legal tailor in the channel. Crabs near Mt Warrigal but handlines are working better than traps. Bream around Berkley are good early mornings on bright red or motor oil 2” soft grubs. Prawning kicking off again with dragging most successful for bags to 8kg at Warrawong. Scooping is pretty marginal.
Beaches: Plenty of whiting at the Port Kembla end on pipis and worms, with MM Beach good for bream. Nice salmon and tailor on South Shellharbour on pilchards and mullet strips.
Rocks: Bonito on Hill 60 on small white squid under floats retrieved slowly. Salmon and tailor out there and also off Windang, where there are also kings taking livies. Kings at the Kiama Blowhole on squid when swell allows.
Offshore: Nice snapper in close around five islands and Windang. Bonito around port Kembla on Christmas trees. Mahi mahi wide of Kiama on trolled 8” skirts in blue or green and on live bait. Marlin to 80kg have been reported on live baits around Bass Point and Port Kembla in 22° water.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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Estuary: Plenty of bass in the upper reaches with smaller bass in the Clyde and fish to 45cm up the Deua. Surface lures working well. Further downstream there are plenty of bream and plenty of boats pre-fishing for the BREAM comp on February 26 and 27. Flatties still great from Durras Lake to Tuross, where there are some big lizards and a few school jew. Plenty of whiting at the entrance to Tuross and the bream should start there soon, too.
Rocks, beaches: Not too much going.
Offshore: If you can get out in a hole in the weather there are still nice snapper around Durras. Charter boats have been picking up a few kings with the Jean Marie getting 14 legal size the other day.

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

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Estuary is fishing well for flatties but the whiting and jew have gone a little quiet.
Beaches: Very little happening.
Offshore: Reefs are fishing reasonably well if you can get out with Friday the first day possible for a week. Kingies have been quiet. Everything looks right so it shouldn’t be long and there’s heaps of bait for them when they do come!

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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