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: Water sill cold and some weed. The odd mackerel around the Local Reef.
Rock and beach: Some nice whiting and bream on South Wall, tailor on north and south beaches.
River: Bream around the co-op walls. Blackfish on all rock walls, flathead around the highway bridge. Whiting and good-size mud crabs up-river.

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

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Pretty slow. The odd big tailor but only in ones or twos around the rocks. Pretty quiet apart from that, with dirty green water probably having something to do with the low catches. Lots of bait along Tallow Beach with birds working it but they’re off the outside of the deep gutter that runs along most of the beach – out of reach.

David Keevers, Coastal Fishing Tackle (02) 6685 7133

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No report from Dave’s Bait Shop this week but word has it there have been some decent tailor from the headlands, walls and beaches and a few mackerel offshore at times. With a southerly setting in and a decent roll on the sea, the walls should fish well for tailor and jewfish this weekend. A few school jew in the usual river haunts and the flathead still hanging in. Bream size is also improving.
At Evans Head on Friday arvo it was raining and blowing south-east with a making swell, so it looks iffy for offshore fishing this weekend. There were a few mackerel and snapper about earlier in the week but the bar has been atrocious, with one boat going over last weekend and another swamped. Tailor have been going OK from the headlands early and late and there’s the odd school jew and bream as well. Whiting and bream up the beach and quite a few good bream in the river.

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

t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Good run of bream around 800g-900g from Maclean down to Palmers Island and Oyster Channel, though the size seems to diminish as you head downstream. Not a lot of flathead of size but there are millions of little spikers. Not too much from offshore with poor weather there. Plenty of tailor from the beaches and headlands with Woody Head top spot but Sandon and Brooms Head also going pretty well.

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

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Wall to wall mackerel at the moment with nice, warm, clear water with spotties to 12kg and Spanish to 26kg. The by-catch of large snapper has kept everyone on the hop with knobbies to 9kg. Headland washes are turning up tailor to 5kg and even bigger kings. Anything metal will work.
The estuaries will suffer from the latest downpours on Thursday and Friday but the soft plastics or metals should pick up some fish around the mouths on the falling tide.

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, tailor numbers are on the improve with plenty of choppers for those fishing dawn or dusk, with Lighthouse and beaches further south enjoying the better results. This action should steadily improve over the next couple of months with these early season signs encouraging. Bream are quite promising, with numbers good for this time of year and virtually all fish taken being in excellent condition. In conjunction with the run of tailor, a few school jew have been taken with Lake Cathie and North Beach producing a few, although no two nights have results. Whiting remain a little more elusive than usual.
Beach goers on Lighthouse this past week have also witnessed northern bluefin tuna feeding on bait schools just beyond the shore break, with the action occurring on several days around high tide. There’s a challenge for beach fishos who can send a decent cast, have a good drag system and plenty of patience!
Off the rocks, at long last a few reports of surface activity have begun to dribble in, with Hat Head reportedly giving up a few bluefin, Spanish and cobia. Sources to the south say the bluefin in particular have been giving the ocean run of garfish and whitebait a fairly torrid time, so now would be time to put the LBG skills to the test for those keen for a solid tussle. Elsewhere on the rocks, tailor remain solid around Lighthouse and Plommer, while a few early season bream and blackfish are beginning to show.
In the estuary, blackfish numbers continue hit-and-miss although a few reasonable bags have been reported. Flathead numbers are sound with the breakwalls and Limeburners providing some nice lizards. Bream have been good, although daylight catches are dominated by undersized specimens and the majority of keepers are taken at night. Heaps of undersize tailor are also in the system with waters around Hibbard ferry simply alive at times with surface activity. You could bet your bottom dollar that with this many small tailor around, a few decent jew wouldn’t be too far away. Plenty of muddies are still active although blue swimmers remain disappointing.
Outside reports have been quite good. For bottom bouncers some great snapper have been on offer, highlighted by Andrew Martin’s fish of 7.54kg. Last weekend also saw quite a few mulloway landed, with reefs off Lighthouse and Plommer producing multiple daytime catches. On the surface the water around the FAD has been a little cooler and unproductive in comparison to recent weeks but Barries Bay and waters north continue to produce black marlin and numbers of Spanish mackerel.

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

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Offshore: The past week has seen fairly good sea conditions and plenty of opportunities to get out. Small black marlin continue to show up where you least expect them with some solid striped marlin out wider. Cobia are being reported in reasonable numbers. Mac tuna and bonito are terrorising schools of bait fish, particularly at Latitude Rock. The reefs have been a little difficult to fish because of the strong north/south current but quality snapper and kingfish are being taken. Mahi mahi numbers are down a little on previous weeks but are a guaranteed capture if you have live bait. By the way, all those who claim that the longliners have caught all the slimy mackerel should go to Latitude Rock or learn how to catch them!
Beaches: The hit-and-miss beach fishing continues. Some tailor have come from Tuncurry Beach but generally the reports coming in are inconsistent.
Rocks: LBG addicts, rejoice! Flat Rock has produced northern bluefin and cobia. Other LBG platforms may have also fired but I'm yet to hear.
Estuary: It's the time of the year when things start to change. Quality flathead are now taking up residence in the upper reaches of the tidal zone in the Coolongolook River. At the same time bream are starting to come into the lower parts of the Wallis Lake system. Lots of people are enjoying the large numbers of garfish and leatherjackets on offer, although this seems to be limited to the older brigade who fish for food rather than fun. Mulloway are a regular capture from the breakwalls by those using all manner of baits and lures. Crabs remain active.

Lloyd Campbell, Great Lakes Tackle 02 6554 9541

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Trailer Boat tournament is on this weekend but the weather isn’t too flash. Until the sea came up there were good marlin from 30-80 fathoms, mahi mahi on the FADs, big kings around North Rock at Broughton, squire in the shallows there and school kings around the islands. Squire and bream in the close washes.
Estuary: Flathead around Corrie Island, Corlette groynes, Cromarty Bay, Karuah and Tilligerry. Whiting over most of the sand flats. Bream at the back of Corrie Island and on the racks around Soldiers. Mack tuna running through the bay at times.
Beaches: Stockton has school jew and bream from about 8km down to the Huts. Tailor and salmon in the gutters. One Mile for tailor, bream and salmon.
Rocks: Pigs coming on and the rough sea will help. Some tuna from the LBG platforms. Squid Boat harbour, Fingal Bay. Bream around most washes.

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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Southerly wind and the rain hasn’t helped. Avoca platform has had some great yellowfin tuna to around 7kg with some follows from bigger fish. Three marlin hooked as well. Tonnes of frigates and bonito in the open estuaries with school jew going quite well to 5kg, especially in Brisbane Water. Bigger jew around Lion Island. Plenty of mahi mahi out wide although there are heaps of runts. Estuary quiet, bottom fish quiet but the surface fish are good.

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

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Have we passed the fishing peak for the year already after only a few weeks at the top? On the surface this is how things appear, especially inshore where fish activity and catch rates appear to be declining as we race toward winter, but a deeper look reveals something else entirely. There may be fewer fish but the sizes are on the way up, from the 20-odd-kilo mahi mahi on the current lines out wide to some stomping great kings off the headlands. And if that’s not enough, there’s been a handful of Jewies from 4kg to 15kg landed off the beaches this week.
Offshore is the place to be for the best Sydney fishing this week. The 26° water off the shelf is holding up nicely with bait scattered throughout and no shortage of predators. Striped marlin in particular are under the bait and there are blacks and blues around as well as big mahi mahi. Nick Robson was a happy man this week, landing a 17kg mahi mahi while trolling a pink 6” McGoo absolutely in the middle of nowhere about 10 miles out.
A few of the better-known deep-water headlands are also fishing quite well for those patient enough. Bluefish Point, Long Reef and North Avalon have all yielded some big kingies, including a 12kg fish weighed in at Fish Outta Water last Saturday by Ben Schwauss. This limp-hearted fish took all of a minute to land – almost unheard of from the rocks. It must have had something to do with the toothy long tom that was the rather unusual choice of live bait.
Jewfish, including one of 18kg, have come in from the more open beaches this week. Shane Barnes took the 18kg prize but there have been plenty of smaller fish as well, such as Sam Rowe’s 7kg edition off Manly. Pilchards and yakkas are doing the trick.
Quite a few bonito are still on the headlands as well, schooling up and chasing the little baitfish that are about. Little silver slices are picking up plenty when they’re bunched up and live yakkas are doing the trick on the sparser populations. The odd massive salmon, in the mould of the 10lb fellas that were around a month ago, is still monstering Rob Jenkins’ small flies. He highly recommends 1&Mac218;2” Eye flies. Close reefs such as The Colours and around Newport Reef are holding the biggest fish, some 75cm long.
The Harbour is a touch slower than the rush of the last few weeks but there’s no shortage of surface action from tailor, frigates, small striped tuna and bonito. All these fish are great light sports fish, fast and strong pound for pound. If you need something bigger, some late season kings can be found around the mouth of Watsons Bay. Fresh squid, as fresh and large as possible, with pilchard berley, should be a profitable approach.
Pittwater is fishing similarly, with a spread of tailor, striped tuna and salmon on the surface and flounder underneath. The 24° water is also still to the liking of the local kings, which have been causing chaos since summer began. Bream are holding around the wharves and other structures in the upper reaches, where plenty of fan-tailed and six-spined leatherjackets can be found.

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

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Estuary: Nice flathead near the lake entrance on whitebait and prawns. Good blackfish under the bridge and some good flatties and bream around the Bevans Island drop-off. Crabs going well in lift nets over Mt Warrigal way with mullet bait best. Bream on plastics in lighter colours around Berkley.
Beaches: Corrimal performing well for bream on mullet and worms. Kembla Beach has flathead on strip baits and pillies. South Shellharbour has whiting on worms.
Rocks: Hill 60 for trevally and tailor, small kings at Kiama Blowhole on slimies and squid strips, plenty of slimies there and at Bass Point. Drummer at Windang Island on royal reds.
Offshore: Good mahi mahi off the Port Kembla traps, tailor off the Five Islands on the troll. Snapper in close around Shellharbour on royal reds and pillies. Kings around Rangoon Island.

Garth, Deans Bait and Tackle, Windang 4295 1615

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Plenty of blackfish on peeled prawns around the walls, small bronze whalers off Surf Beach and lots of snapper out wide and in close. A few morwong also about.

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

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Crook weather all week so there’s not a lot to brag about lately. Before the weather took a turn there were a few finicky kings at the island with live bait going best one day and fresh squid the next. and a lot of action on the billfish out wide. Tuross canyons were going off for a few days.
Estuary: Soft plastics working for bream and flathead. Cooler weather should lower the inlet water so action should improve.
Rocks fishing well for salmon and tailor and beaches with gutters on them have the same.

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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